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Complete roster revealed? It was true!!!! (Except for Falcon/Olimar swap)

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RedrappeR

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
294
Here's the thing, man. You know why I think this roster would be a fantastic roster for Brawl? For the very same reason you hate it: it doesn't bend over for the fans. I said this over at IGN a long time ago, but now it deserves to be said here. Now, to be clear, this post was made in response to one of those little dweebish bum-****s getting on my case after I'd expressed my disappointment at the Sonic reveal:

"I think all of you are spoiled little brats who don't know a god**** thing about what game development has been, should be, or how absolutely pathetic it is currently. Never have I been this disgusted to be a gamer. Never have I seen such sloppy disregard and outright disrespect for developer/fan balance. If there's a crystallized example of that, it's the development of Smash Bros Brawl, because it's fan-service in its most blatant form. And it's PATHETIC. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it. And no, I don't believe that gamers should be at the whim and mercy of developers, nor do I believe that game development should take place in a vacuum. But at the same time, giving mass ******* this much influence and control is dangerous and sets a precedent that will damage the industry if left unchecked.

Nobody agrees with me, I know. I don't really care who agrees or disagrees, because I see the trend starting and I don't want it to get worse. But since you all are still so giddy about getting everything you want, none of you are considering the ramifications, so what do I care?"

Now, Rakath, it's not that I think you're an idiot or anything. But come on, man. We both know that game development needs balance and not just "well, we'd better please the fans." I don't care that the roster is still missing half of the top characters from Sakurai's fan poll. In fact, I'm glad because of that. The internet has been both the best and worst thing to happen to the game industry. It's been the best because speed of information has dramatically increased, leading to an unprecedented growth and ease of communications. But the internet's been the worst because it's basically raised an entire generation of spoiled little ****s who expect to get everything they ever want, and then ***** and moan when it seems like they won't.

And no, I'm not going to pull this "Be glad you at least got X" because I think that's a full-of-crap rebuttal and it means absolutely nothing. But what I will say is...please at least just try to appreciate and respect game development balance.
I'll put it this way. You have a valid intention, but you're point is ridiculous. The entire point of this game is fanservice, but fanservice with excellent game play to boot instead of just relying on Nostalgia to take it everywhere.

And adhering to gamers is what's enhanced the industry, not degraded it.

Take a look at games like Resident Evil, a game series in which there were complaints as to how stale the gameplay style was getting, and everyone wanted a change of pace. 4 won accolades for doing just that. Or what about Street Fighter 3? 3rd Strike returned it to it's premiere fighting roots because it gave gamers what they wanted. Chun Li, and fast gameplay.

There are a plethora of lists I can go down, but the man's allegiance is to the gamer. He doesn't condescend, as you can tell by VOL. 3 of the interview with Iwata. I can see your point to a degree, but at the same time, I can't help but think of every example in which adhering to fans has helped advance the industry more than destroy it.

You see where I'm coming from?
 

RedrappeR

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
294

Who doesn't give a **** about rep?
Moreover, who gives a **** about a moveset?
...

Don't take this in the wrong sense, but honestly just reread what you said.


...

No do a search on Melee or go to the melee boards, and reread what the biggest complaint was about the roster...


...

If you need further explanation I'll give it.
 

Yukiwarashi

Smash Champion
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
2,119
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Who doesn't give a **** about rep?
Moreover, who gives a **** about a moveset?
.....Wow. Did you....did you really just say that? So you're upset because a new Metroid character was added, with a completely new moveset, yet because it's the same "character" story wise it doesn't count?

And....who gives a **** about a moveset...? ....=l
 

ExtremeBrawler

Smash Cadet
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
41
Someone else have already posted this,it's sure,but I wanna post it as the real proof debunking the 35 roster...
Firstly,remember this?!?

Yeah,it's the image showing the presence of Ness in Brawl,but it's not him what we have interested for...
Noticed the Japanese letters in the left part of the tabel under the stickers?!?
Well,it's present also in THIS image...

In the low left corner of the image,you can recognaize a part of the first letter.
So,this would confirm the AC character and...look at the 35 leak...THERE IS NOT AN ANIMAL CROSSING CHARACTER!!!
So,no AC character,no party!!!:chuckle:
 

Brasil

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 12, 2007
Messages
45
If Smash Bros. Brawl is a failure in any way, then you are right and giving the fans what they want is dangerous to the industry.
Smash Bros being a success or failure commercially or critically is irrelevant to what I was saying. I don't care if Brawl does well or fails miserably. Either way, it's set a dangerous precedent that other developers may be pressured to follow. If it does well, all the more pressure for developers to open up entire chunks of the game design for fans to influence. It the game fails, then Nintendo is very much screwed. Either way, the industry loses.

What ARE the ramifications?
You even need to ask? Take a look around us. Look at these insane fan reactions when Obscure Character A or B might not make it in. Look at the absurd expectations everywhere.

The ramifications are that game development as we know it ceases to exist. New fighting game in development? The expectation will be that the director of the game opens up roster selection to the fans. New FPS announced? The expectation will be that fans get to have a say in the weapon design. New platformer? You'd better let fans have a say for at least a few levels. New RPG? If you don't let the fans choose what types of characters to use, you're going to be viewed as a ****.

Game design is the absolute best when developers are aware of fan feedback, but design the game themselves. Look at Bungie. As much as I can't stand the Halo games, Bungie knows what they're doing, especially when it comes to fan input. They'll acknowledge fan feedback, but they're fully prepared to ignore it if it's crap. That's game development. Not giving fans a chance to directly affect the fundamental construction of your game. And I for one do not want internet ******* being able to directly dictate what is included in a game.

I think what you fail to realize is that if Sakurai had all the time and money and manpower he wanted to make this game, the roster would be enormous, and please almost every fan.
And if that happened, the game would be a big, steaming pile of cow dung. Just thinking of that situation has me flashing back to Mortal Kombat Armageddon/Trilogy.

