epicmartin7, Spazzy and TheMangoViking discuss various Smash for Switch rumors making the current rounds in Part 2 of this discussion!
—PART 1—
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- SG Roundtable: Open-Worlds or Multiple, Controlled, Choices (patreon request) - November 23, 2023
- SG Roundtable – Our favourite “Metroidvanias” (Patreon Request) - October 7, 2023
- SG Roundtable – Our favourite “Nintendo-likes” (Patreon Request) - August 15, 2023
I do suspect this list of characters isn’t decided by the actual staffs of Smash because it looks too biased. Not Sakurai biased, but “western viewer biased”. These names are too focused toward western viewers, while Japanese viewers don’t suggest any of them because of their meaningful reasons, such as popularity, situation, and even their rights. I do suspect that these names are brought by references of Sakurai’s past reasons upon several characters he talked about, like why he couldn’t bring that character in the previous series. While we know Sakurai can change his mind like how he brought the Villager to Smash For, but that wouldn’t mean he should always change if he knows what doesn’t technically work.
Ice Climbers are definitely what I wanna see them return as they’re my favorite, but technical problems is still something they’re struggling about. Sakurai did explain they couldn’t return to Smash For because their mechanics wouldn’t work on 3DS’s power and even Wii U’s 8-Player Smash, so their name is easy to bring up to this list. I do think Sakurai can bring them back if he still have their data, but it depends on Switch’s power instead if it’s powerful enough.
Mimikkyu may be interesting, but I don’t know why they brought it up in this list while there are other popular choices like Decidueye. Decidueye’s rejection may make sense if it reflect with Pokken DX’s inclusion, or anime’s Rowlet has no plan to evolve throughout the show, but I wouldn’t think that would be the main reason. If they’ve brought Mimikkyu in here because of its Z-Move, then I wouldn’t suggest that’ll work if Smash Switch was planned before Ultra Sun/Moon’s release.
Elma may have a possibility if that Gundam rifle that Sakurai wanted to check on reflects to her, but still we don’t know if that’s the case. It can be something else instead rather than Elma. I mean, her inclusion may make sense if Rex/Pyra couldn’t join in because they’re still new to the series, but still its rather concerning if Xenoblade X is considered as a spinoff, which Sakurai seems to avoid whenever he decide on characters. I may wanna see her in, but can’t expect anything of her at this moment.
Chorus Kids is still something we don’t know. I know this name has come from the Rhythm Heaven emblem was found in Smash For’s files through data mining, but that doesn’t mean if that was referring to a stage or a character. Besides, Chorus Kids isn’t that iconic as there are plenty of other characters that’s iconic enough, like the karate guy and the pitcher girl. It can be anybody at this moment other than the Chorus Kids, but we don’t even have a clue if they’re really gonna join this time.
Takamaru is another character I wanna see in Smash, which I know this name is here because Sakurai did referred that he couldn’t bring him as playable due to lack of popularity. Sure he can become playable like how Little Mac did, but we don’t know if that time would come for Smash Switch. We don’t even know what this game’s gonna be, rather be brand new or a port. There were rumors that Smash Switch would be the sequel of the Wii U version, so that might mean there won’t be any changes as Takamaru may stay as an Assist Trophy.
Dixie Kong is another eyebrow twitching, as I know her name is here because Sakurai once suggested Dixie to appear in Smash Brawl as Diddy’s partner, but wouldn’t as it failed to work. Dixie may have a possibility, but the problem is how she can be differentiated from Diddy. She needs to become more unique than her boyfriend, so that’s the concerning part.
Wolf is heavily focused too often by western viewers as he’s extremely popular there, and that is something I don’t understand. I don’t hear any similar popularity from Japanese viewers, but instead complaining to change his moveset rather than being another Land Master user. While Wolf may have a possibility, his name being in this list does look too focused by western fans than Japanese players.
