It's been roughly a year since Sakurai closed the polls for Brawl suggestions. And yet, the list of characters suggested and Sakura's comments have never been completely clear to me. When searching the Web for info with Google, I came across an interesting interpretation of Sakurai's comments. Apparently, it was written by our forums' very own FlipTroopa, with notes by Marshigio of Smashbenders. Their comments were as follows...
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Fliptroopa (notes by Marshigio, I think):
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King Dedede
He appears the most on the list, with a total of 5 definite nods out of all the entires shared with the public. Sakurai did make a comment when he was asked about Meta Knight that he was afraid he may never see Kirby or his other creations ever again since he left Nintendo, and now that he was back, he was going to relish it. He has always loved Meta Knight, Kirby, and King Dedede as a colorful trio of characters. He's said it many times in the past. He's also said that the reason Kirby games were underrepped in the past two Smashes was because he didn't want to overinclude himself, and screw other guys out of their own characters appearing. But now that this may be his final game, he stopped caring XD And, judging by his eagerness to read King Dedede requests, we can tell that's true!
*NOTE: This just in!
http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=81891
Go there, and read a bit of history! I completely forgot about this, and eternally thank GenG for posting it again and freshening our minds. Basically, there was a similar poll for Melee in '99 (which I remember taking; they had it on the NOA site as well). If you notice, the number 1 choices pretty much all appeared in Melee in some form or another. Sakurai also separated the suggestions by series, and then commented on a few. What he says about Dedede is pretty profound.
Essentially: He intended for Dedede to appear in the original, but ran out of time and space. He also had the same happen for others like WARIO, PEACH, and BOWSER. And now go back, and look at the poll. And then your copy of Melee. And the Brawl trailer. Get it? Got it? Good. Now who is the ONLY number one character who does NOT appear in Melee/Brawl in any form (other than a trophy)?
I think we have our first confirmed Secret Fighter for Brawl *though I wouldn't jump too soon into any assumptions, just pointing out the very likely conclusion*
Krystal
I read once somewhere before that Sakurai was astounded by the popularity Star Fox had as a series, and that's partially why he decided Fox would get a clone in Falco when he had to go ahead and make clone characters in Melee. This time around he wants to keep the fans of Star Fox happy still, and supposedly was asking questions about Krystal the Fox to eager gamers. I don't know how definite what he said is what I'm saying here, but I heard that he essentially asked who she was, why they liked her, if they would like to see her, and how cool would it be to see her with that staff of hers. He was very intrigued by her after the E3 trailer was first shown, and journalists began throwing him ideas.
Diddy Kong
DKC is underrepped in Smash. We know this for a fact. And I'm sure Sakurai wouldn't mind changing that. Diddy was requested almost as much as Dedede, tying for second with a few other characters for top requested. He was also heavily requested for Melee, but left out for whatever reasons there may be. However, when Sakurai was presented with the idea for a Diddy/Dixie duo on his poll, he went crazy: he really liked it!
Ike
Since SSB64, Sakurai has wanted Sigurd to be a fighter. Of course, that never happened. And when he started work on Sigurd for Melee, he got cut off, and had to instead include Roy (Marth was already going to be included as Sigurd's "partner"). Now that Ike has replaced Sigurd as the top requested, and most popular, FE Lord in Japan, Sakurai has a new decision on his hands. He has expressed interest in the character before, even remarking that he was the first international lord that everybody seemed to like. So his chances are high. Especially with that new FE stage showing up in the trailer...
Ridley
Sakurai openly stated he wanted more Metroid characters. Whether that's legit, or just his polluted idea of "giving Western fans their own share," I'm not sure. But he's already redesigned Samus to match her Prime outfit (as well as her emblem), and is going all out by tossing in Zero Suit Samus. So is Ridley far behind? He has made a comment, not pertaining specifically to Ridley, that Metroid has leapt to a major forerunner franchise for the company again, and he feels that it's his duty to do it justice. Ridley is also tied for second most requested character, even on the Japanese polls.
Geno
Here's an interesting one. A character that actually belongs to Square, but belongs in the Marioverse. What does Sakurai think? Well, actually, he's intrigued. Geno is tied for second as well, and Sakurai has been noted as asking around for what the character is like. When he starts asking, it's a good thing, btw. It means he's bothering to learn who they are But Geno has been mentioned many-a-times, and Sakurai is listening to hard to each suggestion. And he's yet to turn them down. That's something, right?
Takamaru
I had to put him in here. Takamaru is tied for third on the top requested characters in the Japanese poll. But he's also got something else: Sakurai's interest. I've heard through the grapevine that Sakurai wants to see this character make a comeback, and I know for a fact that he's asking Japanese readers of his poll (or, I guess, "asked," since it's closed) to go back and play these retro games, because it will really expand their horizons. He has duly noted that he always knew Kid Icarus was really popular, and was waiting for the right moment. He MUST know that Nazo no Murasame is the same.
*NOTE: As far as Japan-only is concerned, it's not a concern. Sakurai stated he would like to avoid a BUNCH of Japanese only characters, but he's not against a few. Afterall, Marth and Roy did well for themselves, wouldn't you say? Irregardless, if we're talking specifics, a game like Nazo no Murasamejo is easy as hell to translate/slap on the western Virtual Console.
