How different would the roster be if this was the first smash bros game?

[WertQuadNine]

Same mechanics and crap, just how do you guys think the roster would look if this was the very first smash bros game?
I'll post mine later.​

 

[Substitution]

Well for starters, you would need the all-stars. So Mario, Luigi, Link, and Donkey Kong would be in. I hear Pokemon is up and coming, so Pikachu would definitely be in. And due to the anime, let's put in Jigglypuff. We can put in Yoshi and Kirby for the kiddos, along with Fox and Samus for the sci-fi appeal. Finally, some oddball reps; so how about that kid from Earthbound (let's call him Ness) and Captain Falcon? We can think of a moveset for the latter later.

 

[SpeedBoost]

There would be no Jigglypuff that would be for damn sure.

 

[NintendoPSX]

This is my list.
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Wario Rosalina.
Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong. (Let's be real, this wouldn't change)
Link, Zelda (Skyward Sword designs), Demise, Toon Link.
Pikachu, Charizard, Greninja (I feel that wouldn't have changed), Blaziken, Lucario (He's still popular).
Pit, Palutena, (Maybe Dark Pit as his resource is close to nothing)
Marth, Chrom, Lucina, Robin.
Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight.
Fox, Falco.
Shulk, Little Mac (Still relatively relevant), Samus/ZSS, Ness, Olimar, Villager,
It's hard to judge on some odd obscure ones that got added later on like ROB, G&W and Ice Climbers and Captain Falcon since their "relevance" is close to none in terms of recent games.
(Which is what this would be based on if it was the first Smash).

 

[Ffamran]

Captain Falcon and Ness have low chances of appearing even with EarthBound or Mother 2 in Japan being released on Virtual Console. Same with Fox, Falco, Wolf, Krystal, or any Star Fox character. Fox might show up since a new Star Fox game is in development, but we don't know if Sakurai was aware and if he was aware of a new game, it might be too late.

Marth wouldn't appear or he would as Lucina's alt while Chrom would take place of either Roy or Ike so, a Lucina and Chrom appearing together like Marth and Roy. Robin's definitely in because of Awakening. Ike might not make it even though he is sort of well known. Considering this, Lucina would probably be the speed and finesse to Chrom's strength and simplicity.

Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja are definitely in since they're popular, but Jigglypuff probably won't make it in. I don't know about Lucario because of Mega Evolution and because of how there's not much "OH YEAH! LUCARIO" going on like when Lucario first appeared. Same with Mewtwo.

Link, Toon Link or A Link Between Worlds Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf all make sense on appearing. Sheik's not showing up since it's been years since she had a canon appearance and Hyrule Warriors was probably not considered by Sakurai as much since it's a spin off. Impa or Ghirahim show up in place since Skyward Sword is the other major, recent Zelda game. Link's, Zelda's, and even Ganondorf's move set would probably be different since Link would be based on Skyward Sword, Zelda would either use a sword like in Twilight Princess or use a harp and magic like in Skyward Sword, and Ganondorf would be Chrom's clone. Or the Ike of SSB if Ike doesn't show up since it would be the first SSB.

Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Rosalina, and Bowser Jr. are all going to appear alongside Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Yoshi. Wario's iffy since during Brawl he did have a couple of games coming out that were relevant. Now, not so much. He might appear to fill in another villain role or because Sakurai felt like an "obscure" character like him has enough merit to appear. Same with Waluigi.

The Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Shulk, Pit, Palutena, and Olimar or some Pikmin protagonist, would all appear since they all had recent, major games and Wii Fit Trainer makes sense from a "thank you" standpoint of the Wii's sales.

Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight all have fair chances since they had recent games that weren't super popular, but they weren't dead or took extremely long gaps.

Sonic the Hedgehog would be in as well since Sonic Colors, Sonic Lost World, and Sonic Boom are all Nintendo-Sega collaborations.

Mega Man and Pac-Man would show up because Mega Man was either wanted by Sakurai or because of a retro standpoint and Pac-Man was asked for by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Solid Snake might make an appearance since Hideo Kojima is friends with Sakurai and would love to see his character in a game like this.

Mr. Game & Watch and R.O.B. will probably appear as retro characters. Maybe Duck Hunt too.

