Pick characters who mirror Vol. 1

[Perkilator]

DISCLAIMER: I take no credit for this template.

Alright, let's play a game. Let's make an FP2 that mirrors FP1, with each slot having an equivalent between passes. Min Min can go wherever. Note that they don't necessarily have to be in release order. Also note that supposed obstacles in their way don't count here because of how unpredictable the choices for FP1 were, so Assist Trophies, Western companies, mature content, etc. don't matter here.

1. The Wild Card-Pretty much an excuse to do whatever, since FP2 has an extra slot.
2. The Outsider-A popular character, preferably from a modern smash hit but has little to no Nintendo appearances.
3. The Legend-A character from a massively popular and influential classic, much like the previous third-parties (Sans Bayonetta)
4. The Fan Favorite-A character who's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, or at least hasn't seen much time in the spotlight recently, but is a popular pick regardless.
5. The Darkhorse-A character who's iconic yet niche, and is usually considered unlikely as a result. Bonus points if they aren't usually associated with Nintendo (Note that this character doesn't have to be completely overlooked, given how much speculation has expanded lately)
6. The Promotional Pick-A character from Switch-exclusive game. Note that you can't do a character who would promote a hypothetical release; It has to be an actual game. They do not have to be upcoming or in the past decade, either, nor do they have to be first-party.

I was a bit hesitant to make this thread, seeing as I figured it would be redundant. I'm dropping it here to see if it's okay that it exists.

Anyways, here are my characters for this criteria:

• Wild Card: Min Min (since she’s already in)
• Outsider: Chosen Undead (for such a popular series, it’s kinda jarring that only the first game has seen Nintendo presence, and that’s only a Switch port)
• The Legend: Crash Bandicoot (fellow rival platformer of Mario and Sonic, massively popular worldwide)
• Fan Favorite: Bandana Dee (widely considered the series’ “4th main character”)
• Dark Horse: Sakura Shinguji (a series mostly popular in Japan, with only two games giving overseas the time of day)
• Promo Pick: Cinderace (a Spirit Event-and one that not only happened during Vol. 1, but barely even scratched the surface of the Galar Pokédex-isn’t going to stop a recent entry in the biggest media franchise of all time)

Honorable mentions

• Sora (fan favorite): Figured this choice would be a bit divisive
• Euden (dark horse)

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Promotional pick: Min Min (she was technically that)
Outsider: Master Chief
Fan Favorite: Bandana Dee
Legend: Crash Bandicoot
Dark Horse: Elma
Wild Card: Neku

honorable mentions: Dixie (Fan Favorite), Arle (Dark Horse), Black Shadow (Wild Card), Octoling (Promotional pick for a potential Splatoon spinoff, possibly the SAVE OUR SALMONS thing)

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

1. The Wild Card - Bionic Commando - We're overdue for another old school rep and there's enough elements from the newer games to make him work.
2. The Outsider - Pyramid Head - Silent Hill's the last major Konami franchise not repped and horror games have not had much presence in Smash yet.
3. The Legend - Crash Bandicoot - Essentially the last major platforming mascot not in the game.
4. The Fan Favorite - Geno - Openly acknowledged as the fan requested character & would follow the K Rool path of being upgraded from a Mii costume.
5. The Darkhorse - Prince of Persia. Great series with a decent history on Nintendo and with potential as far as moveset.
6. The Promotional Pick - Min Min. Pretty much speaks for itself.

Also decided to largely mirror the original fighter's pass via having different companies for each fighter.

 

[Handy Man]

The Wild Card: Farmer (Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons)

The Outsider: Heavy (Team Fortress 2)

The Legend: Dixie Kong (Donkey Kong Country 2)

The Fan Favorite: Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney)

The Darkhorse: Blinx (Blinx the Time Sweeper)

The Promotional Pick: Toxtricity (Pokémon Sword/Shield)

 

[Michael the Spikester]

The Wild Card: Waluigi

The Outsider: 2B

The Legend: Crash Bandicoot

The Fan Favorite: Geno

The Dark Horse: Elma

The Promotional Pick: Gen 8 Pokemon

 

[CureParfait]

Wild Card- Darkrai (Pokemon)
Outsider- Adele (MapleStory)
The Legend- Reimu (Touhou)
The Fan Favourite- Waluigi (Mario series)
The Dark Horse- Saber (Fate series)
Promotional Pick- Inteleon (Pokemon)

 

[DanganZilla5]

Wild Card: Min Min (just because she needed to go somewhere)

Outsider: Gordon Freeman - Sakurai has actually praised Half Life in the past, Gabe Newell himself has said he would allow Gordon in Smash, and Half Life is iconic and very influential for the gaming industry.

