Super Smash Bros. Ultimate News and Discussion: A Simple and Clean Finish

[Interdimensional Observer]

I can't really see anyone being playable from something in the SMT-Persona multiverse. Nor anyone from Etrian Odyssey. A Jack Frost assist trophy sure, and maybe some normal trophies for the rest. Persona has with the exception of PQ never been on a Nintendo system. Doesn't help that barring the Demi-Fiend, all of the SMT main protags are practically boring near-carbon copies visually, in gameplay, and character-wise, and even the Demi-Fiend is a dull silent male. 

Although, were we to get the Demi-Fiend, who is gameplay-wise the most interesting of the bunch, he wouldn't be anything too crazy I think. Probably would use at least his Down Special as a demon summon for attacking, maybe a Pixie. Your standard punches for the tilts, the rest of the specials and smashes could take advantage of his large spell and physical attack lineup. Freikugel, Divine Shot, Deathbound, Deadly Fury, Gaea Rage, Tornado, Fire/Ice Breath, Prominence, Elecstorm, Glacial Blast, Magma Axis, Tornado, Wind Cutter, Megidoloan.

So yeah, I do think the Demi-Fiend has some potential offensively, maybe go for a frail glass cannon approach with him, but nothing too unique nor fun. I'd like Serph more actually, since he has his avatar form of Varuna, but that is an impossibility.

 

I would like a Yggdrasil Labyrinth stage, but the problem is that it'd be certain to be just a lush green forest like all the 1st Stratums. That is boring, and I'd like some of the more interesting, not-5th & 6th Stratums to show up in it. I'll settle with just a composition or two, The End of Raging Winds/Waves being my first pick.

[The DanMan]

58 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

C'mon guys. Shoe in for an atlus rep is Jack Frost. Company Mascot, isn't some generic anime with a sword so he's easy to animate and build a unique moveset for, Appears in more games than the average smasher even if he was the protagonist of very few. Jack Frost is the protagonist of a game on the Virtual Boy. So get out of here with your "this guy cameod on this game for the 3DS" nonsense.

Not sure if they do any Atlus character as the second "Sega rep" though (third if you count Bayonetta as Sega but we shouldn't anymore). Ryo Hazuki, A virtua fighter character. Alex Kidd. Kazuma Kiryu is very well known right now. Maaaaybe another Sonic character since I think we're out of the days where Sega puts all of their eggs into that one franchise. Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe. Skate from Streets of Rage. The taxi from Crazy Taxi. Sakura from Sakura Wars. Ulala from Space Channel 5. Only when we're this far down would I start thinking of SMT/Persona. And my top tier picks from those franchises are Jack Frost, Morgana, Teddie, and Joker in that order.

Because Black Mage/Chocobo/Moogle are a shoe-in for SE as Final Fantasy mascots. And "easier to animate" doesn't really factor in; the two big things are (a) Nintendo has to ask to use the character and (b) Atlus has to accept. Something that's worth noting; in an interview Sakurai actually said that SE was surprised when they asked for Cloud (there's varied implications there).
Persona is the biggest name Atlus has and, at this point, the most relevant series under Sega's domain outside of Sonic (what with its myriad of spinoffs and 5 selling about 2.5 million). We get something else from Sega in Smash, and it's either more Sonic or a Persona character. 

And why shouldn't we count Bayonetta as a Sega character? Sega owns the development team/studio (Platinum Games) and the rights to her; Nintendo just helped fund the development of 2 and has the publication rights for the time being (with likely a similar deal for 3). She's still owned and developed by a 3rd party company that can do other things with her (heck, the original Bayonetta got a PC port after 2 was released). 

EDIT: To be perfectly clear, I have nothing against you wanting those characters.
But the series you listed are mostly retro and far from the spotlight, with Yakuza, while still ongoing, never being on a Nintendo platform and its most recent title only recently nearing 1 million in sales (around the time Persona 5 was cracking 2 million).
Cloud and Bayonetta showed that marketability and hype are major factor for 3rd party newcomers now (Bayonetta 2 had a re-print to coincide with her release as DLC, and to quote Sakurai himself "Cloud was the only option"). I may be proven wrong, but I'll be very surprised if any 3rd party newcomer at base or in DLC is "retro" (a Castlevania character wouldn't really count to me, as the series was ongoing since its inception unti 2014, with the recent Netflix animated series renewing interest in it) or not somebody from a marketable series in this day and age (I'd expect Leon or Monster Hunter long before Phoenix Wright or Amaterasu, for instance).

