Smashboards Mini-Recreates: The SSB Series Rosters

[Northsouthmap]

1. Mewtwo
2. King Dedede
3. Issac

Roy (Fire Emblem)
The franchise needs another rep due to Marth being in 64.

 

[nirvanafan]

Lip
Goroh
Dedede

Foreman Spike (Render by Nibroc)

Know we already have lots of Mario characters but I consider Wrecking Crew its own thing. Fireballs replaced by hammers.

 

[Louie G.]

1. King Dedede - My favorite Nintendo character and my Smash main. Aside from just making a lot of sense, it's pretty much my sworn duty to try and get him in here as quickly as possible.
2. Mewtwo - My nomination, I stand by what I wrote up about them initially. It's just the next practical step for Pokemon.
3. Lip - Now you're speaking my language. Great choice and a suitable replacement for the unexpectedness / unfamiliarity of characters like Ice Climbers or Marth respectively. I'm also convinced Sakurai has a sweet spot for this game, given the obvious influence on Meteos and the oddly striking resemblance that Green Greens (Melee) has to Panel de Pon's gameplay layout.

Job 9: Black Shadow

I'll be the basic one and throw this out there. As you can see, I'm using the F-Zero X design since GX hasn't come out yet. Perhaps if Black Shadow is added to Smash, they will make design adjustments that would have a lasting effect on the series proper. As everyone probably knows it's become a common fan tradition over the last however many years to want Black Shadow to adopt Ganondorf's moveset - nowadays I don't think that's practical, but had this been established in Melee instead... that could have definitely worked, arguably way better. I think he's pretty damn cool and F-Zero was still an active series at the time, so it'd be nice to give it a bit more love while it's reasonable to do so.

I really like Knee's concept for Ryota too, though. Whether it's Shadow or Ryota, it just feels right to give Falcon a clone.

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the votes
Ice Climbers 3
Ridley 2
King Dedede 24
Isaac 2
Feraligatr
Ayumi Tachibana 2
Samurai Goroh 2
Mewtwo 22
Lip 9

King Dedede and Mewtwo are the next fighters.

Here are the nominations for the first set of clones.
Pupp135 Young Link
Perkilator Mach Rider
KneeOfJustice99 Ryota Hayami
M Master Hero Sock-on-Rye Wolf
BritishGuy54 Dr. Mario
DragonRobotKing26 Falco
darkvortex Pichu
TORNADO BUS DRIVER Leif
Northsouthmap Roy
nirvanafan Foreman Spike
Louie G. Black Shadow

Vote for your three most wanted, where yours is not first.

1. Falco
2. Young Link
3. Mach Rider

 

[darkvortex]

1. Falco
2. Pichu
3. Black Shadow

 

[BritishGuy54]

1. Falco
2. Roy
3. Dr. Mario

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Lots of fun submissions here!

1. Leif (As much as I love Roy, I think Leif has a lot of potential in terms of how he'd function. His signature sword, the Light Brand, can cast light magic as a ranged tool - so my thought process is that it'd be neat if some of Leif's stronger attacks extend a spectral light blade outward from his sword for added range akin to some of Shulk's Monado attacks later down the line. It'd be a really unique take on a clone character!)
2. Wolf (As much as I love Falco, I think Wolf would be a really interesting candidate if he had some similar properties to in Brawl - like his close-range damage on his blaster and some slashing attacks here and there with fast startup. Plus, he's another rival/villain for the roster.)
3. Foreman Spike (An odd, but I think really inspired, submission. Even just making him a slower, heavier Mario with a hammer-based neutral special could give him a really unique gameplay vibe, and it'd be pretty neat to get a stage based on something like Wrecking Crew '98 in response to his inclusion.)

Shoutouts to pretty much all of these though, I don't think I'd be against any of them. Mach Rider, Dr. Mario, and Black Shadow came pretty close to nabbing the third spot for me though!

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

1. Black Shadow - Now that Captain Falcon is one of the original 8 fighters, there's no way Ganondorf is a cross-series clone of him. So, let's bring in this guy as a promotional pick for F-Zero GX.
2. Dr. Mario - I still want to know how that one guy felt seeing Dr. Mario in Smash as his own roster slot. To clarify, there was a guy that asked Sakurai if he can add Dr. Mario as an alt for Mario, but he went and made him a clone character.
3. Pichu - It's not like a Gen 2 rep would have been as likely if the Baby Mons were never considered. Just a thought.

