My Smash 6 Pitch

INTRODUCTION

Hello! I’m a beginner freelance designer, writer, and illustrator, as well as a huge fan of the Smash franchise since I was very young. Some of my favorite childhood moments were checking in every day on the Smash 4 website to see all the things they’ve announced and getting excited over the character reveals, a sentiment that was very much revived during Ultimate’s development years. I decided to give videogame design a try with some design docs, art, etc. Not seeking any profit or anything, just a fun art project I’d occupy my mind with during my downtime to expand my portfolio. Smash Ultimate set an insanely high bar with its massive content and wild character choices, making a sequel a huge challenge. So I decided to use that idea and base my design doc around a hypothetical Smash 6.

Thing is, the Switch 2 was recently announced, and considering my average times, plus the fact that this is a low-priority project, I’m sure Nintendo themselves are gonna beat me to it. So even if it’s not as detailed as I intend it to be yet, I still want to at least share this rough draft to get some notes from the Smash community and hopefully work them into the final version… even if it ends up becoming outdated.

I’ll start by talking about the roster, since most of the game’s content will be based off of it. Needless to say, this is just a fan concept, I’m not saying that I think these will be the characters in the next game, or that I think these must be the characters in the game. This is just what I came up with. I am sharing it for notes though, so I’d love to hear your thoughts! Did I miss someone? Is there something that could be cut? Anything that could be improved upon? Please do let me know, and as always, to keep it civil.

I took the route I’ve often seen discussed when talking about this game: Making it a soft reboot. I went with a safe and back to basics roster that isn’t as crazy as Ultimate’s, focusing more on updating veteran movesets (particularly 64 to Brawl) with the current design trends I’ve noticed particularly in Smash 4 and Ultimate fighters.

Smash is known for having a big roster though, so I went with a base roster of 53 characters, which is just 2 characters above Smash 4’s base roster and 19 characters below Ultimate’s base roster (counting Miis and transformation fighters as a single fighter).

The series reps were mostly chosen with the mantra of “main protagonist, main antagonist, and other major main characters”. For anthology series, I went with characters from more relevant entries. Smash has a whopping 38 franchises currently represented, so I had to pick and choose between series that have been quite active recently, fresh new hot IP’s, and timeless classics, in order to avoid unexpected deep cuts that might break the soft reboot approach.

I also tried to diversify the roster by avoiding the repetition of archetypes like for example the infamous swordfighter debate, platformer mascots, fighting game shotos, aura mechanics, psychic powers, special gimmicks, any archetype you might have noticed in more than one Smash fighter. I also took character design in mind to pick characters distinct both visually and in moveset. Because of that, no Echo Fighters were contemplated, and the amount of possible semi-clones was kept to a minimum.

The new characters were challenging, as the smaller roster size of this game and Ultimate's infamously short amount of base roster newcomers means that the new characters must be a strong selling point. Coming up with a sizable amount of newcomers while being mindful of the reduction and my own set of rules posed a challenge. In fact, I’m still not sure I’m 100% satisfied with these choices, and there’s one in particular (you might’ve already guessed which one) that might end up breaking the rules. But yeah, I ended up going for 10 newcomers. Not too little, but also in line with the amount of newcomers in previous titles.

MARIO SERIES

Trimming down clones and weird abstract characters still leaves us with a large chunk of the roster dedicated to this franchise. Makes sense, this is Nintendo’s flagship franchise after all. Mario would remain his usual easy and beginner-friendly self, but could use more direct references to his games. I’m thinking using some moves with Cappy, giving him the long jump from Mario 64 would be a fun dash attack, and a new Final Smash that encapsulates the whole concept of Mario as a character… I don’t know what that would be though, so I’m open to suggestions. Luigi would get a few Luigi’s Mansion-themed tweaks, thinking a few more attacks with the Poltergust, and maybe having Gooigi pop up there at some point. Bowser would get more of an aesthetic makeover, dropping the more monstrous look he’s been given in the series, in favor of his goofier portrayal seen in the Mario games (voice actor and everything). Peach, Rosalina, and Bowser Jr. wouldn’t really receive any major tweaks, but as major players of the franchise, they all stay.

