Let's come up with more first-party Smash characters that have so little combat source material that their movesets are forced to be made up!

[Quillion]

Remember characters like Captain Falcon, Fox + Falco (at the time), Sheik, Ice Climbers, and R.O.B. that had no source material for combat so that the devs had to make stuff up for them? I miss characters like that. It feels like with Smash 4 and on, that philosophy has been replaced by the "random references" approach to moveset design as exemplified by Villager, Isabelle, WFT, Duck Hunt, and even Pac-Man. And I've made it clear that I really dislike "random references" movesets in terms of animation (though a few make up for it with alright-good gamefeel like Mr. G&W and WFT).

But let's not focus on negative feelings here; let's come up with solutions. What characters could be great for Smash in the sense of being forced to make up their movesets? I know most of them would be either from obscure or formerly popular franchises, but that's part of the fun, no? I'll start.

• Ryota Hayami from Wave Race. I've seen some people want him to fight with his jet ski, but I'd rather he be a water user instead (and not a ninja and/or Pokémon).
• Akari Hayami from 1080. Ryota's little sister from Wave Race's mountainous counterpart. We need another ice user, so make her one.
• Ashley Robbins from Another Code. Because I was reminded (thanks fogbadge) of her comeback this gen, I thought of her for this thread. Now because she's an exploration/visual novel hybrid protagonist, she might need a little bit of "random references" using the items in her games to get by, but she can probably find some way to fight with her DAS (maybe like Zelda in HW:AoC?).

You know what? Since "random references" is being "made up" in a way, let's include that in this discussion.

 

[Perkilator]

Oh hey, I recently got done watching a video for E.M.M.I.!

If that doesn't suit anyone's fancy, I made my own moveset for Bubbles from Clu Clu Land.

 

[Quillion]

Oh hey, I recently got done watching a video for E.M.M.I.!

EMMI isn't exactly a character with "so little combat source material", but eh.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

I guess some I'd like to propose are:

• A second F-Zero rep - There's a lot to choose from here, and all of them would have to be made up stuff. As much as I dislike going straight for "second most iconic", Jody Summer feels like a fun one in particular. Do think Yoshi should be higher priority for an OG 9 second rep though - speaking of which
• The Stork - has barely any source material at all, let alone combat, but really easy to imagine in one's head with the character shape. Not sure if you'd incorporate babies though.
• A commercial rep - particularly from the weird 90s commercials. In particular, the two that stick out to me are Dashing Super Guy from the Kirby's Dream Land commercial, who I could imagine as a sort of stretchy rubberhose Captain Falcon, and The Big One from the Yoshi's Island commercial, who I think you could do a fun sort of long-range heavyweight grappler set for if you were to turn "bursting into green goo" from a death to a power.
• MC Adore - A character from Rhythm Heaven. While I do like the idea of an RH character being "random references", I think if you're not to go for that, MC Adore is the one. Very cool character with a "rap" theme, give her some dancing moves and some NASB April-style recording equipment moves, and you're perfect. (EDIT: I just realised this idea is basically just Pomme)
• Lucy Fleetfoot - While I do vibe with the idea of Todd Snap or a directly-fighting Giovanni, I think Lucy's my ideal human Pokemon rep. The whole "swapping" thing I feel is a rare non-diegetic game mechanic that would translate decently into Smash with enough workshopping, she's got cool 2000s vibes all over, and like Captain Falcon she's got a bit of an implied hero life you don't get to see in-game.
• Stanley the Bugman - Play Elliana in Rivals and you'll get what I mean.
• Fever, Chill, and Weird (i refuse to call them red blue and yellow) - I've always liked the idea of a "status ailment" character, and these 3 fit to a t - perhaps you could make them stance fighters to swap the ailment you want to inflict (perhaps it's like NASB1 CatDog where only 2 or 3 moves are changed?), Fever inflicts flower; Chill inflicts slowdown; and Weird inflicts gigantism or something
• Rambi- Not sure if this counts, but he only has one move in-game so I guess. A speedy, ultraheavy quadruped with a big damn horn would be super fun. Not sure how he'd handle recovery, but in terms of grabs a second cargo-user is long overdue and that's basically the only way Rambi could do so. Also he's like a little puppy when he pants his tongue. I'd happily take Reznor too.
• Saria - I saw a mod of her over Young Link and thought it looked cool. Just give her a sword or something, it'd be cool.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Mach Rider and the Excitebike Driver combine to become Mach Biker. Essentially a dual fighter that has both characters on a single motorcycle and where you can weaponize the turbo boost as an overheated explosive weapon while shooting a people with a machine gun from a distance.

