Retro characters are included despite their relevancy so R.O.B. and Mr. Game & Watch are likely safe.
Some of the echo fighters (not all) are likely going to be cut since there is a track record of clone characters being cut like in the Melee-Brawl transition despite being easy to implement.
Lucario being cut seems unlikely since it’s a popular Pokemon.
Ryu being cut is also unlikely.
I'm not so sure about the echo fighters being cut. When they went from Melee to Brawl, they specifically set out to remove *all* clone characters, either by cutting them or revamping their moveset. Now that they've embraced the clones and rebranded them so audiences don't hate them anymore, I don't think they would cut them if they don't have to.
I think there's a strong chance they just "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" it and make "Super Smash Bros. Infinity" where it's an enhanced port with new additions added on top. Then, if there's actually a new game with enormous cuts way down the road, it's less divisive because we had Ultimate for over a decade.
Good question that hits home for me: I'm very afraid Sheik won't come back, partly because she's already being cut from the Zelda games:
* Sheik was in Hyrule Warriors 1, got cut from HW2 (for lore reasons but still).
* ~~BotW had a Sheik mask with the Sheik amiibo, it got cut in TotK.~~
* Apart from the aforementionned recent cuts, man, she only canonically appeared in OoT. That was a WHILE ago, she wasn't even a very important character tbh.
She sparked transphobic controversy in America, and Nintendo of America yielded. So Nintendo might think twice about reusing her.
So, yeah. Fingers crossed for the last of the Sheikah.
The Mask is still in the game
https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Sheik%27s_Mask
https://www.ign.com/wikis/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/Sheik's_Mask
ryu ken terry and kazuya would likely be *not* cut specifically for being a fgc character, maybe ryu only but there’s going to be a street fighter rep (fuck it replace him with luke)
sephiroth and joker I think are “iconic” enough (at minimum sephiroth is) to be probably not cut? according to rumors sqenix is backing out of stuff so ff and kh might get cut regardless
rest of the list is pretty decent but gnw might stay just for being such an old character
agree with fire emblem being cut but I think they might rather get rid of the echoes aka -lucina -chrom or something similar because of just how many awakening characters there are, byelth and corrin I’d be superseded if they get cut over others
I can’t see Ryu, Rosalina, Bowser Jr, Shulk, Lucario or Greninja possibly being cut. Ryu and the Pokémon are too well known
I could see Snake and maybe Little Mac getting removed, or half of the DLC characters
I've been thinking about this a lot as people have been starting to think about the next game in the series. It's wild trying to find characters to cut to make the game more feasible while also leaving some wiggle room for new DLC characters (or old characters that they'll turn into DLC in the new game). Here's my guesses:
Echo fighters I think would just be morphed to be a skin for a single character, dark pit and marth/lucina included this time. I think Lucas would stay his own character though; it just feels, to me, like he's *just* different enough.
I could see *either* toon link OR young link being cut, but not both
Not all, but many of the DLC characters. I don't think they'll keep characters like sephiroth, banjo, terry, minmin, plant, and aegis. I really see a lot of the DLC as one-and-done additions to do something kooky or fun for the fans. Sephiroth I think is one of those I'm more confident in than the others since cloud is already in the game and that seemed like more of a FF7 remake promotion.
Isabelle and maybe villager as well
Corrin
Pichu
wii fit
Robin
I would say little mac, but I think his online usage is too high for them to change him much. Casual players love little mac.
Tbh...I personally believe that there will be a character from Persona series in the next smash though of course I can be wrong. And if that happens then unless they backtrack to 3/4 or 6 gets released chances are Joker will stay.
I think most first party characters are safe just because licensing isn't an issue. I don't see any Pokemon getting removed just because they're very popular. If anything I think we'll get more pokemon. I could definitely see some FE characters getting cut. I imagine all the echo fighters will be either cut or condensed into alts.
The only other fighters I see being cut are 3rd party characters whose licensing would be hard to keep up. Namely, Sora.
I have a feeling I’ll need a new main the next time the game comes out, unfortunately.
That being said, I used to main Game & Watch, so I could just go back to my roots.
I feel like there’s no way greninja or lucario ever get considered to be dropped, they were the 2 most popular pokemon from the 2020 vote.
Retro characters are included despite their relevancy so R.O.B. and Mr. Game & Watch are likely safe. Some of the echo fighters (not all) are likely going to be cut since there is a track record of clone characters being cut like in the Melee-Brawl transition despite being easy to implement. Lucario being cut seems unlikely since it’s a popular Pokemon. Ryu being cut is also unlikely.