NEWCOMER: WALUIGI

He might be an obvious choice, but honestly, why not? A fan-favorite known mostly for appearing in the beloved and active spin-off titles ing in with a moveset based on that. There are two things Waluigi is not known for: His intelligence, and his good sportsmanship. We would adapt those traits in his moveset by making him a zoner with lots of long-ranged attacks and a focus on setting traps. Plus, most of his special attacks would have a chance of blowing up on his face. Think Pichu with the effects of Hero’s Kamikaze:

Neutral Special: He swings a tennis ball with his racket, but it lingers on stage with an active hitbox. There can be up to 10 at a time. There’s an off-chance he accidentally pulls out a Bob-Omb instead and it blows up in his face.

Side Special: He hops on a Mario Kart and charges before dashing forward. If he charges too much, it explodes, just like in Mario Kart.

Up Special: He swims mid-air. Deals no damage, can’t explode, but it’s a good recovery.

Down Special: What I think might end up being his signature move. He plants a warp pipe on the ground, summoning one of the “Mario Enemy” Assist Trophies (Hammer Bro., Lakitu, Chain Chomp, Thwomp, whoever ends up ing). There’s a chance a Bob-Omb will clog the pipe and explode on him.

MARIO SPIN-OFFS

The Mario-adjacent roster remains untouched. Donkey Kong would receive some much-needed adjustments to his moveset, giving him some attacks with barrels for it to feel more in character. Diddy Kong and King K. Rool would remain relatively the same. The latter might feel like an odd choice considering the DKC series hasn’t seen a real new entry since Tropical Freeze in the Wii U era, but he is still the monke's most iconic villain, and after years of fan requests, he received a really good moveset that shouldn’t go to waste.

If Waluigi’s in, then Wario is also coming back. He’d be adjusted to better represent both Wario Land and WarioWare, I’m thinking of incorporating a shake mechanic somewhere in his moveset. Finally, Yoshi, yet another Smash staple, would also go without too many changes. I personally feel his moveset’s a bit messy, so maybe move things around to make it make more sense, nothing too big.

A final talking point I wanna bring up is a recent redesign revealed for DK in the Switch 2’s Mario Kart. People are concerned it might be a permanent replacement, considering how well the Illumination movie did, how the Mario series is recently aiming for a new stylized look, and the status of the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Personally, I don’t think this design is a replacement. I feel like it was made for that specific Mario Kart game, as other characters like Bowser or King Boo got similar redesigns. Plus, with the Donkey Kong Country area at Universal Japan, and the like millionth rerelease of DKC Returns back in January, I think we still have plenty of classic DK left, so Smash 6 would still have the classic “Rare” designs.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA SERIES

The Zelda series has two main issues: 1-It’s current roster is extremely messy, and 2-It’s not just a matter of “who”, but it’s also a matter of “which ones”. I’d like to keep Ultimate’s approach of featuring designs from mixed entries, while using characters recurring throughout the entire franchise.

Link would get some TotK-themed tweaks. He would now be a gimmicky scavenger character: Keep the arrows as they were in Ultimate, incorporate some of the others like the electric or the explosion ones, and have him keep some sort of inventory for them, while at the same time making them regular items that can spawn on stage from time to time if he’s fighting so that he (or any Links on stage) can collect them and watch out for ammo. The Runes would be reworked into an interchangeable down special: Bomb would be the exact same as Ultimate, Stasis would be something similar to Bayonetta’s Witch Time, Magnesis would be a fun grab attack, and Cryonis would summon a large ice pillar. His up special would now be Revali’s Gale, the Ultra Hand would give him a tether grab once more, and for his Final Smash he’d strap you to a rocket or something, I don’t know but he’d be getting a new Final Smash. Sad news, I haven’t played Tears yet (I know… I know :pensive: ), so if you have any other ideas as to how that game might be incorporated into his moveset, I’m hearing you out.

Zelda would remain the exact same as she was in Smash Ultimate, no Sheik unfortunately, and Ganondorf would finally get the original moveset he’s needed for over 20 years. He’d be a floaty heavyweight with a moveset based off of two of his most popular battles: OoT and TotK. Design-wise, I went for Hyrule Warriors Ganon, as I feel that one does a good job at merging both modern and classic designs of the character, and he has those huge swords we can use for the Smash Attacks he was given in Ultimate.

