TheDinoman
Member
I'd like to see Pichu come back if only to desperately see if it would make Jigglypuff good again with the former taking back her joke character role he had in Melee.
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Super Smash Bros. Community Thread |OT| Next Super Smash Bros. Discussion
- Thread starter IntelliHeath
- Start date
lvl99 Pixel
Member
they should keep the hilarious walk animation though, and the taunts
IntelliHeath
As in "Heathcliff"
I have seen some requests for Elma on this forum.
I'm a big Elma supporter! I included her in my top 8 wanted/expected new fighters on the previous page:
We need some Xenoblade Chronicles X in Smash!!The ARMS Direct got me hyped for the potential of Spring Man in Smash (though I have a terrible feeling that he'll miss out like Inkling did before...), so I'm in the mood for some SSB6 roster discussion!
Let's say Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch adds 8 new fighters, bringing the roster up to 64 fighters total (or 66 if you count the Mii Fighters individually). Who do you hope/expect to see?
My picks (in no particular order):
Veterans
- Ice Climbers
- Wolf
- Snake
Newcomers- Chorus Kids (Rhythm Heaven)
- Inkling (Splatoon)
- Elma (Xenoblade Chronicles X)
- Decidueye (Pokémon Sun / Moon)
- Spring Man (ARMS)
Honorable Mentions
- Paper Mario
- Dixie Kong or King K. Rool
- Takamaru
Professor Beef
Banned
who
The hottie with the million dollar body, aka the true main character of Xenoblade X. A legitimately good character, but sadly her chances of getting into Smash are slim to none.
Professor Beef
Banned
There's ten Xenoblade games??
While I see what you're saying, I think that's a bad route to take personally. Unless i'm mistaken Blizzard somewhere along the way seemed to decide that Tracer would be the 'face' of overwatch before it came out yet she in no way represents the baseline of their game. Teleporting back in time isn't a standard moveset for overwatch charactersYet she's not bland either, with her over the top english accent and attitude.
The idea that the character pushed to the front to rep a franchise should be boring as hell seems pretty counter-intuitive to me and Overwatch certainly didn't seem to suffer from not following it. As we mentioned before, the inklings are a great rep for their series despite having 'set' characters like callie and marie with more detail because despite being the 'base' its a pretty interesting and memorable base to build off of.
It'd be easy to argue that Tracer has one of the most default designs of the Overwatch cast though. Outside of her powers she's just a girl with a tight suit.
In terms of possible ARMS representation I would love if they picked Minmin. She's both normal enough to represent the franchise and at the same time unique enough to not be lame ass Spring Man.
Professor Beef
Banned
Not my fault y'all keep asking for nobodies!
Slim to none? Why do you think that? I think her chances are pretty good, really. With Shulk already in Smash, and with Xenoblade Chronicles becoming a regular Nintendo IP, I don't think it's unlikely at all for Elma to get in Smash as well. Xenoblade Chronicles X may not have been a huge seller, but it outperformed the original Xenoblade Chronicles at the very least, despite being on Wii U. Elma definitely seems like the kind of character that Sakurai would add, too. I suppose it all comes down to how many new fighters we're getting with this alleged port.
There's pretty much no way she's getting in. I'd personally boil a character's inclusion down to 5 things:
Demand, Moveset potential, "Excitement" Relevancy, Personal interest
1) Obvious. There is no demand for Elma. She has her fair share of dedicated fans, but she's not popular by any stretch.
2) She's pretty good here. Lots of special attacks, and a Skell is an easy shoe-in for her Final Smash.
3) This is a vague section, but lemme try and explain it. Basically,she wouldn't be very hype inducing. She wouldn't cause the internet to shatter like say, when Cloud, Bayonetta or even Shulk were announced. Beefing out the Xenoblade franchise is a nice, but i'd imagine they would rather focus on the new upcoming protagonists over Elma.
4) Haha just kidding, this section is total bullshit.
5) The most important section. Is Sakurai fond of Elma? Doubtful. On the other hand, it was to easy to see him adding Shulk/Lucina/Palutena/animu characters a mile away, because he expressed interest in them on twitter.
