Jump to content

Which veterans do you see as likely to return in the next game? (Discussion thread)


Recommended Posts

We all know that "Everyone is Here" -- the main selling point of Ultimate bringing back every veteran in Smash history -- isn't going to happen again. So naturally, what with 89 playable characters in one game, figuring out who's coming back in the next Smash game and who isn't, whether in the base game or as DLC, is widely debatable. So, I made this thread for discussing which veterans are likely to return or not.

For my part, I made a tier list to sort out which veterans I personally think will or won't return, with justifications for some of my choices.

Pretty much guaranteed

Spoiler
  1. Mario
  2. Donkey Kong
  3. Link
  4. Samus
  5. Yoshi
  6. Kirby
  7. Fox (Smash seniority)
  8. Pikachu
  9. Luigi
  10. Ness (Smash seniority)
  11. Captain Falcon (Smash seniority, plus F-ZERO 99 is a thing)
  12. Peach
  13. Bowser
  14. Zelda
  15. Falco (Smash seniority)
  16. Marth
  17. Lucina (due to Awakening saving FE + being easier to develop as a clone)
  18. Ganondorf
  19. Mr. Game & Watch (literally one of Nintendo's oldest characters + Smash seniority)
  20. Meta Knight
  21. Pit
  22. Dark Pit (as long as Sakurai's working on the next game + being easier to develop as a clone)
  23. Wario
  24. Ike (still a very much popular FE character)
  25. Diddy Kong
  26. Sonic
  27. King Dedede
  28. Olimar
  29. Lucario (still a very much popular Pokémon)
  30. R.O.B. (Smash seniority)
  31. Villager
  32. Mega Man
  33. Greninja (still a very much popular Pokémon)
  34. Palutena (as long as Sakurai's working on the next game)
  35. PAC-MAN
  36. Shulk
  37. Ryu (& Ken by extension)
  38. Bayonetta
  39. Inkling
  40. Isabelle

Likely to return

Spoiler
  1. Daisy (easier to develop by taking moves from Peach but also has the benefit of a major role in a mainline Mario game)
  2. Ice Climbers (only reason they were cut before was due to 3DS limitations)
  3. Mewtwo (still a very much popular Pokémon, albeit not one that's entirely immune to cuts, though he was supposed to return in Brawl so it's not like Sakurai doesn't want to bring him back if possible)
  4. Bowser Jr. (a more prominent role in Bowser's Fury, less so in Mario Wonder)
  5. Duck Hunt
  6. Cloud
  7. Ridley
  8. Simon
  9. King K. Rool
  10. Incineroar (relatively popular in the Pokémon VGC, not to mention the first Smash character with a proper wrestling-based moveset)
  11. Banjo & Kazooie
  12. Terry
  13. Steve (purely because of how popular Minecraft is, though balancing is another matter)
  14. Pyra & Mythra
  15. Sora (Ballot winner and Disney were okay with his inclusion)

Unsure

Spoiler
  1. Dark Samus
  2. Jigglypuff (she was nearly cut before but still managed to make it in by being easier to develop)
  3. Sheik (Smash seniority but hasn't been a major part of the Zelda franchise for a while)
  4. Roy (and by extension Chrom; they're still featured to this day in games like Heroes and Engage but they may still get out-prioritized due to being Marth clones)
  5. Zero Suit Samus
  6. Snake
  7. Pokémon Trainer (at the very least, TPC would want to push for Charizard but whether he'll be solo again or part of the team again is unclear)
  8. Lucas
  9. Toon Link
  10. Wolf
  11. Wii Fit Trainer
  12. Rosalina & Luma
  13. Little Mac
  14. Richter (still relevant thanks to Castlevania Nocturne but may still be out-prioritized)
  15. Min MIn
  16. Kazuya

Not likely to return

Spoiler
  1. Corrin (might get out-prioritized by whatever else is new in Fire Emblem)
  2. Piranha Plant
  3. Joker
  4. Hero
  5. Sephiroth

Definitely not coming back

Spoiler
  1. Dr. Mario
  2. Pichu
  3. Young Link

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's what I'm thinking. Maybe I missed one or two. I grouped them by some shared attribute. Falling in a lower group doesn't always mean lower chances than one in a higher group - i.e. I could think a character in the (>20%) group has a 36% chance, while one in the (>30%) group has a 32% chance. So it's a rough sort.

