Cut Veterans: Who do you think WON'T make it?

[Prince Longstrok]

Id really like to see Falco get the boot and throw down a red carpet for Wolf. Im no StarFox fan, and dont play spacies, but Wolf just makes more sense being the main antagonist.

It may just be my ganon main being butthurt from those final destination matches with Falco, but.. Thats just my thought ^-^

 

[Makaronileo]

but Wolf just makes more sense being the main antagonist.

Luigi was added before Bowser.

 

[Spazzy_D]

I'm feeling pretty confident about Lucas after the Ike reveal. Although their is still a chance of an out of left field cut, I think trainer's two other Pokemon and Snake are probably it. Maybe one of the extra Star Fox reps.....maybe.

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Luigi was added before Bowser.

And that russles my jimmies, sir!

 

[Spinosaurus]

I prefer Falco in Melee and he's also the only fun one in Brawl. lol

Though I know a LOT wouldn't miss his short hop lazers.

 

[ProjectAngel]

Who's gonna get cut?

Can't really say, because Sakurai, I'm sure, is well prepared to shoot down any argument against a character's inclusion simply by sticking them in.

We all thought Lucario, Toon Link, and to a certain extent Ike would be getting the boot. Look what happened.

The only characters that may very well not get in for sure are: . In Snake's case, it's up to Kojima to make the call.

 

[Kawii]

i feel that Ridley wont make now wait before you kill me let me explain
he is just to big
"size dosn't matter look at bowser"
well yeah look at bowser vs mario
Mario is 5ft 11in (180 cm) tall and bowser is 9' 3" (282 cm). it souns big but a side by side compaison shows that bowsers looks to be 1 and a half mario's meaning he is the size of one mario and half a mario now samus and ridley
Samus is 6 ft 3 in tall and ridley is hard to tell but look like he is atleast 12 or so feet tall
thats just what i feel i am probably wrong but thats how i feel

 

[Prince Longstrok]

i feel that Ridley wont make now wait before you kill me let me explain
he is just to big
"size dosn't matter look at bowser"
well yeah look at bowser vs mario
Mario is 5ft 11in (180 cm) tall and bowser is 9' 3" (282 cm). it souns big but a side by side compaison shows that bowsers looks to be 1 and a half mario's meaning he is the size of one mario and half a mario now samus and ridley
Samus is 6 ft 3 in tall and ridley is hard to tell but look like he is atleast 12 or so feet tall
thats just what i feel i am probably wrong but thats how i feel

Punctuation is your friend, bud.

 

[Tepig2000]

Squirtle and Ivysaur.

 

[AquaDork1]

Spoiler: Unlikely

Spoiler: 50:50

Spoiler: Likely

Spoiler: Confirmed

Spoiler: Newcomers

 

[Prince Longstrok]

I would have posted a list of characters i wanted to see make it, but there isnt a spoiler tag big enough to fit Ridley :/

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

Spoiler: Unlikely

Spoiler: 50:50

Spoiler: Likely

Spoiler: Confirmed

Spoiler: Newcomers

Someone who is making sense at last.

 

[KatKit]

Why are people mentioning Ridley? This is thread about veterans. Unless you're referring to boss battle characters or something. If that is the case... I don't think Ridley will be a boss any longer. See what I did there?

Anyways, I think Dr. Mario will return as an alternate costume. I consider Pikachu the old Pichu if he has the goggles again - a spiritual successor type thing - so even he isn't cut per se. Just evolved. Young Link... Toon Link. Same difference. I think it's better to wonder about any characters who haven't been cut in the past instead of the Melee ones.

 

[Your Hero]

I just personally don't think Lucas and Falco are likely to return, unless if there are some major changes to their move sets. It's not because they're clones or due to any opinion of them (I actually really like Lucas), but because of the introduction of customizable movesets. The differences found among Ness/Lucas and Fox/Falco are the exact same changes we saw Mario use with his fireball (the default being to bounce fireballs while custom is shooting fireballs straight ahead).

