Lots of heady topics on the board lately, so I thought maybe we could use a bit of fun, idle speculation. After all, that's what video game forums do best.

Smash Bros.
Wii U.
Characters.
What do you think?
Who do you like?
Who do you hate?
Who do you think is likely to get a shot, even if you couldn't care less about them?

This thread is to answer questions like that. (I'm sure there've been others like this, but do you really want me to search them up and necrobump 'em? Unless someone fiercely objects, let's just roll with it). Feel free to discuss stages, assist trophies or anything else relating to characters in the game. Have a moveset all written up for that dude from Geist? Let's hear it.

One rule: NO MEGAMAN. We get it. We'd all like to see the Blue Bomber in the next game. We get that the Capcom/Inafune split might keep it from happening. Let's take that conversation as understood and move beyond it.

Oh, I lied. Second rule: NO BELMONTS. Same deal. We can agree Simon or Trevor would be great. Take it as already spoken.

Feel free to venture further into 3rd parties if you must, but I'd prefer if we stick to Nintendo as much as possible. It's harder and more fun that way.

...

What character do I think is a shoe in?

Little Mac.

Punch-Out is a popular, iconic series that every old school gamer knows well. It also had a recent entry, so it's possibly more fresh on gamers' minds than some other NES era properties. Mac's a fighter, so he makes sense within the context of the game. And his boxing style would be fairly unique.

Yeah, he doesn't have a ton of special moves. But he could borrow some moves from some of the colorful boxers he goes up against. I could imagine him with some kind of Great Tiger spin move or Bald Bull charge. I'd have to see it in action to make sure it worked, but it's one possibility. But even if you just stuck to standard boxing moves, he'd still be pretty unique for Smash Bros.

There are tons of other choices off the top of my head, but I don't want to flood the first post with all the fun answers. What do you guys think?

Oh, and another question: Do you think the appearance of a character as an Assist Trophy in Brawl makes them more likely to appear as a playable character? Is someone like Samurai Goroh more likely because we saw him in some capacity last time, or does that not matter at all?

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@Mr_Mustache

That's the joke dude .

Look up the top. It's everybody fight everybody!

Dampé would be awesome. All the more reason there needs to be a Zelda version!

@Mop it up

He'll hit you with his goddamn shovel.

@Mop it up
@Shadowlink

This is why you guys don't work for Nintendo.

Step aside, gents, it's time to get some likely predictions down in here!

Ridley - Metroid is a major series and seriously needs another major character. Ridley is arguably a bigger villain than Mother Brain (who wouldn't make a good playable character anyway, more of a boss), and I still feel his size can be cheated to work in the game (like Olimar, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Charizard). He needs to show up.

King K. Rool OR Dixie Kong - I'm not positive that DK will get another rep, but these are the obvious ones. K. Rool would help the villain side of things, has been the big baddie in over 4 of the series' games, while Dixie is fairly iconic in her own right, is another (rare) female, and could have some nice moves with the ponytail.

Kamek - The only other Yoshi rep that makes sense and would have a pretty cool assortment of moves. For such a major player in Yoshi's Island, though, he sure hasn't shown up in other games much so he might be a long shot.

Little Mac OR King Hippo - I'd personally prefer Hippo (a quirky, recognizable villain with a great hook), but Mac is more likely at this point. Punch-Out will almost certainly have a rep either way.

New Pikmin captain (with Rock Pikmin?) - With Pikmin 3 being a flagship launch(ish) title for the Wii U, there's a good chance of a new rep, and either Louie or one of the new captains seems like the best bet.

Krystal - Krystal has never really been in a great Star Fox game, IMO, but she's definitely one of the major characters of the series, is female, and would have a lot of cool, unique moves with the staff.

Third-parties!

Mega Man - Still my most-wanted character. It can happen! You just have to BELIEVE. When I was a kid, Mega Man was as much an NES character as Mario and Link!

Mog OR Black Mage - Iconic Square reps with lots of moves each!

Simon Belmont - YEAH


Who I DON'T want to see, ever:

Sora - Ugh, tired of this ridiculous franchise and this silly character. Keep him far away. See above for a good Square rep.

Geno - Never liked this guy, always was my least-favorite SMRPG character and one of the areas where SMRPGs tone was a little off. No Geno please! NO GENO.

Goku/Naruto/Any anime character - Barf.

GIVE ME VIEWTIFUL JOE, OR GIVE ME DEATH.

I'd also like to see Ridley, Mega Man, Travis Touchdown, Phoenix Wright, and Gapetto (just 'cause).

thefly said:

GIVE ME VIEWTIFUL JOE, OR GIVE ME DEATH.

Your will be done.



That sickle looks nasty. Kinda OP though, with that one-touch KO and all.

He'll be banned from tourny play for sure.

@Shadowlink

This looks like a job for...

I'm going to go with what Sakurai said that introducing too many third-party characters would lose the focus of the game and focus primarily on first-party characters.

First though let's take a look at how many characters appeared in each successive game:
N64 SSB - 12
Melee - 25 (13 more)
Brawl - 35 (10 more)

I'm just going to assume the law of diminishing returns and run with lucky number 7 for my list.

Little Mac
With a nice revival of the Punch-Out!! series I think it's fitting to have Little Mac promoted from Assist Trophy to full-featured playable character.

King K. Rool
Mario's former co-star also needs a villain and in general the villains could use some additional help to even the odds. In comes Donkey Kong's nemesis.

