kaid
Smash Master
With the official Brawl site going live with a "Major Update" in about 14.5 hours, this could be my last chance to put in a character list suggestion.
So without further discussion:
Mario:
Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Yoshi
Wario
Fairly basic. We have our Hero, Major Sidekick, Love interest, Villian, and two Spinoff characters. There are many other possible Mario characters, but this is where I made most of my cuts, limiting it to parity with Nintendo's other major series.
Pokemon:
Pikachu
Mewtwo
Gardevor
Lucario
Gallade
Again, Hero, Villian, a 3rd-gen that Sakurai has apparently commented on, a Western favorite, and an Eastern favorite.
Part of the problem with making a Pokemon list, is that there is so many, it's hard to find ones that really stand out. Pikachu, of course, is the series mascot. Mewtwo, on the other hand, is the closest the series has to a villian, being the final pokemon in 6 (the japaneese Red and Green, the later Blue version, Yellow, Fire Red, and Leaf Green) and 2 Movies (Mewtwo strikes back, Return of Mewtwo) as well as a pair of episodes of the anime. While some could argue for Meowth, he's really more comic relief than a villian. Other than that, everything is pretty much in the air, coming down to personal preference. I dropped Jiggs because her original popular base (outside smash) is now gone. Lucario was the Greatest Rescuer in PMD, and had his own movie, and despite not being truly legendary in D/P, many people still swear by him, with numerous reports of beating the last two gyms "with Lucario alone." Gardevor is apparently popular in Japan, as is Gallade, an alternate evolution with sword-arms.
Legend of Zelda:
The Hero of Time
Midna (wolfback)
Zelda
Gannondorf
The Hero of Winds
Tingle
I expect controversy for this one. Once again, Hero, sidekick, Love interest, Villian, spinoff, and spinoff. Yes, Tingle has his own spinoff game coming to the Nintendo DS, and he is really quite liked in Japan, so I would consider it quite likely that all us westerners have our Practice Mode target picked out for us. Also, Midna being on wolfback gives Midna greater options and weight, and is how she is portrayed whenever she is involved in combat. When she gets off the wolf in combat, it means she's just going to sit on the sidelines and do nothing.
No Skull kid, No Vatti, No Zant. Gannondorf is the Villian, and he will remain the villian.
Starfox:
Fox
Falco
Krystal
Wolf
Same system as the others- Hero, sidekick, villian, and love interest. The only source of controversy here is over, in the words of Nintendo Power, "Not only is (Krystal) a fox, she is also a fox."
Also, a common source of heated debate amoung starfox fans- What if Sakurai decides Starfox only rates 3 characters? Should they drop Falco, the cocky bird who's been there since the beginning? Or Wolf, Fox's archrival? Or even Krystal, the foxy newcomer with a magical staff- quite different from the other choices.
Kirby:
Kirby
Metaknight
Dedede
Fairly basic. Sakurai's own game falls in the second tier of Nintendo franchises. Sakurai has himself stated that the three of them are his favorites.
Metroid:
Samus/Zero-suit Samus
Ridley
Not that popular in Japan, Metroid is popular enough in america to make the addition of Ridley, the series's longstanding villian a distinct possibility. While the Hunters and Dark Samus are also common suggestions, they come from the Prime subseries, which Japan absolutely hates.
DK:
Donkey Kong
Diddy kong
A spinoff of the MArio series, this one is so entrenched, with so many games, that it counts as it's own series. Far from a clone, Diddy has a vastly different movepool, from jetbarrels to boomboxes.
Fire Emblem:
Marth
Ike
While I've never played FE myself, the series is a popular source of discussion both here and on other forums I visit. Marth, from my sources, was the ORIGINAL FE Lord, and I have heard some discussion that the castle stage shown in trailers is actually from his game. Ike, on the other hand, is from a more recent game. From number of games alone, it should probably rate more entrants, but I have an unfortunate tendancy to minimise games I don't play.
Returning singles:
Captian Falcon- I had to wrestle with myself whether to put this one here or above. While he might get Samouri Goh as a rival in brawl, I wouldn't put money on it. On either bet, in fact. I give Goh about 50/50 chance.
Ness- Cult Favorite, he's not going to be dropped. Ever. On the other hand, I don't see the Mother series getting any more rep anytime soon.
Ice Climbers- Alright, this one is in because there just isn't any reason to remove them. Returning non-clones are just as easy to make as new clones would be- Just make a new skin (for the updated graphics) and tweak the Melee moveset slightly.
Game and Watch: Same as Ice Climbers, except skip the bit about a new model. They already put quite a bit of tech into making him look low-tech... all they need to to tweak his stats.
