The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass just revealed its fourth fighter– Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury— and with only one fighter left to be revealed as part of the first round of DLC, fans were unsure if there would be continued support for the record breaking Nintendo Switch exclusive. Thankfully, game director Masahiro Sakurai saved our curiosity from ruling over us and said that they would be continuing to support Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with future fighter additions after the conclusion of the first Fighters Pass.
Though, what remains to be expounded on is if we will be receiving another Fighters Pass or if we will just be getting additional fighters when Nintendo decides to grace our rosters with them. For the sake of this article, let’s go with the assumption that we will get another Fighters Pass and limit these predictions to those five fighters– even though personally I think we will get some echo fighters or Nintendo character additions outside of the next round of DLC. But just how can the most ambitious fighting game continue to dazzle us? Here our some of our thoughts on characters that could open that red wax stamped envelope and make it onto the legendary roster.
Tekken
With Street Fighter and Fatal Fury having representation it only seems logical that Tekken joins the fray with a rep from the iconic franchise. Having a large pool of characters to choose from, Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, or Jin Kazama seem like the obvious choices that all play major roles in the franchise across a majority of the games. Heihachi or Kazuya would be interesting simply because they’d be the first “villain” added to the roster as DLC in Ultimate. Unsure of who exactly it will be but I do think we are destined for a Tekken rep to take the fight to Smash.
Mortal Kombat
Another iconic fighting series with history spanning multiple generations of Nintendo consoles, Mortal Kombat seems poised to take a spot in the illustrious line-up that includes other legendary fighting franchises. Especially with Mortal Kombat 11 being not only a hugely successful and popular game, it’s also available on the Switch. If we did see a rep from the venerable series, I think the most obvious rep would be Sub-Zero. I could see the case being made for Scorpion or Raiden as well, but between those three they seem to be the icons of the franchise more than any other of the familiar faces.
Tracer
Moving away from other fighting franchises, I think Overwatch over the last few years has positioned itself as a next generation iconic gaming world. Aside from the fact that it has millions of fans around the globe a professional scene unlike any other esport currently, and an amazing cast of characters that would lend interesting and unique fighting styles to Smash Bros.– Tracer being the cover character and face of the franchise is the most likely to be added. Not only would her arsenal bring an exciting move-set to Smash but she would also be another iconic female and first LGBTQ+ addition for the expansive roster.
I think part of the goal with the characters that are being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is that Nintendo wants fans of other genres of games who may not typically play fighting games to have an interest in seeing a character from their favorite game being represented and bringing someone from Overwatch will tap into that FPS vein.
Lara Croft
Speaking of iconic female characters, Lara Croft is arguably one of the most notable female video game protagonists of all time and with the reboot of the series in 2013, Lara seems poised to represent gaming history from the late 90s but also feel like a more current era character edition. Her arsenal of weapons available to her make for plenty of options when dreaming up her move-set with a mix of melee and ranged attacks rounding her out.
Commander Shepard
Arguably one of the best sci-fi gaming trilogies of all time, Mass Effect, is full of memorable characters, quotable dialogue, and tough decisions. Equipped with an extensive list of weapons, biotics, and tech– Commander Shepard would be another welcome addition with interesting antics available in his move-set. Plus, there could be both male and female Shepard as an option when choosing your character.
If you’re wondering why Geno from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars isn’t a part of my predictions it’s because he’s already in the game as the fifth, unannounced fighter being added in the first Fighters Pass– I hope. Regardless of who gets added in the future of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate I think one thing is clear, we can expect Sakurai and Nintendo to keep adding characters until it doesn’t make sense financially. In the end of it all, even if a character you want to see get added doesn’t ever make the cut, there’s no denying this is one of if not the most impressive roster in any game in history, will unlikely ever be topped when the DLC stops rolling out.
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