Toon Link made it in and appears to have the same b moves as Link, but in an entirely different art style. I don't see how they could implement Windwaker-like moves to regular Link as his second option. I'm really baffled by Toon Link's reappearance though (again, I say this as someone who liked playing as Toon Link as well).

So honestly it could go either way. I think every other brawl vet minus squirtle/ivysaur will return. I also hope hope Mewtwo returns. Roy is essentially the love child of Marth and Ike and his moves could go to either of them as custom options.

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Roy is essentially the love child of Marth and Ike and his moves could go to either of them as custom options.

Dont fuel the fan-fiction artists!

 

[Ultinarok]

Most likely dead:
-Pokemon Trainer

Deathbed:
-Snake (licensing issues, better third party options, Kojima's request was the only reason for his original inclusion anyway)
-Ice Climbers (programming and balancing difficulties. The Climbers have been a mess since Melee, and Sakurai already stated that 3DS limitations made even Olimar + 6 pikmin virtually impossible, let alone two fighters in one. Then again, Rosalina may mean they are still possible. If Sakurai and Namco can make them work, take them off this list entirely, because they'll def be in.)
-Jiggs. I just see no reason for her to return other than her veteran status. Few are clamoring for the puff to be back at this point when Mewtwo is still uncertain.

At Risk:
-Lucas
-Falco/Wolf (but probably not both)

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

Falco and the Ice Climbers are a guaranteed return though.The technical limiations argument is out of the window since Rosalina & Luma and Olimar are a thing already.
Besides, difficult to program=/=impossible to handle.

 

[Speculator]

but because of the introduction of customizable movesets. The differences found among Ness/Lucas and Fox/Falco are the exact same changes we saw Mario use with his fireball (the default being to bounce fireballs while custom is shooting fireballs straight ahead).

They really aren't, though. Only special moves are customizable, and that comes to a total of four moves. Of all Ness and Lucas's tilts, aerials, grabs, throws and smash attacks, the only one I can think of that functions even remotely similarly for both characters is their side smash. It's a very similar case with Falcon.

EDIT: Falco. Autocorrect!

Deathbed:
-Snake (licensing issues, better third party options, Kojima's request was the only reason for his original inclusion anyway)

I don't think Snake is coming back, but of course this wasn't the only reason for his inclusion. Sakurai obviously also thought it was a good idea.

-Ice Climbers (programming and balancing difficulties. The Climbers have been a mess since Melee, and Sakurai already stated that 3DS limitations made even Olimar + 6 pikmin virtually impossible, let alone two fighters in one. Then again, Rosalina may mean they are still possible. If Sakurai and Namco can make them work, take them off this list entirely, because they'll def be in.)

We've already seen Ice Climber enemies in Smash Run. I see no reason to doubt their return based on one of Sakurai's vague musings.

 

[WritersBlah]

I feel a bit wary of trying to speculate which characters are getting the boot, as I feel the moment I say something, it'll end up being wrongm but...here I go anyways.

So first off. Most likely to be cut. Well, to start, pretty much all the cut characters from Melee seem really unlikely...except Mewtwo. Because we love Mewtwo. Definitely putting my money on seeing Squirtle and Ivysaur get cut as well, as the whole "no more transformations" shtick + just WAY too many Pokemon reps seems like it'll be quite likely to see these two go. I mean, just adding in Jigglypuff will cap us out at five reps for Pokemon already, and if Mewtwo ends up in, then that's SIX reps, which is actually more reps than the Mario series, and that would just be kinda weird (not a really good argument, but it's what I got.) Unless there is another Mario newcomer on their way...

I'm also fairly certain that Snake won't be returning. I think Kojima's dream of seeing his character in a Smash game has already been fulfilled, and considering the general lack of collaboration Konami and Nintendo have had lately, it looks to me like Snake might be riding this one out.

And then here's where things get difficult, because it could honestly go a lot of ways from here. If anything, I think clone characters are up for reevaluation, so that really leaves Lucas and the other two Star Fox reps in a tight spot. If I were to guess (though this may just be my bias showing) I'd say that both Lucas and Wolf will end up cut. Why Wolf instead of Falco? Well, Falco has two-game seniority over Wolf, so it's likely that he's seen as more synonymous with Smash overall. Again, seniority isn't really that great an argument, but...I dunno, if you had to choose to keep either Falco or Wolf, who'd you go with?