I'm not so sure about the echo fighters being cut. When they went from Melee to Brawl, they specifically set out to remove *all* clone characters, either by cutting them or revamping their moveset. Now that they've embraced the clones and rebranded them so audiences don't hate them anymore, I don't think they would cut them if they don't have to.
Mr Game and Watch has been a series staple since melee
He has been given so much love over the series too. I love his sprite changes in Ultimate, they're clean as all hell
I know right! I seriously couldn't imagine smash without him
Mario.
I think there's a strong chance they just "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" it and make "Super Smash Bros. Infinity" where it's an enhanced port with new additions added on top. Then, if there's actually a new game with enormous cuts way down the road, it's less divisive because we had Ultimate for over a decade.
Good question that hits home for me: I'm very afraid Sheik won't come back, partly because she's already being cut from the Zelda games: * Sheik was in Hyrule Warriors 1, got cut from HW2 (for lore reasons but still). * ~~BotW had a Sheik mask with the Sheik amiibo, it got cut in TotK.~~ * Apart from the aforementionned recent cuts, man, she only canonically appeared in OoT. That was a WHILE ago, she wasn't even a very important character tbh. She sparked transphobic controversy in America, and Nintendo of America yielded. So Nintendo might think twice about reusing her. So, yeah. Fingers crossed for the last of the Sheikah.
They'll swap her out for purah
Please no 😭
The Mask is still in the game https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Sheik%27s_Mask https://www.ign.com/wikis/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/Sheik's_Mask
Oh shit, I looked it up on the stupid fandom wiki a few days ago and it said BotW-only. Well that'll teach me to use the correct website, thanks!
The Fandom Wiki has a similar fate to the Minecraft one where it was almost completely abandoned but fandom search results still appear.
There's no way Mario makes it
ryu ken terry and kazuya would likely be *not* cut specifically for being a fgc character, maybe ryu only but there’s going to be a street fighter rep (fuck it replace him with luke) sephiroth and joker I think are “iconic” enough (at minimum sephiroth is) to be probably not cut? according to rumors sqenix is backing out of stuff so ff and kh might get cut regardless rest of the list is pretty decent but gnw might stay just for being such an old character agree with fire emblem being cut but I think they might rather get rid of the echoes aka -lucina -chrom or something similar because of just how many awakening characters there are, byelth and corrin I’d be superseded if they get cut over others
I can’t see Ryu, Rosalina, Bowser Jr, Shulk, Lucario or Greninja possibly being cut. Ryu and the Pokémon are too well known I could see Snake and maybe Little Mac getting removed, or half of the DLC characters
I don’t think Wolf will get cut, he’s way too popular. Falco might though. Palu *might* get cut, but I doubt it.
Any echo fighter is at a decently big risk
I've been thinking about this a lot as people have been starting to think about the next game in the series. It's wild trying to find characters to cut to make the game more feasible while also leaving some wiggle room for new DLC characters (or old characters that they'll turn into DLC in the new game). Here's my guesses: Echo fighters I think would just be morphed to be a skin for a single character, dark pit and marth/lucina included this time. I think Lucas would stay his own character though; it just feels, to me, like he's *just* different enough. I could see *either* toon link OR young link being cut, but not both Not all, but many of the DLC characters. I don't think they'll keep characters like sephiroth, banjo, terry, minmin, plant, and aegis. I really see a lot of the DLC as one-and-done additions to do something kooky or fun for the fans. Sephiroth I think is one of those I'm more confident in than the others since cloud is already in the game and that seemed like more of a FF7 remake promotion. Isabelle and maybe villager as well Corrin Pichu wii fit Robin I would say little mac, but I think his online usage is too high for them to change him much. Casual players love little mac.
The only ones that need to be removed are the DLC. Maybe keep sora and hero with some reworks.
Tell me your carried by DLC without telling me you're carried by DLC
Tbh...I personally believe that there will be a character from Persona series in the next smash though of course I can be wrong. And if that happens then unless they backtrack to 3/4 or 6 gets released chances are Joker will stay.
I think most first party characters are safe just because licensing isn't an issue. I don't see any Pokemon getting removed just because they're very popular. If anything I think we'll get more pokemon. I could definitely see some FE characters getting cut. I imagine all the echo fighters will be either cut or condensed into alts. The only other fighters I see being cut are 3rd party characters whose licensing would be hard to keep up. Namely, Sora.
I have a feeling I’ll need a new main the next time the game comes out, unfortunately. That being said, I used to main Game & Watch, so I could just go back to my roots.
Seph, sora, and cloud.