NEWCOMER: IMPA

You really start to understand why the actual Zelda roster is as weird as it is when you try to make your own. There aren’t really any recurring characters outside of the main three. Impa is one of the few exceptions. Sure, sometimes she’s the Princess’ strong and loyal guard, sometimes she’s a sweet old lady who gives you wise advice, but she’s always been there. Having her in Smash makes sense. I went with the one from Age of Calamity, as it’s one of her most popular versions and in my opinion the one that fits Smash the best: A spiritual successor to Sheik, a fast and lightweight ninja character, this time with moves that reference her directly. Just to name a few, she’d bring in her daggers, her hat, explosives, and even some attacks involving clones of herself.

NEWCOMER: MASKED LINK

That said, even though there are not that many recurring Zelda characters, there are many recurring races, which is why I decided to revive an old fan idea and have him in as well. Majora’s Mask is also one of the most beloved installments in the franchise, which would help the Smash tradition of including an odd retro character without breaking the game’s concept. He’d be a transformation character, cycling between the main 4 transformations from that game. We’d start with Young Link, exact same as the one in Melee, perfect considering Regular Link received so many changes; then Zora Link, a lightweight with an agility-based moveset that also features water elements; then Goron Link, a big and heavy character with slow but strong attacks; and finally Deku Link, a small and light character with weird magical abilities and perhaps one or two stat boosters.

METROID SERIES

Samus would still play relatively the same, but with some major tweaks to represent her post-Smash 64 adventures. Design-wise, I’d give her 2 main looks: The default would be the classic orange Varia Suit as it looks like in the Metroid Prime 4; and the Power Suit from Dread as an alt. A major aesthetic change would be the incorporation of her “human design”. From what I see, Samus being a woman was initially more of a plot twist, as characters like her weren’t really seen back in the NES era, and those simpler games had to go for simpler storylines with simpler twists. Nowadays, Samus being a woman is not only a core aspect of this character, but I also feel like blonde Samus is as iconic as helmet Samus. ZSS wouldn’t return, but she wouldn’t be completely gone either. Samus would now have actual voice lines, her Final Smash could now be the Gunship as ZSS uses it in Smash 4 and Ultimate, and perhaps we could throw in an unmasked alt for the Varia Suit.

Ridley would also return with no major changes in his moveset, but one major tweak design-wise. Taking notes from Multiversus of all places (specifically with the way they incorporated the Iron Giant), Ridley would now be Smash’s first giant character. Basically imagine if he constantly had the Super Mushroom power-up on.

KIRBY SERIES

Intentional or not, Sakurai’s own series is already very well represented as is. The expected main characters are here, all with very good movesets. Meta Knight is a particularly fun case, as many of his moves in Brawl were Smash originals, but then they were slowly incorporated into the Kirby games, so I guess he’s fine as is. Kirby would get the obligatory updates to his hat ability, and as for King Dedede, I’d just give him a new Final Smash since I don’t feel Smash 4 or Ultimate struck the landing. The one from Brawl is great, but I’d rather have the new character use it. Who knows, maybe Macho Dedede would do the trick?

NEWCOMER: WADDLE DEE

Our favorite Goomba with a hat would the battle. Waddle Dees have always been a core aspect of the Kirby series, and the special edition ultra rare shiny bandana one has become synonymous with the modern era of the franchise. Now, the Smash community has come up with the joke/theory/observation that maybe the reason we don’t see that much representation from newer Kirby games in Smash is that Sakurai didn’t make those. I guess it’s fair considering it’s him including his own series in his own crossover game… But I’m not Sakurai, so I’m putting a modern Kirby character in Smash.

POKÉMON SERIES

Pokémon rep in Smash is tricky, considering it’s represented by the Pokémon themselves, of which only a few get any characterization in the games. I ended up taking in mind relevant concepts of the games and some notes from the anime and this was the result. Series mascot Pikachu doesn’t change that much. Jigglypuff was saved solely for the fact that it was in Smash 64; “the original 12” may be a coincidence, but it’s been 5 games, I think it should be a formal tradition by now. Also, with Smash 6’s soft reboot approach, it’d be nice to at least honor the game that started it all with all of its characters. Mewtwo is the closest thing to a Pokémon villain we’ve had, and has a unique moveset that can be left as is, making a perfect rep for Legendary Pokémon.

Starter Pokémon is another series staple, and with Pokémon being such a huge media juggernaut, they deserve a big roster, so the starters were incorporated as individual characters rather than bringing back Pokémon Trainer. For Water and Fire, I brought back two fan-favorite veterans: Greninja and Charizard, the exact same as they were in Smash 4.

