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SG Choice: 2 Characters for Smash Switch

pick-2The rumours for the next Smash Bros. game are heading in to full throttle. With one of the more pertinent rumours indicating a limited number of new characters, as low as two, being included in the heavily rumoured port for the Switch.

Baring these rumours in mind, the team lays out there predictions should this rumour come to fruition.

ConnorEatsPants
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Ice Climbers and Inkling.
Ice Climbers have already been
stated by Sakurai as to have existed. This, I feel, puts them in a much better place than most. They were cut due to 3DS limitations. Smash Bros. on Switch should be able to capitalize where the 3DS couldn’t which would mean Ice Climbers. We don’t know how far into development Icies got, but we can assume it was pretty far since Sakurai more or less felt comfortable mentioning them in a column, pre-release. Maybe meaning he thought he would have been able to make them work, thus implying there’s likely a lot of work on these characters done. Inkling is a newcomer pick for me as I feel 2 veterans alone cannot sell to the casual Smash fan. Inkling makes the most sense for any newcomer due to being Nintendo’s most popular new IP in years and having a new game releasing on the Switch as well.

PushDustIn
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I essentially agree with everything ConnerEatsPants has said.

SmashChu
Ice Climbers and Rhythm Heaven Characters
Before looking at the characters, we should ask ourselves: why only two? The point of a port of Super Smash Bros is not to be a killer app. Ports tend to do worse than the original game. Re-releases of Super Mario 64, Starfox 64, The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker have all performed worse than the original game. Super Smash Bros for Wii U has sold 4.99 million. We can expect that the port will sell less than that.

So if the port is not going to be a hit title, so why make a port in the first place? Its intended to act as a substitute to backward compatibility. Backwards compatibility is expensive as the system has to have old hardware within the new hardware. The PS4 showed you don’t need backwards compatibility if you can do the same “good enough.” That’s where ports come in. A port of Super Smash Bros is simply having the game on the new console. And, of course, the game should be easy to port. Since this game won’t have huge sales, you also don’t want to spend a lot of time on it.

So that’s where we get to these characters. They were already planned for Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. Ice Climbers were originally cut due to limitations with the Nintendo 3DS. Data Mining also revealed that that a Rhythm Heaven character was planned for the game at an early stage in development. With these characters already being designed and perhaps even partially implemented into the game, they make the most sense for a game that is not a significant leap from the Wii U version.

nantenjex
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Dixie Kong & Chorus Kids
So while I think we will get more than two new characters overall if I only had to pick two I would rather have two new characters rather than veterans. A lot of people think the Ice Climbers are obvious but there are also people who think Wolf is obvious. That would be two veterans and honestly I think newcomers would be better (unless they are bringing back all the veterans, then I would not mind). So which newcomers? Well it really depends if Sakurai is back or not. As we don’t know at this point in time I decided to assume Sakurai would not be back and so any new content would have to be something he had worked on and just didn’t make it. The two characters that are the most likely for this position are Dixie Kong and Chorus Kids.

We know Dixie Kong was worked on in Brawl and even has a moveset made up for her that they can use. As for Chorus Kids, while we don’t know for sure that they were worked on, they appeared in the Gematsu rumour alongside every other character we know was planned and there is evidence of a Rhythm Heaven series logo in the character data of the game. So if it’s not Chorus Kids at the least Tibiri, Karate Joe or another main character from the Rhythm Heaven series.

LIQUID12A
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Inklings & Ice Climbers
If we’re only getting two characters in a Smash Switch, Inklings are the only newcomer that I’m entirely willing to give a space to in a prediction, biases aside, given how high profile Splatoon is right now and the amount of excitement they would bring relative to other newcomers. And the second character goes to Ice Climbers for reasons Connor already stated, so it’s not worth repeating.


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Inklings & Popular 3rd Party.
While I agree wholeheartedly with the Ice Climbers theory I don’t think it quite stands if we have such a limited number of new characters. I also think that their status as veterans would hurt their chances. If you’re going to add new content to push a port, then rehashing the past isn’t the best way to do it. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a pretty good example of this, as of the 12 new characters added, only 1 was a cut veteran.

