I feel like I've probably typed this out at some point, but I'll post my thoughts on the reveals that I can remember: (with Smash 64 and Melee, the reveals were pretty much all at once for me, since Melee's dojo equivalent was Japan-only and the internet wasn't as big when Smash 64 was coming out)
: one of my most-wanted characters at the time, so unsurprisingly, I was excited
: I was only vaguely aware of who he was, but I knew that Kid Icarus hadn't had a game in a while, so I thought it was a neat choice
: I didn't think ZSS was the best choice for a second Metroid character - it seemed weird to me that they picked a second Samus over the likes of Ridley.
: another one of my most-wanted characters; Wario Land 2 was one of the first games that I got into.
: I only recalled Snake from issues of Nintendo Power, so it didn't make as big of an impact on me as it could have. However, this did convince me to get MGS: The Twin Snakes on Gamecube, which got me into the Metal Gear series.
: wasn't really sure who he was - I had seen his games advertised, but Fire Emblem wasn't really something that I had any interest in getting into, given the whole "permanent death" mechanic
: this was a great idea for a character, and I liked how they incorporated all three of the gen. 1 starters so one didn't take priority over the others.
: this one seemed long overdue, and I was glad that Donkey Kong was getting more attention.
: that "up until now" line had me nervous about whether or not Ness would return, but while I hadn't gotten the chance to play Earthbound at this point, it was nice to see it getting more characters.
: while it seemed like a given after Snake's inclusion and Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games, it still felt unreal - I must have watched that reveal trailer a hundred times.
: the more Kirby characters, the better. I don't know if Dedede made as much of an impression on me back then as he has now, but he looked like fun.
: Olimar seemed a little weird in terms of gameplay. I had only played a bit of Pikmin, since I got the game at launch but sold it because the time management mechanic was too stressful for me at the age of 11. (I got the game later, but I can't remember when)
: okay, I guess? I thought he was more interesting than Young Link, at least.
: I was one of those people who thought he was added to replace Mewtwo; admittedly, I hadn't played gen. 4, and I still haven't played gen. 4.
: a neat pull from Nintendo's history, but where's Mega Man?
: it seemed like an odd choice to end on what seems to be another Fox clone.
: I was never big into Animal Crossing aside from using it for the free NES games. The memes were great, though.
: oh, there's Mega Man. His reveal trailer was great - my only experience with classic Mega Man had been through the Gamecube collection, but after years of Capcom ignoring the franchise, it was great to see him get so much love and attention.
: a really weird character choice - I remember that, as more and more characters were revealed, it just seemed odd that the developers would pick this character over ones with a decade of fan support like Ridley or K. Rool.
: makes sense, given her inclusion in Mario 3D World. I'm still a little disappointed that we haven't gotten Kirby's Air Ride 2 or Kirby in Mario Kart, though.
: great choice, makes a ton of sense, and I have no complaints.
: I didn't know much about gen. 6. A little disappointed that it wasn't Mewtwo (the lack of webbing on the fingers made me think that it was him at first), but Greninja still looked fun.
: makes sense. I don't think I was especially excited by their inclusion, though.
: given Sakurai's work on Kid Icarus Uprising, a new Kid Icarus character seemed guaranteed. Her inclusion made sense, and I liked how they incorporated Pit's abilities from Uprising, though again, I don't know if I was super-excited for it.
: it seems really weird that they saved Pac-Man, arguably the biggest reveal, for an after-hours press-only showing. Again, with Namco-Bandai involved, his inclusion was expected, but not super exciting - the only Pac-Man games that I was familiar with were the original, Pac-Man Vs., and Pac-Man World 2.
: glad to see them changing up the formula from the previous Fire Emblem characters. I think this (along with what my brother had told me about Awakening) is what convinced me to get a 3DS.
: I was glad that they were branching out somewhat, rather than going with the character that everyone expected (Chrom).
: I'm really feeling it! I think I had gotten Xenoblade by this point (it was full price "used", but given how scarce it was, I figured I wouldn't have many opportunities), and while I hadn't gotten very far in it, I was glad to see a more niche franchise/property getting the promotion.
: all of these were leaked in advance, and while Shulk was leaked as well, his inclusion seemingly confirmed them. I don't recall being too excited about any of them, though I thought that Duck Hunt was a nice choice for a retro character. My opinion on Bowser Junior improved when the trailer came out and we saw that all of the Koopalings were included, my opinion on Duck Hunt improved when the trailer came out and we saw how goofy they were, and my opinion on Dark Pit never really improved - his inclusion, along with the sheer amount of Kid Icarus content in the items, trophies, and modes like Smash Run, seemed like overkill.
: when Ryu supposedly leaked through his victory music (and more conclusively, his classic clear video), I wasn't sure what would make him interesting, but the inclusion of traditional fighting game motions to power up his attacks won me over
: this was a complete shock to me - I hadn't played much of Final Fantasy 7 at the time (I only knew about the start of the game, the spoiler that everyone knows about, and the final boss), but it was still a big deal.
: two Fire Emblem characters in the base game was fine - Robin was unique, and Lucina didn't take much effort to include. Roy as DLC seemed pushing it - it seemed a bit much to add a clone of a character who already had a clone, especially when there were a bunch of other veterans that people would have preferred. This is the straw that broke the camel's back for me when it came to Fire Emblem characters - it seemed excessive to give the series more characters than the Legend of Zelda, and Corrin's inclusion came across as blatantly trying to promote a game that wasn't even released outside of Japan yet.
