All of this has been added to the Directory.
If you have rated any of these, check to see what you've said on their days!
I would usually give separate scores for this... but I shall rate the Gematsu Leak, Shulk, Chrom, and Chorus Men all in one rating. They will all have different want scores, however.
Oh, and no giant Shulk post this time. It isn't necessary here.
Before I give my chance score, let's analyze the Gematsu leak.
It gives us a total of 11 newcomers, 12 if you count Rosalina. From a numerical standpoint, this would make sense due to the comments from Sakurai that have been thrown around. There could be room for other characters, but the leak could potentially impair the chances of many newcomers.
The first post was very simple:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=62304489&postcount=2996
He predicted Villager (Animal Crossing Guy), Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Miis, and Pac-Man would appear at E3. To everyone's surprise, Wii Fit Trainer was shown off as a newcomer. Why?
One cannot simply predict the Wii Fit Trainer. Sure, you have a couple of joke posts from yore, but that's what they were...
jokes. If I legitimately and seriously told you before E3 2013 that Wii Fit Trainer was going to be playable, you wouldn't believe me. Sakurai even said that she was chosen because no one wanted her. Sal Romano claims that he has been tipped:
http://gematsu.com/2013/06/wii-fit-trainer-joins-super-smash-bros
The leak could theoretically been proven false since the latter three weren't shown at E3, but this was thrown out the water when Little Mac was confirmed in February. Sure, he was far more predictable by then, but it shows that the leak was still alive.
The second post was mere hours before the Smash Direct and it came with another claim. It said that Shulk, Palutena, Chrom, Chorus Men, and "Pokemon from X & Y" were playable.
http://gematsu.com/2014/04/rumor-shulk-palutena-set-super-smash-bros
Two things are immediately odd. Chorus Men?! Really?! Who would predict that? And Pokemon from X & Y?! That could mean anything!
To everyone's surprise Greninja was shown. The leak was slightly more credible to the eyes of some. Look at the results from the first page of this thread; the most expected outcome from Pokemon was Brawl Pokemon + Mewtwo. Now that Greninja is in the picture and the Pokemon Trainer was cut... this isn't exactly the case. On the other hand, it could have been seen as fake due to the vagueness of "Pokemon from X & Y." Is this info outdated? Is he faking it?
Regardless, I originally put this at 51.73% in chance. I stated that that characters like Wii Fit Trainer, Pokemon from X & Y, and Chorus Men made this leak more credible as no one would actually predict these characters. It reflected my thoughts of the leak going 50/50, but I leaned it more towards it being real.
The latest post was shown before E3... and this is critical.
http://smashboards.com/threads/the-...ano-gematsu-leak.353570/page-52#post-16866157
Hey, guys.
Funny that this page is talking about a new e-mail, because that's exactly why I'm here. Received one last night, but missed it in the mix of all this crazy E3 coverae.
But there's not much new about it, so I didn't think it was worth posting on the site.
I'll leave what it says here, though, in case you guys can use it in any way.
Basically, I was told that:
- Last E3 before game's launch (obviously)
- Participating characters: Pac-Man, Mii Fighter, Goddess Palutena, Shulk, Chrom, Chorus Men (none of these are new, obv, so I take he means these are the participating characters for E3?)
- There has been internal debate about keeping Lucas versus Ness, apparently Lucas is likely to get the cut
- Nintendo is planning post-launch character DLC, source doesn't like this as he thinks it's greedy
And that's it. This E3 should make or break whether this guy's the real deal. Let's hope for the best! =)
Why is this critical? He mentioned the Miis by their official name; Mii Fighters. This adds more credibility for this fact alone. Palutena and Pac-Man were neutral in the leak due to being highly predictable, but the fact that he was spot-on with the name alone adds more to Sal Romano's case.
The second most critical part came from the round table. When asked about Greninja, here was Sakurai's response:
"Q: When did they decide to include Greninja?
A: All of the characters to consider were on our internal roster from the beginning of development. We had a slot for a new Pokemon reserved, but did not way for X and Y. We decided to use Greninja well before X/Y came out, based on early reference drawings."
This means that another argument was thrown away. The vagueness of "Pokemon from X & Y" shows that this information was indeed outdated and not a part of some fake leak. An interesting tidbit from pre-Brawl is that Ike wasn't immediately chosen, he was simply was known as "Fire Emblem character"; Sakurai was aware of Ike, but he wanted Intelligent Systems to choose. This means that Game Freak did what Intelligent Systems did years ago; Greninja was known as "Pokemon from X & Y" and was chosen later on by Sakurai.
The final part is the Sneaky Spirit from Rhythm Heaven:
Aside from a few people, nobody took Rhythm Heaven as a serious contender for a character. With this going through the cracks, it shows that Rhythm Heaven is indeed getting content. What could this content include? A character. Almost every character represented series in Smash has been accounted for and has been given enemies in Smash Run. The obvious character here is the Chorus Men due to the leak alone...
