Nintendo is holding another Direct this September, so this might be when the final DLC character of the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Fighter Pass Vol 2 will be revealed, here are some predictions on which iconic Japanese games character can make it.
We’ll take a look at several characters who can make it, and explain the reasons why they could be the final DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. And don’t forget, Masahiro Sakurai didn’t pick the final Smash Bros Ultimate DLC character. Nor any of the others. Nintendo decided everything.
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Laala Manaka from Takara Tomy franchise PriPara (Pretty Series)
PriPara is pretty obscure outside Japan but it was by far one of the biggest arcade games in the 2010s decade. PriPara launched in July 2014 in Japan, and reached one million accounts in 6 months. It had over 4.4 million accounts in January 2018, a few months before it was replaced by its successor game.
PriPara is initially an arcade rhythm game for kids, but it managed to attract a huge audience of all ages and horizons. Players could customize their own idol and exchange physical tickets of their character with their friends.
Laala is the protagonist of the PriPara game, and of the PriPara anime adaptation by Tatsunoko, aired from July 2014 to March 2018, with several movies.
PriPara is part of the bigger Pretty Series franchise by Takara Tomy, which also contains Pretty Rhythm, King of Prism, Kiratto Prichan, and the new Waccha PriMagi launching this October 2021. Lastly, Takara Tomy is one of the few Japanese historical game companies with no playable fighter in Super Smash Bros Ultimate yet.
Phoenix Wright from Capcom series Ace Attorney
This year was a big one for the lawyer, as the adventures of his ancestor were finally localized for the first time with The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if Capcom finally announced Ace Attorney 7 on the Nintendo Direct September 2021, and that Phoenix Wright is joining Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Sora from Square Enix series Kingdom Hearts
This is a no-brainer. Technically Kingdom Hearts is owned by Disney so you could argue it’s an US series. Disney might also be hard to negotiate with for these kinds of game crossovers. Maybe Square Enix could announce a new Kingdom Hearts game on Nintendo Switch together with Sora joining Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Tetsuya Nomura already teased developments for the 20th anniversary in 2022.
Reimu Hakurei from doujin series Touhou Project
Touhou Project is initially a series of doujin games, Japanese independent games, made by Team Shangai Alice, a “group” solely composed of ZUN. The Touhou games are danmaku / manic shooters, but the biggest and most popular aspect of Touhou is the music, also composed by ZUN. Many consider each new Touhou game with its brand new OST as a new ZUN album release.
Some often say Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lacks indie representation. ZUN is possibly the most popular indie game developer in the world, together with Toby Fox, whose Undertale was greatly inspired by Touhou. Adding Touhou‘s main protagonist Reimu to Super Smash Bros Ultimate would be the biggest nod possible to the indie scene.
Touhou is one of the biggest icons of Japanese culture, and it was definitely one of the Japanese franchises with the biggest fandom ever. Though it’s undeniable Touhou‘ popularity has slightly declined since the early 2010s. With the emergence of social games / gacha games and phenomenons such as Kancolle and later on FGO, Azur Lane, or now Genshin Impact.
Since the series launch in 1996, and thanks to ZUN’s full acceptance of any kind of derivative work, the Touhou fandom has strived through billions of fanarts, OST remixes, anime productions, memes, and games of any genre from mystery dungeon RPGs to 3D battle arena.
Multiple Touhou games are regularly released by various studios around the world. Touhou is so rich beyond the original danmaku games by ZUN, it’s far easier to find someone who knows Touhou music than someone who actually knows about the original game series.
Adol Christin from Nihon Falcom series Ys
Adol is the one character missing from the gathering of legendary heroes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Nihon Falcom celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 and is pretty much the sole Japanese game company that’s been around for so long and yet has absolutely no representation in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. (Besides the fact that singer Kanako Kotera, who regularly sings Falcom games’ theme songs, sung the new version of Psycho Soldier by Yuzo Koshiro that was added with Terry Bogard.)
Nihon Falcom has currently two main series, the Ys series, and the Trails / Kiseki series. Adol is the protagonist of the Ys series and is the most iconic Nihon Falcom character by far.
Nihon Falcom had a huge influence on gaming history, most notably on the RPG and action RPG genre. I actually already explained why I believe Falcom needs to be represented in Smash Bros in a detailed story. With several more arguments.
What kind of Japanese games’ character do you think could be the final Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC character? Other characters I could imagine joining are Dark Souls‘ knight as the series is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Or Sakura Shinguuji from Sakura Taisen, as the series is also celebrating its 25th anniversary. Chrono from Chrono Trigger is also a good choice. Note that I focused on third parties, but another Nintendo character could definitely be added instead. You can always tell me your guesses on Twitter @A_iyane07.
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