: she was a character that I really wanted to see in Smash (I got Bayonetta 1 on a whim because it was cheap and by the people who made Viewtiful Joe, but Bayonetta 2 was one of the reasons why I bought a Wii U, and I wanted to see how well the Smash team would translate the gameplay of that series into Smash), but I thought it would never happen. While the start of the trailer had me expecting that they were going to claim that a Kid Icarus character won the ballot, I was extremely happy when they revealed that Bayonetta was being added to Smash. She played exactly how I expected, and while some might argue that's a bad thing, it was incredible to see a character that I thought would never make it get included in Smash Bros.
: great choice, and I honestly would have been surprised if they weren't included
: meh
: incredibly excited - I had wanted him since the time between Melee and Brawl, and they did a great job with translating him into Smash. I don't know why people thought it was "impossible" to scale him down.
: with Simon and Richter, I understand their inclusion from a historical perspective, but I had tried getting into Castlevania a few times (the original and Super Castlevania 4) and I just couldn't get into it - I'm not a huge fan of those kind of "git gud" games where frustrating control schemes are supposedly "part of the charm". (after finding out that Richter was the Belmont from the "what is a man?" scene, I tried Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and had a lot more fun with it, so I definitely prefer the Metroid inspired ones over the classics)
: more Metroid content is a plus
: while I felt like we had long gone past the point where another Fire Emblem character is needed, the fact that he's a clone made it easier to accept in my eyes.
: much like Ridley, this is a character that I had wanted for years (since Diddy made it in), and it was great to see him included. They did an amazing job with him, and it was a huge relief to have both Ridley and K. Rool officially in Smash Bros. after years of mockery.
: kind of expected after Mario Kart 8.
: makes perfect sense as an echo fighter, and more Street Fighter content is a plus.
: okay, I guess? Kind of expected, given the "Box Theory" at the time, though I think I was hoping for Decidueye
: what? Once the shock wore off, I thought it was an interesting way for the developers to try something different.
: at this point, I had bought Persona 5, but I hadn't played it. Suffice to say, I never saw it coming. I played Persona 5 after that, and wound up putting 100+ hours into it, playing Persona 4, and getting Persona 5 Strikers, so I guess you can say I liked the game.
: I was expecting Erdrick to be the default costume. Again, this makes a lot of sense. I hadn't played much of Dragon Quest (though since then, I've played 1 and 11 - I also have 3 and 8, but I haven't played them yet), but Dragon Quest is an influential franchise, and with Square-Enix already involved, it just seemed like a matter of time.
: this is dreams-come-true material for me - Banjo-Kazooie and Ocarina of Time were the first N64 games that I ever owned, and after the Microsoft buyout, I assumed that Banjo and Kazooie coming to Smash was a pipe dream. I was so glad to be proven wrong.
: if we got an SNK character, I wanted it to be Terry. (or Geese or Rugal, but they seemed considerably less likely) He's just so energetic and fun, and the inclusion of Super Special moves was a plus in my eyes. (it would be a shame if Terry got into Smash but without "ARE YOU OKAY? BUSTA WOLF!")
: a really disappointing way to end Fighters Pass 1. I'm just glad that Fighters Pass 2 had been announced by that point. While I had played Fire Emblem Three Houses prior to his announcement (unlike the other Fire Emblem characters), Byleth was easily the least interesting of the four main options (Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude). His entire personality is that he has no personality, and his fighting style seems like it would be a mix of Marth's sword and Simon's whip. I can see why they didn't pick one of the house leaders (that way, no route is treated as though it's more important than the others), but I would have preferred Edelgard.
: I knew very little about ARMS - I played the free trial, but it didn't grab me. Min Min seemed like the best choice given that she (I think) won a popularity contest (though if spirits were actually ruled out like some people thought, then I wouldn't have minded Dr. Coyle), but I find it tough to get excited about a character if their source material isn't fun.
: I'm glad he was revealed after Banjo. I hadn't played Minecraft in about ten years, so quite a bit of Steve's content was new to me (his up special, Alex, Enderman...). I did get Minecraft on the Wii U to see how the game had changed over the years, so points for that. (I know it's not the most up-to-date version, but I figured that I had a lot more space on my Wii U than I did on my Switch) All in all, I thought his inclusion made sense, and it was great to see an indie character (technically) making it into Smash. (at the very least, it speaks to how much of a success story Minecraft is)
: the Sephiroth reveal was great (I beat Final Fantasy 7 between Cloud's reveal and this), though it came with some mixed emotions - it meant that my most-wanted character was almost definitely ruled out from being included, and I wished that Final Fantasy games other than 7 would get referenced in Smash. (it would be nice if we even got a spirit event for another Final Fantasy game) He looked like a lot of fun, and the Sephiroth Challenge was a great way to bring him into the game.
: I'm not even far enough into Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to know about Zeke, let alone Mythra. Still, Pyra and Mythra look like they'll be fun to play as, and I prefer them over Rex. (there's something about Rex that makes it harder for me to like him or get invested in him than it was for Shulk - not sure what)