And then at this point...I'm a bit 50/50 on ROB's return. He seemed to be a fad with Nintendo at the time, being featured in both Brawl and Mario Kart DS, but now his popularity with the company has noticeably died down. I think it'd be a real shame to let him go, as I personally love playing as ROB in both Brawl and Project M with his very unique moveset, but the Big N could honestly go either way with him if the cuts end up being extensive.

So that's my two cents. Can't really think of anything else to add.

 

[GunGunW]

Initially, I thought Lucas, Lucario, Ike, Wolf, and R.O.B... I don't know why, but I always had a feeling about them.

Now, I know nothing is for certain anymore, but my predictions are Lucas, Wolf, Snake, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and R.O.B. though it wouldn't surprise me if I'm wrong.

 

[Your Hero]

They really aren't, though. Only special moves are customizable, and that comes to a total of four moves. Of all Ness and Lucas's tilts, aerials, grabs, throws and smash attacks, the only one I can think of that functions even remotely similarly for both characters is their side smash. It's a very similar case with Falcon.

For sure, yeah I was referring to the b moves. But changing 3 or all 4 b moves will definitely be a major change to both characters.

I'm so torn on Falco and Lucas. I think Lucas could go either way since there are plenty of moves they can take from the Mother series, but with Falco my gut says he's not in without some drastic changes. I could see Wolf getting priority due to being the villain and having a more heavy-based gameplay mechanic, along with more varied b moves.

 

[ErenJager]

Extinct - Pokemon Trainer, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Young Link, Roy

Endangered - Snake

Vulnerable - Lucas, Wolf, ROB, Jigglypuff

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

Heres my predictions.

Getting the boot (likely).

Spoiler

50/50 chance.

Spoiler

60/40 chance. (More likely to be playable.)

Spoiler

Who going to be alive. (likely.)

Spoiler

Confirmed so far

Spoiler

Thats my predictions.

(Oh as for dr mario more likely for alternate for mario.)

i feel that Ridley wont make now wait before you kill me let me explain
he is just to big
"size dosn't matter look at bowser"
well yeah look at bowser vs mario
Mario is 5ft 11in (180 cm) tall and bowser is 9' 3" (282 cm). it souns big but a side by side compaison shows that bowsers looks to be 1 and a half mario's meaning he is the size of one mario and half a mario now samus and ridley
Samus is 6 ft 3 in tall and ridley is hard to tell but look like he is atleast 12 or so feet tall
thats just what i feel i am probably wrong but thats how i feel

Veterans not newcomers but as for your agruement.

The Ridley for SSB4 Thread - RidleyTalk

Sorry pal ridley is likely not too big, the shadows of those characters are strenched out like ridleys.

 

[Niala]

They really aren't, though. Only special moves are customizable, and that comes to a total of four moves. Of all Ness and Lucas's tilts, aerials, grabs, throws and smash attacks, the only one I can think of that functions even remotely similarly for both characters is their side smash. It's a very similar case with Falcon.

UAir is the same, too. For Ness and Lucas, that is. But that's aside from the point, really-- they shared some specials, for sure, but that was really it; and the specials they did share had very different properties. As far as "clones" go, Ness and Lucas are probably the most diverse.

Which, I guess, is a really long way of saying I don't understand where the stigma against Lucas is coming from, especially with somebody like Ike now returning to the fray. I think he'll be fine.

The only characters that are really in danger are Snake due to licensing constraints, and Squirtle and Ivysaur, for obvious reasons. Even they, however, aren't out of the game just yet. It'd be one thing if, while announcing Charizard, they had addressed that the other two Pokemon had existed in some form, or were going to continue to exist in some form. But they didn't-- they just...completely ignored them . It's similar to how they approached ZSS, they showed Samus' final smash, but avoided showing the ending to give away that ZSS may not have been coming back. And for a long time, people were speculating that, because they hadn't addressed her, that they wouldn't address her.

