Sora or Crash? The internet speculates on the next Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter

As Nintendo does, they dropped the news of the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter just a day ahead of said character’s reveal. With a long 24 hours ahead of us, fans have already gone wild speculating who could be joining the coveted Smash roster. In fact, both “Sora” and “Crash” were trending on Twitter with over 70,000 tweets a piece following the news. 

In the United States, “Crash” and “Sora” sat at the number 9 and 10 trends respectively. It’s pretty clear that Kingdom Hearts’ Sora and Crash Bandicoot are the two characters that Smash fans most want to see join the game. However, fans don’t get to pick who comes to the game. That honor rests with Sakurai and his brilliant team, with Nintendo getting the final say on who does and doesn’t make the cut. 

The case for Sora

As for Sora, it’s pretty obvious why fans would be eager to have him join Smash. The Kingdom Hearts fanbase is one of the most dedicated out there, and Sora comes with a rich catalogue of locations, allies, and weapons that could make for one hell of a fighter package. The big thing standing in the way would be Disney themselves. Though the games are published by Square Enix, Disney has ownership over the character Sora, thus, total say on how he is used/portrayed. Disney is infamous for being stubborn with their IP, and could end up being the reason we never see Sora in Smash. 

The case for Crash

Crash Bandicoot seems like a much liklier choice. Crash has long been a video game icon, rounding out the unofficial platforming alongside Mario and Sonic (okay, I may be reaching there, but I’ve always considered Crash apart of that group). There are currently no Activision-owned players on the roster, but we’ve seen the publisher have a solid working relationship with Nintendo in the past. Plus, Crash has a new game coming out next week, making now a perfect time to announce the character as Smash’s next DLC fighter.

We’ve also seen names like Goku thrown around, but that’s not happening. Sakurai himself has said that the Smash roster will only feature characters that originate from video games, making the Saiyan ineligeble for consideration. 

Prayer circle for Sora to be in Smash pic.twitter.com/anVShrRozP

— Motendra⚔️ (@HK_Motendra) September 30, 2020

Some of the more ambitious names we’ve heard mentioned are Master Chief, Steve (Minecraft), and even the pesky goose from Untitled Goose Game. While not impossible, we’d be quite shocked to see any of them revealed during the October 1 presentation. One thing we can all agree on is that please Nintendo, no more Fire Emblem characters. 

Imagine crash doesn’t even get a trailer, it’s just the dude in the crash suit walking up to sakurai in his own house and taking a smash letter pic.twitter.com/9Viig8oDUZ

— Westie (@Freelance_Law) September 30, 2020

Regardless of who gets announced, it’ll be exciting to see what the team behind Smash Bros. Ultimate has been cooking up. If your favorite character doesn’t make the cut, don’t fret! There are still four more slots in Fighters Pass 2, meaning there is still plenty of theorizing and speculating to be done. Check back with Shacknews for the latest news on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_