Xenoblade X is in an awkward spot too. It wasn't all that well received in Japan, its sales were middling, and it's mostly been forgotten. Elma getting in Smash is the longest of long shots. But hey, i'm not opposed to her; I love her.
I think you're underselling Xenoblade Chronicles X and Elma a bit here. Yeah, it wasn't super popular, but again, it did better than the original Xenoblade Chronicles. Plus it's the largest game ever made by Nintendo, with Breath of the Wild following it. Give it some more credit! And you really don't think people would be hyped for Elma? I guarantee you, if a trailer for Elma in Smash dropped, people would be hyped, even if they didn't even know of this character before. The move set potential is great, and including a Skell would generate a lot of hype in particular. And why would you think Sakurai doesn't like Elma or Xenoblade Chronicles X? I know he's expressed interest in mechs before, and as a fan of the original, I can't see any reason why he wouldn't also like X. Not that his personal interests mean that much, of course.
If it makes sense, Sakurai will do it if he can. People weren't clamoring for Robin (well...I was, but most people wanted Chrom), yet that's who we got because it made the most sense. Literally nobody demanded Wii Fit Trainer, but Sakurai made it happen to represent one of Nintendo's best selling franchises. Even Shulk wasn't THAT popular of a suggestion, yet he made it in. Sakurai might surprise us sometimes, but it always makes sense. And I think Elma makes a great deal of sense. Is she a #1 priority? No, Inkling would definitely be before her at the very least, but there aren't a ton of new characters that make sense to add, and Elma's definitely up there.
The girl from Another Code/Trace Memory.
XBX straight up sold less than the original XB in Japan which is... incredibly problematic. XBX was also a lot better received here than it was in Japan, and given how much general sway Japan has over the roster, that's another issue. And who said anything about Sakurai not liking Elma or XBX? All i'm saying is that he's not specifically enamored with Elma or XBX, which is understandable. And his personal interests are quite important, given how the roster is practically littered with characters he adores, eschewing characters who are "relevant." (Shoutouts to Bayo, Shulk, Lucina and Corrin)
Well let's break this down.
1) Robin was a unique FE rep
2) Wii Fit was the WTF character
3) Xenoblade was a runaway hit, Sakurai was a huge fan, and Shulk had the Monado to lean on
Elma doesn't really fit in any of these categories. She's the secondary protagonist of a game that never really took off. Her design isn't particularly memorable, and again, her popularity is fairly low.
If she somehow defies all odds and makes it in, then it's still a win for me since I like her, but she is most definitely NOT up there.
balladofwindfishes
Member
His walking animations are basically the "janky animations" I was talking about
They look silly.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
Thing with Elma is Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a thing. Given the title of that and the comments Takahashi has made about X, it seems more like Xenoblade X is just a side game rather than a true sequel.
Also, let's face it - every time Nintendo has a new game or new IP, people suggest X character from that game to be in Smash solely because they're new. Very few of those characters and games wind up having lasting impact. People talked about having a Codename Steam rep, and who has even thought about that game in the past 2 months? While there are exceptions
, SSB has generally been good about picking characters who truly have lasting impact rather than solely because they're the latest flavour of the month from the newest game. I feel that's partly why Sakurai took until SSB4 to add Miis and the Villager - at the time Brawl was in development, no one had any idea that AC and the Wii series would explode the way they did, but by the time of SSB4, their series' popularity had been cemented beyond any doubt. Similarly, Bowser Jr. could have been in Brawl, but he only really proved himself as "here to stay" in the series after New Super Mario Bros. came around.
At the end of the day, Elma is from a side game in a cult series that's already pretty well-repped by Shulk alone, and didn't do that well due to being on a doomed platform and being more divisive compared to its predecessor, which is receiving a true sequel in quick time. I just don't see her as that likely. If Xenoblade ever did get another character, it'd probably be someone from 2 or hell, even 1 if they wanted to (though that's less likely).
Honestly even when X was new I never really got the appeal of Elma in Smash. She doesn't scream being a Nintendo all-star who simply needs to be in, at least to me.