Inklings have been covered extensively by the other team members, so I’ll just focus on explaining my 3rd Party pick. 3rd Parties have been given an increasingly large showcase as Smash has progressed. And it’s not just Smash. Fighting games in general have been increasing their focus on guest characters because of the interest they accumulate. Freddy Krueger was the best selling Mortal Kombat 9 DLC character, and Scorpion was the best selling Injustice DLC character. Looking at the latest Smash; 3 out of the 7 DLC characters were 3rd Parties. This is no coincidence. 3rd Party characters drum up a huge amount of buzz, good or bad. They have the potential to bring in new sets of fans who would otherwise be uninterested. For lack of a more obvious, or plausible candidate my vote goes to Rayman.

voyager

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Inklings and Ice Climbers
I agree with the guys about this two options as the most viable ones, with Wolf as a wildcard for the second spot if Smash for Switch ended up as compatible with Smash for WiiU/3DS. I would preffer more than 2 characters for the port, but the DLC door has been open since Mewtwo, so we could get the Inklings and the Ice Climbers on the Disc among the rest of the cast, with the option of adding more characters later, even new 3rd party ones.

Who do you think will be in the next Smash game? Let us know in the comments section!

24 comments
  1. Mmm… I don’t think Inklings are likely this time around. Not because they couldn’t work, but because I feel like they’d save them for a new Smash Bros game. I mean, even if Smash Switch will possibly sell more than the Wii U version on the grounds that it’s not on the Wii U, I don’t think it’d be because they add Inklings. They need to have *some* new characters for Smash 5 at the very least. I won’t be unhappy if they’re wrong, of course, Inklings are cool as hell. I just think they’ll save big name newcomers for the future.

    My prediction is cynical- two more Fire Emblem characters! …okay, just kidding, but I really would hate to be right about that because I friggin’ could be. I’ll say Ice Climbers and… Dixie Kong. I’d say the DK series is well overdue for another character, even just a semi-clone of Diddy. I’d probably main Dixie, to be honest. I could also see a new Zelda rep (Midna+Wolf Link maybe?) what with Breath of the Wild being as big as it is.

    Amber on December 11 |
  2. I think Ice Climbers and Snake. Ice Climbers for reasons stated. I can’t picture Switch not being able to handle them. Snake because of the shock factor of Konami making the smartest decision they’ve made in nearly 2 years.

    Any case applied to Inkling now could have been applied to them with DLC but Corrin still got picked.

    haruhisailormars on December 11 |
    • On the contrary, Splatoon felt like it hit just a little early to make it a viable candidate for DLC. A little later, and there are good odds we’d have gotten an Inkling instead of Corrin. Also, I feel that they might not have wanted to have an advertisement character for a franchise they really didn’t know how well it would do yet.

      The difference here is that with the port/sequel coming out on the Switch, they are in the prime position for an advertisement character slot, with the added perk that Nintendo now knows that everyone loves them and would not feel offended by their inclusion like many were with Corrin.

      At least, that’s my take on it. They seem more likely now than they ever did for DLC in my opinion.

      Anime9001 on December 11 |
      • They are just as likely as they were for DLC. I think being an updated port they would hold Inkling off for something bigger and focus on the veterans this time. People are still outraged by Wolf. Putting Inkling in this just seems off to me as it seems to be pushing this small expansion as more than it actually is but time will tell who is wrong or right.

        haruhisailormars on December 12 |
  3. Ice Climbers are required. They have to come back. I will be SO pissed off if there’s new characters and not a single one of them is Popo and Nana.

    Peridot Gem on December 11 |
  4. If anything, this shows just how limiting it’d be if they only brought in two more characters.

    delzethin on December 11 |
  5. Most of us here in the Smash community say that 2 characters is too low. I think we might be getting a little more than that for the Switch version of Smash 4. And I think when the rumor said that there wouldn’t be many additions from previous games, They actually meant that we might get 2 veterans. You don’t have to agree with me but that’s what I think. But if we do 2 new characters and that’s it, I’ll pick Wolf and King.K Rool. (Sorry Ice Climbers.)

    Ryan Hines-Kazama on December 11 |
    • And my bad for forgetting the word Get in this comment*

      Ryan Hines-Kazama on December 11 |
  6. It’s not going to be 2. Would you pay $60 for two new characters?

    backup368 on December 11 |
    • Technically it would be 9 new characters, assuming the DLC fighters are included.

      Anonymous SG Fan on December 11 |
      • Then “No thanks, I’m pretty much fine with just the Wii-U or 3DS version.”

        backup368 on December 12 |
        • That was always an option.

          anonymous SG fan on December 12 |
    • Yes because I’m paying for a Smash Bros with those fancy HD visuals and Smash Run on the go. Not just for a few extra characters.

      haruhisailormars on December 12 |
      • Ultimate MVC 3 had 12 new characters, & the 2 characters that were DLC from the original game you still had to purchase if you didn’t already.

        backup368 on December 12 |
        • My point is there is more to the game than just characters. You are so focused on characters that you haven’t bothered to consider what else could be there if this actually happens. I want the Fourside music back so if the level isn’t in I can make it myself.

          haruhisailormars on December 12 |
          • Ultimate MVC 3 had a bunch of new game modes as well.

            backup368 on December 13 |
  7. As I stated before, I believe the Ice Climbers are getting in 100% as long as we are getting at least one new character. Past that, I have to give the odds for the second character to Inkling as well. I would be MUCH more confident with calling the Inklings even with just 3 characters being added, since Sakurai can be really random at times and having a slot for Sakurai’s randomness would make the obvious picks less likely to randomly not show up, but…..you still have to predict the obvious picks.

