If the Super Smash Brothers series started on the Famicom/NES...

[CannonStreak]

I don't know of this has been made yet, but I want to ask: We all know the original Super Smash Bros. game started on the Nintendo 64 console. And there were only 12 fighters total, 8 from the start, and 4 unlockables. But what if they started Smash Bros. on the Famicom/NES system? It might not be as exciting maybe, due to hardware limitations, but there would probably be characters in such a game that would be considered obscure or retro characters, like Mach Rider and the Ice Climbers. Now comes the question...

If Super Smash Bros. started on the Famicom/NES, what playable characters and maybe stages would you think would be in the first game? By extension, what characters would they have added to later games on later consoles that came after the Famicom/NES? (Like the SNES, NIntendo 64, etc.) What characters would you see as mainstays or cuts from later games?

In this hypothetical scenario, feel free to add third party characters in any of the games if you want and feel free to add characters who would rather be Assist Trophies in any of the hypothetical games on any system of any era.

 

[Pokelego999]

I have no ideas for some reason. I need to think.

 

[CannonStreak]

I have no ideas for some reason. I need to think.

You can do that. Take your time.

 

[Deleted member]

Mario, Link, Samus, Erdrick, Simon Belmont, Mega Man, Pit, Balloon Fighter and Kirby.

That's how I would imagine It.

 

[Pupp135]

I’ll make 2 SSB NES rosters since I can only imagine the NES version only having 8 fighters at most.
One with 12 fighters using TC’s Rules
Mario, Luigi, DK, Link, Samus, Ice Climber, Pit, Little Mac, Urban Champion, Mega Man, Simon, Ryu Hyubusa
Reasons:
Most of these characters had popular games in the ’80s with the exception of Ice Climber and Urban Champion, who were added for franchise variety.
Excluded Characters:
Bowser and Ganon could’ve been interesting since they’re villains, but I wanted variety.
Duck Hunt, Excitebiker, and Balloon Fighter are interesting choices, but I do not think that I would imagine a moveset for them.
Takamaru is not from a localized game, so his inclusion might be hard to justify if it came to the west.

More realisitically, we’d probably only see the first five from this list (maybe someone else takes DK’s or Samus’s spot) due to system limitations or time constraints (SSB64 only had 12 characters, 3 of which heavily reused assets).

 

[Janx_uwu]

Mario, Samus, Simon, Blaster Master, and Link.
It’s NES hardware, so not a lot, but certainly an all-star line up.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

Hmm....for NES only it's tough. Limited people at that time and I feel this would be a solid roster.


Mike Jones

Secret: Mach Rider Balloon Fighter

 

[YoshiandToad]

(note: this isn't our Modern DK but classic DK), Balloon Fighter.

Secret characters:

Probably. Contemplated Toad and Peach due to SMB2 and also Wario's Woods being the last title of NES but it's likely this would have come out prior to that.

 

[CannonStreak]

Hmm....for NES only it's tough. Limited people at that time and I feel this would be a solid roster.


Mike Jones

Secret: Mach Rider Balloon Fighter

It's not NES only. It also applies to all the home consoles after the NES, too. You can do portable systems too if you want.

 

[The Smash Nerd II.0.]

My Rosters
() = Unlocks
SSB For NES
() ()
SSB For SNES
()()()
SSB64
()()(Ganon)()()()()()
Melee
()(Dixie) (Ganon)()()()()()()
Brawl
()(Dixie)(Ganon)()()()()()( ) Isaac ()()()()
3DS/Wii U
()() (Dixie)(Ganon)(Midna)()()()()()() Isaac() DLC: Lyn

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I'm going to limit myself to 12 fighters since the first Smash only had 12 fighters.

Original 8:










Hidden 4:

 

[BowserKing]

I’ll limit the NES to 8 fighters (released in 1990)

Roaster:

Now for SNES (roaster of 20, and released in 1996)

Roaster: (note: Pikachu is there as a promotional pick)

Nintendo 64 (only 26 fighters)

Newcomers:

Melee (39 fighters)

Newcomers: Geno and

Brawl (52 Fighters)

Banjo and Kazooie is cut due to Microsoft buying rare

Newcomers: Dixie Kong, Midna and Shadow

3DS and Wii U (71 fighters, 7 of which being DLC)

Cuts: Ice Climbers and Pokèmon Trainer

Newcomers: Fawful, Skull Kid, Issac and Sceptile

DLC: Bandanna Dee,

Ultimate (105 fighters, with 19 being DLC)

Banjo and Kazooie, Ice Climbers and Pokémon Trainer have all returned

Base Roaster Newcomers: Chorus Kids, Porky, Shantae, Dark Bowser, Dark Meta Knight and Excadrill

DLC: Ray-Man, , Frosmoth, Adeleine, King Wart, Muddy Mole, Bio-Rex, Krystal and Crash Bandicoot

Update: replaced Sylux with Sora

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

I'll give the NES (1990) version 10 fighters:

Ganon, Balloon Fighter

And for the SNES (1995) version, 20:
Veterans Ganon, Balloon Fighter
Newcomers:

Now for the N64 version (1999) with 25: (way more than the actual N64 game, I know)
Veterans Ganon, Balloon Fighter,
Newcomers

 

[nirvanafan]

NES: (Mike Jones) (Balloon Fighter)
Unlockables: (Takamaru)

SNES Newcomers:
Unlockables:

N64 Newcomers:
Unlockables:

 

[Pupp135]

NES: (Mike Jones) (Balloon Fighter)
Unlockables: (Takamaru)

SNES Newcomers:
Unlockables:

N64 Newcomers:
Unlockables: ”

I like how you managed to keep the “orignial 12” in this roster, and I’m curious on how balloon fighter would work

 

[CrusherMania1592]

It's not NES only. It also applies to all the home consoles after the NES, too. You can do portable systems too if you want.

I understand that. My point is the NES version seems limited

NES


Unlockables: Balloon Fighter

SNES

Mike Jones Unlockables:

64

Mike Jones Takamaru Unlockables:

This one was pretty rough for me. I can't even figure out past Melee (may edit this post later)

 

[asia_catdog_blue]

Honestly an NES version would probably be just a traditional 1V1 Duel Fighter with only 2-Button Play with four fighters and four stages.

Though, I guess we can go to the approach of Double Dragon 1's Mode B or Nekkestu Fighting Legend.

If anything, SSB should start on the SNES/SFC.

 

[toonito]

Super Smash Bros. for NES

Keep in mind Smash for NES would be 2 generations older than 64 which had 12 characters. Street Fighter, the most influential FG in history only had 2 playable characters upon its debut in 1987 and SFII had 8 initially. IMO I don't think NES would be capable of having 8 or 12 playable characters.

I think the 4 above would be the main 4 characters in a hypothetical NES Smash game.

