Social PK Love - Lucas Social Thread: “Inside the mailbox was absolutely nothing”

[Putuk]

To see Lucas return would be great! I liked his normal-attack variations compared to Ness. His Up Smash and Down Smash are my favorite moves. From what I saw on the Wiki, Ness' own PK Freeze isn't as strong as Lucas' in Brawl, but it freezes enemies?

Lucas' variations could be like what are Lucina's variations to Marth's, right? I'm not getting too technical in here, I'd like to ask you guys what you think how Lucas could work out.

PK Freeze is as sluggish as Ness' regular PK Flash. There's NO reason to use it over Flash, as Flash does high damage and has kill potential. Freeze's ice effect for a few seconds just isn't worth it, considering how hard it is to land.
Lucas' Piercing Thunder is also a LOT slower than Brawl. Not useless, but still less useful than Ness' regular PK Thunder. PK Fire works a little different, but is for the most part the same (but doesn't mesh too well with Ness' playstyle). Forwards PSI Magnet is probably the only custom move really worth it.
Overall, rather disappointing, since the two moves that would work well with Ness are nerfed from Brawl.

Should Lucas become DLC, I wouldn't be surprised if a few (or even all) of his custom moves overlap with Ness' customs. A few characters are like that with overlapping custom moves (for example Mario/Luigi/Dr.Mario or Pit/DarkPit).
(Besides, Lucas knows PK Flash anyway, it'd make sense for him to have it as a custom move.)

 

[DoodleDuck97]

To see Lucas return would be great! I liked his normal-attack variations compared to Ness. His Up Smash and Down Smash are my favorite moves. From what I saw on the Wiki, Ness' own PK Freeze isn't as strong as Lucas' in Brawl, but it freezes enemies?

Lucas' variations could be like what are Lucina's variations to Marth's, right? I'm not getting too technical in here, I'd like to ask you guys what you think how Lucas could work out.

I personally as a hard-core Lucas main wouldn't want to see any change he was perfect maybe nerf the a just so naysayers don't complain I think I would die laughing if he came in with customs exactly like Ness the only difference being his regular standard moves For example : Lucas with Pk Pulse XD

I originally just whipped this up real quick to use in my signature, but @ BluePikmin11 asked about it, so maybe you guys will have use for it, too.

I have been Looking at this artwork for 30 minutes now listening to Pollyanna, Smiles and tears and the Mother 3 Love Song.
I don't think I have any tears left X'D

 

[Roy-Kun]

PK Freeze is as sluggish as Ness' regular PK Flash. There's NO reason to use it over Flash, as Flash does high damage and has kill potential. Freeze's ice effect for a few seconds just isn't worth it, considering how hard it is to land.
Lucas' Piercing Thunder is also a LOT slower than Brawl. Not useless, but still less useful than Ness' regular PK Thunder. PK Fire works a little different, but is for the most part the same (but doesn't mesh too well with Ness' playstyle). Forwards PSI Magnet is probably the only custom move really worth it.
Overall, rather disappointing, since the two moves that would work well with Ness are nerfed from Brawl.

Should Lucas become DLC, I wouldn't be surprised if a few (or even all) of his custom moves overlap with Ness' customs. A few characters are like that with overlapping custom moves (for example Mario/Luigi/Dr.Mario or Pit/DarkPit).

What would differentiate Lucas is in the online "with anyone" mode, since his default moves work differently than Ness'. As you put it, now that I think about it, his moves could have simple variations as those mentioned characters, since his normal-attacks already are different.

I could see Lucas having some special moves, like Piercing Thunder being better than Ness', but other moves wouldn't be as reliable. So they'd cover each other's weaknesses.