 

[FazDude]

Some ideas:

• Majora: No, not Skull Kid with the mask; Just the mask itself. Saying Majora has no source material might be a bit of a stretch given its boss fight and abilities it grants to Skull Kid, but you'd probably have to make a lot more stuff up than you would with Skull Kid. Despite this, I still want solo Majora in more than Skull Kid, possibly to the point of it being my most wanted Zelda rep.
• Pigma: You could make the same "scarce source material" claim with pretty much any Star Fox character barring Krystal, but Pigma stands out to me because of the whole Aparoid possession thing. I'd want Slippy first, but he has more source material to work with.
• New Age Retro Hippie: My most wanted Mother rep. I dunno how you'd work the idea of a hippie into a fighting game, but have him summon some other Mother enemies and you should be golden.
• Deathborn: Like Star Fox, F-Zero racers have low source material to work with, so any one of them could fit this criteria, but I'm going with Deathborn because I saw he has some sort of lightning trap move and TBH that's just cool. Give him lightning VFX to contrast Falcon's fire. dr mario 2 baybeeee
• Bubbles (Clu Clu Land): Okay, credit where credit's due here - I saw Wario x3's idea about making her a staff fighter with one of the pegs and I love that, so make it happen. That, or a dual wielder with two pegs - Either would be somethng new for Smash.
• Lolo and Lala (Adventures of Lolo): Mentioned them a while ago in a status post, but these guys could make for solid Icies echoes.
• Virtual Man: This'd pretty much be the Virtual Boy equivalent to Mr. Game & Watch, taking the form of a 3D hologram being projected from a flying Virtual Boy.
• Ghost Gang (Pac-Man): Like Pac himself, the ghosts have appeared a lot, but I could imagine a more creative interpretation of their abilities and games like how Pac's moveset was handled.
• An Advance Wars rep: Obviously, we have the tanks and stuff to pull from, but those wouldn't really work for basic attacks, so the human characters would have to be mostly made up moveset-wise.

 

[fogbadge]

• Ashley Robbins from Another Code. Because I was reminded (thanks fogbadge) of her comeback this gen, I thought of her for this thread.

you're welcome

funnily enough, ages ago back in my early days on the forum i once tried to have a go at making a moveset for her. in retrospect i think i made her a bit like the villager

• Saria - I saw a mod of her over Young Link and thought it looked cool. Just give her a sword or something, it'd be cool.

how about plant based powers?

 

[Quillion]

Mach Rider and the Excitebike Driver combine to become Mach Biker. Essentially a dual fighter that has both characters on a single motorcycle and where you can weaponize the turbo boost as an overheated explosive weapon while shooting a people with a machine gun from a distance.

Mach Rider by himself works perfectly fine for this thread though.

Stanley the Bugman - Play Elliana in Rivals and you'll get what I mean.

Setting fume cloud traps and sending bugs after characters sounds like fun.

Fever, Chill, and Weird (i refuse to call them red blue and yellow) - I've always liked the idea of a "status ailment" character, and these 3 fit to a t - perhaps you could make them stance fighters to swap the ailment you want to inflict (perhaps it's like NASB1 CatDog where only 2 or 3 moves are changed?), Fever inflicts flower; Chill inflicts slowdown; and Weird inflicts gigantism or something

Considering that the Viruses can change color in the Mario & Luigi games, a stance system would work just fine for a singular Virus character.

