This is but a quarter of Super Smash Bros. Ultimates roster of playable characters (Nintendo)With over 80 fighters, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate seems like something no sequel can ever top, so what will a Nintendo Switch 2 sequel look like?Just as Mario Kart 8 Deluxes overwhelming success has made it difficult for Nintendo to put together a new sequel for the Nintendo Switch 2, the publisher faces the exact same problem with its Super Smash Bros. series.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is absolutely worthy of its name, boasting one of the biggest rosters of any fighting game ever made. Between its launch roster and subsequent DLC, it features not just Nintendos own all-stars but famous faces from across the games industry.No other franchise could have brought together icons from the likes of Sega, Microsoft, and even Disney. And that isnt getting into all the cameos via the assist trophies, spirits, and Mii costumes either. Counting those, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a huge accomplishment; one thats seemingly impossible to top.Despite some initial reservations about whether the series could continue after Ultimate, series director Masahiro Sakurai has admitted a new Super Smash Bros. game will most likely happen with his involvement.However, in the wake of the addition of Ultimates final DLC character, Kingdom Hearts Sora, in 2021, Sakurai didnt shy away from how difficult putting together the next Smash Bros. will be: If were going to continue with the series, Nintendo and I need to discuss and seriously consider how to make it a success.We do know Sakurais been working on a new project since 2021, but whether its the next Smash Bros. or not is hard to discern, given his vague comments about it.Regardless, the Switch 2 is bound to get its own Super Smash Bros. game. Aside from being a well-recognised and beloved series, you just have to look at Super Smash Bros. Ultimates sales numbers to see why more is guranteed.According to Nintendos own metrics, it is the third best-selling game on the Switch at 35.14 million units sold and has sold more than the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U instalments combined.Will Nintendo port Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to the Switch 2?So, what can Nintendo do for the Switch 2 entry? The way we see it, there are two options. The first is to simply port over Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but with all its DLC bundled with it. Essentially, Nintendo can give it the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe treatment. A Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe, if you will.Nintendo would still have to renegotiate the licences needed to retain all the third party characters, but this otherwise seems like a no-brainer. The port could feature all the same content, meaning fans wont have to worry about a diminished roster, but would likely include extra content on top of that.Since the Switch 2s backwards compatibility will allow people to keep playing the original Ultimate on the newer hardware, a re-release would need to offer something new, such as additional characters, to convince established fans into double dipping especially as Nintendo doesnt tend to offer upgrade paths for those that own the original versions of games.Much like Mario Kart 8 Deluxes Booster Course Pass, this hypothetical Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe could be supported by waves of DLC that bring even more characters to the game.What new characters could come to Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch 2?While Super Smash Bros. Ultimate saw many fan favourite characters join the roster (like Ridley, King K. Rool, and Banjo and Kazooie), Nintendo isnt short on options for future additions.When it comes to who the most popular ones are amongst fans, common picks online include the likes of Waluigi from the Super Mario games, Dixie Kong from Donkey Kong Country, and Geno from Super Mario RPG (coincidentally, those three are referenced through Mii costumes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).There is also a surplus of third party guest stars Nintendo can draw from its partners, particularly from companies whove already leant their characters to Smash Bros. Some examples are Street Fighters Chun-Li and Ace Attorneys Phoenix Wright from Capcom, as well as Crash Bandicoot and Halos Master Chief from Microsoft.Theres some debate about whether PlayStation characters could or should be included but Lego Horizon Adventures getting a Switch seems to increase that possibility, at least for series protagonist Aloy.However, Sony doesnt have as close a working relationship with Nintendo as Microsoft does and the company has shown little interest in bringing any of its other IPs or characters to Nintendo platforms.As for whats actually viable, Nintendo is obviously going to prioritise picks from its own franchises. Combined with its release schedule post-Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the fact that the Smash Bros. games double as promotions for other Nintendo properties, there are a handful of characters that seem rather obvious or at least have very strong chances. Those being:A new Pokmon character (the series always gets a new representative to promote the newest Pokmon games)A new Fire Emblem character (the series has had a new representative every Smash Bros. game since Melee in 2001)A new Metroid character (maybe Sylux to cross-promote Metroid Prime 4)A new Xenoblade character (either someone from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 or Elma to promote the Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster)A slightly obscure retro pick (think the Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch)At least one major third-party pickThe most obvious guess though is new characters from new IP released alongside the Switch 2. Theres bound to be at least one or two such games at launch, and perhaps several within the first year or so, which will be perfect for some cross-promotion with Smash Bros.Not to mention, if Nintendo wanted a Smash Bros. title ready for the Switch 2s launch later this year, a port of Ultimate should be the easier option over something completely new. Plus, itd help push Switch 2 sales to all the diehard Smash fans who may not be interested in Nintendos other titles.While this is undoubtedly the safest option, that in itself is rather antithetical to Nintendos usual approach to sequels. The company is rarely content to just pump out the same game again with a couple of new bells and whistles attached, with Splatoon being one of the few exceptions to that general rule.Look at The Legend Of Zelda, for example. 2017s Breath Of The Wild is a completely different beast compared to its predecessor, Skyward Sword. And while 2023s Tears Of The Kingdom stuck to Breath Of The Wilds formula, it expanded the map and added several new mechanics that opened up gameplay opportunities not possible in the previous game.The core of Super Smash Bros. hasnt changed all that much since the original 1999 game, but each entry has always brought new things to the table beyond the expanded roster. Be they Super Smash Bros. Brawls story mode that turned the game into a side-scrolling beat em-up or customisable movesets for every character in the 3DS and Wii U entries.Granted, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe example makes a re-release seem more likely but the circumstances surrounding it were different, as the original Mario Kart 8 launched for the flop Wii U console and only sold 8.46 million copies (according to Nintendos figures), far less than the previous entries on the Wii and 3DS.The Switch revamp was done to give Mario Kart 8 another shot at life and get it out early into the consoles lifecycle, since making a brand new game would have taken much longer. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, by comparison, doesnt need its sales figures propped up.What would a new Super Smash Bros. look like?A new Smash Bros. will not have a roster as large as Ultimates. Sakurai said as much in 2019 (per VGC): If Smash Bros. continues in the future, then theres no way this many fighters and series can be represented again.But perhaps a semi-reboot of the series, with less characters, is just what the formula needs. A smaller roster could permit the development team to focus on other areas, be they new online multiplayer modes, more involved single-player content, or more refined movesets for returning characters particularly those like Samus and Donkey Kong who have gone mostly unchanged since 1999.The problem is that a smaller roster will inherently be a turn-off for a lot of people. If a sequel doesnt let you make Mario and Pikachu fight Final Fantasy 7s Cloud and Minecraft Steve, why pick it up when the game that does allow that is readily available?More TrendingWhen it comes to sequels, people naturally expect each subsequent entry to be bigger than the last one. Smash Bros. roster has ballooned in size since 1999, so anything less than Ultimates starting selection of 76 characters will feel like a downgrade.With this in mind, the smartest solution is to not only port Ultimate to Switch 2, but also keep re-releasing it every time Nintendo makes a new console, adding more characters every time.While we could foresee Nintendo going with an Ultimate re-release for Switch 2, be it at launch or later in its lifecycle, it feels like the company will hit the reset button on Super Smash Bros. eventually.Nintendos priorities have always been gameplay, experimentation, and innovation rather than recycling its greatest hits. Knowing this, Smash Bros. fans may need to accept that Ultimate wont be a forever game, but a glorious one-time or perhaps just two-time event. Is a smaller Smash Bros. inevitable? 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