 

[Pupp135]

As toonito addressed above that SSB 64 only had 12 fighters, I'll address this limitation and go for smaller numbers. Unlockable fighters have an asterisk.
SSBNES

Spoiler: SSBNES

Before I explain why I added certain fighters, I chose to have the game be released in 1988 since the SNES came out in 1990. Due to limitations of NES, I can only imagine 4 unique fighters, and Luigi as an unlockable Mario clone (we’ll say he’s unlocked with Arcade mode.
: Nintendo’s mascot and appears in two major games at the time (Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros)
: He’s a literal palette swap.
: Donkey Kong was a major arcade game, and he’d be the first “antagonist” added.
: LoZ was a popular game, and Link was 10 in this game, so he’d be a child Link.
: Metroid is notable for the Easter Egg at the end of the game.
Honorable Mentions:
: Punch-Out was a notable arcade/NES game at the time, but with only 5 characters, I’m only using the most influential choices.
: KI was another notable NES title, but he has the same issue as Little Mac.
: The villain of the Mario franchise, but I didn’t want to oversaturate the roster with Mario characters yet (3 characters already have ties to Mario on this roster).
//Warrior of Light/Bomberman: Mega Man, CastleVania, FF, and Bomber, are notable NES franchises, but this is the first entry, so I’ll leave out third parties.

SSBSNES:
Onion Knight

Spoiler: SSBSNES

My proposed release date is 1993, so I’d have time to see any new franchises from the SNES era interest me, but mights would not want something that comes too late. Unfortunately, some major players would miss the cut like Diddy and Fox. I went with 5 newcomers, which is double the initial roster. Maybe you can argue cutting Donkey Kong for DK Jr., but the original Donkey Kong is still prtty important to gaming as a whole. For the newcomers:
: A character that became incredibly popular after his debut in Super Mario World. He’ll be considered a Mario character in this game since Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story came out later.
: Kirby debuted in 1992, and his circular shape would be easy enough to sprite.
: He’s Nintendo’s main villain, and he’d be unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with the original 4.
: Fire Emblem had debuted in 1990, and Gaiden came out in 1992, so I’d like to see if this can help give the West exposure to this series for future releases.
Onion Knight: Since SSBNES is a hypothetical success, third party companies would become comfortable to add acharacter, and Final Fantasy had history with Nintendo at the time. He’d be unlocked by beating Arcade Mode. (I have FF bias)
Honorable Mentions:
/: They would be cool ideas, but their series weren’t highly relevant.
: F-Zero was a game, but it’s easier to translate Marth into a fighter than Falcon.
//Bomberman: This was a matter of preference for third parties than anything else.

SSB64:

Spoiler: SSB64

While I have 10 characters with movesets, I’ll have to deal with 3D polygons instead of sprites this entry, so I’m only adding or two or three unique fighters as time constraints could be an issue. Also, this game would be released in 1998 instead now that I would have more experience with making a platform fighter. Unfortunately, Onion Knight would be the first cut from the series due to newer Final Fantasy games being Sony exclusive at the time. In terms of unlockable content, I’ll say that Bowser, Mega Man, Wario, and Falco are unlockable. Bowser has Ness’s original requirement, Mega Man has Jigglypuff’s, Wario has Luigi’s, and Falco is unlocked by clearing Board the Platforms with the starting cast. For why newcomers were added:
: Pocket Monsters blew up in popularity in 1996/1997 in Japan, with the US following quickly in 1998. Also, Pikachu is the mascot of the series.
: Like Pocket Monsters, Star Fox blew up with Star Fox 64.
: While Onion Knight was cut, I’d still like a third party character, and I assume Mega Man would be highly requested.
: He is probably the first clone that I’d think of.
: He’d probably be a Mario semi-clone, and I added him as Wario Land is a popular series around this time.
Honorable Mentions:
: DKC was huge at the time, but I do want to make sure that pokemon and star fox get onto the roster.
: I would want to get Mother onto the roster, but the other unique fighters are more important.

Gamecube:

Spoiler: Gamecube

I will give myself a similar development cycle that Sakurai had, but I’ll add 7 new uniuqe fighters as returning fighters does reduce development time. Also, the Smash 2 poll would probably be drastically different in this timeline given that I added Bowser, Wario, and Marth earlier in this timeline, and third party fighters have been in since my hypothetical SNES entry, so the real results aren’t really a good reflection of what the poll would be like. Unlike my 64 transition, I don’t think anyone needs to be cut. For unlockable fighters, I’ll go with Bowser, Dr. Mario, Daisy, Ganondorf, Roy, Falco, Meowth, Pichu, Mr. Game & Watch, Snake, and Sonic.
: I’m fine with promoting him from an alt.
: She is probably the biggest first/second party not on my roster.
: I’m fine with promoting her from an alt.
: I would’ve wanted a character from OoT, and I’d probably go with Ganondorf as I’d prioritize unique Ganondorr over a standlone Zelda or Sheik.
: Easy clone who could promote Binding Blade.
: Pokemania was huge, and I don’t know who’d be the most requested pokemon at the time, so Meowth joins as it was Pikachu’s rival in the anime.
: Popular in the ‘90s and easy enough to add.
: Easy clone who can promote Jhoto.
: While there are third parties, I think Ness would be requested to some degree, and Earthbound 64 had been in development during planning.
: He is an important, but overlooked character, and he’s easier to add than Ice Climbers, R.O.B. or Pit.
: I’ll just assume that I was friends with Kojima during this timeline; otherwise, Mega Man would probably replace him.
: He probably would’ve been the most requested fighter at this point, so I’d probably would’ve gone to Sega at this point.
Honorable Mentions:
: While DK was huge at the time, I could see Rare copyright as an issue.
: A major character in LoZ, but there are other priorities than a transforming fighter.
: A major character from a decently popular series, but I just had other priorities.
/: Popular pokemon that lost out to Meowth.
//: Other retro fighter that I’d consider, but Mr. Game & Watch helps save development time.

