It was recently revealed that the 4th DLC character in the Fighters Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will come from a game made by SNK. This character will be the fifth DLC character in the game, following Piranha Plant from the Super Mario Bros. series, Joker from Persona 5, Hero from the Dragon Quest series, and Banjo-Kazooie.
SNK has released a lot of video games over the years, and their most prominent characters have appeared in crossover titles in the past, so it wouldn't be too out of place for a character from The King of Fighters or Samurai Shodown series to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
There are a few likely candidates for the fifth DLC slot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and we are here today to list the characters with the best chance of trading blows with the likes of Cloud Strife, Mario, and Ryu in the future.
Terry Bogard
Terry Bogard is considered to be the main hero of the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series. He would be the most likely candidate for an SNK representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate due to his popularity in their fighting games.
The main issue with Terry's inclusion is that he's going to be similar to Ryu and Ken, due to the fact that he's a fellow martial artist with powers based around firing blasts of energy and attacks that throw the character across the screen. Masahiro Sakurai and his team are going to have a hard time making Terry feel different from the Street Fighter representatives.
Mai Shiranui
Mai Shiranui is the most popular lady from Fatal Fury/The King of Fighters series and has appeared in numerous SNK crossover titles in the past. In many ways, Mai is a more recognizable character to the mainstream gaming public than Terry and there are two big reasons for that.
There are a few reasons why Mai would be picked over Terry: Mai has sex appeal, but can also be toned down enough to not be distracting or risk the ire of the ESRB (much like Bayonetta was), her fighting style is different enough from Ryu/Ken's to dissuade comparisons between them, and the only female character in the Fighters Pass so far has been Kazooie, so she might get in just to add more ladies to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.
Marco Rossi
The Metal Slug series is probably the most popular SNK series that doesn't belong in the fighting game genre. Metal Slug is a series of arcade shooters where the player takes on the role of a soldier who needs to blast through hordes of enemies, in a similar manner to the Contra series.
Marco Rossi is considered to be the main character of the Metal Slug series and he would be the most likely candidate for a Metal Slug representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Snake has proven that a character who uses contemporary firearms can be a viable choice for a Super Smash Bros. game and there is enough available weaponry to allow Marco Rossi to play differently, especially as Snake focused on explosives over firearms.
Fio Germi
Fio Germi is one of the playable characters in the Metal Slug series and she has appeared in SNK fighting games and crossover titles in the past. Like Marco Rossi, Fio is a popular character and many of the reasons why his fighting style could work for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would also apply to her. Fio also has many of the same positive points that apply to Mai, especially as the Fighters Pass has yet to include a female character who isn't a bird strapped to a bear.
Haohmaru
The last thing that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate needs is another sword fighter and the inclusion of Haohmaru will likely cause outpourings of bile from the fanbase due to this fact alone.
There are a few reasons why Haohmaru might make his way into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The most recent Samurai Shodown game has received some great reviews and it's due to be released for the Nintendo Switch later this year. There are a lot of sword fighters among the playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but none of them are samurai, so Haohmaru could fill this niche nicely.
It seems more likely that Terry would get in over Haohmaru, but there is still a slim chance that he could make it in as the SNK representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.