That leaves Samus and Little Mac. Assuming so, as the first game, people probably won't request as many characters, so Little Mac wouldn't be asked for and probably wouldn't show up. Metroid is "dead" to many due to Other M's mixed reception and because there are no known games in development. Could Samus appear? Yes, but it's unlikely since even with the Prime Trilogy's reception and popularity, Sakurai might see Metroid as a series that doesn't have a current future; a potential future, yes, but not a definite and current future. So, if Samus appears, Zero Suit Samus might never appear since she was a "gimmick" for Samus's Final Smash in Brawl.

Oh, and the Ice Climbers have no chance if the first SSB was for both the 3DS and Wii U since the whole processor issue. As retro characters and if it SSB only appeared on the Wii U, I can see them making an appearance, but they might look like Mr. Game & Watch; they'd be 2D sprites instead of 3D sprites.

That leaves newcomers and such. I can see a Bravely Default, The Last Story, Sin & Punishment, Pandora's Tower, a Monster Hunter, Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton, and Paper Mario character making it in.

 

[the8thark]

Jiggly would not be in the game.
Ness would not be in the game.
Ice Climbers would not be in the game.
More Kid Icarus characters would be in the game (due to Sakurai's unhealthy KI obsession)
Samus would be in the game (because of Samus being in Monster Hunter 4)
I think Fire Emblem would not have any characters in the game as there's no need to advertise FE like there was in the Melee days.
Possibility that Groose would be in the game.

 

[Meelow]

Pretty much just like you guys said...

Series and Characters that would be in:
Mario Reps: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi (I could see Yoshi being a Mario rep instead of his own series)
Zelda Reps: Link, Zelda, Ganondorf (Ganondorf would have his own moveset)
Kirby Reps: Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight
DK Reps: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Fire Emblem Reps: Marth, Lucina
Kid Icarus: Pit, Palutena
Metriod: Samus
Pikmin: Olimar
Pokemon Reps: Pikachu, Greninja, Lucario
Punch Out: Little Mac
Star Fox: Fox
Third Party: Sonic, Megaman, Pac-Man

Series and Characters that would not be in:

Mario Reps: Bowser Jr., Rosalina, Dr. Mario - These characters would be in Smash 2, other then maybe Dr. Mario
Zelda Reps: Sheik, Toon Link - Sheik wouldn't be relevant enough, Nintendo would go easy on character clones do no Toon Link
Fire Emblem Reps: No way there would be 4 Fire Emblem reps, so they would only have Marth and Lucina
Kid Icarus: Dark Pit - Like Toon Link, Nintendo would wait till Smash 2 for clone characters
Metriod: Zero Suit Samus would come in Smash 2
Pikmin: Alph? Sakurai wouldn't put alts until Smash 2
Pokemon Reps: Jigglypuff, Charizard
Star Fox: Falco, Wolf
Earthbound/Mother
F-Zero
Game & Watch
R.O.B
Duck Hunt Dog
Ice Climbers
Metal Gear Solid: Snake would be in Smash 2

 

[AIM0001]

Jiggly would not be in the game.
Ness would not be in the game.
Ice Climbers would not be in the game.
More Kid Icarus characters would be in the game (due to Sakurai's unhealthy KI obsession)
Samus would be in the game (because of Samus being in Monster Hunter 4)
I think Fire Emblem would not have any characters in the game as there's no need to advertise FE like there was in the Melee days.
Possibility that Groose would be in the game.

HAHAHA

On a serious note....It's really hard to say. I think if this was the first Smash we wouldn't have as many retro characters right away like G&W, R.O.B., Duck Hunt etc. Wii Fit trainer wouldn't even be a thought. But aside from obscure characters I think most the roster would be identical.

 

[Brickbuild101]

The original 8, Pit, Dedede, Zelda, Villager, Olimar, and Miis. ...I'm really tired right now if you couldn't tell.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Cut:
Sonic
Mega Man
Pac-Man
Palutena
Dark Pit
Ike
Robin
Lucina
Lucario
Jigglypuff
Dr. Mario
Sheik
Zero Suit Samus
Ness
Captain Falcon

Maybe cut:
Rosalina
Bowser Jr
Wii Fit Trainer
Meta Knight
Toon Link
Duck Hunt Dog
R.O.B

For starters there probably wouldn't be any 3rd parties, the gimmick for the first game is this is a Nintendo all-star game after all, 3rd party characters would not get that point across for the very first installment, so out goes Sonic, Mega Man and Pac-Man.

