Come the time a next Smash game comes about, which playable fighter(s) are the most likely to get cut?

[winstein]

Back at E3 2018 and probably alluded to in Inkling's reveal trailer, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was officially revealed with the most fan-pleasing announcement to date: Everyone is Here! "Everyone" in this context means that every playable fighter found in the past five Smash games (note: counting 3DS and Wii U as separate) are available in this game as a playable fighter. Not to mention it makes for a very fantastic tagline. While there are other numerous changes made to Smash, it wouldn't be surprising if this game sold very well because "Everyone is Here!". The cherry on the top is that it makes every new fighter from the DLC a huge event, more so compared to Smash 4. Even contentious picks like Piranha Plant and Joker are essentially universally loved by virtue of their playable status.

It's very fulfilling to think that such a thing has happened, but the fact of the matter is that nothing lasts forever. In fact, because of how lucrative Smash is, there's a very likely chance that a new Smash game will be made down the line, and it might not even be helmed by Sakurai, who was there since the N64 game. He even cautioned that in the event a new game will be made, it unlikely that every past fighter will return. In fact, he has this to say: (Source)

Sakurai thinks that bringing back every veteran in the series probably won't happen again. He says, "Anything is possible, of course, so I can't 100% rule anything out...but I think this feat, at least, won't be repeated."

The question is: who do you think is unlikely to make it? It's tantalising to say that you want everybody to return, but as I said, it's unlikely that everybody will be there for the next Smash.

I think there are three characters that are unlikely to make it:
1) Cloud: The fact that Cloud got a very meagre representation is indicative that he's not exactly a character that's easy to work with. He may be a fan favourite, but his representation is not exactly a high point.
2) Hero: For similar reasons to Cloud, so while Hero did have more representation than Cloud, ultimately he served as an agent to promote Dragon Quest XI, and representation is also not too big. Besides, Dragon Quest likes to spotlight their support characters more than the Heroes.
3) Joker: It's a very educated guess that Joker made it in because of Sakurai's adoration for Persona 5, which is the reason he's the first fighter. If Sakurai isn't going to be around, it's unlikely Joker will make it.

So what say you?

Thank you for reading.

 

[supermariofan]

I honestly don't see the point in making another Smash game after this. Even Sakurai himself stated it's impossible to top this as he is continuing to add more content for God knows how long. Maybe until the end of the Switch's lifespan. It's already The Shawshank Redemption of fighting games.

 

[zel]

i feel the fighters most likely to be scrapped are clones like dr mario and pichu, and also a fair bit of the 3rd party ones, i bet stuff like sonic pacman and megaman will remain for sure but maybe not joker

 

[Dorayaki]

impossible to top this

I think this part specifically means top the amount of contents since everyone theme is literally super hard mode for the game team.

If they decide to reboot the game, the new contents would not be more than the cut contents, the so total amount of contents in Smash 6 won't win over Smash 5. Such as it can only do 60 fighters at most.

As for whether fans would accept that "not everyone will return in Smash 6", I just say they'd accept that some characters are not that memorable after all. Especially when newer video games come out, they'd want new additions to replace the ones who were also added to promtoe newest games back in Smash 4 or 5.

> Cloud Hero
While I cannot tell just one or both would be cut, I can say I doubt Square would totally leave Smash 6 unless they become total rival with Nintendo. I think they'd just introduce a new protagonist to represent FF or DQ, or an upresented franchise that is as iconic as FF or DQ.

 

[Ray Trace]

I honestly don't see the point in making another Smash game after this. Even Sakurai himself stated it's impossible to top this as he is continuing to add more content for God knows how long. Maybe until the end of the Switch's lifespan. It's already The Shawshank Redemption of fighting games.

It sells. They're going to make another future installment. Maybe not until some time in a long future, but it's Ultimate is not going to hold up once the Switch becomes superceded by a better console.

 

[BEEEEEAAARRRS]

imo:

Basically all the third parties, sans maybe Pac Man if Bamco is still developing, and Sonic because he's kind of a staple now

Clones that were brought back to appease the tagline- Young Link, Pichu, Wolf

Some sillier characters probably get dropped- Duck Hunt, Wii Fit and Game and Watch

Pokemon that aren't as relevant because they're not current gen anymore- Lucario and Greninja

Characters that returned as DLC- Roy, Lucas and Mewtwo

If they weren't protected by their status as long time Smash characters, I'd wager Ness, Puff and Falcon could all get the boot, but they're most likely safe.

The roster will probably be a lot like what it was with Smash 4, but with a couple new picks to replace some of the less notable newcomers in that game, if I had to guess. I honestly believe if Smash continues to another game, they'd put focus on more gameplay rather than all the characters they possibly could again.
I'm sure there'd be like a dozen new guys, and maybe another round of DLC, but I think for the most part they'd be characters new to the series, or a bunch of dropped ones making a comeback again.

Of course this is worst case scenario- I doubt EVERY character under the categories I raised would be gone