"Super Smash Bros. Brawl is probably somewhere in every Wii owner’s or future Wii owner’s top five games they want this year. There’s no doubt people have spent the last few years debating and speculating about the new game’s character roster.
The game’s director, Masashiro Sakurai, recently spoke on a Japanese radio show about the game. We’ll start with the bad news. The following characters will NOT be returning to the game’s roster: Young Link, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers. While reports don’t include the reasons for the removal of these characters, I think it’s safe to say a clone, an unknown, and a pair of characters with pretty lame moves won’t be missed by too many people. Personally though, I’d take Game & Watch or Ice Climbers back as long as they get rid of Pichu.
Now for some good news. Sakurai was able to confirm the arrival of Bowser Jr. to the game. Will he be a clone of Bowser? I’m thinking not, since Sakurai seems to be taking his time with this game, so I have a feeling we’re going to see less clones this time around. Next up, Link from The Wind Waker will be entering the ring. As to how his moves will differ from Young Link remains to be seen, but his inclusion makes sense with The Wind Waker being the most recent incarnation of “boy” Link, as well as the next one (in Phantom Hourglass). Lastly, Metroid’s Ridley will finally be playable in the Super Smash Bros. series. With Samus, Zero Suit Samus, and Ridley in Brawl and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption all coming this year, this is definately a year for Metroid.
Aside from Sakurai’s interview, Sonic and the Secret Rings director Yojiro Ogawa recently told the Nintendo Official Magazine that he would love to see Sonic in Brawl. “In my personal opinion, it would be great to have Sonic in it. But that would really involve Sonic and Nintendo’s management, it’s nothing to do with me!” Hopefully, Ogawa’s expressed desires will have more weight on the Brawl team than the fans do. I know some people around my dorm that desperately want Sonic in this game - as do I."
