Non-protagonists you’d prefer over the protagonists

[Perkilator]

We know Smash Ultimate somewhat broke the mold of protagonists getting in first when representing new universe. Min Min, Pyra & Mythra, and Kazuya were the three fighters in Fighters Pass Vol. 2 that broke this mold, but it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary.

• Min Min: Sakurai said that Yabuki considered everyone the protagonist of ARMS (and Spring Man was an Assist Trophy anyway but that’s besides the point)
• Pyra & Mythra: Both of them are part of the same protagonist ensemble as Rex in Xenoblade 2, and are two halves of one of the most important characters in the franchise as a while. At the very least, they were supposed to be paired with Rex, but technical limitations got in the way, hence why the Aegis are playable by themselves.
• Kazuya: He was the protagonist of Tekken 1 before becoming a villain in every game afterward. At the very least, he was closer to a proper protagonist (as loosely as I use that term) compared to Min Min and Aegis, though the real reason he was chosen over Jin or Heihachi was because his devil powers made for an easier selection of special moves for a fighter from Tekken.

My point is, while all of these characters are important in some fashion, they aren’t strictly the protagonist of their respective games (for lack of a better term). Basically, my question is: since we know Sakurai is willing to take liberties with non-protagonists, which non-protagonists would you like to see over the protagonist?

[Jotari]

3 hours ago, Perkilator said:

•  though the real reason he was chosen over Jin or Heihachi was because his devil powers made for an easier selection of special moves for a fighter from Tekken.

Jin has devil powers too, so that's not the reason Kazuya got in over him. Why did Kazuya get in over him? *shrug* guess he's just a more popular character. And if I am to express some further pedantry, technically Pokemon was the first series to introduce someone other than the protagonist, as it wasn't until Brawl that the actual Pokemon Trainer got into the game. We also got Robin in Smash 4 before Chrom (who yes, is the protagonist of Awakening, that's why you don't control Robin on the world map).

To give some answer to the question asked, however, I would have rather Malos over either Pyra, Mytha or Rex.

[vanguard333]

Is this about non-protagonists that we'd prefer over protagonists that are in Smash Bros. or protagonists that aren't in Smash Bros.?

If the former:

House Leaders (Three Houses): I would greatly prefer Edelgard, Dimitri & Claude over Byleth. Ideally, I would want them as a bundle like Pokémon Trainer, but if it had to be just one, I would say Edelgard since she's also either the leading character or the main antagonist depending on which route the player chooses.

 

If the latter:

Nel or Lumera (Fire Emblem Engage): Unless another new Fire Emblem game releases between now and the next Smash Bros., Alear appearing as a fighter is almost inevitable. But Alear really doesn't have much going for them as a fighter: the game calls them a dragon, but they spend the whole game in human form and wielding swords, and the only thing that they have that makes them stand out amongst other FE protagonists is the Emblem Rings, i.e. the ability to summon other FE protagonists, a lot of whom are already fighters in Smash Bros.

Nel and Lumera, being dragons, also have the ability to use emblem rings. However, unlike Alear, they also have their dragon forms. Lumera's would probably only see use in a final smash since it only appeared once in a cutscene in Engage, but Nel's dragon form could be a core part of her moveset.

[lenticular]

For Animal Crossing, I'd have preferred pretty much any named character over Villager. I'm just not a big fan of having what is essentially "generic player character" included. Tom Nook or K.K. Slider would have been my choice.

For Street Fighter, while it's hard to say that there is a single protagonist to the series, it's probably fair to say that Ryu is the closest to a protagonist that they do have, but he's also incredibly bland. I'd have much preferred to see the first lady of fighting games herself, Chun Li.

[Etrurian emperor]

I'd have taken any of the house leaders over Byleth. Artistically its hard to see what Byleth have over them. Instead Byleth was the perfect compromise candidate who'd offend none of the three fanbases while at the same time satisfying none of them either. As such its hard to respect Byleth's inclusion, especially when contrasting it with ARMS where Smash did include the more interesting character over the more generic mascot. Personally I think Edelgard in particular would have been the more deserving addition since she's at the core of the story, to the point the main theme is directly sung from her perspective. 

 

[Original Alear]

Geno over Mario!

[vanguard333]

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'd have taken any of the house leaders over Byleth. Artistically, it's hard to see what Byleth has over them. Instead Byleth was the perfect compromise candidate who'd offend none of the three fanbases while at the same time satisfying none of them either. As such its hard to respect Byleth's inclusion, especially when contrasting it with ARMS where Smash did include the more interesting character over the more generic mascot. Personally I think Edelgard in particular would have been the more deserving addition since she's at the core of the story, to the point the main theme is directly sung from her perspective.

I completely agree. To add to your point about Edelgard, Ultimate did have a bit of a heroes & villains motif when introducing characters like Ridley, King K Rool and Sephiroth, and Edelgard is both; being a hero in her own route and the main antagonist in every other route, so she would've been a great addition in that regard as well.

[Yexin]

Tifa over both Cloud and Sephiroth
she could have a really cool combo-based moveset, similar to most of the fg characters already present, and she could actually have materia implemented in it, and also female character bonus points

Rhea over Byleth
overall neutral pick just like Byleth, could have a more interesting moveset compared to Bylet's "my sword has different hitboxes", implementing dragon breath (or beams i guess), claws, tail attacks and so on, and also female character bonus points

Chun Li over Ryu
i just like her more than Ryu, and also female character bonus points

Edited September 16, 2023 by Yexin