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Well you said it yourself, then. What people really mean by "we're running out of legacy characters", they really mean "we're running out of legacy characters that feel like they actually have a chance."
Some people certainly frame it that way, and I guess I don't take a ton of issue with it if you think there are a lot of great potential legacy picks but simply view them as unlikely (though I'd argue there are at least a handful of legacy reps where you can at least see a path or scenario in which they'd make it).
I'll agree that the playable roster was never inherently the problem, it was always everything else beyond those fighters that raised red flags. If the three fighters we have were locked into other games that also had way better miscellaneous aspects, nobody'd be whining at the poor bias.
But he's got red hair, so wouldn't he actually be Roy?
I just picked "next Fire Emblem lord" as the go-to example of characters who get in mostly just because they're recent. Make it Lyn and the next lord if you prefer; or I dunno Bandana Dee and the next Mario sidekick.
I mean, all characters, after they get in, become Smash characters. Falco, Ness etc. stand out in that sense; as Smash characters.
Prior to Marx, I actually thought Kracko would be the go to for a Kirby boss. He'd make a lot of sense as an assist or stage hazard or something.
Not to extend this further than it needs to be, but Lyn and Bandana Dee certainly do have comparable fanbases to Dixie Kong these days.
I mean, since it's Smash Bros, quite a bunch of Kirby bosses would work for Assists, Stage Hazards and of course, bosses. Besides Kracko, another boss I wanted was Dyna Blade.
I... didn't want to pit anyone against anyone, those were all random examples.
Unless said remake is her own game, no.
Unironically think he'd not only be great in all those roles, but as a playable character too. Yeah yeah, there are a LOT of other characters that should get in before him, no doubt, but he's so significant in the series (arguably being Kirby's true rival), has such a spotless attendance record, and has no shortage of moves to pull from that you can't not have fun toying with the idea. A lightweight big-body character that has great maneuverability options and attack range would be a super interesting archetype, too.
Lol I should also add that the literal reason I put that phrase in my post was so that I didn't get hit with the "yeah, but they all have no shot" response
Honestly even if you include the "Smash effect" on notoriety, I'd still argue there are legacy reps who compare favorably to several characters on the roster.
Agree to disagree, I think a strong following well into the current day and a continued marketability and prevalence across other Fire Emblem content is a strong enough case in her favor if the series doesn't see any other substantial moves before next Smash. She's like the only non-playable character being touted with the level of significance that her Smashbound colleagues have. She got a big statue as recently as 2021 and appears alongside Marth and Ike on the series portal. I'm not equipped to tell you her role in any recent titles personally, but it's clear she hasn't fizzled out and is held in high esteem.
With the negative stigma that the franchise has with its characters, something Sakurai is WELL AWARE of, and the fact that "legacy" has meant basically nothing thus far for the franchise's characters outside of Marth as far as Smash, I cannot in good faith even consider Lyn as a viable choice unless she has a new game to push.
This is the key statement here, and it's the main reason I've been giving her more thought lately. Because I don't think Alear will be playable, and I wonder if the opportunity will be taken to be more liberal with Fire Emblem and explore it in a different way in this more sterile period. It'd be very easy for me to just be like, I don't think there will be a new Fire Emblem character in the next game. But it's still a popular series, it still does see a lot of favor in Smash Bros and it has popular characters in the bank who have yet to be added and who even saw somewhat of a new showcase through Engage.
Wispy Woods seemed like a no-brainer to me. Especially with the full Flowery Woods DX moveset.
Maybe I misunderstood your initial point, but that's not what I was talking about. What I meant is that Captain Falcon, Ness, Sheik, Jigglypuff etc. are considered "Smash Staples" because they all fall into some combination of being played a lot / being meme'd a lot / being hyped a lot / offering a particularly unique or somewhat archetypical playstyle, like Sheik does for fast, combo-heavy fighters. How notorious or relevant they are or not are outside of Smash doesn't really matter. This can happen to any character of course, the only requisite is clicking with players.
But here's the thing.
Makes me wish Lyn was playable in Brawl; it's a dynamic that I imagine in Subspace Emissary.
