“Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” has what is probably the most iconic and diverse roster of any official video game release.
Releasing in December with a whopping 75 characters, the game planned the release of an extra five characters in a Fighter Pass through downloadable content (DLC). As this year ends, the introduction of Terry Bogard marked the fourth character added from this pass. Head developer Masahiro Sakurai has recently stated that even more characters will be added to the roster after the Smash Bros fighter pass is finished, which begs the question, who else will be added?
With third party characters like Joker from Persona 5 and Banjo Kazooie from Banjo-Kazooie now in the roster, it seems as though there is no limit to characters that could potentially be added into the game.

Maybe I’ll be Tracer?

Lena Oxton, better known by her nickname Tracer, is a playable character and mascot of the Overwatch series. She has the ability to teleport short distances and rewind her movement thanks to her trusty chronal accelerator. Her time traveling and teleportation powers are coupled nicely with her dual wielded pistols, giving her great potential for a unique combination of ranged and speedy play.
In an interview with IGN, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan was asked if he was open to the idea of adding an Overwatch character to “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.” Kaplan responded, “To the Smash Brothers team, whatever character you want, we love them all. They’re all our babies, you can have any single one of them. We have 31 to choose from … Tracer’s our girl, Tracer’s our mascot. She’d be my first choice.” On top of saying that Tracer is free for grabs, Blizzard also just announced their newest title “Overwatch 2.” This means that adding Tracer to “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” would draw attention to their brand and help them advertise their new title, making it a mutually beneficial decision.

Paper Mario Makes a Splash

Between Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Yoshi and the Wario series, the Mario universe has a whole 14 characters representing them in “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.” It surprises no one that Nintendo’s mascot and his crew get such a large percentage of the Smash Bros roster, but it does surprise some to see that Paper Mario is missing from that bunch. Paper Mario is a likely candidate because he is an iconic character and represents a whole subgenre of the Mario Franchise.
He even has his own stage in the game already! Unlike the Super Mario Bros. series, Paper Mario is primarily an RPG game based around turn based combat. Paper Mario separates himself from his platforming roots with a wide array of weapons to dispose. He wields a large wooden mallet, uses mushrooms spells to heal and even has sticker specials that would translate into a great final smash.

Minecraft’s Steve crafts a position

Minecraft is the bestselling single-purchase video game of all time, just recently passing up Tetris in May of this year. Steve, the main character of the series, is one of the most iconic characters of all time. Steve would fit right in with Smash Bros and its collection of iconic characters. He has quite an arsenal of tools and materials such as swords, bows, armor and pickaxes. He also has the ability to build and destroy terrain, which could make for a unique mechanic that would help Steve stand out from the other 80 characters.
With Sakurai’s recent addition of Microsoft’s Banjo-Kazooie to the roster, their relationship with Nintendo is stronger than ever before. This is a great opportunity to add one of the industry’s biggest mascots to the greatest roster in gaming history.

Monster Hunter Comes to Hunt

Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s biggest and most profitable franchises. With Monster Hunter World passing up Street Fighter 2 as Capcom’s best-selling title and Monster Hunter 4 being released on both the Nintendo Switch and 3DS, it is a very exciting time to be a fan of the Monster Hunter series. But without the Monster Hunters themselves, the series wouldn’t be where it is today.
The Monster Hunter from Monster Hunter could be a unique character because there is no one Monster Hunter. The character is your avatar when playing the game, and as such, there are a lot of options for weapons and customization. The Monster Hunter would most likely be armed with a longsword, as it is the most popular weapon, but could easily swap to all sorts of bows, cannons and spears for different special moves and aerial attacks.
Capcom already has Megaman, Ryu and Ken in “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” so it is not too farfetched to believe they would add representation from another one of their best-selling franchises.

Bandana Waddle Dee Stumbles into Battle

Kirby is a popular series, but it only has 3 characters in the Ultimate roster. Kirby was also created by Masahiro Sakurai, the same Sakurai that directs the Smash Bros series. As one of Nintendo’s flagship series, Kirby has been represented in Smash since the first title. The series is full of mostly mooks and goons, but a few recurring characters like King DeDeDe and Meta Knight continue to appear. However, alongside these two, the Bandana Waddle Dee has continued to be featured as a playable character in the Kirby franchise.
As opposed to a regular Waddle Dee, Bandana Dee carries a spear that it uses for combat. Its spear can be used to jab, throw, or even twirl in a helicopter fashion for short distances of flight. The Bandana Waddle Dee would make a great addition as a more down to earth character who is less alienating to newer players because of complexity.
The gate has been opened many characters are likely candidates for the series. “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” now has such a diverse roster that even the most obscure third-party characters could be pulled out of nowhere for DLC.
Overall, it’s a very exciting time to be a Super Smash Bros. or even just a video game fan. Who knows what’s next?

Photos courtesy of polygon.com