When we jumped from Smash 64-Melee, we lost no characters. However, we lost four characters (three of them clones) from Melee-Brawl. Now which Brawl characters do you see being exclusive to Brawl? Here is my list:
Theres good reason we lost 3 of those 4, you know. Doctor Mario, Pichu, and Roy were filler, selected for cloning due to the rushed production of Melee. Doc got in because the developers liked his music, Pichu because he was popular among Japanese Pokèmon fans of the time, and Roy because it was the perfect advertising opportunity for his upcoming game. None of them had good reason to return for Brawl aside from their appearance in Melee.
Mewtwo is another story entirely, of course. I'll be
very interested to hear what Sakurai or another developer has to say about the decision to remove him. If they ever do tell us, anyway.
Rhubarbo said:
Ike-A lord only present in the two recent Fire Emblem games. Unless he is feautred in another Fire Emblem game between now and the next SSB, he won't appear again.
Faulty logic - being in two Fire Emblem games is more than any other Lord save Marth alone can claim, and unlike Roy, Ike is genuinely popular among the FE fanbase (one of the top 3 in Japan and likely at least the top 2 elsewhere). Unless another multi-game, popular Lord shows up between now and the fourth SSB, Ike will most likely return.
Rhubarbo said:
Lucas-Featured only in MOTHER 3, unless there are more MOTHER games with Lucas, his odds of returning are slim (unfortunately).
The MOTHER series consist of only 3 games, each with a different main character (1 - Ninten, 2 - Ness, 3 - Lucas), so thats not a good reason for him to leave at all. Besides, I've heard some MOTHER fans saying the series ended with the third game, and that there will be no more, in which case Lucas remains a solid choice for a character pretty much for as long as they continue making SSB games.
Rhubarbo said:
Lucario-If Mewtwo is dsiposable, so is Lucario. If the next Smash game comes in 6 years, there will be a whole new batch of Pokemon to choose from.
Possible, depending on how the popularity of the Pokèmon fluctuate. Then again, Lucario could turn into the next Jigglypuff as well - eternally popular and ever-present in SSB for whatever strange reason.
Rhubarbo said:
Wolf- As another Fox clone, Wolf will probably not make it into another Smash Bros game.
Given Falco's return in Brawl, I doubt it. Wolf is even more heavily luigified than Falco, thus even less of a clone, so that already-poor argument is worthless. I suspect all that will happen with Star Fox in the next game is the addition of Krystal (or another character of sufficient importance/popularity if one comes about between now and then).
Rhubarbo said:
Snake-Unless Nintendo bothers with Konami again, Snake will probably not show up in another Smash Bros game again. He will probably be replaced with another third party character.
Possible, but only if Sakurai does not direct the next game. If he does, I doubt he'll cut a character he put in at the request of a close friend. I certainly wouldn't guarantee it even if Sakurai is not involved next time though - Snake may not be up the level of someone like Sonic, but hes not exactly a minor, unknown character among video games either, so theres good enough reason to keep him so long as Konami is okay with it.
Personally, the ones I'd watch would mostly be the Pokèmon, since their popularity fluctuates so much. Trainer could get cut, or at least reworked with entirely different Pokèmon such that he effectively becomes a completely different character. Lucario is a maybe, as I said above. And of course if her popularity ever dies, Jigglypuff might also face elimination. Beyond them and perhaps Snake (see above) though, I doubt anyone needs to worry. What we have now consists mostly of the most deserving, important characters from each franchise, and I really don't see them getting cut unless something weird happens (then again, apparently something did with Mewtwo, so you never know I suppose).
Zevox