Legend: Crash Bandicoot - I could not put anyone here. He is iconic and popular in both the west and in Japan. He is too big for me not to mention and I would be shocked if he didn't make it in by the end.

Fan-Favorite: Geno - He is an anomaly that might not happen ever again. His main claim to fame is his huge amount of fan requests and the fact that Sakurai likes him, despite the fact that he is a one off character from a game over 20 years ago. That is absolutely incredible.

Dark Horse: Bill Rizer - People often bring up Ninja Gaiden as the last classic NES series, but Contra is right up there too. It's an iconic series that has strong ties with Nintendo and Bill has great moveset potential. Contra 1 and Contra 3 are known to be some of the best games on their respective consoles.

Promotional Pick: Gen 8 Pokemon - I have little doubt we will see a Gen 8 Pokemon in this pass. It might just be my pessimism but Nintendo is picking the characters so they will most likely pick a Pokemon because it's Pokemon even though it doesn't need the advertising and there are already plenty of Pokemon playable already. But nope, gotta advertise the new DLC.

 

[TangyKeys]

Wild Card: Any AT upgrade - could be Waluigi, Issac, Krystal, Bomberman, Shovel Knight, or Skull Kid.

Outsider: Sora - Mainline games are always on Playstation and recently on Xbox, with Nintendo only getting spin-offs.

Fan Favorite: Geno - Self-explanatory.

Legend: Crash Bandicoot - Very iconic platformer from the 90s.

Dark Horse: Rayman - fits the description of "iconic yet niche".

Promo pick is just Min Min.

 

[SharkLord]

Something I find amusing after I brought this up is that some characters seem to jump from descriptor to descriptor; For example, I've seen Sora listed under fan favorite and legend, when he doesn't really fit the description of someone kept afloat by the fans, while Reimu's usually the darkhorse, but once I've seen her considered a legend. Hmm...

 

[Trevenant]

Just came to look here and I see a lot of people saying Pokemon is a 'promo pick'. I always assumed promo pick was characters who got in on the same merits Byleth and Corrin did but would legitimately like to know what different people would use as a descriptor for a promo pick? (Not NPC promotions)

 

[SharkLord]

Just came to look here and I see a lot of people saying Pokemon is a 'promo pick'. I always assumed promo pick was characters who got in on the same merits Byleth and Cotton did but would legitimately like to know what different people would use as a descriptor for a promo pick? (Not NPC promotions)

Yeah, the promotional pick would be someone added to push something. A Pokemon would be the closest to Byleth, but they don't necessarily have to be; For example, Min Min could be a promo even though her game is three years old now, and Travis could be a promo despite being third-party.

 

[Mamboo07]

Wild Card: Henry Stickmin (Henry Stickmin Collection)

Outsider: Heavy (Team Fortress)

Legend: Crash (Crash Bandicoot)

Fan Favourite: Bandana Dee (Kirby)

Dark Horse: Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim)

Promo Pick: Toxtricity (Pokemon)

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Wild Card: Muddy Mole (Mole Mania)
Outsider: Crash Bandicoot (not sure if he counts, as he does have more Nintendo games (inc. multiplat) than PS-exclusive games, but he's associated with PS so why not?)
Legend: Space Invader
Fan Favourite: Waluigi
Darkhorse: PaRappa the Rapper
Promo: Peppino (Pizza Tower) (stretching the rules a little given PT is not even on Switch yet, but it's a sprite-based PC game, anyone should be able to get it.)

 

[Phoenix Douchebag]

-Wild Card: Dixie Kong. A character with merit that is not talked about due to the patterns of the previous Pass.
-Outsider: Saber? I really don't want this character, but neither do i like the idea of most "outsider" characters so i just picked the first thing that popped into my head.
-Legend: Crash Bandicoot. (may be overexaggerating here, but i think Crash would be among the most recognizable characters of this Pass, even if he's not as profitable)
-Fan Favorite: Geno. (self-explanatory)
-Dark Horse: Lloyd Irving. (Has a lot of merit and was, and still is mostly requested yet people don't see to talk about him that much....)
-Promo: Just Min-Min in this case.

Something I find amusing after I brought this up is that some characters seem to jump from descriptor to descriptor; For example, I've seen Sora listed under fan favorite and legend, when he doesn't really fit the description of someone kept afloat by the fans, while Reimu's usually the darkhorse, but once I've seen her considered a legend. Hmm...

Reimu honestly fits the "outsider" criteria the most. She is popular, but not in general Smash/Nintendo circles.

 

[fogbadge]

what does darkhorse pick even mean?