 

[DoodleDuck97]

Can I just say.
I would by a Lucas Amiibo in an instant.
I hope Lucas Returns like he was in Brawl.
I still don't know how he got cut.
Considering he was meant to replace Ness twice.
And actually did replace him in Brawl until they added Ness as extra.
Lucas Will come back I hope and I will support him till the day he moves back to the character discussion page. :')^ see What I did there ​

 

[Putuk]

I would by a Lucas Amiibo in an instant.​

​

Y'know, I don't really think an Amiibo would be something I'd ever get to utilize. And figures usually just sit on some flat surface and gather dust.
But I'd be all over that. I'd love to own a official lil' Lucas figure.​

 

[DoodleDuck97]

Y'know, I don't really think an Amiibo would be something I'd ever get to utilize. And figures usually just sit on some flat surface and gather dust.
But I'd be all over that. I'd love to own a official lil' Lucas figure.​

I don't plan on opening them Haha XD
I plan on keeping them on my wall in this order (of the ones I will get)

<---- Of course



My wall will be majestic by the end of it :3

 

[Speculator]

I think Lucas ought to be made a little taller, as opposed to basically just having Ness's body like in Brawl. Their proportions are only very slightly different but it would be a nice touch, and might help those who still think of him as a Ness clone to differentiate further between the two. The trophy on the 3DS is perfect.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Very glad to see the thread under new ownership. Can we talk about some Mother 3 music for the OP? I liked Unfounded Revenge in Brawl and they did a good job with the obligatory Theme of Love, but I don't think Snowman or You Call this a Utopia?! fit very well into an action fighter. I think Piggy Guys and F-F-Fire would have been better ways of incorporating Porky's theme.

If we're going to include fighting themes, please let this be in.

Unfounded Revenge is still my favorite, though.

Well, I think Lucas' chances to be DLC have been discussed enough for the time being, so how about this:
If Lucas was (hypothetically) to be announced as DLC, what kind of alt colors/costumes would you like to see?
Here's his Brawl alts:

(I quite like the white/blue and pink/purple.)

Many will probably want the Pigmask Commander uniform from when he is mistaken for the Masked Man and storms Thunder Tower.


Personally, I'd love an alt with the Good Kid's Shirt. At least I think that's what it's called. It's the black shirt with the skull on it. Seeing that on a timid kid like Lucas would be pretty goofy. It'd also be a simple texture swap and easy to implement.

I discussed my wishes already, so I'll keep it brief- Commander outfit (my most wanted), Good Kid's Shirt, DCMC shirt, Kumatora-inspired color if not an Alph-esque alt, Awesome set.

Do you think if we get New Pork City back in the Wii U version, will it be good signs to Lucas being DLC?

Yes. It'd be a spit in the face to get a character's stage without the character. Imagine if we got an stage without them... And I'm not counting things like Balloon Fighter or pre-Villager because they hadn't been repped with playable characters yet.

I originally just whipped this up real quick to use in my signature, but @ BluePikmin11 asked about it, so maybe you guys will have use for it, too.

He looks adorable. I hope the official art is close to this if he gets in!

Can I just say.
I would by a Lucas Amiibo in an instant.
I hope Lucas Returns like he was in Brawl.
I still don't know how he got cut.
Considering he was meant to replace Ness twice.
And actually did replace him in Brawl until they added Ness as extra.
Lucas Will come back I hope and I will support him till the day he moves back to the character discussion page. :')^ see What I did there ​

The only must-have Amiibos for me if they happen are Lucas and . Specifically , not (though I'd take him too).

Sorry for my absence. I'll be speaking up about Lucas more soon! He was my most wanted character, newcomer or otherwise. I'm thankful I'm not the only one who got hopeful after DLC. Most people seemed to be negative about Lucas from the start because Mother 3 didn't get as universally praised as EB and the way some people downplayed the people who wanted him just because he wasn't a big name character was really disheartening. It warms my heart to see I don't stand alone.

And on Ness sharing his customs- some characters already in, like and , share all their customs with another character. If he has anything going against him, it's not that.

