The range is probably going to be 32 to 37 characters with 35 characters as the target goal for the developing team. And this means to pave the way for new fighters there are going to have to be many cuts.
It is harder to accept cuts in Smash compared to other fighting games, because each fighter is a mascot with a predetermined history usually years in the making. But in order to keep the game fresh with fun play and new exciting moves, new characters will have to boot out old ones.
These list below is comprised of the fighters I think will stay. That doesn’t mean I necessarily want the other ones out of the game.
The Returnees
1. Mario: Confirmed in! Mario is Nintendo’s mascot. He is the Jack of All Trades
who has a multitude of tools in his arsenal. Fireball Projectiles, a Reflecting Cape, Multiple ways of Recovering, and even a Meteor Smash. His moves are not the best in each designated category, but they are diverse enough to allow him to capitalize on his enemy’s weakness.
In Brawl it seems like he will pack more of a punch and be able to KO with his aerial fist as well as send screaming characters plummeting into a chasm.
2. Peach: Sakurai mentioned briefly the lack of female characters. So it is doubtful that he will remove the most famous of Nintendo ladies from the roster.
Peach’s move set is all over the place. And she was made too powerful. How can they fix this? My idea is replacing her B move (pulling out a helpless Toad to counter any moves aimed at her) with the ability to gain a random emotion from her latest game. Happy, Sad, Calm, and Enraged. Maybe this way she can only float when she is happy, runs faster when she is sad, pulls better Turnips when she is Calm, and gains her ridiculous Down Smash when she is angry.
3. Bowser: Just as you cannot take Nintendo’s mascot out of an All Star Nintendo game, you cannot remove Nintendo’s villain even despite his performance in Melee.
Bowser should be designed as a tank. He should not flinch during small attacks and be able to reduce stun time from hits against him. His Forward Smash and Down B should go through shields. With even a few changes, Bowser can have the huge and fearsome presence he deserves while maintaining his lumbering walk and laggy jumps.
4. DK: DK is the mobile heavyweight. He trades ridiculous power for some speed, jump height, and the awesome ability to store a smash move and release it whenever he desires (the Windup Punch). Not to mention that he can carry his enemies around.
He doesn’t need much improvement. DK should maintain his reputation as the mobile heavyweight with some tweaking to make him a little more competitive. An idea (not really one that improves him, but a fun idea nonetheless) is having the hairy ape reach out on both sides of his brutish body while grabbing so there is a chance he can grab two opponents at once, smash them together over his head, and then toss them away.
5. Captain Falcon: Smash is great because a character can come from any genre. Captain Falcon represents the racing world with a loud and awesome move set. He will stay.
His knee can lose some power, but otherwise Captain Falcon should become louder and more flamboyant in the execution of his moves.
6. Link: Confirmed to Return. Link is right under Mario in popularity as Nintendo’s mascot. He is not going anywhere.
Link really just needs slightly less lag on some moves and more range to justify lag length on other sword swiping moves. And judging by the video Link does get more range and less lag time.
7. Zelda: Zelda is in Peach’s league as a famous Nintendo princess.
I am convinced that Sheik will not return, mainly because of Zamus’s presence. Therefore, I think Zelda will be mostly remade with a different fighting style then the previous game. Perhaps reflecting Twilight Princess, at least in design.
8. Gannondorf: Gannondorf got gypped out of a unique move set. So this time around I expect him to have moves from his own games and perhaps a kick *** sword.
I expect Gannondorf to play similar to his Melee version just with different visuals pertaining toward his moves. I think he will be a slow fighter with laughable jumping skills but immense power and good range.
9. Yoshi: With a stage already seen in a trailer and with his popularity, I am sure Yoshi is a shoe in.
Yoshi has a very entertaining play style. He just needs some tweaks, such as having useful throws. But I hope if any new mechanics are introduced (such as crawling) Yoshi will get a weird take on the technique (such as a bizarre double jump and an odd way of shielding).
10. Kirby: Confirmed in! There has been a rumor that Jiggs was not originally going to be in Melee. I am not quite sure if this is true, but I do not think she will be in the next game. I suspect that there will only be two puffs and those will be Kirby and Metaknight.
I also think that Kirby will be the stronger of the puffs while Metaknight will take Jiggs aerial superiority. (In the trailer Metaknight can glide at a descending angle, perhaps a new take on Jigg’s Pound). So I expect Kirby to be more like he was in the Original Smash.
11. Pikachu: Confirmed to Return. Pikachu is the forefront figure of Pokemon, a very successful franchise. There was no way he was getting the boot.
Pikachu will probably adapt a play style in between his Original version and the one in Melee. I expect him to have a hit and run style in the air and a powerful array of Smashes on the ground.
12. Mewtwo: He is almost as popular as Pikachu and with a very successful franchise (Like Mario and Link) it is a shame to have the mascot, but not the villain.
Mewtwo was designed to be evasive. And I think this is the way to go, but his stats were below average in many categories and half his special attacks (which I think should be his bread and butter) were weak. I see Mewtwo as a tricky character who uses his psychic powers to slowly weaken his opponent (not necessarily by raising his percentage) until he can out power and out maneuver his enemy.
Example: Disable, instead of stunning the opponent, it should randomly turn off an A move when it connects. This should last until the enemy loses a stock or Mewtwo uses disable again. So Mewtwo’s strategy could be evading the enemy until he finally disables a useful move. Then he can press the attack.
13. Fox: Confirmed in! The Starfox franchise is gaining popularity once more and Fox is such a popular Smash contender.
The problem with Fox is that he has too many advantages. He acts like a heavy character (at least vertically), has many recovery opportunities, has an offensive and defensive reflector, has quick powerful Smashes, combo starting throws, agility, and speed. The designers need to pick two categories they want to excel Fox in and ease him into his niche with appropriate moves. Therefore, they do not have to nerf his reflector if other advantages are either toned down or removed.
14. Marth: I never liked Roy and Marth. Their moves seem boring. But taking Marth away would be taking away a very unique and elegant move set. And the down B and Toward B moves were very clever.
Marth also represents a strategy game and the more genres of Nintendo’s great history that are represented the better. Marth can afford to lose some of his range and some power from his sword. It is sad that Marth’s fast, long ranged Smash can have more KO power then Bowser’s slow, laggy, short ranged Smash.
15. Ness/ Lucas?: From Sakurai’s hints that Lucas was intended to replace Ness, I am not sure that Ness will actually return. But if he doesn’t, I strongly suspect Lucas will be nothing more then a skin and name change, with maybe a couple different moves.
Lucas and Ness do not seem different enough to warrant separate characters. But either way Earthbound will have one of its main characters as a representative.
16. Samus: Confirmed on Sakurai’s website to return.
It seems that Samus might have a morph ability in Zamus. Sakurai’s statement is vague enough where Zamus could be a morph or that Zamus could be a different character on the select screen. Regardless, Samus needs very little tweaking in my opinion.
Yes I do think a lot of characters will be cut. But then again Sakurai said this time around he is going for originality (no clones), balance, and even suggested that Luigi may not return. There is also going to be a robust adventure mode and it seems like very detailed stages.
Even with the generous time and resources Sakurai has been given, I cannot see the roster exceeding 37. But lets say Sakurai only keeps 16 characters. 5 new ones are confirmed. The total is now up to 21. Let us say 2 guest third party characters will be added. 23. If 35 is our target number we can only add 13 characters. And this is with shameless cutting of characters.
They are actually a few steps ahead of us.