Also, let's face it - every time Nintendo has a new game or new IP, people suggest X character from that game to be in Smash solely because they're new. Very few of those characters and games wind up having lasting impact. People talked about having a Codename Steam rep, and who has even thought about that game in the past 2 months? While there are exceptions
like Roy
At the end of the day, Elma is from a side game in a cult series that's already pretty well-repped by Shulk alone, and didn't do that well due to being on a doomed platform and being more divisive compared to its predecessor, which is receiving a true sequel in quick time. I just don't see her as that likely. If Xenoblade ever did get another character, it'd probably be someone from 2 or hell, even 1 if they wanted to (though that's less likely).
Honestly even when X was new I never really got the appeal of Elma in Smash. She doesn't scream being a Nintendo all-star who simply needs to be in, at least to me.
balladofwindfishes
Member
I vaguely remember something during the Wii era where Nintendo had rules against using Miis in violent games, and I always figured that was the big reason Miis were not in Brawl. They laxed them towards the end of the Wii era. Sakurai sorta alluded to this for his explanation for why they weren't in Brawl, although it was a more generic answer than that (I don't remember the exact wording).
Mother 3 and Wii Sports were released the same year, and Lucas is in Brawl, as was Diamond and Pearl with Lucario. I think they were well aware of how popular Miis were early enough in Brawl's development to add them.
Although Lucas is a semi-clone and Lucario just barely made it into Brawl, so maybe. Without customization (which Brawl probably wouldn't have had), though, the Miis aren't particularly complicated characters.
Mother 3 and Wii Sports were released the same year, and Lucas is in Brawl, as was Diamond and Pearl with Lucario. I think they were well aware of how popular Miis were early enough in Brawl's development to add them.
Although Lucas is a semi-clone and Lucario just barely made it into Brawl, so maybe. Without customization (which Brawl probably wouldn't have had), though, the Miis aren't particularly complicated characters.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
I think what helped give Lucas and Lucario the edge is that their games were well into development by mid-2005 when work on Brawl started (Mother 3 N64 existed for years and Lucas was even meant to be in Melee, and Lucario had his movie which came out that year), and also in established series. Similar to how Greninja got into SSB4 despite his game not coming out until well after development began - Pokemon is easier to take a risk on than a more cult game.
Back in 2005, Wii Sports and the Miis were an unproven concept, and Animal Crossing: Wild World (the game that made the series really take off) had yet to come out. It's true that Sakurai did mention he couldn't see Villager as a character who could fight, but I also can't help but wonder if the timing factored into things as well. I don't remember if he ever addressed Miis' absence, though.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Yea, Lucas and Lucario were old characters by the time their games came out. Lucas had been around since the N64 and Lucario was in movies and even minor cameos in games for a year or two building up to DP.
I have no idea where I heard about this unwritten rule of Miis not being able to be in violent situations early in the Wii's life, but what Sakurai said somewhat alludes to that.
When he was discussing why they weren't in Brawl.
I have no idea where I heard about this unwritten rule of Miis not being able to be in violent situations early in the Wii's life, but what Sakurai said somewhat alludes to that.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
Ahh, I see. I think I remember that now.
I remember that at the time, the most common moveset idea for the Miis was that they'd be based on Wii Sports, and use tennis rackets and baseball bats to attack people. In retrospect I think it was probably the most fitting option to use them as a Create-a-Character. Basing them on only one game wouldn't have been right when they're more of a universal avatar.
I remember that at the time, the most common moveset idea for the Miis was that they'd be based on Wii Sports, and use tennis rackets and baseball bats to attack people. In retrospect I think it was probably the most fitting option to use them as a Create-a-Character. Basing them on only one game wouldn't have been right when they're more of a universal avatar.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Yea, even I figured that would be their moveset.
In hindsight, the way Smash 4 handles them is pretty much the perfect way to implement them. Although I think if push came to shove, they could have gotten away with just adding Brawler and it still would have represented Miis just fine. As it stands, Mii is the series with the most new comers in their first game (Zelda, in general, has them beat with 4 new comers in Melee, but Zelda was already an established Smash series in Melee)
Wii Sports Miis would have missed the mark on what Miis are.