The Original Twelve - These ones are pretty much guaranteed at this point (>90% each), having appeared in every game since the start. They are:

Spoiler
  1. Mario
  2. Link
  3. Fox
  4. Samus
  5. Donkey Kong
  6. Yoshi
  7. Pikachu
  8. Kirby
  9. Luigi
  10. Ness
  11. Jigglypuff
  12. Captain Falcon

The Regulars - Fighters introduced in Melee who have been around ever since. I see them as nearly a sure-thing (all >80% each), if not as certain as the Original Twelve.

Spoiler
  1. Peach
  2. Bowser
  3. Zelda
  4. Sheikh
  5. Ganondorf
  6. Marth
  7. Falco
  8. Mr. Game & Watch

Modern Icons - Fighters who first showed up in Brawl or later, but have gained fame as symbols of present-day major Nintendo franchises. I think they're all (>70%).

Spoiler
  1. Inkling
  2. Villager
  3. Olimar
  4. Robin
  5. Shulk
  6. Pit
  7. Wario

Likely Third-Partiers - Fighters who are third-party, but have enough notoriety, or Nintendo-specific history, to give them all good (>60%) chances.

Spoiler
  1. Pac-Man
  2. Sonic
  3. Mega Man
  4. Bayonetta
  5. Ryu
  6. Hero
  7. Steve/Alex

Coin Flips - First-party characters with some Smash history - or recent-joiners who were long-requested - but in a tenuous spot. I'm thinking (>50%) apiece.

Spoiler
  1. Meta Knight
  2. King Dedede
  3. Ice Climbers
  4. Mewtwo
  5. Roy
  6. Toon Link
  7. Lucario
  8. R.O.B
  9. Diddy Kong
  10. Zero Suit Samus
  11. Pokemon Trainer
  12. Ike
  13. Rosalina & Luma
  14. Wii Fit Trainer
  15. Mii Fighters
  16. Little Mac
  17. Greninja
  18. Palutena
  19. King K. Rool
  20. Ridley

Clones with a Chance - They are (or were) clones, but for various reasons, I think they could make it. Let's say (>40%) each.

Spoiler
  1. Lucina
  2. Dr. Mario
  3. Daisy
  4. Dark Pit
  5. Ken

Flash in the Pan - Once (or twice) Fighters who aren't likely to become anything recurring. I think they're around (>30%) each.

Spoiler
  1. Wolf
  2. Corrin
  3. Incineroar
  4. Piranha Plant
  5. Min-Min
  6. Pyra & Mythra
  7. Byleth
  8. Duck Hunt Duo
  9. Bowser Jr.
  10. Isabelle

 Less-Likely Third Partiers - I don't think most of these are coming back. Let's give them (>20%) each.

Spoiler
  1. Simon
  2. Cloud
  3. Sephiroth
  4. Sora
  5. Kazuya
  6. Joker
  7. Banjo & Kazooie
  8. Terry
  9. Snake
  10. Simon

Clones with No Chance - Some clones, I think, are very likely gone. I'm saying (>10%) each.

Spoiler
  1. Pichu
  2. Dark Samus
  3. Richter
  4. Chrom
  5. Young Link
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like the majority of cuts for future Smash Bros. games are going to come from third-party characters. Nintendo has to secure the rights for every individual one every single Smash game, and not just for the character but also for the music, stages, etc. I feel like they won't be able to again with some of them for one reason or another, or just not bother with others. That's not to say that every first-party Nintendo character is safe, of course. Anyway.