The developers WANT to please the fans. Pleasing fans means money in their pockets. They simply can only do what they must. They didn't add clones in Melee just to teach us a lesson about being spoiled or some contrived BS like that, they simply didn't have the time to do what they REALLY wanted.
Pleasing fans is one thing. Letting them dictate the direction of your game is something completely different.

EDIT: And yes, Red, I know where you're coming from, and largely, we do agree. But there's a big difference between listening to fan feedback, like in the case of RE4 and SF3, and this absolutely absurd "bending over for the fans" in Brawl's development. I absolutely agree with developers listening to fan feedback after a game is released. But what's been happening with Brawl is developers adhering to fan demands while the game is in development.
 

RedrappeR

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
294
EDIT: And yes, Red, I know where you're coming from, and largely, we do agree. But there's a big difference between listening to fan feedback, like in the case of RE4 and SF3, and this absolutely absurd "bending over for the fans" in Brawl's development. I absolutely agree with developers listening to fan feedback after a game is released. But what's been happening with Brawl is developers adhering to fan demands while the game is in development.
That's where I differ from you though. I don't necessarily think they're "bending over" to our demands as such. Giving us Sonic I think was a good move from a financial standpoint, as well as one in which they try to please the gamer.

As for dictating the direction of a game... that's kind of what the standard of the industry is for. I like that attitude much more to "I'm going to do what I do, **** you if you don't like it." Developers try to please fans because that's what a LOT of them are in for.

I don't think it'll ever get to the point of "bending over" backwards for fans, but I do think what's happening is that developers will listen more towards fan's suggestions, and make their game accordingly... not listening to every beck and call, but making the tough decisions as to which tips to take and not take.

I'll tell you now, regardless of whether this roster is real or not... there are characters that are NOT going to be on the final list. If you honestly think King K. Rool, Krystal, Ridley, Midna, Isaac, Megaman, Geno, Ryu, Batman, or even Sakurai himself are ALL GOING to be playable characters... I think you guys need to set yourself up for a little disapointment because not everyone on that list is going to make it.

Doesn't mean thte game will suck(and if you think that, please go drown yourself. Honestly. "OH! MEGAMAN'S NOT IN IT, THOUGH I CHEERED WHEN YOU PUT SONIC, OLIMAR, SHEIK AND IKE IN, BUT **** YOU NOW! NEV4R BUYING THIS GAME! THIS ROSTER IS HORRIBLE! IT'S LIKE YOU LYNCHED A MINORITY AND BEAT UP A SMALL CHILD BAD! DO YOU HATE ORPHANS? BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO CRY WHEN THEY SEE HOW BAD THIS LIST IS! IN FACT, 400 KITTENS HAVE BEEN MURDERED, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THIS LIST EXISTS! IT'S FAKE! HOW DO I KNOW IT'S FAKE? BECAUSE 400 KITTENS SHOULDN'T MURDER THEMSELVES, AND OLIMAR'S PIKMIN IS LIKE A PIXEL OFF, AND BECAUSE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS WAS MENTIONED AS A SUBSPACE EMISSARY CHARACTER, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO EXCELLENT FIGHTING GAMES IN WHICH A NORMAL ENEMY WAS UNLOCKABLE*COUGH*soulcalibur2*COUGH* AND IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY, AND I FEEL LIKE PUNCHING A WALL, IF THIS LIST IS NOT DECONFIRMED, I WILL NEVER GET THIS GAME! I WILL GO TO JAPAN AND COMMIT SEPPUKU BY PUNCTURING MY ABDOMIN WITH A LARGE KNIFE MADE FROM THE STEEL OF SAKURAI'S STUPID COMPUTER, WHICH I WILL SMASH! SMASH WITH ALL THE VIGOR OF KRYSTAL AND RIDLEY AND MEGAMAN AND EVERY OTHER CHARACTER THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN! I WILL BURN IT ALIVE! AND THEN DIE! DIE A GREAT DEATH FILLED WITH MYSTERY AND WONDER! AND I WILL FOREVER SPEAK IN CAPS LOCK BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SOUND COOL!").

Unlike last time, this game's initially revealed roster(the one that's up right now) has more than enough characters to relate to a player. If you don't find Krystal there, doesn't mean your not going to find a character to suit you or make you smile when playing. Melee was like that for me, because I grew up as a Sega kid, and so when Melee pretty much defined what the gamecube could do, and made it's competitors actually glance it at for once instead of walking by it without even bothering to notice, I instantly picked it up. Half the characters were clones, and some of them didn't really bother me (YOUNG LINK IS FAST! I'M LIKE 12 AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF... Wait a minute, no **** this, he's like Yun and Fei long from street fighter, this is BULL****!) some of them did(WTF Ganandorf. Falcon punch more... well then again that wizard magic does like nice). But honestly, besides not having many friends(hint: take a guess why I occupied time with music.), Whenever I played the game, there wasn't really a character I could vibe too much(Roy and Marth helped clear some tension though...). I'd played Nintendo games, but still... It seemed like there wasn't really somebody's style that really grabbed me as much as it did when I was 9 and a pokemon fanatic trying to play Pikachu in every SSB64 game I could muster. But this time seems different...

Sonic is there(which makes me very happy), and that's a character I can connect with, and actually enjoy watching(16 bit mascot wars better be an event, or I will stab a Tiger.), not to mention Snake for all realistic shooter fans. Speaking of shooters, Samus has kind of redefined herself since Prime, and that should appeal to many. Lucario should suit fighting game fans of street fighter quite well(He's a pokemon with a Hadoken. Mewtwo had a psychic ball. Hadoken > Psychic ball because Ryu kicked Vega's ***, and that's my logic. I will cover my ears and yell if I am proved wrong.) Link and Ike should suit vets of swordplay and fantasy perfectly... Mario and group bring their simplistic nostalgia and accessibility to the table. Fox brings a lot of tactical gameplay to the mix... and every one of these characters new and old has new idealisms and associations they haven't had before. You will FIND a character you connect with, especially since half of them AREN'T clones.