Wii

Spoiler: Brawl

For the remaining games, I’ll just assume that I have the same development cycle. In terms of cuts, I’ll assume that I lost Meowth, Dr. Mario, Roy, and Pichu. I’d guess Meowth would be in Mewtwo’s canon position. I’ll note that the series would probably have a larger basis on third parties at this point. With FF games made on Gamecube and GBA, I’d try to get a Final Fantasy character, but it’d probably fail. For unlockable fighters, I’ll assume that we have Daisy, Ganondorf, Toon Link, Falco, Wolf, Jigglypuff, Lucario, Lucas, Ike, Mr, Gane & Watch, R.O.B., Simon, and Ryu. I cheated and added another fighter, but I had a spare veteran. For the newcomers:
: The DK series has a long history, and Diddy appeared in many Mario spinoffs. Also, there’s no more Rare copyright issues to deal with.
: The deuteragonist of her series.
: I think that I’d want to have both a child and adolescent Link on my roster, and Wind Waker was recent.
: He was a requested character.
: The protagonist of Pokemon, and they use their pokemon to fight. Female alts are available.
: The promotional Sinnoh Pokemon.
: FE was getting localized around this time, and Intelligent Systems recommended Ike..
: Pikmin was another popular franchise from the 21st century.
: I really like the two in one gimmick.
: My other obscure character that I’d like to add.
: I assume that he’d be added later in development because of Subspace.
: Requested by Miyamoto.
: Presumably a huge fan request at the time.
: Street Fighter was huge.
Honorable Mentions:
: Important character in his series, but I had other priorities.
Krystal: She was a requested character, but I’d prioritize my other unique choices alomg with Toad and Isaac, and Wolf can be the Star Fox fighter.
Isaac: Golden Sun was another popular franchise in the 21st century, but AC and Pikmin are/were larger.

DLC: Rayman

Spoiler: For3DS/WiiU

Due to copyright and technical limitations, Ice Climbers, Simon, Pokemon Trainer, and Snake have to unfortunately be cut. I guess that would and Lucas would also probably be cut for being lower priority. Also, I’m keeping the clones as is since they were last minute alt promotions. Also, I’m bringing back Mewtwo for its prominence, and it was supposed to be in Brawl. With Chrom and Tom being added, I’ll say that Lucas and Wolf get cut during development. For the remaining base newcomers:
: The puppet gimmick is cool.
: There aren’t many more major players left to add, and he‘s one of the more important ones missing.
: I think that people would’ve wanted Mewtwo at this point.
: The promotional Khalos Pokemon.
: While Chrom is the main protagonist, he is more distinct than Chrom, who’d probably be a Marth/Ike semiclone.
: KI:U was a recent release, and people wanted Palutena.
: A requested character that appeared in a rebooted series between Brawl and development.
: Animal Crossing was a major franchise without a fighter
: Miis were one of the most important Nintendo characters missing at this point due to being Nintendo’s take on the avatar.
: She’s a fun, quirky pick.
: Xenoblade was a new and growing series, and Shulk was requested in Japan.
: I feel like Bayonetta is a tool used to connect two companies together.
Unlockable fighters: Daisy, Rosalina, Dr. Mario, Falco, Mewtwo, Ike, Lucina, Dark Pit, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B., Wii Fit Trainer
For DLC, veterans are pretty much the same, where Meowth is in Mewtwo’s spot. For the other fighters:
: He promotes Mario Maker more or less.
: While I’d prefer Tidus, FFVII is one of the most influential RPGs in gaming.
Rayman: I think that he would’ve been a feasible requested pick.
: Promotional character like in the real time line.
Honorable Mentions:
: He was a requested character from DKC, but he was missing in DKC: returns, and I think the other choices I made were good in the end.
: A big request, but I’m fine with him being a stage hazard or assist at the time. Also, it took Dedede until For in this timeline to get in.

Just like the real Ultimate, the veterans (Onion Knight, Ice Climbers, Pichu, Simon, Snake, Ivysaur, Squirtle, Wolf) return. In place of Daisy, I’ll have Alph join. I think that the five newcomers that we have are fine given that we had to renegotiate for two Final Fantasy characters and Konami. For the fighters pass, I’d just want to replace Sephiorth for Tidus out of preference.

 

[SuperDoom1]

I feel like SSBNES would have three characters: Mario, Link, and Samus.
SNESSB would probably add in Fox, Yoshi, Capt. Falcon, Kirby, and seeing as how Super Mario Kart had a character that never appeared since (DK Jr.), I think SNESSB would also have its own character in the form of the tank from X.

This is assuming that SSBNES would have been released in 1988, and SNESSB, in early 1994.

 

[manphone126]

very good but smash did start on nes and it was similar to 64 even for famicon

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Well, here's my two cents. Primarily, it depends on the year of release.

If we were to say, for instance, 1987, then that gives us solid picks in Mario (probably in his SMB appearance), Link and Samus, as well as possibly DK. Things get a little more interesting, however, when you consider say... what if it were released on the day the SNES launched?

Well, here's my two cents. For starters, I don't see Nintendo working with third parties in this situation, so the roster in question would probably end up looking like the Tetris end screen for the NES. Why? Well, they were particularly stringent with their own policies, and putting characters like Mega Man, Ryu Hayabusa, Bill Rizer and others probably wouldn't have been able to be negotiated until approximately the SNES era. Not to mention - the NES hardware probably isn't strong enough to cope with overly complex or experimental characters, so characters would likely play very similarly to their source material where applicable.

With this in mind, I'll suggest this:

- An obvious pick. Now, I'd suggest he'd be in the SMB3 style. Also, he'd likely have Luigi as his alternate costume.
- Again, pretty clear pick, though almost certainly in his Zelda II style as it can analog pretty well with others.
- Not quite so obvious, but a pretty interesting and unique moveset given its projectile nature, making these three the "Brawler/Swordfighter/Gunner" archetype in a way. Likely uses a variation of the original sprites due to palette restrictions.
- As ridiculous as this seems, DK would be the unlockable fighter here given his nature being from an arcade game. Big, slow, heavy-hitting but best at throwing barrels. Likely uses a new sprite given the classic one probably won't work.

Yeah. That's it. Bearing in mind that the game needs stages - for which I'd suggest FD style stages of 1-1, Field, Brinstar and 25m - this is a pretty conservative estimate for the number of potential characters.

Some other options, if possible? Let me list.


- King Koopa, specifically, though his heavyweight archetype might be too similar to that of DK.
- Likely a pick if the game were Japan-exclusive, though again, may play too similarly to a dumbed-down Link given only two buttons. An international release would render Marth very unlikely, too.
- Actually a solid pick, but again has a lot of overlap with a character - this time, Samus, in his projectile-based nature. He could potentially replace Samus to be honest, having her come in for the SNES title.
- I'm not sure whether they'd actually try to include Kirby or not, making them the only real "maybe" character here. Problem is, Kirby has a lot of potential but simultaneously none - not to mention, the ability to fly freely would leave people scratching their heads. Even that aside, I'm not sure Kirby quite fits yet, mostly due to his Copy Ability being the basis of his moves in the NES title. Definitely gets in the SNES title though,
- Another "villain" archetype, though clearly based on Ganon from Zelda I. Issue is here a lack of moveset potential for the time, as well as the sprite being too big.
- Ridley's problem isn't that he's too big, but more that there's better choices than him to enter the field. He has moveset potential, too...
- Too experimental and obscure to really make sense here.
- The issue here is that, for starters, there's only be one - Popo as default, Nana as an alt - and truthfully, they do have potential, but there's better choices.