Sorry if I'm coming off as a bit heated. I very well could be wrong; those are just the connections and conclusions I've drawn.

Edited August 6, 2018 by The DanMan

[Jotari]

41 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I can't really see anyone being playable from something in the SMT-Persona multiverse. Nor anyone from Etrian Odyssey. A Jack Frost assist trophy sure, and maybe some normal trophies for the rest. Persona has with the exception of PQ never been on a Nintendo system. Doesn't help that barring the Demi-Fiend, all of the SMT main protags are practically boring near-carbon copies visually, in gameplay, and character-wise, and even the Demi-Fiend is a dull silent male. 

Although, were we to get the Demi-Fiend, who is gameplay-wise the most interesting of the bunch, he wouldn't be anything too crazy I think. Probably would use at least his Down Special as a demon summon for attacking, maybe a Pixie. Your standard punches for the tilts, the rest of the specials and smashes could take advantage of his large spell and physical attack lineup. Freikugel, Divine Shot, Deathbound, Deadly Fury, Gaea Rage, Tornado, Fire/Ice Breath, Prominence, Elecstorm, Glacial Blast, Magma Axis, Tornado, Wind Cutter, Megidoloan.

So yeah, I do think the Demi-Fiend has some potential offensively, maybe go for a frail glass cannon approach with him, but nothing too unique nor fun. I'd like Serph more actually, since he has his avatar form of Varuna, but that is an impossibility.

 

I would like a Yggdrasil Labyrinth stage, but the problem is that it'd be certain to be just a lush green forest like all the 1st Stratums. That is boring, and I'd like some of the more interesting, not-5th & 6th Stratums to show up in it. I'll settle with just a composition or two, The End of Raging Winds/Waves being my first pick.

Metal Gear has never really been a Nintendo series either though, so anything's possible. If we are talking Nintendo connections though, I think Trauma Center is by and large the most closely tied, and would stray into the so bizarre it could work territory. Unfortunately that particularly series has been dead for quite a while now as far as I know.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Jotari

[Jedi]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I can't really see anyone being playable from something in the SMT-Persona multiverse. Nor anyone from Etrian Odyssey. A Jack Frost assist trophy sure, and maybe some normal trophies for the rest. Persona has with the exception of PQ never been on a Nintendo system. Doesn't help that barring the Demi-Fiend, all of the SMT main protags are practically boring near-carbon copies visually, in gameplay, and character-wise, and even the Demi-Fiend is a dull silent male. 

Except they're not, SMT1 and 2s protagonists have very different histories, and how they handle certain situations builds on them having unique personailities.

Flynn as well and there's also the SMT4A protagonist DLC which shows all of their varying styles and personalities at work.

its very clear with this statement you've only actually played SMT3

[Interdimensional Observer]

39 minutes ago, Jedi said:

Except they're not, SMT1 and 2s protagonists have very different histories, and how they handle certain situations builds on them having unique personailities.

Flynn as well and there's also the SMT4A protagonist DLC which shows all of their varying styles and personalities at work.

its very clear with this statement you've only actually played SMT3

I've played SMT I iOS, Nocturne, Devil Survivor 1 and 2, IV, have IV: Apo, is ~halfway through SJ, has played ~2/3 of Raidou Sluggish-Kuzunoha (seriously, I can't finish it with how rigid Raidou is, and how boring he and the plot are) vs. the Soulless Army, Soul Hackers, and the DDS duology.

On the surface level, they look fairly similar, clothing and hair aside, they all fit a general cool young male appearance, and all are silent. Barring the Demi-Fiend use Swords and Guns, and a Comp. Plus magic for the IV duo, plus magic and minus Sword and Gun for the Devil Survivor duo (so they're in the same grouping as the Demi Fiend). 

Admittedly, I haven't played II (I'd be willing to though), nor IV Apo yet, or the original Megami Tenseis. Yet I can't see any personality differences inherent in I's and IV's for instance, they let things happen to them and just go with the flow, save for whatever decisions you make.

