Character Selection Ideas?

[Romaine Lettuce]

I'm so excited for Smash 4 (I want to play it competitively). On the topic of character selection, I feel that Smash 4 should implement something similar to Tekken's character selection (since Namco Bandai is helping develop the game). You could be able to select another character from a similar world without them taking up another character slot. Think about Tiger from Tekken 3 - he was a palette swap of Eddy Gordo. You could have palette swaps of characters that are "clones" from the same world and save a lot of character selection real estate. It would add balance to the game and allow more characters to be in it. The palette swaps don't even have to be exact clones - different forms of Link can all be in one slot. You pick Link, press Y and you can play as Dark Link, or press Y again and you can play as Toon Link, and so on (instead of having separate character slots for Toon Link and Link). You pick Mario, and you can play as Mario, Dr. Mario, Mario in a Tanooki Suit, etc. Simple colors could still be changed, too. I've been thinking about this for a while and I made an account to share my thoughts about it. What do you guys think about this?

In action from T3. It would just be more polished.

 

[Vintage Creep]

Basically alternate costumes, that's pretty common to think. I like the idea of having Mario, Dr. Mario and Tanooki Mario in the same slot, but I hope they don't do something like a slot with Fox and Falco just because they play similar.

 

[Romaine Lettuce]

Basically alternate costumes, that's pretty common to think. I like the idea of having Mario, Dr. Mario and Tanooki Mario in the same slot, but I hope they don't do something like a slot with Fox and Falco just because they play similar.

Not just alternate costumes, but have other minor people in the respective game world appear. Like Fox/Krystal/Slippy could be in one character slot or Isaac/Felix could be in another.

 

[DakotaBonez]

You should put your idea in a collapsible panel or different comment because if it's in the first post, the thread will just be about discussing/bashing your idea.

Anyway I'd like it if they removed the question marks for yet-to-be-unlocked characters so ya never know how many there are to unlock. Or show all the question marks for every yet to be unlocked character. It's weird how some characters get a questionmark when the later ones don't.

 

[Oasis_S]

I dunno what the first post is going on about, probably something dumb, but man I know exactly what the selection screen should be like. All the characters will be running around inside a little cardboard box, and they'll be all cute with little cat ears on their heads. And you control a little hand that picks them up by their scruff and you set them outside the box to select them. While you're waiting for other players, you can pet on them and stuff and give them little treats. Sometimes they'll bat at your cursor too.

 

[Romaine Lettuce]

I dunno what the first post is going on about, probably something dumb, but man I know exactly what the selection screen should be like. All the characters will be running around inside a little cardboard box, and they'll be all cute with little cat ears on their heads. And you control a little hand that picks them up by their scruff and you set them outside the box to select them. While you're waiting for other players, you can pet on them and stuff and give them little treats. Sometimes they'll bat at your cursor too.

Was that worth typing?

 

[Vintage Creep]

Not just alternate costumes, but have other minor people in the respective game world appear. Like Fox/Krystal/Slippy could be in one character slot or Isaac/Felix could be in another.

But why. They're completely different characters, why have them in the same slot. It doesn't make any sense, they couldn't even play similar (c'mon Slippy?).

 

[Romaine Lettuce]

But why. They're completely different characters, why have them in the same slot. It doesn't make any sense, they couldn't even play similar (c'mon Slippy?).

It was just an example. Refer to the YT video in the original post.

 

[Vintage Creep]

It was just an example. Refer to the YT video in the original post.

I know about Tekken. It happens with Alex / Roger Jr. or Kuma / Panda too. It worked, actually.
There's a difference though. Tekken does this when it introduces original characters. Panda is basically a different color scheme of Kuma which later became its (her) own character.
You're talking about taking two completely different characters and put them in the same slot on the assumption that they play similar, or worse, that they belong to the same universe. Now making an alternate costume of Fox with the color scheme of Krystal is one thing, which I wouldn't like anyway but that's OK. Putting Slippy and Fox in the same slot because they're both StarFox characters is simply plain stupid. It doesn't make any sense. And I (along with many others I guess) would hate it.

 

[Isprayaxe]

I think if it was limited your idea would be ok, for example mario-dr.mario, or pikachu-pichu. Anything more different than that is just useless like fox-falco or fox-slippy.

 

[TewnLeenk]

Yeah your idea would work for more "clone-ish" characters like Link-Toon Link, but to put every character from each world in just one slot per world is a little drastic.

I like the way Smash Bros' character select screen works how it is. The only thing I'd want to change is to give each character an alternate costume available in the same slot by changing colours. Like Wario in Brawl with his classic costume and WarioWare one.

 

[Ove]

Smash 64 had the best character selection screen. I liked the minimized characters and their animations.

 

[Frostwraith]

The fangame Super Smash Bros. Crusade has a similar feature for Luigi (to switch to the memetic Weegee), Samus (to choose Power Suit or Zero Suit), Ryu (selects between Ryu and Evil Ryu, while also choosing two Final Smashes for both forms).

This neat feature could be useful for both aesthetical costumes and alternate versions of characters. Another example would be switching weapons (like giving Ike the ability to choose between the sword Ragnell or the axe Urvan).

Mario could switch to Dr. Mario or Shadow Mario for alternate movesets, Pit to Dark Pit (perhaps with ability to choose different weapons too as well as switching voice clips for Dark Pit), Link's various incarnations (examples include OoT Link (64 and Melee), TP Link (Brawl), SS Link and Fierce Deity Link).

Just some loose ideas...

 

[FalKoopa]

I think having two pages on the character select screen should help avoiding overcrowding and allowing larger select portraits.

 

[Frostwraith]

I think having two pages on the character select screen should help avoiding overcrowding and allowing larger select portraits.

The problem with having more than one page in the character select would lead to conflicts when multiple players are trying to select a character. Not a very good idea.

 

[BluePikmin11]

The problem with having more than one page in the character select would lead to conflicts when multiple players are trying to select a character. Not a very good idea.

Then make a page for each player.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I would like the idea of one unlockable alternate costume for each character. ONLY if it's a costume the character itself used in his/her own series. Like Mario-Tanooki Suit Mario or Ness-Ness in Pajamas, not Fox-Slippy.

 

[DakotaBonez]

I have a feeling that there will be alternate costumes, perhaps unlockable.

I would really like if a mini model of the character would appear at the bottom of the screen like they did in smash 64, as Ove suggested. Then you could see the whole outfit. If they could do this with minimal lag caused by making the character appear and constantly having the character model change when you press the costume change button.

 

[PikaJew]

I'm all for having alternative costumes (Dr. Mario for Mario) but i'm not okay with those costume changing the characters movesets (Dr. Mario costume turns mario fireballs into pills).

Things would be too inconvenient and confusing to have a completely new character mixed into an existing characters colour selection. And what happens if you beat single player or get KO's with Dr. Mario? Is it recorded under Mario's stats or does Dr. Mario get his own statistics?

Would make more sense to just make that character playable and have their own character selection square.

 

[Hypercat-Z]

Well, Honestly I'm not against fireballs turning into pills, as long as the change does involve only the aestetic and sound part, while the effects and collision bubbles are still the same.