New Sakurai Interview: Smash Bros DS and 4 news.

[Spire]

What I think should be in SSB4:

Wavedashing
Lcancelling
More chaingrabs and less infinite chaingrabs
Has a super mario galaxy stage
Has Mewtwo, no Lucario
Individual target tests for every character (just like melee!)
Is as fast as melee
Has Roy and Ike
Has Toon Link (but if they have to replace him, maybe zant would be a good idea)
No Snake (Sorry snake mains, no offense)
Has some Animal Crossing characters (That will be interesting)
Also, some more pokemon characters
...all I can say...

Post that in the SSB4 thread. This has become the SSBDS thread, and is different from SSB4, as it would be a spin-off title.

 

[majora_787]

On a side note...wtf? Mega Man and Samus are almost nothing alike. They only look the same on the surface, but they are completely different in their actual games. In Marvel vs. Capcom, Mega Man has well over twice as many attacks as Samus in smash, and the only thing that is similar is that they both fire a cannon of some sort. Woaw! Not to mention the ridiculous amounts of weapons Mega Man has gotten in various Mega Man series. And what is with people despise Mega Man? Go play Mega Man and Mega Man 2....NOAW!!!

Hey, hey, heyheyheyheyheyhey...hey. I just said that Samus and Megaman would be so similar they could share a frame, and they would both have a charge shot. If anything Megaman would have something similar to Wario-Man for a final smash. :\

ALSO, why is it I doubt we'll see all of the normal glitches and abnormalities of melee and brawl in SSBDS if one is made? =\ It just sounds complicated.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

A Smash DS would probably have just, say... 25-30 characters and about 25-30 stages.
which is why I would hesitate to buy it.

If the next Smash has 50 characters, that's be good, but... I think Sakurai wants a new innovation to add so its not just the same

Ya, wel tha ds point is good, but i think i would definitely buy it cuz it would still be good...

 

[Big-Cat]

Lmao, just like One Piece, for anyone that reads/watches it.

Don't forget losing large amounts of blood.

 

[gigasteve]

What if we, the Smash Bros community, would actually have our ideas heard by Sakurai for SSB4?

 

[Cat Fight]

What if we, the Smash Bros community, would actually have our ideas heard by Sakurai for SSB4?

Nonsense!!!

 

[Bowser King]

If 26 (27 including the Random select) is far more than 25, then man, you got me!

Anyways, I've revamped the roster, which I feel is much more appropriate:

15 veterans, 11 newcomers = 26 characters, the same as Melee if including Sheik.

Lol, Battalion war grunt, I made a moveset for him in the make a char 2.0 thread he's near page 3.

This roster seems far more reasonable. I disagree with leon and kamek because they both do almost nothing in the games. If you were to replace kamek for bowser jr. (no I'm not being biased) or have kept waluigi (as this is a spin-off) then that would be a lot better. For Leon I think slippy or krystal are good choices, there far different from fox/falco/wolf. While Leon is to he has done less then slippy and krystal.

 

[Spire]

Lol, Battalion war grunt, I made a moveset for him in the make a char 2.0 thread he's near page 3.

This roster seems far more reasonable. I disagree with leon and kamek because they both do almost nothing in the games. If you were to replace kamek for bowser jr. (no I'm not being biased) or have kept waluigi (as this is a spin-off) then that would be a lot better. For Leon I think slippy or krystal are good choices, there far different from fox/falco/wolf.

Well, Kamek is a recurring villain in the Yoshi series, and is furthermore a Magikoopa, which represents both the Yoshi and Mario series. I'm not a big fan of including characters who are similar (not just in movesets, but in appearances and names) to other characters, which is why I'm not a supporter of Bowser Jr. and Krystal.

Slippy, however, is interesting. I could see him using a large wrench as a primary weapon. He would be considerably different from the other Starfox characters, but I'm still keen on the idea of the balanced Starfox : Starwolf ratio. Leon would be the most unique of the four, but of course Slippy would be considerably different. It's hard to debate between the two, because I'm a softy for both. Odds are though, Leon has more of a chance.

