Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

[Moonface]

I don't think any character could ever be the perfect final choice for this game given the sheer scale of those shoes to fill. However, I think this is one of the closest choices you can get to perfection as a final send off when it's been the one character requested more than any other for the last six years. Others could have potentially been just as close to perfect for a final choice, but even as someone not a fan of Kingdom Hearts this reveal was impressive for me because as has been said, it was obvious and even safe (especially when so many people asked for this one) but this clearly wasn't easy to pull off. The poll was six years ago and the top result took until now to pull off because it's Disney of all companies that Sakurai had to deal with.

I also don't know how it did it given that I have zero attachment to Sora or Kingdom Hearts but that trailer gave me goosebumps. Maybe it was the music but whatever it was I find it nuts that this trailer is the one for a new character that hit me more than any others, including characters I actually liked or were more surprising. This didn't hit me as a holy shit surprise type of reveal but it was the one that made me feel something more than just hype alone.

At the end of the day, Sakurai could work on this until we all die and the roster would still be lacking someone. Whether you think it could've been better, worse, or that it's just perfect as it is, no one can deny the love Sakurai has given this game and series. No one would ever believe this game would exist if you went back even five years and detailed every single thing this game has to offer. You can't please everyone, but fuck me if the man didn't do a damn good job.

[Moonface]

So I just got back into playing this recently and somehow @ShiraNoMai and I never noticed there's a Classic Mode in this game despite putting hundreds of hours into it. I always thought the only notable single player mode (that isn't just Smash) was World of Light.

I also didn't know that characters had certain abilities, such as Lucario being able to deal more damage with aura moves based on how much damage he has taken.

And for anyone who wants to see a neat challenge for this game and maybe even try it themselves, I recommend this video:

This is also the video I started watching that got me to boot the game up again. I stopped when I suddenly discovered that I was not as close to the end of World of Light as I thought I was. XD

[Mr EliteL]

Neither of you noticed there was Classic Mode, and you have not beaten World of Light yet? WAT R U DOIN.

I remember watching Nairo beat WoL with no spirits and such, and yeah that is quite a challenge. Although I'd rather not have to start resorting to cheap tactics or spamming moves over and over to win, so I'll keep away from that.

I need to play again too, barely played when Sora came out and haven't touched SSBU since.

[Moonface]

If we did notice it we didn't think it had tailored routes for every character nor that it unlocked things. We also hadn't played the game since January 2019 so I started doubting if Classic Mode was in the game at launch. I also thought the game didn't offer a stage builder this entire time too.

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah Classic has been there since launch. I haven't actually completed all of Classic Mode, as I know I haven't done the characters from the DLC Pack 2 yet, possibly all if not most from Pack 1, might have done Joker's.

The stage builder I'm not fond of, I prefer Brawl's version really. I like what some people have done in the Share part online but it's mainly them drawing characters with the tools in there.

[Moonface]

Neither do I, it'll be very difficult to get all the characters to return again as it was for Sakurai to get them in for Ultimate, that and the roster will likely reach 100(+) if somehow all 84 (Pk trainer + Squirtle =1, 86 with Ivysaur/Charizard + 89 with each Mii Fighter) do get back in. It's because I've already seen, not watched, videos speculating what a new Smash game will be like including who could be cut, who could be added, if there'll be a reboot (sigh) so if there will be one then may as well think of it as a possibility. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Ultimate has indeed raised the bar phenomenally so I do agree if a lot of things don't manage to return the next game will be a downgrade. Even if one of the original 12 get removed it'll instantly lose some appeal, any third party that has been in more than one game will probably hit hard too, though Bayonetta might be the only one to be exempt from that after what happened late Smash 4 for being considered the best/broken character. I also have no idea what could balance out what could be missing.

Bringing this here since I get the feeling this is going to become a large enough conversation.

So I had to refresh my memory on the roster for Ultimate, and I thought there was a lot more third party characters in the game than there is. If I didn't miscount there's 15 of those (I didn't count Sonic because out of anyone he's the third party character that would never get cut), and if they were all cut from a future Smash game that still leaves 66 fighters that are Nintendo properties + a spot for Sonic. Conveniently, the Smash Ultimate website lets you sort characters by series to see how many are from each one, and Fire Emblem and Pokémon are the two that could and should absolutely see cuts for a future game. Even if those two series were cut in half though, that only removes another 8 characters to get the number to 58, which is almost the roster size of Smash 4.