Honorable Mentions to Foreman Spike and the two FE characters.

 

[nirvanafan]

Ryota
Mach Rider
Foreman Spike

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Mach Rider
2. Falco
3. Black Shadow

 

[TORNADO BUS DRIVER]

1. Falco
2. Black Shadow
3. Pichu

 

[Louie G.]

1. Falco - I adore Wolf, but I think Falco is the right choice for a Melee clone. Wolf would feel pretty empty without many of the unique moves that define him in Brawl, like his claw slashes. I understand that he could just get those later, like Falco, but I think given the option I'd rather just hypothetically add him in Brawl with all of that immediately in tact.
2. Black Shadow - My nomination, I still think he's a good choice and I'm just a bit torn over cross series clones so I think he's the most fitting Falcon clone.
3. Ryota Hayami - Still, this is a dope idea that deserves at least some love. Making him Falcon with a Power Wave sort of attack is kind of genius. Props to Knee for this great idea, but for now I'll prioritize characters within the same series as another.

Side note, I love Mach Rider, but the idea of them as a Captain Falcon clone has lost a lot of appeal to me. Hypothetically it works just fine, but an actual biker character would sure be a lot cooler. There are a lot of neat things that could be done with them that just wouldn't be able to shine here, so I'm trying to look at characters where getting in as a derivative would really be the only thing they have going for them.

Given another slot I'd probably have tossed in a Fire Emblem clone. Pichu makes a lot of sense too, and we could use another light speedy character. I assume we're not done with these anyway, Melee added 6 clones and we usually just add 2 characters per Job if anything, so we'll probably have another crack at it.

Also question, if say... Black Shadow and Mach Rider both won out, would we just add them both? Or would we simply opt for the highest voted of the two Captain Falcon clones instead? Or Falco and Wolf? Because I don't think it'd be a great idea to let that kind of thing stack, I'm sure our votes might look a little different and the desire for these characters would be lessened if we already had a Fox / Falcon clone added this game.

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Ryota
Pichu
Falco

 

[Pupp135]

Also question, if say... Black Shadow and Mach Rider both won out, would we just add them both? Or would we simply opt for the highest voted of the two Captain Falcon clones instead? Or Falco and Wolf? Because I don't think it'd be a great idea to let that kind of thing stack, I'm sure our votes might look a little different and the desire for these characters would be lessened if we already had a Fox / Falcon clone added this game.

Looking at this post, I think it would probably make more sense to only choose the most voted one as it would be redundant to have multiple Captain Falcon/Fox/… clones added simultaneously.

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Falco
2. Black Shadow
3. Wolf

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the votes:

Young Link 2
Mach Rider 6
Ryota Hayami 7
Wolf 3
Dr. Mario 3
Falco 21
Pichu 6
Leif 3
Roy 2
Foreman Spike 2
Black Shadow 11

Falco, Black Shadow, and Pichu (note that Ryota and Mach Rider were submitted as Captain Falcon clones) are the first clones added.

Job 10: Submit a Newcomer

I’ll nominate Ayumi here from Famicom Detective Club. I think that it could be a fun idea to play around with, and she helps add an unpredictable choice to the roster.

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

Job 11: Submit a Newcomer

I submit Takamaru from The Mysterious Murasame Castle.

From a Nintendo standpoint, this guy's game is on the same level as Zelda, Metroid, and Kid Icarus. It's just that said title has never left Japan. But since Marth is in Smash 64, I thought we should give this guy his due in Melee.

As for his moveset, he can slash with his samurai sword, throw shuriken in four directions, jump with high agility, and even throw fireballs.

 

[nirvanafan]

Ray Mk II

Another one the few series to have entries between 64 & Melee. Series has GBA game on the way & will see its 1st international slightly after Fire Emblem.

 

[Perkilator]

Job 11: Yoshi


I'm sorry but leaving him out of 64 was downright criminal. If Donkey Kong could get his due in Melee, so can Yoshi.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

Job 11: Pit (Kid Icarus)

Pit could be a good choice as a fighter in alternate Melee

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Job #11
Character Name: Sukapon
Character Origin: Joy Mech Fight (1993)

Sukapon's an interesting choice in my mind. He's obviously more of a "retro" rep akin to Takamaru by this point, but Joy Mech Fight is also pretty notable in that it was Nintendo's first actual fighting game - and Sukapon himself was the highest-voted "miscellaneous Nintendo character" in the Smash 2 poll, as well as being considered in a role in the real-world Melee (specifically, as an item?)