 

[Ilex]

Wouldn't it be cool if the Smash Bros DS included characters famed on handhold systems? I'm thinking Advanced Wars reps, more Pokemon, of course Mr. Game and Watch. Pretty much make the roster more handheld-game oriented, since it is a handheld Smash.

 

[kin3tic-c4jun-3]

I can't stand reading threads like this...

 

[blayde_axel]

I hope they don't make a SSB4, just so that Platnum never comes back to smashboards.

But seriously, with this new Wario Land game, this just screams for Captain Syrup to be on Smash Bros.

 

[gigasteve]

Wouldn't it be cool if the Smash Bros DS included characters famed on handhold systems? I'm thinking Advanced Wars reps, more Pokemon, of course Mr. Game and Watch. Pretty much make the roster more handheld-game oriented, since it is a handheld Smash.

1. No.
2. It hasn't been stated it will be a handheld.

 

[blayde_axel]

Come to think of it, after playing smash bros on the Wiimote, SSBDS would be a terrible idea.

 

[hippochinfat!!]

No one should be cut other then maybe Lucario or Ike. Nobody gives a **** if you don't like ROB. He's got an original moveset that can't be given to anyone else.

45 characters sounds reasonable. No Japan only character, they're a waste. No new Starfox reps or unimportant minor villans like Kamek or Vaati. Pokemon will obviously all be 1st gen and then a rep from the newest generation unless they decide to keep Lucario. There's no chance in hell they're going to add a 3rd gen Pokemon like Deoxys. Geno is a terrible idea. He's from one obscure Mario game that no one cared about and he's 3rd party. Ridley is WAY to big. Even if he was scaled down he would look extremely stupid. Clones are no doubt going to return.

Also, Yoshi is NOT his own series. Yoshi's Story is the only Yoshi game and it was a terrible kiddy game. All the other "Yoshi" games have Mario characters in them as main characters.

 

[blayde_axel]

No one should be cut other then maybe Lucario or Ike. Nobody gives a **** if you don't like ROB. He's got an original moveset that can't be given to anyone else.

45 characters sounds reasonable. No Japan only character, they're a waste. No new Starfox reps or unimportant minor villans like Kamek or Vaati. Pokemon will obviously all be 1st gen and then a rep from the newest generation unless they decide to keep Lucario. There's no chance in hell they're going to add a 3rd gen Pokemon like Deoxys. Geno is a terrible idea. He's from one obscure Mario game that no one cared about and he's 3rd party. Ridley is WAY to big. Even if he was scaled down he would look extremely stupid. Clones are no doubt going to return.

Also, Yoshi is NOT his own series. Yoshi's Story is the only Yoshi game and it was a terrible kiddy game. All the other "Yoshi" games have Mario characters in them as main characters.

That egg he has as a symbol begs to differ.

And everything else you said I can't really agree to, except the ROB thing. His moveset is original. But still, Japan Only characters are still Nintendo characters, so it really doesn't matter. Pokemon characters won't OBVIOUSLY be anything. Geno isn't a terrible idea (although it seems Sakurai isn't as fan-friendly as we thought), and Ridley? I won't say anything about Ridley. That's all I have to say.

 

[munsif]

he is right that more charcters wont make the game better, just bigger. In my opinion more advance techniques would make the game better maybe additional moves for the existing charcters but i dont see how that could be done except for changing the fighting to be similar to other 2D fighters and pressing 2 buttons at once, but i kinda think that would be selling out.

 

[munsif]

also additional outfits for charcters other than just different coulours

 

[gigasteve]

As much as I want Ridley, I guess Dark Samus or Rundas will have to do...

 

[flyinfilipino]

I'm not a big fan of including characters who are similar (not just in movesets, but in appearances and names) to other characters, which is why I'm not a supporter of Bowser Jr. and Krystal.

So Leon is more different from the rest of the Starfox cast than Krystal...?

Ugh, I need to stop contributing to these roster speculation threads. And there's still no news at all about any sort of announcement of any Smash game on the DS (which doesn't sound like a good idea anyway [control pad?] ). Yeah, this is pretty dumb.