Kid Icarus never had its revival so they're starting from point one with Pit as a retro character. Fire Emblem would probably have been long dead without the support from Smash (Marth's inclusion is debatable too because of this) so Robin and Lucina were never created while FE stayed Japan-exclusive for the remainder of its lifetime, the rest were simply too late to make it in or there'd be no reason to include them in the very first installment. Falco can be argued too since Star Fox was pretty dead when the roster was made.

The roster as a whole would probably also be much smaller since they'd have much less experience creating this type of game, so less important characters like Rosalina, Bowser Jr, Wii Fit Trainer, Meta Knight and Toon Link could end up being cut. I doubt we'd get this many retro reps in one slew either, meaning the possible exclusion of Duck Hunt Dog and R.O.B in favor of G&W and Pit representing that part alone. A lot of movesets would likely be simplified too, but hey, at least Ganondorf wouldn't be a clone anymore.

 

[AustarusIV]

Kid Icarus would most definitely NOT have a large presence in this game, if even one at all. Fire Emblem probably wouldn't have even survived to this day if it weren't for this series, and I don't think third-party characters would have been seriously considered.

Mario, DK, Zelda, Kirby, Pokemon, Metroid, and Animal Crossing would all have at least one character rep in this game. Star Fox and F-Zero would probably also appear, but EarthBound is a bit iffy. I could see Ness being treated as a "retro" character, and if not him then maybe Captain Falcon. F-Zero hasn't had a new game in over ten years, hasn't it?

I could see the Pokemon representation consisting of Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario, and Greninja, considering that they're all heavily advertised (Greninja less so). Jigglypuff probably wouldn't have made it considering its popularity waned after the early 2000s.

 

[Aeon Lupin]

Well, lets get the obvious ones out of the way. If this was the first Smash, well I think it would only be developed for the 3ds, as it would be considered too much of a risk to include in the dying WiiU.

Mario, Link, DK, Pikachu, Yoshi, Kirby and Luigi: Are for sure going to be in.

Bowser, Ganondorf, Mewtwo and Dedede: Are very likely, as they were intended to be in the first.

Fox and Samus: They are possible, but their franchises would not be in their prime like they were back then, so 50/50.

Captain Falcon, Ness: They are very unlikely as they would be part of long dead franchises. Captain Falcon would probably be viewed the same way Mach Rider is right now.

Jigglypuff: Nope, would have way too much in competition for a pokemon rep. Charizard, Lucario or Meowth would all be considered before her.

Peach, Zelda, Diddy: I see them happening, but not entirely sure.

Sheik: Ocarina of Time would still be a huge game at this point, and the 3ds version would also be out. Could happen, but would suffer the same hurdle Midna and Ghirahim have, being only a one time character.

Rosalina, Bowser Jr: Would all be considered supporting characters at the time, and probably not make into the first.

Meta Knight, Lucario: Meta Knight is a possible one, since he's from a Sakurai franchise, Lucario is also possible, but would probably have a tougher time, as he would not be put in during the height of his popularity, and would have stiff competition in the way of Charizard, and especially Mewtwo.

Little Mac: He's more likely than some think. Afterall, he got a revival game without being a playable Smash character. They'd probably try to capitalize on the popularity, and include him in a Nintendo allstars game. Though his lack of popularity in Japan would probably hurt his chance.

WFT, DHD, IC: Are all probably not happening. WFT was the result of Sakurai including a character no one asked for, DHD would have too many in the way of retro spot, and IC would be a less relevant commodity, as more series would be considered.

Marth, Ike, Robin, Lucina, Roy: Not happening. Fire Emblem would probably be long dead as there would be no Smash game to help support the franchise, and unheard of in the West. They'd go the way of Mike Jones but from Japan.

Villager: Would not even be considered, so out of the question.

Pit: He's a toss up, as Sakurai felt the need to completely overhaul him. He could make it, if Sakurai still felt the same, but I ain't sure, so 50/50.

