Mewtwo: Now you understand why Lucario has to take a seat. Mewtwo and Lucario are essentially the same character in moveset, but in the eyes of the Pokemon faithful, Mewtwo holds far more sway. I understand why Lucario took Mewtwo’s place in Brawl: the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum generation needed a representative, and Lucario’s face time in the anime cartoon made him an excellent choice. Now that we’re past that, it’s time to bring ol’ Mewtwo back into the fray. Sorry, Mr. Aura Sphere. Take a seat.
Now for the part of this proposal that is bound to be most discussed: the brand new characters. Fourteen total, which will bring my final roster to 45.
Let’s start with some characters who made an appearance in Brawl, but not in the main spotlight…
Little Mac: Little Mac as an Assist Trophy didn’t sit well with me last time. Mac is an icon, a boxer from a classic NES game. He seemed worthy of a full roster spot, except for the fact that he hadn’t been in his own game since the Super Nintendo. With the 2009 Punch-Out!! reboot, that excuse is no longer valid. It’s time for Mac to lace up those gloves and come out Smashing.
Lyn: The preeminent female from the Fire Emblem series, Lyn had a lot of fan support during Brawl’s development period. Alas, she was another who was thrust into the background as an Assist Trophy. Lyn would serve as the middle ground between Marth’s finesse-style swordplay and Ike’s bruising, heavy-hitting nature. Quick, strong, and fierce: all would represent Lyn.
Saki Amamiya: When Saki was announced as an Assist Trophy, I wasn’t surprised. His game was an underground hit only known to Nintendo historians, the Japanese gamer base, and importers. Now that the Sin and Punishment name has seen a second game in Star Successor, there’s no reason why the franchise can’t be represented in Smash. Some may argue for Saki’s son, who starred in the second game, but I’d prefer the original.
Waluigi: Yeah, yeah, I know. This guy? Really? Mr. I-Only-Exist-Because-Wario-Exists-And-Luigi-Needed-A-Rival-Too? Despite what people may think of him as a character, as a member of the Smash roster I feel like he’d fit right in. His Assist Trophy had a varied selection of moves, suggesting that he may at one time have been considered anyhow. Plus, with Wario having his own franchise distinction, Waluigi could be included there instead of as a Mario franchise character. I think ol’ Waluigi is a shoo-in.
Isaac: Ah, Isaac, another character with huge fan support coming into Brawl. The Golden Sun games are rather underrated RPGs and easily two of the best games on the Game Boy Advance. With a new Golden Sun game, Dark Dawn, hitting the DS, the name is fresh in the minds of current gamers. I had considered Isaac’s son Matthew, the star of Dark Dawn, but like Saki above the original is best.
K.K. Slider: This may be more of a personal choice, but this musical mutt would make an excellent addition to the Smash world. His guitar could be used as a weapon, his moveset could be themed around his songs, and I’ve already thought of a perfect Final Smash: K.K. Concert, where a random song plays with random effects: Lullaby puts everyone to sleep, Go. K.K. Rider summons cars that damage enemies, etc. K.K. is a more natural fit into Smash than people want to consider… and maybe I just want to bash someone with a guitar Honky Tonk style.
Those six have shown their faces in Smash before, but with the new game, players should get the chance to finally control one of them in the action. That leaves eight more characters for consideration: five first-party and THREE third-party selections. Read on…
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Yo Jason, this is my first time reading one of your articles (I found it on n4g) but dude your really good! Your idea’s are mind blowing! And as far-fetched and outgoing as they may seem, they are all entirely possible. You even thoroughly explain HOW it is possible. The Master mode and Virtual camera idea is among the best I ever heard. Others only focus on what characters will be in the game, HOWEVER, you focus on how to expand the gameplay itself. Check out gamasutra.com and pick a gaming school, Jason. You definitely should be in game design. I’d love to hear more of your idea’s!
If you think they’re going to get rid of Lucario, the only playable fighting type Pokemon in a fighting game… you really aren’t thinking straight. Since Mario and Pokemon got six playable character each in SSBB (yes I’m counting Wario and Yoshi even though they had their own franchise icons since they appear in numerous Mario spinoffs as well as Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard as their own playable characters), they should continue to have the same amount of playable characters in the new SSB. Since you have a total of 8 Mario characters in your character list, Pokemon should get 8 playable characters as well since both franchises are the best selling franchises of all time. The Pokemon characters I’d put in are Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Charizard (as his own character), Lucario, and a 5th generation Pokemon Trainer with 3 Pokemon. That gives both franchises 8 playable characters each. Other than that, I love everything else you did on the article. Great job!