 

[Spire]

Whoa, let's get back in track with the idea for a SSBDS, not SSB4. I see them as two entirely different things. Firstly, it would not play like a Wiimote would with Brawl because: a) the DS is designed differently than the Wiimote, and b) the game would not be Brawl and therefore would not have Brawl's mechanics. The mechanics would be designed for use with the DS, not the Wiimote and GCN controller.

Secondly, this game would not have more characters than Brawl, probably having at, or around the amount that Melee had.

Thirdly, the characters designated for this game should be chosen from a) Brawl's roster, and b) their popularity on handhelds. Putting in characters like Ridley would be ridiculous because he has not been prominent in the handheld games as much as he has in the console games, and wouldn't you want to save his possible debut for the big screen rather than the 2 1/2 inch DS screen? It's bad enough to include him as a PC due to the notion butchering his epicness, but to shrink him down to DS size? That brings him down to the level of Rumble Falls as a gimmick and utterly lame addition.

So Leon is more different from the rest of the Starfox cast than Krystal...?

Ugh, I need to stop contributing to these roster speculation threads. And there's still no news at all about any sort of announcement of any Smash game on the DS (which doesn't sound like a good idea anyway [control pad?] ). Yeah, this is pretty dumb.

Yes, he is. Krystal is another canine (that makes three, and a bird). Leon is a chameleon, hence his name. Krystal may be a female, yadda yadda yadda, but what are the odds of her actually getting the staff? Judging by the way characters are designed, they reflect their most modern appearances, and she hasn't had a staff since 2002.

 

[flyinfilipino]

Yes, he is. Krystal is another canine (that makes three, and a bird). Leon is a chameleon, hence his name. Krystal may be a female, yadda yadda yadda, but what are the odds of her actually getting the staff? Judging by the way characters are designed, they reflect their most modern appearances, and she hasn't had a staff since 2002.

Mario, Luigi, Wario, Peach, Captain Falcon, Snake, Samus, Ness, Lucas, Marth, Ike, and the Ice Climbers (?) are all human, so species isn't a big deal at all. At least she used a staff. What has Leon done in the Starfox universe lately?

Leon is wayyy low on the hypothetical StarFox Smash Bros. character totem pole. If they were to hypothetically introduce a new Starfox character to the hypothetical roster of this hypothetical game, it would not be Leon.

 

[ReppinThat703]

Super smash ds ftw

 

[Spartan1841]

What I think should be in SSB4:

Wavedashing
Lcancelling
More chaingrabs and less infinite chaingrabs
Has a super mario galaxy stage
Has Mewtwo, no Lucario
Individual target tests for every character (just like melee!)
Is as fast as melee
Has Roy and Ike
Has Toon Link (but if they have to replace him, maybe zant would be a good idea)
No Snake (Sorry snake mains, no offense)
Has some Animal Crossing characters (That will be interesting)
Also, some more pokemon characters
...all I can say...

I can make that list perfect
Eliminate the first 3, have both mewtwo and lucario, different game not like melee(hell no) nor like brawl, replacing toon link for zant is a wth. Thats just my opinion on it sorry if u hate it.

What if we, the Smash Bros community, would actually have our ideas heard by Sakurai for SSB4?

God no...

Still this community is just for tourney people and is actually the minority...

 

[WolfCypher]

I can make that list perfect
Eliminate the first 3, have both mewtwo and lucario, different game not like melee(hell no) nor like brawl, replacing toon link for zant is a wth. Thats just my opinion on it sorry if u hate it.



God no...

Still this community is just for tourney people and is actually the minority...

I like the way you think (both in regards to your opinions on AbsoluteZero's post and on the fact that Sakurai SHOULDN'T listen to all the fans).

 

[Foxy_Marth]

Have you guys seen Super Smash Bros. Rumble.

It's a homebrew for the DS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvsU46knul8

 

[Ilex]

1. No.
2. It hasn't been stated it will be a handheld.

We're speculating about SSBDS here, buddy. I'm not sure about you, but I can confidently say that the DS is a handheld. And why would they include characters for DS game that have never been on DS or anything else similar? It would just make more sense and it would bring some fresh characters to Smash.

Personally, I want to see:
-Golden Sun rep (Isaac)
-Advance Wars Rep

Altogether though I don't think we should expect many characters, maybe 15ish.

 

[hippochinfat!!]