 

[DoodleDuck97]

This is something I have been listening to all day in college while looking at the Lucas render that Vannrose made.

This Render....

I cant exactly put words to the fact this should be his official render.....
Everything about it just screams perfect.
After Lucas got that Character Development he grew up became a bad-ass and tried to risk his own safety to Save Red
He was the best character in Subspace next to the Eskimos.
This would be perfect to continue the Characters story ark from the past Smash game.
God I miss you Lucas Please for all that is Good in this world.
Sakurai BRING BACK NEW PORK
At the very least it's a step closer to Lucas :')

 

[Frostwraith]

Something I think it would be funny is Lucas returning with Ness's specials as custom move options.

I liked using him better than Ness. Especially using that up Smash.

Being a Brawl veteran, I'd say his chances are good. If Mewtwo can return, so can Lucas (and other Brawl veterans like Wolf, Squirtle or Ivysaur).

 

[FyrianFate]

Honestly, I just played Brawl again, and I can safely say Lucas needs to come back. He plays nothing like Ness, and despite being a clone, he feels really original, with those smashes and all.
I support him the most for this dlc thing ( but if he could already be on the wii u version that would be great)

 

[Putuk]

Something I think it would be funny is Lucas returning with Ness's specials as custom move options.

I liked using him better than Ness. Especially using that up Smash.

Being a Brawl veteran, I'd say his chances are good. If Mewtwo can return, so can Lucas (and other Brawl veterans like Wolf, Squirtle or Ivysaur).

Everyone loves that up smash. Its hurtbox is about as large as a small province.

 

[Shin F.]

I originally just whipped this up real quick to use in my signature, but @ BluePikmin11 asked about it, so maybe you guys will have use for it, too.

Funny enough, I actually made one like this myself a couple of weeks back, but using the full-size 1500 x 1500 render of Ness so it could be used for higher resolutions. I guess I'll share mine, as well, though it's also in my signature.

Spoiler

 

[vaanrose]

Funny enough, I actually made one like this myself a couple of weeks back, but using the full-size 1500 x 1500 render of Ness so it could be used for higher resolutions. I guess I'll share mine, as well, though it's also in my signature.

Spoiler

View attachment 28471

That's funny, you even gave him the frown.

Your shoes are more accurate (since my render was intended for my signature, I didn't feel like spending the time on them), but your shirt stripes are in the wrong order

My one is low-res because I already had to blow up the hair from a Brawl screenshot. I didn't feel like cleaning up the hair, either, so I just kept myself limited.

 

[Shin F.]

That's funny, you even gave him the frown.

Your shoes are more accurate (since my render was intended for my signature, I didn't feel like spending the time on them), but your shirt stripes are in the wrong order

My one is low-res because I already had to blow up the hair from a Brawl screenshot. I didn't feel like cleaning up the hair, either, so I just kept myself limited.

Yeah, poor Lucas never really smiles, does he?

I actually noticed I had the stripes in the wrong order, but like you with the shoes, I just didn't feel like changing the order since Ness already had yellow stripes. xD

I figured the hair might be part of the reason yours is lower-res since that was one thing I had to come up with a solution to. In the end, I just exported the hair from his model, put Smash 3 textures on it, and rendered it by itself for the image.

 

[DoodleDuck97]

That's funny, you even gave him the frown.

Your shoes are more accurate (since my render was intended for my signature, I didn't feel like spending the time on them), but your shirt stripes are in the wrong order

My one is low-res because I already had to blow up the hair from a Brawl screenshot. I didn't feel like cleaning up the hair, either, so I just kept myself limited.

Yeah, poor Lucas never really smiles, does he?

I actually noticed I had the stripes in the wrong order, but like you with the shoes, I just didn't feel like changing the order since Ness already had yellow stripes. xD

I figured the hair might be part of the reason yours is lower-res since that was one thing I had to come up with a solution to. In the end, I just exported the hair from his model, put Smash 3 textures on it, and rendered it by itself for the image.