I went off on a tangent. But I hope you get my point. I'll further clarify if need be.
 

Wyvern

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
455
Location
New England
Brasil, you seem convinced that too much fan input can harm a game. I assume that by this, you mean that the developers can make the gameplay better when left to their own devices, correct? Well, if that's true, answer me this: How does putting Fox, Falco, and Wolf in the game but not Krystal benefit the gameplay in any way?

I am not saying this out of some fan-devotion to Krystal. I don't even care that much about the Starfox series outside of 64 (the only really memorably good one, if you ask me). I am speaking from a purely practical gameplay standpoint. Think about it. Fox, Falco, and Wolf all share pretty much the exact same body type, and not one of them has anything from the games that give them any sort of identifiable combat style that could be transferred into Brawl. Sakurai can make up movesets from scratch when he needs to, but what we have here would be an attempt to do that three times for the same character. There would be overlap. There would be redundancy. Maybe he could do two of them and keep them unique, but I can't imagine how none of them would end up feeling stale and same-y. Meanwhile, there's Krystal, who wields a unique weapon and has an entire game to serve as inspiration for a moveset, who gets left out in favor of not one but two elaborate near-clones.

What rational thought process could possibly lead a competent game developer to make that decision? You say you don't want them to be too limited by fan desire. Okay, let's imagine what it would be like if you took all notions of popularity out of the equasion. Krystal would still be the only Star Fox character outside of Fox himself who would have any business being in the game whatsoever. She has a distinct, unique fighting style that cannot be matched by any other potential newcomer to Brawl, and nobody else in the series can say the same. If you consider fan-requests, she gets in. If you ignore fan-requests, she gets in even more definitively. What rational benefit is there, on any front, for a Fox-Falco-Wolf lineup? What would drive a competent developer to that? I can't think of a single thing.

I'm not upset with the proposed roster because this one character or that one character didn't get in. I'd be upset with it because it would represent a decision to put in dull, redundant characters with what could only be described as a conscious effort to avoid diversity and innovation. Falco and Wolf when we already have Fox, Ness when we already have Lucas, maybe Young Link too depending on how exaggerated they make him stylistically. These characters just can't add anything tangible to the gameplay, so why put them in when there's a dozen other possibilities, each one of which would bring something new and exciting to the game? Quite frankly, the popularity is really just a bonus. Setting up the roster like that is an outright bad decision, not just for the fans, but for pure gameplay purposes as well.
 

Shuma

Smash Hero
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,407
Why is everyone arguing if Ridley is in or not in this Roster? this roster makes no sense whatsoever, not because there's not another Metroid char, but because it makes no sense that Star Fox has Wolf AND Falco, and no Krystal.

'course, if this is the Real roster, i'm quite happy with it.(Wolf FTW) Still, it's probably fake.
 

Revven

FrankerZ
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
7,550
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
That's where I differ from you though. I don't necessarily think they're "bending over" to our demands as such. Giving us Sonic I think was a good move from a financial standpoint, as well as one in which they try to please the gamer.

As for dictating the direction of a game... that's kind of what the standard of the industry is for. I like that attitude much more to "I'm going to do what I do, **** you if you don't like it." Developers try to please fans because that's what a LOT of them are in for.

I don't think it'll ever get to the point of "bending over" backwards for fans, but I do think what's happening is that developers will listen more towards fan's suggestions, and make their game accordingly... not listening to every beck and call, but making the tough decisions as to which tips to take and not take.

I'll tell you now, regardless of whether this roster is real or not... there are characters that are NOT going to be on the final list. If you honestly think King K. Rool, Krystal, Ridley, Midna, Isaac, Megaman, Geno, Ryu, Batman, or even Sakurai himself are ALL GOING to be playable characters... I think you guys need to set yourself up for a little disapointment because not everyone on that list is going to make it.

Doesn't mean thte game will suck(and if you think that, please go drown yourself. Honestly. "OH! MEGAMAN'S NOT IN IT, THOUGH I CHEERED WHEN YOU PUT SONIC, OLIMAR, SHEIK AND IKE IN, BUT **** YOU NOW! NEV4R BUYING THIS GAME! THIS ROSTER IS HORRIBLE! IT'S LIKE YOU LYNCHED A MINORITY AND BEAT UP A SMALL CHILD BAD! DO YOU HATE ORPHANS? BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO CRY WHEN THEY SEE HOW BAD THIS LIST IS! IN FACT, 400 KITTENS HAVE BEEN MURDERED, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THIS LIST EXISTS! IT'S FAKE! HOW DO I KNOW IT'S FAKE? BECAUSE 400 KITTENS SHOULDN'T MURDER THEMSELVES, AND OLIMAR'S PIKMIN IS LIKE A PIXEL OFF, AND BECAUSE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS WAS MENTIONED AS A SUBSPACE EMISSARY CHARACTER, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO EXCELLENT FIGHTING GAMES IN WHICH A NORMAL ENEMY WAS UNLOCKABLE*COUGH*soulcalibur2*COUGH* AND IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY, AND I FEEL LIKE PUNCHING A WALL, IF THIS LIST IS NOT DECONFIRMED, I WILL NEVER GET THIS GAME! I WILL GO TO JAPAN AND COMMIT SEPPUKU BY PUNCTURING MY ABDOMIN WITH A LARGE KNIFE MADE FROM THE STEEL OF SAKURAI'S STUPID COMPUTER, WHICH I WILL SMASH! SMASH WITH ALL THE VIGOR OF KRYSTAL AND RIDLEY AND MEGAMAN AND EVERY OTHER CHARACTER THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN! I WILL BURN IT ALIVE! AND THEN DIE! DIE A GREAT DEATH FILLED WITH MYSTERY AND WONDER! AND I WILL FOREVER SPEAK IN CAPS LOCK BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SOUND COOL!").