Dropped Characters
Dr. Mario
Young Link
Roy
Pichu
Shiek
With the exception of Shiek, every one of them is an unexceptional clone. By unexceptional, I mean that they are very similar to the people they clone. Except for Roy, every one of them actually IS the person they clone. (Or can be, in Pichu's case) Roy, on the other hand, I have been told was a promotion for either FE 6 or 8, I forget which, and he kicked Sidguard out of Melee. Shiek is dropped mainly because she's out o vogue these days- She appeared in 1 game, 2 systems ago. Midna, on the other hand, is in one game, that is the most recent. (and Midna had more character development than Shiek, anyway)
New entries: I am suddenly at a loss to think of any, so I'll go with everyone else's choices.
Pit- Confirmd. New retro char, and looking better than ever.
Mii- A feature of the Wii that many game-review sites say need to be incorporated into more games. Besides, Why say no to Chuck Norris vs George W?
Tom Nook- An Animal-crossing rep, he appears in every game, and even in the movie that is coming out. Apparently his backstory says he ran a fighting dojo in the rough part of the city before moving out to become your personal extortionist, so his fighting credentials should not be overlooked.
Captian Olimar- From the latest creation of Miamoto's, Olimar would presumably use Pikmn to fight.
Sami- Advance Wars's Infantry CO, her moves would fill the request on Sakurai's poll for an Famicom/Advance wars infantry in the game. She is also the only CO who's art depics her wielding a weapon... the others are more "stand back and send out the troops" types. (although I could see Max with his head sticking out a minature Neotank...)
Snake- The only confirmed 3rd party character, Sakurai and Kojima have long had a friendship. The stories say that Kojima asked Sakurai if Snake could be in Melee, but was turned down, not because Snake was 3rd party, but because they were too late in the developement cycle. When Sakurai was asked to make Brawl, he went to Kojima and asked if the offer of Snake still stood... and THAT is why Snake is in brawl.
Sonic- With the 3rd-party wall broken, no other character is as likely as the blue blur. The Mario and Sonic at the Olimpics game is being developed by Sega, while Brawl is being done by Nintendo, giving both companies a chance to cash in on the two icons's ancient rivalry.
----------------------
That is 47 characters by my count, with only 46 showing up on the screen, as Zero-suit would be part of Samus.
I know I left out Megaman and Geno and Issac and Mike Tyson and Mach Rider and Balloon Fighter... but I had reasons.
Start the barbeque.
So without further discussion:
Mario:
Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Yoshi
Wario
Fairly basic. We have our Hero, Major Sidekick, Love interest, Villian, and two Spinoff characters. There are many other possible Mario characters, but this is where I made most of my cuts, limiting it to parity with Nintendo's other major series.
Pokemon:
Pikachu
Mewtwo
Gardevor
Lucario
Gallade
Again, Hero, Villian, a 3rd-gen that Sakurai has apparently commented on, a Western favorite, and an Eastern favorite.
Part of the problem with making a Pokemon list, is that there is so many, it's hard to find ones that really stand out. Pikachu, of course, is the series mascot. Mewtwo, on the other hand, is the closest the series has to a villian, being the final pokemon in 6 (the japaneese Red and Green, the later Blue version, Yellow, Fire Red, and Leaf Green) and 2 Movies (Mewtwo strikes back, Return of Mewtwo) as well as a pair of episodes of the anime. While some could argue for Meowth, he's really more comic relief than a villian. Other than that, everything is pretty much in the air, coming down to personal preference. I dropped Jiggs because her original popular base (outside smash) is now gone. Lucario was the Greatest Rescuer in PMD, and had his own movie, and despite not being truly legendary in D/P, many people still swear by him, with numerous reports of beating the last two gyms "with Lucario alone." Gardevor is apparently popular in Japan, as is Gallade, an alternate evolution with sword-arms.
Legend of Zelda:
The Hero of Time
Midna (wolfback)
Zelda
Gannondorf
The Hero of Winds
Tingle
I expect controversy for this one. Once again, Hero, sidekick, Love interest, Villian, spinoff, and spinoff. Yes, Tingle has his own spinoff game coming to the Nintendo DS, and he is really quite liked in Japan, so I would consider it quite likely that all us westerners have our Practice Mode target picked out for us. Also, Midna being on wolfback gives Midna greater options and weight, and is how she is portrayed whenever she is involved in combat. When she gets off the wolf in combat, it means she's just going to sit on the sidelines and do nothing.
No Skull kid, No Vatti, No Zant. Gannondorf is the Villian, and he will remain the villian.
Starfox:
Fox
Falco
Krystal
Wolf
Same system as the others- Hero, sidekick, villian, and love interest. The only source of controversy here is over, in the words of Nintendo Power, "Not only is (Krystal) a fox, she is also a fox."