I still consider Wuhu Island to be Mii's home stage, though. Even though the concept of a home stage is kind of dated since Smash 4 Wii U doesn't really do that.
In hindsight, the way Smash 4 handles them is pretty much the perfect way to implement them. Although I think if push came to shove, they could have gotten away with just adding Brawler and it still would have represented Miis just fine. As it stands, Mii is the series with the most new comers in their first game (Zelda, in general, has them beat with 4 new comers in Melee, but Zelda was already an established Smash series in Melee)
Wii Sports Miis would have missed the mark on what Miis are.
I still consider Wuhu Island to be Mii's home stage, though. Even though the concept of a home stage is kind of dated since Smash 4 Wii U doesn't really do that.
Where are you getting that information from? Because everything I've seen says that Xenoblade Chronicles X outsold the original in both Japan and North America.
And these characters that you say the roster is "littered with" that Sakurai "adores"whether that's true or notare characters that make sense. Lucina was just a clone and she coupled well with Robin in Chrom's absence, Corrin came from the fastest selling Fire Emblem game to date (and was specifically chosen for DLC as a brand new and unique character), and Shulk, while being a bit of an unusual choice compared to most other fighters (and Sakurai even noted this), still made sense, and as jnWake noted Xenoblade's representation in Smash is not unlike EarthBound's (which went on to get two characters, even). With MonolithSoft being a staple Nintendo first-party developer and the Xenoblade franchise becoming an ongoing series (which we knew even very early into the Wii U's life with the X teaser), it made even more sense. Bayonetta was chosen as a result of the Smash Ballot, so you can't say it was Sakurai bias there (though it really was a good choice).
I'd argue that Wii Fit Trainer was more than just a "WTF character" too. It was unexpected, but representing one of Nintendo's best-selling franchises ever really isn't that "WTF" in hindsight. I wouldn't call Xenoblade a "runaway hit" either, in any region. It was a modest success that was very well received. But, despite that, Shulk made it in and it does make sense for reasons other than just the sales or popularity of his game.
In many ways, I see Elma in a similar position to both Lucas and Robin. Like Lucas, she'd be representing a more niche franchise yet well received franchise (and also similarly, MOTHER 3 wasn't as well received in Japan as MOTHER 2, but that didn't stop Lucas from being added), and like Robin, it could be argued that she's not the primary protagonist, but she's easily the more unique and appealing option of the two. And I don't know what you mean by saying her design isn't memorable, I think her design is excellent and immediately stands out. And again, all the data I've seen says that X outsold the original (really, where are you seeing otherwise?), so it's not really fair to say that the game didn't take off. Hell, it teased a sequel on the same planet, presumably with Elma as well. If anything, whenever the inevitable sequel is released, Elma will be even more prevalent in the Xenoblade series than Shulk!
Xenoblade Chronicles X is indeed a "side thing" in that it's a separate branch of the series. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the true sequel to the original, and the inevitable Xenoblade Chronicles X 2 will be the true sequel to the X series. It'd make more sense to rep the X series in additional to the original in Smash by including Elma instead of going with a Shulk-like from the sequel to the original. Plus, if Smash is already in development, Elma makes a lot more sense because her game's been out for awhile now.
And yeah, I know that people always want new characters in Smash just because they're new. I see it all the time, and many suggestions like that are just silly. But Elma's different because her franchise is already present in Smash, and her inclusion does make a lot of sense in that context. And with her game setting up for a sequel, I don't think it needs to be questioned if she's "here to stay"she's at least the same as Shulk or most Fire Emblem characters in this regard.
It'd be a real shame if Xenoblade Chronicles X doesn't get repped in Smash moving forward, because it's so different from the original, and it really is a HUGE game from Nintendo that shouldn't be ignored.
Geminosity
Member
Oh? Weird, I don't remember anyone asking for you to be in the game. Are you getting this thread confused with the Japanese EVO chat?
