Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the latest entry in Super Smash Bros series, which pits mostly Nintendo characters such as Mario or Link against each other. However, Smash Bros series has also included third party characters (Characters not owned by Nintendo). These include Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series, Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, and Simon from the Castlevania series, and all of them are also in Ultimate. A month before the game’s release, a downloadable content (DLC) pack named Fighters Pass was revealed, which was followed later by the announcement of Fighters Pass vol. 2.
The first pass cost 25 euros and has five challenger packs which each include the character, the stage, and music from the fighter franchise. The second pass costs 30 euros and has six challenger packs. Characters have ranged from Nintendo’s own, such as Byleth from Fire Emblem Three Houses to many surprises like Steve/Alex from Minecraft and Joker from Persona 5. It seems that anyone can join the fight, which has made the wait for the new reveals thrilling, while also encouraging people to make predictions. As only two slots are remaining, I now present some possible patterns based on previous fighters alongside my wishlist.
The Fighters Pass characters have been very surprising, and this has made new reveals exciting to look forward to
The first pattern to look at is: from which country the studio behind the character comes. It seems that at least one of the remaining slots goes to Japanese-based fighter because only two of the nine revealed so far have been from non-Japanese studios (Steve/Alex and Banjo-Kazooie). It does not matter if the studio’s country is Japan or not, but the non-Japanese character could bring more variety.
Steve and Banjo-Kazooie are currently the only fighters pass characters, who’s studio is not Japanese
The second pattern is about if the character is Nintendo’s own or not. If we look at fighters revealed so far, it seems unlikely that the remaining slots go to their characters as the Fighters Pass vol. 1 had only one (Byleth), while Fighters Pass vol. 2 has had so far two (Min Min from Arms and Pyra/Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2). The one popular prediction, Waluigi from the Super Mario series is, however, Nintendo’s character. If they want to give a gift to fans, the last slot could go to him. I would myself prefer third-party characters as paying extra money for Nintendo’s own things does not feel fun.
The third pattern to look at is, from what game genre the character comes from. If we count role-playing games (RPG) and their subgenres like Japanese role-playing games together, five out of nine fighters revealed so far are from RPGs. These include Sephiroth and Joker. The remaining four belong to adventure/platforming (Banjo-Kazooie and Steve/Alex) or fighting genre (Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury series and Min Min). Based on this, it is more than likely that one of the remaining slots goes to RPG character. The character genre does not matter to me as long as it is a character that I know. Still, for instance, the character from the first-person shooter would be interesting, although very unlikely.
Unfortunately, it is hard to track any more patterns, as the two slots can go to literally anyone. Therefore, I now present my wishlist. The first of these is one of my favorite video game characters of all time, the platforming hero Crash Bandicoot. While Crash’s original adventures were on the original PlayStation, the three most recent games are also on the Nintendo Switch, which makes it possible for Crash to take one of the two remaining slots. My other pick is Doom Slayer from the Doom franchise, but this seems very unlikely as Doom is known for its violence while Super Smash Bros is family-friendly. It is still possible as Smash Bros has characters from PEGI 18 games such as Metal Gear Solid.
Doom Slayer is one of my wishlist characters to the game, but it is unlikely due to the violent nature of Doom
In conclusion, it is very hard to predict whom the last two fighters for Super Smash Bros Ultimate Fighters Pass vol. 2 could be, and the next reveal can easily ruin the possible patterns shown before. Based on the previous fighters, it can be literally anyone, and you can only make predictions and wait for the reveals.
Header Image: Picture from Tweet: Nintendo of America. (10.12.2020). A new Super #SmashBrosUltimate fighter will be revealed tonight at #TheGameAwards! Tune in to the show, beginning at 4pm PT, to be ready for the reveal! Taken From https://twitter.com/nintendoamerica/status/1337034342913216514
First image: Front Cover, Contributed by Kam1Kaz3NL77. https://www.mobygames.com/game/switch/super-smash-bros-ultimate-fighters-pass/cover-art/gameCoverId,709582/
Second Image: Picture from Tweet: The Game Awards. (4.3.2021). Who do you think are Challenger Pack 10 and 11 in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Taken from https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1367502626980564996
Third Picture: Screenshot from the game, taken by the author
Fourth Picture: Official Other from PlayStation Store, Contributed by Rik Hideto. https://www.mobygames.com/game/doom-eternal/promo/promoImageId,704695/
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