And I am fully aware that II's protag is a test tube creation who is suggested to be reincarnated in the one guy in III. And that, like DS1's protag, is a very unique background. But unless offered evidence that Aleph displays signs of acting like his III reincarnation in II, I wouldn't quite use the incarnation as suggestive of his actual personality.

My point is that on the surface, they're the same male silent treatment Atlus recycles endlessly. Maybe dig into them and they're somewhat different, and I can't speak for the Persona MCs since I haven't played those (although Atlus seems to do a better job of differentiating them), but I'm only concerned superficially here, since superficiality would be part of determining appeal in Smash.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Interdimensional Observer

[Captain Karnage]

I'm getting a little worried about Sakurai, seems like he's exhausting himself on the project

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

5 hours ago, The DanMan said:

Sorry if I'm coming off as a bit heated. I very well could be wrong; those are just the connections and conclusions I've drawn.

Yeah, sorry for suggesting mascots for a mascot fighter.

You should read up on the development of..really any smash bros. game. Reused models and animations have influenced character additions since the first game. 

2 hours ago, Captain Karnage said:

I'm getting a little worried about Sakurai, seems like he's exhausting himself on the project

Sakurai showing up in the Direct itself? He spoils us! I hope he's wearing red to match his bloodshot eyes.

[The DanMan]

1 hour ago, Glennstavos said:

Yeah, sorry for suggesting mascots for a mascot fighter.

You should read up on the development of..really any smash bros. game. Reused models and animations have influenced character additions since the first game. 

3 hours ago, Captain Karnage said:

So... you address basically none of my argument and just come back with a snippy remark.

Spoiler tagging this due to length:

 

I'll address the last bit first: I'm well aware of stuff like Little Mac sharing bits with Captain Falcon, and stuff like Corrin and Cloud seemingly having an Ike base and Bayonetta a ZSS one. Nothing's stopping them from, say, making Yu out of Marth (with the extra Persona model popping out for a few frames during specials); I'd like you to point me to a single instance where a character has been excluded due to animation difficulties (which seems to be what you're implying).

I believe "mascot fighter" is something people themselves have applied to it and not something Nintendo's officially called it. And either way, Nintendo got almost all of their notable "mascots" added in Melee (which, funnily enough, almost had Snake and Sonic-- only being excluded to development stresses/being too late additions). Persona/SMT is far more of a mascot series for Sega right now than:
>A platformer character who hasn't had a game in nearly 3 decades
>A fighting game series that had its last major console release in 2006, with it largely rotting in Japanese arcades ever since (I shouldn't say "rotting"; it got an update 3 years or so ago)
>A niche action game series that's never been on Nintendo hardware and, even with the backing of Sony, had to have a kickstarter held to get the 3rd and final game greenlighted (which has been delayed at least once)
>A beat-em up series from the early 90s that's only had digital re-releases since
>A fantasy beat-em up series from the early 90's that's only had digital re-releases since, though it tried to revive itself with an uber gritty and uber panned installment in 2008
>A taxi-themed racing game that's been swamped with mediocre releases since the mid-2000s, with its most recent title being a mobile game with a ton of male fanservice
>An oddball rhythm game series that hasn't had a game since 2011, with a VR title announced 2 years ago that seems to be sitting comfortably in development hell
>And an SRPG/dating sim hybrid with only a single title localized, which was it's latest release-- a decade ago (though they did recently announce a new one, and the presence of joblistings for people with Xbox development experience would seem to suggest it will be localized)

Sega has a habit of dropping franchises and never doing anything with them, especially the past decade where nothing but Sonic was relevant on a global scale (Valkyria Chronicles kinda defied that, though 3 ended up Japan exclusive and the only notable thing about series' sales is 1's evergreen nature and re-release-- 4 only sold about 60k in Japan and I'll be surprised if it does much more than a million globally).

Smash doesn't have any true "retro" 3rd party characters-- Pac-Man is iconic of videogames as a whole with continued relevance, while Mega Man and Sonic have ongoing franchises that have continued to this day (even when Mega Man was on hiatus it still cranked out the merchandise and was oft-talked about). And as I said, even Simon Belmont wouldn't be much of a "retro" character due to Castlevania having had a release as early as 2014, plus it's overall legacy and the Netflix series gaining a fair bit of attention lately.

