Grumpy post to follow:
I was pretty underwhelmed. Would almost say disappointed, but I simply knew too little about the Fire Emblem roster to really care. Personally, I think the numbers and influence Fire Emblem now has in Smash Brothers is too much, and their presence is bloated. Robin comes off as laborious and annoying. Palutena's constant shouting of silly moves nearly got to me, the two of them in one match has the potential to make ears bleed.
Judging by the feedback the other thread was getting just after the announcement and the hate I recieved on Facebook for questioning the trailer, I guess there was actually a lot of people that wanted this kind of fan service to happen. I don't see it - I would have loved a multiple space animal announcement, or even a single, slam dunk announcement. Baring in mind EVO will have inspired new and old players to join in when SSB4 is released, this feels like underkill. For my first look at the Fire Emblem: Awakening protagonist, he wasn't sold to me very well.
"Another atypical, androgynous, poncey anime front-man?" I scoffed, "That's all we need!".
I'm sure he's much more than that, but he looks daft to me right now. We all knew Captain Falcon wouldn't go amiss, and if you're not familiar with Fire Emblem, that's the only thing you're left with, in some ways.
But I must digress, I'm biased towards Western friendly gaming icons. Fire Emblem is not a franchise I'm familiar with beyond Marth and Roy's presence in Melee. It's also to do with the sort of characters I get excited for in Smash Brothers - especially in this iteration. The inclusion of some of the most definitive names in gaming history; the prospect of Pac Man punching Mega Man in the ****ing face. It's just too incredible. And whilst I know I can't have Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Rayman, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, etc, etc, I just think that this is a soft-serve. I definitely feel like a sore loser, and I won't blame any Fire Emblem fan for calling me out on being spoilt.
I was not impressed by the trailer, unfortunately! Too much build-up for a somewhat specific outcome. This time next year, I may love these guys, though. We'll see.