Also, Fever should inflict fire-based DOT, while Weird can inflict dizziness or control reversal depending on the attack.

Ghost Gang (Pac-Man): Like Pac himself, the ghosts have appeared a lot, but I could imagine a more creative interpretation of their abilities and games like how Pac's moveset was handled.

There's the issue of the Ghosts appearing as part of Pac-Man's attacks already. Maybe the playable ghosts can be in their 3D art representations while Pac-Man's attack ghosts remain sprites.

An Advance Wars rep: Obviously, we have the tanks and stuff to pull from, but those wouldn't really work for basic attacks, so the human characters would have to be mostly made up moveset-wise.

Damn, I forgot about this one.

I think "deploy units" at least works as a single special, but yeah, they would need to be made up for the rest of the normals and specials.

 

[UserKev]

• The Stork, 100%. Maybe give him some cartoony physics. Rubber niches and self bullseye portraits.
• Mr. Saturn is iconic enough to warrant playability. Let his moveset revolve around quirkiness or some thingamajig.

 

[Quillion]

Any of the Ouendan or Elite Beat Agents team members (or both in one). I'm sure any of them can get a lot of mileage out of dance battling.

Also, while any of the iconic Punch-Out opponents (most likely either Glass Joe, King Hippo, or Mr. Sandman standing in for Tyson) are combatants already, I'd love to see them make something up for them that's distinct from Mac.

 

[Kirbeh]

It's kinda an out there idea but I've always liked the idea of adding Don Genie from F-Zero with a "loan shark" gimmick for his moveset. It'd probably be a bit tricky to implement and balance, but the general idea would be inflicting temporary damage on himself that then gets "loaned" to the opponent as temporary health.

So, for example, if the Don loans 30% to the opponent, that's 30% worth of damage the opponent can absorb from Don Genie's next attacks. They would still flinch and get comboed but wouldn't take direct damage as the loaned percent would be drained first.

If the Don can successfully deal 30% of damage to the opponent first, the loaned percent will be converted to actual damage applied to the hit that meets or goes over the 30%.

However, if the opponent can deal 30% of damage to the Don first, the loan will be "paid off." Don Genie will have basically taken at least 60% of damage for failing to capitalize first.

It'd be a very volatile mechanic and again, probably really tricky balance wise, but I think the risk/reward factor could be interesting and make the Don fun to play.

 

[Quillion]

It's kinda an out there idea but I've always liked the idea of adding Don Genie from F-Zero with a "loan shark" gimmick for his moveset. It'd probably be a bit tricky to implement and balance, but the general idea would be inflicting temporary damage on himself that then gets "loaned" to the opponent as temporary health.

So, for example, if the Don loans 30% to the opponent, that's 30% worth of damage the opponent can absorb from Don Genie's next attacks. They would still flinch and get comboed but wouldn't take direct damage as the loaned percent would be drained first.

If the Don can successfully deal 30% of damage to the opponent first, the loaned percent will be converted to actual damage applied to the hit that meets or goes over the 30%.

However, if the opponent can deal 30% of damage to the Don first, the loan will be "paid off." Don Genie will have basically taken at least 60% of damage for failing to capitalize first.

It'd be a very volatile mechanic and again, probably really tricky balance wise, but I think the risk/reward factor could be interesting and make the Don fun to play.

