Because we don't bicker nearly enough around here.

I'm calling that every character comes back except Lucario and maybe Ike if a new Fire Emblem comes out.

Current franchises would add:
*Paper Mario (more like Bowser Jr. if anyone, but)
*Diddy & Dixie (replacing Diddy solo like was originally intended)
*Tingle (alternately the Toon Zelda from Spirit Tracks using Phantoms)
*Ridley (easily deserves it the most at this point)
*Samurai Goroh (also really deserves it)
*Zoroark (unless Generation Six comes out before this)

New franchises would include:
*Little Mac (he had a comeback and everything)
*Saki (only saying this because of the detailed Assist in Brawl)
*Isaac (unless Matthew gets it instead)
*Takamaru (retro and as popular as Pit)
*Mii (the hardware rep)
*Mega Man (to make up for all the fighting games he hasn't been in)

Once again, I demand Andy from Advance Wars. I mean, seriously, guys, if we can get a half-dozen swordsmen from Fire Emblem, we can get at least one soldier from Advance Wars. Throw me a bone here.

Mii - They put Miis in everything nowadays. And we already have ROB and G&W. Why not? Just put his head on a Wireframe body.

One of the Custom Robos. Annie, most likely.

Takamaru would be cool, and he'd have interesting potential for a Moveset, but I'm not putting money on this one.

Miis will almost definitely be in, since the 3DS version seems to be about making a custom character. They could also have their own create-a-character system, but I would be surprised if they didn't use Miis to some extent for it.

New Characters
Dixie Kong or K. Rool
Captain Rainbow / Nick
Zoroark if before 2014

Characters upgraded from Assist Trophies
Little Mac - Little Mac has a better moveset now, thanks to Next Level Games, and a Final Smash, Giga Mac.
Issac - Not sure why he wasn't in Brawl, actually. He's from a pretty popular series. I know Camelot was a division of SEGA and whatever, but still, it may have more to do with Second Parties giving less aid to Sakurai. Whatever, with a third Golden Sun title now, he's basically a shoe-in.
Saki - This game has been given an international audience, so I'd be amazed if Saki didn't make it in this time.

New Third Party characters (any two):
Capcom - Mega Man. I expect him to get in by sheer volume of requests, much like Sonic did, and not because Capcom is a responsible company that particularly wants to beg for him to be in.
Namco - Pac-Man. For people that haven't ever played a Pac-Man adventure game, yes, he definitely has enough stuff for a full moveset, even down to a final Smash with his Super Pellet. Namco has a pretty close relationship with Nintendo, but they're not chummy, so this might be somewhat unlikely.
Wayforward - Shantae or a boy and his blob. Alright, so, I'd expect Wayforward to get a character in, based upon the developers apparently being Nintendo fanboys. Either one of these seems more likely. Shantae would definitely sell more 3DSes, but boy and blob have a longer history with Nintendo.

Characters who will not return:
Lucario - Lucario will be replaced with Zoroark, providing Smash Brothers 4 is released before 2014.
Wolf
Link (Twilight Princess) will be replaced with Link (Skyward Sword).
Mewtwo - Sorry, fellas. But you never know, I've been wrong before.

Characters who might get changed.
Red - I still expect Red to return. He was on the cover of the last game, after all. However, I imagine he's going to have some different Pokémon. He'll keep Charizard, probably, but don't be surprised if Ivysaur and Squirtle get swapped out.
Diddy - Since he was originally intended to be a team up character with Dixie, his most useful move will be replaced with "Tag out", bringing Dixie to the front.

Mac really didn't get a radically different moveset in the most recent game than he's always had. I'm still not seeing it.

Golden Sun isn't getting representation because there's already enough swordfighters in the series. If they do bring in Isaac or someone else, it'll be in exchange for one of the FE team.

Captain Rainbow is a good guess, actually, but given his unpopularity in the west, it's unlikely. If he's there, he'll be one of the main unlockables.

I don't know who Saki is. Remind me?

