When you look at things, Smash games have appeared to have a theme or two when it comes to the roster additions, and a game mode or two in particular focus.
64: Focused on the fact of some of the biggest faces, the All-Stars. Some of them in ways you never thought you'd see them (
![N64 Fox :fox64: :fox64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
&
![N64 Falcon :falcon64: :falcon64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
in particular). The game-mode of choice was "Classic" as it is what almost every unlock condition was tied to. There's only
one character of the 12 added who remotely fits the Clone title, which was
![N64 Luigi :luigi64: :luigi64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
.
![N64 Luigi :luigi64: :luigi64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
's specials were all variants of
![N64 Mario :mario64: :mario64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
's ranging from minor (the Strugglenado) to MAJOR (Super Jump Punch). Most of his A moves were fairly different and throws were almost identical, from my memory.
![N64 Luigi :luigi64: :luigi64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
as a character is basically a "Clone" character in his own series, but was basically the secondary protagonist. Incredibly key and iconic.
Melee: Focused on expanding out some of the bigger franchises with their key characters (
![Bowser Melee :bowsermelee: :bowsermelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Peach Melee :peachmelee: :peachmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Zelda Melee :zeldamelee: :zeldamelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Sheik Melee :sheikmelee: :sheikmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Mewtwo Melee :mewtwomelee: :mewtwomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, and notably going into some of the more obscure history (
![Mr. Game & Watch Melee :gawmelee: :gawmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Ice Climbers Melee :icsmelee: :icsmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, arguably
![Marth Melee :marthmelee: :marthmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). With how little was done here, with how intensive the core engine was worked on alongside Adventure/AllStar/Challenge modes, the roster was THEN padded with Six clones because of how rushed Sakurai felt to the deadline, making up 6 of the 13/14 (depending on your stance of Zelda/Sheik).
![Falco Melee :falcomelee: :falcomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
&
![Ganondorf Melee :ganondorfmelee: :ganondorfmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: The only two kept in. Falco being the secondary protagonist of Star Fox, more popular and "major" than Peppy or Slippy... or at least more competently presented. Became incredibly popular in the community. Ganondorf is the third part to the relic that most of Zelda games rely on, and was basically the only big antagonist of the series by this point (Skull Kid/Majora taking the helm for one game while Ganondorf or Ganon was the big overarching evil in just about every other game) and was Sakurai's main.
![Young Link Melee :younglinkmelee: :younglinkmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: Kinda debatable if he was truly cut or just "Toon'd" (puns) into
![Toon Link :toonlink: :toonlink:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. Their similarities make it hard to say if he was really cut and "replaced", or just altered. Namely had the love of OoT and MM behind him. While sharing a moveset and base animations, his difference in height/weight/etc were very significant and made him play pretty differently with the same moveset (with both Yink and Tink), just like
![Ganondorf Melee :ganondorfmelee: :ganondorfmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
to
![Captain Falcon Melee :falconmelee: :falconmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
.
![Roy Melee :roymelee: :roymelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: Didn't exist before this game, as Melee came out before FE:6 was finished. He really wasn't kept important to his series unlike how
![Ike :ike: :ike:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
became... didn't have enough to truly be kept IN THE END (I know, I know, Forbidden 7 and whatnot).
![Pichu Melee :pichumelee: :pichumelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: The objectively worst character in the game. A simple prevolution of
![Pikachu Melee :pikachumelee: :pikachumelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
whom was designed to be inferior in basically every way. Honestly... had no purpose to stay.
![Dr. Mario :drmario: :drmario:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/drmario.png)
:
![Mario Melee :mariomelee: :mariomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
's animations copied essentially frame-for-frame slapped onto a palette swap from a spin-off title. The two had VERY small differences that could have easily just been part of Mario's base moveset. His cape swung out longer with a bit longer endlag. His F-Air didn't spike but had good knockback like
![Ganondorf Melee :ganondorfmelee: :ganondorfmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
's. His Strugglenado couldn't get as much height. His ground speed was a little less. His air speed was a little more.
Brawl: Cut a total of 4/5 characters, based on your Yink-Tink stance. The "Insignificant" clones and the most feeble unique newcomer,
![Mewtwo Melee :mewtwomelee: :mewtwomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. The roster particularly stood proud on the mass number of characters (18 total newcomers) with only 3 being remote clones and filling out some of the neglected O12 franchises (
![Donkey Kong :dk2: :dk2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Kirby :kirby2: :kirby2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Samus :samus2: :samus2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Ness :ness2: :ness2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). And in terms of modes, we have the focus of the first big attempt to Online and the MASSIVE SubSpace Emissary mode.