*NOTE 2: I guess I should clarify where I got this bit about Nazo no Murasame. There was a letter thanking Sakurai for inspiring a reader to go back and play Kid Icarus, because when he did he found out he loved it, and wants Pit even more. Sakurai has always said that he's more interested in the unique and the obscure, and Pit fit the bill very nicely. He's also said that he is a big fan of old NES titles, and would appreciate it if people spent time to go back and play them more often. As far as Takamaru is concerned, Sakurai supposedly has been previewing a lot of older NES titles, Nazo being one of them, for Brawl.
And here are a few characters you may NOT have known Sakurai is considering...
Little Mac
Not much here, but he did include a Punch-Out character in his poll, and has commented that he loves the franchise a LOT. He intended for Punch-Out trophies in Melee, including a 3D Mac in all his glory, but ran out of time. He does plan to look into the series further for this Smash Bros., as it is one of those "internationally popular" ones.
Balloon Fighter
He was in the beta for Melee, and is partially to blame for that alternate music in the Icicle Mountain stage. So what's the big deal? Sakurai has commented that he likes Balloon Fight, and that Balloon Fighter offers a lot of fun potential for a Smash Bros. game. He doesn't appear once in the poll, but that really means nothing in the end if you've never appeared--as long as Sakurai likes you. And clearly he likes the game and character. And clearly salvaging what they had from Melee Beta isn't hard.
Lolo
Sakurai has remarked a few times that he loves the character and his games. He copies a lot of stuff for Kirby games from the Eggerland/Lolo titles, and even goes so far as to include Lolo's doppelganger as a boss (Lololo) as well. He's sometimes even gone out of his way to tell people "look, i love this character, and i will bring him back if i have to." Supposedly he's pointed at Smash Bros. as one of the ways.
*NOTE: Early drawings from Kirby Canvas Curse actually show Lolo as a playable character, and this was one of the few games that Sakurai did come back to Nintendo to help develop. And if you want evidence that Sakurai likes Lolo, just play a Kirby game. Lololo and Lalala, Rocky, and Skulls all appear in Kirby games as enemies, and the games supposedly even share sound fx (never checked myself).
Muddy Mole
One of the few letters Sakurai actually responded to concerned none other than this character! Sakurai actually really enjoyed Miyamoto's Mole Mania game, and remarked that he would love to implement Muddy in some shape or form.
To add even more rumor milling, he added that "he's so interesting, he might be in the roster already!" ...makes you wonder.
*NOTE: I am still waiting for the source on this, to be honest.
Sukapon
That's right kiddies. He appears twice on the poll, but Sakurai has commented on him nonetheless! Supposedly Sakurai has been looking towards a lot of retro NES titles, and has landed his eye on Joy Mech Fight affectionately. That's really... all there is. But it should be nice to note that Sukapon is remembered in Japan, and that technically Joy Mecha Fight is Smash Bros. NES. Sort of. .....did you know Smash Bros. was planned for SNES? *runs away*
*NOTE: I only added that emote for comedic effect >.>;; But Smash Bros. was actually planned for the SNES. This is fact. It was gonna use the FX Chip, like Star Fox did, to make a really funky fighting game. But it was scratched, and the project began for N64 instead.
Demiru
Appears more than once on the poll, and intrigues the hell out of Sakurai! The star of Tomato Adventure has a lot of potential up his sleeve, and Sakurai notes this repeatedly. Does this mean he has a chance? It depends. But Sakurai certainly read and enjoyed those lengthy requests for this character.
*NOTE: I don't know the exact numbers, but they are veeerrrryyy long requests. So long, they even give Demiru moves and expressions for the game. And Sakurai posted both of 'em.
Mach Rider
While Sakurai himself didn't say much about the character as it pertains to Brawl, rumor persists that MR was slated to appear in Melee in some form or another. Funny, considering his music and trophy are still left behind in the game. Rumors go so far, in some cases, as to suggest MR was playable in the beta alongside Balloon Fighter, and, if such is true, he wouldn't be hard to salvage for Brawl. Not to mention Sakurai did get a letter or two commending him for including such a vintage character in the trophy section of Melee, with music.
Mother Characters
I'm gonna lump this together, because there isn't really one specific character. Essentially, the entire party of Mother 2, Ninten from Mother 1, and Lucas, Claus, and Kumatora from Mother 3 all popped up on Sakurai's poll. Claus got a bigger deal of attention, considering his "LOL SECRET," and Sakurai, who DID WORK ON MOTHER 3 *hint hint*, mentioned amongst the letters that he would be including stuff from the game. Now, firstly, he confirmed in Famitsu that Mother 3 music was appearing in Brawl. Secondly, he confirmed that had EB2/64/M3 been released pre SSB64, Ness would've been replaced by Lucas. He even held out for it to be released prior to Melee, to try and put in Lucas then. So, now that Lucas is out, what happens to Ness....?
Animal Crossing
While the Animal Crossing "human" has appeared twice on the poll, and somebody joked with Sakurai about having Tom Nook fight, he hasn't really said anything. He knows it's a big deal with a lot of fans, though, so maybe that counts for something? Personally, I'd doubt that he'd throw AC FIGHTERS into the mix, but maybe a stage or something. He seems like the guy that would enjoy such a game, but wouldn't like the idea of playing as Tom Nook.
The only characters that weren't "left-over" ideas from Melee are Olimar, Ike (who shares a decent amount of characteristics with Marth and Roy), and Lucario (who will probably end up playing a lot like Mewtwo) for obvious reasons. All the other characters were either rumored or confirmed to be heavily considered for Melee.