I think it's likelier than you think tbh, and if not playable, then a Mii costume. Shantae and Shovel Knight got into the base game as Spirits/Assist respectively, and now Sans and Cuphead got in as costumes. Among Indie stars, I can't think of much else with some tie to Nintendo other than Cave Story and Hollow Knight, and I'm hard predicting a Hollow Knight Mii Sword skin eventually.
People would flip their lids if Reimu was a Mii Costume, and in a good way.
Probably true. Though I'm rather torn on the idea. One one hand Touhou getting more recognition is nice, on the other hand having Touhou risk getting the mainstream's attention I feel like would end up as a disaster.
When I first learned about touhou 9 years ago (thanks to this very website) it was perplexing to me. Over the years, it revealed to me how large, sprawling and multifaceted it was all without being what I would consider "mainstream". It seems as worthy as anything else to be in Smash in any capacity, but I'm never going to speculate on characters ever again: It's an excercise in futility.
Honestly, after Sans and Cuphead? I think a Reimu Mii costume is not actually out of the cards at all. It seems Mii costumes are where Sakurai puts indie hits.
I think you are all forgetting what ZUN would think about it. ZUN has expressed countless times he doesn't want Touhou to be Mainstream. Its one of the reasons he hasn't sold the rights to Touhou to be an animated series or Professional Manga.
And yet Touhou is a multi-platform series now. Hell, the games have been coming out on PS and soon to be Switch for a little bit now. I 'highly' doubt having Reimu in Smash would instantly push Reimu into the mainstream when there are tons of series in Smash which are still incredibly niche outside their fanbases.
ZUN is fine with Doujin makers making games. Coming to the consoles is no different then when they were on PC. The only reason its happening now vs back then is that is easier than ever to release your Unity or java game on consoles.
There is a HUGE difference with Reimu getting a smash release. Sakurai would need to talk to ZUN for that.
When it comes to Doujins, whether its the games or manga or the porno stuff. ZUN has expressed "go ahead you have my permission". But when it comes to what ZUN himself does, He doesnt intend to sell the product to anyone.
He has already been approached by serveral anime companies about making a Touhou anime, and he said "No" to all of them.
While making an anime won't make Touhou mainstream(no seriously, how many Isekai and harem animes are we getting now a days?) instantly. Its still something ZUN has expressed Dis-interested in.
I just don't see ZUN getting buddy buddy with Sakurai after all the interviews we've seen of him.
Think about what products are "Officially" avaiable for touhou. Just the games themselves, the novels and music CDs. Thats it. everything else is fan-made. Granted some of the figurines are pretty damn high quality. But ZUN doesnt endorse nor does he get money from any of them.
ZUN has expressed 0 interest in making profit from Touhou beyond just the games themselves.
I think you are all forgetting what ZUN would think about it. ZUN has expressed countless times he doesn't want Touhou to be Mainstream. Its one of the reasons he hasn't sold the rights to Touhou to be an animated series or Professional Manga.
Except around three months ago, he expressed interest in Touhou characters in Smash, not that he immediately expects it to happen. Doesn't matter how you take it in terms of translation, at the very least, he's just as open to the possibility as any other developer. And X-Sam's right in that there's nothing to lose by having Reimu cross over to the game.
Is it a crossover in what is effectively one of Nintendo's biggest brands? Yes, but it's just a technicality. At least then, the people who only know of Touhou through memes and shitposts will get a pretty good taste of what the series is about.
GMO said: At least then, the people who only know of Touhou through memes and shitposts will get a pretty good taste of what the series is about.
Pretty good taste? I disagree with that notion. All the doujin games coming out on consoles are NOTHING like the main series games. We're even starting to get visual novels and Dating sims now. Every character acts "out of character" as well. The only way for people to get a taste of what Touhou is, is to read the official manga's or play the danmaku games.
Thats like saying people will get a good taste of what Undertale is by playing the Sans Mii costume. Assuming we get a Mii costume of touhou instead of an actual character with a new move-set.
Obviously he was referring to if Reimu was an actual character and not just a Mii costume. But even setting that point aside, it's still a method of making a character that's fairly unknown into one that is very known.
I don't hold much love for ZUN's treatment of the 'official' series either, considering he also holds no interest in localizing the games despite wanting to sell it to western markets. All because he doesn't want it "mainstream", which seems like a moot point at this rate. Let's not try and lie to ourselves here.
Especially with fan-games now being released and translated entirely for western appeal. It feels like THEY care more than ZUN does.
But let's simply agree to disagree. Touhou in Smash would be pretty neat, and I for one appreciate the surge of games that I can actually play and understand without having to learn a second language, even if they're "out of character". I feel like ZUN forfeits some of the respect when he's acting like a child about "but no mainstream!"
It also opens a can of worms like what would happen if a fan-made game seriously boosted the popularity of Touhou as a whole. Would he want it shut down because that went mainstream? Would it be fair? He is the original creator, but he also initially gave permission for it to be made. It's an iffy thing.
But that's just my personal feelings on it. I don't expect everyone to agree.