In terms of moveset potential, Sukapon's obviously got plenty on the basis of being from a fighting game, with funny and unique special moves like Sukapon Roll and Konnanirahen - and he could also take some minor elements from other characters in the game like his clone, Sukapokon. Overall, his moveset would be pretty mobile and pressure-heavy - a perfect encapsulation of Joy Mech Fight's general feel.

(By the way, if this pick isn't allowed, feel free to let me know. After all, the contract proving Nintendo's ownership of JMF did get misplaced for a while.)

 

[Northsouthmap]

Lip (Panel De Pon)
Would represent puzzle games better than Dr. Mario. She would summon falling blocks and hit people with her stick.

 

[Pupp135]

I’ll leave this up for one more day for those who would like to submit.

 

[Louie G.]

Job 11: Little Mac (Punch-Out!!)

Seems like most of us are of the mind to bring in a pull with somewhat of a retro flair. Little Mac strides the line here a bit - he got a new title in the 90s, but he's a character largely defined by his arcade and NES legacy. It's not a fighting game, but it's perhaps one of Nintendo's first ventures into something resembling one. So I think Punch-Out justifies itself showing up this early... and IMO, it's at a comparable level of notoriety with some series already here.

I considered nominating the Excitebiker instead, but a couple things crossed my mind. Most notably that Sakurai couldn't really think of a way to make him work at the time, and I want to respect that. I think more specialized, gimmicky characters like that ought to come a bit later. Little Mac is someone who could feasibly be pretty simple, while also fulfilling a valuable gameplay niche.

Our newcomers thus far are slow hulking heavyweights (DK, Bowser, Dedede), magic users / zoners (Peach, Zelda, Mewtwo)... A boxer archetype is a standard of many fighting games, and a more traditional rushdown fighter to round out some of the wackiness is a welcome inclusion in my eyes. With the crop of big boss sized baddies we're adding this game too, it just feels right to let Mac tussle with them. And honestly, on a personal level... the Punch-Out victory jingle would just sound incredible with that Melee orchestra. Let me have this!

Opting for a look that pays more homage to his NES appearance here, but didn't want to use the contemporary design since it wouldn't be explored for nearly another decade, so instead I just used his Brawl model. Not the most glamorous appearance, but he wouldn't be the first to experience some growing pains in Melee. Better than opting for his weird SNES Mac, at least. I think if that version got into Smash it would have retroactively become his main look.

Side note though, I'd really like if Mr. Game & Watch came back. I felt like going for more of a new approach for variety sake but I'd probably cash my vote in for him if someone threw it out there. As of now I'm still hoping Lip can make it in too.

 

[darkvortex]

Mr. Game and Watch
I like him he's funny

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

View attachment 388805
Mr. Game and Watch
I like him he's funny

Well, time for Louie G. to hold up their side of the bargain. The ball's in your court.

 

[TORNADO BUS DRIVER]

Saki Amamiya (Sin & Punishment)

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the nominations

Pupp135 Ayumi Tachibana
M Master Hero Sock-on-Rye Takamaru
nirvanafan Ray MK II
Perkilator Yoshi
DragonRobotKing26 Pit
KneeOfJustice99 Sukapon
Northsouthmap Lip
Louie G. Little Mac
darkvortex Mr. Game & Watch
TORNADO BUS DRIVER Saki

Vote for your three most wanted, where yours is not first.

1. Yoshi
2. Ayumi
3. Pit

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

1. Yoshi
2. Little Mac
3. Mr. Game and Watch

 

[darkvortex]

1. Yoshi
2. Ayumi
3. Mr. Game and Watch

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Yoshi
2. Takamaru
3. Pit

 

[Louie G.]

1. Mr. Game & Watch
2. Little Mac
3. Lip

To be blunt, I really wish Yoshi wasn't dominating right now. Wario had to wait til Brawl to be in the game and it wouldn't have been the end of the world if Yoshi did too... would have been an obvious, inevitable choice. It's much more exciting for the remaining focus to extend to lesser celebrated picks like Marth / G&W were once upon a time.

With that in mind I'll at least push for Game & Watch. If he doesn't make it now I'm a bit unsure if he'll make it later. He's one of the most clever retro celebratory characters in the game, and even though I want to think in a vacuum and not be too tainted by thoughts of our real life Melee I believe him to be a really important part of that game. He takes on such an ominous, mysterious role in that game specifically.