Ridley is a same as Wolf; too focused by western fans than in Japan. Ridley may be the main villain in Metroid, and I know his name is in this list because of how many times Sakurai explained his rejection for being too big. But that doesn’t mean Sakurai hates Ridley, because he does respect him as a whole as he doesn’t want to make him smaller as it’ll ruin the monster’s reputation. Western fans seem to ignore this part a lot, and been seeing his name throughout every rumors which have ultimately debunked as fake. Which means, seeing Ridley’s name in this list does make me sense that this rumor is crappy fake.
K.Rool is also in a same boat as Wolf and Ridley. He’s been extremely popular since Smash For, as his Mii Fighter costume was released as DLC. Although Sakurai may still remember him, many viewers don’t as he haven’t been absent for a long time. So not just his popularity in the west, but in Japan is also considered as well.
Medusa is definitely I wanna see in Smash. I don’t think popularity alone will win a way to join Smash, but history of gaming as well. However, this depend on how he wants Kid Icarus as. Palutena’s Guidance does sound the sequel is being planned, but we don’t know if he’ll bring more Kid Icarus characters to Smash. Hades may be extremely popular, but I wouldn’t think that’s something Sakurai wanna suggest the most. It depends on his choices in the end.
Samurai Goroh and Pokey is a strange choice. I don’t know why their in this list. Both titles haven’t been heard for a long time, while Earthbound/MOTHER series have been ended for a long time as there’s no plan for the fourth title. People still say Pokey’s inclusion means MOTHER 3’s gonna be in the west, but I do suspect that it won’t the case as I do believe there’s no planning for such thing. Western fans are expecting too much on this series as they’re hyping irresponsibly, and I don’t think these two have a chance to join Smash Switch. Eventually, Pokey in a spider machine is another Ridley, which means he’s too big.
Simon Belmont is interesting to see, but does this reflect for the Castlevania movie on Netflix? I don’t think that would be something to present on for Smash. While Castlevania is popular enough and his moveset fits perfectly for Smash, we don’t know if Konami’s gonna return to Smash. I still don’t think that rumor of Simon being in Smash (alongside Ridley) is true, as many viewers in Japan doesn’t seem to consider him at all. It’s even an odd choice of why him than Bomberman.
Sora is another character that’s too focused by western viewers. Although we may want another Square Enix character, that wouldn’t mean Sora should be in as a must. Besides, his license also belongs to Disney, and that’ll be extremely difficult since Disney’s really strict on their rights. Even because Kingdom Hearts have a Game & Watch-ish mini game, that wouldn’t mean Sora should join Smash. It’s all about licensing, which I do think many fans don’t understand that a lot.
Geno may have been considered once by Sakurai in the past, which even appeared as Smash For’s Mii Fighter DLC costume, but that doesn’t mean he should join in as well. He may be a Mario character, but also belongs to Square Enix, and if they’re gonna bring another Square Enix character, then that should be somebody else instead, like Dragon Quest of course. Another concerning part is…why team with Mallow, the character who’s not popular as Geno? This doesn’t make any large sense, which I suspect this rumor might be fake.
Snake is another character that’s been heavily focused by the western fans alongside Wolf. But at the same time, Konami has a problem as well. Since we’ve lost Kojima, we don’t know if Snake even have a possibility to return to Smash. We don’t even know if Konami’s even gonna return to Smash for a second time. It all depend on Konami’s situation.
As I look at this list, I found out that Kirby, Zelda, and Fire Emblem characters wasn’t in this list, which felt too odd for ignoring Nintendo’s major titles. Even the third parties are heavily focused only on Konami and Square Enix than Capcom, Sega, and Bandai Namco. Not to forget that the Inkling’s aren’t even in this list as they’re confirmed as new comers for this Smash. This suspected me that this list wasn’t made out from Japanese audience, but heavily upon western viewers as they were mostly considering them throughout the internet. Therefore, while there are several characters that I do wanna see in Smash, I do suspect this rumor is fake. If I do to rate it, probably 85% of this list is fake. I may be wrong, but at this moment, I’d rather not believe on this rumor and wait until E3 for the officials to reveal something there.