Palutena, Dark Pit: Can't even be considered if Pit isn't.

Toon Link: He's probably got a fair shot, as he has been featured in a lot more Zelda games than regular Link, so fairly likely, and can work as the semi clone for Link to Mario's Luigi .

Olimar: If Miyamoto feels the need to include him. He has that kind of power.

ZSS: Not if Samus is considered.

Charizard, Greninja, Ivysaur, Squirtle: Charizard is the most likely as he is the most popular pokemon, bar Pikachu. Greninja would have too much competition, and more emphasis would be placed in choosing the most popular/important characters from each series. Ivysaur and Squirtle are no dice, without Pokemon trainer.

Wolf, Falco Lucas: Wolf and Falco are a no, if there is no Fox, and Lucas is a no, as his franchise would be long dead.

Pichu, Young Link, Dr Mario: Pichu has too much competition and would not be seriously considered, Toon Link would be a more appropriate choice than Young Link. Only Dr Mario is likely, as he would be added as a clone, but not too sure.

Mr Game & Watch, R.O.B: They are not going to be considered a priority, though, R.O.B would probably be added in as a joke character. G&W could, as the system he appeared on would resemble the 3ds, so it make a nice throwback.

Sonic, Mega Man, Pacman, Snake: Among all these 3rd parties, Sonic is the most likely, but if its the first Smash, I think the game would be considered too small a project to even get the licensing privilege to even get them.

Mii: Maybe as an avatar fighter.

Shulk: Operation Rainfall would be big Nintendo incident, but I doubt people would request him for it, as Smash would not be that luxurious a franchise to be a part of, due to being the first. It would have to put big names, and not so much make big names out of smaller series like Xenoblade.

 

[Erebus]

All crossovers (Sonic, Pac-Man, MegaMan) would get cutted.

 

[CrownTitle]

Assuming all series have the same popularity today, I would predict the game to have 25 characters and no third parties.

16 starters and 9 unlockables.

Mario
Bowser
Peach
Luigi (unlock)
Yoshi
Wario (unlock)
Link
Zelda
Ganondorf (unlock)
Pikachu
Greninja
Charizard (unlock)
Donkey Kong
Diddy (unlock)
Samus
Fox
Kirby
King Dedede (unlock)
Pit
Capt. Olimar
Little Mac
Robin
Lucina/Marth (unlock)
Capt. Falcon (retro) (unlock)
Ness (retro) (unlock)

 

[Erebus]

Assuming all series have the same popularity today, I would predict the game to have 25 characters and no third parties.

16 starters and 9 unlockables.

Mario
Bowser
Peach
Luigi (unlock)
Yoshi
Wario (unlock)
Link
Zelda
Ganondorf (unlock)
Pikachu
Greninja
Charizard (unlock)
Donkey Kong
Diddy (unlock)
Samus
Fox
Kirby
King Dedede (unlock)
Pit
Capt. Olimar
Little Mac
Robin
Lucina/Marth (unlock)
Capt. Falcon (retro) (unlock)
Ness (retro) (unlock)

Charizard as an unlockable sounds weird to me; it's too famous. In my opinion, LM is more likely to be an unlockable.

 

[WertQuadNine]

Oh also games like FE: Awakaning, and KI: Uprising would still be made.

 

[Oddpepsi]

Super Mario Bros: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Rosalina, Bowser Jr., Dr. Mario, Toad
Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong
The Legend of Zelda: Link, Princess Zelda, Ganondorf,
Metroid: Samus Aran
Kirby: Kirby, King Dedede
Pokémon: Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario
Game & Watch: Mr. Game & Watch
Duck Hunt: Duck Hunt
Gyromite: R.O.B.
Mii: Mii, Wii Fit Trainer
3rd Party: Sonic, Pac-Man

 

[LancerStaff]

Let's just say there's 20 characters and nothing was effected by the change.

Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Wario
Link (ALBW)
Zelda (ALBW)
Ganon (ALBW, rehauled a bit)
Kirby
King DeDeDe
Marth
DK
Pit
Pikachu
Charizard
Lucario
Greninja
Olimar
Mii
*insert retro here*

Why ALBW characters, you ask? Console Zeldas don't mean a whole lot in Japan anymore.

