No More Heroes creator hints Travis Touchdown coming to Smash Ultimate
NintendoSmash Ultimate fans hoping to see No More Heroes protagonist Travis Touchdown as a DLC fighter may be getting their wish if new comments from Goichi Suda (Suda51) are any indication.
The 52-year-old game director has been very vocal about wanting Travis Touchdown in Smash, and his new remarks about the possibility of that happening seem to heavily imply it’s happening.
In a recent interview with Switch Player magazine, Suda was asked about the possibility of a Travis Amiibo and the chances the character appears in Smash with Fighters Pass Volume 2.
To this question, Suda simply replied: “no comment.” This is extremely out of character for the game developer as he has heavily pushed for Travis’s inclusion in Smash many times before.
This is a quote from Suda feature in the latest issue of Switch Player has me filled with hope that maybe, just maybe he is happening #TravisForSmash #SmashBrosUltimate #NMH3 #GhM
[Special thanks to DoomDaron from our discord server for the screenshot] pic.twitter.com/HHApfIyB3W— 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 has Retired (@TravisSSBU) September 19, 2020
Suda has heavily pushed for Travis in Smash
Evidence compiled by translator Push Dustin showcase the history Suda51 has with Smash creator Masahiro Sakurai.
For starters, he allowed his staff at Grasshopper Manufacture to work on the sound design for Super Smash Bros Brawl and has been a major supporter of Nintendo and the Switch.
As far back as 2009, Suda commented on the possibility of Touchdown making his way to Smash and duking it out with Mario if the character were to become a big enough name.
★ Suda51 has also been a strong supporter of Nintendo and the Switch. He appeared in the Switch reveal, and all No More Heroes came out on Nintendo platforms first (with the exception of the short lived mobile game).
★ NMH is a healthy franchise with a new entry coming in 2021. pic.twitter.com/GjFMgXh328— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) September 21, 2020
“I love him, and I want him to be a huge star,” he told Nintendo Power. “That’s why I’m working very hard to make this game as interesting as possible. Maybe in the future, we can see him fighting alongside Link in the next Smash Bros. That would be great.”
Then in 2017, Suda detailed his plan to get Sakurai to add Travis to Smash during an interview with IGN: “In all seriousness, next time he does decide to go and make a Smash Bros. game, I’m seriously going to tell him, ‘Put in Travis Touchdown. Come on, put him in the game.’”
In 2018, during an interview with Source Gaming, Suda was asked if he wants Travis in Smash. “Yeah, if he could get into Smash that would be wonderful. But it is extremely difficult. But if the media supports him then it might come true.”
NintendoNo More Heroes matches “M-Theory”
Seeing as how vocal Suda51 has been in the past, his new comments seem very strange and could maybe hint that an agreement has been reached.
Given the fact No More Heroes is an M-rated game, if Travis were to come to Smash, it would line up with “M-Theory.” M-Theory suggests that Nintendo actively avoids showing M-rated game logos in compilation trailers (such as the Vault Boy Mii costumes) because it would bump up the ESRB rating.
This is why the North American trailers say “Smash Bros x Vault Boy” while the international trailers say “Fallout.” In the Fighters Pass Volume 2 screen, the names of each franchise aren’t shown in the North American trailer but are present for all other versions.
It should also be noted that this doesn’t mean that Travis will be Fighter 7 either and he could very well come later in the pass. Regardless, many signs are pointing to a DLC reveal right around the corner. We’ll just have to see if Travis is the one who touches down.