NEWCOMER: DECIDUEYE

The Grass-Type had to be a new face: Serperior and Meganium would be too weird to be made into playable characters. Venusaur is surprisingly viable, but it’d end up just being Ivysaur but big. Rilaboom and Meowscarada are names I’ve seen thrown around, but I feel they’d wind up being more heavyweight and magic characters respectively rather than plant-themed characters. It ended up being a choice between Sceptile and Decidueye. Sceptile could have worked wonders, but Decidueye has that unique bird physique combined with dark elements that would make it stand out as a quite unique fighter that still incorporates the Grass theme very front and center.

FIRE EMBLEM SERIES

The history of this franchise in Smash has been controversial to say the least, with Ultimate having brought back every single one and on top of that adding new ones, resulting in a grand total of eight, of which four are Marth or Marth-adjacent. It also doesn’t help that design-wise, they do feel a bit too similar with the armors, swords, crazy hair colors, and fantasy clothes. This franchise might be the one suffering the biggest of cuts. I know people grew to love Byleth’s distinct moveset, it personally hurts to see Roy and Corrin go, and I’m sure Ike has his fans, but their time has simply ed.

Marth stays, as not only is he the original Fire Emblem rep, but he’s also become a major player in the entire franchise. And with all the crazy gimmicks and changes being implemented into the Links, he fits nicely as a basic and easy swordfighter character. Meanwhile, Awakening was arguably the series’ most influential entry, helping cement the franchise outside of Japan. At least one of its characters warrants a comeback. Robin wound up staying, as their unique design and magic-based moveset makes them stand out the most compared to Lucina and Chrom.

NEWCOMER: ALEAR

Finally, following the trend of Fire Emblem newcomers, Alear from Engage is ing as a new fighter. Their design (and the entirety of Engage, let’s be real) might be a bit too silly, but their draconic flame abilities, combined with the use of martial arts would make for a very unique character from this series. Plus, an Engage mechanic, I’m thinking something similar to Joker’s Rebel Gauge or Cloud’s Limit, would make this a fun character to play as.

OTHER SERIES

Some franchises that used to have 2-3 characters will suffer major cuts, while others will now be completely absent.

Star Fox:

Falco and Wolf have their fans, but they’re a bit too close to Fox in moveset territory, and the series they come from doesn’t really allow for any major changes to be done with them. Plus, with the latest Star Fox game having come out in 2016 to mixed results, they can sit this one out. The series is still part of Nintendo’s history, so Fox is coming back with his iconic Smash 64-Melee design.

Earthbound:

A fantastic series, but it’s a bit too niche, having picked popularity mostly during the 2010’s, and Mother 3 is a Japan exclusive so hard it’s become a joke at this point. Lucas would unfortunately be cut and Ness would stay as a Smash 64 veteran and the protagonist from the game that had the easiest time coming overseas.

Animal Crossing:

With this series the problem is the opposite, as the series is currently at an all-time peak, it would actually warrant more than one character… But it’s such a peaceful game, the moveset potential for any character boils down to props and general concepts. I decided to keep Isabelle, as she’s quickly become the face of the franchise, and it makes sense to have the character from the Animal Crossing series be.. Y’know… an animal… crossing…

Kid Icarus:

After its surprising return with Uprising in 2012, the franchise has unfortunately remained dormant since, so much so that I only decided to let Pit stay out of Sakurai being the person behind Kid Icarus’ sporadic hops back to life in the 2010’s. Plus, you could make the argument he works as a rep for the 3DS era. That said, we don’t need more than one character from his series at the moment.

Xenoblade Chronicles:

Xenoblade is at an all-time high in of relevance with most of its entries having come out during the Switch era. Shulk is obviously staying as the original protagonist and one of the franchise’s overall most recognizable characters.

NEWCOMER: NOAH

With Xenoblade 3’s successful performance as an ending to this trilogy, Noah would bring a class change mechanic into Smash as a stance change character, with certain attacks triggering either the Veiled Sword or the Dual Moonblades to give him access to other certain attacks with the Zephyr or Swordfighter class. Not precisely a transformation character, but more like a character with more moves than usual. Mio would in as an alternate costume.