I'll drag Bayonetta into this: either stance you hold on her, she spells out things about 3rd parties and Smash in general.
Either:
(A) Nintendo largely ignored the Ballot and picked her for the sake of WTF factor and marketability (again, worth nothing that 2 got a re-stock to coincide with her release as DLC in Smash 4)
Or:
(B) She legitimately won the ballot and Smash's main fandom (the people who play semi-regularly and would buy DLC/the ones who'd actually vote) voted for her, showing their preference for a "cool" character over any other first or third party mascot/icon/what have you.

And with Corrin added into the mix, being the result of resources specifically reserved to work on a character to market an upcoming game, the final DLC paints a picture of recent Smash newcomers: "cool" characters that market Nintendo's own games and/or have a WTF factor to them (I think it's very, very safe to say that the 3rd party DLC characters drew far more hype/attention and overall money towards Nintendo's pockets than any of the 1st parties).

Now, look at Ultimate: we have Daisy as a low-effort clone/Echo character, Inkling from Nintendo's most successful new franchise this century (over 10 million sales in only 2 installments), and Ridley-- a highly requested character since the days of Melee who nobody expected would get in. Ultimate also has stuff like a hazard toggle, which was even explicitly shot down in the past while also catering more towards the competitive community with changes promoting a more offensive playstyle and stuff like the aforementioned hazard toggle and Battlefield forms for stages.

Ultimate will go with what's most marketable, be it a neglected character that's had a massive cult following (Geno, K.Rool), more recent first party additions that would serve to market their own games (a Xenoblade or Gen VII Pokemon character), or kickass 3rd parties that bring the surprise factor and catch headlines (almost certainly Tekken and/or Tales for Namco over... whatever else they have, stuff like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter for Capcom long before the likes of Phoenix Wright or Amaterasu; heck, what with PXZ covering the "must have appeared on Nintendo hardware" bit, even Dante has a decent chance-- I mean, he's a recognizable "cool"/"edgy" character who's also become a meme that nobody expects to get in and oh wait that's sounding a bit familiar).

I'm 99% certain Ultimate will not go with obscure 3rd party characters from games that haven't had a notable release in over a decade or two (or nearly three, in Alex Kidd's case)-- or are straight up stuff virtually nobody cares about (Space Channel 5).

I very well could be wrong, but that's how I see it. Anything to say?

Edited August 6, 2018 by The DanMan

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, The DanMan said:

almost certainly Tekken and/or Tales for Namco

Tekken would obviously be Heihachi, ideally with young and old costumes. Tales however lacks a single consistent main character, which begs the question who would get in. Yuri Lowell appears in a number of crossovers and seems quite popular. Yet Lloyd Irving, who originally debuted on the Gamecube and with ToS is the FFVII-esque breakout title of the franchise, would be another imaginable pick, and Smash 4 even had a costume of him as DLC. Yuri or Lloyd, hmm... either way, they'd get a similar set of classic Tales sword artes.

2 hours ago, The DanMan said:

or Amaterasu

Helps they appeared in a Vs. Capcom fighting game right? They just have to translate this and anything else they want from Okami (which really could use a sequel) into a Smash moveset. But yep, this is just a dream.

 

2 hours ago, The DanMan said:

>A taxi-themed racing game that's been swamped with mediocre releases since the mid-2000s, with its most recent title being a mobile game with a ton of male fanservice

Uh, what? As in fanservice of males, for females? Or do you mean the much more boring and ordinary thing of fanservice for males, of females?

 

2 hours ago, The DanMan said:

Smash doesn't have any true "retro" 3rd party characters-- Pac-Man is iconic of videogames as a whole with continued relevance,

I'd consider Pac-Man retro, what was the last real standout game he has had? He is retro, just not niche like Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B., Duck Hunt, Little Mac (partly), and Pit (used to be).

You do have a point though. Sega's "retro" lineup is weak, and only reappears as retro references, not unsurprisingly, in Sega produced games, because the company is creating its own sense of nostalgia not actually extent amongst most gamers. Much like how Bacuras from Xevious keep reappearing in Tales games, and nobody would say Xevious is an all-time classic.

 

4 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

9 hours ago, The DanMan said:

 

Yeah, sorry for suggesting mascots for a mascot fighter.

You should read up on the development of..really any smash bros. game. Reused models and animations have influenced character additions since the first game. 

If Jack Frost by some stretch of the imagination got in, thinking on his form, a big head on a humanoid body, I'd be inclined to imagine Ness or Lucas would be used as their mother model.

