I've seen a lot of concepts out there for what Melee would look like with more development time, but let's imagine an alternative and much worse scernario - what if Melee actually had less development time? Whilst I wouldn't wish this on anyone, ever, it's an interesting thought experiment. I'll try and evidence my thought process here, but it's pretty possible I might miss something - and do expect mistakes to be made.
I'm going to focus on the roster. I think this'll be the most interesting topic here, at least.
Starting with the veterans from 64: I think Mario, DK, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Fox, Kirby and Pikachu would make it in. Whilst Samus may potentially be considered to be dropped, her zoning-focused playstyle would be important enough to be brought over, as well as her representing
Metroid as a unique part of Nintendo's roster compared to lighter IPs like
Mario and
Kirby.
The unlockables reach interesting territory - I think Luigi's playstyle would remain somewhat similar, but he'd be more similar to Mario in this game due to essentially being more of a clone. Captain Falcon also makes sense to bring over, given the continued relevence of
F-Zero at this time. However: Ness is an interesting case. The inclusion of "a Mother character" is pretty much set in stone, but he was originally going to be replaced with Lucas, albeit from the original
MOTHER 3 on the N64. As for when, exactly, the decision was made to change him into Ness due to the delays taking place with that game is unknown, but I'm going to put Lucas here in place of Ness regardless. However, his moveset remains almost identical. As for Jigglypuff, I think their nature as a "joke fighter" in the original game would result in Sakurai and the team struggling to justify using development time on them, and in essence, they'd basically be "replaced" by the much more popular Mewtwo.
As for newcomers, we need to remember Sakurai's mindset with characters - they should bring something unique to the table that only they can do. It's for this reason that I think Zelda/Sheik actually remains in the game, specifically both of them - because if it was just made into "Zelda" or "Sheik", they wouldn't have all too much to bring to the table and would likely be cut. Likewise, I think it's reasonable to presume the Ice Climbers actually remain - given their unique tag-teaming mechanic, they'd also bring something to the table. Furthermore, Bowser makes sense to include due to his popularity and moveset concepts. However, characters like Mr. Game and Watch would have to be cut - with Ice Climbers already filling the role of "retro rep." Peach and Marth, however, are interesting cases. I think, personally, that it'd be more likely for Marth to get in - with Marth having semi-similarities to Link, albeit not being a clone. (Think of it like the similarities between Samus and Falcon back in 64.) He'd likely have a similar body structure, though different animations and such - which would be easier to develop than a more unique moveset for Peach.
Another interesting consideration lies in clone characters. With the roster being significantly smaller, I don't think that all six clone characters would make it in (those being Dr. Mario, Falco, Pichu, Ganondorf, Young Link and Roy.) However, and this may be a little controversial, I do think there's the possibility of seeing a clone fighter. Looking at who we have here - I think Falco and Ganondorf make the most sense, but they'd wind up being a lot more similar to their counterparts (Fox and Captain Falcon respectively.) Ganondorf wouldn't have his sword and might not even have his cape, for example. As for my reasoning - Young Link and Pichu change the skeletons and thus animations of the characters they're based on, and would need a bit more work as a result. Roy would feel out of place in a smaller roster, especially with Lucas already being a promotional pick, and Dr. Mario would be difficult to justify due to Luigi being closer to Mario's moveset overall. Furthermore, both included clones have the bonus of interest from Sakurai - such as his interest in including the Star Fox team in Fox's alts back in 64, and in including more villains.
So, just to go over it all in brief:
- An obvious inclusion and an icon of Nintendo, though taking more direct inspiration from
Super Mario 64 in light of its popularity with only references to other games.
- Again, an obvious pick, though he maintains his nature as "the resident heavyweight" to an extent. Whilst aspects of his design could closely match DKC, it's more likely that DK would stick with a similar moveset to that seen now.
- Staying in his
Ocarina of Time design, Link is again an obvious inclusion as a returnee due to his unique swordfighting style and use of items.
