- I adore The Plant. Out of all the “joke characters” ever put into Smash, this feels like Sakurai at his absolute trolliest. I laughed out loud when it was revealed. I’ve also grown to really dig its risky keepaway/heavyweight playstyle. It wouldn’t have been the first Mario mook I would’ve chosen, but it’ll always be hilarious.
- I never touched a SMT/Persona game before he was revealed. His playstyle doesn’t fit mine at all, and I’ve grown annoyed as all hell seeing everyone play as him in tournaments just because MKLeo’s a god with him. His stage and soundtrack are infinitely more fun to me. At the end of the day, the only thing Joker really means to me is “His bombshell TGA reveal opened so many doors for more interesting characters”, which I guess ain’t nothing.
- This felt like a long time coming and I really respect how much love and care Sakurai/Sora Ltd. put into his design. Having four alts is just pure, unapologetic fan service. People hate the drop-down menu because it’s “too random”, but it adds such a unique and fun-as-balls twist to casual matches. I wish his music selection wasn’t absolute sh*t, but other than that, I think Hero’s a great addition.
- So when I was a dumb nine-year-old playing Smash 64 for the first time, my only question was “Wait, where’s Banjo and Kazooie?” And after a two decade-long rollercoaster, that reveal trailer was everything to me. Their updated design is perfect, their stage is nothing short of gorgeous with all the easter eggs and HD character models, the music selection…admittedly could’ve had a few more songs from Tooie…and depriving us of a Mumbo Jumbo Mii outfit was criminal…and yes, I know everyone hates them because of their kit’s overreliance on Grenade Egg and Wonderwing…but in my mind, no joke, Ultimate’s roster wrapped with B&K. Everything that came afterwards was just toppings.
- I didn’t know Terry existed until The SNK Leak. The only game I knew from that company at all was Metal Slug. I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy at his reveal, but seeing how much love Sakurai poured into his entire Pass was a blast to see. And at the end of the day, Terry is stupidly fun to play. He’s like a more bombastic Ryu/Ken while simultaneously having command inputs that feel easier to pull off. Solid inclusion, no real complaints.
- Like everyone else, it was hard not to be disappointed at her reveal trailer. Like, really hard. But once I got my hands on her, I found her moveset to be fun enough. I like their long reach and the risk/reward of committing to your heaviest attacks. And it is cool to get some 3 Houses representation in the game since it was a huge hit. If you just kept her, Robin, Marth, and Lucina and cut the rest of the FE cast, you’d have a very solid representation of the series, imo.
: - I love Min Min for all the reasons everyone else hates Min Min. I love how she doesn't play like any other character on the roster. I love how she's not the box mascot of her game. I love how she's a promoted Spirit. I love how ARMS was given a proper spot on the roster. I love how angry people get when they can't adapt to her playstyle. I love her chaotic stage. I love the music. I love how palpably furious people still are at all the choices made to bring her into Smash. Good sh*t, Min Min.
- I’ve only played about 2 hours of Minecraft in my entire life and I’ve had the foresight to avoid all of the “Minecraft Youtuber”/cringe memes/etc that made certain secs of the internet hate the game over the years. To me, Steve and Minecraft in general was THE game of the 2010s and if any property “deserved” a spot in Smash, this was it. Seeing just how much work Sakurai’s team put into this character’s kit to make it as faithful and accurate as they could will always blow me away. A VERY welcome addition.
- This reveal was…a lot for me. On one hand, seeing Square Enix get another character after seemingly being so stingy with Smash was huge. Seeing that it was f***ing Sephiroth was absolutely incredible. But a big chunk of me did feel super weird that Sephiroth was getting a spot before Robotnik, who now feels notably absent from this game’s roster. That being said, seeing FF7 finally get the music tracks, Spirits, Mii costumes, and stage representation that it deserved from the beginning was VERY satisfying.
