Ok, first a note: I have not found a thread for this topic already, so if one exists, I apologize.
Now, on to business.
I have noticed a plethora of requests, and even dedicated threads, for every random, generic character you can think of to be included in the Brawl fighting roster. A lot of people seem to think it's a good idea to include characters such as Navi, Tingle, Dry Bones, Koopa Troopa, E. Gadd, Boo, Saria, Pico, Stanley the Bugman, Sandbag (???), Bubbles, and approximate 137 different pokémons. The character index thread completely boggles my mind with its endless list of no-name characters.
This nonsense has seriously got to stop. Smash Bros is a place for Nintendo's elite to duke it out, not a place to parade out every single character who has ever made an appearance in a game. If we start including these characters, not only will balancing the game become absurdly difficult, but the real mascots will become buried in a sea of 500 random characters that many people are going to look at and say "who the hell is THAT?".
So, to clear up some confusion, here is, in my opinion, a list of things that would make a character worthy of a spot in the Smash Bros fighting roster:
1) Having a franchise named after you (Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Fox, etc), or being the franchise's main hero (Samus, Link, etc)
2) Being a particular franchise's resident damsel in distress (Peach, Zelda, etc)
3) Being a main playable character in at least a few game of a franchise (Diddy/Dixie Kong). Being in a Mario Kart game, or being a sidekick in one Paper Mario game does not count
4) Being a mainstay as a franchise's major villain (Ganondorf/Ganon, Bowser, Mewtwo, King DeDeDe, etc). Villains who are not final bosses but who are nonetheless iconic franchise members as second-tier bosses (MetaKnight, Ridley, etc), could also be included, as either playable characters or assist trophies depending on the character. Characters like Mother Brain would stil be out just for the lack of a feasible way to implement them into the game
That should pretty much cover it. Any other character like a lower minion (goomba, koopa troopa, kremling, what have you) has absolutely no right to be a regular roster member. The only other way to implement a character is as an assist trophy. Since there can't very well be hundreds of those, AT spots should be reserved for long-lasting franchise regulars, particularly for iconic ones like Hammer Bros. or Lakitu from the Mario universe, Klap Trap from DK, Waddle Doo from Kirby, Octorocks, Moblins or maybe even Stalfos from Zelda, etc.
So, that should about conclude my rant for now. If anyone agrees with me in principal and wants to chime in on what makes a character "Smash-worthy" to them, feel free. If anyone who actually wants these generic characters wants to defend their opinions against what I've said here, be my guest. But you'll have a REALLY hard time convincing me that the characters I listed above should be playable in ANY Smash Bros game.
