This Melee discussion makes me wonder, had the game been given another year and characters like Dedede, Wario, Diddy, Wolf squeezed in then, how do you think this would affect Brawl from a development standpoint? Would there be the same number of newcomers and cuts, or would the balance be tipped in one direction over the other?
I don't think Diddy or Wolf would've been added with more time. I think they would've gone for other characters. Like Swamp said, the clones wouldn't be there - but if Sakurai was intent on another Star Fox character, Falco was chosen over Wolf due to looking more distinct, and I think that would've extended to a less derivative character as well, considering Sakurai was making up most of the moveset anyway.
And I think the reason Diddy wasn't in Melee at all, not even a trophy, was because he was tied up in litigation with Rare. I know other DK characters were trophies, but I think Diddy in particular was in flux because he was basically Rare's mascot (I mean Diddy Kong Racing was published by Rare) and I imagine they might've been less inclined to relinquish him.
So I think the only reality that saw Diddy playable in Melee is one in which Rare didn't leave around then.
What characters would even serve as Brawl newcomers now that some of the major ones are veterans here?
First off, we get Ganondorf as an original character. This is also still when Diddy gets added. Depending on how Star Fox played out in Melee, were there no second character, the chances of an original Star Fox character in Brawl would increase. And that could go any way between Falco, Wolf and Krystal. Though I think Krystal would offer the most in terms of uniqueness, and now they'd have the time for her, which was a reason Wolf was ultimately opted for.
Then if you had a spot for one more character? This may be a weird choice, but with Wario as a vet, they may still try to do something Mario-related. So maybe Bowser Jr (with a different moveset) or Toad. Other options (Waluigi, Paper Mario, Daisy, Geno, etc.) seem less likely.
Most of the existing series did actually expand from Melee to Brawl, so they probably wouldn't change in this hypothetical. One possibility is Goroh, considering F-Zero was still active at this time, and the character did have popularity. Of the unrepresented series, the one that stands out would be Golden Sun, so Isaac would be another possibility as well.
And then past that, any extra time may have just helped a character like Mewtwo return.
So, some mix of Ganondorf (the only definite one), Krystal/Falco/Wolf, Bowser Jr/Toad, Goroh, Isaac and Mewtwo.
King K. Rool if he was added much earlier.
Isaac from Golden Sun if he wasn't an Assist.
Maybe someone like... Chibi-Robo.
I think K. Rool actually needed the ballot considering Sakurai seemed fairly unaware of the demand beforehand. Once the ballot happened he was immediately given a costume and then made a character, but beforehand he was never anything more than a trophy.
Isaac maybe, yeah.
Chibi-Robo would've been too new and unestablished in 05. Something like Advance Wars or Custom Robo would've been likelier, were there to be another series past the existing new ones and Golden Sun. But I think it may have just been Golden Sun, with more focus on the existing franchises.
New hypothetical. How would you people react if next game we finally get a new non-triforce Zelda character and it's this dude?
You have no idea how fine I am with this.
The Zelda characters I want need to get more popular before they're plausible anyway.