The overall point being, it could be entirely intentional that they're ignoring Squirtle and Ivysaur, and intend to only reveal them when their time comes.

In any case, ignoring those who were cut from Melee, I don't suspect we'll be seeing any cuts, save perhaps the three listed above.

 

[Shadow Ganon]

Some thoughts on this topic:

I find it very difficult to believe that any character other than Squirtle and Ivysaur will be cut from Smash 4 (with the exception of Snake). In my opinion, I believe that cutting any character that has appeared in Smash since 64 is very unlikely. I also believe cutting anyone who has appeared in both Melee and Brawl to also be very unlikely. Therefore the potential candidates for getting the ax for me right now are Wario, Meta Knight, Wolf, Lucas, R.O.B., Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Snake.

Right off the bat, I'm going to take a guess that Wario and Meta Knight are guarenteed to be in Smash 4 (Wario being the star of his own set of games and Meta Knight being a pretty iconic Kirby character.). I will also say that it is very doubtful that a franchise will have less reps than it did in Brawl. Therefore if Wolf or Lucas get cut, they will have to be replaced by another Star Fox or Mother/Earthbound character respectively. Now, I can see this as a possibility since I'm sure there are other characters in those franchises that fans would like to see instead but I don't think that'll be the case. Wolf is a pretty unique take on the Fox-like smasher and they now have the opportunity to set him apart even more, plus he does the job of being that series' villain rep for Smash (which I want to believe we'll get for other series *cough* DK, Metroid, Pokemon *cough*). Same can be said about Lucas. They are most likely keeping him and just changing him up a bit to make him more unique and since I am not that familiar with the Mother series I can't really tell you who else would be a better rep in his place. As for R.O.B., I don't see him being cut either mainly because of his similarities to G&W and now the Wii Fit Trainer when it comes to what he represents. On top of that, R.O.B. is very unique and we know uniqueness is everything (well technically so are time constraints *tear* Mewtwo *tear*). I can see them changing him up though (I don't use him that often so I can't tell you if he needs a change or not).

Since Pokemon Trainer is no more and they've added Greninja, I think there is no chance for Squirtle and Ivysaur. The only character I am on the fence about is Snake because he is a third party character and I just don't know where Sakurai stands on this. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being cut but it also shouldn't be surprising if he makes a return (I personally don't believe he will make the cut. I think they've dropped him for Mega Man and possibly another unannounced third-party character).

As for returning veterans from Melee, we have Dr. Mario, Pichu, Young Link, Mewtwo, and Roy. Discussing the first three is pointless and I will be very very very surprised to see them make it back in. It just isn't going to happen. Mewtwo, in my opinion, has the best shot to make a comeback. He was planned for both 64 and Brawl and plays the part of the Pokemon antagonist pretty well plus, if relevancy matters, he is slightly relevant again with Pokemon X/Y giving him two mega evolutions. As for Roy, I am doubtful. With the inclusion of both Marth and Ike and the lack of a Fire Emblem: Awakening rep, Roy's chances are now on the floor. If FE gets another rep, it will very likely be an Awakening rep and I doubt they'll throw in a fourth.

 

[MetalMario128]

As of right now, the only characters I can see maybe not coming back are Squirtle, Ivysaur, Wolf, and Lucas.

And even Lucas doesn't seem very cut-worthy.

 

[Robertman2]

At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if Ivysaur and Squirtle were brought back. Or at least Squirtle.

 

[Snagrio]

Charizard's pals, Snake, and the Melee crew besides Mewtwo (let's face it, he'll be back) are all I'm legitimately putting the cut radar on. Roy might get a second chance should character DLC happen in the future though.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I find it so strange that people view Ike being revealed as anything; to me, it was obvious he would return, he is almost as important to Fire Emblem as Marth. The only returning veteran I would not have guessed is Toon Link.

If I did not say it before, as I cannot find it;
Jigglypuff
Ness
Falco
Squirtle
Ivysaur
Snake

 

[Grimnir]

Id really like to see Falco get the boot and throw down a red carpet for Wolf. Im no StarFox fan, and dont play spacies, but Wolf just makes more sense being the main antagonist.