![Toon Link :toonlink: :toonlink:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: See Young Link. Shared moveset, but the difference in character statistics made him play differently.
![Lucas :lucas: :lucas:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: While his specials were minor alterations to the specials of
![Ness :ness2: :ness2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, like
![N64 Luigi :luigi64: :luigi64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
to
![N64 Mario :mario64: :mario64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. His Throws I believe were similar if not identical, but the grab, most of his aerials, a number of tilts, and 2 of the 3 smashes were unique. Lucas was a VERY requested character after the release of Mother 3 in the late years of the GBA, and in fact was meant to
replace ![Ness Melee :nessmelee: :nessmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, with Mother 3 starting off as Earthbound 64.
![Wolf :wolf: :wolf:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: Was meant to be in Melee by Sakurai's choice, but he was replaced by
![Falco Melee :falcomelee: :falcomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
because there was worry that a Melee design for wolf would look too similar to
![Fox Melee :foxmelee: :foxmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. This was remedied in Brawl by his much more feral, aggressive stance. While the Star Fox series dipped in popularity from Gamecube onwards, Wolf fought with Krystal in popularity when it came to fan demand. In the end, Wolf was chosen using the same "style" of the 4 specials but in almost exclusively different ways (his blaster best used at close range, his angled dash). While his Final Smash was YET ANOTHER LANDMASTER, essentially every other move in Wolf's arsenal was unique and was SIGNIFICANTLY heavier with a bit of a cut to speed. In many ways, he was no more a clone to Fox/Falco than
![Luigi :luigi2: :luigi2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
was to
![Mario :mario2: :mario2:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
.
And this brings me to what is so... unsatisfactory about the ESRB leak roster. It's upsetting to think
![Ice Climbers :popo: :popo:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Ice Climbers Melee :icsmelee: :icsmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
are cut while "Duck Hunt" is a new retro and more popular retros with potential such as Takumaru or Prince Sable were moved to Assist Trophies, yes. But more so... it is the fact that when Sakurai has stated about the roster basically being chosen before production began, and focusing on the following: better balancing for veterans and newcomers alike, the
uniqueness of fighters, and Smash Run for the 3DS... that we have some of those on the roster. For officially confirmed newcomers, we have 13 in 11 slots. If you want to include the essentially-confirmed Shulk and Bowser Jr., that takes us to 15 in 13. However, there's ONLY one clone on this addition amount so far.
![Lucina :4lucina: :4lucina:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
: An incredibly popular character (particularly in Japan) from a MASSIVELY selling installment of an established series.
Originally planed to be an alternate costume (
![Marth :4marth: :4marth:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
),
but was lucky, by Sakurai's own words. She's the cloniest-clone since Melee. She shares the same moveset, core animations, and most "stats" to Marth. She has no tipper, but has a weaker, uniform power in the sword. She has a noticeable increase in overall mobility and incredibly little landing lag from aerials, as shown in her trailer (which is all we have to go by for gameplay). You can throw out all the theories of her being made into a newcomer to fill the slot for someone cut, but all we know is that she was a lucky case.
So, we have 1/12 newcomers in 64 being clone-ish additions (
![N64 Luigi :luigi64: :luigi64:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). 6/14 (or 13) for Melee
namely to pad out a weak roster (
![Dr. Mario :drmario: :drmario:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/drmario.png)
,
![Falco Melee :falcomelee: :falcomelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Ganondorf Melee :ganondorfmelee: :ganondorfmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Pichu Melee :pichumelee: :pichumelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Roy Melee :roymelee: :roymelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Young Link Melee :younglinkmelee: :younglinkmelee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). 2/18 or 3/18 for Brawl, depending on the Yink-Tink stance (
![Lucas :lucas: :lucas:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Wolf :wolf: :wolf:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
,
![Toon Link :toonlink: :toonlink:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
[?]).
Now, of the known and essentially-confirmed for Sm4sh, we know of
1/15 (
![Lucina :4lucina: :4lucina:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
).
In a history of all added and kept clones being a majority combination of a) beloved by fans b) noticeably differing in a portion of moveset and/or overall playstyle and c) key to their home franchises, I just can't suspend my disbelief yet that in the title revolving around the
uniqueness of the newcomers that we have seen quite clearly in every newcomer except the ONE clone and DEBATABLY
![Mii Male :4mii: :4mii:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, why would we be bringing in Dark Pit (if his moveset isn't LARGELY different than Pit's using different weapon types from uprising, which the position of him in the leak suggests otherwise) and Doctor Mario whose place in Melee was a seat filling pallet swap?!