That egg he has as a symbol begs to differ.

And everything else you said I can't really agree to, except the ROB thing. His moveset is original. But still, Japan Only characters are still Nintendo characters, so it really doesn't matter. Pokemon characters won't OBVIOUSLY be anything. Geno isn't a terrible idea (although it seems Sakurai isn't as fan-friendly as we thought), and Ridley? I won't say anything about Ridley. That's all I have to say.

It doesn't matter if he has an egg symbol. Sakurai might think he has his own series but he's not. Saying Yoshi is his own series is like saying Tingle is his own series. Japan only characters only appeal to Japanese gamers and weeaboos who probaly never played their game. Most Japanese only characters that people want are from awful games, like Joy Mech Fight or Panel De Pon.

Pokemon characters are obvious. They might add a new first gen (or bring back Mewtwo) and they'll definetly add a 5th/6th gen Pokemon to advertise the new games (like they did with Pichu and Lucario). There is no reason to add a Pokemon from the 3rd generation or any generatin other then the first and latest. People are familiar with the original 151 and they're no doubt going to add a brand new one for advertising. I don't know what makes you think it isn't obvious.

Geno would be a HUGE waste. He was the CO-STAR of an obscure Mario game. He's only been in one game. The game happens to have a small cult following but it's small and it really means nothing. Most people have no idea who he is at all. If they're going to add a new Mario character they'd add a well-known like Toad.

BTW I'm talking about Smash 4. No chance in hell Smash will go on the DS.

 

[blayde_axel]

It doesn't matter if he has an egg symbol. Sakurai might think he has his own series but he's not. Saying Yoshi is his own series is like saying Tingle is his own series. Japan only characters only appeal to Japanese gamers and weeaboos who probaly never played their game. Most Japanese only characters that people want are from awful games, like Joy Mech Fight or Panel De Pon.

Pokemon characters are obvious. They might add a new first gen (or bring back Mewtwo) and they'll definetly add a 5th/6th gen Pokemon to advertise the new games (like they did with Pichu and Lucario). There is no reason to add a Pokemon from the 3rd generation or any generatin other then the first and latest. People are familiar with the original 151 and they're no doubt going to add a brand new one for advertising. I don't know what makes you think it isn't obvious.

Geno would be a HUGE waste. He was the CO-STAR of an obscure Mario game. He's only been in one game. The game happens to have a small cult following but it's small and it really means nothing. Most people have no idea who he is at all. If they're going to add a new Mario character they'd add a well-known like Toad.

BTW I'm talking about Smash 4. No chance in hell Smash will go on the DS.

OMG, I agree with you on the Smash DS bit. Those controls? God.

But, anyway, Tingle does have his own series. They are called spin-off series. There are Americans who actually have played and enjoyed, say, Fire Emblems, Joy Mech Fight, or Mother3. So are you telling me their opinion doesn't matter?

Pokemon? It's not obvious for one reason: Sakurai. That's all that's needed to be said.

Actually, ROB wasn't even a character in a game! So wouldn't he be considered a waste? Not trying to start anything, because he's a welcome addition.

 

[hippochinfat!!]

OMG, I agree with you on the Smash DS bit. Those controls? God.

But, anyway, Tingle does have his own series. They are called spin-off series. There are Americans who actually have played and enjoyed, say, Fire Emblems, Joy Mech Fight, or Mother3. So are you telling me their opinion doesn't matter?

Pokemon? It's not obvious for one reason: Sakurai. That's all that's needed to be said.

Actually, ROB wasn't even a character in a game! So wouldn't he be considered a waste? Not trying to start anything, because he's a welcome addition.

I realize Tingle has his own spin off series but if you asked somone if most people here if Tingle was a Zelda character they would say yes. If you asked if Yoshi was Mario character they'd say "No, Yoshi is his own series!!!"which is stupid.

Melee and Brawl have both done this. Put in a brand new Pokemon to advertise and have the rest be 1st gen. It makes the most sense to.

ROB saved the video game industry. He was an accesory so he still counts. Again, original moveset.

Also, Smash 4 will be on the Atari Jaguar. For one reason: Sakurai.

