Comparing old wishlists to new ones

[Mark Helsing]

It's been like six or something years since Brawl was released and it was revealed a little before that, idk. That's a long time for a lot of us younguns. 2008 and 2014 are practically different worlds. But the point is, how have you changed? Namely, how has your taste in characters changed? Compare your wishlist you had for Brawl with the one you have right now for WiiU/3DS and think to yourself "How did I used to be that stupid?"

Me:

• I wanted desperately to see Amy Rose and Roll.EXE. I now know that there is a zero percent chance either of them will even be assist trophies.
• Like most people, I wanted Lyndis, as she was America's first Fire Emblem character, like, ever. Now I know that, in the grand scheme of things, she's not that important to the series and there is a 1/3 chance that she died while giving birth to Roy.
• I thought that Daisy was DEFINITELY going to be in Brawl and it would be crazy if she wasn't. I now know that there is a long line of Mario characters that would get in before her.
• Kirlia was on my wishlist. Now it's Gardevoir, because I'm a #GrownAssMan

 

[Dr. James Rustles]

I hear you. In terms of expectations, I was really hoping there would be a Square Enix representative like Cloud or Sora, but that will probably never see the light of day. I was also expecting Ridley. What I wasn't expecting but wanted anyway was Crono, Frog, Geno, and Zero (though I realized some Mega Man variation would get in way before he would).

Today, the bottom line is I don't care who makes the cut so long as they are they fun and interesting to play and that their aesthetic doesn't detract from that. The notions of relevancy and representation have become the stupidest arguing points for having or not having X character in a game. I also no longer play favorites. Hell, I'd rather see Mallow in over Geno. I could think of a million ways Mallow would be superior in terms of gameplay even with his low "cool" factor. Now that my fanboi goggles are off, I still think Frog would be a good addition but for gameplay reasons. The rest are meh.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't love to see my favorites in the game in some way, but it's just a bonus, not the most important thing. I really dislike Classic Ganon as a villain and character, but I really like this moveset for him (although the possible disjointed hitboxes look beyond broken) and would totally give him a shot as a main if he had that moveset in Smash 4.

 

[Arti]

I can only remember really wanting Mega Man and Wolf. I think I wanted ROB too, but it may have just been that I liked his inclusion once I found out he was in.
I think I wanted Meta Knight prior to Brawl's announcement, too.

Obviously now my wish list is entirely different

 

[Curious Villager]

I didn't really had overly huge desires when it came to Brawl. The only character I really wanted was Toon Link as I was a very big fan of Wind Waker during that time and I got him.

I'm happy that he is back again and I'm really just waiting for Mewtwo to return for Smash Bros 4, I would love to see Layton too but I know that his chances aren't overly great so yah...

 

[KokiriKory]

I wanted Mega Man and Little Mac so bad for Brawl

Spoiler

Other characters I wanted are still potentially in the pipeline. Mewtwo return, Ridley, Isaac. Midna got shot down. But I really can't ask for much more honestly, Brawl rounded out the Nintendo heavy hitters quite nicely for me!

 

[CrossoverMan]

I was only a kid before Brawl came out, so I had no idea about this copyright bull****. I wanted everyone from Spider-Man to Bananaman and Hulk to Jimmy Neutron.

 

[Ravio_Yo]

Little Mac, Villager, and Megaman are off of it, obviously.

Shulk, Palutena, and Chrom were added.

Ridley is now even higher than before.

 

[spader13]

Ridley has remained high on my wishlist but he's the only constant one that hasn't gotten in.

I had wanted Krystal for Brawl, but now I don't really expect or want her. For some reason, I wasn't thinking of Ray in the period before Brawl despite playing two of the Custom Robo games, but he's a character I'd like to see now too.

If Metaknight hadn't been announce Pre-Brawl, he would have been on my list, and a new Pokemon (didn't really care which one) was on my Brawl list, and we got Lucario and PT. However, since Mewtwo was cut, he's on my current wishlist as well, and would have been higher than Greninja for me (and still is).

