The next generation of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS have been in development for a while now, and I am sure Masahiro Sakurai and his team are considering many possible additions to the new games, leaving eager fans of the series such as myself to speculate just what those might be.
Here are a few characters that I would like to see in the next Smash Bros games and feel could be beneficial for them.
New IP
* Dillon (Dillon’s Rolling Western)
The next Super Smash Bros. games are an excellent platform to give exposure to new and exclusive Nintendo franchises, as well as an opportunity to revisit the classics. Dillon’s Rolling Western is an example of a recent Nintendo IP that could provide new and exciting content for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. games. Dillon certainly looks the part, he is colourful and appealing with great characterisation. I can imagine a move set made up of Arma-Charge, Claw and Dash Roll attacks.
Characters like Dillon should be a part of the new roster for Super Smash Bros. because I feel it is important for Nintendo to embrace their latest franchises. The inclusion of characters such as Dillon would help keep the series fresh and support their latest and current games.
Personalised Appeal
* Mii’s (Nintendo)
Ever since the launch of the Wii back in 2006, Mii’s have had a large presence on Nintendo platforms. These personalised avatars have made us the star of the show, allowing us to add our likeness to some top Nintendo titles such as Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and most recently, New Super Mario Bros U.
Nintendo are showing no sign of dropping Mii’s from their games and consoles, which is why I feel there is a strong possibility they could appear in the next Super Smash Bros. games. Personalising your character and fighting it out against other friends Mii’s sounds like a really fun concept to me, and I would love to see it happen.
Namco’s Contribution
* Pac-man (Pac-man)
With Namco co-developing the next Super Smash Bros. games, it feels like there is a good possibility that some of the company’s franchises will be entering the brawl. Out of all of these, Pac-man seems to be the most likely to be picked as a representative for Namco. In terms of nostalgic value, Pac-man has been around longer than both Mario and Donkey Kong! His original title was Namco’s biggest selling title, he is an iconic character, and he would make a great addition to the roster.
Nostalgic Value
* Mewtwo (Pokémon)
When Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released; I was very surprised to find that Mewtwo was no longer part of the character roster. He is a strong, likeable character, and like Pac-man he holds a lot of nostalgic value, something that I see fans of the series appreciating. I didn’t quite connect with Pichu and Lucario in the same way as I did with Mewtwo, and while I hope to see a new Pokémon character appear in the next Super Smash Bros. games to represent their newer games, I hope they don’t ignore one of the more iconic Pokémon characters in favour of it.
Alternative First Party Representation
Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Xenoblade Chronicles, a title developed by Monolith Soft, was a well received title from Nintendo fans. The petition to localise the game outside of Japan shows just how keen people were to experience it. It is currently considered by many review sites and publications to be one of the best JRPG’s in years. Shulk, the protagonist of Xenoblade, would make a fantastic choice for Super Smash Bros. With the Monado, a mythical blade with hidden powers, Shulk could offer a cool alternative to other blade wielding characters we have played as before, such as Link and Marth.
Additionally, because Monolith Soft is a Nintendo owned company, there is no restriction of including him in the game, unlike characters such as Geno from Super Mario RPG, a game which was developed by Square. Interestingly, Monolith Soft was bought by Nintendo from Namco, so could this be an opportunity for them to engage the developer again?
Third Party involvement?
In recent years, Nintendo have been quite vocal and supportive of collaborations between Nintendo and third party companies, Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, two notable third party characters outside of Nintendo’s usual roster of first party offerings. Because of this willingness to collaborate and reach out to other companies, it feels likely that we will also see a plethora of possible characters that could be included in the next generation of Super Smash Bros., making this a game that could appeal to more than just Nintendo fans.