See, if BGBW wasn't reusing material here, I'd point to this being a much better troll than Beef's attempt :3
I'd be up for min min too
I'm not a huge tracer fan by any stretch of the imagination but she certainly seemed memorable within the cutscenes that introduced the franchise to us but I guess arguing 'defaultness' is going to be a difficult one because to some degree it could be said that it's all potentially subjective :3
XBX sold 114,665 units at the end of 2015 in Japan according the Famitsu weekly. By the end of its first year, XB sold 161,000 copies in Japan. Honestly, even if it did sell more, it's still a negative since it's such a meager increase over the original, despite the significantly install base.
I'm not convinced. Disregarding the fact that Lucas's game was in development around Brawl's era, Lucas (and now Robin) are far more iconic than Elma as characters. And her design is relatively unremarkable. She's the best looking character in a game where people look like this. I mean Shulk by himself is similarly unappealing, but he has one of the coolest swords in all of gaming, and he's a pretty standard shonen protagonist *which are popular in Japan). Elma by comparison, doesn't have much going for her. You mention the fact that she's technically more relevant in the Xeno series, but given XBX spoilers
her true form, that'd just lead to more confusion.
Smash Bros roster decisions aren't nearly as methodical as you think they are. It's not about rewarding relevancy, or padding out franchises with characters that make sense or giving characters who "deserve" to be in a slot. It's all very much about appeal. I think you're setting yourself up for a major disappointment if you think she genuinely has a shot.
Professor Beef
Banned
The best part of that is I wasn't even watching that stream, let alone in the chat, when that happened. Broadcaster all up in their feelings about me 😎Oh? Weird, I don't remember anyone asking for you to be in the game. Are you getting this thread confused with the Japanese EVO chat?
TheDinoman
Member
It should be noted that Lucas kinda got into Smash Bros. by mistake.
https://twitter.com/allsourcegaming/status/728252930382422016
If Source Gaming is to be believed, Sakurai apparently didn't realize that Mother 3 was destined to be JP only when making Brawl's roster, and it looks it was too late to take Lucas out when Sakurai found out. A similar sort of thing happened with Fire Emblem. Marth and Roy were originally planned to be blacklisted from all non-JP versions of Melee until they were kept in at the last minute.
https://twitter.com/allsourcegaming/status/728252930382422016
If Source Gaming is to be believed, Sakurai apparently didn't realize that Mother 3 was destined to be JP only when making Brawl's roster, and it looks it was too late to take Lucas out when Sakurai found out. A similar sort of thing happened with Fire Emblem. Marth and Roy were originally planned to be blacklisted from all non-JP versions of Melee until they were kept in at the last minute.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Elma is one of those characters that awkwardly doesn't fit time line wise.
She sort of falls into the same place GBA characters like Isaac and late DS characters like 5th gen Pokemon fall into where they just... come at the wrong time. They came either late into development of Smash, or in the awkward middle period, where only big time folks like Greninja or Sonic can really make a place for themselves.
She isn't really a headliner character for a Smash 4 DX, like Inklings, Snake or Ice Climbers would be, but by the time Smash 5 rolls around, she'll be way out of relevancy and there will be Xenoblade 2 characters to pick from.
There are quite a few characters whose games came out at the wrong time to be in Smash. Isaac, Custom Robo, Elma. They aren't really popular or well known enough to stand up against time and be added anyway (Ice Climbers, ROB, Duck Hunt), but aren't "the new" that gets people like Roy, Pichu and Corrin in the game even if maybe they probably wouldn't have otherwise made the cut had a few more years passed between Smash and their game.
She sort of falls into the same place GBA characters like Isaac and late DS characters like 5th gen Pokemon fall into where they just... come at the wrong time. They came either late into development of Smash, or in the awkward middle period, where only big time folks like Greninja or Sonic can really make a place for themselves.
She isn't really a headliner character for a Smash 4 DX, like Inklings, Snake or Ice Climbers would be, but by the time Smash 5 rolls around, she'll be way out of relevancy and there will be Xenoblade 2 characters to pick from.
There are quite a few characters whose games came out at the wrong time to be in Smash. Isaac, Custom Robo, Elma. They aren't really popular or well known enough to stand up against time and be added anyway (Ice Climbers, ROB, Duck Hunt), but aren't "the new" that gets people like Roy, Pichu and Corrin in the game even if maybe they probably wouldn't have otherwise made the cut had a few more years passed between Smash and their game.