Unlike last time, this game's initially revealed roster(the one that's up right now) has more than enough characters to relate to a player. If you don't find Krystal there, doesn't mean your not going to find a character to suit you or make you smile when playing. Melee was like that for me, because I grew up as a Sega kid, and so when Melee pretty much defined what the gamecube could do, and made it's competitors actually glance it at for once instead of walking by it without even bothering to notice, I instantly picked it up. Half the characters were clones, and some of them didn't really bother me (YOUNG LINK IS FAST! I'M LIKE 12 AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF... Wait a minute, no **** this, he's like Yun and Fei long from street fighter, this is BULL****!) some of them did(WTF Ganandorf. Falcon punch more... well then again that wizard magic does like nice). But honestly, besides not having many friends(hint: take a guess why I occupied time with music.), Whenever I played the game, there wasn't really a character I could vibe too much(Roy and Marth helped clear some tension though...). I'd played Nintendo games, but still... It seemed like there wasn't really somebody's style that really grabbed me as much as it did when I was 9 and a pokemon fanatic trying to play Pikachu in every SSB64 game I could muster. But this time seems different...

Sonic is there(which makes me very happy), and that's a character I can connect with, and actually enjoy watching(16 bit mascot wars better be an event, or I will stab a Tiger.), not to mention Snake for all realistic shooter fans. Speaking of shooters, Samus has kind of redefined herself since Prime, and that should appeal to many. Lucario should suit fighting game fans of street fighter quite well(He's a pokemon with a Hadoken. Mewtwo had a psychic ball. Hadoken > Psychic ball because Ryu kicked Vega's ***, and that's my logic. I will cover my ears and yell if I am proved wrong.) Link and Ike should suit vets of swordplay and fantasy perfectly... Mario and group bring their simplistic nostalgia and accessibility to the table. Fox brings a lot of tactical gameplay to the mix... and every one of these characters new and old has new idealisms and associations they haven't had before. You will FIND a character you connect with, especially since half of them AREN'T clones.

I went off on a tangent. But I hope you get my point. I'll further clarify if need be.
Did I tell you that I love you? No? Then, I love you.

No seriously, this post is win and should not be skimmed over. It speaks my mind and my opinion, please keep on posting this same idea every chance you get and argue it to death.
 

CapnJack

Smash Cadet
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
30
Smash Bros being a success or failure commercially or critically is irrelevant to what I was saying. I don't care if Brawl does well or fails miserably. Either way, it's set a dangerous precedent that other developers may be pressured to follow. If it does well, all the more pressure for developers to open up entire chunks of the game design for fans to influence. It the game fails, then Nintendo is very much screwed. Either way, the industry loses.
You have no logic whatsoever. If it is a commercial failure, then it has absolutely NO effect on the future trends of the industry, because people will decide NOT to do what doesn't work. That should be quite obvious, even to one has offensively irrational as yourself.

However, even if it DOES do well, I don't know what insane part of you thinks this game has any more "user input" than any other fighting game or fanservice. Nintendo isn't pressured to do anything. They're trying to make this game exciting to the casual gamer who has never touched Brawl, but they also want to make the Smash fans happy - however, it's not like they're granting our every wish. No, Sakurai is just trying to make his last Smash Bros game as good as possible.

The only thing massive efforts like this do is IMPROVE the industry. Tell me, do you get drunk before you write these posts? The production value of this Wii game is going to encourage other developers to create better-looking Wii games, and games with more content, especially if it sells VERY well. HOPEFULLY it will have an effect on other fighting games: They may try to add more content, better one-player stories and more unique characters (as few clones as possible). That is GOOD in every way. This is what we, as gamers, want. This is what the industry needs. What you should worry about is party games and non-gamer products selling so well that we don't get massive titles like this anymore. You should worry about third parties trying to capitalize on the non-gamer.

What universe do you live in? Seriously, you might think I'm being an *******, but all your comments have blown my mind.

You even need to ask? Take a look around us. Look at these insane fan reactions when Obscure Character A or B might not make it in. Look at the absurd expectations everywhere.
That doesn't mean anything. That only puts the game at risk of not selling as well. Forum outcry like this isn't putting Nintendo under pressure. They can't please everyone, they know that - and besides, it's too late for them to do anything. The complaints only really came about recently, and the game is done now.

The ramifications are that game development as we know it ceases to exist. New fighting game in development? The expectation will be that the director of the game opens up roster selection to the fans.
Sakurai didn't open up the roster selection to fans. He waged interest, and incorporated what he thought would work. He envisioned the game he wanted and tried to please fans at the same time.

This just proves you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

New FPS announced? The expectation will be that fans get to have a say in the weapon design.
No idea whatsoever.
 

DRaGZ

Smash Champion
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
2,049
Location
San Diego, CA

Who doesn't give a **** about rep?
Moreover, who gives a **** about a moveset?
...what?! By that logic, everyone would be satisfied if Brawl had 1000 reps but they all had the same moves. That's ******** logic and you know it.

People start playing Smash Bros. games because of the concept of many a bunch of franchises dukin' it out, but they stay because it's a good game. The novelty of watching Pikachu shocking Mario wears off real fast, but the gameplay keeps the whole thing fresh.

Trust me, a month after you've bought this game and whored off all of your spare time on it, you'll hardly even remember why you were worried about silly things like your favorite character not being in the game. Why? Because it's a lot of fun either way.
 

SAMaine

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
290
Obscure Character A...

How much more obscure can you get than ROB? Even the Virtual Boy had more games then that crappy piece of hardware! Even GameCube's LAN Adapter was compatible with more games than ROB was! The most notable thing ROB did was convince retailers burned out of video games that the NES was a toy, which Nintendo has been trying to shake ever since.

As for fan demand, that's always very important. It isn't more important than the coolness factor, though. If ROB and Wolf are sufficiently 'cool' enough then people will like them and overlook that weakness in the roster, just like how nearly everyone hated the idea of Red being a fighter until Red was revealed. By using Red as the justification, Nintendo has put in three totally unrelated Pokemon as a 3-in-1 fighter with two very popular characters and a true quadruped, something few fighting games have seen before.
 