Completely safe:


Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Yoshi
Wario
Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong
Link
Zelda
Ganondorf
Samus
Kirby
King Dedede
Meta Knight
Fox
Pikachu
Charizard
Lucario
Ness
Captain Falcon
Marth
Ike
Robin
Pit
Olimar
Villager
Shulk
Inkling

Probably safe:


Daisy
Rosalina
Bowser Jr.
King K. Rool
Sheik
Ridley
Zero Suit Samus
Dark Samus
Falco
Jigglypuff
Pokemon Trainer/Squirtle/Ivysaur
Greninja
Ice Climbers
Lucina
Byleth
Palutena
Dark Pit
Isabelle
Little Mac
Pyra/Mythra
Mr. Game & Watch
R.O.B
Sonic
Mega Man
Pac-Man
Ryu
Bayonetta
Simon

50/50:


Dr. Mario
Toon Link
Wolf
Mewtwo
Incineroar
Lucas
Roy
Corrin
Chrom
Duck Hunt
Min Min
Wii Fit Trainer
Miis
Cloud
Ken
Richter
Banjo-Kazooie
Steve

Less likely:


Piranha Plant
Snake
Hero
Sephiroth
Kazuya
Sora

Unlikely:


Young Link
Pichu
Joker
Terry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made an image:

UPokpC9.png

A few characters could shuffle around and Ryu could go up a tier, but mostly this reflects my opinions. I didn't want to include third party characters from the same company in the same tier unless I think they could go either way, like Snake/Simon and Cloud/Hero. I also put Dr. Mario and the echoes in their own category; basically I think the echoes will come back if their parent character returns, and Dr. Mario in particular is up to the developers' whims.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/31/2024 at 8:18 AM, Perkilator said:

We all know that "Everyone is Here" -- the main selling point of Ultimate bringing back every veteran in Smash history -- isn't going to happen again

Out of curiosity, why do we know this? Has Sakurai or other major developers actually stated this? Because my kneejerk is the opposite; Nintendo knows "everyone is here" was a huge success. We've never had a Smash roster with significant cuts before and if I were a video game producer I'd be terrified at the potential backlash of such a move, so by default I'd assume almost everyone comes back except any third-party characters for whom permissions get withdrawn and maybe a small handful of less-popular characters particularly clones (which mostly explains the few cuts from Brawl to Smash 4, for instance).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

so by default I'd assume almost everyone comes back except any third-party characters for whom permissions get withdrawn and maybe a small handful of less-popular characters particularly clones (which mostly explains the few cuts from Brawl to Smash 4, for instance).

Yeah, I mean, I think the only game Dr. Mario missed was Brawl, right? And Roy, Mewtwo, and Lucas were brought back in Smash 4's DLC specifically because of the fan demand. And the one and only reason the Ice Climbers were cut from Smash 4 was specifically because of the 3DS limitations, and that was the same reason Pokemon Trainer was reduced to just Charizard. If not for that, Ice Climbers and Squirtle/Ivysaur wouldn't have gone anywhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Out of curiosity, why do we know this? Has Sakurai or other major developers actually stated this? Because my kneejerk is the opposite; Nintendo knows "everyone is here" was a huge success. We've never had a Smash roster with significant cuts before and if I were a video game producer I'd be terrified at the potential backlash of such a move, so by default I'd assume almost everyone comes back except any third-party characters for whom permissions get withdrawn and maybe a small handful of less-popular characters particularly clones (which mostly explains the few cuts from Brawl to Smash 4, for instance).

I think the anxiety over the next game being "Smash Ultimate, But More" is... people might not buy it. "Why would I buy this new one, when it doesn't do much better or different from the last one, which is still perfectly playable?" Something along those lines. In this paradigm, Smash 6 needs to do something fundamentally different, and never-before-seen in the series, to justify its existence. If putting resources into this new playstyle means fewer characters, then so be it.

Of course, another way of looking at it is "Smash will do as well as whichever console its on". Smash Ultimate wasn't a success because "everyone is here", but rather, because it's on the Switch - a successful console. The next game could expand the cast, or cut it, amd it wouldn't make much difference. It would succeed - or fail - alongside the Switch's successor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming there's no genre-twisting changes to the battle system of the next Smash Bros they can probably port over whatever they want from Ultimate barring any insurmountable licensing issues. One thing I could see them doing is scaling back the roster at launch, but adding back veterans and stages one or two at a time for a steady influx of (hopefully free) updates to keep the game lively across the following two years rather than being dead for the months in between DLC characters. By holding veterans back they can take their time balancing them against a developing meta rather than suffer having to do everyone at once in time for Launch - which no doubt took time and resources away from new stuff in Ultimate.

