Fighters we might see in the next Smash Bros. game on Nintendo Switch 2

With Nintendo Switch 2 on the not-too-distant horizon, it’s almost certain that we’ll receive a new Super Smash Bros. game at some point within the next few years. And there’s plenty of debate on whether it’ll be an enhanced port of Ultimate or not – it’s possible this statement won’t age well, but we’re of the opinion that what we’ll see will be an all-new game. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate itself will be playable as-is on Nintendo Switch 2 via backwards compatibility, and we think the next entry will need to look significantly different in order to make the casual player recognize the difference. Look at Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, for example – both were available on the same system, but couldn’t have looked more different in terms of aesthetics.

With the idea of an all-new Smash Bros. in mind, we’re going over several brand-new fighters we’d like to see in the next game. We don’t quite expect that every single character from Ultimate will make it to the next title, but it can counter-balance that with high-quality newcomers (mainly, ones with unique movesets and mechanics). There’s absolutely a place for two different Super Smash Bros. games on the same console, and here are some of the characters we think would help set it apart.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduced tons of fan-favorite characters. It’s even said that many of them were introduced as a result of the online Fighter Ballot from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Though they aren’t discussed much today, Ultimate introduced Ridley, King K. Rool, Inkling, Joker, Banjo & Kazooie, Steve, and even Sora. Many of these characters (except for maybe Inkling) were thought to be impossible inclusions for the longest time. The point being, the developers like including popular characters. And while some (understandably) might not agree with this line of thinking, we think it’s fairly likely that we wind up seeing Waluigi in a future Smash game simply because people are constantly asking for him. You could argue that Waluigi’s inclusion would create a “too many Mario characters” issue, and you’re probably right – but there’s definitely potential with his moveset. Since Daisy is a clone of Peach, you could have Waluigi serve as the Mario spin-off rep. Give him moves based on Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Strikers, Mario Kart, and everything in-between. You could even let him swim through the sky as his up special – he’s been seen doing this in more than a few Mario sports games. Considering the developers made up a convincing moveset for Piranha Plant, we think it’d be fairly simple for them to do so for Waluigi, too.

The problem, then, is that you could argue for many other new Mario characters. Paper Mario is a highly-requested one, and he’d make a lot of sense given that there were two Paper Mario games on Nintendo Switch. Geno was a highly-requested character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and with the Super Mario RPG remake he’s technically as relevant now as he’s ever going to be. But you can also argue for Toad or Captain Toad, or possibly Kamek as a Yoshi rep. We don’t think it’s likely that the next Smash Bros. game introduces more than two new Mario characters, and even then, we’re not sure if any will wind up cut.

Moving on to the Zelda series, there are plenty of opportunities for new characters. We haven’t had a truly new Zelda character since Sheik and Zelda herself in Super Smash Bros. Melee; everyone else has been a semi-clone like Young Link or Toon Link. One idea would be to completely overhaul Young Link to be based on Majora’s Mask; having him transform into Goron Link, Zora Link, and Deku Link for his standard attacks would make him wholly unique. If not, you could add Skull Kid and remove his role as an Assist Trophy. One of the Champions from Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom would be a good idea, too – though we’d expect that Revali and Tulin are off the table because they might look a little too similar to Falco on the surface. Sidon is probably the best option, then – we don’t have many spear characters and he represents Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom well enough.

For Metroid, Sylux from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a solid choice. He’s appeared in games before Metroid Prime 4, and we still don’t know much about him. We expect that’ll change when the game releases, though, and it gives the developers a good excuse to add another villain to the roster. You could also add Raven Beak instead, as he has great moveset potential. The Kirby series is a bit more complicated. It absolutely deserves a fourth rep, it’s just a matter of who. Bandana Waddle Dee is likely the most popular choice. Like we mentioned earlier, there aren’t many spear users in Smash except for maybe Byleth. But if you wanted a character with an even more unique moveset, you could add Marx or Magolor. If Masahiro Sakurai is producing the next Smash, Marx is probably more likely because he debuted in Kirby Super Star, a game Sakurai worked on. If you’ve played as Magolor in Kirby Star Allies or Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, though, you can see there’s a lot of interesting moveset potential there. Some might argue for Taranza or Susie or Dark Meta Knight, but we think Marx and Magolor are a step above them in terms of overall popularity.