Samurai Goroh
Star Fox has one of his Wing Men and rival included in the game, so it's only fair that the series from the same creator gets some love too. In comes Samurai Goroh to bring in Captain Falcon's rival.

Mii
Well they've been popping up playable in other games aside from the Wii line such as Mario Tennis, Mario Kart and perhaps even New Super Mario Bros. U so why not? Might be fun to see what they come up with since the Mii will likely go Peach style and grab from all the different titles they've appeared in.

Palutena
I think we will definitely get a Kid Icarus representative considering both the series' rebirth and Sakurai's involvement in that game. While Palutena was part of Pit's Final Smash I think they can do a modification and get her into the game. We also know that she's not exactly huge like Medusa or anything in-game . Besides, we need some more female representation. Not to mention if we don't get Palutena or Hades we may get Magnus instead... and I'm not necessarily a big fan of Magnus.

Shulk
Okay, I didn't get to play Xenoblade much before my Wii died but I think Shulk has potential. Not to mention we need some new series getting represented in Smash Bros.

Ridley
I'm in agreement with what other people already posted. Ridley can be downsized just like they did for Bowser. It's time for Metroid's most iconic villain and Samus' nemesis to join the fight.


I will say though that despite what Sakurai said there's likely to be one third-party character that will appear and that will be from Namco since they're helping the development of the game. As everyone guessed in the other thread it's probably Pac-Man although I really hope not. I do prefer Klonoa as a Smash Bros. character and Pac-Man as an assist trophy but Klonoa hasn't really gotten a chance to shine in a while.

SSB needs more strong, independent female characters.

Namely:


Midna - Easily one of the most unique Zelda characters in terms of powers and body-type. Also one of the most popular non-Triforce holding characters. Would offer more variety amongst the Zelda cast than any other Zelda character, IMO.


Medusa - Palutena I can only see being another Zelda, another pretty magic princess in a dress. Medusa at least gives us another villain character to play as, as well as a character who legitimately focuses on dark magic. And she's frucking awesome to boot. Medusa >>>>>> Palutena


Lyn: She starred in the first localized Fire Emblem and is coming back in the new FE: Awakening on the 3DS (along with a lot of FE characters). Even more awesome, she now wields dual blades, to even better set her apart from the other FE characters and make her a completely unique and badass character.


Impa: I'd like to see her as a replacement for Sheik, inheriting Sheik's moveset. Sheik hasn't been relevant since OoT, and Nintendo will likely want to change all the Zelda characters to their most current SS states, making Sheik's presence even more awkward. Furthermore, Impa has been much more of a reoccurring figure in the Zelda universe than Sheik, and by taking Sheik's moveset Impa can make improvements to it by having her own unique Down+B and Final Smash. This can also improve Zelda, who would also gain her own unique Down+B. Sheik could still be a costume for Impa.

Lastly, though this next one is kind of a spoiler for Xenoblade:

Fiora - Shulk seems like the more obvious choice, but in this case I feel its an exception. We already have a lot of single sword fighters, and should expect more (like Isaac or Isa), while Fiora's dual blade & gun drone combo would easily be more unique among the cast. Likewise, Shulk is actually more of a support character in Xenoblade, while Fiora is more optimized for combat (which I think is neat since its usually the other way around in most RPGs, where the main character is the fighter and the love interest is the support). Third, she & Meyneth both play a very substantial roll in the story, really second only to Shulk (although... I still haven't beaten the game entirely since my Wii can't read discs anymore, can't speak fully on this one). I know she's a longshot but she's still my favorite character in Xenoblade (both to use and in character) so I gotta put her here.

Nintendo has tons of great female fighters and yet they always pick the princesses over everyone. I just want more Samuses and less Peaches.

I wouldn't mind seeing both Medusa and Palutena in the next Smash Bros.

While there are still some quality characters to grab from the Zelda and Mario series, I would prefer to see some more representation from various franchises.

I also would like to see Mike Jones appear but that seems unlikely. He hasn't even gotten a trophy mention yet in the series. Star Tropics is like a forgotten series and it's a great pity



I'm going to redact and say take out Mii for the following character...



Saki Amamiy
Can't believe how I forgot about him the first time around. The Sin & Punishment series has already had two quality entries. I really enjoyed the original game despite the wonky controls on the Wii (and that's really more of a fault that it was built around the N64 controller, which I obviously couldn't use). That said it's sequel on the Wii was awesome as well and it's a pity more people didn't purchase it, especially with all the clamoring for Star Fox. While Isa may be a more likely inclusion than Saki since Star Successor had a retail release in all regions, I still prefer the Saki character.

To top it off this came from the Smash Bros. DOJO description when they revealed Saki as an assist trophy:
He rivals just about any main character. There were many requests from users for his inclusion, and he IS pretty cool, so I did what I could to include him. After all, this game does let you enjoy a dream cast of supporting characters!

I've had this tab open for forever in my browser, so I'm going to answer, just so that I can close it. But I have no imagination or recall.

...

...

Aura-Aura?

...

Actually, Spotto would be better, even though his game is worse.

Wait, has anyone said Drill Dozer?! Or a ninja from that Murasame Castle that keeps makin' the rounds these days?

Seriously, maybe Nintendo IS planning a ninja game. That series has had a surprising amount of fanservice for something that never even came out in the West. (Platinum?!)

I should probably get going on Skyward Sword, Xenoblad, and Last Story...