But if we are discussing licensing issues, I think a lot of folks don't realize that the Pokemon are relatively endangered. Quite a few still wrongly assume Nintendo owns Pokemon but the Pokemon company needs to be negotiated with same as anyone else. This is corroborated when we look at the history of characters that were playable in one game but not in the next:

  • Dr Mario
  • Pichu
  • Roy
  • Young Link
  • Mewtwo
  • Snake
  • Squirtle
  • Ivysaur
  • Lucas
  • Wolf

40% of cut characters were pokemon. 40% are ones Nintendo claims full ownership of. 1 is Snake, the last is Lucas who is complicated but fairly close to the Pokemon situation, legally speaking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/31/2024 at 7:13 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Here's what I'm thinking. Maybe I missed one or two. I grouped them by some shared attribute. Falling in a lower group doesn't always mean lower chances than one in a higher group - i.e. I could think a character in the (>20%) group has a 36% chance, while one in the (>30%) group has a 32% chance. So it's a rough sort.

 

The thought of Banjo-Kazooie not returning hurts, as they were my favorite addition among SSBU's DLC fighters.

On 4/2/2024 at 2:36 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I think the anxiety over the next game being "Smash Ultimate, But More" is... people might not buy it. "Why would I buy this new one, when it doesn't do much better or different from the last one, which is still perfectly playable?" Something along those lines. In this paradigm, Smash 6 needs to do something fundamentally different, and never-before-seen in the series, to justify its existence. If putting resources into this new playstyle means fewer characters, then so be it.

I would rather that they add new characters to replace the ones being cut, so that the game at least offers a markedly different experience than its predecessors.

This said, I can probably offer my own tiers, though I use just four.

Almost Guaranteed >75%

Spoiler

These characters have been staples since their introduction, are highly popular, and iconic to SSB as well as their own series. There would be serious backlash if any of these were removed.

  • Mario
  • Donkey Kong
  • Link
  • Samus Aran
  • Kirby
  • Yoshi
  • Fox McCloud
  • Pikachu
  • Luigi
  • Ness
  • Captain Falcon
  • Jigglypuff
  • Peach
  • Bowser
  • Zelda
  • Sheik
  • Ganondorf
  • Falco
  • Marth
  • Diddy Kong
  • King Dedede
  • Meta Knight
  • Charizard
  • Lucario
  • Olimar
  • Villager
  • King K. Rool
  • Ridley
  • Incineroar
  • Isabelle
  • Inkling

Highly Likely >50%

Spoiler

These characters are less essential, but still quite popular and would be missed if they were removed. A few were cut before, and later brought back at the fans' request. Popular third party fighters are included in this tier, as the need to negotiate licensing means they're never guaranteed. First-party fighters added to SSBU via DLC are likely to return as part of the base roster.

  • Mewtwo
  • Roy
  • Pit
  • Zero Suit Samus
  • Wario
  • Wolf
  • Pokemon Trainer
  • Lucas
  • Ike
  • Snake
  • Sonic
  • Rosalina & Luma
  • Robin
  • Shulk
  • Palutena
  • Greninja
  • Mega Man
  • Pac-Man
  • Ryu
  • Cloud
  • Bayonetta
  • Daisy
  • Dark Samus
  • Chrom
  • Simon
  • Richter
  • Joker
  • Hero
  • Banjo & Kazooie
  • Terry Bogard
  • Min Min
  • Sephiroth
  • Pyra & Mythra
  • Kazuya
  • Sora

Less Likely <50%

Spoiler

Some of these characters were cut at least once prior to SSBU and weren't highly requested to return, some were added as jokes and only gained popularity ironically, and others just weren't highly requested to begin with. These characters could safely be cut.

  • Ice Climbers
  • Mr. Game & Watch
  • R.O.B.
  • Bowser Jr.
  • Wii Fit Trainer
  • Little Mac
  • Lucina
  • Dark Pit
  • Duck Hunt
  • Mii Fighters
  • Ken
  • Piranha Plant
  • Minecraft Steve

Unlikely <25%

Spoiler

Two of these characters were cut once already, and aside from a vocal minority, hardly anyone was requesting their return. The other has garnered such a mediocre response from the fanbase that they could be cut and hardly anyone would complain.