Well when the other characters are a gorilla, a reaper, an angel and other weirder stuff a regular human is definitely default!
Hm, well the game definitely had a better launch in terms of sales than the original at least. I dunno what your comment about the install base is supposed to mean, because if anything it's more impressive on Wii U, a system that had a far lower install base than Wii.
But whatever. The main thing that Elma has going for her is that her series is already represented in Smash Bros. And it, like Pokémon, Fire Emblem, and EarthBound/MOTHER, is a series that has new main characters with each installment. And because of that, it's important to feature multiple characters from different games in the series to have a more complete and balanced representation of that series. That's why we always get new Pokémon and Fire Emblem characters, and that's why we have both Ness and Lucas. Similarly, we even got Alph with Olimar! Point is, because Xenoblade Chronicles is already in Smash, and because of the nature of the franchise, it's very possible that we may get a second character, and Elma definitely makes the most sense if that were to happen.
Again, I'm not saying it's guaranteed by any means, just that it's within the realm of possibility, more so than a lot of other characters I feel. Really, there are few characters I can think of that I'd put above her. Inkling is the main one, that most certainly has to happen. But besides that? It's tough to say. I want to believe that Rhythm Heaven will finally get its rep, but I don't know... Spring Man is a toss up, and ARMS may be too new to be considered for Smash. A new Pokémon (probably Decidueye if anything) seems like a safe bet, but then what else? I really struggle to think of any other obvious newcomer choices.
MrSaturn99
Member
Everyone's pretty much said how I feel about Elma's chances.
Man, I still wanna see the original source for the Lucas thing. That's really interesting.
Man, I still wanna see the original source for the Lucas thing. That's really interesting.
IntelliHeath
As in "Heathcliff"
It's unfortunately Beef is washed out troll now since what he usually do is boring and predictable now. He need to come up with new gimmick or he would become boring wrestler like John Cena.
Same here. I really need a motivation to finish XCX. It don't really got me on hooked as Xenoblade did.
Professor Beef
Banned
john cena isn't washed up, you fleabag!
balladofwindfishes
Member
Ice Climbers
I don't really think the Switch port is getting much more than 2 characters (Inkling and Ice Climbers), but even at 4+, there's Wolf, Snake, Decidueye, Incineroar and Spring Man I'd put above Elma.
lvl99 Pixel
Member
i mean, how else do you do a walk cycle for something with no legs
Inkling
Spring Man
Chorus Kids
Ice Climbers
Wolf
Ivysaur
Squirtle
Decidueye
Paper Mario
Takamaru
Isaac
Ray MK II
Dixie Kong
Ridley
Tom Nook
Andy
Tingle
Starfy
Chibi Robo
Excitebiker
I would say all this 1st party characters are somewhat more relevant to Nintendo or Smash Bros history than Elma.
Still, Sakurai is known for making strange choices. Wouldn't be surprised if we got someone completely unpredictable.
Spring Man
Chorus Kids
Ice Climbers
Wolf
Ivysaur
Squirtle
Decidueye
Paper Mario
Takamaru
Isaac
Ray MK II
Dixie Kong
Ridley
Tom Nook
Andy
Tingle
Starfy
Chibi Robo
Excitebiker
I would say all this 1st party characters are somewhat more relevant to Nintendo or Smash Bros history than Elma.
Still, Sakurai is known for making strange choices. Wouldn't be surprised if we got someone completely unpredictable.