It may just be my ganon main being butthurt from those final destination matches with Falco, but.. Thats just my thought ^-^

While I would much rather keep Wolf than Falco, Wolf is far from the main antagonist. His role in the games has gotten a lot of revisionist treatment from his fans.

He didn't appear in the first game or Adventures. In 64, he was part of a group of bosses that you fight up to two times in a play-through but could technically avoid altogether depending on the path you take. In Assault, he's an early boss that later becomes an ally, and in Command, his role is complicated: depending on the path you take, he can be playable or a boss. The closest thing to a main antagonist in Star Fox is Andross. Oddly enough, he doesn't have much of a support base.

 

[Neerb]

The closest thing to a main antagonist in Star Fox is Andross. Oddly enough, he doesn't have much of a support base.

Robot Andross from Star Fox SNES is already confirmed as a returning AT from Brawl, and even if real Andross was in, Sakurai would either need to make up a body for him (since we've never seen him pre-transformation) or turn his skyscraper-sized floating-head-and-hands form into a weird little playable form. Or maybe just play as his giant hand while his head floats in the background? Hmm, this could actually be interesting...

On-topic, I think everyone from Brawl will return except for Squirtle and Ivysaur, who have been sacrificed so that Charizard may live, and Snake, as Kojima may not care as much about getting him in this time and Sakurai probably won't bother going out of the way to get permission.

Lucas, Wolf and the like could be cut, in the sense that we wouldn't miss out on a lot, but I don't think they will be, as I think Sakurai will actively try to avoid cuts this time except for the previously mentioned three. That said, if RosalinaX comes true and there is a 4th Brawl cut, my money's on Wolf. Mother only had 3 games and only one made it outside Japan, but Nintendo just hates Star Fox.

As for Melee vets... I'd actually be surprised if Dr. Mario DOESN'T get in, at least as a Mario costume. He was an entirely separate character in Melee for no reason other than Sakurai really liking him, and SSB4 is clearly going heavy on the costumes as we've seen from Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Little Mac, so I'm sure Sakurai will put him in as a Mario alt if he has the time/resources. As for Mewtwo and Roy, I wouldn't count them completely out, but I doubt they'll make it. I actually had a ton of faith in Mewtwo, but Lucario's return followed by Greninja's announcement crushed my hopes, as Jiggs is certain to return and I don't think we'll get 6 reps from any one series (not counting Mario spin-offs, whose unique icons indicate they aren't technically Mario characters here).

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Robot Andross from Star Fox SNES is already confirmed as a returning AT from Brawl, and even if real Andross was in, Sakurai would either need to make up a body for him (since we've never seen him pre-transformation) or turn his skyscraper-sized floating-head-and-hands form into a weird little playable form. Or maybe just play as his giant hand while his head floats in the background? Hmm, this could actually be interesting...

On-topic, I think everyone from Brawl will return except for Squirtle and Ivysaur, who have been sacrificed so that Charizard may live, and Snake, as Kojima may not care as much about getting him in this time and Sakurai probably won't bother going out of the way to get permission.

Lucas, Wolf and the like could be cut, in the sense that we wouldn't miss out on a lot, but I don't think they will be, as I think Sakurai will actively try to avoid cuts this time except for the previously mentioned three. That said, if RosalinaX comes true and there is a 4th Brawl cut, my money's on Wolf. Mother only had 3 games and only one made it outside Japan, but Nintendo just hates Star Fox.

As for Melee vets... I'd actually be surprised if Dr. Mario DOESN'T get in, at least as a Mario costume. He was an entirely separate character in Melee for no reason other than Sakurai really liking him, and SSB4 is clearly going heavy on the costumes as we've seen from Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Little Mac, so I'm sure Sakurai will put him in as a Mario alt if he has the time/resources. As for Mewtwo and Roy, I wouldn't count them completely out, but I doubt they'll make it. I actually had a ton of faith in Mewtwo, but Lucario's return followed by Greninja's announcement crushed my hopes, as Jiggs is certain to return and I don't think we'll get 6 reps from any one series (not counting Mario spin-offs, whose unique icons indicate they aren't technically Mario characters here).