There's a few others I can imagine people suggesting, like Balloon Fighter, Excitebiker, Mach Rider, Mike Jones, Takamaru, Sukapon and a few others, but the issue is that there's "better" choices when you whittle it down to the bare minimum. Though, this is just my own take, and I love all the ideas I've seen here already! :D

 

[HYRULESHERO42]

I found this on reddit a few months ago Smash on NES and it's a perfect roster for the 8 bit era.

it’s animated and very well made, take a peek!

 

[Geno Boost]

NES roster? Let’s see
, Sukapon
Hidden
, Ninten

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

6 fighter roster, trying to go off the peak of the NES' lifespan so no Ninten or Kirby.

Mario, Link, Samus, Little Mac, Pit, Duck Hunt

Here's a SNES version with 8 fighters:

Mario and Yoshi, Link, Diddy Kong, Samus, Kirby, Fox, Ness, Tetromino

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

So a couple of days ago, I made the early NES concept with only 4 characters? Well, I got bored so now, I'm going to make an SNES title. I feel like the SNES could actually get away with running 12 characters, but for the sake of experimentation, I'm going to presume we have 10. So... let's start with the returnees.

- Now in his Super Mario World iteration, though still with Luigi as an alt. This means the cape will likely be a part of his moveset. As for Yoshi, I'd suggest he'd be an assist of some sort.
- Now in his A Link to the Past iteration, Link actually plays pretty similarly to in the NES title though would probably use the Fire Rod in certain attacks.
- Now in her Super Metroid iteration, Samus would have a variety of weapons from that title as well as the original. Think of her as revised and expanded from the NES title.
- Arguably the most interesting case, Donkey Kong takes a variation of his appearance in DKC, though with more traditional spritework. His moveset is likely a mix of the DKC formula and the NES title, and yes, I say we keep barrels.

So, we have 4 of the 6 fighters in now. Who next?

- Kirby, based on his appearance from Super Star. His moveset is basically a pastiche of a variety of different Copy Abilities, though his Inhale won't take the abilities or attributes of the opponent.
- Perhaps an odd pick here, but Kid Icarus had had two games by this point. Given Samus' new level of mobility, Pit would play a little like a mix of himself and NES Samus, to an extent. He'd also likely use the Three Sacred Treasures in some capacity.
- Again, an odd pick I know. This space just goes to "a Fire Emblem character." At this point, Link's relative lack of range for a swordfighter as well as his item-heavy moveset means that a pure swordfighter could now be added without issue. Marth is a solid choice, though, given he was the protagonist of the first game and an SNES title, Mystery of the Emblem. His moves would likely be a little like that in Smash currently, though I can see him having a more strategic playstyle.
- A very... unusual pick. Ness could, in theory, have been replaced with Ninten in the previous game, or perhaps Mike Jones from the StarTropics series. The thing that stands out to me, however, is that he represents RPGs - and StarTropics was not a good seller. Earthbound, at least, was given an international release... if a lukewarm reception.
- Finally, a new villain. I want to try and represent as many series as possible here as opposed to tossing in tons of characters from the same series, but King Koopa - now known as Bowser - was actually a pretty obvious choice as a new heavyweight. Considering DK's new manoeuvrability, a new slow, bruising character in Bowser would work wonders.

The last character, however, is going to be a very interesting thing in my concept. Something I haven't discussed yet - third parties.

Third parties, in this case, would need to fulfil the following criteria:

• The owner company should be a Nintendo licensee, and NOT a competitor. Sorry guys, no Sonic yet.
• Furthermore, the character/IP should have either been relevant from both the NES and SNES era, or VERY relevant during the SNES era.

With this in mind, let's look here.

- Arguably the first choice that comes to mind, though not necessarily a specific iteration - either X, or Classic. Either way, an obvious choice from Capcom, who have history with Nintendo by this point.
- A perhaps surprising pick, but with Konami having worked with Nintendo pretty well, and his appearance in Super Castlevania IV, Simon could be a reasonable pick! Though, his moveset may end up being a little too similar to a combination of Link's and Samus's.
- A bit of an odder pick. SFII was absolutely massive in the early 90s, though I'm not sure whether Nintendo would want it to represent, well, their own IPs - though it would make a lot of sense. It's notable that Ryu would likely lack any command-inputs for the sake of simplicity, however.
- A Square rep?! Well, Square were very much active with Nintendo at the time. I've picked Erdrick here given the popularity of Dragon Quest III, though this could apply to basically any character from Square such as Crono, Black Mage or maybe Terra. Notably, however, there may be a little overlap with Ness.

With this in mind, let's look at some other potential 1st party characters to see if they'd fit.

- A startlingly obvious omission, until you consider the situation of a lot of his moveset being, well... made up. I'm not sure they'd actually do that this early in the series, though Fox would get in later.
- Similar situation to above, though Falcon does have a very interesting situation that I'll discuss in an N64 roster post if ever I make one.
- Sticking to representing as many series as possible up until now would likely work best. Remember, we still have the issue of Ganon being an absolute u n i t.
- See above, but now Ridley is big too. Damn it.

As a result, I'm going to pick the last character as... Mega Man X. Given Mega Man's history with Nintendo, you'd think that I would pick Mega Man's classic form, but actually, Mega Man 7 didn't sell as well as expected, mostly because many consumers saw it as a second-rate X game. The X series was in fact quite successful, and offers a wide variety of moveset potential. The primary problem is 3 out of 10 characters being primarily projectile-based - though I'd suggest that Mega Man X could likely get away with this by being an unusual mix of a rushdown character and a zoner in one.

So... yeah. SNES Smash introduces the Third Party, as well as bringing some attention to a slightly neglected series in Kid Icarus... well, seems as this is a whole new universe, would it perhaps lead to a Kid Icarus game for the SNES? That's just speculation of course

 

[Blackwolf666]

NES:

(The OG grandpa DK)

Unlockables: (a single Ice Climber)

SNES:

(luigi 'exists' as a pallet swap)(to promote DK country switch out to the modern DK country version)

Unlockables:

edit: N64 onwards stays exactly the same as we know it.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Well, I got bored, so it's N64 time.

Given, in this scenario, that Smash would likely be considered a major title, I can see much more development time being put to it and a lot more work. As a result, I'd suggest that there will be 14 playable characters, and a new function in the form of the Random selection. Let's look at our veterans, and see who's sticking around.