Super Smash Bros.:

The Miis stay, assuming the Switch 2 still has them in it. They’d remain as fun customizable characters for casual players to enjoy with the possibility of fun and marketable DLC costumes.

F-Zero:

Captain Falcon has become a Smash staple as the last member of the Original 12 left to cover. His inclusion in Smash is also a curious history, as his moveset is actually a recycled concept from Dragon King: The Fighting Game: What Smash could have been if the idea to use Nintendo characters never came to be. It’s fitting he stays as a piece of Smash history. (Don’t mess with F-Zero fans, the three of us still think a new game is coming out).

Splatoon:

The Inklings stay with visual and moveset tweaks that incorporate the second and third entries. No new characters were contemplated as conceptually, they’d wind up being a bit too similar to the main Inklings themselves.

Pikmin:

Olimar was close to being cut, but then Pikmin 4 happened so now not only is he staying, he’s getting adjustments that fit the newest title. I’ve heard people vouch for the new protagonist to instead or even alongside him, but I’d rather keep the named established character before adding in another customizable avatar.

Retro Characters:

As mentioned in the Zelda section, Smash has always featured weird retro characters, but has also kept them as veterans for the next installments. I kept Little Mac and Duck Hunt since their games are considered NES classics by many, while Ice Climber isn’t really known outside of Smash (and we’ve already survived once without them), and Game & Watch and R.O.B. suffer kind of the same problem, representing accessories rather than actual videogames.

NEWCOMER: ???

With this game being thought of as a Switch 2 entry, it’d be fun to give a chance to a new modern IP. Which one?… I don’t know, it hasn’t been announced yet, but It seems fair to represent a piece of what future Nintendo history might look like.

3rd PARTY FRANCHISES

Although this section of the roster received several painful cuts, they were also the easiest, as in my personal opinion, the weird and out there characters revealed in Ultimate’s DLC is what made the latest entry’s roster so crazy and is what mostly sparks the need for Smash to get a soft reboot post-Ultimate. Some vital guests were kept under personal rules I came up with: One character per company, these characters have to either be massive gaming icons, or characters that made history with Nintendo. I ended up making two exceptions to these rules, resulting in a fair and balanced total of eight:

Sega keeps the Sonic series as it’s obviously the most iconic out of all guest franchises ever included in Smash. He is in dire need of major tweaks so that his moveset doesn’t boil down to just “ball”, incorporating speed into his fighting style as well. His model and voice performance would also align more to the more fun and cool and expressive one we saw in Brawl.

NEWCOMER: SHADOW

Our first exception to the "one-per-company" rule comes in the form of a long-awaited second Sonic character. I know it might be easy to just make him a Sonic clone, but things like his Chaos powers, or some of his edgier aspects like his bike and his gun (yes, seriously) would really help set this very active fan-favorite apart.

Capcom would be the other exception to the rule, as both Street Fighter and Megaman are franchises they've made history with. Megaman might not be as active as he once was, but he is still an all-time gaming icon. He would receive a minor design change by making his animations more expressive, and perhaps even giving him voice lines. Smash 4 wanted to delve more into his robotic nature but take one quick glance at Megaman lore and you’ll quickly see he’s very human for a robot. Ryu on the other hand is the face of fighting games, so he stays over Terry or Kazuya, who yes, each have unique movesets and come from beloved franchises, but they all still cover the fighting game shoto archetype.

This means the Bandai Namco rep is Pac-Man, one of the most iconic fictional characters of all time, staying as a fun “retro guest character”.

For Konami it felt super weird to cut the first guest character ever, but between Metal Gear with its weird legal situation and comparing its aesthetics and gaming history to Castlevania, the latter was the winning pick, as it’s a gaming icon that originated with Nintendo. Both Belmonts are very well known, and their moveset was designed so that it would fit either, so Simon stays as the default character while Richter also returns, this time as a costume.

The Microsoft rep is absolutely going to be Minecraft Steve, the main character from the best-selling videogame ever. His moveset would need some major readjustments from Ultimate to make him less gimmicky while still capturing the feel of Minecraft and providing a fun character.

NEWCOMER: RAYMAN

Finally for a completely new character from a completely new company, I decided to bring in Ubisoft's Rayman. Not only has he received minor rep in Smash already, but his limbless nature might make for an interesting fighter. Plus, with his latest appearance in the Mario + Rabbids DLC and his role as an antagonist in Netflix’s Captain Laserhawk, it's clear he hasn't been forgotten.