Brasil

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 12, 2007
Messages
45
You have no logic whatsoever. If it is a commercial failure, then it has absolutely NO effect on the future trends of the industry, because people will decide NOT to do what doesn't work. That should be quite obvious, even to one has offensively irrational as yourself.
Excuse me? The industry still loses if Nintendo gets screwed here, you do realize. Smash Bros Brawl is their only AAA title until Wii Zelda, and we all know how far off Wii Zelda is...and how prone to delays it might be. If this game tanks because it ends up playing like mush, that's a major hit to the big N, and considering they're currently positioned to re-invigorate portions of the industry...a hit to Nintendo, the industry leader, can mean a pretty major setback to the industry itself. Or does that not make sense to you?

However, even if it DOES do well, I don't know what insane part of you thinks this game has any more "user input" than any other fighting game or fanservice.
Show me one fighting game where fans have decided every single new character since the game's development started. Show me one fighting game where the fans got to make these ridiculous demands and the developer actually used those ridiculous demands. And if you're able to come up with any games here, ask yourself if those games ended up being complete jokes or if they were actually seriously worth playing beyond a few matches.

however, it's not like they're granting our every wish.
They aren't? So far, which characters from that character poll...haven't made it in? Why have scores upon scores of gamers been complaining that they haven't seen Ridley or Krystal, or Geno, and so on? Because so far the implication is that any character that gamers suggested...will be included in the game...i.e., granting every wish. I agree that it's asinine and stupid, but that's the horrid reality of the situation: this character poll nonsense has created a nasty "we're gonna get everything we asked for" situation. If you don't believe me, then take a look around you. Look at how many people have this false sense of entitlement. Then ask yourself why there's that false sense of entitlement. I promise you the answer has a whole lot to do with that character poll.

No, Sakurai is just trying to make his last Smash Bros game as good as possible.

This is what we, as gamers, want. This is what the industry needs.
Wait, I'm sorry. Production values? More content? Better one-player stories? You do realize what game you're talking about here? Sure, there's a "massive effort" to make Brawl the ultimate Smash Bros game. But do you honestly believe this "massive effort" is actually going to improve the industry? I guarantee you that even later this year, nobody is going to give two ****s about the "added content" of Brawl. Nobody is going to give two ****s about the one-player "story" mode. Why? Because Brawl is a fighting game. Nobody plays any fighting game for years because of a vague term like "added content." And they sure as hell don't play any fighting game for years because of a "better" one-player story mode.

But you are right about one thing. It's that we, as gamers, do want better fighting games. Better FIGHTING GAMES. The industry certainly needs better FIGHTING GAMES. But don't for a moment convince yourself that Brawl's added content or one-player story mode is going to improve anything.

What you should worry about is party games and non-gamer products selling so well that we don't get massive titles like this anymore. You should worry about third parties trying to capitalize on the non-gamer.
You mean the Wii itself? What makes you think I'm not concerned about what you just described? For all the good the Wii is doing for the industry, Nintendo is making terrible mistakes.

I think it's still suicidal to honestly believe that it's acceptable to only have three AAA titles every three years. It's still suicidal to think that Super Mario Galaxy will be enough to satisfy "hardcore gamers" in a year when the Wii release list has been undeniably bat-**** terrible. Taking this much time for Brawl is suicidal, especially when most Wii systems are collecting dust because there's nothing worth playing. Taking this much time for Brawl is equally suicidal if all of this time is being spent on single-player and throw-away modes that aren't going to mean anything in a few months.

What universe do you live in? Seriously, you might think I'm being an *******, but all your comments have blown my mind.
I live in the same universe as you, and no, I don't think you're being an *******. I just don't think you've given yourself a chance to really appreciate the severity of where all of this could be going. Hell, I'm glad my comments have blown your mind, because blowing someone's mind is the first step in getting them to start looking at things differently...and quite honestly, the sooner people stop thinking like the majority of gamers I've been seeing...the better.

That doesn't mean anything. That only puts the game at risk of not selling as well. Forum outcry like this isn't putting Nintendo under pressure. They can't please everyone, they know that - and besides, it's too late for them to do anything. The complaints only really came about recently, and the game is done now. Sakurai didn't open up the roster selection to fans. He waged interest, and incorporated what he thought would work. He envisioned the game he wanted and tried to please fans at the same time.

This just proves you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
But when the expectations exist, there's already a problem...especially when those expectations can be traced back to a character poll for the fans, from the creator of the game, which outright asked them "Which characters would you like to see in Smash Bros Brawl?" This isn't outrageous, man. Just ask yourself why's there this piss-ant outcry every time Ridley isn't confirmed? Or Geno. Or Krystal. Or whoever else got in the top 10 of that character poll roster. Sakurai absolutely did open up the roster selection to fans. Because if he hadn't, we wouldn't be seeing all of these people getting their panties all up in a twist because they're not seeing Ridley, or Geno, or Krystal, or Isaac, etc, in character rosters. It's a false sense of entitlement, dude, and you can trace it directly back to when fans got a direct say in which characters were making it in.

No idea whatsoever.
Quite the contrary, actually. If fans are getting to dictate a fighting game roster, why should the expectation end there? Why shouldn't they expect to be able to create and vote on an entire arsenal in a new FPS? When fan expectations get this utterly crazy, pointing to other genres possibly suffering from the same fate is not as absurd as you'd like to think.

Red said:
That's where I differ from you though. I don't necessarily think they're "bending over" to our demands as such. Giving us Sonic I think was a good move from a financial standpoint, as well as one in which they try to please the gamer.

As for dictating the direction of a game... that's kind of what the standard of the industry is for. I like that attitude much more to "I'm going to do what I do, **** you if you don't like it." Developers try to please fans because that's what a LOT of them are in for.