- At this point, Mario is moving away from representing a specific game, and more to representing his series as a whole. His design, however, will take major cues from SM64.
- Link, at this point, could be argued to be similar - but I imagine him being more of a reference to Ocarina in general, playing it as a taunt for instance. Most notably, he isn't going to have access to the Boomerang, because that was exclusive to Young Link. I can imagine it causing issues, but replace it with something like the Megaton Hammer and nobody will mind.
- A weird call, here. Samus likely still takes most of her moveset from Super Metroid, given there wasn't a Metroid title on the N64.
- Despite being stylised after DK64, Donkey Kong will likely play much like he has done up until now, though probably based more on the DKC titles than on his origin appearance, moving away from it as the games go on.
- I genuinely don't see Kirby changing all that much either, maybe with a few new abilities here and there. However, the key addition is the copy ability, which I think they could actually work into the N64 game as opposed to the SNES game for a number of reasons.
- Pit, to be honest, is our first omission in the entire series. Though he got into the SNES game because of potential new titles, it's safe to presume there wouldn't be one... and, well, with a relatively limited roster size, an obscure rep such as Pit would arguably be better filled elsewhere. Mark my words - he is coming back, just... sitting this game out.
- With Fire Emblem still being a relevant series, I see no reason for them to remove Marth at this point, even if he is only there currently for the Japanese audience. Even so, it's interesting to speculate... would FE titles have been released overseas sooner in this timeline?
- Ness is in a weird situation a little like that of Pit in the SNES game, but in this case, Mother 3 was in development for the N64. I can't see Ness being removed, simply because, well, he's a rep of the RPG genre... and I'm pretty sure a certain other one is on all of your predictions. Even so, he gets a pass for the same reason Pit did in the SNES title.
- No questions asked, Bowser stays. As one of the only true heavyweights and villains in the game as of now, not to mention being important and from the Mario series, he gets... preferential treatment.
- Mega Man is in a weird situation here, because there's a few ways this can go. With lukewarm reception on the Classic series, that's a no-go. Even so, the X series was falling out of favour too... though Mega Man Legends was released as Mega Man 64 on the console. As such, Volnutt replaces X as the Mega Man of this game, and the switcheroos between Mega Men is likely going to be a common theme.

So, 9/10 veterans return. A pretty fair estimate, all things considered... now let's look at newcomers, since we have 5 spaces left.

- I would have to be drunk not to include this. It might have been surprising that Pikachu was omitted from the SNES release, but well... Pokemon was late. Weirdly late. Hence, he makes it in as the flagship newcomer of this title.
- Likewise, Fox finally makes his appearance. Despite the SNES game being a potential entry point for him, I feel like it would have made more sense here as they could use the models from Star Fox 64, and work out a moveset from there as opposed to being locked to specific spritework.
- Yup, Yoshi finally gets his place too. I think that he'd likely play a lot more like he did in SMW2 than in SSB64, though I'm unsure if he'd have Baby Mario in his toolkit.

And now, time for Third-Parties. I think the N64 is actually a really interesting scenario for this kind of thing... you'll see why in a moment. Let's discuss some options.

/ - Despite Simon being relevant in the SNES era, it was at around this point that Castlevania really hit its stride. On the PS1. I feel like Castlevania is an example of a third party that missed the boat, in a way - Mega Man ended up snatching their place.
/ - Same applies here. Square's massive success with FFVII on the PS1 would likely mean they wouldn't be excited about tossing around their IP to what is now a competitor. On the note of Dragon Quest, by the way, I feel Erdrick might not even be a relevant pick by this point either...
- A more interesting example of a character that missed the boat. With the massive success of Street Fighter II, Ryu was actually a pretty serious contender. By the late 90s, though, the Street Fighter series wasn't something you'd associate with consoles anymore. Whilst it was possible for Ryu to get in, I feel like it wouldn't end up working by this point.
- A genuinely obvious choice. Given Nintendo and Rare were still nicey-nicey over DK, it's very likely this bear and bird duo would make their way into the brawl too.
- No, I'm serious. Bomberman is actually one of the safest picks here. When you stop to consider it, Bomberman titles were plentiful on the N64 - and the character had been on Nintendo consoles for a long time beforehand!

This roster is beginning to look a little more like the one we know and love, right? Though there are a couple of omissions, I feel like these are a good indication of a Smash 64 with a reasonable development cycle and some history in the Smash series beforehand. I might make the Melee one soon, though that will be a big undertaking.

- 14 Characters!

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

And once again, I spam the thread with bizarre rambling. This time, we're looking at what Melee would have been like in this universe. With a grand total of three Third Parties in the last game, this makes the whole situation extra fun... let's look at our returnees. I should also note - here, Melee isn't a launch title, but releases later in the lifespan of the system. So, let's limit the number of fighters to... 30.

- Once again, locked in, perhaps taking some inspiration from Sunshine as well as his classic appearance?
- This may be unpopular, but I'm outright replacing Link here with his Wind Waker iteration, Toon Link. However, the moveset differs from normal Link - most notably using things like the Wind Waker itself in the moveset.
- Takes more design cues from Metroid Prime and possibly Metroid Fusion too? The Fusion suit will definitely be an alt, perhaps as a model.
- Stays around, for a similar reason to in Melee - Nintendo owns DK himself. I feel like there may be some issues because of the acquisition of Rare, but truthfully I don't see Microsoft having an issue with DK's moveset continuing to take from the DKC games.
- I would suggest that he gets more copy attacks, maybe? Most notably, the Warp Star as an Up-B for Kirby Air Ride representation.
- Sticks around without question, continuing to play similarly as well.
/ - Only one of these bois are making it in, but I'd hazard Ness mostly due to Mother 3 never releasing out of Japan. Lucas, however, could be an alt!
- Again, he sticks around with minimal changes to his moveset overall. Modernises the look, however.
- As above, minimal moveset changes. He doesn't need to change at this point, to be honest.
- Potentially an Adventures redesign? It would likely not change much of his moveset, however. Still fast-paced.
- Takes more cues from Yoshi's Story as well as SMW2. Pretty obvious choice again, though I think he ditches Baby Mario for good after this point.
- Mega Man is in a bit of a state of limbo at this point in time... with the Legends series finished, the Classic series dead and the X series not doing great, I'd suggest something a little controversial - MegaMan.EXE is the Mega Man of this game!
- I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Banjo and Kazooie aren't making it into this game. Issues with licensing due to Microsoft's recent acquisition of Rare cannot be ignored, even in this AU of sorts. Whilst Smash would have a little better reach evident with Mega Man, I feel that it's unreasonable to suggest this duo make it in.
- Unlike Banjo and Kazooie, I can't really see Bomberman leaving. He had one or two games at the time, and wasn't in a Rare-like situation.

So, this leaves us with 13/14 veterans. Except, well, it's time to look at the newcomers, of which we have... 17.