 

[ChikoLad]

I wasn't dying to see Mega Man or Professor Layton in Brawl as I was not into either franchise at the time. I also didn't know who Reggie was at the time so I didn't have him on the wishlist. I also didn't know Kid Icarus existed so Palutena wasn't on it (and Uprising didn't exist, which is the game that makes me want Palutena).

Sonic and Rosalina were characters I wanted to see. I got Sonic, and we now have Rosalina.

I can't remember really wanting anyone else for Brawl. I was only starting to get into Nintendo in the years leading up to Brawl. And it was the first Smash game I followed before it's release. So I couldn't really ask for much. Sonic and Rosalina are two of my favourite fictional characters of all time, so they were the two I really wanted that I felt had SOME shot (though at the time, I would have settled for Assist Trophy status for Rosalina as I didn't realise she was popular).

 

[Cap'nChreest]

I keep my character wish list very conservative and I don't care whether they get in or not. Well I hope for at least one of them but if none of the others get in its no big deal. A lot of people who like smash would benefit if they kept their wish lists small. Brawl added all the characters I wanted pretty much. The only other character I wanted was Bowser Jr. But now I don't care if he's in. I also don't think he has very good chances. Sure Ridley would be cool but its become a running gag that Ridley won't be in so I don't care either way. Isaac would be a cool character but I don't think he's likely. Palutena and Dixie are the main two that I want but if they aren't in thats fine. Its just a game. Frankly I only think those two because imo Nintendo is running out of memorable and classic characters to put in Smash. Exhibit A Exhibit B. But it won't get me upset to see that this makes it in and someone like Dixie doesn't.

 

[Ascended]

Before Brawl came out, I was expecting it to have a massive roster (And looking at it rationally, 18 new characters is quite a jump), so I was hoping/expecting to get the following characters:

Spoiler

Wolf & Krystal:
I was and still am a huge Star Fox fan. It wasn't odd to me that a series could get more than one new character in a game, since Mario got three new characters and Zelda got four new characters in Melee, while Kirby got two new characters in Brawl.

Mega Man:
When Snake was revealed, my mind went crazy with third-party characters. Sonic was my number 1 most wanted character, and after he got confirmed, I started wanting Mega Man. Having both of them in Sm4sh along with all my favorite Nintendo characters is a dream come true.

Little Mac:
My brother and I are big fans of the Punch-Out series, and I always thought he'd be a perfect fit for the series. I was most pleased to see his reveal back in February.

Anyone from Square:
I would LOVE to have a Final Fantasy character, as that is my all time favorite video game franchise. My most wanted is Cloud, just for the star power/sheer awesomeness of having an official game with Link VS Cloud. (I played a lot of OOT and FF7 back in the day and still love both games.)

Pac-Man:
Like I said, I was expecting Brawl to have the be-all end-all of character rosters, and I had this idea of the Big Six video game developers when I was a teenager (Nintendo, SEGA, Capcom, Square, Namco, and Konami.) So since he's a gaming icon, and I liked his games, I figured, why not?

Simon Belmont:
Again, I got caught up in the third-party hype, but I thought it would be cool to have a Castlevania character considering the history that the series had with Nintendo and the awesome music that we could potentially get.

On a lesser note, I also thought that Andy from Advance Wars and Isaac from Golden Sun would make it in. As well as something representing the Hanafuda cards being playable. I also wanted Liquid Snake to be a collectible trophy or Assist Trophy, but all he got was a sticker.

With Sm4sh being announced, this is how I've changed:
Obviously, Little Mac and Mega Man are playable, for which I am extremely excited and grateful for. I would like to see Krystal, but I'm not as supportive of her as I once was considering Star Fox is on hiatus and she doesn't seem to be the most important character in the series. I'm supporting a lot less third-party characters, and the people from the pre-Brawl days that had a lot of support that I'm on board for are Ridley and Isaac. I also want Mewtwo back and have started supporting Chrom, Palutena, and Shulk.

