I wish I could understand why fans get so flustered about 3rd party characters. I’m not sure whether it’s because a good amount of Nintendo fans strictly play Nintendo games, or if they just have this “Smash purity” thing, but it always seems to lead to irrational distaste toward 3rd parties.
It certainly may not be easy to take, but it shouldn’t be hard to understand. The remaining selection of first party characters will not entice people to buy them. All of the main characters of games, with mostly original designs and that can’t easily be confused with another character are in the game. This includes most of the major protagonists, sidekicks, villains, and some side characters. If you look at most of the Nintendo series with playable characters, this holds true.
Selling 3rd string Nintendo characters, especially those that do not effectively advertise a new product, simply doesn’t make sense compared to adding a Gen 8 Pokémon, Three Houses character, or the twins from Astral Chain. Those three options make the most sense for first party DLC fighters for Ultimate. No one else really makes that much sense.
Now, picture this. A brand new 3rd party character gets added. It’s from a series that isn’t in Smash, so we get a stage, music pieces, and spirits that weren’t there before. It’s completely unique from everything else currently, and gives a fresh spin. This is something that many new Nintendo characters wouldn’t necessarily do.
I personally can’t relate, because i’ve tried to play every series in Smash. The only ones I haven’t are Wii Fit, R.O.B, and Duck Hunt. Every time a 3rd party gets added, I attempt to play one of their games. Granted, I am fortunate enough to own all consoles of this generation, so it’s a bit easier for me to accomplish that.
However, we play this video game don’t we? A character being added isn’t just a “representation”. They bring a moveset, and things that help them stand out. 3rd party fighters are especially rich in unique gameplay potential, because they aren’t typical to Nintendo titles.
Plus, I don’t think i’m alone in this, the fact that the crossover element keeps growing with each fighter added is just absolutely incredible. I only played Metal Gear because of Smash, and it’s one of my favorites. I sped up my backlog to play Persona 5 and Final Fantasy VII. Those are also among my favorites.
You just have to keep an open mind, and try some new things. Otherwise you’re just going to be miserable.