Reminds me of when I though Wario should have a projectile that involves him sacrificing percent to pull out a coin to do damage with like in Wario Land 1... until I realized that it was a one-shot move and therefore isn't a good candidate to be in Smash.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

For me i have some 3rd Party/Retro reps

Space Invaders-the iconic video game aliens can have a moveset who i think could be Duck Hunt-like moveset,in my head Space Invaders can have a special attack who makes reference from Asteroids,but i think that could be the Medium Invader because it's the most iconic or the all three Invaders,and they can have a redesign who can be similar to the sprites
Frogger-yeah,Frogger probably can have his moveset based on platformer games,but i also Frogger can use his moveset based on the Arcade game or PS1 game,and he probably can be a frog appearence or the anthromorphic frog appearence,depends his design for a base for his moveset
Q*Bert-he is my wanted retro 3rd Party pick,Q*Bert can kick and some of his moveset could be Mr. Game & Watch-like with Pac-Man-like,but making reference from other 1980s games,it could be good
An Atari Rep-i have some Atari reps choice as Centipede,Pitfall Harry,Bentley The Bear and Adventure Cube,again their movesets could be making reference from other games,but just other Atari games

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

An Atari Rep-i have some Atari reps choice as Centipede,Pitfall Harry,Bentley The Bear and Adventure Cube,again their movesets could be making reference from other games,but just other Atari games

Pitfall is not an Atari game.

 

[Janx_uwu]

Infinite added the Stylist from Style Savvy way back when. That was cool.

I really wanna see the Excitebiker, I think he would be fun setting up speed boosts for himself kind of like Wrastor in Rivals.

I also really want Roll (on her own or as a clone), Morshu, and the HAL dog.

 

[RealLuigisWearPink]

In a similar vein to Ashley from Another Code, I propose Kyle Hyde from Hotel Dusk.

How with he fight? I don’t know but he’d look cool doing it!

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I don't think anyone has brought up Phoenix Wright.

He has been given a fighting moveset before, but it was also made up.

 

[MysticalCatlife]

• Ryota Hayami from Wave Race. I've seen some people want him to fight with his jet ski, but I'd rather he be a water user instead (and not a ninja and/or Pokémon).

Surprisingly you aren’t alone. Under a different alias that I no longer go by, I had once commissioned someone a full moveset concept for Ryota where he fights by splashing and swim techniques.

https://twitter.com/TKOWL_Art/status/1600925509361156097?s=20

 

[fogbadge]

I don't think anyone has brought up Phoenix Wright.

He has been given a fighting moveset before, but it was also made up.

yes the had quite a few out there ideas for him over the years. including that one where they were gonna strap wheels to his desk

 

[1FC0]

Hector from Robot Series and Vector from Robot Series.

 

[Quillion]

• Ocean Diver from Endless Ocean. If Ryota can be the speedy water user, Ocean Diver can be a slower, more deliberate water user.
• So it's kinda hard to pick any of the protagonists of Pilotwings 64, but I'll go with with the lightweights, Lark and Kiwi, as they would probably represent the more airborne aspect better.

 

[jamesster445]

Foreman Spike has been my go to choice for a retro character. He's a strongman sure, but I wouldn't call him a fighter.

But I can see a moveset where he utilizes demolition equipment like sledgehammers, wrecking balls, and hydro jets and maybe even simulates the function of demolition vehicles like bulldozers, using toon force.

 

[Quillion]

I'd like to put forth Black Shadow from F-Zero...

...BUT, despite this character becoming extremely well-known thanks to Ganondorf moveset discourse, I'd rather they make new stuff up for him.

Like sure, he could share some animations from Falcon and Ganondorf, but I'd rather they take the idea of Falcon's "fire falcon" motif, turn it into a "shadow bull" motif for Black Shadow, then go in a new direction with him.

Oh, and he should be a Bowser-type heavy just to symbolize F-Zero's speed too.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

I deliberately waited a few days to look through this thread because from the title alone I was pretty sure there'd be a lot of really cool ideas, and I'm glad to say I was absolutely right on that front. Tons of fantastic concepts already.