So what youre saying is... he is too big?

 

[Neerb]

So what youre saying is... he is too big?

Haha, yes, but not in the same way Ridley is.

Andross has ALWAYS been at least 4x bigger than a fighter plane. Ridley was originally the same height as Samus and has most recently been no bigger than Bowser is over Mario in their games.

Plus, for Andross, the "disembodied head & pair of hands" is what really gets me.

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Haha, yes, but not in the same way Ridley is.

Andross has ALWAYS been at least 4x bigger than a fighter plane. Ridley was originally the same height as Samus and has most recently been no bigger than Bowser is over Mario in their games.

Plus, for Andross, the "disembodied head & pair of hands" is what really gets me.

Im just poking fun ^-^ I totally feel he should just be an Assist Trophy for now.

Atleast being a AT means Sakurai acknowledges him, atleast.

 

[Neerb]

At least being a AT means Sakurai acknowledges him, atleast.

I do wish it was REAL Andross and not the SNES robot. It seems kinda lame as is.

 

[Swift Fox]

I have yet another theory about how many cuts we'll see for SSB4.

Wait... did you see that?! 1:39

20 playable characters @ Smash Bros Invitational = 6 new-comers and only 14 out of 24 veterans!
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||

Left out:

Let's see at Brawl roster for reference

Brawl starting roster

Brawl demo roster


[?]

left out:
hidden in:

I can see similar pattern.

I'm suspecting this is the finalized 'starting' roster:

Back to hidden: and MAYBE

IF also returned to hidden then Mewtwo's not in.

UPDATED 6/10/2014

After I figured out how many starting roster characters for ssb4, there are 25 starters so far or up to 28 if Lucario, Luigi, and TL will be included as starters as well. (let's use 30 for now including Palutena and Mii)

Spoiler: starting to finalized roster multiplier

64 starting roster: 8
64 finnalized roster: 12
Smash 64 has the least hidden ratio; x1.5

Melee starting roster: 15
Melee finalized roster: 26
Melee has the most hidden ratio; x1.733~

Brawl starting roster: 24
Brawl finalized roster: 39
Brawl is about right; x1.625%

Let's use range from 1.5 to 1.733~ to calculate what SSB4's size will be like.

Spoiler: Roster size

30 x 1.5~1.733~ = 45-52 (rounded down/up)

Now see how many cuts there will be with new-comers we have so far...

Spoiler: Subtract by 6 new-comers

45-52 - 8 = 37-44

Spoiler: # of cuts

37-44 - 39 = 5-2 cuts

-5 to 2 cuts.

That's not all. If there are more new-comers then there will be more veteran cuts.

Spoiler: Let's say... 12 (4 soon to be announced) new-comers

45-52 - 12 = 33-40

1 to 6 cuts

Also Sakurai said 50 is enough so I can't see 50 happening, so 3-6 cuts.

I know the this is very very rough estimation and we'll need to see the starting roster before we can predict the finalized roster better using x1.5 to x1.733~ Good luck! Most likely mean nothing though. Just doing this for the lolz.

And oh WAIT, let me tell you last thing: Sakurai said every new-comers' trailers will be available at the start. You can start calculating # of cuts after you've seen all confirmed new-comers.

 

[Cpt.]

#datIkebias

#getgood haha

 

[Kind Dedede]

Wow, that was a creepy glitch. Edited!

 

[NintenRob]

Snake might be more likely then we originally thought, Sony and Microsoft presentations are on the 9th so I wonder what this could mean?

 

[EbonyRubberWolf]

I believe rather firmly in the 40-character limit, so I guess I should explain both why and who.

So, looks kinda limited(and it is, honestly, but thems the breaks). I guess I'll do the rundown of why these specifics are such. I could have probably scooted some things around a little better placement wise, but you get the gist.

