Long Responses...
Pac-Man is a stretch, seeming how he'll be in Street Fighter vs. Tekken (apparently).
Pac-Man is on the short list of the biggest characters in gaming, along with Mario, Donkey Kong, and Sonic. Plus he's already appeared in two arcade Mario Kart games, and he is amongst Shigeru Miyamoto's favorite video game characters. And if anything, appearing in a fighting game proves that Pac-Man can fight.
Andy is the main character of Advance Wars 1 and 2, which both are excellent strategic RPGs made by Nintendo.
I'd hate to nitpick especially since I agree you, but pretty much every Mario game is mainstream nowadays, spin-off or main series
I think you mean just the main series of games
The thing is that the spin-off games are largely forgotten after 5 years, while we tend to remember the canon games. Heck, I remember entire worlds of most canon Mario games, whereas I can't remember anything from Mario Party 4, the original Mario Tennis (other than it introducing Walu-loser), or Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Also, Donkey Kong is NO ****ing Mario spin off series damn it.
Mario and Donkey Kong used to be the same series, until they got a divorce. As you all know, they got a divorce because Mario was cheating on Paulina with Peach, and Donkey Kong was too old and became Cranky (literally) so everyone got tired of him.
Biased opinion is biased. You are saying that Meowth would be a boring character because all he does is scratch and throw coins. That's like saying Pikachu is boring because all he does is generate electricity... or Jigglypuff is boring because all she does is float and sing. Come on now...
Here's my Meowth moveset I made back in Summer 2011.
Everyone's opinion is biased, including yours. That is like saying the color purple is violet.
I read your moveset multiple times, and you have THREE PAY DAYS!!! That is terribly boring. That is honestly why I stopped being neutral on Meowth, and I put a big fat "no" in my opinion on him. That really shows how limited Meowth is moveset-wise (in terms of what could be original). What Jigglypuff does (various slaps and hits that make for freaking great combos) and Pikachu (electric attacks and quick speed; no one else uses electric attacks in smash) is much, much better. What you described with your Meowth moveset is based around gimmicks or similar moves (including the specials; I can't think of a character who has 2 of their special attacks that are that similar, let alone 3).
What Lucario did in Brawl was incredibly unique, entertaining, and original, and it made me desperately for him to return. I thought I would only support him as a one-off character, but his Brawl design is one of the few designs I actually thought was near-perfect in Brawl. That is why I say "Lucario > Meowth" without any hesitation.
On the flip side, part of me want Meta Knight gone thanks to him being terribly designed and broken. If he was gone honestly, I wouldn't care too much.
Some Pokemon are wanted or unwanted.... some people are expecting certain Pokemon to show up... and some people are not expecting certain Pokemon to show up... which Pokemon fits one of these four categories?
Wanted/Expected - Mewtwo
Wanted/Unexpected - Meowth, Deoxys
Unwanted/Expected - Zoroark, Pichu
Unwanted/Unexpected - most of the 649 Pokemon not in Smash
...at least that's how I see it.
Biased opinion is biased. I don't see any statistics on this that prove this. Also, there is a huge difference between being "liked" in Pokémon and "wanted" as a playable (Pokémon) character in smash bros. That is what you are mixing up here.
As for scrapping the bottom of the barrel? No, I disagree with this assessment. We have plenty of NINTENDO characters we can add in Smash without scrapping the bottom of the barrel and without resorting to third party support. Take a good look here...
[COLLAPSE="My response to each of those characters"]
- Kiddy is not quite the bottom of the barrel, but pretty close to it.
- Dixie Kong is near the top of the barrel. She's like a fresh banana.
- Impa has had minor roles in both Oracle Zelda games, Ocarina of Time, and Skyward Sword. That's it. By that measure, we should get Vatti, who was the villain in 3 Zelda games.
- Meowth is a Pokémon, which is a separate category.
- Little Mac is well-received due to his game being an instant classic. There was a noticeable fanbase that wanted him playable in Brawl.
- Takamaru and Starfy, while not bottom of the barrel characters, are not necessarily atop everyone's most wanted character list (although they would be fun and unique to play as).
- Toad is universally known, but not necessarily wanted. He is, in a way, kind of the best/worst of both the bottom and top of the barrel.
- Ridley is know by more serious and devoted smash and Metroid fans, and is wanted nearly universally amongst us.
- K. Rool is at the top of the barrel.
- Tingle is nearly universally hated, and has disappeared from the Zelda series for about 6-8 years. His last appearance on a "classic" Zelda game was The Wind Waker 9 years ago. From what I can gather, Tingle is a dead character in the Zelda franchise like The Old Man and Link's Uncle before him.
- Zoroark is a recent Pokémon, and would be a prime candidate for Brawl. The same goes for Victini.
- I'm withholding my opinions on Medusa and Paletuna until Kid Icarus: Uprising comes out.
- King Hippo is a minor boss in a minor franchise.
- The Duck Hunt Dog doesn't do anything. Just... no. That joke got old in 2006.
- Miis are both universally known, hated, and liked as a smash bros playable character prospect. Opinions on Miis' on that matter are really diverse.
- Waddle Dee is a common enemy in Kirby. Bandana Dee is a recent minor character. If Bandana Dee has bigger roles in the franchise, then sure, it could definitely be playable.
- Krom we still don't know much about, but having 2 playable Lords in his game (I think) hurts his chances. We will have to wait to formulate a set opinion on him.
[/COLLAPSE]