Little Mac and Lip get the other nods. I nominated Little Mac and spoke on him before, we could use a more grounded fighter with a traditional boxer kit to contrast how dynamic, magical and silly some of these other characters have been. Lip is kind of the antithesis to that, but I'm ok with that too. I would have loved to celebrate, at the time, Nintendo's own signature puzzle game series and I think a fun moveset utilizing falling blocks would have been achievable even back then. I dig Pit and Sukapon too, and Takamaru albeit a bit less so, but they're just missing the boat here and I suspect Pit will be a no-brainer for Brawl. Saki and Ray are great, although maybe a bit contemporary for where I'm looking for now.

Ayumi... I unno, she's fine, but the more I think about it the more I've never really heard anyone sell me on a convincing moveset for her. At least not anything that would be strikingly distinct from what we're getting here with Peach or, potentially, Mr. Game & Watch. She'd be another silly prop kind of character, which is fun in its own right but I think there are more efficient ways to explore that / already being explored in the game. Any kind of deep mystery gimmick, looking for clues or whatnot doesn't seem achievable with Melee's general design philosophy and feels more at home in something like Smash 4.

 

[BritishGuy54]

1. Mr Game & Watch
2. Yoshi
3. Little Mac

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Mr. Game & Watch
Lip
Yoshi

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Here are the nominations

Pupp135 Ayumi Tachibana
M Master Hero Sock-on-Rye Takamaru
nirvanafan Ray MK II
Perkilator Yoshi
DragonRobotKing26 Pit
KneeOfJustice99 Sukapon
Northsouthmap Lip
Louie G. Little Mac
darkvortex Mr. Game & Watch
TORNADO BUS DRIVER Saki

Vote for your three most wanted, where yours is not first.

1. Yoshi
2. Ayumi
3. Pit

God, there's a lot of characters this time around that'd be a lot of fun to include. This isn't an easy round to vote on at all.

1. Lip. (A character I considered resubmitting, before opting to shift focus so I didn't seem too desperate. She's in a great position of having plenty of moveset potential with her own potential mechanics or even just some fairy magic, but she's also generally got a unique and cool design that feels like it'd be a good fit for the franchise. Plus, a puzzle game rep of some kind would be a lot of fun.)
2. Yoshi. (It's Yoshi. I'm kind of going to mirror Louie G's sentiment that he almost feels so obvious as to be a little... boring compared to other submissions? Nothing against him, though - to be fair, Yoshi's got his own series at this time, he's a well-liked character, he's iconic, and he'd be pretty unique mechanically.)
3. Mr. Game & Watch. (I think this little guy deserves inclusion at some point, whether it be here or Brawl. Even aside from just his role in representing Nintendo's history in the gaming world, he's also got such a unique vibe and general feel that's totally unlike anything else in the roster that it'd honestly be a shame to see him miss out on his chance to shine.)

Shoutouts to Saki and Ray MKII - both of which being characters that didn't occur to me at all given the time period, but would have been really interesting in around this time period. That being said, pretty much every submission here was a really cool one - if I had four spots, it'd be a hard-fought battle between Saki, Ayumi and Little Mac for fourth place.

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Yoshi
2. Mr. Game & Watch
3. Little Mac

 

[nirvanafan]

Saki
Ray
Lip

HM - Sukapon

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the votes
Ayumi Tachibana 4
Takamaru 2
Ray MK II 2
Yoshi 20
Pit 2
Sukapon
Lip 7
Little Mac 6
Mr. Game & Watch 14
Saki 3

Yoshi and Mr. Game & Watch are our final unique newcomers.

Job 12: Submit a Clone who does NOT use Captain Falcon, Fox, or Pikachu as their base fighter.
I‘ll renominate Young Link here.

I think that Young Link was a clever choice during Melee’s development cycle as he helped provide a faster Link. Also, a child Link was a recurring thing even before Melee.

 

[nirvanafan]

Celica (Marth Clone)

Like how her color scheme (until the remake) is a good contrast to Marth. Also is series 1st female protagonist & is decently popular (especially since many more popular choices dont exist yet)

 

[BritishGuy54]

Job 12: Daisy (Super Mario)

I was going to go with Dr. Mario, I figured I’d go for Daisy as a Peach clone.

She was making a bit of a resurgence around the late 90’s and early 2000’s in terms of appearances in spin-offs at least. Really not that different compared to her inclusion in Ultimate in our timeline.