Switch-era characters in the next Smash

[Perkilator]

What Switch-era characters would you like to see in the next Smash? For me:

• Ring Fit Trainee
• Noah & Mio
• Raven Beak

[Etrurian emperor]

Raven Beak would be a pretty solid pic. He's been a very well received villain, has an imposing design and his bossfight lends itself very well to a Smash base fighting style. I'd definitely be rooting for him. What may hold him back is that he lacks some legacy points. Raven Beak seems very much like a one and done sort of villain that won't return after Dread. This means the excitement about him might die down, and that there's little reason for Smash to pick him over staples of the franchise. 

Noah and Mio definitely should enter together. Having one without the other would be wrong. There'd be some grumbling over yet another ''anime sword boy'' but I think they're a great pic. 

Ganondorf's Tears portrayal might be a solid bet too. It would be a good chance to ditch the Falcondorf version, and him wielding a large variety of weaponry+some magic makes it easy to craft moves for him.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

• Rabbid Peach
• Gooigi Echo fighter
• Oatchi
• Astral Chain Guy (Not sure what name they'd go with here)
• Travis Touchdown and Viola are definitely still stuck on the switch let them come too

[vanguard333]

1. TOTK Ganondorf. As @Etrurian emperor said, it would be a great way to get rid of Falcondorf and TOTK provides a great variety of options for Ganondorf's moveset.

2. Raven Beak (Metroid Dread). Again, same reasons that @Etrurian emperor mentions.

3. Dame Fiorayne (Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak). I imagine most people who want a Monster Hunter fighter would probably want the main hunter to be a fighter in Smash Bros., but since that's a custom character, I think Fiorayne would probably be a better option: she's a fixed character who is fairly well-written and she regularly fights alongside the hunter in story missions. Similarly, it would be cool to see Hinoa & Minoto as an assist trophy.

4. Dana (Ys VIII). If Smash Bros. were to include a character from the Ys series, it would probably be Adol. But Dana is Switch-era and she's far more interesting both as a character and in terms of moveset options.

 

An honourable mention that I don't really want to see in Smash Bros., but I will add here anyway as a way of accepting the inevitable:

Alear (Fire Emblem Engage). Yet another sword-wielding FE lord; they don't even have being a dragon to help them stand out because, frankly, they're not a dragon no matter what the game might say. What they do have is the emblem rings, and, thankfully, there are enough emblem rings of FE characters that aren't already fighters/assist trophies in Smash (Celica, Sigurd, Leif, Erickah, and Micaiah) that those emblems could be enough for Alear to at least somewhat stand out.

[lenticular]

Not exactly a Switch era character, but since she's been more prominent on Switch than she has been in decades, I'm going to say that she counts: Pauline. As one of video gaming's original damsels in distress, I loved getting to see her as a successful and kick-ass woman in her own right in Mario Odyssey, and it would be even better if she got into Smash and finally got to beat up Donkey Kong herself (even if it's canonically not the same Donkey Kong).

And for an "it's never going to happen but I still want it" pick: Madeline from Celeste. Indie games good. LGBTQIA+ characters good. Give me more (read: any) representation for both of them in Smash, please.

And for meme picks, presented without further comment: Gatekeeper. Elephant Mario.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Ya know what? Give us Shez, from Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Alear is the more realistic pic, but I'd much prefer Shez, if we HAVE to have another Switch-era Fire Emblem character. If we're getting a new Zelda rep, sure, Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf could be there...but more likely as an alternate costume, right? Go way out in the left field and give us...Kass.

[King Marth 64]

I have my picks on Switch-era characters that I wanted to see in the next Super Smash Bros. installment are:

1. Alear (They could give him/her the Brawler Combat since the Divine Dragon class let Alear uses Fists and use Emblem rings for boost combat and Final Smash)
2. Noah
3. Ring Fit Trainee
4. Astral Chain Twins (Could use them as Gender Pallette Swaps)
5. Maybe Spring Man if they're going to add a new ARMS rep in.

On 7/9/2023 at 12:32 PM, lenticular said:

Not exactly a Switch era character, but since she's been more prominent on Switch than she has been in decades, I'm going to say that she counts: Pauline. As one of video gaming's original damsels in distress, I loved getting to see her as a successful and kick-ass woman in her own right in Mario Odyssey, and it would be even better if she got into Smash and finally got to beat up Donkey Kong herself (even if it's canonically not the same Donkey Kong).

Technically Pauline isn't counted as a Switch-era character since she was born as the same day as Mario and Donkey Kong. Also, I don't know what Pauline's move set would be like she didn't have much playable appearance in terms of fighting abilities since she did disappear after Donkey Kong '94 and finally returned in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 for all of those years. I think Pauline would be difficult to put in the SSB roster.

Edited July 11, 2023 by King Marth 64

[lenticular]

1 hour ago, King Marth 64 said:

Technically Pauline isn't counted as a Switch-era character since she was born as the same day as Mario and Donkey Kong. Also, I don't know what Pauline's move set would be like she didn't have much playable appearance in terms of fighting abilities since she did disappear after Donkey Kong '94 and finally returned in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 for all of those years. I think Pauline would be difficult to put in the SSB roster.

Yeah, I know she isn't technically a Switch era character, which is why I opened with a disclaimer. It's not as if we're operating under rigid rules and structure here.

As for move set, I can't imagine that would be a sticking point if they decided that they wanted to add her. It's not as if she'd be the first character in Smash where they had to just invent an entire move set from scratch (Captain Falcon, ROB) nor the first who had shown no hints of fighting ability beforehand (Isabel, Wii Fit Trainer). The good folks who make Smash are smart and creative and I would absolutely trust them to figure out a way to make her work.

[Lord_Brand]

Koraidon and Miraidon from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. They were revolutionary as version mascots for the fact you spend most of the game bonding with one as your partner, which gives them a lot more emotional weight than the usual aloof godlike beings you encounter near the end of the story, and their builds and capabilities would work fairly well for player characters. They would also be the first playable legendary Pokemon to be added since Mewtwo.

Their neutral Specials would be their signature attacks, Collision Course and Electro Drift. Their Side Specials would be Sprinting Build and Drive Mode, the forms used when riding them in SV. Their up specials would be Gliding Build and Glide Mode, adapting their ability to glide using wing-like appendages. Their down Specials would be Counter and Mirror Coat, the former of which retaliates against incoming attacks and is especially effective against close-range attacks while the latter of which will reflect projecties.

Koraidon is a mostly physical fighter, using its claws, teeth, and tail to attack. Miraidon conversely is a mostly ranged fighter, using electric shocks and draconic energy to attack from a short distance.

Their victory animations feature Arven, Nemona, and Penny, the three lead NPCs from SV. Arven and Nemona's appearance will change to match the version the respective legendary is from.

Koraidon and Miraidon's shared stage would be Mesogoza, featuring Naranja/Uva Academy in the background. The stage has both Scarlet and Violet versions. Which one appears is determined by whether or not any player is playing Koraidon or Miraidon; if only Koraidon is present in the battle, the stage's Scarlet variant will be used. If only Miraidon is present, the stage's Violet variant will be used. If both or neither are present, the version will be random. Arven, Nemona, and Penny appear among the background characters in this stage, alongside Clavell, the Team Star admins, the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and Geeta. Even Sada or Turo may make an appearance. As with the academy itself, many of the characters' appearances will vary depending on which version of the stage is being used.

Assuming Smash 6 has something akin to Ultimate's Classic mode, Koraidon and Miraidon's final opponents in their respective routes are another Koraidon or Miraidon respectively.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Lord_Brand