  • Dr. Mario
  • Young Link
  • Byleth

So, if I were to guess what the base roster might look like sans newcomers, this is what I would expect.

Spoiler
  1. Mario
  2. Luigi
  3. Peach
  4. Daisy
  5. Bowser
  6. Rosalina & Luma
  7. Donkey Kong
  8. Diddy Kong
  9. King K. Rool
  10. Link
  11. Zelda
  12. Sheik
  13. Ganondorf
  14. Samus Aran
  15. Dark Samus
  16. Zero Suit Samus
  17. Ridley
  18. Kirby
  19. King Dedede
  20. Meta Knight
  21. Yoshi
  22. Fox
  23. Falco
  24. Wolf
  25. Pikachu
  26. Jigglypuff
  27. Mewtwo
  28. Pokemon Trainer
  29. Lucario
  30. Greninja
  31. Incineroar
  32. Ness
  33. Lucas
  34. Captain Falcon
  35. Marth
  36. Roy
  37. Ike
  38. Robin
  39. Chrom
  40. Wario
  41. Pit
  42. Palutena
  43. Olimar
  44. Villager
  45. Isabelle
  46. Shulk
  47. Inkling
  48. Min Min
  49. Pyra & Mythra

Third-parties could be base roster, but I could just as easily see them being DLCs for fans who want them back while leaving them out of the base roster for fans who are less concerned with their return.

  1. Snake
  2. Sonic
  3. Mega Man
  4. Pac-Man
  5. Ryu
  6. Cloud
  7. Bayonetta
  8. Simon
  9. Richter
  10. Joker
  11. Hero
  12. Banjo & Kazooie
  13. Terry Bogard
  14. Sephiroth
  15. Kazuya
  16. Sora

 

Edited by Lord_Brand
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

This is corroborated when we look at the history of characters that were playable in one game but not in the next:

  • Dr Mario
  • Pichu
  • Roy
  • Young Link
  • Mewtwo
  • Snake
  • Squirtle
  • Ivysaur
  • Lucas
  • Wolf

You forgot Ice Climbers, who weren't included in Smash 4. But then again, Lucas probably shouldn't be here, since he was in the DLC for Smash 4. So it balances out.

17 minutes ago, Lord_Brand said:

I would rather that they add new characters to replace the ones being cut, so that the game at least offers a markedly different experience than its predecessors.

This might be my "hot take", but... I really hate the character select screen in Ultimate. It takes, like, a full 30 seconds to find the character I'm looking for. There are just so many of them. And it's not like the individual tiles for each character are particularly large. It just feels overwhelming.

I'm not opposed to the game having new characters, of course. But I really don't have much appetite for Smash 6 having an even larger roster than the current one. Make it a game where I, a casual player, can spend some time with each fighter, and get to know them.

21 minutes ago, Lord_Brand said:

The thought of Banjo-Kazooie not returning hurts, as they were my favorite addition among SSBU's DLC fighters.

Oh, I have nothing against how they play. But to me, they were always a "nostalgia" pick of long-requested characters. If we get a new Banjo-Kazooie title on the Switch (or its successor), though, then they could definitely justify their continuing inclusion.

25 minutes ago, Lord_Brand said:

Two of these characters were cut once already, and aside from a vocal minority, hardly anyone was requesting their return. The other has garnered such a mediocre response from the fanbase that they could be cut and hardly anyone would complain.

  • Dr. Mario
  • Young Link
  • Byleth

You didn't list them here, but fair to assume that Pichu is among this cadre?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Assuming there's no genre-twisting changes to the battle system of the next Smash Bros they can probably port over whatever they want from Ultimate barring any insurmountable licensing issues. One thing I could see them doing is scaling back the roster at launch, but adding back veterans and stages one or two at a time for a steady influx of (hopefully free) updates to keep the game lively across the following two years rather than being dead for the months in between DLC characters. By holding veterans back they can take their time balancing them against a developing meta rather than suffer having to do everyone at once in time for Launch - which no doubt took time and resources away from new stuff in Ultimate.