- Pit returns! Arguably one of the most obvious picks here, to be honest. Given the decision of "an NES rep," Pit would be incredibly obvious in this AU simply because of his veteran status. His appearance I imagine would be a little more like his current one, as opposed to his classic one - a mix of the artstyles of Fire Emblem and The Legend of Zelda.
- Finally, Luigi breaks free as his own character. I'd suggest he'd likely be based more on his appearance in Luigi's Mansion, though would otherwise play a little like he does today - similar, but very different, to Mario.
- Yes, Wario gets in this game. Given he was heavily considered in Smash 64 IRL, I feel like he'd work here pretty well as a very original character, taking cues from the Wario Land games.
- Admittedly, I feel Peach is a weird inclusion to write in, but it makes sense she'd join. Arguably, her moveset could be a mix of different Sports titles, as well as Super Mario Bros. 2?
- Ganondorf?! But not a clone?! I imagine that, to work with Toon Link, his design is a sort of mix of that of OoT and WW Ganondorf. However, he'd have a more "magelike" style of attacking, as well as his dual blades.
- Again, a very obvious choice. Pokemon would need representation here, and Mewtwo is a solid choice.
- Just Charizard. I did consider Blastoise here, but I feel Pikachu, Mewtwo and Charizard are the key Gen I reps given the latter's place on the box art of Pokemon Red.
////- Though I'm using these as basic examples, I'd suggest a decloned Gen II rep (seems as Gen I is technically already represented.) This does eliminate Pichu from the running - but there's plenty of interesting choices. For instance - the Starter Final Evolutions in Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligltr, or Wobuffet as a more anime-based rep, or perhaps an unusual pick in Scizor. I'm gonna pick Scizor because of personal bias, but any Gen II could work really.
- Yes, Dedede is finally in too. I feel it would be weird for Kirby to be on his own in a larger roster. You can probably already guess how he'd play, a lot like his current iteration.
/ - A new Fire Emblem rep?! Okay, hear me out. It makes sense this would happen, though I'm not sure whether it would end up being Ike or Roy for various reasons. If Ike gets in, Roy is shafted for the rest of the series, that much is obvious. Hence... I hate to do it, but Ike gets in.
- A clear choice, simply for how weird and brilliant it is. To be honest, I feel R.O.B wouldn't have been considered yet, hence... G&W!
/ - Just "A Star Fox rep." Given the added development time, there's a lot less clones in this title, so I'm not sure how this would work for sure. One of the two needs to be in, though I'm not sure which specifically. The next game would introduce the other one anyway. Tossing Wolf into this one.
// - Another "NES" rep. Though I'm not exactly sure which I'd pick in this situation, my own personal bias would pick Sukapon. Even so, for the sake of the argument, I'm going to just go with Ice Climbers, even though I feel like other NES reps would be more likely.
/ - Given the series of Smash is quite well tested, I feel like they'd be more willing to experiment with newer IPs in a way similar to how we do now with ARMS and the like, so yeah! I think a "New IP" character should get in, either Villager from Animal Crossing or Olimar. Either way, the one not chosen would be in the next game. Tossing Olimar into this one.
- FINALLY. His moveset would likely differ from his actual one IRL, but would work similarly - a fast-paced risk-reward nightmare.
- No, seriously! Based on his appearance in the recent Pac-Man World games, I imagine he'd be a little like that with some arcade charm tossed in for good measure.
- A clear pick. Let's be honest, Sonic makes a lot of sense here - especially with Sega having just dropped out of the hardware market, and the release of SA2 for Gamecube.

So, that's 30 characters... and now, we're even up to 4 third-parties despite losing one. Seems pretty promising! Let's take a brief look at who didn't make it, though...
- This makes a lot of sense, really. Dr. Mario could be an alt for Mario in a way similar to how Luigi has been up until this title.
/ - Just misses the boat because of Ganondorf's inclusion. I'd actually suggest that the character would be Zelda/Tetra, not Zelda/Sheik though.
- An admittedly unnecessary clone in this case.
- Better Gen II choices all around, mentioned above.
- Better Gen I choices all around, mentioned above.
- Licensing issues, basically. It makes sense that DK would be on his own in this game, but I can see Diddy coming along in the next one.
- Not relevant enough yet.
- Probably a next-game pick. It was either him or Dedede, but Dedede makes a little more sense for the sheer sake of moveset originality and recogniseability.

So, the final roster for MeleeAU.

I'm actually not sure if I'll do a Brawl iteration, mostly because of the sheer number of characters to write about.

 

[Oddball]

I belive the first time Nintendo got it's All-Stars together was actually for the ending scene in Tetris. It looked like this.




Mario
Luigi
Peach (or Princess Toadstool as she was known back then)
Bowser
Donkey Kong
Link
Samus
Pit

While this is rather Mario heavy, I think it's a good start.

I feel it could use maybe one more character from Nintendo possibly Little Mac and if we're allowing third party characters, Megaman and Simon would make the cut.

 

[MAtgSy]

The base gameplay would've been very different I imagine. The 1st game likely wouldn't have had the psychics based off-screen KOs & back then a life bar wasn't as played out as it was in '99. Subsequent games would then follow the 1st one in design.

 

[HYRULESHERO42]

The base gameplay would've been very different I imagine. The 1st game likely wouldn't have had the psychics based off-screen KOs & back then a life bar wasn't as played out as it was in '99. Subsequent games would then follow the 1st one in design.

Well Super Mario Bros had off screen kill boxes when Mario falls down a pit. I don’t see why the same couldn’t be applied off the sides and top. Though you bring up a good point with the health bar/ damage percentages. Those would’ve been much simpler. Maybe small health bars that reflect how the percentages work? The lower the health bar the farther you fly when hit, so you don’t just die at 0 health.

 

[MAtgSy]

Well Super Mario Bros had off screen kill boxes when Mario falls down a pit. I don’t see why the same couldn’t be applied off the sides and top. Though you bring up a good point with the health bar/ damage percentages. Those would’ve been much simpler. Maybe small health bars that reflect how the percentages work? The lower the health bar the farther you fly when hit, so you don’t just die at 0 health.

IDK, Kirby games have health bars & that was what Sakurai was making at the time. I think back then just having a fighting game where the characters moved like they were in a platformer would've been enough to distinguish it from other fighters.

 

[HYRULESHERO42]

IDK, Kirby games have health bars & that was what Sakurai was making at the time. I think back then just having a fighting game where the characters moved like they were in a platformer would've been enough to distinguish it from other fighters.

It would still be a king of the hill type battle though? Knocking opponents off the stage is what makes Smash Smash. Maybe each stage would be a battlefield layout where you could fall off. And then the sides would be boundaries too. I can’t see Smash having health bars where you just die.

 

[MAtgSy]

It would still be a king of the hill type battle though? Knocking opponents off the stage is what makes Smash Smash. Maybe each stage would be a battlefield layout where you could fall off. And then the sides would be boundaries too. I can’t see Smash having health bars where you just die.

You're not grasping the full concept of an alternate history then. From Day 1, Smash could've been a very different beast than it is. It might not even be called Super Smash Brothers but something else entirely. All that is needed is that it's....

A. a fighting game
B. with Nintendo characters from more than 1 franchise

& there are so many ways to go about that. It could be titled Nintendo Championship or Mario & Friends Battle or whatever.