Geminosity
Member
Your legend goes before you :3
Haha, true i guess. Though the cast is predominantly human in general :3
XD
While I didn't honestly expect Corrin to get in, I still think she had a better chance than Elma just by virtue of being the protag of the latest game in a long-running series that Ninty seemed quite serious about marketing. XCX doesn't feel like it has the same marketing push that FE has in terms of Nintendo's efforts
Also I feel like Intelligent Systems has more sway with Ninty than Monolith Soft may have. Not to mention female corrin merch had already been shifting some impressive numbers (from what I've anecdotally heard)I don't really know what I think of Elma's chances, but I still honestly think that Ashley's increasing appearances is likely to lead to something like being playable eventually. I'm obviously biased but her increasing number of badges in 3DS badge arcade (which continued right up to the last batch), 3 themes for the 3DS that sold incredibly well (the first sold more than all the other themes launched the same month combined) and even the april fool about her having her own game just feel like they must've noticed she has a fanbase and heck, Ko (warioware & rhythm heaven artist) seems to like her a fair bit so I doubt he's not made some comments to friends within Ninty
Not to mention even within smash itself she already has her own theme in the warioware stage TWICE (three times across both JP and Worldwide versions) an assist and, now, a costume.Wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't make it into a switch port, but if there's a new Smash title down the line, I'd honestly be a little surprised if she didn't follow the little mac path and graduate to playable.
balladofwindfishes
Member
With their hands out at their side, running on two legs? Like a cartoon penguin.
The anime just seems to solve the problem by making Pichu bipedal
To be honest, random pokemon character (most people thing its Decidueye, but I can see it being what ever Sakurai wants), Wolf, Ice Climbers. New Arms characters, New XBC2 Character.
While I didn't honestly expect Corrin to get in, I still think she had a better chance than Elma just by virtue of being the protag of the latest game in a long-running series that Ninty seemed quite serious about marketing. XCX doesn't feel like it has the same marketing push that FE has in terms of Nintendo's efforts
I'm a huge fire emblem whore, but after Roy got in, I didn't want the backlash for et another Fire Emblem character. Agreed, on the marketing push 2 as well, which is do think random XB2 character has a better chance than Elma.
Geminosity
Member
Yeah, a new XBC2 character does seem a lot more likely (not to mention it'll probably sell better than XCX on switch thanks to a bigger install base than the poor wii-u) Though 'random' is unlikely because of the "protagonist problem" so expect chibi dude, though maybe they'll have it be interesting by making it a team character where the new monado can switch between sword and girl form which changes their moveset or something.
I wasn't counting veterans, but sure, Ice Climbers are right up there with Inkling. I think all of those are reasonable expectations (though I assume you mean either Decidueye or Incineroar, not both, and honest I can't see Incineroar being picked over Decidueye, as much as I love Incineroar).
A large amount of those are characters from minor, inactive franchises that really don't have much chance at all. Xenoblade, on the other hand, is a major, active Nintendo IP, and Shulk only represents the first game. Elma herself doesn't mean that much to Nintendo, but neither do most of the individual Fire Emblem characters, for example.Peléo;237730737 said:
And Tom Nook? Really? Like, if we did get a second Animal Crossing character, it would surely be Isabelle, but why would that even happen anyway? What could a second Animal Crossing character add that Villager doesn't already cover? (And I say this as a diehard Animal Crossing fan; I've been rooting for Villager since before Brawl, and I never understood why people wanted other characters like Tom Nook or K.K. Slider that don't really make much sense in Smash Bros. when we already have Villager.)
I love Ashley, but unfortunately I can't see that happening unless Ashley were to get her own game or something. She's a popular character in the same way that Nikki and Baito are. She'd obviously be the top choice if we were to ever get a second WarioWare character, but the WarioWare franchise has been kind of on the decline, sadly, so I definitely don't see us getting a second character anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, though, I'd love Ashley, but I highly doubt it would happen. Elma at least has the Xenoblade series going for her. Whether or not Sakurai decides to add more Xenoblade representation is the question, but as a bigger, active franchise it makes sense, and hey, it happened for EarthBound/MOTHER of all franchises, so I don't think it's all that unlikely at all.I don't really know what I think of Elma's chances, but I still honestly think that Ashley's increasing appearances is likely to lead to something like being playable eventually. I'm obviously biased but her increasing number of badges in 3DS badge arcade (which continued right up to the last batch), 3 themes for the 3DS that sold incredibly well (the first sold more than all the other themes launched the same month combined) and even the april fool about her having her own game just feel like they must've noticed she has a fanbase and heck, Ko (warioware & rhythm heaven artist) seems to like her a fair bit so I doubt he's not made some comments to friends within Ninty
Wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't make it into a switch port, but if there's a new Smash title down the line, I'd honestly be a little surprised if she didn't follow the little mac path and graduate to playable.