 

[SharkLord]

what does darkhorse pick even mean?

Someone iconic but niche, like Terry. Maybe they were the talk of the down back in the day, but now they're the character everyone's heard about but don't know when or where. Examples could include Morrigan and Bill Razer, though potential darkhorses could also it into another category.

 

[Phoenix Douchebag]

what does darkhorse pick even mean?

It comes from the term: Dark Horse Victory.
A dark horse is a previously less known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.

The Dark Horse of Fighter Pass 1 in this case, beign Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury. Among the heavy disscussion of Doomguy and Ryu Hayabusa for Fighter Pack 4, Terry sneaked in as the 4th Pass character despite beign less speculated, due to his lack of popularity in the United States (which is one of the countries where most of the Smash Fanbase resides and is one of the most vocal ones) and he became the Dark Horse victor.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I'd classify Dark Horse as a character that in hindsight makes complete sense and is a natural fit for Smash, but for one reason or another is not talked about in terms of hype or discussion. I'd argue in terms of first party characters, Duck Hunt was one for Smash 4 as there wasn't that much discussion about them prior but now perfectly feel like they belong.

 

[Trevenant]

Yeah, the promotional pick would be someone added to push something. A Pokemon would be the closest to Byleth, but they don't necessarily have to be; For example, Min Min could be a promo even though her game is three years old now, and Travis could be a promo despite being third-party.

Only just thought to respond to this but my bad. I don't know if a Pokemon would be close to Byleth. https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-on-the-creation-of-byleth-in-super-smash-bros-ultimate/ Doesn't necessarily outright say it per se but it does suggest they wanted to 'promote' Three Houses. Pokemon wouldn't exactly be promoting the game like I said in the Newcomer thread yesterday. Would more so be pandering.

I dunno, some people view promo as when a character lines up with a recent release, others when it is a blatant plug like Corrin was and I've also seen others consider characters like Min Min a shill. I always viewed it as being added just to help a game sell.

 

[fogbadge]

Someone iconic but niche, like Terry. Maybe they were the talk of the down back in the day, but now they're the character everyone's heard about but don't know when or where. Examples could include Morrigan and Bill Razer, though potential darkhorses could also it into another category.

It comes from the term: Dark Horse Victory.
A dark horse is a previously less known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.

The Dark Horse of Fighter Pass 1 in this case, beign Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury. Among the heavy disscussion of Doomguy and Ryu Hayabusa for Fighter Pack 4, Terry sneaked in as the 4th Pass character despite beign less speculated, due to his lack of popularity in the United States (which is one of the countries where most of the Smash Fanbase resides and is one of the most vocal ones) and he became the Dark Horse victor.

all right then i reckon i can do this

wild card: chibi-robo
outsider: toad
legend: sora
fan favourite: isaac
dark horse: qbby
promo pick: tom nook

 

[Hollywoodrok12]

Wild Card: Shantae
Outsider: Heavy
Legend: Phoenix Wright (Defined the Visual Novel Genre and is known by many as a Nintendo Classic)
Fan Favorite: Bandana Waddle Dee
Dark Horse: Euden
Promo Pick: Spring Man (yeah that's right. I said he-who-the-fandom-refuses-to-name-in-a-positive-light instead of Min Min)

Shantae and Bandana Dee can be switched. Euden and Spring Man would be switchable if the rules didn't say that the promo had to be switch-exclusive.

Honorable Mentions:

Berecca/Van/Ninjala Rep (Dark Horse or Promo Pick) (Switch exclusive that's talked about little in Smash speculation besides a few jokes involving a letter in the Ninjala community)
Monokuma (Outsider) (decided against to make Phoenix not look less unique)

 

[StrangeKitten]

Wild card: Min Min
Outsider: Sora
The Legend: Crash
Fan Favorite: Geno
Dark Horse: Demifiend
Promo Pick: Gen 8 Pokemon

 

[TenghsienYang]

Outsider: 2B
Legend: Crash
Fan Favorite: Geno
Dark Horse: Pitfall Harry
Promo Pick: BotW2 character

 

[TraaP]

1. Wild card - Min Min
2. Outsider - Sora
3. Legend - Steve
4. Fan favourite - Geno/Crash/Isaac
5. Darkhorse - Chell/Lara Croft
6. Promotional pick - Rex & Pyra

 

[fogbadge]

1. Wild card - Min Min
2. Outsider - Sora
3. Legend - Steve
4. Fan favourite - Geno/Crash/Isaac
5. Darkhorse - Chell/Lara Croft
6. Promotional pick - Rex & Pyra

i wouldnt say soras an outsider