So these are the most talked about characters that I see in melee who everyone is thinking about kicking out...Dr. Mario, Falcon, Falco, Ness, Shiek, Pichu, Jiggs, G&W, Roy. Is that a fair list? Let me know if I forgot any.
Dr. Mario was put into melee as a last minute character, who shares basically all but two moves in common with his 'origional', mario. Given that he does not have that much importance to Nintendo in comparison, plus the fact that we see his Fair in Mario in the trailer, I say with confidence that the doctor is not in the house anymore.
Aah...one of my favorites. He had power and speed, but had low tier recovery. Due to his popularity as a character, he is a touchy subject. It has been said before that the 'Blue Falcon' in F Zero was given a driver name to make it more realistic. Back when Smash 64 was made he was a popular character. However, since then we have not seen him appear at all as far as I remember. If we go by popularity to determine cuts, than while not popular in a respective game, he is one of the most popular melee characters and therefore deserves to stay. Plus he made it into both games so far.
Falco is another very good fighter in melee, and possibly the most widely played and popular clone character. He has always taken a backseat as Fox's partner and NPC. Even still, whoever uses the argument that no one would have thought about Falco until he was in melee, has lied to us all. I know people who were looking foward to possibly playing as him in melee, and I know people who wished that they could play Starfox as Falco instead of Fox. The idea that he should be taken out because you can't play as him is ignorant, because he was popular before melee and desired for brawl by several old fans and a host of new ones. Falco for brawl.
I have addressed Ness before but in the interest of grouping everything together, I will defend his case again. Sakurai said that he would do his best to include characters popular in other countries, not just in Japan. Well hardly anyone here would consider Lucas because we have become accustomed to having Ness as our favorite little psychic boy. Yes I realize I contradicted my argument for Falco, but please keep in mind that many people in Japan may like Fox and Falco same as here in the US. Seeing as how Lucas has hardly been a part of the Earthbound games here in the US, he probably isn't that popular here. As long as people still like Ness in Japan, there is no reason to anger american fans. I think he will stay, but personally I couldn't care less, since I hear that Lucas would basically be the same fighter. Which brings up another point...change the character to give him the same exact moveset??? Not a smart or productive move, especially with all the time Nintendo is going to have to spend on animating the new character.
Who would have wanted to play Shiek if she wasn't in melee? She had a small part in one of the many Zelda games, so if she is not in TP then she should leave the scene. Plus the fact that they gave ZSS all three tilts that Shiek had in melee; translating the logic of Mario/Dr. Mario onto Shiek/ZSS would suggest that Shiek is gone as well. ZSS would be a more popular, was playable at one time, upgrade of Shiek anyway. All the speed, comboability and mobility, with added range. My feeling is that Shiek is gone.
Pichu??? He evolves into Pikachu so therefore has to be weaker by Pokemon standards(and Pika isn't the greatest pokemon to start with and btw this statement has nothing to do with the melee pikachu). He hurts himself when he uses electricity, and the range on all of his physical attacks is pathetic. In pokemon he is a weak little mouse with hardly any importance to the series, plus he is a clone. I think we can say goodbye to Pichu.
Yes, it is true that Jiggs also has little importance to Pokemon. It does differ from Pichu, however, due to its much more frequent apperance in the show(although the new series of Pokemon I don't think it appears at all?) Some Pokemon fan help me with that one. Anyway jiggs is almost as much of a symbol of Pokemon as Pikachu is, it is a very popular character, and it was in both Smash 64 and Melee. Jiggs is a safe bet for Brawl.
G&W is part of the foundation of Nintendo. He is also a good retro character which Sakurai likes. Plus, he borrows a vast majority of his moves from his respective games. He did also have many games to draw from. He was one of the most unique characters and fighters in melee, so why not put him in brawl. He will look funny in the more realistic, darker setting of brawl and I personally couldn't care less if he was in the game, but he in no manner deserves to be cut. Say yes to G&W.
Roy was put into the game as both a clone and an advertisement for the Japanese game. He is not hugely important and borrowed all of his moves from Marth. Due to his lack of origionality, popularity, and importance, plus all the time they would have to spend remaking him when there are plenty of much more popular FE characters that would take just as much time, I think we can say goodbye to Roy.
In total, I got rid of 4 characters: Dr. Mario, Shiek, Pichu, and Roy. Four is a good reflection of what Sakirai meant when he said "some characters will not return, deffinately" Either way I provided a list and a reason for every character, so now there is a standard for argument when we discuss why a character should/shouldn't go.