 

[CanadianSmasher1992]

I wrote down a roster for SSB4 on August 2008 & I still have it! Basically it was everyone from Brawl and 14 newcomers:

1. Bowser Jr.
2. Toad
3. King K. Rool
4. Toon Zelda/Tetra
5. Ridley
6. Isaac
7. Krystal
8. Samurai Goroh
9. Rival Trainer (I had written three possibilities ranging from there being three 5th gen Pokemon to a Blaziken/Bayleef/Piplup combo to a tag-team with Blastoise and a 5th gen Pokemon)
10. Mewtwo
11. Micaiah
12. Ray
13. Takamaru
14. Megaman

Note: I have no idea why I didn't have Little Mac on there, since I thought he was pretty likely even for Brawl. Been lurking smashboards since 2006 so I was aware of his popularity. Hmm, must have just forgotten to write him down

I thought 54-55 characters would be a good number back then. Now, obviously my thoughts have changed dramatically. 48-50 characters seen most likely. It's kind of funny to see how completely off I was. And I was so sure that most of these characters were gonna be in too. Lol

 

[allison]

I thought it would be cool if Mario's moveset centered around F.L.U.D.D.

Considering how useless his Down Special is, I suppose this is a blessing in disguise

 

[Klaww]

I had a gigantic double-sided piece of paper filled with nothing but characters back before Brawl's release. I was also like... 12 years old or something like that. I'm 19 now, for reference.

It had characters such as "Harvest Moon Guy" and "Pictochat Man."

I would kill to get another look at that list of mine...

Nowadays I just want Ridley, K. Rool and Mewtwo. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ProjectAngel]

I wish I could forget my Brawl wishlist, lol. I remember having May, of all people, on it. Here's what I had in terms of Brawl newcomers:

• King Dedede
• Diddy Kong
• Bowser Jr.
• Krystal
• Lyn
• Isaac
• May
• Ridley
• King K. Rool
• Wolf
• Black Shadow
• Vaati
• Ike
• Starfy
• Lip
• Sonic
• Mega Man

Out of everyone here, only Ike, Dedede, Diddy, Sonic, and Wolf ended up in the final roster.

Nowadays I'm a little more cautious about supporting newcomers.

 

[gameb0ybryan]

Ridley has remained high on my wishlist but he's the only constant one that hasn't gotten in.

I had wanted Krystal for Brawl, but now I don't really expect or want her. For some reason, I wasn't thinking of Ray in the period before Brawl despite playing two of the Custom Robo games, but he's a character I'd like to see now too.

If Metaknight hadn't been announce Pre-Brawl, he would have been on my list, and a new Pokemon (didn't really care which one) was on my Brawl list, and we got Lucario and PT. However, since Mewtwo was cut, he's on my current wishlist as well, and would have been higher than Greninja for me (and still is).

Ray is huge for me. If he gets in, i'd die of happiness.

 

[Bassoonist]

For some reason I had it in my mind that Geno not only deserved to be a playable character, but also was likely to be one.

That is the position I most can't understand what justification I had for it. There are a few others that didn't make much sense. I conveniently have an ideal roster image I made back then saved:

Spoiler

Although I will say, my number one character request: Isaac has not at all changed between back then and now.

 

[Sobreviviente]

Amy Rose would be awesome

 

[OddCrow]

Still Want
King K. Rool
Isaac
Ridley
Geno

No Longer Want
Krystal
Ray MK III
K.K. Slider

Newly Want
Andy
Takamaru

 

[gameb0ybryan]

Still Want
King K. Rool
Isaac
Ridley
Geno

No Longer Want
Krystal
Ray MK III
K.K. Slider

Newly Want
Andy
Takamaru

Why don't you want Krystal or Ray?

