More than a year into Nintendo’s Switch 2 era, with titles such as Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokémon Pokopia, and Splatoon Raiders reinventing franchises and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave raising the quality bar for established ones, anticipation is building for what will almost certainly be the next Super Smash Bros. game.
The fighting series’ strength lies in its role as a time capsule, taking a snapshot of Nintendo’s most popular franchises and tweaking characters to reflect their latest evolutions. This has prompted a wishlist of roster changes that could bring overdue franchise representation alongside adjustments to existing fighters.
Splatoon: The Mechanic
Splatoon was long seen as having limited Super Smash Bros. potential beyond its basic Inklings, but the newly released game may change that. Fans on Splatoon subreddit have begun wanting to see the shooter’s protagonist, The Mechanic, in Super Smash Bros.
The character’s wide arsenal of gadgets could open the door for a tricky fighter playing nothing like a traditional Inkling. Tools such as the Splatchet, Bombloons, or Booyarang might be translated into special attacks, with players swapping between ink tanks to change their gadgets on the fly.
Donkey Kong
If any character deserves a total makeover in the next Super Smash Bros., it is Donkey Kong. The ape has been a mainstay since the series’ first entry, and neither his look nor moveset has changed much over that time.
The character’s new toon redesign would likely be used for Super Smash Bros., but his attacks could stand to be tweaked to better represent Donkey Kong Bananza. Possibilities include gaining the ability to rip chunks off stages to hurl at enemies or surf on them, with a Final Smash incorporating his Bananza forms and a Pauline cameo.
Samus Aran
Samus Aran is as close to a perfect Super Smash Bros. character as it gets, with the powers she obtains in the Metroid series fitting cleanly into a fighting game formula. If she changes at all in the next Smash game, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond opens the door for some tweaks.
Besides giving her new suit variants such as the Vi-O-La Suit, Samus’ newfound psychic powers could be represented in some form. The Control Beam feels especially ripe for adaptation, potentially giving her a Ness-style projectile that players can steer.
Yoshi
Yoshi has never needed much of a rework because his skills have remained consistent throughout his games: he eats things and turns them into eggs. A recent puzzle-platformer offers some bright ideas for freshening up his old attacks.
The game infuses Mario’s sidekick with a bit of Kirby DNA, letting Yoshi interact with critters to borrow their powers. Any number of powers from Rhythm Heaven Groove could offer new options, such as tossing Peckadees like darts or spreading Scatterpuff spores to inflict status effects on foes.
Tomodachis
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is, it feels like Nintendo will need to figure out a way to get its life sim represented in Super Smash Bros. one way or another.
The easiest route might be retiring Mii Fighters and putting Tomodachis in their place. Since the latter are basically souped-up Miis, it would feel like a fair trade. Their moveset wouldn’t have to change much, but being able to import creations into Super Smash Bros. could bring some self-expression to the roster.
Karate Joe
Way back when Super Smash Bros for Wii U details were trickling out, there was a leak claiming Rhythm Heaven’s Chorus Kids would be playable fighters. It was a left-field rumor that also made perfect sense, though it didn’t come to fruition.
Rhythm Heaven feels primed to get its own fighter next time thanks to Rhythm Heaven Groove. While the Chorus Kids would still be a fun fit, the more practical solution is bringing Karate Joe into the mix. His moveset potential seems self-explanatory, with the real trick being finding a way to boost his attacks if performed in time to the background music.
Ditto
While Super Smash Bros. isn’t hurting for Pokémon representation, the monster-collecting series somehow feels underserved, mostly because fighters tend to represent the mainline RPGs rather than the series’ long history of spinoffs.
Pokémon Pokopia is just too important to ignore. One of the best-reviewed Pokémon games of all time deserves some love, and there’s a great opportunity by making Ditto a fighter. Picture the humanoid Ditto from Pokopia smacking opponents with its noodly limbs, using Water Gun for projectile damage, or turning into a Dragonite for an up-B jump.
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