- Perhaps the least likely of the base roster, but still an important character to bring back in the eyes of Sakurai and the team, Samus returns (get it?) due to her unique zoning playstyle, and is differentiated further from Captain Falcon than in
Super Smash Bros.
- Again, a clear-cut inclusion that makes sense due to his inclusion in the last game and his nature as an all-star.
- This isn't even just "Sakurai bias", Kirby makes sense as an inclusion due to his series' importance and his role in the last game.
- Fox and, by extension, his series, were still relevant at this point in time. His moveset overall is pretty similar, keeping his fast-paced nature.
- NEVER-ENDING POKÉFEVER. A clear-cut and obvious inclusion as with many of the other veterans.
- F-Zero is still relevant at this point in time and Captain Falcon provides a unique moveset to the roster, so he sticks around.
- Being more closely a clone of Mario, Luigi still has some differences, but would be considered more of a direct clone in this roster.
- Based on his
MOTHER64 appearance, Lucas replaces Ness, though keeping the same moveset and skeleton. This may or may not be switched out with Ness himself, however, depending on timelining.
- Essentially replacing Jigglypuff due to being the last game's "joke character," Mewtwo has a floaty - and unique - moveset.
- A clear-cut inclusion as a newcomer, Bowser is another heavyweight to join due to his overwhelming popularity in the Smash 2 poll.
- Another popular character to be included, Zelda
and Sheik make it in purely on the back of their transformation mechanics giving them a unique moveset. This lines up with Sakurai's belief that newcomers should bring something unique to the roster where possible.
- Another example of the "bring something unique" mentality, Ice Climbers make it in with their two-character dynamic intact, acting as the game's "retro rep".
- A late inclusion into the game, Marth has an identical skeleton to Link in order to re-use some animations. He's not "a Link clone", rather, he has a similar relationship to
Super Smash Bros.'s Samus and Captain Falcon in that a couple of moves and a skeleton are shared.
- A more direct clone of Fox with closer similarities, Falco's inclusion is justified based on Sakurai's interest in including other
Star Fox characters in Melee. I did consider Wolf in his spot, but Falco made more sense, and there's no evidence that Wolf was considered for
Melee.
- The saddest story of all, Ganondorf is a last-minute inclusion even closer to Captain Falcon - in this case not having his sword taunts or his cape due to potential animation issues so late in the game. His inclusion just about edges in based on his relative importance and popularity.
And as for cuts,
- Difficult to justify as "the second Pokémon" due to its role as a joke character in
Super Smash Bros., Jigglypuff is essentially replaced outright with Mewtwo as a more popular pick.
- A lack of source material, Bowser having more to offer and being more popular, and a limited roster meant Peach had to be cut too. It became difficult to justify her inclusion over others, especially considering Sakurai wanted to prevent bias toward certain series.
- With Ice Climbers already being present as a "retro rep" and development time being so limited, it'd come between the two of them - and with Ice Climbers having already been decided upon due to their unique mechanic over other retro characters, it seems unlikely that Mr. G&W would get in over them.
- Not as justifiable as a clone as Falco and Ganondorf, plus with Luigi already basically being a Mario clone, it simply wouldn't have been worth including him.
- Whilst Gen 2 representation would likely have been considered during development, Pichu's nature - having a different skeleton to Pikachu's - makes it unlikely to see them included.
- Likewise, Young Link has a different skeleton to Link himself, and thus doesn't make as much sense to see included. Whilst he's probably the closest to consideration, I'm going to suggest that Ganondorf is included instead due to more closely matching the proportions of another fighter and so as not to overload the roster with sword-wielders.
- With Lucas already being a promotional pick, the potential imbalance toward sword fighters, and his unique animations, I don't think Roy would be as likely as some of the other semi-clones here. He might be our boy, but he's not going to make it into this version of
Melee.
So, the final roster:
What are your thoughts? Feel free to reply!