THE DLC

I didn’t make much planning for the DLC because that’s additional content that we can go crazier over and it’s an entire other beast of its own. I did come up with the vague idea of a single fighters like the one in Ultimate. Six challenger packs with a new fighter, their respective stage, Mii costumes. And who knows, perhaps this time we can up the challenge with things like new items, Assist Trophies, character costumes, additional stages, etc.

I didn’t come up with any DLC characters, so I’m just gonna spitball some characters that came to mind but didn’t make it. Feel free to imagine any combination of that as a Fighters :

Raven Beak, Travis Touchdown, Monster Hunter, Crash Bandicoot, Shovel Knight, any Undertale/Deltarune character, Doom Slayer, Phoenix Wright, any of the Square veterans, Joker/Persona 6 protagonist, Sol Badguy, any Rhythm Heaven character, Ring Fit Trainee, Wonder Red from the Wonderful 101 (Wonderful 102 when), Any SNK character, Bayonetta.

STAGES

I decided to bring back the old tradition and make most of the stages new. I tried to have each character have a home stage (not as in one stage per character but no fighters without a stage they can call theirs) and I did bring back some old classics… That said, I might’ve overdone it with Smash 4 stages, so feel free to let me know if I should trim some, or if you have any better ideas. Here they are, listed left to right top to bottom:

+Battlefield/Final Destination (Smash originals):

Smash staples. As usual, new versions.

+Mount Beanpole (Super Mario 3D World):

A basic 3D World/Mushroom Kingdom-themed stage with clear pipes and climbable trees.

+Flower Kingdom (Super Mario Wonder):

A Mario Wonder-themed stage, succeeding the Mushroom Kingdom U stage in Smash 4. Similar concept, except that the stage changes would now be brought upon a Wonder Flower that pops up every once in a while, bringing stat changes to the fighters as well (invisible, flower, fire, etc.)

+Odyssey (Super Mario Odyssey):

A traveling stage where the main platform is the Odyssey ship itself, taking fighters across many of that game’s worlds.

+Bowser’s Castle (Mario series):

Why isn’t this a stage yet!? A gloomy and dark stage full of lava, spikes, Thwomps, and stage hazards common to those levels.

+Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 9):

Instead of making yet another Mario Circuit, let’s have a stage themed after another Mario Kart Staple. I’m thinking the one from the game, but if it doesn’t have one we can always bring back the Smash 4 one.

+Brawl Luigi’s Mansion (Luigi’s Mansion):

I contemplated doing a new Luigi’s mansion stage, but the one from Brawl works just as well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

+Wii U Woolly World (Yoshi’s Woolly World):

We’re bringing back a stage that should have never left, still bringing in the arts & crafts look the Yoshi series has been seeing recently.

+Caresaway Island (WarioWare: Move It!!):

Based off the newest WarioWare, a beach-themed stage with a Microgame mechanic adapting the newest title.

+Shipwreck Shore (Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze):

Based on the second level of DKC: Tropical Freeze, it’d keep the tradition of jungle-themed DK stages with woods and climbable vines, alongside some maritime elements for K. Rool.

+DK’s Factory (Donkey Kong):

A stage based on 25M from the original Donkey Kong. It’d have a modern twist by making it some sort of abandoned factory, with the same hazards as 75M from Brawl but in a much more player-friendly environment.

+Kingdom of Hyrule (TLOZ Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom):

Another traveling stage, being based off the massive open world exploration aspect of BotW and TotK, taking players across several iconic locations from those games.

+Clock Town (TLOZ Majora’s Mask):

A basic stage based off of the location from Majora’s Mask. I’m thinking it could have that clock as a giant rotating platform (think Kongo Jungle 64) and the events from the game happening in the background as a fun detail.

+Melee Temple (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link):

Bringing back a fan-favorite classic.

+Waddle Dee Town (Kirby and the Forgotten Land):

Just like in Forgotten Land, a stage that would start out small and basic, but as you progress in the game and unlock more content and level up, it’d become bigger and bigger, populated with Waddle Dees living their usual daily lives.

+Gourmet Race (Kirby Super Star):

Surprisingly not an actual stage yet: A sidescroller where players would collect food that would work as stat boosters.