 

[HYRULESHERO42]

You're not grasping the full concept of an alternate history then. From Day 1, Smash could've been a very different beast than it is. It might not even be called Super Smash Brothers but something else entirely. All that is needed is that it's....

A. a fighting game
B. with Nintendo characters from more than 1 franchise

& there are so many ways to go about that. It could be titled Nintendo Championship or Mario & Friends Battle or whatever.

Well hold on, I’m not creating a new timeline where smash is different. I’m envisioning a prequel to Smash 64 in 8 bit with a roster reflecting that era. It appears we are arguing different points entirely.

 

[AlRex]

The only NES fighting game that wasn't a bootleg that had multiple selectable characters are TMNT Tournament Fighters and Joy Mech Fight. Those had 7 characters and 8 characters, respectively, but with some stipulations. TMNT has 4 characters that have similar sprites, and the last character (The Shredder) was a boss. Joy Mech Fight started you out with Sukapon, and had you unlock the others as you went along, not to mention that they all have relatively simple sprites with the floating limbs thing done as sort of a work around.

SSBNES
That all said, I feel like what is feasible is this: 1990 release. The idea of a Nintendo crossover already has floated around due to Captain N. Some big boss brings a few of the biggest Nintendo stars around to fight in a tournament. We'll have...
Donkey Kong Jr.and the boss.
Mario is obvious, you can base Luigi off of Mario around this time, DK Jr. is here over DK for now because he was more of a protagonist, and they did that in the first Mario Kart, so it's not too farfetched, Link, Samus, and Pit are other big stars of the NES at the time, as well.

From there, I think things could end up somewhat differently. SNES, you could either see traditional 2D sprites or digitized sprites, ala Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario RPG, or Killer Instinct. If they assign Rare to it and co-develop with them, I can see them reusing their DK model, and maybe someone from KI as well, either Jago, Orchid, or Fulgore. If Nintendo wanted to make an earlier version, it could be released earlier in the console's lifespan, and that version would most likely have 2D sprites. Here's two versions, 1993 and 1996.

SSBSNES
1993
DK Jr.
[DK Jr. stays because of the Mario Kart thing, Yoshi is the big new side character who later goes on to get his own spin-offs, and was prominent enough to be a big side-character in the Super Mario World cartoon, Captain Falcon is from one of the first big releases for the SNES, and, IIRC, he was intended as a SNES specific mascot. Unfortunately, given Pit's lesser prominence, around this time, I can't see him making it back just yet.]
+ four bosses, 3 being unlockable
Ganon [pig][classic version], and the big boss
This is essentially the format of Street Fighter II's roster before later updates.

1996
Black Orchid
+ 4 Bosses, 3 unlockable: Fulgore,, Pig Ganon, and the big boss
Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi being a prominent character (Yoshi's Island) are ingrained at this point. Black Orchid is my choice from KI initially because she stands out for being a female protagonist over the more basic Jago, and we already have a robot-looking character with Samus. If one non-RARE third party character were to get in, it'd likely be . It's not too unlikely, given that Captain N had him.

Pre-SSB64, we might also get an updated "Gold" version of this game on the N64, though this version also interferes with Killer Instinct 2/Gold given that, in our timeline, that comes out in 1996. Maybe this project takes its place and a more 3D Killer Instinct [one that looks along the lines of Tekken or Soul Calibur] might come out later for Nintendo 64, as well as...

SSB64
Given that this is the third iteration, rather than the first, I agree that it'd be given more of a budget, priority, and development. Every original character would be back as playable, except maybe Pit. For who I think would be added, looking at the N64's games, and some selections like Mario Kart and Mario Party, I think...

...are fairly obvious additions. Wario would be more similar to his Smash Remix iteration around this time. Another Pokemon could also get in, though I'm undecided between Jigglypuff, Meowth, and Mewtwo. Mewtwo makes sense if we're going with the tradition of unlockable boss villains at this point. Plus if Ness still got in, you could base some of their projectile effects off of each other, potentially.
In addition, given that in one version Rare got pretty involved, I think could also make it in. Unfortunately, around this time, I can't see Mega Man getting in as easily. While CAPCOM did release a version of Legends, most of their support was on the PlayStation and Saturn/Dreamcast around this time. However, Hudson and Bomberman were pretty prominent around this point, to the point of Hudson developing Mario Party games, so if any other third party got in, it'd be the White Bomber.

This roster overall could be between 17 - 21 characters in total, depending on how things go. Maybe a bit excessive, but Tekken 2, around the same time, did have around 23.

SSBGCN
What once was Melee would now be the fourth game. Maybe due to being so ingrained with Nintendo at this point, Rare doesn't get sold. If they don't, you could see Conker or Joanna Dark join the game. If Microsoft still does own Rare at this point, however, there are still some pretty good additions to be made.
-A third Pokémon, either Jigglypuff, Meowth, and Mewtwo, depending on who is chosen in the last game, or potentially Charizard and/or Blastoise over any of those three, and/or a second or third generation Pokémon, depending on when in the GameCube's life this is developed and released.
-Marth and possibly another Fire Emblem character, given that Fire Emblem would either be out internationally, or is about to be. Could stick with Roy for an easy clone, or Ike if it's released really late, or Lyn or Hector, given that their game introduces the West to Fire Emblem.
-A second and/or third Kirby character, definitely Meta Knight or King Dedede still.
-Diddy Kong. No "and/or" here. Maybe he could be duo'd up with Dixie Kong.
-Olimar and/or Villager. New IPs. Andy or Isaac could also maybe happen, but it seems like they put more promotional stock in these two.
-Pit comes back, given the want to add an NES character. If you want a new one, the main other options are probably the Duck Hunt Dog & Duck, ExciteBiker, or Little Mac, given their relative prominence, though we might still end up with the Ice Climbers. Who knows?
-Mr. Game & Watch. Game & Watch Gallery makes him surprisingly relevant.
-Sonic the Hedgehog. For game 4, and for an era that also included Link in Soul Calibur II, as well as Sonic appearing on Nintendo consoles? This isn't too out of the realm of possibility.
-Pac-Man and/or a Soul Calibur rep. Speaking of Link's appearance there, maybe we can also see an earlier one of Namco-Bandai in Smash. Pac-Man is their biggest character, and a big character in gaming overall, but perhaps we could also see Nightmare come to Smash to return the SC2 favor.
Mega Man could also potentially return if he was a veteran previously, since CAPCOM seemed to start releasing more games on Nintendo consoles again around this point. Young Link or Toon Link and Falco or Wolf also might happen, since they're relatively easy to implement.
This roster could add between 9 to 20 characters, which could make the roster slightly surpass Melee's number or start to even approach Brawl's.

