But the reality of the situation is, it happens in a lot of games. So, that's that. Without the clones, Melee's roster probably wouldn't be as well represented as it is.
Melee would be fine had it just gotten twenty characters. Ganondorf could have waited until Brawl which could have given him an unique move set. We did not need five more clones in the game just to beef up the roster.
"Shortiecanbrawl said:
Again. Not talking about how characters play. Pichu was one of the best choices from the second generation. The only other super popular characters I can recall were the starters and legendaries.
Characters should be picked not only because they represent Nintendo history but because they can bring something new to the game that would attract people to them (AKA unique move set). Pichu completely failed to deliver on the latter as it was a weaker clone of Pikachu with it's only gimmick being that it damage itself when you do a Special Move, making the character totally useless (Even Mewtwo was more useful in fighting).
Oh and he was a joke character. Joke characters who can't fight worth a flip should not be playable in any Smash game ever (Jigglypuff was regarded as one, but at least he had an original move set and could actually fight). You may think he was a good choice, but I though he was the worst choice Sakurai has ever made for a playable character. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say that he caused instability with the Pokemon roster.
Shortiecanbrawl said:
That's probably the biggest assumption ever made. Clones exist. we get it. But again, I'm not talking about how the characters play. I'm talking about why they were chosen and what they represent. Dr. Mario didn't deserve to go onto Brawl, you're right. But you can't say he was apoor choice for a clone, when he encompassed a whole genre.
Alright, reasons why they were chosen:
- Pichu: To represent the 2nd gen. They should have either planned a better 2nd gen rep like Suicune like with the rest of the non-beefed up characters or not have one at all. Lucario is a different case because he's actually useful in fighting.
- Dr. Mario: To represent the puzzle genre. Lip would have done that much better with an unique move set.
- Roy: In there for advertisement. He was advertised for a game that didn't release outside of Japan. Sure it helped sales but characters should not be placed in a Nintendo All-Star game just for advertisement.
- Young Link: We did not need a variation of another character that played similarly. Zelda could have done well with just two reps.
- Ganondorf: The only good choice to bump up. Even so, he should have been either the only character out of the five to make it with an unique move set or have fans wait until Brawl to be unique.
If Sakurai wanted to have 25 characters in Melee, he should have delayed the game to 2002 to get five more unique characters in.
Shoritecanbrawl said:
These reasons alone are why the Brawl roster wasn't as good as Melee's.
My problem with Melee is that they decided it was a good idea to add lots of clones in the game. More characters is nice but not if they end up being cut-worthy materials like Pichu. This is why I am of the opinion that it is not the number of characters that make a good roster, but what the characters is. As such, I would be fine with just eight newcomers I expect to be in the game. I really do think that eight newcomers in Melee would have still been good. The fact that we got four cuts in Brawl shows that beefing up the roster just to add characters is not necessary.
R.O.B. Was a cool WTF character, anybody see Duck Hunt Dog as one?
Duck Hunt Dog is a good choice for the next unexpected character. However, after the hate R.O.B. got, I imagine the developers may avoid doing a "WTF" character. If Duck Hunt Dog is playable, while a good choice, it's not a choice that will be well-received. Let's hope Sakurai is bold enough to pull this trick again as he represent Nintendo's history. Also, are there any movesets for the characters? I'm curious to see how he would play.
Then when Brawl rolls around, gets luigified with magic.
