Well, I’ll take a stab at this thread. I personally don’t expect a ton of new characters, based on what Sakurai has said, but there will probably be a few more. I’ll certainly take this chance to indulge in my opinions, though. I’m going to ramble on for a while, so don’t feel compelled to follow me the whole way. I’ll include a few lists at the end if that’s all you want to see. If you want to see my reasoning for one or all of the series I mention, though, it’s there in writing.
First off, I’ll address Donkey Kong. This series may not be front and center, but it has some great character potential. I mostly mention it because of one character, though: Dixie Kong. For one thing, I know it’s been hinted that she was considered in the past, and that, in addition to her latest appearance in Tropical Freeze, I think she probably has the best chance of all the DK characters. She would have to have at least a few differences from Diddy, so there isn’t too much of a chance of her being an echo or clone. Do I think she’ll make it? There’s a good chance, especially if the developers before have looked at her before.
I’ll address K. Rool as well. The development team has acknowledged the desire for this character in the form of the Mii costume for Smash 4, and he has a lot of backers this time around. Still, he is a bit stale, and aside from one or two Mario sports outings he hasn’t been in the spotlight lately. For whatever reason Retro is staying away from him and his Kremling henchmen in their iterations of DK platformers, whether it be because of legal issues or differences in taste. I think he has a chance, but not quite like Dixie. I'd like to see him, but I don't really expect to.
Now for some thoughts on the Legend of Zelda, which is perhaps my favorite Nintendo series. I know Zelda already has quite a bit of representation, but in reality only 3 of those characters are entirely unique, and I would love to see another unique moveset. The easiest way to achieve this might be to finally give Ganondorf his due and give him his own moveset, but we’ve already seen him in action in Ultimate, and aside from his new sword based smash attacks, which I definitely appreciate, he still has his Captain Falcon based specials. I know changing the character too much might upset some fans, but I still would like to see some uniquely Ganondorf moves. I’ve heard the suggestion of Dead man’s Volley, and while that is definitely a signature move, the back and forth nature of the move might not work very well in smash. I don’t see a way that characters would be locked into reflecting back the energy ball instead of just avoiding it, and there’s always the possibility of Ganondorf failing the move and damaging himself. Still, some creative work might be able to pull it off.
So who else would work for Zelda? I know Tingle has had his own game, but he’s so unpopular and I think he has already been confirmed as an assist trophy. I wouldn’t object to him as strongly as some, but I don’t see it as the representative Zelda deserves. Back in the heyday of Skyward Sword, I was a little interested in Ghirahim, as he had some good moveset potential and would have added another villain to the roster. But Skyward Sword has come and gone, and Ghirahim has been relegated to an assist trophy as well.
In terms of appearance in games, the next most common character might be Impa. I’ve heard some talk of including her as a echo fighter of Sheik, but that doesn’t really jive with me. I’d love it if she could pull off a unique moveset, but she doesn’t have too much to work with in the main games, what with being a little old lady half the time and not seeing too much action otherwise. Really the only main games that have viable designs are OoT and SS. But that said, the main games aren’t the only ones out there, and while I’ve personally never played them, I know the Hyrule Warriors game has been pretty popular. Impa sees plenty of action there, and has an interesting design synthesizing her various appearances to boot. The fact that she wields a yet unused weapon in Smash, a naginata, is promising, and there is definitely enough material for a moveset based on the Warriors from what I’ve seen. I wouldn’t object to using Warriors material, and it might be the best bet for a new unique character.
With the inclusion of Ridley, the Metroid series has a third unique character, and I definitely don’t see another happening just yet. However, there is always the possibility of an echo fighter, and the rumors are swirling for Dark Samus. Dark Samus is a character I’ve wanted since Brawl, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it is perhaps my favorite ‘dark’ character, and I think the science fiction environment makes for a particularly interesting twist on the admittedly tired idea. Another reason is that I love what Retro did for the Metroid Prime games, and I personally like to root for characters from games that come out of Western developers. This is one of the reasons why I like the Next Level Games’ modern iteration of Little Mac so much, and I’d love to see more of Retro’s work acknowledged. I do believe Dark Samus has potential for an entirely unique moveset, but I know that’s probably not going to happen, so I’d be happy to settle for an echo fighter at this point. Here’s to hoping that the rumors are true and the Phazon-based organism joins the fray.
