Topic: Do you wish to see a sixth new Super Smash Bros. game?

Smash ultimate is the mother of all omelettes here Jack. Can’t fret over a new entry!

In all honesty, Nintendo doesn’t have to make a new Smash. This could be the end (but again, people have been saying that the most recent smash game would be the last since Brawl.) They could pull a Mario Kart 8 and just straight up port Ultimate with a few fan requested characters or whatever (like MK8 deluxe did with adding obvious characters like Bowser Jr, Dry Bones, and kIng Boo) and randomly drop another dlc wave 6 years afterwards.

Yes. Especially if they allowed the following to remain:

1. Sound test and My Music.
2. The ability to take lots of silly pictures.

No. Ultimate is the pinnacle of the franchise and eliminates the need for a sixth for the most part. A halfway house solution would be to re-release the game down the line for Nintendo's new console and add a dozen more characters, like doing a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. MK8DX worked really well, but the fact that the DLC had this finality element to it kinda disproves it.

Just port ultimate and add more characters like mk8, ultimate is too perfect. Sadly with a game like that keeping the license can be tough to keep.

I think the difference is that up until now every version has had a reason to exist. Melee makes sense because of the jump in graphical power and the change in game media. Brawl, if we're being honest, struggled to justify its existence but at least had online play and widescreen. The 3DS release was the first portable version, the Wii U release bumped up the resolution to 1080p and the Switch obviously can't read optical media and is an entirely different architecture

Going into Nintendo's next platform? I mean sure, if there is no backwards compatibility it'll make sense to release another Smash. If. But even then, would it just be a re-release or an entirely new version? I'm not so convinced it wouldn't just be a re-release. Maybe with all the DLC bundled in. Really the only reason I can think of you would want to touch Smash Ultimate would be to add new stages and characters. Which as I said on the previous page, that could just be DLC

And in any case, the above only makes sense if you want more characters/stages and/or if Nintendo release hardware that isn't backwards compatible. The latter is a topic that's been done to death elsewhere, personally I don't think Nintendo is going to drop Switch game support on the next hardware release. On the new character/stages front? I think there's not much room there either. The game has 76 characters. For crying out loud it has Wii Fit Trainer and Piranha Plant. To justify new characters at this point they'd either have to dig deeper into third party characters or have some significant new IP they're not covering. And really, what significant IP has come out since Smash Ultimate's last DLC?

There needs to be a Smash 6 eventually for business reasons. Nintendo is leaving money on the table if they...
-Never do anything with Smash again besides putting Ultimate and previous entries as legacy content/backwards compatibility support
-Native port/update Ultimate once and then give up on Smash
-Continually update Ultimate from now until the end of the time on new systems without truly making a new game.
Before anyone brings up Sakurai, I'm pretty sure Nintendo can and will keep greenlighting Smash even if he retires from it completely.

I doubt we will see another smash bros game for a long long time, if ever. Still, knowing Nintendo’s insistence on Sakurai helming the franchise, I doubt he would refuse a sixth entry even at his age. He also said isn’t fully retired yet. Still, if the next entry of this series proves real, then will need the following:

-Updated movesets. Seriously, these hold back a lot of characters on the roster. Mario still has the same movesets from Brawl for heaven’s sake. Surely he could use some new upgrades to prove a formidable foe at this point. Pulling cues directly from across a series and using that to fix movesets properly would probably help with the fact that the likes of Marth, Lucina, Roy, and Chrom all have extremely close and uninspired movesets. Some movesets are very inventive like Byleth’s and Mega Man’s, but some are just downright awful like Little Mac’s and Sonic’s. Most movesets, especially for the older characters, need to have an update. Mario for example could use a wider variety of power ups for his neutral special instead of just one measly fireball that is so unbelievably useless. He could swap between Ice mario, Fire Mario, Cat Mario, etc, each bringing their own unique neutral special. Samus could use an upgrade too. She could borrow some aspects of her updates moveset from Dread, adding her melee counter and maybe her speed booster for her up special, which functions like Lucario’s extreme speed but with limited movement in a certain direction. So on and so forth.

-More original stages. I get why Smash Ultimate brough back so many old stages, but the next entry should have much fresher and newer stages. Some of those older stages in Ultimate have proved why they still suck years later, like Brinstar and Yoshi’s Island/Obstacle Course. More inventive stages with more interactivity would benefit the new game. Some ideas come to mind in the form of City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2 (because lets be honest, his current stages really suck. One is green hill and the other is green hill with a windmill and spring.), Gang Plank Galleon (I know Wind Waker’s pirate ship is in Ultimate, but it could easily be replaced by the SNES gang plank galleon with that awesome remix from Ultimate), and SR388 for a Metroid stage (this one is Dread based, and it would do something similar to Skyloft and move between each section in the game, because there are quite a few.) Improvements like that would make all the difference.

-Upgraded Sound Library: The track selection in Ultimate is immense. Absolutely giant. Over 1000 tracks in total. However, some of those tracks were pulled straight out of the likes of the first Smash Bros, and haven’t aged terribly well. Why do we still have over 6 songs for Path Of Radiance and Radiant Dawn? Why is there no Mario Party songs other than some obscure ones from Island Tour and Party 9? Why is there so much Wii Sports? New songs and remixes from newer entries would be appreciated, like Switch Sports, Metroid Dread, Tears Of The Kingdom, Forgotten Land, etc. Using the same old tracks feels a bit lazy.

Now don’t get me wrong, I adore Ultimate, but this next entry isn’t another Ultimate. It should help modernize the series, and include more new fighters and far less old ones. Seriously, who cares about Pichu, Young Link and all the echo fighters?