Thinking on it as I was typing, I think this series might have run into the same problem a lot of fighting games do, which is the roster size grows every game and eventually starts to get out of hand. I remember looking at the roster sizes for Tekken games recently which is when I first started thinking on whether fighters haven't figured out how to stop their rosters getting out of hand without it being received negatively by the players.

[Mr EliteL]

If there was a reboot, I could see a lot more cut than if there was a well, proper sequel to Ultimate that doesn't make the roster go stupidly higher than what Ultimate had. I'll focus more on the latter for now, though I may end trailing off closer to a reboot. TLDR version at the end.

I'm hoping the original 12 remain to keep I suppose the tradition of always having them included. Though I'd imagine the biggest danger out of them would be Jigglypuff, even though I take it the Smash games did make that Pokémon more popular than it could ever hope to be. Though same can be said for Captain Falcon and Ness for more exposure to their existence and games/series. Those three may have the most danger if a reboot happens unfortunately, and yeah that would stir some backlash anger. Still, let's not remove them.

The most obvious character to get cut is Piranha Plant, probably the biggest joke/pointless character to be chosen so far, Wii Fit Trainer was another but at least the game they came from was big during Wii, becoming a fighter rep was strange though. For the record I played Wii Fit Trainer, so I'd be a little bummed but not totally disappointed.

Fire Emblem does need to go down for reps, Marth should remain being the sole FE rep since Melee, the rest are a toss up but a more recent FE character would become a rep most likely, perhaps it'll go down to three instead of four, but I'd hope for four at least.

Pokémon, Pichu is a quick target to remove, Pikachu and Jiggly remain at 2 so far, but as Pokémon is so big I can see it being 5 more than 4. I want Mewtwo to stay though, plus a newer Pokémon likely would get chosen unless Pokémon Trainer gets a trio of new Pokémon instead.

If Echo fighters remained as a thing but they remove most of the Echo in Ultimate for new ones, the only one (OK two, Daisy but I can see her being removed) I hope not removed is Dark Pit because he's my main in Ultimate. Though I think he also would get included with cut Echoes.

There are still some characters who play similarly to each other, they could be in possible cuts too. I'd hate to see it but there may end up being one Link again, though as an alternate Link has featured since Melee, perhaps Young or Toon will remain. Dr Mario though nah, and either Villager or Isabelle as well.

Singular reps, I'd say Duck Hunt could get removed, it's a retro game and if there's a retro series to stay, Mr Game & Watch is the answer. ROB...hmm not sure about. Arms hasn't been notable for a long while now, so that may get either dropped or a different rep. Little Mac, I'd imagine he's good, Olimar too. Ice Climbers I'm also unsure about, but man were people disappointed for them not being included in Smash 4.

Star Fox hasn't really had a game of note unfortunately, yes there was one I think for the Switch, unless it was Wii U *checks* Ah sheeeet, Zero was Wii U. Aw hell nah. I was thinking about if there was a reboot, perhaps only Fox stayed but man, the Fox and Falco duo not being together as playable fighters for new game, Falco or Wolf may end up being cut.

Kirby series should be fine with the three we have really. Metroid, it'll probably end up being armor suit Samus and Ridley. Zero Suit's gameplay is pretty cool though being fast paced, Samus is a bit slower in Smash Bros. I kinda wish Dark Samus had a bit more of a different style to normal Samus but that might not happen.

For the Mario series, possibly Bowser Jr is the most likely other than the ones already mentioned to get cut since the Mario series has the biggest amount, and even more if you include the DK series, Yoshi and Wario as a whole (14), even if King K Rool is only DK pretty much, but Diddy has appeared in Mario Kart.

I agree mostly about 3rd party characters, only I think if Namco has a part in the next Smash again, Pac-Man/Tekken or another representative will likely return or make it in. For the sake of it though, I'll also say only Sonic is kept.

I haven't added up the potential cuts I came up with, I'll see in a moment when I type up the TLDR version. Ah so I came up with 14 more removals, dang a bit much there, possibly a bit more. So that leaves the total to...44 from your 58. Oops, perhaps a bit much, but there's room for new characters then.

TLDR: Not who I hope for, but who I think may potentially gets cut from another Smash Bros game:

Piranha Plant, Wii Fit, Duck Hunt, Dr Mario, Daisy, Bowser Jr, Dark Samus, Zero Suit Samus (maybe), Pichu, Incineroar, Min Min, Dark Pit, Young or Toon Link, Falco or Wolf, Simon or Richter, Villager or Isabelle, 2 others or more from the Pokémon series, 4 from Fire Emblem series.