Moon Monkey
Smash Hero
As the release of Super Smash Bros. 4 inevitably approaches, it is no surprise to see fans of the series create dream rosters for the upcoming game. While there is nothing wrong with speculating on which of the characters will be in the game or not; Some of these dream rosters however, are a bit of a stretch. So I'm creating this thread to hit you cats with a reality check!
For starters, lets all make an educated guess that anime characters will not be in the game. Now guys (and gals), lets all remember that this is first and foremost a Nintendo all-stars fighting game. Sakurai has already expressed his feelings towards 3rd-party characters saying: "I think Snake and Sonic joining were fantastic. It made many fans happy, and it broadened the Smash Bros arena. However, introducing more non-Nintendo characters willy-nilly will lose the focus of the game, so I also recognise the need to narrow it down." So from that quote alone we can assume characters like Goku, Ichigo, Naruto etc... will not be in the game.
This brings us to our next reality check, 3rd-party series representation will be limited. What do I mean when I say/type this? That means Sonic will be the only playable (keyword) character from that series (Same goes for Snake and other 3rd-party hopefuls). Chances are we will not see characters like Tails, Raiden Kncukles, Shadow, Amy etc... We will most likely have 1 playable character from each 3rd-party series Sakurai and Co. decide to include.
Speaking of 'series representation', this brings us to our next reality check, don't expect to see more characters from a franchise if the franchise is already well represented. What do I mean by this? It means there is a good chance we may not see characters like Bowser Jr, Toad, Baby Luigi, Victini and Toon Zelda enter the fray. Now, now guys & gals, by now I know some of you are raging right now, but lets again remember that this is first and foremost a Nintendo (keyword) all-star fighting game. This isn't a Mario all-star fighting game, a Zelda all-star fighting game or a Pokemon all-star fighting game. Yes, these franchises make up a big part of the Nintendo name, but they aren't the only franchises Nintendo has. There is no reason to have 20 mario/zelda/pokemon characters while the rest of the franchises have 2 to 3 characters representing.
* Many of you have mentioned the "Forbidden 7" Click here. Many have speculate that these characters were meant to be in the game, but excluded due to time restraints. But we don't know for certain, for all we know these could have been scrapped in the character development stages of the game.
Another thing we all should keep in mind is that there won't be as many newcomers as there was in brawl. Sakurai has stated that he would like to spend more time balancing out the roster instead of increasing it. He has said: "It isn’t a matter of ‘if the next game has 50 characters, that’ll be enough.’ There is a certain charm to games that have huge casts of playable characters, but they tend to have issues with game balance and it becomes very difficult to fine-tune each character and have them all feel distinctive…. In terms of quantity, we’ve probably already reached the limit of what’s feasible. I think a change of direction may be what’s needed."
Feel free to post some of your own 'reality checks' or debate me (Because there is always 2 sides to every coin) on any of these 'reality checks'. As long as we are all level headed and respectful to one another, I'm sure we can have a good discussion here. Keep in mind that what I have stated is not the end-all-be-all post. I don't claim to have any insider information than what has been released in interviews and reports. I'm just making educated guesses and supporting them.
For starters, lets all make an educated guess that anime characters will not be in the game. Now guys (and gals), lets all remember that this is first and foremost a Nintendo all-stars fighting game. Sakurai has already expressed his feelings towards 3rd-party characters saying: "I think Snake and Sonic joining were fantastic. It made many fans happy, and it broadened the Smash Bros arena. However, introducing more non-Nintendo characters willy-nilly will lose the focus of the game, so I also recognise the need to narrow it down." So from that quote alone we can assume characters like Goku, Ichigo, Naruto etc... will not be in the game.
This brings us to our next reality check, 3rd-party series representation will be limited. What do I mean when I say/type this? That means Sonic will be the only playable (keyword) character from that series (Same goes for Snake and other 3rd-party hopefuls). Chances are we will not see characters like Tails, Raiden Kncukles, Shadow, Amy etc... We will most likely have 1 playable character from each 3rd-party series Sakurai and Co. decide to include.
Speaking of 'series representation', this brings us to our next reality check, don't expect to see more characters from a franchise if the franchise is already well represented. What do I mean by this? It means there is a good chance we may not see characters like Bowser Jr, Toad, Baby Luigi, Victini and Toon Zelda enter the fray. Now, now guys & gals, by now I know some of you are raging right now, but lets again remember that this is first and foremost a Nintendo (keyword) all-star fighting game. This isn't a Mario all-star fighting game, a Zelda all-star fighting game or a Pokemon all-star fighting game. Yes, these franchises make up a big part of the Nintendo name, but they aren't the only franchises Nintendo has. There is no reason to have 20 mario/zelda/pokemon characters while the rest of the franchises have 2 to 3 characters representing.
* Many of you have mentioned the "Forbidden 7" Click here. Many have speculate that these characters were meant to be in the game, but excluded due to time restraints. But we don't know for certain, for all we know these could have been scrapped in the character development stages of the game.
Another thing we all should keep in mind is that there won't be as many newcomers as there was in brawl. Sakurai has stated that he would like to spend more time balancing out the roster instead of increasing it. He has said: "It isn’t a matter of ‘if the next game has 50 characters, that’ll be enough.’ There is a certain charm to games that have huge casts of playable characters, but they tend to have issues with game balance and it becomes very difficult to fine-tune each character and have them all feel distinctive…. In terms of quantity, we’ve probably already reached the limit of what’s feasible. I think a change of direction may be what’s needed."
Feel free to post some of your own 'reality checks' or debate me (Because there is always 2 sides to every coin) on any of these 'reality checks'. As long as we are all level headed and respectful to one another, I'm sure we can have a good discussion here. Keep in mind that what I have stated is not the end-all-be-all post. I don't claim to have any insider information than what has been released in interviews and reports. I'm just making educated guesses and supporting them.