I have to admit, until recently I thought Kirby was pretty well covered. I couldn’t think of a character other than the ones that already were used that would be deserving of a space. The biggest suggestion I saw was Waddle Dee, and at first I was hesitant at the thought of including him. He was just an enemy grunt, after all, even if there was one who wore a blue bandanna. That’s what I thought, anyway. But the more I thought about it and did research, the more I warmed up to it. Despite being a big fan of Kirby in the past, I haven’t played many of the most recent games, and just by perusing the Bandanna Waddle Dee thread on this site, I’ve come to realize how prominent a character he has become. What’s more, I personally sympathize with the character, because when I was younger, I made a character that was a Waddle Dee who I drew pictures of alongside Kirby. He wielded a spear, just like the Waddle Dee spotlighted in the recent games, and had a helmet. I think he was based of the Dees in the anime, actually. So, for both sentimental and objective reasons, I’m a convert. I’d love to see the Waddle Dee with a bandanna as a fighter in Smash Ultimate.
Now that I’ve covered some choices that are likely or popular, I’ll mention a few of my own personal choices. I don’t expect any of these to make it in, but I would love to see it regardless.
I’m a big fan of the Rhythm Heaven series, but finding a good playable representative has been puzzling to me. I’ve seen suggestions of Karate Joe, Samurai, Chorus Kids, and Tap Trial Girl, and those are fine, but none of them seem quite right to me. For one thing, they all are stars of one specific minigame, and don’t really represent the series as a whole. Karate Joe has the perfect attendance record, yes, but his design might lend itself to more physical attacks and less wacky minigame references. The same goes for the Samurai. Chorus Kids are popular, but there are three of them, and moving three characters around the stage might be kind of the cumbersome. Tap Trial Girl I think has been used a few times in the series for different purposes, but she is still the representative of only one minigame, albeit one of the originals.
So, not quite satisfied with any of these, I’m going to suggest something else as a possibility: Tibby from Rhythm Heaven Megamix. He’s new, yes, but he doesn’t belong to any one minigame, he’s a single character, his stubby design lends itself to the wacky minigame references for moves, and his aesthetic would work well in Smash. I don’t really think there is much of a chance of his getting in, but would I like to see him? Certainly!
Although I’ve never completed any of the Mother games, I had a stint during which I was into Mother 3, and coming out of that was an interest in further Smash representation from that game. Particularly, I was drawn to the Masked Man, who I saw as having great moveset potential, as well as being another villain to add to the roster. The Masked Man’s moveset could go in a number of different ways, with his use of a beam sword, an arm cannon, lightning attacks, PSI attacks, and mechanical wings. The secret behind the Masked Man’s identity wouldn’t even have to be revealed for the purpose of the game. All in all, I think the character would be a great addition to the roster, giving Mother another unique representative and the game another great villain.
Finally, I’ll mention a 3rd party character from a series that I personally became enamored with for a long time: Capcom’s Monster Hunter. I loved everything about the game: the design of the monsters, the combat, the variety, the hunter costumes, the skill needed to play… It was my number one series for a while, despite not being owned by my preferred gaming company, Nintendo. Nowadays, as I play games less and less, I’ve allowed the series to go on without me, but I can’t help but pay tribute to one of my favorite game series.
Monster Hunter has already been acknowledged by the Smash series in the form of a Mii costume, and while that made me happy, there is no shortage of potential material for a unique character. Actually, there is potentially
too much. With 14 weapon types in the main series, and an additional one in the Japan-exclusive MH Frontier series, there is little hope of representing all of them in Smash. Actually, I would prefer they didn’t try, and stuck to one or a handful of iconic weapons. Great Sword comes to mind, perhaps supplemented by Bowgun or Bow and Arrow for a ranged option. But the possibilities are truly endless.
I don’t see Capcom getting a 3rd representative, so Monster Hunter will probably never receive a fighter. But there certainly is a chance the series will be acknowledged again. I’d be totally fine with another Mii costume, personally, although I wish it would be usable online. In any case, this one is purely a personal choice, so I don’t expect to see it actually happen.
So those are most of my thoughts. Some of them are possibilities, and some are personal fancy. As such, I’ll make two lists, one for probable candidates, and one for characters I’d personally like to see. So, here goes!
Probable Newcomers:
- Dixie Kong (unique fighter or semi-clone of Diddy)
- Dark Samus (echo fighter of Samus)
Characters I’d like to see:
- Impa (unique character)
- Dark Samus (unique fighter or echo fighter of Samus)
- Bandanna Waddle Dee (unique fighter)
- Tibby (unique fighter)
- Masked Man (unique fighter)
- Monster Hunter (unique fighter or Mii costume)