With the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate getting a second season pass of fighters, it means that speculation over future DLC characters won’t be going away any time soon. Director Masahiro Sakurai already explained that all six future DLC characters have already been chosen by the team, so there isn’t much use in creating a wish list as everything is set in stone.
However, the most recent rumors point towards the anthropomorphic star of Crash Bandicoot being one of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters. This would be a huge deal as the platforming icon was a mascot of PlayStation during its first-generation and it’s easy to see how he would have a fun skillset. While it may have seemed like a long shot many years ago when the character was more closely related to Sony, it simply makes sense for Crash Bandicoot to find his way into Smash Bros.
ALSO: Byleth is a disappointing end to the first Smash Ultimate Fighters Pass
Nintendo has a chance to do what Sony couldn’t
This actually isn’t the first time that Crash Bandicoot has been rumored to be included in a game like Super Smash Bros. The marsupial was one of the most heavily requested characters for Sony’s own take on a platform fighter, 2012’s PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Despite being a natural fit due to his close association with the PlayStation brand, Crash never wound up getting into the main game or added later via DLC. This move left many PlayStation 3 and Vita fans disappointed as he would have been one of the most popular characters in the fighting game’s roster. While Sony clearly dropped the ball in this regard, that doesn’t mean that Nintendo can’t take advantage of the demand.
While the Crash Bandicoot series isn’t as associated with Nintendo as it is with PlayStation, the two have a long history together. Ever since the series went third-party, we’ve seen Crash on Nintendo consoles since Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was ported to GameCube in 2002.
Since then we’ve seen the platforming icon grace everything from the Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo Switch. It’s a more natural inclusion than several other Smash characters like Solid Snake and Persona 5‘s Joker, who have very limited experience on Nintendo systems.
It also helps that Crash Bandicoot has a unique move set that would be easy to adapt to the gameplay of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The spring crate would make for a natural recovery move while other attacks could reference his signature cyclone spin. Crash could even use the fruit bazooka that is seen in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped as a projectile attack.
The character also has a natural final smash ability as he could be protected by Aku Aku and become invincible for a period of time. Nintendo always does a great job of getting across a character through their move set and it would be easy to show off plenty of his personality with these types of abilities.
Crash Bandicoot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has to happen
Thanks to the critical and commercial remakes of the original three Crash Bandicoot games and its kart racer spin-off, the Crash Bandicoot series hasn’t been as relevant as it currently is in well over a decade. Add in the fact that Crash Bandicoot has regularly placed high in fan polling (he came in fifth place overall in a 2016 vote on r/SmashBros), and it makes a ton of sense for both Activision and Nintendo.
Not only would it garner major attention and drive many players back to the fighting game, but it could be used to market the currently unannounced next game in the Crash Bandicoot series. Nintendo would be giving fans what they want while also helping bolster third-party support on the Switch. Unlike with Byleth, this announcement wouldn’t leave many fans unhappy.
Activision has been making all the right moves with their revival of Crash Bandicoot so far and his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be the perfect cherry on top. The N. Sane Trilogy and its Future Tense level showed that developer Vicarious Visions fully gets what made the platforming marsupial such a hit in the 90s. The 10+ million sales of the trilogy also shows that the nostalgia is more than healthy and the brand still clearly holds a spot in the hearts of many gamers.
There simply isn’t a third-party addition that would leave fans more excited than Crash Bandicoot. He appeals to a wider range of players than Devil May Cry‘s Dante or the protagonist of Doom, and his family friendly titles are a perfect fit for the values Nintendo prefers to promote.