I may as well toss in a few of my own, though their suitability may be a little waning in comparison to some other suggestions. I'll also shout out Ryota, Fever/Chill/Weird, Excitebiker, Kiwi and Foreman Spike for being concepts I've floated about in my head before now. Fantastic picks.

(On this - I had this weird concept where F/C/W are all active at once, and maintain the same status property thing that 3W mentioned, with the caveat that you can't switch between them like a stance fighter - rather, they're literally fighting as a trio stacked on top of each other, but some attacks "rotate" which one gets used the most, kind of like Sora's neutral special? Probably a nightmare to balance and conceptualise but there's my thought.)

• Donkey Kong Jr. - Probably a weird pick to headline with, but I think he could work fantastically as a sort of weird composite of classic Kong games - giving him things like Stanley's bug repellant or a barrel-tossing projectile don't feel like they'd stray too far from his general feel, and being a weird small-bodied heavyweight could fit him pretty well. I'll note also that - for the purposes of this thread - aside from his original game (which doesn't really have a lot to work with), he's not had too many playable appearances outside of spinoffs.
• Pico - There's a lot of fun F-Zero candidates you could go for, but I've always felt Pico was kind of a dark horse who could bring something really unique to the roster as a whole. He's got plenty of proficiency with guns as seen in his GX pilot video, and I feel like a very slight redesign akin to how Falcon's appearance has been tweaked to look cooler over the years would do him a lot of justice. Plus, it'd be cool for him to offset Falcon's high-risk/high-reward gameplay with his own massive durability and preference for constant offensive pressure, representing how you'd play the Wild Goose throughout the series.
• Ravio - Okay, this probably doesn't really count, but he doesn't really... do much in A Link Between Worlds? Like, yeah, he arguably does in Hyrule Warriors, but that's mostly made up based on what I think could be a really fun baseline... his items. While the Links do represent some items in their moveset, they're obviously mostly sword-based, whereas Ravio doesn't have a sword to call his own. Hence, I think it'd be cool for him to fight with a ton of items from both A Link Between Worlds (the different magical rods spring to mind!) as well as from throughout the classic games with things like the Pegasus Boots. Also, have Spearow follow him around everywhere but literally only be visual. That'd be cute.
• A Metroid - Another one that ostensibly doesn't count, but I think works on a technicality. We haven't seen a Metroid in its most iconic form do much aside from latch onto people and drain energy, though its evolutions have been fought on a few occasions. That said, a playable Metroid would go really hard - one concept I had for how this could work is that maybe some of its attacks could have it partially transform into later Metroid evolutions, such as sprouting claws and teeth and the like to really play into the sci-fi horror element of the Metroid series' inspirations.
• Starman - Despite us having seen Starmen of different types throughout the Mother series, we don't really have much to work with in terms of their actual moveset, and I've always thought that some kind of liquid mercury alien with a myriad of powerful psychic abilities would lend to a fantastically visually unique moveset, let alone mechanically. Hell, we really haven't even seen a Starman actually move before now, and the idea of it becoming some kind of metallic liquid of some kind is just... really fun to me.
  