I don't think it'll ever get to the point of "bending over" backwards for fans, but I do think what's happening is that developers will listen more towards fan's suggestions, and make their game accordingly... not listening to every beckon call, but making the tough decisions as to which tips to take and not take.
Let me ask you, though...how often have you met a regular, bum****, Average Joe-Schmoe fan on the internet that you'd trust with any part of any game's development? Realistically, out of the videogamers online, are there more rational ones or more who are just utterly twisted without the slightest hint of intelligence?

And again, with what you said above, we're not necessarily differing. Like I said, I have no problem if a developer opens up for fan suggestions/improvements after the game was released. I have no problem with Bungie or Epic patching Halo 3 or Gears/UT when fans submit feedback. That is a **** good working relationship, especially since there's a clear amount of developer discretion being exercised. Here, however, there has been no discernible developer discretion at this point. From what we've seen for Brawl, there have been no "tough decisions" mad, because so far, the majority of the character suggestions have been added to the game.

I'll tell you now, regardless of whether this roster is real or not... there are characters that are NOT going to be on the final list. If you honestly think King K. Rool, Krystal, Ridley, Midna, Isaac, Megaman, Geno, Ryu, Batman, or even Sakurai himself are ALL GOING to be playable characters... I think you guys need to set yourself up for a little disapointment because not everyone on that list is going to make it.

Doesn't mean thte game will suck(and if you think that, please go drown yourself. Honestly. "OH! MEGAMAN'S NOT IN IT, THOUGH I CHEERED WHEN YOU PUT SONIC, OLIMAR, SHEIK AND IKE IN, BUT **** YOU NOW! NEV4R BUYING THIS GAME! THIS ROSTER IS HORRIBLE! IT'S LIKE YOU LYNCHED A MINORITY AND BEAT UP A SMALL CHILD BAD! DO YOU HATE ORPHANS? BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO CRY WHEN THEY SEE HOW BAD THIS LIST IS! IN FACT, 400 KITTENS HAVE BEEN MURDERED, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THIS LIST EXISTS! IT'S FAKE! HOW DO I KNOW IT'S FAKE? BECAUSE 400 KITTENS SHOULDN'T MURDER THEMSELVES, AND OLIMAR'S PIKMIN IS LIKE A PIXEL OFF, AND BECAUSE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS WAS MENTIONED AS A SUBSPACE EMISSARY CHARACTER, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO EXCELLENT FIGHTING GAMES IN WHICH A NORMAL ENEMY WAS UNLOCKABLE*COUGH*soulcalibur2*COUGH* AND IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY, AND I FEEL LIKE PUNCHING A WALL, IF THIS LIST IS NOT DECONFIRMED, I WILL NEVER GET THIS GAME! I WILL GO TO JAPAN AND COMMIT SEPPUKU BY PUNCTURING MY ABDOMIN WITH A LARGE KNIFE MADE FROM THE STEEL OF SAKURAI'S STUPID COMPUTER, WHICH I WILL SMASH! SMASH WITH ALL THE VIGOR OF KRYSTAL AND RIDLEY AND MEGAMAN AND EVERY OTHER CHARACTER THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN! I WILL BURN IT ALIVE! AND THEN DIE! DIE A GREAT DEATH FILLED WITH MYSTERY AND WONDER! AND I WILL FOREVER SPEAK IN CAPS LOCK BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SOUND COOL!").

Unlike last time, this game's initially revealed roster(the one that's up right now) has more than enough characters to relate to a player. If you don't find Krystal there, doesn't mean your not going to find a character to suit you or make you smile when playing. Melee was like that for me, because I grew up as a Sega kid, and so when Melee pretty much defined what the gamecube could do, and made it's competitors actually glance it at for once instead of walking by it without even bothering to notice, I instantly picked it up. Half the characters were clones, and some of them didn't really bother me (YOUNG LINK IS FAST! I'M LIKE 12 AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF... Wait a minute, no **** this, he's like Yun and Fei long from street fighter, this is BULL****!) some of them did(WTF Ganandorf. Falcon punch more... well then again that wizard magic does like nice). But honestly, besides not having many friends(hint: take a guess why I occupied time with music.), Whenever I played the game, there wasn't really a character I could vibe too much(Roy and Marth helped clear some tension though...). I'd played Nintendo games, but still... It seemed like there wasn't really somebody's style that really grabbed me as much as it did when I was 9 and a pokemon fanatic trying to play Pikachu in every SSB64 game I could muster. But this time seems different...

Sonic is there(which makes me very happy), and that's a character I can connect with, and actually enjoy watching(16 bit mascot wars better be an event, or I will stab a Tiger.), not to mention Snake for all realistic shooter fans. Speaking of shooters, Samus has kind of redefined herself since Prime, and that should appeal to many. Lucario should suit fighting game fans of street fighter quite well(He's a pokemon with a Hadoken. Mewtwo had a psychic ball. Hadoken > Psychic ball because Ryu kicked Vega's ***, and that's my logic. I will cover my ears and yell if I am proved wrong.) Link and Ike should suit vets of swordplay and fantasy perfectly... Mario and group bring their simplistic nostalgia and accessibility to the table. Fox brings a lot of tactical gameplay to the mix... and every one of these characters new and old has new idealisms and associations they haven't had before. You will FIND a character you connect with, especially since half of them AREN'T clones.

I went off on a tangent. But I hope you get my point. I'll further clarify if need be.
When that's your tangent, I have no problem with you going off on it. What you said there is something that all of these "WHERE'S MY CHARACTER" whiner little *****es need to read.

EDIT: Wyvern:

Wyvern said:
I assume that by this, you mean that the developers can make the gameplay better when left to their own devices, correct?
Generally, yes. Especially when they don't have to deal with piss-ant little demands coming from piss-ant little twerps who suggest/demand **** because it helps them get their little rocks off.

Well, if that's true, answer me this: How does putting Fox, Falco, and Wolf in the game but not Krystal benefit the gameplay in any way?
I'd like to see Krystal in the game. I'm not against Krystal being in the game. I think she'd bring a lot to Brawl. I'd be very interested in how she'd use her staff. I have no problem with her being in Brawl. HOWEVER, what I DO have a problem with is how and why she's a candidate for the game...because it wasn't coming from the developers themselves. I'd much have preferred Sakurai give fans a list of five potential characters, chosen by the dev team, and tell them to vote on their top 3.