+Somniel (Fire Emblem Engage):

A big and castle-y stage in the sky, with some of the characters from that game popping up in the background every once in a while.

+Artaria (Metroid Dread):

A large cave-like stage where players will have to watch out for EMMI’s lurking every corner.

+Smashville Neighborhood (Animal Crossing Series):

A successor to the previous Animal Crossing stages, this time with a breakable bridge in the middle of the main platform and a background populated with houses inhabited by villagers from the series.

+Paldea Pokémon League (Pokémon Scarlet/Violet):

A rebranding of the classic Pokémon Stadium concept in Smash, representing the latest installment from the series. The gym leaders and their Pokémon would show up and alter the stage depending on types. We might even throw in a Paradox form with the Professors and the legendaries.

+Poké Floats (Pokémon Series):

The much wanted update for this Melee classic, incorporating many of the newer creatures.

+Inkopolis Square (Splatoon 1/2):

A basic stage located in the Inkopolis Tower. Much like the Miiverse stage in Smash 4, there’d be Inklings in the background that would deliver fan-drawn messages that you can create after every battle to cheer fighters.

+Deepsea Metro (Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion):

A train-based stage that would take players to several areas that replicate gimmicks seen in the Octo Expansion levels.

+Amphitheater (Xenoblade Chronicles 3):

A classy and elegant stage with a big screen in the background projecting 2 possible forms: A-Xenoblade 3 Cutscenes, B-Smash trailers. Towards the end of the battle, the Amphitheater would get destroyed and take the battle to the Core of Origin.

+3DS Gaur Plains (Xenoblade Chronicles):

Iconic Xenoblade 1 location, the 3DS layout with the Wii U hazards.

+Wii U/ 3DS Boxing Ring (Punch-Out!! series):

What other Punch-Out!! stage is there really?

+Smash Flash 2 Palutena’s Temple (Kid Icarus series):

Couldn’t come up with anything. A new stage from Uprising would be too specific to that game, but I still want something “Heavenly” for this series, and Palutena’s Temple is too big. I borrowed Smash Flash’s idea as a placeholder. Any ideas are welcome.

+New F-Zero stage:

A 3D remake of any of the Knight League tracks that would kinda work like the Mario Kart stage from Brawl, but F-Zero-themed.

+64 Sector Z (Star Fox 64):

The concept of Corneria is perfect for a Star Fox stage, but I went with this one instead since it’s set in space.

+Strange Encounters (Earthbound series):

A trippy stage themed after Earthbound battles. Every once in a while, an enemy from the series will appear and engage in battle, for which players will have to use the stage layout to “fight back”.

+Blossoming Arcadia (Pikmin 4):

A cutesy stage with huge grass leaves, giant objects, the Unfloatable Boat, and swimmable water; really honing in on the microscopic nature of the Pikmin series.

+New IP stage:

For the new character.

+Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog series):

A rebranding of the Brawl stage, making it a bit less claustrophobic and involving more iconic elements from the level besides the loop.

+Chemical Plant Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 2):

An edgier darker Sonic stage for Shadow, filled with fun curves, runnable surfaces, and hazards from the Sonic series like springs, spikes, or bumpers.

+3DS Pac-Maze (Pac-Man):

We might have to ditch the mechanic that existed in the 3DS version, but this is still much more fitting for Pac-Man than Pac-Land.

+Fiesta de los Muertos (Rayman Legends):

A fun food-themed side-scroller.

+Wily Castle (Megaman 2):

Another rebranding of an old stage, reinventing the structure and ditching the annoying Yellow Devil in favor of more fun and manageable hazards based off the Robot Masters from Megaman 2.

+Flamenco Tavern (Street Fighter V):

With Terry and Kazuya gone, we’d use Vega’s stage to keep the plain fighting stage with a wall mechanic alive. Perhaps we could see some Capcom characters hanging out in the background.

+Ultimate Dracula’s Castle (Castlevania series):

A solid stage from Ultimate based off of the most iconic Castlevania location.

+New World (Minecraft):

Similar to Ultimate’s Minecraft World, but with a bit more room to breathe and move around without getting rid of the breakable surfaces.

+Bedroom (Smash original):

Loosely based off the intro sequence from Smash 64. A table with lots of Nintendo memorabilia like a Virtual Boy, Amiibos, a GameCube, a Labo set, etc. Its main gimmick would be a big TV that projects NES-based stages like a Duck Hunt one, a Balloon Fight one, Excitebike, Urban Champion, etc.