 

[WolfCypher]

It doesn't matter if he has an egg symbol. Sakurai might think he has his own series but he's not. Saying Yoshi is his own series is like saying Tingle is his own series. Japan only characters only appeal to Japanese gamers and weeaboos who probaly never played their game. Most Japanese only characters that people want are from awful games, like Joy Mech Fight or Panel De Pon.

Pokemon characters are obvious. They might add a new first gen (or bring back Mewtwo) and they'll definetly add a 5th/6th gen Pokemon to advertise the new games (like they did with Pichu and Lucario). There is no reason to add a Pokemon from the 3rd generation or any generatin other then the first and latest. People are familiar with the original 151 and they're no doubt going to add a brand new one for advertising. I don't know what makes you think it isn't obvious.

Geno would be a HUGE waste. He was the CO-STAR of an obscure Mario game. He's only been in one game. The game happens to have a small cult following but it's small and it really means nothing. Most people have no idea who he is at all. If they're going to add a new Mario character they'd add a well-known like Toad.

BTW I'm talking about Smash 4. No chance in hell Smash will go on the DS.

This would be a perfect post in the SSB4 topic. Not just because that's where this belongs, but really because everything you've pointed out should really be read by those who are speculating a Smash 4 roster with the craziest ideas. The bolded part was my favorite. Brava. You, my friend, have just said what I've been saying for quite some time, but with such force. I couldn't have expressed that better myself.

 

[ChronoBound]

I have many interesting ideas regarding Smash 4 character representation, and I will say many people are getting carried away with their ideas for Smash 4, especially judging by the official Smash 4 topic on this board.

I might enter the official Smash 4 topic sometime this week, in order directly counter the nonsense going on in there.

 

[kupo15]

Disclaimer for the mods
I am not complaining so I think this post does not belong in the complaint thread. They are just facts to support my argument. I tried to word it in a way so that it doesn't sound so to avoid getting a ban. If I elaborated too much off topic I am sorry ^_^

i do like the direction brawl is headed as far as the new air dodge system and such but I would like more of the melee style of play such as L canceling and stuff (wavedash as good as it was is not needed imo)

Here is why I think there will be another smash:

Sakuri must have gotten plenty of complaints especially of tripping. IMO, the whole "tripping" mechanic is the sole cause of the new glitches. A brand new system equals unsuspected glitches. I think this is the reason for the DDD and falco CG glitch also. If you notice the hitstun animation is really weird compared to the normal ones (obvious i no).

A great example is Pit's Forward throw. At low %, the hitstun animation is really weird and is "untechable" just like tripping is unable to be teched. But as the damage goes over a certain %, the normal hitstun and tech ability is present. In melee, this weird untechable animation was never there. Even at 0% the throws launched ppl in the air and they had the normal hitstun as in any move thus being techable.

He must know of the up b lag glitch also and should feel compelled to fix it unless he doesn't care (he doesn't seem the type to not care)

Lastly he said that the next one has to be different than the current one. Going back to melee's game mechanics is familiar yes but it is still different than Brawl.

Not only do I think that tripping caused the glitches, it is the reason why characters like MK is so broken. I saw an excellent MK player today and he used the Dtilt tripping mechanism so well. All of the moves flowed through that tripping technique and the opponent had no chance to defend himself and got a 0-death. It would have made more sense if the normal tripping that all of the characters randomly get only happens to those who have moves with tripping abilities such as MK, DK etc.

But I like brawl and I am coping pretty well so what I have said is not complaining at all. It is reasons why another smash game might be made.

As for the DS game, Ii think I might work. What they can do is use the DS slot for the actual game and the Gameboy slot for a GC controller port. If guitar hero can use the Gameboy port for the finger board, idk why smash couldn't use it similarly.

 

[Fatmanonice]

No one should be cut other then maybe Lucario or Ike. Nobody gives a **** if you don't like ROB. He's got an original moveset that can't be given to anyone else.

45 characters sounds reasonable. No Japan only character, they're a waste.

If they're good, why would it make a difference? For example, I think Takamaru from the Mystery of Murasume Castle would make a great fighter.

No new Starfox reps or unimportant minor villans like Kamek or Vaati.

Wolf sort of falls into this category too so...