Regarding Wolf's move-set, I'd like to see something exceedingly brutal...like almost UFC-inspired. No regular punches and kicks. Just take-downs, elbows, backbreakers, and so on. Make him amazing on the ground. Focus his attacks on debilitating the enemy. Make Snake's down-throw look like a hug from a Carebear. If Wolf's a villain, then have him play like one.
 

Masque

Keeper of the Keys
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The only thing I desire in the roster is the character I'm hoping for. Sakurai could add a frackin' octorok and make the game 30 characters and I wouldn't think of it as a big deal.
Still, these guys are technically doing something illegal.
Eh, I'm on the fence about that. I mean, don't get me wrong--I would absolutely LOVE to have Claus! But what fun would the game be if it's merely Claus among a bunch of nobodies and totally boring and inane character choices? Granted, the characters confirmed on the DOJO make up a great roster to compliment Claus in their own right, but characters like Wolf and R.O.B. would still detract from the overall game for me. It's tough to say.

Yeah, let's hope they get sued because we don't like the roster they gave us.
lol I don't think that's necessarily fair, and I made mention of that in my previous post. We were asking for the roster; just because we don't like it doesn't mean we have to take it out on those who shared it. Plus, we still aren't 100% sure that it IS the full, actual, final roster.

(And I know you're being sarcastic--don't worry. :chuckle:)

Brasil, you seem convinced that too much fan input can harm a game. I assume that by this, you mean that the developers can make the gameplay better when left to their own devices, correct? Well, if that's true, answer me this: How does putting Fox, Falco, and Wolf in the game but not Krystal benefit the gameplay in any way?

I am not saying this out of some fan-devotion to Krystal. I don't even care that much about the Starfox series outside of 64 (the only really memorably good one, if you ask me). I am speaking from a purely practical gameplay standpoint. Think about it. Fox, Falco, and Wolf all share pretty much the exact same body type, and not one of them has anything from the games that give them any sort of identifiable combat style that could be transferred into Brawl. Sakurai can make up movesets from scratch when he needs to, but what we have here would be an attempt to do that three times for the same character. There would be overlap. There would be redundancy. Maybe he could do two of them and keep them unique, but I can't imagine how none of them would end up feeling stale and same-y. Meanwhile, there's Krystal, who wields a unique weapon and has an entire game to serve as inspiration for a moveset, who gets left out in favor of not one but two elaborate near-clones.

What rational thought process could possibly lead a competent game developer to make that decision? You say you don't want them to be too limited by fan desire. Okay, let's imagine what it would be like if you took all notions of popularity out of the equasion. Krystal would still be the only Star Fox character outside of Fox himself who would have any business being in the game whatsoever. She has a distinct, unique fighting style that cannot be matched by any other potential newcomer to Brawl, and nobody else in the series can say the same. If you consider fan-requests, she gets in. If you ignore fan-requests, she gets in even more definitively. What rational benefit is there, on any front, for a Fox-Falco-Wolf lineup? What would drive a competent developer to that? I can't think of a single thing.

I'm not upset with the proposed roster because this one character or that one character didn't get in. I'd be upset with it because it would represent a decision to put in dull, redundant characters with what could only be described as a conscious effort to avoid diversity and innovation. Falco and Wolf when we already have Fox, Ness when we already have Lucas, maybe Young Link too depending on how exaggerated they make him stylistically. These characters just can't add anything tangible to the gameplay, so why put them in when there's a dozen other possibilities, each one of which would bring something new and exciting to the game? Quite frankly, the popularity is really just a bonus. Setting up the roster like that is an outright bad decision, not just for the fans, but for pure gameplay purposes as well.
I agree with your point. Why go with a potential Fox clone / derivation when you could have something entirely original like Krystal? The same principle applies to Ness taking the place of Claus, a more exciting and unique character. I also agree that popularity is secondary in this argument (the importance of originality), but I do think that the desire of the fans also has its place, and a very important one when dealing solely with interseries roster decisions (i.e. Ridley over R.O.B.)

Actually, that's a nice little rule of thumb I came up with:
* When dealing with intraseries roster decisions, the basis for a character's inclusion should be originality in design and gameplay, thus creating a more diverse (and therefore more accurate) representation of a particular series.
* When dealing with interseries roster decisions, the basis for a character's inclusion should be popularity among a good number of fans, so as to appease the greatest number of players.

:bigthumbu
 

White_Lightning

Smash Journeyman
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For those who say the 35 list is fake because it doesn't have enough popular characters...

Asking only for popular characters to appear in Smash... doesn't get me excited - Masahiro Sakurai
http://wii.qj.net/Smash-Bros-Brawl-Updates/pg/49/aid/52149

If the 35 roster turns out real, whose to say Sakurai didn't listen to fan's suggestions? We got Sonic, Dedede, Meta Knight, Ike, Lucas, and Olimar. Though he wasn't on the poll, I'm sure Lucario was a much more popular choice among Americans than Japanese fans.
 

ShortFuse

Smash Lord
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Copy paste from other thread about the Mushroomy Kingdom prophet:

I don't like the 35 roster. Just because I developed a 35 theory doesn't mean I like it.
People I want in Brawl, in order of most wanted
Zero
Marth
Cloud
Geno
Isaac
Ridley
Sora

I'm serious. That's my wishlist. I don't really care for any of the new characters save for Ike and maybe Snake. That's it. I'd be disappointed with the roster but I wouldn't kill myself over it. I'm looking for concrete flaws in my theory. Like if Wolf turns out to be an Attack Trophy or Animal Crossing Villager character gets confirmed. There's no room to wiggle my theory around that. It'd be over.