Wolf's here to stay. Say goodbye to Falco, however.

If they bring in Dixie, she'll be a team-up with Diddy, and since that's Ice Climbers' gimmick, they'll be dropped. I hope not, honestly.

Either Falcon or Ganondorf will be dropped... or else, Ganondorf will get a new moveset, possibly based on the latest Zelda game.

Saki

They reused Zelda's gimmick with Pokemon Trainer. I don't see why they'd have to drop Ice Climbers to do the same with Diddy and Dixie.

I feel like there will be cutting down on Fire Emblem and likely Advance Wars as well, although this is really just my passive aggressive way of bringing up and complaining about the lack of any new games for either series as well as the latest FE remake (which apparently was the actual good one) being left in Japan so far. I know they haven't been stopped so much by "so and so doesn't really have any new games right now", but this installment(s) feels like one where they would put their foot down about the roster. I really don't know what to expect, although I feel like the series might be revamped in some way to try to lose excess fat. If the 3DS and Wii U versions both happen, I expect they'd probably each have exclusive features and characters, which makes predictions even harder as one would have to guess who would end up on each system. I agree with Ditto that this will probably be the time they drop the clones for good (or in the case of Falcon vs. Ganondorf, decide which of them to keep; I feel like Falcon is too iconic of Smash to drop, but on the other hand like the FE/Advance Wars characters he wouldn't really have any new games to represent).

I feel like Mega Man is the most definite addition since of course he's the most natural third party character and is probably the character who would fit in the most easily alongside the Nintendo characters, and of course he would be helped by his "retro" credentials. Viewtiful Joe would probably be the most logical step (although he would have made more sense a few years ago when he had an actual series). Maybe a sprinkling of more Mario and Zelda characters. And since Sakurai's pretty biased towards his own characters (and possibly depending on Uprising's success), I feel like Magnus will probably be a shoo-in as well as possibly Palutena and/or Medusa. I hope they manage to work in Ghirahim; and if they get Tingle as well (which will probably depend on whether or not Sakurai played and loved the Tingle games since he's been marginalized in the Zelda games), we'll be all set for a flamboyant-off.

one thing you're forgetting Ditto. When one character's movepool is deficient, they borrow from other characters in the series. Give him shit like Tiger Vanish.

Being a sword fighter isn't really a hindrence to Isaac, I don't think.

You can have two team up characters, but the ice Climbers don't switch out or control differently. Well they do, in that you can't control Nana.

Saki is from that Sin and Punishment.

No, shrack Wolf.

Neither Falcon not Ganondorf will be dropped. They have immunity by virtue of being in all games so far/an important character in an important series.

Good points, actually. They could spruce Mac up with other people's movesets, I suppose. I still think he's going to be relegated to Assist status, though. I'd kill to see a Von Kaiser assist, though.

Actually, I think you now have a point about Diddy & Dixie and the Ice Climbers. Diddy and Dixie would be switchable, but not the Ice Climbers. Okay, I can see that.

I just looked up Saki. I see what you guys mean, actually. In years of playing Brawl, I never encountered him, that I recall. However, by the screenshots, he sure is an active fella. Sounds like he has a lot of moves as it is. He might just get a promotion at that. That said, maybe we'll get a Takamaru Assist. Unless we already did and I already forgot.

I could see a Pac-Man assist, but you can't make a fighter out of that.

I dunno, Wolf makes for an unusual and interesting play style, though he's not one of my most common. I don't think they'll be dropping him, but Falco's gonna get plucked to free up some room on that Select Screen. Look, even the 3DS has memory limits. Wii U might be able to hold lots of characters, but there's only so much room on a Select Screen. Then again, I say that and then Versus Capcom makes me look like a fool every time.

Okay, I have a 3rd Party suggestion: Goemon from Ganbare Goemon. He's classic, iconic, and has a full moveset. But I still think he'd just be an Assist Trophy.

