Super Smash Bros. Speculation

With April coming up and the first of the Smash Ultimate DLC characters expected to be released at some point within that month (Joker for those who don’t know) we here at Still Loading decided now was a good chance to fire up that old speculation train and list our hopeful top 5 possible DLC characters that could fill out those remaining 4 DLC slots.

Since Smash Ultimate’s release we’ve already seen two characters added to the huge roster, Piranha Plant and the currently Unreleased Joker. Nintendo’s tight lips when it comes to smash has led to many speculations and rumors. So without further hesitation let's get into our top five.

Number 5.

Yooka-Laylee

Starting off the list we have probably not everyone’s (or even anyone’s) first choice of a DLC character the duo protagonist team of Yooka and Laylee. Now hear me out on this one, the first reason as to why Yooka-Laylee would be a good fit to the Smash Universe is obvious. The game is on the platform. The game released back in Dec 14, 2017 to not the greatest reception but before critics and gamers got their hands on it, it was a shining light for those Banjo-Kazooie hopefuls that have been holding out for a third installment, and with a team of some of the original designers over at Playtonic games there was a good amount of hype for this one. Now ignoring the actual reception of the game, for years now there has been a lot of talk and championing for the Bird and Bear duo to show up in a Smash game. Despite having so many reddit posts and multiple polls across the internet showing support for the idea, the likelihood of Nintendo having this now Microsoft owned character as DLC (though not impossible) is highly unlikely. This is where Yooka-Laylee can fill that gap, Playtonic is an indie dev with no big third party allegiance, most of the employees there is old Rare staff so they already have a repertoire with Nintendo and could easily pitch themselves into a Smash role. Additionally we know Nintendo loves to show those indie devs support and not only that but Yooka-Laylee is already an available character in the game Brawlout which is available for the Switch, which almost cuts the work in half for Nintendo as they they can see how the character can function in a fighting game setting and adjust for the needs of Smash.

Number 4.

Goemon (Mystical Ninja Series)

Now this one is a personal favorite of mine. Goemon is the main protagonist of the short run (at least in the US and EU) series Mystical Ninja. The series itself has seen a run of games from 1996 to 2005 roughly most of the releases being contained to Japan, though the games we did receive in this series were available on the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. These games were developed and published by Konami themselves and already having characters represented in Smash Bros. they could easily green light the use of this character.

Goemon would be a great addition to the cast being a vibrant character with a number of shinobi attack options (think sheik). High mobility and quick zoning with his Kiseru(Chainpipe) and throwable coins could make him a fun character to play given they handle him like the ninja he is. His ultimate smash would obviously be the giant mech Goemon Impact that he could summon and jump into, to deliver devastating punches to the foes on the stage.

Number 3.

Waluigi (Nintendo)

Obviously the internet's number one pick for these spots, though not mine, I can see why he needs to be implemented. Leaving Waluigi out is just unfair to one of Nintendo's most recognizable characters. Though never appearing in his own game like his counterpart his participation in a number of games across multiple Nintendo platforms shows that Nintendo hasn’t completely forgotten about him all together. He already has his own amiibo for god’s sake! Though left to a secondary role as an assist trophy, Nintendo needs to flip that developer switch we all know they have and make him a main fighting character. No more second fiddle to the rest of the Mario cast! Come on Nintendo if Daisy gets her own spot in Smash then you better be saving the best seat in the house for this purple powerhouse.

Number 2.

Wang Tang (Power Stone Series)

Power Stone has been one of my long time favorite arcade style fighting games. I originally experienced this game in the arcades, though also released on the Dreamcast. I loved how it set itself apart from other arcade fighters at the time by allowing players to fight in a 3D space with fast paced action and the ability to use your surroundings to your advantage either it being an environmental hazard or weapons that spawned during matches. Wang Tang is a fast paced Martial artist that could be an interesting addition to the Smash roster. His fighting style would be great for interesting combo options and being from the powerstone series, instead of a traditional Final Smash like the rest of the cast he could collect powerstones that drop from other fighters. This obviously would be something only he could benefit from but could be balanced by allowing enemy fighters to recollect the stones to prevent his transformation ability. Once three power stones are collected Wang Tang then transforms into his Golden form for a limited time allowing him access to the moveset he has in his Power Stone series. Personally, I would love to see him implemented but could see the challenges Nintendo might face making a 3D fighter work in 2D.

Number 1.

Viewtiful Joe (Viewtiful Joe, Marvel vs Capcom)

And the number one pick is easily for me Viewtiful Joe. This one just makes the most sense. His game series originally debuted on the Gamecube and at a time was exclusive to the platform. Capcom has already allowed Nintendo to use their most iconic character and I think that Joe would be a nice additional character to rep the Capcom team. He already has a number of movesets that could be implemented into the game, these not just coming from his main series but his appearance in MvC3 and his appearance on the Wii in Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars. Joe also had been placed in his own “Smash Like” type fighting game Red Hot Rumble on the Gamecube (which wasn’t very good unfortunately). For these reasons he would be the easiest character to fall into one of these DLC spots and not just that, but he’s a great character with a great personality to add to the diverse Smash cast. Nintendo needs to make this one happen.