  Also, shoutout to the other Starman from Pro Wrestling... but given he's technically playable in a fighting game, he doesn't really count here. Thought he was worth mentioning though. On a similar note - the Amazon, too. Both could be awesome.
• Pyoro - Classify him as being from his own series and give him this weird meta-character vibe similar to Duck Hunt Duo where it's deliberately implied that 9-Volt is controlling him from behind the screen, to the point where one of his victory screens zooms out to see 9-Volt doing a little victory dance in his bedroom before his mum bursts in. That'd be fun.
• Reporter & Wrestler - I guess this could apply to a lot of Rhythm Heaven characters, but these two especially stand out to me as potentially really fun inclusions. Like, the Wrestler almost completely "fighting" by just striking increasingly outlandish poses while the Reporter tries to interview him with a slightly messy fighting style loosely akin to Phoenix Wright's in UMVC3 seems like such a fantastically funny pairing that I think it'd be cool.
• Lip could be a really cool alternate puzzle-game rep if they wanted to keep Dr. Mario as a pure clone of Mario. I mean, even though the Lip's Stick has been around since forever, there's still a lot of potential in Puzzle League mechanics loosely strewn amongst a general "fairy magic" vibe overall.
• Donbe & Hikari - Probably a weird pairing, but I think a pretty fun one. Another "two characters with different abilities in one slot" affair, they'd basically play out with Donbe focusing more on melee attacks with either his stick or his sword depending on what design we go for with them, while Hikari can summon Ringo, Matsonuke and Ohana for various attacks and effects, tying into her more intelligent characterisation.
• Sebastian Tute - Probably a very unpopular pick, but the idea of a musically-themed character who mostly attacks by pulling out a ridiculously large variety of instruments and using them with varying proficiency seems really fun to me. I'm not just talking "he uses a baton and then another tute plays a piano so you fall asleep", more stuff like "he blows a trumpet in your face then drops a piano on you" type stuff. Wii Music probably isn't screaming for representation though.
• K.K. Slider - Arguably a more realistic musically-themed character. I get that Tom Nook is probably the more popular Animal Crossing rep in a lot of ways (and given some of the concepts I've seen for him, I get the appeal!) but Slider using his musical expertise for his moveset feels pretty fresh, especially if you were to do something a little weird with him and occasionally take inspiration from stuff like his album covers.
• Vince - Speaking of characters who specialise in an art - Vince, from Art Academy, could be a really weird but fun candidate in theory. Giving him different artistic tools to use in combat could be really fun, and then also giving him other tools like some variation on Inkling's ink mechanic or even an Adeline-like "painting summoning" ability could be a lot of fun. Maybe the series isn't in the best position to be in a future game, but he'd be cool.
• Tengu - Probably my weirdest pick, but I've always thought a Hanafuda rep of some kind would go really hard (even if it's not technically first-party), and while there's not much to go with, having a tengu with a similar sort of 2D visual mechanic to Mr. Game & Watch's could be a lot of fun. Even putting that aside, tengu have quite a lot of unique abilities and such seen in Japanese mythology, and having a more wind-centric character could be a lot of fun.
• Human - Okay, probably my most obscure pick, but basically a sort of catch-all rep for the bit Generations and Art Style franchises, based on the appearance of the little guys you control in the Pool Flower mode in BOUNDISH. Given their own artstyle is that of a minimalistic, sign-like stick figure holding a massive Pong bat, I reckon you could play into that by having similarly minimalistic attacks inspired by both those series, or just fill out his moveset by making him swing the bat around while letting him reflect projectiles with most of his sweet spots.
• MissingNo. - Would never happen because it's officially non-existent. Nonetheless, a glitch-based moveset - especially if it were to pull a KFAD2 and include the Fossil and Ghost in its moveset in some ways - could be fantastically cool and unique. Even if it would probably never, ever, ever happen.

Ech, I probably have a few more floating about but these are some candidates that spring to mind.

 

[1FC0]

I would love it if Missingno. were to be included in the roster. Missingno. is one of the most iconic video game characters and arguably the most iconic glitch character. His moveset potential is good, too. Pokémon Red & Blue contain dozens of glitch Pokémon. And though most of those are not Missingno, they could be included much like how G&W is also an amalgamation of multiple related characters.

Missingno. would definitely be my top pick. He is so out there that I did not even consider him, but he is an iconic video game character for sure.

 

[fogbadge]

I keep meaning to suggest the Urban Champion. He’s been my retro pick for a while but you’d have to make almost everything

 

[Quillion]

I would love it if Missingno. were to be included in the roster. Missingno. is one of the most iconic video game characters and arguably the most iconic glitch character. His moveset potential is good, too. Pokémon Red & Blue contain dozens of glitch Pokémon. And though most of those are not Missingno, they could be included much like how G&W is also an amalgamation of multiple related characters.