Pokemon will obviously all be 1st gen and then a rep from the newest generation unless they decide to keep Lucario. There's no chance in hell they're going to add a 3rd gen Pokemon like Deoxys. Geno is a terrible idea. He's from one obscure Mario game that no one cared about and he's 3rd party.

SMRPG sold more than Ice Climbers, Kid Icarus, Gyromite, and Stack Up so saying that no one cared about really doesn't hold water. Also, I love how people define games like this when they A) haven't played them or B) didn't like them.

Sakurai also said at GDC that some characters weren't added due to legal issues. He mentioned that it was because he ran out of time to legally set things straight rather than complications run into. Recently, he mentioned that a lot of ideas were dropped during the first year of development because they didn't want to be bogged down by "too many good ideas."Combine this with how Sakurai also said at GDC that all but Sonic were decided by Q1 of 2006 and it shows that a lot of character ideas were left on the cutting room floor. With this being said, the next Smash Bros will probably see a rise in both obscure characters and third party characters too.

Also, like I said before, if the character is good and unique, why does it matter if they're obscure? Honestly, if were the one who had to decide whether or Snake or Dr. Mario were added to Brawl, which one would you honestly choose? I personally see Geno in the same light because Mario characters like Daisy, Waluigi, Birdo, Toad, etc are so unGodly bland that I would find them a waste to add to Smash Bros. If you ask me, I'd rather have someone that has a lot of creative potential instead of someone who would basically end up as a clone or have a moveset that comes from nowhere and doesn't make a lick of sense (which I can almost guarentee would be the case if Daisy or Waluigi were playable).

Ridley is WAY to big. Even if he was scaled down he would look extremely stupid.

Bowser and DK were both made bigger in Brawl so to see characters increased in size in the next installment won't be that farfetched. Obviously, Ridley would be the biggest character even if he was scaled down but I don't think they'd have to go overboard for it to work. Yeah, if would look extremelly stupid if he were made the size of Pit but it probably wouldn't look too bad if he were made about a head bigger than Bowser. Keep in mind that like Bowser, Ridley has changed sizes many times so there really is no height set in stone. Heck, in the first Metroid game, Ridley and Samus are almost the same size so...

Clones are no doubt going to return.

Also, Yoshi is NOT his own series. Yoshi's Story is the only Yoshi game and it was a terrible kiddy game. All the other "Yoshi" games have Mario characters in them as main characters.

Yoshi's still the star though. With that said, there's also Yoshi Cookie, Yoshi Safari, Yoshi's Island, Yoshi Topsy Turvy, Yoshi Touch N Go, and Yoshi's Island DS.

See above.

 

[the_Capt_Falcon_Master]

geno will not make it to the next smash ds or not. You already know my reasons i already know your counter arguments. I was right before and i believe i will be right again. Geno will never be in smash. I will leave it at that.

 

[jay~B]

I dont like the idea of smash bros. on the ds very much but i'd try it and 50 characters sounds awesome....


but we all know sakurai so dont get excited

 

[kupo15]

lol speaking of ppl looking weird with scales, Pit looks like a brute next to Zamus

 

[Fatmanonice]

geno will not make it to the next smash ds or not. You already know my reasons i already know your counter arguments. I was right before and i believe i will be right again. Geno will never be in smash. I will leave it at that.

I'm not talking about Smash DS... Anyways, your main arguement was that he'd be too expensive when, as I mentioned in my earlier post, Sakurai said that it was a time matter rather than a money matter regarding why more third party characters weren't added. Also, as I already said, Sakurai had everyone but Sonic picked out and completely drawn out by the beginning of 2006, more than five months before Brawl was even revealed to the public and the offical poll came out.

Also, claiming you somehow obtained some kind of victory of Geno not showing up in Brawl is pointless seeing how a ton of popular characters didn't make the cut: Megaman, Krystal, Isaac, Bowser Jr, Black Shadow, Takamaru, Ridley, Bomberman, etc. As I said shortly after Brawl's roster was revealed, it's fairly obvious that Sakurai went off most of the top choices that didn't make it into Melee: Wario, Diddy Kong, Pit, Wolf, Sonic, Metaknight, and King Dedede. Other characters added were either left on the cutting room in Melee or represented the most recent additions titles of franchises: Snake, Olimar, Lucario, and Ike. ROB was pretty much the only character that was added because Sakurai wanted them there, everyone else was pretty much decided by the fans. With this being said, SSB4 won't be any different.