Jack Frost by himself is rather dull, being just a little ice fairy, you'd have to somehow bring in most or the entire Frost/Jack family to make him more interesting. Pyro Jack, Black Frost, King Frost, Frost Ace, Demoneeho, Lucifroz, maybe Raiho.

[The DanMan]

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Uh, what? As in fanservice of males, for females? Or do you mean the much more boring and ordinary thing of fanservice for males, of females?

Fanservicey male characters.
The joke I saw when it was revealed on Neogaf was that it was clearly pandering to woman/gay men because there were virtually no female drivers in sight and the male ones looked like this:

4 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I'd consider Pac-Man retro, what was the last real standout game he has had? He is retro, just not niche like Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B., Duck Hunt, Little Mac (partly), and Pit (used to be).

You do have a point though. Sega's "retro" lineup is weak, and only reappears as retro references, not unsurprisingly, in Sega produced games, because the company is creating its own sense of nostalgia not actually extent amongst most gamers. Much like how Bacuras from Xevious keep reappearing in Tales games, and nobody would say Xevious is an all-time classic.

Pac-Man is the closest, but he's also timeless/the most iconic videogame character ever and had so much done with him over the years in other genres (the Ghostly Adventures multi-media deal was going on during Smash 4's development, with people scared he'd be based on that); it's not like say, Ice Climbers (or Pit during Brawl), where there was a single game back in the NES days that people hardly remembered. Little Mac at least some relation to pop culture due to the Mike Tyson name on the first Punch Out + having the Wii game in 2008.

And yeah; Sega in general has a bad habit of killing off franchises/leaving them dormant for extended periods of time; until recently, they've basically just gone with Sonic globally and PSO2 in Japan..

[Interdimensional Observer]

37 minutes ago, The DanMan said:

Pac-Man is the closest, but he's also timeless/the most iconic videogame character ever and had so much done with him over the years in other genres (the Ghostly Adventures multi-media deal was going on during Smash 4's development, with people scared he'd be based on that); it's not like say, Ice Climbers (or Pit during Brawl), where there was a single game back in the NES days that people hardly remembered. Little Mac at least some relation to pop culture due to the Mike Tyson name on the first Punch Out + having the Wii game in 2008.

 

Just in case you misunderstood me, and I'm not sure if you did or not, "he is retro, just not niche like..." was excluding Pac from those named thereafter.

Nobody really remembered the Ice Climbers until Melee rather randomly included them, ROB and G&W has faired somewhat better, but still barely so, and only by Nintendo itself.

Pac Man is retro but indeed has achieved timelessness as you say (unlike the others), and has never been forgotten inside, and more importantly outside, of Namco. Being retro is an inherent part of what makes him memorable as well in the minds that compose the general mass, much more so than Mario and Sonic.

 

...And as a side note, I feel Wii Fit Trainer is like an Ice Climber/Mr. G&W/ROB, albeit much much younger in age. WFT has no staying power in terms being from a "living series" since there has been no sequels to Wii Fit since then, but they're staying in as something of a historical artifact a "new retro" character. They represent the DS-Wii effort of Nintendo, through things like Wii Sports, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Wii Fit, to daringly expand into the non-gamer audience. This plan might have failed to be sustainable in retrospect, but it was a curious zeitgeist, and Wii Fit Trainer is representative of it.

 

And as for Sakurai being in ill health, is it the sheer demands Smash puts on him? Or could he do less, but deep love and profound passion for his work leads him into working himself hazardously? Or both of course? This isn't the first time he's been like this, as early as Melee I think he spoke of such happening. So I think it must be said he probably just can't help but throw himself into the smashpit of his own detriment.

[The DanMan]

6 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Just in case you misunderstood me, and I'm not sure if you did or not, "he is retro, just not niche like..." was excluding Pac from those named thereafter.

Nobody really remembered the Ice Climbers until Melee rather randomly included them, ROB and G&W has faired somewhat better, but still barely so, and only by Nintendo itself.

Pac Man is retro but indeed has achieved timelessness as you say (unlike the others), and has never been forgotten inside, and more importantly outside, of Namco. Being retro is an inherent part of what makes him memorable as well in the minds that compose the general mass, much more so than Mario and Sonic.

