If Sakurai adds a Fighter that was from the 70s since we don't have a single fighter was from the 70s in SSB Series? Who would you pick as the first SSB fighter from the 70s?

[King Marth 64]

So I was kinda looking at the some ideals fighters that we could add in Super Smash Bros. series like the next installment after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Fighter Pass Vol. 2 (incase if Challenger Pack 11 doesn't get revealed at E3 2021). I was looking at the roster that we have two Fighters that were born 1 year older than Mario such as Mr. Game & Watch and the iconic Pac-Man. I did noticed that the roster was lacking with the 70s video game characters and I did seen the 70s video games pretty much lacking showing the characters in those Early Arcade Games such as Atari's Asteroids, Tank, Bandai Namco's Galaxian, etc. I know that we did have two Assist Trophy characters such as Color TV Game 15 and Sherriff were from the 70s and both older than Mario and Pac-Man as well.

My thoughts on what I pick as a 70s Video Game Character would possibly fit in as a Fighter:

• Wagon Leader - The Oregon Trial series by MECC (I know that The Oregon Trial started as a Computer Game in 1971 like Minecraft did and Steve did got in to the roster as well)
• The Alien (similar to like Duck Hunt) or the Pilot - Space Invaders series by Taito
• Pong Paddles - Pong (I know that's really more obscured as a Fighter since we do have Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, and R.O.B.)

So which video game characters from the 1970s do you think that should be added as a Super Smash Bros. Fighter?

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I don't think I'd add any 70s characters. None at all.

[Lord_Brand]

Sheriff?

Trivia: Did you know that Nintendo's first-ever video game, Wild Gunman for arcades, was released in America by none other than SEGA?

[lenticular]

Oh, man. That's tricky. While there are lots of great games from the 70s, there aren't a lot of great game characters. I just don't see that there's any way to really get a viable character out of Asteroids, Pong, Breakout, Lunar Lander, etc. An alien from Space Invaders would probably be the best choice. It's an iconic design, the game was massively successful both in Japan and the West, and there is no other game that is more evocative of the start of the golden age of arcade games in the late 70s. Yeah, the move pool would have to be created basically from scratch, but that's been the case for other characters too (eg Captain Falcon, ROB) so that shouldn't be a problem.

As outside picks, how about:

• Lord British (Ultima series): I've never really been into Ultima, but it has a long legacy, and the character did debut in the 70s. I don't think it ever really saw much/any popularity in Japan, though.
• Mole (Whac-A-Mole): Sure, going into electro-mechanical games is a bit of a leap, but it's no more out there than a character like ROB. This has the advantage of having been popular in both Japan and the west, still having some cultural relevance today, and actually being a recognisable character rather than just a line or a geometric shape.
• The Adventurer (Colossal Cave or Zork): The disadvantages here are obvious. They were text only games, so the entire character design would have to be done from scratch. I don't believe they have any relevance or history at all in Japan. But the plus side is that it would be easy to come up with a moveset based on items and situations described in the game.
• Sherrif (Sherrif): The only real advantage here is that it's a Nintendo character. Still, exploring the more obscure parts of the history of Nintendo has always been part of the appeal of Smash, so that's not nothing.

Ultimately, though, I think that Space Invaders is the only game from the 70s that I think has even a tiny chance. Other possibilities can be interesting to think about, but I don't think any of them would really work. Beyond that, even if I wanted to add another character from the golden age of arcade games, I think I'd prefer adding another character from the early 80s instead. Games like Frogger, Dig Dug, Mr. Do, Pengo, Q*Bert, Paperboy, etc. have much more interesting characters than most of what the 70s had to offer.

[Lord_Brand]

Weird to think that there was a time when Donkey Kong was groundbreaking and innovative. But yeah, no doubt the 80s have a lot more to offer in terms of characters. Frogger is probably the next most notable 80s original after Mario, DK, and Pac-Man.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

If we want to go really deep back imto gaming (and Nintendo) history, we should move out of the electronic sphere, and into the physical products. That's right, I'm talking about a playable deck of hanafuda cards.

[Lord_Brand]

On 6/2/2021 at 6:24 AM, lenticular said:

Oh, man. That's tricky. While there are lots of great games from the 70s, there aren't a lot of great game characters. I just don't see that there's any way to really get a viable character out of Asteroids, Pong, Breakout, Lunar Lander, etc. An alien from Space Invaders would probably be the best choice. It's an iconic design, the game was massively successful both in Japan and the West, and there is no other game that is more evocative of the start of the golden age of arcade games in the late 70s. Yeah, the move pool would have to be created basically from scratch, but that's been the case for other characters too (eg Captain Falcon, ROB) so that shouldn't be a problem.

As outside picks, how about:

• Lord British (Ultima series): I've never really been into Ultima, but it has a long legacy, and the character did debut in the 70s. I don't think it ever really saw much/any popularity in Japan, though.
• Mole (Whac-A-Mole): Sure, going into electro-mechanical games is a bit of a leap, but it's no more out there than a character like ROB. This has the advantage of having been popular in both Japan and the west, still having some cultural relevance today, and actually being a recognisable character rather than just a line or a geometric shape.
• The Adventurer (Colossal Cave or Zork): The disadvantages here are obvious. They were text only games, so the entire character design would have to be done from scratch. I don't believe they have any relevance or history at all in Japan. But the plus side is that it would be easy to come up with a moveset based on items and situations described in the game.
• Sherrif (Sherrif): The only real advantage here is that it's a Nintendo character. Still, exploring the more obscure parts of the history of Nintendo has always been part of the appeal of Smash, so that's not nothing.

Ultimately, though, I think that Space Invaders is the only game from the 70s that I think has even a tiny chance. Other possibilities can be interesting to think about, but I don't think any of them would really work. Beyond that, even if I wanted to add another character from the golden age of arcade games, I think I'd prefer adding another character from the early 80s instead. Games like Frogger, Dig Dug, Mr. Do, Pengo, Q*Bert, Paperboy, etc. have much more interesting characters than most of what the 70s had to offer.

So, in Super Smash Bros., A-Mole-Whacs you? :P