SSBW
At this point, I'd say anybody I said in the last one that I didn't say was in for sure could get in now, short of a second or third gen Pokemon at this point, the second FE character if it's Roy or Lyn if they weren't in already, and the Soul Calibur character. Let's say our first newcomers from last game's potential rejects are:
-[since he's so associated with this installment in our timeline]
- [since Sakurai had second thoughts at first, but then revisited them a game later]
-[since he got a new game on this console, though whether it comes before or after this is anyone's guess in this timeline.]

For newer additions, we could see...
- [most prominent and promoted 4th gen Pokémon]
- [his Mario Kart addition makes this still plausible]
- or [depends on whether we have the Sakurai/Kojima friendship or if Nintendo and Konami decided to go with the series that had more Nintendo history. Plus hey, you could have all the Captain N team members that originate in video games. Aside from the Game Boy, I suppose. This also possibly depends on whether or not Konami owns HudsonSoft at this point.]

From this point on, I can't give you much variance on the other Smash rosters, and this is a big post already. If Pac-Man's in earlier, you could possibly see Kazuya or Nightmare in Wii U/3DS's DLC alongside Ryu, instead of Pac-Man being a new reveal there. You might see Black Orchid, Fulgore, Banjo & Kazooie, Conker, and/or Joanna Dark as another big sell on "Everyone is Here!" And because of that, you might also see Crash or Rayman in Banjo's place in the first Fighters Pass. Beyond that, not much more to say for now.

 

[Pupp135]

For fun, I’ll take rosters on post #19, and make rosters for the GBC (after SSBSNES), GBA (around same time as “Melee”), and DS (around the same time as “Brawl”) since I could see myself making portable SSB earlier if I was making this series since the NES:

SSB GBC:

Spoiler: Reasons

I’ll assume this entry comes out in 1998ish, and since I think the GBC was weaker than the SNES, the roster gets cut down to 7. I decided to cut Bowser and Yoshi since I didn’t want to remove a franchise yet for diversity, and Luigi is the player 2 character. Also, Onion Knight was excluded because of copyright issues. Due to how popular Pocket Monsters was, I feel that Pikachu is an essential addition.

SSBGBA:

Spoiler: Reasons

In this hypothetical, I’d be working soon after or around the time of the Gamecube entry, but I’d make this a mid-2003 release. I think that I can only have about 16 fighters. From the 64 roster, I’d probably only remove Wario and Falco as I’m working with sprites instead of models, and I’d like to keep Peach, Ganondorf, Meowth, third parties and Fire Emblem on my roster.
Unlock order: Bowser, Ganondorf, Sonic

SSBDS:

Spoiler: Reasons

This is similar to the GBA where this version will be done close to being in parallel to the Wii version. The game will be released some time between late 2007 and late 2008. Due to limitations, I’ll just remove the complex fighters (Olimar, Ice Climbers, Pokemon Trainer) and the latter semi-clones (Jigglypuff, Toon Link, Wolf)
Unlock Order: Marth, Meta Knight, Wolf, Lucario, Zelda, Snake, Mewtwo, Sonic, Jigglypuff, Young Link.

 

[Mr. Stevenson]

Let’s give it a year, say 1989
And well assuming that it’s still a Nintendo all-stars only thing, then I’d say:

Definitely:
-Mario
-Luigi
-Donkey Kong
-Donkey Kong Jr.
-Bowser
-Link
-Samus
-Pit
-Little Mac

Possible/Probable additions:
-Zelda
-Ice Climbers
-Balloon Fighter
-Urban Champion
-Ganon
-King Hippo
-Wart
-Ridley
-Peach
-Mach Rider
-Excitebike Racer
Maybe Duck Hunt dog but I doubt they’d go with such an out of the box choice for the first entry

 

[Butters Stotch]

I'll use KneeOfJustice99 's roster counts for SNES and 64, as I think the figures are pretty realistic.

NES

• As others have said, a Smash Bros. game for the NES wouldn't be capable of having as many characters, so I narrowed the roster down to six, which I think it could handle. Mario and DK pretty much speak for themselves and The Legend of Zelda and Metroid are famous, innovative games for the NES. I'll explain Pit and Bowser below.
• Pit is mainly here for ease of implementation and working around hardware constraints. It's unlikely that characters in this game would have too many moves and Pit's, as mentioned by KneeOfJustice99 , would be based around projectiles and ranged attacks, which are a part of Samus's moveset. I think time could be saved by using a similar moveset type for Pit. It would be easier to do that than to make a new character from scratch with completely different moveset.
• The boss character is Bowser. I'm not repurposing him as an unlockable character, as I don't want to overrepresent Mario on such a small roster.
• I'm not too sure what the release date for this game would be. It'd likely be after Zelda II, which would be another factor for Link's inclusion, but before the SNES. As both released later worldwide, I'll give a time frame for the Japanese release, which would be between 1987 and 1990, followed by a USA release a year or so later.

SNES (would play similarly to this)

• Unless this is being developed by someone else, I'll use 1994-1995 as an estimate for when this hypothetical game would release to avoid clashing with Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star.
• Luigi isn't necessarily cut, but is instead reduced to an alt for the next two games. Bowser, no longer the Classic Mode boss, takes his place as the second Mario character. Master Hand would be introduced here as his replacement, but the lore behind him wouldn't be a thing until the next game.
• Marth, Falcon, and Kirby represent newer series. The Dragon King prototype and models wouldn't have existed, but I would still add Falcon because of his F-Zero directly inspired Mario Kart IIRC and was pretty successful.
• I could've added Yoshi instead of Wario, as both starred in spin-offs not long after their debuts, but the latter starred in his own platformer first.

64

• Smash would've been an established franchise by this point and I believe it would receive higher funds and more development time from Nintendo. This means that the number of characters and other parts of the game can be increased or improved upon.
• Yoshi (after getting spin-off games) and Fox come from pre-established franchises that were getting major releases at this time.
• Pikachu and Banjo-Kazooie were from recent series and already had sequels in production before the release of Smash 64.

Melee

• I would love to say that Nintendo would let me delay the game, but I don't think Melee's development schedule would change, as Nintendo wanted it as an early title for the GameCube.
• Luigi returns, but with the limited development time, he would still be a semi-clone.
• Sheik and Ice Climbers are cut for Diddy and a unique Ganondorf.
• With Rare being put up for sale and there not being enough time for negotiations, Banjo-Kazooie are cut.
• Because 13 veterans are being brought back instead of 12, I think the number of clones would have to be decreased to compensate for this. The balancing time spent on Sheik and the Ice Climbers, as they aren't in, could also be used to help with this.

Since things would get more complicated with later entries, I'm just gonna leave it at Melee. But for fun, I'll do expanded versions of the first two games (ignoring limitations or in a scenario where Nintendo released official demakes):

NES (expanded)

Ninten
( is reduced to an alt for both)

SNES (expanded)

Mega Man X