Super Smash Bros.remains one of Nintendo’s most ballyhooed franchises in its storied catalog. Between its fantastic fighting mechanics and its crossover elements featuring characters from all across gaming,Super Smash Bros.remains the apple of many gaming fans’ eyes. Every announcement of a new character feels like an event in and of itself and only serves to create even more excitement for the franchise.
With Nintendo closer than ever to peeling back the curtain on the Nintendo Switch 2, hype has mounted as fans hope forthe next entry in theSuper Smash Bros.series. While speculation currently centers on whether Nintendo will double down on the “Everyone Is Here” mentality ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateor scale things back, it’s a near guarantee that the next game will definitely feature its share of new characters. One Nintendo franchise seems primed to receive an even greater level of representation in the next title:Xenoblade Chronicles.
Super Smash Bros. and Xenoblade Are Closely Tied Together
Xenoblade Was A Cult Classic Before Smash Bros.
To an extent,Xenoblade Chroniclesas a franchise owessome of its recent success to theSuper Smash Bros.franchise. While the firstXenoblade Chroniclesgame was released in 2012, it was only thanks to a major fan campaign known as Operation Rainfall that the game was localized. While the campaign succeeded, it was only released in very limited quantities at the end of the Wii’s lifecycle, causing it to fall into “cult classic” status upon release.
With the release ofSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, however, the game’s protagonistShulk was added as a playable character. While this didn’t immediately catapultXenobladeinto becoming a major IP for Nintendo, it did help push the franchise forward in popularity. Nintendo also took advantage of this with a closely timed re-release on the New Nintendo 3DS before eventually releasingXenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Editionon the Nintendo Switch in 2020.
Smash Has Helped Xenoblade Grow In A Big Way
Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch,Xenoblade Chronicleshas catapulted itself in popularity.Xenoblade Chronicles 2sold over two million copies on the Nintendo Switch, becoming not only the best-selling of theXenobladegames but also of the largerXenoseries with which it exists. TheSmash Bros.team was also clearly aware of its success, as while series director Masahiro Sakurai couldn’t add a character fromXenoblade Chronicles 2at launch, he dideventually include Pyra and Mythra as downloadable fightersduring the second wave of the game’s Fighter Pass.
Since the conclusion ofSmash Ultimate’s DLC, there have been two new releases in theXenobladeseries:Xenoblade Chronicles 3and the recentXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Nintendo has clearly taken an investment in theXenobladeseries, andSmash Bros.has become a catalyst for its increased popularity. Thus,if Nintendo is building anotherSuper Smash Bros.gamefor the Nintendo Switch 2, a newXenobladecharacter seems like a foregone conclusion.
Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch,Xenoblade Chronicleshas catapulted itself in popularity.
Smash Bros. Has A Couple of Options For Xenoblade Representation
It’s not clear whether Nintendo will lean toward representing a character from one game or the other, or attempt to feature characters from both. As it is, the development team at Monolith Soft has confirmed that it plans to continue theXenobladeseries afterXenoblade Chronicles 3, while also noting a desire to makeXenoblade Chronicles X2as well. Thus, theSmash Bros.team may inevitably play the waiting game to see whatXenobladeoffers on the Switch 2 before deciding how to further represent the series inSmash.
Even so, as the nextSuper Smash Bros.game comes into form on the Switch 2,Xenoblade Chronicleslooks to have an even bigger presencethis time around. The franchise has seen a lot of growth in no small part because ofSmash, and the release of several highly successful games in the time since the conclusion ofUltimate’s DLC offers a great playground for Sakurai and his team to work with. It may take some time before gamers get to see the nextSmashgame, but once it’s ready to go, expect plenty moreXenobladegoodness ahead.
