I'd add Dixie Kong and Bandana Dee on the first party front, they're evergreen and Dee in particular is up there with Sora and Rex as one of the most popular in Japan. On the third party front, I'd say some of the more recently discussed candidates like Ryu Hayabusa and Doomguy have amassed quite the sizeable fandoms. Maybe not to match the ones on that list, but still worth mentioning. I'd say Phoenix Wright is highly requested but that might just be my bias speaking.
On that note, Dante support really fell off, huh? Guess after all the high expectations for FP5 some just couldn't take the disappointment. That's too bad.
Edit: Bomberman was really highly requested before his AT, I like to think of him as being highly requested too
I don't really think Dante fell off when it comes to support. It's just his fans aren't as vocal as others, I guess. I suppose as well that Byleth's reveal, after what happened before, didn't helped at all.
Dante isn't the most supported character, but he always had support for Smash. It sort of reminds me of Master Chief, now that some people are talking about him. You don't really see that much support with Chief, and when I say support, I mean an active movement behind the character. With Chief is mostly "he would be a groundbreaking addition", "he would be great"... but not really much more, partially because he's obviously a pipe dream even if he seems more likely now.
With Dante, while it's not the same, I think he is in a similar situation. He hasn't been seriously discussed until Ultimate, and for that reason I don't think he has a strong and solid fanbase for Smash, at least not yet. You can see a lot of people saying "yeah he would be cool! I'm okay with him", but I wouldn't consider those people as actual and active supporters of the character.
Also, while he maybe could be perceived as the most likely option from Capcom, he has tough competition if we talk about Capcom characters, especially Phoenix Wright.
Does anyone think Master Chief being revealed would top Sonic's reveal in Brawl?
Would it be the reveal that breaks the internet the most?
What makes Goku such an exception aside from popularity? Guess Batman, Spongebob and Shrek should be added for the same reasons as well.
Otherwise no, video game characters only.
Maybe it's because I haven't played a lot of Sonic during my life, but I honestly think Chief would be even a bigger deal than Sonic, at least in some aspects.
Wouldn't Kratos receive a similar reaction to Chief? On one hand, Chief is definitely more well known, has had more significance on the overall industry and is definitely heavily associated with the brand, but the prospect of getting a Sony character would be pretty surprising to say the least.
Chief is probably more well known than Kratos, but I don't think he really is a lot more known than him. Kratos design is very recognizable and unique.
The biggest deals when it comes to characters are Chief or a Sony character, and for obvious reasons I believe that a Sony rep is the more groundbreaking option if we stick to videogame characters. Chief is usually mentioned from time to time, even if it's as a pipe dream, a Sony character is an option that is barely discussed and when it happens, it doesn't really last long because people perceives it as absolutely impossible, while Chief at least feels realizable, even if he only has 0.1% to make it thanks to Banjo & Kazooie being in Smash.
And when it comes to Sony I think Kratos or Nathan Drake are the most likely options. Sony never seek to have an actual mascot, except for the Playstation One era. But even with that, those two characters feel like the options that would rep Sony better, and probably Sony themselves would push for one of those two, if I had to bet. They're also the closest thing to mascots they have.
I won't deny I'm biased, but between those two I think Kratos would be the best option. More recognizable, older character with an older legacy (PS2, PS3 and PS4, while Drake appeared first on the PS3), at least if we don't count franchises such as Gran Turismo or Wipeout for obvious reasons. And for all the people who worries about humanoid characters that resemble each other, well, Kratos is indeed an humanoid character, but I don't think anyone in the world would mistake him for another character, I don't think I have to explain why lol. Also, while Nathan could be a lot of fun in terms of moveset, Kratos definitely beats him in that regard, and anyone who played a God of War game will know why.
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