 

...And as a side note, I feel Wii Fit Trainer is like an Ice Climber/Mr. G&W/ROB, albeit much much younger in age. WFT has no staying power in terms being from a "living series" since there has been no sequels to Wii Fit since then, but they're staying in as something of a historical artifact a "new retro" character. They represent the DS-Wii effort of Nintendo, through things like Wii Sports, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Wii Fit, to daringly expand into the non-gamer audience. This plan might have failed to be sustainable in retrospect, but it was a curious zeitgeist, and Wii Fit Trainer is representative of it.

 

And as for Sakurai being in ill health, is it the sheer demands Smash puts on him? Or could he do less, but deep love and profound passion for his work leads him into working himself hazardously? Or both of course? This isn't the first time he's been like this, as early as Melee I think he spoke of such happening. So I think it must be said he probably just can't help but throw himself into the smashpit of his own detriment.

I don't think I was disagreeing with you; I meant he was the closest to being "retro" due to how old he is. Should probably have made that clearer, sorry.

Wii Fit itself does kinda symbolizes the Wii in a way; Miis have "transcended" it and become Nintendo mascots (though not utilized as much as they were in the Wii days).

I think it's a mixture of overall game development stress/pressure and genuine perfectionism/passion on his part.

[Anomalocaris]

11 hours ago, Captain Karnage said:

I'm getting a little worried about Sakurai, seems like he's exhausting himself on the project

 

Are his eyes really red from tiredness... or 'cause he's been hittin' that dank swank kush!? Would make for an interesting Direct.

Edited August 7, 2018 by Anomalocaris

[thecrimsonflash]

2 hours ago, Anomalocaris said:

Are his eyes really red from tiredness... or 'cause he's been hittin' that dank swank kush!? Would make for an interesting Direct.

holy crap, knowing how out there sakurai can be when he is sober, only makes me fear the thought of him under the influence, though that is a good way to announce excitebike as a new fighter.

[Jotari]

33 minutes ago, thecrimsonflash said:

holy crap, knowing how out there sakurai can be when he is sober, only makes me fear the thought of him under the influence, though that is a good way to announce excitebike as a new fighter.

How certain can you be that we've ever even seen Sakurai sober?

[ZeManaphy]

What time is the direct again?

Also, am I the only one who finds it werid that Lunala shares the same cry with Giratina from the anime?

[Dai]

7 a.m. pt. So, from right about now, twenty-two and a half hours, I believe?

[Jedi]

My predictions, as wildly wrong as they may be.

this direct will reveal some modes, focus on some stages.

Two character reveals, a new one and an Echo.

my guesses for who those could be range from.

Simon Belmont, K Rool, Heihachi, Ashley or a Gen 7 Pokemon.

Echo guesses are Dark Samus, Chrom, Shadow the Hedgehog, Isabelle, Impa or Ken

[Ercdouken]

I'm expecting Ashley at least, and maybe one echo character. If we get another newcomer, maybe Heihachi?

My crazy prediction: Lana from Hyrule Warriors

[Jedi]

7 minutes ago, Ercdouken said:

I'm expecting Ashley at least, and maybe one echo character. If we get another newcomer, maybe Heihachi?

My crazy prediction: Lana from Hyrule Warriors

My crazy prediction is Fjorm.

[Captain Karnage]

Isaac from golden sun is my wild guess

[Lightchao42]

The Direct will be thirty seconds long and Sakurai will have this to say:

"Hello. Today we are happy to announce Jeanne as an Echo Fighter of Bayonetta. She will play exactly as Bayonetta did in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Have a nice day!"

But since this is being promoted as a Direct, I think we will get a good deal of new information. New stages, game modes, and one or two new characters is my guess. I don't know who to expect for newcomers because Inkling was the only obvious one.

[Dai]

You know, maybe they'll throw in Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden. That'd be something.

Still hoping for Simon Belmont, though.

[Jedi]

18 minutes ago, Dai said:

You know, maybe they'll throw in Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden. That'd be something.

Still hoping for Simon Belmont, though.

I'd love Hayabusa but I don't see it as particularly likely.

He doesn't have the broad appeal other 3rd party characters do.

[Dai]

2 minutes ago, Jedi said:

I'd love Hayabusa but I don't see it as particularly likely.

He doesn't have the broad appeal other 3rd party characters do.

Perhaps not, but he probably wouldn't be the strangest character they've added to this series.