As you can see, Sakurai had a lot of retrospect when it came to Brawl which is why so many people were disappointed when Brawl's final roster was revealed. As previously stated, this is because Sakurai decided the roster (except Sonic) in the course of three days after E3 05 (when Iwata pitched the idea of Brawl at him). He later said that he did this in order to get it out of the way so that he could focus on the other parts of development. With that said, he will probably act the same way for SSB4 and quickly reference popular choices from the past. It's been a long time since I referenced this but these were 9 most mentioned characters in Sakurai's journal:

1. Geno (5 entries)
2. King Dedede (5 entries)
3. Ridley (4 entries)
4. Ike (4 entries)
5. Diddy Kong (4 entries)
6. Krystal (3 entries)
7. Olimar (3 entries)
8. Takamaru (3 entries)
9. Toon Link (3 entries)


(Characters that were referenced twice just for the heck of it

10. Lip
11. Megaman (the only third party character besides Geno mentioned more than once)
12. Lucas *playable*
13. Claus *technically playable...*
14. Isaac *assist trophy*
15. Professor Kawashima
16. Demille/Deimru
17. Black Shadow
18. Ray 01 *assist trophy*
19. Animal Crossing Boy
20. King K. Rool
21. Sigurd
22. Jeff (from Earthbound, heh...) *assist trophy*

Notice for the top 9 how about half of them are characters that were already added to the game at that time. I personally think this reflects both their popularity and Sakurai favor for them. Unless Nintendo comes out with a ton of new franchises in the next 5-6 years, expect a lot of the new playable characters to be drawn from this list.

 

[the_Capt_Falcon_Master]

if geno was so highly favored how come he didnt make it?

 

[WolfCypher]

if geno was so highly favored how come he didnt make it?

Geno isn't owned by Nintendo. Of course, neither are Snake or Sonic, but you have to consider why Snake & Sonic made it while Geno didn't:

1) Hideo Kojima wanted Snake to be in SSB Melee, long before Brawl. Sakurai kept that request in mind when he made Brawl. When the creator of a character comes to you personally and demands their character in your game, that's saying something. That was not the case with Geno or any other 3rd party. In Sonic's case, he was just a highly requested character (especially by us in the US). Seeing as how moth Nintendo and Sega representatives have stated in the past (after Sega went 3rd party) how they would like to see Sonic and Mario in a game together, and with Sega making those Mario & Sonic/Olympic games, it was not unreasonable to put Sonic in.

2) Geno is, really, just a mere secondary party member from Mario RPG, his one and only game appearance. Sakurai went through the proper channels to get the rights to use Snake & Sonic. I know for a fact that negotiations have to be done before a 3rd party character can appear in another company's game. I doubt Sakurai would want to go through all that trouble to use the obscure and minor Geno character for Brawl. Snake and Sonic don't have cult followings; they have huge fan bases. Their star power separately overpower Geno's small fanbase.

Just because Geno happens to be the so-called "bad ***/cool" character of Super Mario RPG that a small cult following of fans like him, doesn't merit his involvement in Brawl.

And before anyone compares the inclusion of Isaac (Golden Sun) and Saki (Sin & Punishment), characters that aren't owned by Nintendo, to Geno;

Technically, Nintendo does own Isaac and Saki. They had Camelot and Treasure respectively make these games for Nintendo, but Nintendo does own the rights to Golden Sun (or at least their characters) and Sin & Punishment (or at least their characters), if not fully, than partially, and enough to use these characters. It seems like Square owns everything that they made specifically for Super Mario RPG that retains to original, new characters (that would be Geno).

Of course, there is the possiblity that your question is sarcastic. Such as;

"If Lucario is such a popular character, why haven't I heard of him?"

Ummm...because you don't play Pokémon?

 

[Cat Fight]

Isaac and Saki NEED to be in SSB4. I love Sin and Punishment.

I doubt Geno will be in the Smash series ever besides an AT. :"|