The Awakening point is interesting, I didn't remember that. I'd appreciate a source on that, but it does ring a bell. Your points are solid justification for why you feel the way you do about it. I'm confused why you quoted "early" here though, and said it last time, I specified that wasn't really the issue I had with Alear and don't recall drilling in that point all that much. Unless you're referring to what Sakurai said about Awakening? I guess by extension Engage is a bit too early to be equivalent to Fates and Three Houses, but ultimately I just didn't believe it was popular enough to demand a new playable character detached from that.
sourcegaming.info
Appreciate the source. That quote is really confusing to me honestly, because I don't know why six months earlier would have made a difference there.Sakurai Interview: Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary
Sakurai discusses the end of Smash DLC, Marth in Smash 64 and more!
Source is here. I specifically point out "early" because that's pretty much the only reason Engage would be looked over, especially with the hypothetical that the more "timely" release is the hypothetical remake yet to be announced.
You just described Mewtwo lol
Sheik isn't nearly as obscure of a choice as people make him out to be. There's a different between Sheik and characters who were obscure/"weird" on arrival. Sheik's initial inclusion was very justified. He's pretty much your only ally in the adult portion of the game, is stated to take action off-screen (saving Ruto/investigating the Kakariko well), was very prevalent in promo material, and was really the first time that Zelda took up an active role. Like Peach with SMB2 and SMRPG being her first non-damsel roles (at least for the latter part of SMRPG), it was inevitable that OoT being Zelda's first foray into a supporting/active role would significantly influence her Smash portrayal.
I agree with you, I was just using them as an example since they were mentioned prior and because "one-shots" and more contemporary picks are such a point of contention these days. Sheik ought to be judged differently as an extension of Zelda for a good decade too, but I feel like if they were added today the kneejerk reaction would be to treat them as expendable to be cut loose next time. Despite how fresh and original their playstyle is, the interesting dynamics they bring to the roster and so forth.
I can see where you're coming from, but I'm just simply one to go with information we have available to us and precedence to base my predictions around. Can precedence be broken? Of course. But it would have to be a really unique occurrence that frankly, I can't see in the case with Lyn, especially when she's not the only one the argument could be made for (i.e. Edelgard).
This all just stems from the notion that characters are here to "represent" games. To most Smash speculators, SSB!Sheik's loose connection to OoT isn't enough to carry him, because there's a better and objectively more important OoT representative in Ganondorf. However, once you realize that most of these characters are here to represent themselves, it becomes a lot clearer that Sheik has merits both in his series in in Smash.
Edegard isn't really comparable to Lyn. Byleth specifically got in as a Three Houses representative, so Edelgard would be redundant in that regard. Also, besides Awakening's special circumstances (AKA echo fighter luck), there's not a single FE game that SSB double dips in. Not to mention that SSB Byleth already uses Edelgard's weapon. Lol
Probably better to say 3D game, cause NES and SNES do count as home consoles.
Totally forgot the first few FE games weren't on GB. Oops. 3D game would still count ig.
. Since the creation of a child Link, there's been at least one (usually Toon Link) in every Smash game.
I think a second Link is probably gonna be considered more important than ever with regular Link becoming more different (to the point his Green Tunic is no longer the default)Speaking of the Zelda franchise...
In the past Sakurai has indicated that he thinks a child Link is important and that has manifested in
Do you think Sakurai still feels this way? Without devolving into which one it would be, do you think we'd still keep one of them? In a time where the roster may need to trim the fat, is a second Link necessary in Sakurai's eyes?
Personally I'd love for Toon Link to stay. And Zelda needs more characters, not less, imo. I think Brawl and Smash 4's Zelda roster should be the minimum at this point.
For what it's worth, I'm fairly sure the tendancy to ditch Plant and Incineroar is 99% confined to the speculation scene. Not like suggesting the literal bonus character to be expendable requires that much thought, but I digress.
Alear's "canonical" class uses swords and when they promote they gain use of Martial Arts. I feel their moveset would be a combination of both (Sword for regulars and aerials, Arts for Smash attacks). The Special moves would be Engage moves, like Celica's Warp Ragnarok (Up+B), Sigurd's Charge (Side+B), and stuff like that. Final Smash would likely be Bond Blast.