    If it’s not Inkling, then I’d say K Rool as a ballot choice or a third party for promotion reasons as Anvil pointed out. Heavily favoring Inklings for the second spot still, but those are what I could see taking the spot out from under them.

    Anime9001 on December 11 |
  8. I’m in the camp that the Smash Wii U “port” could very well be the Switch’s sole Smash game. Just like the Wii U and 3DS games got DLC to prolong their lifespan, a port for Switch could be that on a greater scale. A constant flow of new fighters and content on top of the massive amount packed into Smash for Wii U would be the ultimate Smash experience, and a revamp to the series and its engine is not necessary with the latest entry’s tight controls – if anything, it would just limit the amount of content that could be brought over. If Smash for Wii U is ported to Switch, an entirely new game with a different engine becomes redundant when Nintendo could simply use Smash for Switch as a platform to add DLC to.

    This is the main reason why I see the Ice Climbers and Inkling as the most likely pair of candidates if there are going to be two added characters from the get-go. Ice Climbers get in on the basis of being a crowd-pleaser, as well as the fact that they got quite far into development before being cut for technical reasons. Inkling is the most likely newcomer for a Smash game period at this point, and given the previous paragraph, they would not need to be saved for the Switch’s “real” Smash game. Splatoon is obviously incredibly popular, and Inkling would be a great way to get people hooked on the Switch, its flagship Smash game, and the steady stream of DLC content that Nintendo will be adding to the game.

    Munomario777 on December 11 |
  9. Ice Climbers are not newcomers, they’re Veterans.

    Anyway, two newcomers? Ridley from Metroid and Isaac from Golden Sun.

    Matt Bankey on December 11 |
    • Adding to that, I’d like a Rhythm Heaven character as well. I’d prefer Marshal from Rhythm Heaven Fever, because his basic look can invoke a surprising amount of variety, though given that Tibby’s the mascot of the latest Rhythm Heaven game, he’ll probably get picked, if there is any Rhythm Heaven representation. I, for one, would like Tibby to be the main character, but for Marshal, Miss Ribbon, Cam, a Chorus Kid, and the Samurai Drummer from the first Rhythm Heaven game to all be alternate costumes for Tibby. Wouldn’t that be neat?

      Matt Bankey on December 11 |
  10. Only two characters may not be satisfying as we all predict there might be at least five, but I think only two characters might be possible. I’ve discussed this rumor with my friend in Japan through chat, and according to my friend, he did remember Sakurai said that adding too many characters may lose the surprise and gratitude of that character’s inclusion. It seemed that Sakurai said that through the Final Smash Direct, but I don’t know. And in his opinion, possibly adding too many characters might end up making more clones instead, if their mechanics doesn’t follow up the system right. If that’s the case, then I think only two characters does make sense to avoid those problems. But we’re not quite sure yet since its still a rumor, which we can’t trust anything from it yet until the officials says something about it.

    But for the two possible characters, here’s how I think it’s gonna work. First of all, we know they can’t turn any characters who became Assist Trophies, Pokeball Pokemon, Stage Bosses, and background characters into fighters; so Waluigi and Ridley fans, give it up and wait for the new Smash instead. And my choices…although I’ve already explained it before, it’ll be the Ice Climbers and Inklings as well.

    Ice Climbers may not be a “new comer” but a “returning veteran”. But still, they’re back as new. Sakurai did plan to bring the duo back in Smash 3DS/WiiU, if it wasn’t for the 3DS’s lack of power. They did work perfectly during Wii U’s test, so Sakurai may still have their data in his belongings. Plus many fans, including myself, were begging for Sakurai to bring back Ice Climbers, and I think this would be the perfect timing to bring back the duo to Smash. Besides, the rumors says this port’s gonna be a director’s cut, so bringing Ice Climbers does make sense since they were planned in the beginning.

    Inklings is another definite choice due to being the most popular Nintendo IP since its debut in 2015, and although their Mii costumes were simply an advertisement, they might had a possibility for them to join in Smash for the first time. Their exclusion might have been their ink mechanics, which probably didn’t work well for the 3DS. Sure, Sakurai didn’t say he was planning to bring them to Smash as DLC, but probably been in some higher place in the Smash Ballot, so I’m pretty sure Sakurai wouldn’t ignore how popular Splatoon is. The Inkling girl can be her default form while the boy can be her alternate palette, but I do wish to see the Octling become her palette too since their popular as well.