 

[praline]

Still Want
Isaac
Bomberman
Micaiah
Paper Mario

No Longer Want
N/A

 

[Fatmanonice]

Back in the preBrawl days, I had what I like to refer to as a "revolving door" wishlist. Whenever somebody I wanted got confirmed, I usually put in somebody else. Before Brawl was announced, my wishlist was basically:

1. Geno
2. Megaman
3. Ridley
4. Vaati
5. Krystal
6. Wario
7. Diddy
8. King Dedede
9. Lucario
10. Olimar

When Wario, Diddy, Dedede, and Olimar were confirmed, I replaced them with:

1. Issac
2. Takamaru
3. Ray 01
4. Captain Syrup

For SSB4, my wishlist has pretty much been locked in place since the beginning because the way I approached the old one left me severely butthurt despite how many characters I wanted actually got in as playable characters. I have a top ten list but it's split up into two parts: characters I strongly want and those that I'd like but would be okay if they didn't make the cut. For those I strongly want:

1. Megaman
2. Little Mac
3. Takamaru

And for everyone else:

4. Ashley (Wario Ware)
5. Waluigi
6. Ridley
7. Krystal
8. Issac
9. Dixie or K. Rool
10. Palutena or Medusa

I also have two more who I want but have no chance in hell of ever being playable:

1. Geno
2. Muddy Mole

 

[OddCrow]

Why don't you want Krystal or Ray?

It's not that I DON'T want them, just that I'd prefer other characters. That said, I'd still like to have them in, but I'm not particularly rooting for their inclusion.

 

[Lugubrious]

The big changes in my wishlist have been the removal of Miis, Ghirahim, and Krystal as well as the acceptance of Isaac and Shulk. There are some others as well. Basically I've been refining my desires by eliminating choices I now realize are pretty bad as well as adding a few who I've come to respect. With Rosalina's confirmation, I've dropped any hope for Waluigi or Bowser Jr.

However, the core of those I want remains the same. Palutena, Mewtwo, Ridley, Masked Man, and King K Rool remain at the top.

 

[Canuckduck]

I desperately wanted Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to be in.

Now, I'm not that impulsive.

 

[Moldy Clay]

Ah, man. I didn't have a lot of expectations for Brawl.

- Bowser Jr., who could transform into Shadow Mario/use the Paintbrush.
- "Jack" from Harvest Moon, essentially playing like the Villager.
- Mega Man
- Little Mac
- Deoxys
- Meowth
- An updated "Majora's Mask" Young Link moveset that worked like Pokemon Trainer (switch between forms, Fierce Deity Final Smash)
- Waluigi
- Isaac
- Kumatora
- Starfy
- Samurai Goroh or Black Shadow
- Tingle, Vaati, Imp Midna (not with Wolf Link) and/or Skull Kid
- Sigurd, but for no real reason
- Krystal with a staff
- Metroid Prime (Dark Samus, though, not the actual Prime from the first game)

I also wanted Dedede, Pit, and Wario, who all got in., and I wanted Wolf to replace Falco. Got both, so it didn't matter.

The best part is, of all the characters I wanted that got in, I didn't like playing any of them except Wario (and wound up being glad Falco returned).

Most of those characters turned into Pokeballs or Assist Trophies. Jack was a long-shot 3rd party. A lot of the rest of the characters didn't survive my "post-Brawl" hopes for "the next SSB", like Sigurd, Krystal, Dark Samus, Kumatora, MM Link, Jack, etc.

At the start of SSB4 hype, I wanted Paper Mario. After Rosalina was revealed, I immediately wrote off any Mario characters I was hoping for, I also wanted a Male/Female Pokemon Trainer repping different generations, but that was destroyed during the Direct.

