Castlevania didn’t get in because of the ballot. It might have had some support (that as a Simon fan I never saw, but whatevs), but it got in because Sakurai loves Castlevania.
Dude, get over it. He outright said he chose Castlevania because of the ballot. Yes, yes it did. If it weren't for that, no, it wouldn't have gotten in. He doesn't add 3rd parties for the sake of it alone. Castlevania is nowhere in the same realm as Sonic and Pac-Man, which were the only two who were iconic enough to outweigh any other major option. MegaMan comes close, though. Sonic also got partially in by fan demand, and suggested by Yuji Naka, but you didn't need to sell how huge of a gaming icon he is due to fan support.
https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1074583859440676864 There is absolutely nothing to suggest with the data we have, that he would've chosen Castlevania content otherwise. It was a fan request from the ballot. The only thing he chosen on his own was which characters, not the addition of Casltevania content alone.
And again, if Sakurai can’t come up with movesets for some characters then he’s not good at his job. Dixie and Toad are just examples, but it’s not ‘he can’t come up with a moveset despite them being iconic’, it’s ‘he can’t come up with a moveset despite decades of playable appearances and history’. If he hasn’t considered Toad as playable because he’s a minor character, that’s a failure. If he’s still hung up on the dumb Brawl idea of Dixie as a tag-team, that’s a failure.
That's not a failure in any way. You don't half-ass character ideas. That's just a lame way to throw a character in without actually caring about them. They aren't added for the sake of it alone. Some can be easy additions, but they also never had actual proper ideas for them to make 'em stand out, which is why they are Clones and Echoes. Some actually have real ideas that work well. This is why Dixie is not in yet. Because Dixie isn't the full idea. Besides that, he doesn't change up movesets to any severe degree. If she gets an Echo role, she isn't going to be made different at any point under his design(and other Directors might not bother either, since Echoes are super easy and help with development time). That's not what most fans want. They want a unique and fun character. She's not infamous for just being a part of DKC, but her gimmick from the start is being part of a Tag Team. Diddy isn't really the same thing alone, as he's been heavily shown as separated in many games, and the closest thing he was generally tied to was Donkey Kong. He also was vastly more popular and known, so he was easy to split off. If you even take a look at his moveset, you could easily replace the Monkey Flip with a Switch Command move. Not unlike Pokemon Trainer(though to be fair, we have no idea what their tagteam gameplay was like). But see down below why it's important to make that work instead of giving up on ideas just to pad the roster alone.
You aren't even providing a reason for Toad to be in moveset-wise. Exactly what can you give him that nobody else can have? And I mean nobody else. Sports? Waluigi does it better. Peach and Daisy do that too. Karts? Again, more Mario characters do that. So that means he needs to come up with something that doesn't work for others to actually make him feel interesting. Movesets don't get slapped on outside of clones/echoes anyway. It's because the character still matters, not to say they can't represent more than themselves too(Ness represents all of EarthBound more than just his own abilities, to show off how unique the game is). Mii Fighters are a similar but distinct case. Their true gimmick is that they adapt to any game they're in and work under that game's controls and abilities. Them being an avatar is a bit of a secondary but notable feature. These gimmicks(or mechanics) are what makes non-clone characters interesting and why they get added as is. Being iconic does not build a worthwhile moveset at all. I'm going to be honest here; have you ever built a full moveset, that isn't just throwing moves on? Have you looked into what the character is like, what mechanic they can use to make them stand out? Because if not, then you have no actual understanding about how Smash movesets properly work. In other words, your reasonings don't work because you don't have the actual experience to understand the issue well. Go work on movesets with mechanics and you'll fully see the real picture.
The reason why I fully understand what Sakurai means is I'm taken time to fully make movesets that focuses on mechanics over just filling out the slots. I get it. I've worked on developing games before. I understand it a lot. Things aren't that easy or simple as you're making 'em. Take a step back and look at the full picture instead of acting like he's a failure.
BTW, veterans were also chosen because of the ballot(you honestly think he knew tons of people wanted everybody back without them saying so? Come on, let's be realistic, the ballot made a major impact). So yeah, most of the game is definitely ballot-based. There are obvious characters who weren't(Incineroar and Piranha Plant for sure. Jury's out on Isabelle and Ken. Ridley is a mix of both. King K. Rool, Inklings, all the the other Echoes, Simon(as outright said by him, he only added Castlevania content because of the ballot). I think I covered 'em all now).
Being close minded and unable to see something beyond your original conception of it is not doing a good job. I love Sakurai, but he’s not impervious to ****ting the bed.
That's not being close-minded. That's actually caring about the idea he put forth. He worked hard to try and make it even work in the first place. It sadly didn't, but it just means he didn't give up. You don't just drop good ideas for the sake of it.
Of course, if you'd prefer a ton of characters cut so he'd have enough time to make Dixie playable as a tag team, sure. But that was the other realistic option. It's safe to say he pleased more fans instead of worrying about one or two characters that didn't work out or had no real ideas for. Instead of ****ting on Sakurai, you might do better giving proper ideas how to make Toad playable(I don't mean the Captain version. That one has his own abilities that aren't used by others), since it would make your argument better. You're basically calling him an idiot at times yet provide no actual legitimate reasons why these characters have any moveset to give. So it might help if you provide reasons other than acting like Sakurai is an idiot for not catering to your hard needs, when he's doing a good job of pleasing fans worldwide. Get out of your bubble and remember you're not the only one that matters. Trust me, there's a ton of characters I wish were playable, plausible or not. I just accepted that things aren't that simple and it's not me who he's catering to you.