Missingno. would definitely be my top pick. He is so out there that I did not even consider him, but he is an iconic video game character for sure.

I know Missingno is a big meme, but "iconic video game character" for that reason?

That would be like Link's Hylian Elegy of Emptiness statue being an "iconic video game character" too. At least Waluigi despite being a meme too has earned his spot in history as "THE spin-off character".
----

I keep meaning to suggest the Urban Champion. He’s been my retro pick for a while but you’d have to make almost everything

He could be a good mix of made-up moves and throwing flower pots or beating people up with a manhole cover. Come to think of it he'd be pretty brutal, but I guess that makes sense for being a literal street fighter.
----
I guess while I'm here I'll put forth Pauline from Mario and Donkey Kong.

Without going too overboard with her, she could fight using some of her dropped accessories from the original DK, then have Tiara actively assist her in one special since Cappy has no chance ever being in Mario's proper moveset.

 

[1FC0]

I know Missingno is a big meme, but "iconic video game character" for that reason?

Missingno. is so iconic that people have been referring to various glitch Pokémon as "Missingno." for many years. Missingno has had a larger impact on Pokémon fandom than most Pokémon on the roster do.

 

[fogbadge]

Missingno. is so iconic that people have been referring to various glitch Pokémon as "Missingno." for many years. Missingno has had a larger impact on Pokémon fandom than most Pokémon on the roster do.

bit of an exaggeration id say

 

[1FC0]

That would be like Link's Hylian Elegy of Emptiness statue being an "iconic video game character" too.

I have to disagree.

Missingno is what people think of when you mention glitch Pokémon in general, and in many cases maybe even when you mention glitches in general. What is Link's Hylian Elegy of Emptiness statue an icon of?

Missingno. has left a mark in the Pokémon fanbase for decades to come. After all, glitch Pokémon have been referred to as "Missingno.s" for at least a decade after Missingno. was first discovered. That is telling. People played Pokémon games made 10 years after Missingno.'s last games and yet they still commonly thought of Missingno to the point of naming things after him.

Glitch Pokémon are named after Missingno, by the fanbase yet Missingno. would not be an icon of glitch Pokémon?

 

[1FC0]

bit of an exaggeration id say

Maybe. But making a significant mark on terminology is generally a pretty good indication of an icon. I have yet to see Incineroar have a whole class of Pokémon (glitch or not) being named after him.

Besides, as Missingno. would be representative of glitches he really does not compete with the other Pokémon. He would be unique on virtue of being a glitch character.

 

[fogbadge]

Maybe. But making a significant mark on terminology is generally a pretty good indication of an icon. I have yet to see Incineroar have a whole class of Pokémon (glitch or not) being named after him.

Besides, as Missingno. would be representative of glitches he really does not compete with the other Pokémon. He would be unique on virtue of being a glitch character.

incineroar is basically the example art of the problems the fandom has with the modern starters

 

[Quillion]

What is Link's Hylian Elegy of Emptiness statue an icon of?

Creepypastas, as well as how dark-with-emotional-depth Nintendo can be at times when they try. Yes, MissingNo has its own Wikipedia page, but so does the very thing that makes Link's Hylian Elegy of Emptiness statue an icon as well.

Just goes to show that you can't use fan culture by itself as a good metric of how iconic something is.

 

[Kirbeh]

I suppose I would argue that Missingno doesn't even apply to the thread's proposal. It's not a character after all.

If it were something actually acknowledged by TPC and Nintendo that eventually found it's way into the series proper that'd be one thing, but as it stands, it's just a glitch.

It's not that I think the idea doesn't have any value but it kind of ignores the thread's intent and delves into more abstract territory.