 

[StupendousMike]

I was 22 when Brawl came out, still in college, and I remember wanting Sonic more than anything in the world. It wasn't something I would have ever held my breath for until the Snake reveal, and I got it...
Now I'm 28, and naturally my priorities have changed. There are still characters I want, like Ridley and Dixie, but I'll be satsfied as long as the game is good. I can't really think of any "dealbreaker" characters or anything like that.

 

[allison]

I wanted Bowser Jr., Ridley, Wario, Waluigi, and Olimar. Out of these, only Wario and Olimar got in. The only one I still want is Ridley, but it appears his SSB4 chances aren't good.

 

[Flaxr XIII]

Oh wow... I honestly don't remember my wishlist from Pre-Brawl.
I know Sonic was one I was rooting for (and I squeed like a fangirl for days when he was announced)
Bowser Jr., Chibi Robo, and Paper Mario I recall also wanting.

I didn't play Super Mario Galaxy till 2009 so I hadn't become a fan of Rosalina yet.
The idea of Bandanna Dee being a relevant character didn't exist back then.
I only recently became a fan of Anna when Awakening came around.
Shulk I don't think even existed back then.
And I never thought I would be a fan of Palutena or anything Kid Icarus back then.
Man... Times sure have changed.

 

[Vann Accessible]

Dusting off a classic...

For Brawl newcomers I wanted:

Pit! Pit! A thousand times PIT!!!!!!
Wario
Diddy Kong
Olimar
R.O.B (damn right I did!)
Revamped Ganondorf
Sonic
Little Mac
Ridley
Isaac
Andy
Geno and / or Mallow
Krystal
Tom Nook

In retrospect, Geno and Mallow were always a pipe dream, and I only wanted Krystal for more female characters. I loved Brawl's roster, and still do.



And then, when SSB4 was first announced I wanted....

Megaman!
Little Mac
Solo Charizard (I actually did, no lie)
Revamped Ganondorf (Sakurai will come through this time, I know it)
Ridley (some people seem cognitive dissonencely positive he'll be playable, but my hope died with the Direct)
Dixie Kong
Isaac (doubt he'll make it)
Andy (ditto)
Palutena and/or Medusa
Shulk (more so for the Xenoblade music and stage, I still hate Sulk as a character)
Simon Belmont
Duck Hunt Dog

Anyway, I've gotten my top 2 most wanted this time around so I'm already pleased. Anybody else they add to the roster will just be icing in the cake at this point.

 

[KatKit]

I didn't have a Brawl wishlist. I remember checking the site every night for updates, and I was amazed/grateful for every little feature presented. I read articles about Sakurai and his decision making, and how he wished he could improve the game since it was the last in the series (which was a lie but whatever lol).

Then I discovered internet forums... I saw suggestions and things. Some were cool, others weird, others were downright terrible. But they taught me something: they taught me that I could imagine/hope for a roster that could improve an already solid fighting game series.

So when Brawl released, I thought about how it would be cool if certain characters (mostly assist trophies) were playable. I also wished that removed features returned, and I thought about new game modes entirely. Years later, Smash 4 was announced. I now have a wishlist.

Characters I want playable (in no particular order) :

Palutena
Saki
Andy
Jill Dozer
Isaac
Lyn (or a prominent FE rep that doesn't use a sword)
Medusa
Krystal
Ayumi or Detective
Ghirahim
Takamaru
King K. Rool
Sukapon
Savvy Stylist
Black Shadow
Ridley

Bosses:

Hades
Brain Age Guy

Modes and things:

Break the target (individual stages)
Race to the finish

New mode:

Smash-ket ball (basketball minigame in a Smash bros. type fashion)

Of course I am fine if none of these things get added, but it is fun to imagine and anticipate.

 

[Ryan.]

My wants have definitely changed, I wanted a lot of Mario characters since those were pretty much the only games I played. I imagined Daisy, Waluigi, Toad, Bowser Jr (still want though), and more. I also wanted every Melee character to return, but now I understand why most of them were cut. I wasn't following Brawl like I am with Smash 4 though.