Analysis: Why Do We Not Want Characters?

[Dairz]

Dude, 6 moves being different is not a semi clone (not counting the down air because it's still the same move). That's less than 1/4th of his entire moveset. It's a slight improvement from Young Link but is still far from a semi-clone IMO.

If you go through all his moves, Toon Link is around 65% the same as Link. Do you really consider 65% "clone" and not "semi-clone"? For reference, Roy is about 90% Marth, and Melee Luigi is like, 72% Mario.

 

[RadRedi]

It appears that the Smash community has become totally obsessed with Ridley, even going so far as to call him their favourite character ever. WHY!? He has no personality, and all he does is roar in his own games, and his only appeal is the fact that he makes a fairly decent boss in the Metroid series. Simply saying a character is your favourite based solely on their appearance is pretty shallow when you think about it. I'm not against Ridley at all, but I still think he is incredibly, obnoxiously overrated.

In out-of-game material, Ridley is shown to be a very intelligent creature; by all means, he is proven to be deceptive through his intellect, while appearing to be a carnal beast. But he is also a cold-blooded murderer. He made Samus the tragic and cold woman we know her as by destroying everything she knew and loved when she was just a little girl. He is the nearly-demonic rage fuel that reminds Samus of what could happen if she doesn't do what she does. He completely differs from the other Nintendo villains because, while he has goals, he takes too much enjoyment out of everything between Point A and Point B.

So, yeah, that's the character behind everyone's favorite space dragon which, while not made terribly clear, is hinted at in the games themselves.

I think personality shouldn't be a major deterrent (I think that's the right word), though, considering Mario and Link are practically just general do-gooders who make it in on the merit of being gaming icons of the highest caliber (and while we're on that, Ridley has proven to be the main antagonist of a major Nintendo franchise, making him a Nintendo All-Star, giving him the right to be in Smash with or without personality ).

In other news, I see people are beginning to target specific characters instead of mindsets or demographics. That could get dangerous...

 

[SmashShadow]

If you go through all his moves, Toon Link is around 65% the same as Link. Do you really consider 65% "clone" and not "semi-clone"? For reference, Roy is about 90% Marth, and Melee Luigi is like, 72% Mario.

There's other moves such as pummel, zair, tether grab (I count this because It applies to only a few characters), final smash, ledge and get up attacks.

 

[shrooby]

In other news, I see people are beginning to target specific characters instead of mindsets or demographics. That could get dangerous...

Being able to see each reason that people may have allows us to get better views of these mindsets and demographics. Reading people targeting specific characters allow us to see these thoughts and mindsets in action, so to speak, which allows us to better understand the various reasons that people may not want a character. We can take these specific examples and make them general.
I agree it is dangerous. Very prone to flame wars as was pointed out on the first page, but it's one of the best and most direct ways to better our understanding.

 

[RadRedi]

Being able to see each reason that people may have allows us to get better views of these mindsets and demographics. Reading people targeting specific characters allow us to see these thoughts and mindsets in action, so to speak, which allows us to better understand the various reasons that people may not want a character. We can take these specific examples and make them general.
I agree it is dangerous. Very prone to flame wars as was pointed out on the first page, but it's one of the best and most direct ways to better our understanding.

Believe me, I agree. I didn't know where you wanted to take this thread, though. For instance, this thread could just be discussing the indirect reasons people don't want characters, rather than people discussing individual characters themselves. However, if this thread is essentially a controlled think tank of the most civilized form of hate, then I'll certainly step back and let it take its course. And by that, I mean that I'll start contributing reasons I don't want characters in Smash Bros. As usual, I will discuss my dislike for the idea, rather than attack people.

Ghirahm: I honestly don't feel like Skyward Sword did anything really worthy of a playable character, like Twilight Princess before it. Ghirahim is a one-time character who is presumed dead. There are Zelda characters who, should Zelda actually need a new character, have appeared in more than one game and have also contributed to their individual stories.

Palutena: While Kid Icarus: Uprising is an amazing game, most definitely, I don't think the series needs another character just because of one game. I've always felt like Palutena has been a glorified compliment to Pit's character - his driving force, the source of his flight capabilities, his closest ally, his banter partner. While she's a great part of the series, she would take more from Pit than she would offer the Smash series by herself. I don't see her being anything more than a staff-wielder.

Dixie Kong: I have willingly confessed elsewhere that Dixie is a sure-fired Nintendo All-Star who deserves to get in to Smash at some point in the series. But, as of now, her capabilities seem to be nothing more than Diddy+Hair Copter. I am one of the people who has a fear deep down that Dixie could spell the end for King K. Rool, and if that were to be a rational fear, I'd prefer K. Rool get in, no doubt about it.

Krystal: I feel that this character hasn't contributed anything more than a bizarre touch of unnecessary drama to the Star Fox series. I understand that her wielding a staff differs from Fox, Falco, and Wolf having blasters, but an entire unique move set can't balance on the wielding of a staff. Otherwise, I'd be all for Palutena. Also, the idea that she deserves to get in over Wolf/Falco on this staff idea is a little irritating, considering the fact that it isn't "Rosalina is a puppet master" levels of ingenuity like some would like to believe.

Any Metroid character other than Ridley: The isolated nature of the Metroid series disallows a whole lot of interaction with other characters. As a matter of fact, the only real constant interaction that Samus has is with the bane of her existance, Ridley...who has more than proven himself a Nintendo All-Star (for crying out loud, he's a recurring enemy at the Nintendo Land theme park!). If another Metroid character got in before Ridley, I would be so ticked, just because he has literally been there from beginning to end, while almost every other character has simply existed temporarily.

If I think of any other characters (that aren't Impa or Third-Party, since I already posted those thoughts here), I'll be sure to return to this thread.

 

[shrooby]

Believe me, I agree. I didn't know where you wanted to take this thread, though. For instance, this thread could just be discussing the indirect reasons people don't want characters, rather than people discussing individual characters themselves. However, if this thread is essentially a controlled think tank of the most civilized form of hate, then I'll certainly step back and let it take its course. And by that, I mean that I'll start contributing reasons I don't want characters in Smash Bros. As usual, I will discuss my dislike for the idea, rather than attack people.

That was where I originally intended for this thread to go. However, I think that such a topic is not as discussion-prone as most others. And, frankly, many were already just listing reasons for specific characters already. I decided the easiest, and most affective method of compiling reasons would be to allow such posts and analyze them in an unbiased manner to determine if
A) They fall into any current points
B) Require an entirely new justification

 

[Stompman]

My primary reason for not wanting a character is not seeing that characters potential. Unless there is confirmation from Sakuri that a character can be unique (like Rosalina) then I will be skeptical of that character. It is for these reasons that I don't support characters such as Daisy or Toon Zelda.

My secondary reason is that some of my most highly wanted characters chances can be decreased, for example, Mike Jones, whose chances are already low, would have his chances decreased further if a different retro character showed up.