The proposal delves into a sort of "fan character" area if that makes sense. Missingno is a well known glitch but it isn't an actual character in an official capacity.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

In terms of some 3Ps:

1. Mr. Do (Mr. Do) - a clown moveset is pretty easy to imagine
2. Q*Bert (Q*Bert) - should not under any means get in before we've had at least 2 proper PlayStation reps, considering that his games have been on Nintendo platforms, but making a hopping moveset using only legs could be really fun. Could also draw from the original idea of the game as a snot-themed shooter.
3. A Pop'n Music character - I know nothing about this series, but love to go through the Wikia looking at all the funny characters. Even though they just dance on a screen and nothing else, most of them I can quite easily imagine movesets for - personally I'm quite drawn to Yushaaaa, who is a high-fantasy hero who also has to work part-time at a convenience store, a fun sort of take on how often fantasy heroes are teenagers, and I think he'd be a good character for Smash to get a little self-parodic with.
4. Fall Guys (Fall Guys) - I think these little beans could be very fun in Smash. Could go the reference route, or come up with something new and fittingly clumsy
5. Bonanza Bros. (Bonanza Bros.) or Goro & the Mewkies (Mappy) - A burglar moveset is something very fascinating, with all the tools and loot, the closest we've got thus far is maybe Joker? Both of these would also bring along some kind of team element
6. Yar (Yars' Revenge) - it's a metalic common housefly, with 4 arms and wings, that spits lasers, what more do I need to say? Could probably coexist with a composite Atari rep.
7. Sasquatch (SkiFree) - Contrary to popular belief, this is not an MS property - anyway, of all the "Ultraheavyweight" variants we don't really have "super fast ultraheavyweight", Bowser is close but not exactly.
8. The Neversoft Eyeball - OK, this is kinda just a joke pick, would certainly have to be censored (no spear, maybe change the pink to green or black or a white melting effect), but I'm a sucker for anything serpentine-ish and a playable logo would be really cool.

 

[Quillion]

I'll put forth Lyn from Fire Emblem.

I know that she'd step on Mythra's toes a bit, but I'm sure they could probably come up with some new stuff for her as the resident "anime katana user". Especially since Mythra directly translates her canon moves anyway.

(Of course, that means if the Smash team caves into the fans' demand for Dante, that means "THE anime katana user" Vergil will then have an uphill climb)

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

People ask for Kamek a lot just for the sake of giving Yoshi his villain - but I have a better idea: Burt the Bashful. He's in a good chunk of the Yoshi games, probably the most recurring boss beyond Baby Bowser and Kamek, would make for a fun Jigglypuff-style moveset, and play into what I suggested for Q*Bert.

Also, if he was to take Puff cues, it'd be funny if he had a move that's the opposite of rest, where his trousers fall down and the entire map is covered in an "embarassment" hitbox, which deals no damage and stuns for barely a second. Maybe borderline-useless in 1V1, but very funny in FFA.

 

[1FC0]

Creepypastas, as well as how dark-with-emotional-depth Nintendo can be at times when they try.

There are better example of both, IMO. Escpecially of dark emotional characters there is no shortage in supply.
But what better icon of glitch characters is there?

Here is a comparison between "elegy of emptiness" and "missingno" and "missingno" wins in popularity by a landslide. This suggests to me that Missingno. has made a much larger impact. Though I am not familiar with the Elegy of Emptiness statue, so maybe I ought to have used another term.

Just goes to show that you can't use fan culture by itself as a good metric of how iconic something is.

I think fan culture is the best metric. It is fans who would care about these characters. The characters that are iconic are IMO the best characters to put into the games.

 

[1FC0]

incineroar is basically the example art of the problems the fandom has with the modern starters

True, but at least he solved the Fire-starter-has-to-end-up-a-Fighting-type issue. So give the actor in a fur suit some credit.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

I noticed that Smash reps by genre as Platformer,RPG,Fighting,FPS and others can work for a character,but there's some other video game genres who also have a little combat source on base from the genre,who could be Visual Novels,Rhythm,Racing,Puzzle and others