But if we are discussing licensing issues, I think a lot of folks don't realize that the Pokemon are relatively endangered. Quite a few still wrongly assume Nintendo owns Pokemon but the Pokemon company needs to be negotiated with same as anyone else. This is corroborated when we look at the history of characters that were playable in one game but not in the next:

  • Dr Mario
  • Pichu
  • Roy
  • Young Link
  • Mewtwo
  • Snake
  • Squirtle
  • Ivysaur
  • Lucas
  • Wolf

40% of cut characters were pokemon. 40% are ones Nintendo claims full ownership of. 1 is Snake, the last is Lucas who is complicated but fairly close to the Pokemon situation, legally speaking.

The thing about this, though, is I'm not sure you can really fully count Squirtle and Ivysaur here. I mean, you can, I guess, but from Sakurai's own words, they would not have been cut if the 3DS hardware could handle the Pokemon Trainer (same with the Ice Climbers). Squirtle and Ivysaur (Pokemon Trainer, by extension) are always going to be a lot safer than people think, in my opinion.

13 hours ago, Lord_Brand said:

The thought of Banjo-Kazooie not returning hurts, as they were my favorite addition among SSBU's DLC fighters.

I would rather that they add new characters to replace the ones being cut, so that the game at least offers a markedly different experience than its predecessors.

This said, I can probably offer my own tiers, though I use just four.

Almost Guaranteed >75%

  Reveal hidden contents

These characters have been staples since their introduction, are highly popular, and iconic to SSB as well as their own series. There would be serious backlash if any of these were removed.

  • Mario
  • Donkey Kong
  • Link
  • Samus Aran
  • Kirby
  • Yoshi
  • Fox McCloud
  • Pikachu
  • Luigi
  • Ness
  • Captain Falcon
  • Jigglypuff
  • Peach
  • Bowser
  • Zelda
  • Sheik
  • Ganondorf
  • Falco
  • Marth
  • Diddy Kong
  • King Dedede
  • Meta Knight
  • Charizard
  • Lucario
  • Olimar
  • Villager
  • King K. Rool
  • Ridley
  • Incineroar
  • Isabelle
  • Inkling

Highly Likely >50%

  Reveal hidden contents

These characters are less essential, but still quite popular and would be missed if they were removed. A few were cut before, and later brought back at the fans' request. Popular third party fighters are included in this tier, as the need to negotiate licensing means they're never guaranteed. First-party fighters added to SSBU via DLC are likely to return as part of the base roster.

  • Mewtwo
  • Roy
  • Pit
  • Zero Suit Samus
  • Wario
  • Wolf
  • Pokemon Trainer
  • Lucas
  • Ike
  • Snake
  • Sonic
  • Rosalina & Luma
  • Robin
  • Shulk
  • Palutena
  • Greninja
  • Mega Man
  • Pac-Man
  • Ryu
  • Cloud
  • Bayonetta
  • Daisy
  • Dark Samus
  • Chrom
  • Simon
  • Richter
  • Joker
  • Hero
  • Banjo & Kazooie
  • Terry Bogard
  • Min Min
  • Sephiroth
  • Pyra & Mythra
  • Kazuya
  • Sora

Less Likely <50%

  Reveal hidden contents

Some of these characters were cut at least once prior to SSBU and weren't highly requested to return, some were added as jokes and only gained popularity ironically, and others just weren't highly requested to begin with. These characters could safely be cut.

  • Ice Climbers
  • Mr. Game & Watch
  • R.O.B.
  • Bowser Jr.
  • Wii Fit Trainer
  • Little Mac
  • Lucina
  • Dark Pit
  • Duck Hunt
  • Mii Fighters
  • Ken
  • Piranha Plant
  • Minecraft Steve

Unlikely <25%

  Reveal hidden contents

Two of these characters were cut once already, and aside from a vocal minority, hardly anyone was requesting their return. The other has garnered such a mediocre response from the fanbase that they could be cut and hardly anyone would complain.

  • Dr. Mario
  • Young Link
  • Byleth

So, if I were to guess what the base roster might look like sans newcomers, this is what I would expect.