So more or less what I listed, lol. I really do think Elma is far more likely than the XC2 protagonist, since she'll likely be a lot more unique (and bring with her more unique representation from Xenoblade Chronicles X), and if Smash for Switch has already been in development for awhile Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is probably too new to get a character, more so even than ARMS.
Also, there were those rumors about Xenoblade Chronicles X getting a Switch port, which would make a lot of sense... Between that and the inevitable sequel that X set up for, Elma and Xenoblade Chronicles X would certainly be relevant enough to stand out from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, with the added bonus of being more unique since X is more sci-fi than the original and XC2's shared fantasy setting.
Being from a minor or inactive franchise never impeded characters such as Ice Climbers, Marth or Pit to make it. Also important to notice how Smash is an exhibit of Nintendo franchises (a celebration of Nintendo's franchises, as Sakurai once referred to). I am sure Kid Icarus Uprising and Fire Emblem wouldn't be as successful if it wasn't for their appearances in Melee and Brawl. Poor Little Mac was one generation too late for his Wii rebirth though. My point is, Nintendo could use it as a platform for promoting deactivated franchises if they wanted to (Nazo No Murasame, Chibi Robo, Advance Wars or Golden Sun).
I agree Isabelle takes precedence over Tom Nook. Still, why is it a problem to have two characters from one of Nintendo's most successful franchises? We had 3 for Star Fox and 6 for Fire Emblem after all. Yes, Villager already represents the Animal Crossing franchise. But so does Pikachu for Pokemon or Marth for Fire Emblem. Even Shulk for Xenoblade, which slightly impairs your case for Elma. Creating move sets from nothing was also never a problem for Sakurai: we could easily have Beedle X Toadette in Smash 5 if he wanted to.
AnkiRendan
Member
I'm still confused as to why people think Decidueye has more of a chance than Mimikyu...
Geminosity
Member
I don't know if it's really in decline so much as just randomly stopped. I mean, it seems to have been well recieved enough until 'game & wario'
I'm just hoping it doesn't stretch out to an 'f-zero hiatus' :/Using the earthbound example though works for Ashley too: even if you consider warioware a 'dead' franchise, it didn't stop Earthbound getting a second character
Also... holy heck, how did I miss Ashley getting a monster hunter badge?
I wouldn't call Fire Emblem a minor franchise, even back when Marth and Roy were first added to Melee. It wasn't one of their biggest franchises, but it wasn't really minor either, and had a long history to it (albeit Japanese only at the time, but it was still significant). Ice Climbers were specifically chosen to represent classic NES games in general. Similarly, Pit was added a beloved classic character.Peléo;237738621 said:
Some characters on that list may have a chance, I'll admit. Excitebiker or Takamaru are the obvious choices for the next classic NES character (Excitebiker might be too tricky to pull off though, and was already shot down at least once before because of that). But Starfy, Andy, Chibi-Robo, Isaac? They're in that awkward position where they're not old enough to be treated as classics like Ice Climbers, Pit, etc., and they're not active, popular franchises either, so the just don't really fit the bill. There's never really been a franchise like that that got a playable character in Smash, it's either been a major and/or active franchise at the time, or an old yet classic franchise dating back to the NES. I suppose you could make a case for Chibi-Robo with Zip-Lash, but seeing how poorly that sold...I highly doubt it, unfortunately. And being a second-party character doesn't help things either; so far Pokémon, Kirby, and Fire Emblem, are the only second-party franchises in Smash, and those are all much, much more popular than franchises like Chibi-Robo or Advance Wars.
And the problem with a second Animal Crossing character isn't having too many characters for that series, but rather redundancy, lack of uniqueness. I know people throw around the idea that Sakurai can make a move set for anything, and while that may be correct a lot of the time, it's not going to work or be ideal in every situation. Sure, he could make a move set for a second Animal Crossing character. But it would be either a clone of Villager's, or something else that really doesn't make sense. Sakurai already had to get creative to make a move set for Villager, and as a series that really doesn't lend its characters well to a fighting game, that's really all we need.