+Wii U Wuhu Island (Wii Sports):

Wii Sports is just that iconic.

+Tetris (Tetris):

A basic stage where giant Tetrominos would fall from the top and create the platforms. Just like in the original game, they’d clear the layout every time a row is filled. Taunting is impossible in this stage, as the taunt buttons would play into some mechanic to replicate Tetris gameplay.

ITEMS

+Ice Flower (Mario):

Like the Fire Flower but it’s ice.

+Monitor (Sonic the Hedgehog):

Break it and you’ll be equipped with Rings. Players who get attacked with this item on will counter by releasing all the Rings they had equipped, working as projectiles.

+Totem of Undying (Minecraft):

Whoever is carrying it will have some sort of “extra stock”, so if they fall off the stage, they don’t actually lose any lives. Be careful not to drop it by accident though.

+Hisui Pokeball (Pokemon):

An empty Pokeball you can use to catch your opponents and then use as projectiles or throw them off-stage.

+Pikmin Sprout (I think it’s from Castlevania???):

You pull it out and it’s either a Pikpik Carrot you can use to heal, or a Pikmin that follows you around, blocking attacks and giving you the option to throw it. Unlike Olimar’s, this one will die as soon as it gets thrown.

+Ultra Hand (Nintendo Toy):

Use it to grab opponents, ledges, or items from afar.

+Mech (Nintendo Labo):

A mech suit that you hop on to deliver powerful punches.

+Coffee (Smash original):

Press A to drink it and heal damage, press B to toss it and deliver a flaming hot attack.

ASSISTS

+Piranha Plant (Mario):

The first fighter to get a “demotion”. It’d sit there and spit fire balls, every once in a while switching to a Ptooie like in Ultimate.

+5-Volt (WarioWare):

The stage hazard from Smash 4 turned into an Assist Trophy.

+Guardian (TLOZ):

It’d point its laser and follow fighters around to deliver deadly attacks, just like in BotW.

+Raven Beak (Metroid):

He’d basically replicate his boss fight.

+Snom (Pokeball Pokémon):

The Pyukumuku Pokeball from Ultimate but it’s ice-themed now.

+Coalossal (Pokeball Pokémon):

It’d walk around, dropping flaming chunks of coal. The coal on its back would also be a dangerous hazard, similar to other lava hazards seen in the series.

+Morpeko (Pokeball Pokémon):

It’d use its Aura Wheel and roll out to cause damage.

+Magikarp (Pokeball Pokémon):

Why is it a Goldeen!?

+Mr. Zero (F-Zero):

He’d appear on a screen at the edge of the stage, summoning several F-Zero racers that would wreak havoc as they by, similar to the Excitebike Assist Trophy in Brawl.

+Eggplant Wizard (Kid Icarus):

He’d curse fighters into becoming eggplants, encasing them in a breakable crust that blocks every attack they deliver, rendering them useless.

+Brewster (Animal Crossing):

A reskin of the Isabelle Assist Trophy in Smash 4, it was cool!

+Oatchi & Explorer (Pikmin):

They’d walk around, dealing damage as they by. Every once in a while, Oatchi would shake some Pikmin off his fur.

+Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents:

Either could work. They’d start dancing on stage, luring unsuspecting fighters into an uncontrollable taunting frenzy.

+Virtual Boy:

It’d sit on stage, shooting lasers and creating crazy projections every once in a while. It’d finish by firing a powerful laser.

+Crewmates (Among Us):

They’d start out by doing nothing, just performing their tasks on stage. Then the Impostor would take out one of the crewmates and call an emergency meeting, in which they would vote out one of the fighters. On an off chance, the Impostor would take out a fighter instead and then call a meeting to vote out a second fighter. Other rare times, they would actually vote out one of their own!

+Villager & Iron Golem (Minecraft):

They’d walk around the stage peacefully. If the Villager gets harmed, the Iron Golem will immediately attack that specific fighter until they get KO’d or until it disappears.

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So yeah, that’s basically all I have for now. Again, would love to see what you guys think about all this. Let me know what you like, things that could be improved on, questions, suggestions, just everything. If I manage to get the final product out on time, believe I’ll show it off and in advance, thank you so much for your help!