  Reveal hidden contents
  1. Mario
  2. Luigi
  3. Peach
  4. Daisy
  5. Bowser
  6. Rosalina & Luma
  7. Donkey Kong
  8. Diddy Kong
  9. King K. Rool
  10. Link
  11. Zelda
  12. Sheik
  13. Ganondorf
  14. Samus Aran
  15. Dark Samus
  16. Zero Suit Samus
  17. Ridley
  18. Kirby
  19. King Dedede
  20. Meta Knight
  21. Yoshi
  22. Fox
  23. Falco
  24. Wolf
  25. Pikachu
  26. Jigglypuff
  27. Mewtwo
  28. Pokemon Trainer
  29. Lucario
  30. Greninja
  31. Incineroar
  32. Ness
  33. Lucas
  34. Captain Falcon
  35. Marth
  36. Roy
  37. Ike
  38. Robin
  39. Chrom
  40. Wario
  41. Pit
  42. Palutena
  43. Olimar
  44. Villager
  45. Isabelle
  46. Shulk
  47. Inkling
  48. Min Min
  49. Pyra & Mythra

Third-parties could be base roster, but I could just as easily see them being DLCs for fans who want them back while leaving them out of the base roster for fans who are less concerned with their return.

  1. Snake
  2. Sonic
  3. Mega Man
  4. Pac-Man
  5. Ryu
  6. Cloud
  7. Bayonetta
  8. Simon
  9. Richter
  10. Joker
  11. Hero
  12. Banjo & Kazooie
  13. Terry Bogard
  14. Sephiroth
  15. Kazuya
  16. Sora

 

This is the list that perplexes me the most, if I'm being honest. You have Incineroar as an "Almost Guaranteed >75%", but then you have Wario as only a "Highly Likely>50%". That feels...wrong. Heck, if I'm being honest, I think Pit and Shulk are also safer than Incineroar.

For Pokemon specifically, Incineroar is probably the second-or-third-least iconic and popular Pokemon of all the ones that have been on Smash's roster, only Pichu and Jigglypuff my be less so, but Jigglypuff also has the seniority of "Original 12 Smash Bros. veteran." Greninja was so popular they made that Greninja-Ash-combo thing, Pikachu needs no explaining, and I don't think it could be argued that the original starters (Pokemon Trainer), Mewtwo, and Lucario are all far more popular/iconic than Incineroar is. If that (popularity/icon status) was one of the main parts of your criteria, I don't think this placement is correct.

Byleth doesn't make sense to me, either. The reception to their reveal was certainly lukewarm, but over time Byleth has absolutely become much, much more widely accepted and liked specifically because of how different they are from Marth. Same for Robin, honestly. Having looked across Twitter, Reddit, and various other websites and forums since Ultimate's final Sora DLC, and Byleth is almost always listed as one of the "should stay" FE characters on the roster. Just about every fan roster I've seen over the last two years have the FE portion of Smash include Marth, Robin, and Byleth. I'm not gonna say Byleth is absolutely safe, because they aren't, but they absolutely have at the very leats a 50/50 shot.

Edited by Fire Emblem Fan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:

The thing about this, though, is I'm not sure you can really fully count Squirtle and Ivysaur here. I mean, you can, I guess, but from Sakurai's own words, they would not have been cut if the 3DS hardware could handle the Pokemon Trainer (same with the Ice Climbers). Squirtle and Ivysaur (Pokemon Trainer, by extension) are always going to be a lot safer than people think, in my opinion.

I don't read it that way. If they wanted Squirtle and Ivysaur as separate fighters, the 3DS version would not have stopped them. You're correct that Pokemon Trainer was specifically unfeasible for the 3DS hardware, but Charizard is living proof that they were willing to rework his parts into separate entities. And Sakurai also cites the Zelda/Sheik and Samus/ZSS situations as part of that accommodation process. Sheik surprises me in retrospect. Outdated Zelda character, gets two whole special moves as part of the rework, is definitely not as recognizeable to a casual audience as Squirtle/Ivysaur. But Nintendo owns Sheik, not Squirtle. I think it's a crucial factor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...