I don't see them straight porting Smash Ultimate while adding new characters to the next console, but I don't think they'll be building the next Smash from scratch either, most likely building what Ultimate had. Seeing who will get in is always the franchises biggest appeal, and there are still characters old and new, even some who are currently assist trophies people still really want to see. I can see them also trimming the fat(like cutting redundant characters like Young Link, Pichu, the FE avatars, some of the echoes, etc.) and I can see them dialing back the 3rd parties significantly, or at least focusing on the ones they already have, I can see characters from Sega, Namco, Capcom and maybe Konami staying(some like Joker and Kazuya really seem like one-and-done deals, especially Joker), don't know about Terry and I really feel unsure about the Square characters especially with how much of a control freak Nomura is(he was actually the reason Sora was difficult to include rather than Disney)

I think it'll come down to licensing, if Nintendo can continue selling Smash Ultimate they will but if complications happen which force the game to be delisted (e.g. Square Enix gets acquired by Sony, Microsoft's relationship with Nintendo breaks down) then I think they'll just do a Melee HD remaster given it's the last Smash game to solely be Nintendo 1st party.

I think it would be quite a challenge to create a new Super Smash Bros game that would be able to outshine Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I think there is a possibility of one later on, but I think it will be a while before we seeing anything related to a new game in the series, even with taking into consideration how long Ultimate has been out. That one will be a tough game to surpass. I honestly wouldn't complain if we never got another one though.

@Grumblevolcano I don’t see a melee remaster happening. Nintendo Life already ran an article a while back showcasing what Kit and Krysta said about how that will probably never happen. If Melee were to ever reappear, it would probably be part of Nintendo’s GCN NSO on the next console, but even that isn’t a guarantee. I think certain characters in smash ultimate like Sora are a one time thing, I agree. Licensing will be an issue. It’s up for debate whether a new smash bros will be developed for the next console, or maybe Ultimate is the final smash game. Or the reigns could be passed on to a different lead developer from Sakurai to someone else, who knows?

@TheBigBlue I don't see GCN ever being a part of NSO to be honest. I feel some games will get remastered (I'm using the term very broadly so I'm counting stuff like Sunshine in 3D All Stars, not just the kind of remaster that Metroid Prime got) while the rest are lost to time.

They painted themselves into a corner with the name of the last game

@Rambler nah they can have Ultimate but with a z, Super Smash Bros UltmateZ!

The thing is, smash bros as a series has been rumoured to end since Brawl. The tagline on the back of the physical release read “The Brawl to End Them All!” So naturally, judging by “brawl to end all”, people thought Brawl would be the last entry in the series. Same with 3DS/Wii U. Sakurai said that he returned to work on Ultimate for switch because that was Satoru Iwata’s last request to Sakurai before he passed away. So Sakurai did his absolute best to make the greatest Smash Bros game or them all, and he absolutely did Iwata proud. That said, since his mission is complete, does that mean the Smash Bros series will cease to exist with Ultimate being the final entry? Only time will tell (or Nintendo would want even more of that sweet Smash Bros sales money so they bring Sakurai back yet again)

I'll believe the end of Smash when I see it. We've been here before time and time again. Despite whatever understandable reservations Sakurai may have, years from now, people will have finally had their fill of Smash Ultimate even with its huge amount of content and will desire a new, fresh take on the series. It’s not clear what that will look like but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. When push comes to shove with a new console, Nintendo and Sakurai or someone else will find the talent to make a new game happen, just as they have before.

The simple fact is that Super Smash Bros. sells well. Maybe not to the lofty heights of Mario Kart or Animal Crossing, but certainly more than the average Nintendo game. Nintendo’s not going to cook one of their golden geese.

The next Smash game would certainly make some big changes, some that people won’t be happy with, but the game should still happen all the same. The roster will have to be smaller, yet the game might have more and better features, such as a better story mode. As for Sakurai, the series can live without him. Look at Kirby. At the very least, Sakurai could still be an influential adviser.

I'd just wonder how they'll handle the inevitable saltiness of fans over trimming the roster. Every character has their fans and Ultimate added so many highly requested ones. It'd be a nightmare to pick and choose who gets the cut. I guess something like "Smash Ultimate Deluxe" isn't out of the question but I'd still expect a new game.

In an ideal world, the plan would be to make Smash 6 a complete reinvention of the series (kind of like how Theatrhythm is technically a sequel to Dissidia, but maybe not as extreme a change), while ALSO to port/re-release Ultimate to throw a bone for those who would rather keep playing in the old mold.

I really want to see ssbu just remasters, but I know that isn’t realistic because of how much the license is to keep, that’s just what I would’ve wanted.

As you said, Ultimate has too much third-party content to remaster and enhance in perpetuity. It's more of a legal and financial battle than Nintendo would want to deal with.
Ultimate Deluxe on the next system in lieu of Smash 6 or years before it (to tide us over) is pretty likely.
If the next Nintendo system launches in 2024, it would be cool to have Smash 6 or at least Ultimate Deluxe to celebrate 25 years of Smash. I'd also like a port or NSO release of Melee, and an NSO release of the original Smash for the anniversary.
Smash is big enough now that it would be such a missed opportunity to do little or nothing for the 25th anniversary.
Even for the 20th anniversary, Ultimate launched only a few months before the series 20th anniversary, and Ultimate got paid and free content in 2019.

I just miss having trophies, complete with descriptions and telling which game they're from and what console it was on (aside from some errors like Meta Knight's trophy in Melee saying he first appeared in "Kirby Super Star" when it was actually "Kirby's Adventure", or King K. Rool's trophy in Brawl saying that he and Kaptain K. Rool, his alias in Donkey Kong Country 2, being brothers rather than the same person).