Mario 5, Zelda 5, Pokemon 5. Nintendo's top three series as far as recognition and sales, and each would be represented equally(considering Yoshi and Wario are counted separately).

No Mewtwo? I believe Mewtwo had his time to shine and then he got pushed out by new talent. The only X-factor is his Mega Evolution, though with Greninja's reveal and Jigglypuff's very likely return(perfect attendance, mind you), I don't see Mewtwo making the cut unless he's a boss(which could work well with his Mega Evolution, either X or Y depending on various factors). Hate it all you like, but I think Mewtwo's officially playable status is dust in the wind.

No Ridley? Stage boss. People are torturing the logic and context behind "other boss characters appear" along with the Shadow. This is equivalent to hyping up Mr. X when any Mega Man fan knows it's Wily behind the facade. Newbies and people who get pumped up by seeing intimidating bosses get to salivate over what the dragon they'll be fighting might look like, but fans rooting for his playable status are likely to be disappointed.

No K. Rool? K. Rool hasn't been relevant in nigh-on a decade. Now, yes, you could say "Pit! Pit got in and he totally was dead for decades too!" but the things Pit had going for him was Sakurai's affinity toward Kid Icarus, an overall company interest in reviving older IPs(Punch-Out, Kid Icarus, Pilot Wings), and the fact that Pit is aesthetically pleasing to the eye(K. Rool's crazy pinkeye is.. Disturbing to say the least). K. Rool sports none of that(DK's revival was handled with Tropical Freeze), so he's incredibly unlikely.

Hey, you've got a Wolf icon in both your sig and your avatar, but he's absent from your roster? Let me clear this up right now. I like Wolf. I really do. He's a lot of fun for me to play and he's the only spacie that I play. That said, I consider Wolf to be one-and-done. He, like Mewtwo, had his time in the sun but I think he'll be put on a bus and shipped out somewhere. Either stage hazard, maybe a boss(fighting Star Wolf's Wolfen while atop the Great Fox or whatever), or only a trophy appearance. Now, common counter-arguments include "but Ike made it back, have hope for Wolf!" FE is a rising star and is also 'anime fantasy' which seems to have near-universal appeal. SF is an on-rails shooter whose most recent game is essentially a redo of the 64-era title, whose lack of popularity is further compounded by furry hate(see ANY Krystal thread). Falco gets in due to competitive popularity and tradition. Wolf has neither, so I don't see him returning.

ROB? I liked ROB. I never actually had one in RL, but I thought the idea of a robot that helps you play games was hella sweet. Maybe he can cut the mustard again ala G&W, but the peripheral's representative in WFT might knock him out.

Snake? Snake?! SNAAAKE!! He's dead, Otacon. If Kojima's claiming at this point that he hasn't been contacted for Snake, there's just no way unless Kojima is flat-out lying. Nevermind that they'd have to work with a new VA and fans of the character may be put off by it.

Chrom? Hey, I just read the trends. Blue hair, swordsman, main character of the most recent FE game. Ike's reveal shakes the theory up a bit, but I still think Chrom is sadly a shoe-in. Granted, I'm not a big fan of FE in general, so my bias is present.

The Sal Leak? I can't dispute it entirely, and WFT's prediction is definitely uncanny. That said, various characters seem... Unlikely. Palutena just doesn't strike me as playable. You'd essentially be bringing a goddess to the arena, and fans of her character might be dismayed with her lack of omnipotence were she set forth. Chorus Men look rather odd, but I'm unfamiliar with Rhythm Heaven so I lack the credentials to speak on their viability as far as a character goes. Mechanically, controlling three at once would be utterly bizarre unless they worked like IC, Rosa, or Olimar, and something tells me that's not what they're about. Shulk... I've not played Xenoblade, nor do I have any real plans to. That said, from observation, Shulk comes off as yet another anime swordsman with improbable powers and a 'cool sword'. While I feel XB is a bit too recent and obscure to warrant a playable slot, I have to concede that Sakurai did make a deal out of W101's trophy. My own preference is he not receive his invitation as well, but that's just me talking. Can you tell I'm not really an anime fan yet?