The Gematsu Leak, Shulk, Chrom, and Chorus Men Chance Score: 95%
I believe this leak is true, but I am not 100% certain. I can see Sakurai throw a curveball and not have these characters be playable, but they are so damn close to shoo-in status.
As a brief thing, I don't see how Rosalina means that the leak is false. It doesn't prove anything other than the fact that more might come. I also don't think that the "Animal Crossing Guy" should also be used as an argument when Brawl calls him that as well. The Villager doesn't have an identity, unlike characters like Tom Nook.
To briefly cover the characters...
Shulk now comes from an established series. Xenoblade Chronicles is no longer a one-and-done thing, it's becoming a full series for Nintendo. I say that without this leak, I would still hold Shulk in high regards for reasons already mentioned for two days. He has a lot going for him and a lot of merits.
Chrom is one of the main characters from Fire Emblem: Awakening. He has been highly demanded by fans and casuals alike. What is also important to note is that Chrom comes from the game that saved his franchise; the game honestly deserves some respect. If Intelligent Systems had to choose one character for Sakurai, it would probably be Chrom. (I have a FE chart prepared for Robin's day and I will share more of my thoughts there.)
Chorus Men come from a pretty popular mini game in Rhythm Heaven and they would introduce rhythmic and song games in the Smash universe, something that hasn't majorly been represented. The series also has a major cult-following. I sense that Sakurai saw potential in this series for not only characters, but also for content. For the record, I would also give Marshal a 95% as I sense that either one of these two could get in.
Overall... I sense that the Gematsu leak is definitely real, but I'm not entirely certain. I am convinced that it's real.
As for want.
The Gematsu Leak Want: 100%
Look, I would rate this lower if Shulk was confirmed at E3, but he didn't show up. This leak makes him a lock if it's real and I only want it to be real is because of him. Not having him in Smash is an absolute crime to me... but I will explain why in my Want score below. Though I would be upset if Bandana Dee and King K. Rool won't make it because the leak is real, Shulk is enough to appease me for the loss.
Shulk Want: 100%
I've mentioned it time and time again; Shulk is my most wanted newcomer and is one of my favorite video game characters of all-time. Not only do I find him to be a cool character, but he is honestly a character that I can relate to. When I first played Xenoblade, I liked Shulk from the very beginning. When he triumphed in the game, I cheered for him. When he felt anguished, I felt sorry for him. In terms of Smash, he offers a lot with the Monado and I think that it would make him far more unique than a certain blue-haired swordsman in the Gematsu leak. Not putting Shulk in Smash would be just as big of a crime as cutting Mewtwo from Brawl. It would be a massive missed opportunity for both Nintendo and Monolith Soft as he could bring a lot with him; uniqueness, beautiful areas, fantastic characters, and amazing music. He is a character that needs to happen. Gladly, with the Gematsu leak being assuredly real, I don't have to worry as much. I've already decided that he's going to be my second main and I can't wait to try him out!
BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE MONADO!
Oh! I should also mention that if you want to see why I love this game and why I like Shulk as a character, you should watch Chuggaaconroy's LP of Xenoblade Chronicles. That should be enough if you can't find a copy! It might also give you an idea as to how he could be in Smash!
Chrom Want: 10%
I will admit, Awakening made me warm up to him a little bit. Regardless, I find him to be an incredibly bland hero. I love Awakening, but I can't put it above Xenoblade for the blandness of Chrom, Lucina, and Robin. If I want another swordsman, I rather have Owain; he might not bring much, but he is at least funny as hell! Hell, I rather take Tharja over Chrom to be honest; honestly, a moveset using all sorts of magic and tomes would lend itself a whole lot of uniqueness in Smash. I guess you can say that I'm biased since I like Owain and Tharja, but I just can't relate to Chrom. He is the complete opposite of Shulk for me; when something bad happened to him in the story, I was upset, but I didn't feel as sorry for him as I was with Shulk. I can't relate to this guy at all. Also, his abilities don't stick out to me as anything unique. I have even given him the nickname of "Captain McBlushy Bland" for how unrealistic his blush is and for how bland of a hero he is. The point is, in a game filled with different personalities, Chrom doesn't stand out to me at all.
Chorus Men Want: 50%
I am conflicted with this one. On one hand, the Chorus Men would be incredibly unique and could be fun to play as. I am interested to see how they play. On the other hand... I never played a Rhythm Heaven game and thus have no connection with them... and I am scared if they become the next set of Ice Climbers. I'm interested to see how Sakurai and the team approach them.
King K. Rool Prediction: 68.93%
I guess an enemy from his past appeared, but the Gematsu leak should impair his chances.
Dixie Kong Prediction: 43.58%
Nothing to say here.