Also, a common source of heated debate amoung starfox fans- What if Sakurai decides Starfox only rates 3 characters? Should they drop Falco, the cocky bird who's been there since the beginning? Or Wolf, Fox's archrival? Or even Krystal, the foxy newcomer with a magical staff- quite different from the other choices.
Kirby:
Kirby
Metaknight
Dedede
Fairly basic. Sakurai's own game falls in the second tier of Nintendo franchises. Sakurai has himself stated that the three of them are his favorites.
Metroid:
Samus/Zero-suit Samus
Ridley
Not that popular in Japan, Metroid is popular enough in america to make the addition of Ridley, the series's longstanding villian a distinct possibility. While the Hunters and Dark Samus are also common suggestions, they come from the Prime subseries, which Japan absolutely hates.
DK:
Donkey Kong
Diddy kong
A spinoff of the MArio series, this one is so entrenched, with so many games, that it counts as it's own series. Far from a clone, Diddy has a vastly different movepool, from jetbarrels to boomboxes.
Fire Emblem:
Marth
Ike
While I've never played FE myself, the series is a popular source of discussion both here and on other forums I visit. Marth, from my sources, was the ORIGINAL FE Lord, and I have heard some discussion that the castle stage shown in trailers is actually from his game. Ike, on the other hand, is from a more recent game. From number of games alone, it should probably rate more entrants, but I have an unfortunate tendancy to minimise games I don't play.
Returning singles:
Captian Falcon- I had to wrestle with myself whether to put this one here or above. While he might get Samouri Goh as a rival in brawl, I wouldn't put money on it. On either bet, in fact. I give Goh about 50/50 chance.
Ness- Cult Favorite, he's not going to be dropped. Ever. On the other hand, I don't see the Mother series getting any more rep anytime soon.
Ice Climbers- Alright, this one is in because there just isn't any reason to remove them. Returning non-clones are just as easy to make as new clones would be- Just make a new skin (for the updated graphics) and tweak the Melee moveset slightly.
Game and Watch: Same as Ice Climbers, except skip the bit about a new model. They already put quite a bit of tech into making him look low-tech... all they need to to tweak his stats.
Dropped Characters
Dr. Mario
Young Link
Roy
Pichu
Shiek
With the exception of Shiek, every one of them is an unexceptional clone. By unexceptional, I mean that they are very similar to the people they clone. Except for Roy, every one of them actually IS the person they clone. (Or can be, in Pichu's case) Roy, on the other hand, I have been told was a promotion for either FE 6 or 8, I forget which, and he kicked Sidguard out of Melee. Shiek is dropped mainly because she's out o vogue these days- She appeared in 1 game, 2 systems ago. Midna, on the other hand, is in one game, that is the most recent. (and Midna had more character development than Shiek, anyway)
New entries: I am suddenly at a loss to think of any, so I'll go with everyone else's choices.
Pit- Confirmd. New retro char, and looking better than ever.
Mii- A feature of the Wii that many game-review sites say need to be incorporated into more games. Besides, Why say no to Chuck Norris vs George W?
Tom Nook- An Animal-crossing rep, he appears in every game, and even in the movie that is coming out. Apparently his backstory says he ran a fighting dojo in the rough part of the city before moving out to become your personal extortionist, so his fighting credentials should not be overlooked.
Captian Olimar- From the latest creation of Miamoto's, Olimar would presumably use Pikmn to fight.
Sami- Advance Wars's Infantry CO, her moves would fill the request on Sakurai's poll for an Famicom/Advance wars infantry in the game. She is also the only CO who's art depics her wielding a weapon... the others are more "stand back and send out the troops" types. (although I could see Max with his head sticking out a minature Neotank...)
Snake- The only confirmed 3rd party character, Sakurai and Kojima have long had a friendship. The stories say that Kojima asked Sakurai if Snake could be in Melee, but was turned down, not because Snake was 3rd party, but because they were too late in the developement cycle. When Sakurai was asked to make Brawl, he went to Kojima and asked if the offer of Snake still stood... and THAT is why Snake is in brawl.
Sonic- With the 3rd-party wall broken, no other character is as likely as the blue blur. The Mario and Sonic at the Olimpics game is being developed by Sega, while Brawl is being done by Nintendo, giving both companies a chance to cash in on the two icons's ancient rivalry.
----------------------
That is 47 characters by my count, with only 46 showing up on the screen, as Zero-suit would be part of Samus.
I know I left out Megaman and Geno and Issac and Mike Tyson and Mach Rider and Balloon Fighter... but I had reasons.
Start the barbeque.