 

[the8thark]

Why ALBW characters, you ask? Console Zeldas don't mean a whole lot in Japan anymore.

If you're doing it for the J.aps then you have to include Tingle as he is super popular there. Tingle even got his own spin off game there.

 

[Brindor]

To be honest, I would kinda see it as an experiment by Nintendo, released solely as a digital only title on the E shop and only on the 3DS.

For the roster, I could see Mario, Fox, Samus, Link, Pikachu, Kirby and maybe DK all in, with other characters including Bowser, Pit, D3 and maybe M2.

I could see the stage selection being about 6 - 8 stages, with mostly bland choices.

I'd also envision that all the movesets would consist of just a few simple punches and kicks, with also one or two specials.

 

[NinjaWaddleDee]

You also have to take into account that without Smash, Fire Emblem and Kid Icarus would be NOTHING like they are today. Fire Emblem would probably be dead, and KI:U would never have been made if Pit wasn't considered for Brawl. Also, I'm sure a bunch of people wouldn't care as much for Earthbound because Ness being in Smash Bros. is what added to it's legendary status.

 

[dbwithlemon]

Everyone seems to accept that KI and FE both wouldn't be a thing if Smash hadn't rep'd those characters.
Can anyone link to something officially acknowledging this or has everyone just decided this is the case without any actual proof?

 

[Raijinken]

Everyone seems to accept that KI and FE both wouldn't be a thing if Smash hadn't rep'd those characters.
Can anyone link to something officially acknowledging this or has everyone just decided this is the case without any actual proof?

KI was a dead franchise for what, 20 years before Brawl brought Pit back?

Fire Emblem at least was alive. It just probably would still be JP-only.

Anyways, I think we'd have (with the major franchises having four):
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser (Mario)
Link, Zelda, Ghirahim, Ganondorf (LoZ)
Marth, Ike, Robin, Chrom (FE)
Pikachu, Lucario, Charizard, Mewtwo (PKMN)
Samus, Ridley, ZSamus, DSamus (Metroid)
Wario, Yoshi, DK, Diddy (Mario spinoffs)
Kirby, Metaknight, Dedede, Evil Matter (Kirby)
Megaman, Pac Man, Sonic (3rd party)
Olimar, Villager, Shulk, Little Mac (Other)

Sheik hasn't been relevant for a long time, so I'd expect someone from Skyward Sword instead. Chrom IS the newest FE lord. Screw Greninja I want Mewtwo instead. Metroid needs more reps but the Hunters probably aren't popular enough. Starfox, Mother, F-Zero, KI, ROB, G&W, and Duck Hunt are all cut for irrelevance (sadly), Evil Matter's just the next most recurring Kirby character that I can think of (haven't played the newer games).

 

[the8thark]

People think the game would be as huge as it was if the WiiU version was the first Smash? It so would not be. It'd be a 12 character (at the most) small game, just like the N64 version but better graphics. And quite possibly with a US price of $40 (or less).I say this as the first Smash was an unknown factor. Nintendo didn't know it's be a raging success. And Nintendo would make this Smash the same if it was the first one. Go small, take baby steps and if it failed, not too much lost.

 

[LancerStaff]

You also have to take into account that without Smash, Fire Emblem and Kid Icarus would be NOTHING like they are today. Fire Emblem would probably be dead, and KI:U would never have been made if Pit wasn't considered for Brawl. Also, I'm sure a bunch of people wouldn't care as much for Earthbound because Ness being in Smash Bros. is what added to it's legendary status.

We're already in imaginary fairy-tale land, and the TC just said to assume FEA and KIU were made. It's not exactly much of a stretch, considering FE sunk pretty darned low for being in two SSB games and Sakurai has had Pit on his mind for awhile based on his trophy in Melee.

 

[BluePikmin11]

To sum up the thoughts here:
would probably never have been in Smash.

 

[SunnyDust]

Knowing that the first SSB was never meant to be a hit, the roster would be quite small (Something between 64 and Melee) and only composed of characters from popular franchises. F-Zero, Earthbound, Fire Emblem, Game & Watch, Kid Icarus, R.O.B., Punch-Out!!, Wii Fit, Xenoblade as well as the third parties would not be represented.