I think Fox & Falco & Wolf and excluding Krystal is silly. Krystal highly ranked on the poll. I would think she should be in more then Wolf. But that's not a flaw, that's something you easily say, "That's what Sakurai decided and we have to live with it."

Added Micaiah and added Dark Samus would disconfirm my theory and it'd be great but I just don't trust the poster.
Same goes for R.O.B. in SSE. If Sakurai thought it would be cool that an SSE enemy would be a playable enemy, who are we to tell him no. We don't know how trophies will work 100%. Sakurai flat out said Assist Trophies aren't playable and also, Sakurai always has tricks up his sleeves.

I'm looking for something concrete. Prove the picture fake. Prove another character is coming back. Prove that one of the characters on the 35 list is not playable (maybe as an AT). That's what can disconfirm this.

But I'm done with this theory / theory. I'm leaving it as it stands. Brawl will be out soon enough. I'm going back to my "Japanese Everything" forum to start mining websites for info leaks and start organizing my "Advanced Techniques" thread. After Brawl comes out, I'll start work on the Brawl Game Disc Ripping Thread.

If you guys want to continue debating this, carry on, and if you find concrete evidence to disprove this, PM me and I'll credit you and change the OP (and ask for it closed).
 

Darkfur

Abbey Recorder
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sneaking low to the ground, ready to pounce
So how about we discuss this:



Supposedly an Pic of the English select screen.

Since it potentially destroys the currently popular theory.

Look closely at Snake's position, and compare it to the mock-up.


--

Offtopic: 1000th post. Darkfur has leveled up. Obtained new Title: Smash Lord.

ATK: +1
INT: +1
EGO: +3

New Skill: Still only mediocre at Melee.
 

ShortFuse

Smash Lord
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Orientation of image: 1
File change date and time: 2008:01:25 02:33:46
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows

Why did they have to use Photoshop?
The second image would disconfirm the 35 roster theory of mine. If it wasn't for the photoshop tag. Bah!

This is the E4All roster:

The name tags are black and the random button is light gray.

This is from WHobby08:

The name tags are transparent gray (look at Dedede) and the random button is light gray.


This is the Japanese version. Transparent gray and the random button is light gray.

This is Japanese version of E4All Roster:


This means the US version WILL have black boxes instead of transparent, but the random button is still gray. It could descredit the picture. I don't know anymore

The biggest flaw in the Snake picture is the black box on the Random selection. It should be gray.
 

Shuma

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Messages
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Why would they use photoshop? Well.. first than all... It's obvious that the pic is resized. Or who took the pic has a very very small T.V.
 

Darkfur

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Orientation of image: 1
File change date and time: 2008:01:25 02:33:46
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows

Why did they have to use Photoshop?
The second image would disconfirm the 35 roster theory of mine. If it wasn't for the photoshop tag. Bah!

edited out by me to shorten post

This means the US version WILL have black boxes instead of transparent, but the random button is still gray. It could descredit the picture. I don't know anymore

The biggest flaw in the Snake picture is the black box on the Random selection. It should be gray.
Well, they could have just resized the image in photoshop, but disregarding that, the issue with the random button is a very good point. Honestly, the only way we'll know for sure is to see another official screen shot. Perhaps they changed it for consistencies sake. Honestly, the gray box does sort of look out of place in the E for All demo, and would only be more so once everyone was unlocked. However that is completely ascetic and is also impossible to prove as of now. Quite disheartening as this is the closest thing to a concrete inconsistency we have.


EDIT:

Unless... and this just occured to me.



You see how the image is sort of clear and gray?

Well, we know from here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VxrQiCz4_o that the screen goes black once all characters are selected and such. I can't tell from the quality of the video... but

in this screenshot:



All characters are selected and the fight is ready to move on to stage selection. Perhaps, becuase the screen is black, it's making the transparent gray box look much much darker, and black itself.

Just a thought.

Edit 2:

Just to show that resizing an image does tag it as being created in photoshop, I resized this image.

 

Uchiha.Sanosuke

Smash Journeyman
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429
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USA
I'm too tired to try and debunk this gigantic glob of speculation anymore. The game's out in seven days, and everything'll be revealed then.

In the meanwhile, I'll lurk around and listen to SamuraiPanda's subsequent ranting and Youko's praise of the new Music update on SMYN.
 

Shuma

Smash Hero
Joined
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Messages
5,407
About the gray thing in the Random button(at least i think that's what you guys are arguing). It's not the only think that is black in the snake pic, all the character names changed to black. Still, notice how he just selected the characters and the screen goes black.

While on the other pics, thei're not doing anything. So it's possible that the boxes change to black when you select characters?
 

Shuma

Smash Hero
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,407
Ok, i saw a video from E4ALL, curiosly, the character names are always black, but the random button is grey, so maybe they changed it to black too?
 

Shuma

Smash Hero
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,407
Meh, i still say they changed the random icon from gray to black. I find it odd that all of them were black and one gray. Still... now that we know that the starting roster is 23 char, it's completly foolish to expect so few secret characters.
 

Zinfandel

Smash Journeyman
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My own theory on Snake being in that picture. The language is supposed to be high-strung and theatrical, not stereotyping.

"We must punish pig-digusting European for demanding SM RPG and Mother. European clamors for more after Sin and Punishment being given him despite him being unworthy.

Puny European must be taught a lesson - Snake is starter in US, Sonic is starter in Japan, Europe must unlock both. And pig-disgusting European gets one less Golden Hammer for Challenge screen."
 

LavisFiend

Smash Lord
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Mario franchise will NEVER be overrepped by a lesser franchise.

Throw your "BUT I LIEK STARFOX SO YOU CAN'T SAY IT'S POOPULAR" crap out the window and listen to the brutal facts.

Mario franchise and Pokemon franchise, as well as the Zelda franchise are the top 3 heavy hitters and biggest names for Nintendo, with Mario being the biggest because he is the face of nintendo.

Do you REALLY think Mario franchise will be overrepped by the lesser franchise Starfox? OH PLEASE. >=I
 
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