The Pokemon franchise is always interesting, because generally speaking only newer-generation Pokemon are added to the game. We saw this with Lucario in Brawl, Greninja in 4, and Incineroar in Ultimate. We’d almost certainly receive a Paldea Pokemon for the next Smash game, as generation 10 isn’t due to release for some time. Though there are certainly more interesting options, we’d probably see Meowscarada. It’d complete a grass-fire-water core with Greninja and Incineroar, and it does have some potential as a fast trickster-type character. That said, Ogerpon would be far more interesting and unique. It could change its moveset attributes with its masks and then Terastallize for its Final Smash. It would also be fairly quick, and it could use its Ivy Cudgel weapon for its attacks. It would also only be the second playable Legendary Pokemon in the entire series.

As much as it pains us to say it, EarthBound isn’t anywhere close to the forefront of Nintendo’s business at the moment. If it were to receive one new character (which is fairly unlikely), it’d have to be either Porky or Ninten – but not both. Porky is probably the better choice for the sake of villain representation, and he could use all sorts of mechanical attacks drawing from both EarthBound and Mother 3. Star Fox likely isn’t due for a new rep either; outside of a side campaign in Ubisoft’s Starlink: Battle for Atlas, we haven’t seen any Star Fox on Switch whatsoever. We’ve also seen nothing from Kid Icarus on Switch, and as neat as Hades would be as a new character, we don’t see that happening in a million years. Fire Emblem, however, is certainly due for a new character – the easy choice is Alear from Fire Emblem Engage. It’s a good time to clarify, then, that there’s no way Nintendo is bringing back every previous Fire Emblem character if the next Smash is indeed an all-new game. Though Robin and Byleth will certainly stay (their respective games are incredibly popular), we’re not sure if Ike, Roy, or especially Corrin will be kept.

Xenoblade Chronicles has experienced a complete resurgence on Nintendo Switch, with two new games, two new DLCs, and two remakes. We think this is enough to warrant two new characters. Elma from Xenoblade Chronicles X is a clear choice here; now that the game is being remade, we’d say she’s now relevant enough for inclusion in a Smash game. You could also add Noah and Mio from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as a team. You could make them a Pyra/Mythra type character with two completely different movesets, and have them transform into Ouroboros for their Final Smash and use a different attack depending on which character was active when the Final Smash was initiated. 

Splatoon is another franchise that’s experienced tons of popularity on Switch, and one representative certainly isn’t cutting it. You could add Octolings as a unique character with different weapons and a new final Smash, for one. Alternatively, you could change Inkling to be based on Agent 3 from the first Splatoon’s story mode, and then add Agent 8 with Octo Expansion and Side Order costumes. That way you’d have actual Splatoon characters rather than a generic species, which could be a better way of representing the series in the future. While we’re talking about games developed by Nintendo EPD 5, Animal Crossing definitely deserves more than two characters given its incredible sales figures. That said, characters from Animal Crossing have very little moveset potential beyond what we currently have with Villager and Isabelle. Finally, you could add Oatchi in some form as a Pikmin character so that the franchise has more than one playable character.

There’s also a possibility for the oddball Nintendo representative. A Rhythm Heaven character, the Ring Fit Adventure trainer, or a more retro character are all likely. And every Smash game has had a character like this – for Brawl, it was R.O.B. and for Smash 4 it was Duck Hunt. For Ultimate, it was Piranha Plant instead – it’s not necessarily synonymous with retro gaming, per se, but it has been making appearances in Mario games since the early days of the NES. The developers usually leave room for one “irrelevant” retro character to add as a fun pick. It’s very difficult to predict who this will be! Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Isaac from Golden Sun.

Concluding with third-party characters, there’s absolutely endless potential here. To rapid-fire a few: Klonoa, Bomberman, Shantae, Rayman, Master Chief, and Crash Bandicoot are all theoretically possible. Adding Shadow or Dr. Eggman to the Sonic series would also be a good idea, given how many Sonic games have been consistently appearing on Nintendo consoles for a long time now. Considering how many unique third-party characters we got in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, nothing is currently off the table – only that any new character must originate from a video game. 

Which characters do you want to see in the next Smash game, and how does your list compare against who you expect to see in the next game? Feel free to share your list with us in the comments down below. We’ll soon be back with a big list of new features, modes, and mechanics we’d like to see in the next Smash game, too.

In the meantime, you can check out the official website for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate here.