64
Starters:
Unlockable:
Reasoning: I like the idea of every character in the first one being from a different game series, and Yoshi feels too attached to Mario, I guess. Marth can be added to get earlier interest, I suppose, and in the first game, he can have sword and shield usage, based on Link's model initially. Captain Falcon and Little Mac can also be based in similar models.
Melee
Starters:
Unlockable:
Scizor
Most of the clones are taken out, Banjo & Kazooie is in early on as the duo character over Ice Climbers (potentially leading to a healthier, longer relationship with Rare), Ganondorf is more unique and uses a trident/magic, Heracross is here in place of the other two Pokemon reps, and Sonic is in to herald the coming of SEGA to Nintendo consoles. I guess if Soul Calibur 2 can have guest characters, so can Super Smash Bros. 2. There's no Sheik here, either, sadly, due to not recurring as much.
Brawl
Just the newcomers this time, no cuts from the last game, though.
In place of Toon Link, ZSS, Wolf, the three Trainer Pokemon, and Lucas, we have:
Tingle,
, Sukapon, Lip, Isaac, Sami [slight Snake semi-clone],
More variety in Nintendo series highlighted, as well as adding Mega Man and Ridley earlier. Edit: noticed that Zelda lacked characters for a bit, so you can have Tingle here. Yes, certainly.
Wii U/3DS
Sylveon
Rhythm Girl
Because of my previous trend of not really using starters for Pokemon, Greninja is swapped out for Sylveon. I think they're a fairly unique choice, and one to represent Eevees in general, as well as Fairy Types. Dr. Mario isn't in here, and probably not Dark Pit or Lucina, either. Robin is probably the last Fire Emblem representative for this game. If cutting two clones can allow me one more newcomer, I'll use that to add the Rhythm Girl as a Rhythm Heaven rep, because I like adding more Nintendo series, and that seems like a big one around this time that doesn't have a playable character. Other than that, not much changes about the starting newcomers, aside from some characters that were newcomers in here appearing earlier. Mii Fighters might combine into one customizable fighter, but I don't know for sure.
DLC: Impa,
Corrin gets swapped for K. Rool. People actually asked for him. Yea. Lucas and Roy never got in, and Mewtwo is already on the roster, so I dunno if this gives me room for another character or not. Edit: noticed that Zelda lacked characters in comparison to Mario or Pokemon, so perhaps Impa can be added here, as well.
Ultimate
Starman, Mimikyu
Starman from Pro Wrestling replaces Incineroar for the time being. But I can still add a Pokemon, because Ridley and K. Rool got in earlier, if I'm not mistaken, so we also get Mimikyu. You may also notice that most of the Pokemon reps are from different Pokemon generations, which is neat.
DLC:
Crash
Officer Howard
Crash is here because Banjo got in way earlier. Min-Min replaces Byleth as a recent game representative, with Officer Howard from Astral Chain taking her place on the next pass. Then after Steve, I do not know. If I'm adding 4 more characters, I'll say Ryu Hayabusa, DOOMGuy, Carmen Sandiego, and Nester off the top of my head. But we'll see what the rest of the pass holds for us...
Hopefully this isn't too wonky. But here we are.