    However, if one of them weren’t to be chosen, and if third parties would be acceptable (which I doubt there would be one this time), then I could think of Tekken’s Heihachi’s for this choice. Sakurai did considered Heihachi’s entry in the beginning, but declined due to his movement difficulties. True, Heihachi doesn’t have any iconic movesets, but since Sakurai had a lot of time to think after the production was done, then maybe Heihachi’s entry would be possible. But eventually, I’m not expecting any third parties at this moment.

    So far, my definite choice of characters for this “only two characters rumor” is Ice Climbers and Inklings.

    zoniken on December 12 |
  11. I think they would be more than 2? 2 is a really weird number.
    If it’s just 1, they can say “Look at this, you have good old Smash with this brand new awesome character!” and focus on him/her. Maybe someone of, say, Cloud’s caliber. Someone shocking.
    If it’s in the 3-5 range, they can say “Good old Smash with some new awesome characters!” and throw some less hyped character in the mix.
    2 is… eeeeh. Weird. How strong would these two have to be, as characters? Especially if one of those two is the Ice Climbers. Who do you pair them with? Snake? But if so, why wouldn’t they bring back Wolf, too? If it’s Wolf… I don’t know how much hype the ICies and Wolf could generate outside of Smash’s fans. Someone new? But then I guess they would make 2 new characters, not just one.
    It’s weird.

    So I think these are the options:
    -Ice Climbers and Chorus Kids. A very true “Director’s cuts”.
    -Snake and some new third party character. To bring some shock and hype yet again.
    -Two characters from the ballot, but no ICies. Like Inkling and K.Rool?
    -Two new guys from some Fire Emblem. Let’s not kid ourselves guys, this is the most realistic outcome.

    My personal wish would be, of course, Ridley, and K.Rool. Or Ridley and the Ice Climbers. Or Ridley and Bomberman. Something along these lines.

    ze on December 15 |
    • My only reasoning for why I think a ton of people have settled on “two characters” is because there was a tweet rumor that there would be a few characters exclusive – and said tweet stated there would not be “many”

      On that note, it also makes a solid roster total, with the last Smash video it seemed to say that there were 58 characters (I don’t recall at the moment) which included everyone and the three Mii fighter classes as an individual character – so 2 characters would make it an even 60 – which is large by most fighting game standards.

      KL-Cobalt on December 18 |
  12. Ice Climbers and Inklings. With one other character on a certain contingency.

    Inklings are obvious – Splatoon was a series that was unfounded and untested, I’m not sure if Nintendo didn’t pick Sakurai up on using Smash to sell it or if they wanted it to work on its own without Smash, but either way Splatoon is now one of Nintendo’s biggest series as of late and not putting them in this Smash is a risk – We don’t know if Splatoon will be relevant in time for the next Smash or if there will even be a ‘next Smash’ on the Switch (or in general) – and regardless, they have to work, because two veterans would not bring in enough people to the new port alone.

    Ice Climbers merely on the front that they were working on the Wii U, but not on the 3DS and the roster was planned to work with both platforms in mind. Now without the 3DS being a liability, the Ice Climbers are free to come back as Sakurai seemed to express regret for not including them.

    My ‘contingency’ character here is Wolf – merely on the grounds the Ice Climbers might be excluded again. Our confirmation on the Ice Climbers being cut was well before we were made aware of 8-player Smash, a mode that Sakurai expressed interest in since Melee. 8-Player Smash as it is, is an extensive mode that takes a ton of aspects and shortcuts in assets to run properly – no lava on Pyroshpere, no ships in Mario Galaxy. So who’s to say that the quote Sakurai made regarding Ic Climbers was made before 8-Player Smash was a thing? If that’s the case, Ice Climbers may not be a thing due to that – as they would eat up processing power. Now, the Switch might provide more power, but we’re not sure of how much power the Smash port might work with the overall system, as the Wii U game this port will be made from was built with the architecture of the Wii U in mind, not the Switch.

    As for Wolf himself, I could most certainly say fan outcry would be enough to bring him back, but only on the idea that Ice Climbers might not make it. It makes sense for him, because legal issues regarding Snake, Young Link being essentially replaced, and Pichu being a joke, who else could they bring in from the small pool of vets without dipping into the pool of clones? Ivysaur and Squirtle?

    At that point, I think an even two would suffice. two is “few” and any more would be too “many” – Two would bring the roster to an even 60. although six would bring the roster to 64 characters, which would make a neat reference to the system the series first debuted, but two seems more feasible.

    KL-Cobalt on December 18 |