I was going through my old notes and came across my old 'Suit' idea. Meaning that, instead of clones, they'd have multiple versions of a single fighter that you unlock, each one with it's own model and maybe different attributes or a special move swapped out. I have no reason to think they're suddenly going to do that now, but it wouldn't be the first time Nintendo steals one of my ideas. So I just thought I'd like to remind everyone again, so that, if it happens, you heard it here first.

Ditto:

I don't think Select Screen room would be a problem when there's two screens available. The 3DS's touch screen displays up to 60 icons (6 x 10) at the Home Menu and still has room for bars at the top and bottom. Just save the top screen for showing which character you and everyone else just picked. Memory size I dunno about.

Also didn't note this earlier, but why would Takamaru have interesting potential and Isaac be just another swordfighter?

GORE:

I wouldn't mind or be surprised by Magnus, though he doesn't really deserve it aside from being a product of the same company. I'd suspect him for SSB5 if he's not already in 4.

I am wondering how Zelda/Sheik would work out with her new Skyward Sword look. Maybe they could go back to her OoT look and keep Ganondorf's TP look so that the 3D console Zeldas are all represented (barring MM (or with MM Tingle)). Provided Toon Link stays, he should get a new Final Smash that involves the Four Sword somehow.

Al:

Haven't really disagreed yet except on Wolf. Why get rid of him? Just for space?

Because Wolf is a double clone. We don't really need three landmasters and three characters who play mostly the same. If we remove him, we could get a character with a different moveset. I recommend Krystal to even out the gender ratio, but I know there are some vocal objections to that. Also, i don't think Star Fox is worth more than three slots, and it'd be nice if all three characters didn't play exactly the same.

I think Krystal would basically play like Fox in Dinosaur Planet, by the by.

Also, if Toon Link got to use the Four Sword, that'd be most excellent.

Pac-Man Special Moves:

B: Chomp
B-Over: Rev Roll
B-up: Grappling Hook (Pac-in-Time. Look it up)
B-Down: Buttbounce
FS: Super Pac-Man

Yeah, I guess they could squeeze a bunch more icons in there, like with Versus Capcom, with the only downside being how crowded it would look, but really, that's doable, especially if you set aside extra screens.

I was only thinking of Takamaru as a potential Assist Trophy. He has a few tricks from his game he could pull out, but not enough that you'd want to play as him frequently (I don't think). He's also far more obscure. Isaac has much more potential as a full-scale playable addition, with a unique moveset, large fanbase, classic status.

Four-Sword Final Smash. That's good stuff right there.

Here's a thought: There's a lot more to Smash Bros. than just characters. Anybody have any thoughts on stages, or items, or modes?

I doubt we'll get another Subspace Emissary, sadly, but I really do enjoy adventure modes, taking characters through full-scale levels full of enemies.

I hope online play this time isn't quite so laggy.

Actually since the 3DS version is focused on Single Player, I'd say a story mode is pretty damn likely there.

Items:
Vanish Cap ! Block (SM64) or Mad Scienstien's Potion (Wario Land 3) - like the old cloaking device.
Repel (Pokemon) - provides the user with a temporary barrier
Rambi Crate (DKC) - releases Rambi who you can ride for a while. He automatically attacks any enemies who approach. Found more in Adventure Mode.

Music
Pokemon:
Unova Route 10
Dragonspiral Tower
N's Farewell + Credits

Stages
Plasma Castle (Pokemon Black and White)
Golden Temple (DKCR)

Characters (wish list, not likely):

- Hector (Fire Emblem)
- Fawful
- Some other mook-based character, similar to Olimar. Maybe something like Bowser Jr with the ability to summon Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Pirahna Plants onto the field.

Item

- The Train. I hate Spirit Tracks, but the train would be a fun item.

Or having the Demon Train as a stage.

A Flipnote Studio stage could be the new Pictochat, though I have absolutely no idea how to implement it.

I want Aura-Aura as an Assist. Maybe he could latch onto another player and slow them down, or latch onto the user and let them use one of his bombs. Also Duck Hunt Dog.

You guys have some good stuff this time around, actually...