Someone Combine the Two Make the Most Epic Lucas Art Ever conceived :') Put the Shoes on the VannRose Render and we could send it to Sakurai :')
Or just send both because that way we show our love for Lucas

 

[rED023b]

Although it's sad to see Lucas go, I am looking forward to Nintendo bringing a new, unique rep into the mix. I look forward to seeing new reps with unique movesets, such as Masked Man, Poo, Duster, Teddy, or Flint.

 

[TumblrFamous]

I must say, it's incredible to see so many people in favor of Lucas's return.

I mean, for all we know, Sakurai's working on him, he's just not willing to tell us yet.

 

[Spazzy_D]

I really wouldn't mind if Lucas shared Ness' customs. Lucas' differences from Ness largely come from his "a" moves anyway. I would still want his Brawl variants to be his defaults for online.

Come to think of it, I wish all the clones used custom variants as their defaults. It would make characters like Lucina feel different from their base characters from the moment you unlock them. (Plus, who wouldn't want to use that dashing shield breaker in For Glory.)

I also wouldn't mind if they mixed Lucas' special's up a bit, though. Even if it was just a new down and/or side special.

 

[TheGingerRussian]

I honestly don't understand why he was cut. The 3DS version (at least) is seriously lacking in Mother representation. While other franchises (Mario in particular) are a bit overkill in how much they have.

And this is coming from a Mario main.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

I honestly don't understand why he was cut. The 3DS version (at least) is seriously lacking in Mother representation. While other franchises (Mario in particular) are a bit overkill in how much they have.

And this is coming from a Mario main.

Off-topic, but I love your avatar.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Although it's sad to see Lucas go, I am looking forward to Nintendo bringing a new, unique rep into the mix. I look forward to seeing new reps with unique movesets, such as Masked Man, Poo, Duster, Teddy, or Flint.

While I wouldn't mind seeing another Mother rep instead of Lucas (especially Duster), I can't see it happening. Lucas is the lead of Mother 3- adding another Mother 3 character without him would be like adding some other FE1 character over Marth, or Toon Zelda but not Toon Link. I could see them adding another EB rep instead of Lucas, but I'd rather see more than one Mother game with playable reps. And, while I love them (Paula especially), I wouldn't want Paula or Poo added unless they actually use the other PSI moves since they'd likely just be Ness clones. If you have to add only M2 reps, give us Porky or Jeff, or even go creative and give us a New Age Retro Hippie!

This is something I have been listening to all day in college while looking at the Lucas render that Vannrose made.

This Render....

I cant exactly put words to the fact this should be his official render.....
Everything about it just screams perfect.
After Lucas got that Character Development he grew up became a bad-*** and tried to risk his own safety to Save Red
He was the best character in Subspace next to the Eskimos.
This would be perfect to continue the Characters story ark from the past Smash game.
God I miss you Lucas Please for all that is Good in this world.
Sakurai BRING BACK NEW PORK
At the very least it's a step closer to Lucas :')

Which is cool, because it mirrors his development in Mother 3, too. He grows from a timid, frightened boy into a braver young man who goes into danger to protect those he loves, even if some other Tazmilians look down on him by Chapter 4. I didn't mind his portrayal in SSE- it pays homage to Mother 3, after all- but it is odd seeing him go through the same development twice, to say nothing of the people who attacked and hated him for a while because he "abandoned" Ness (yes, people seriously hated on Lucas over this).

 

[TheGingerRussian]

Off-topic, but I love your avatar.

You just wait until the Wii U version releases and I get a lovely HD version.

While I wouldn't mind seeing another Mother rep instead of Lucas (especially Duster), I can't see it happening. Lucas is the lead of Mother 3- adding another Mother 3 character without him would be like adding some other FE1 character over Marth, or Toon Zelda but not Toon Link. I could see them adding another EB rep instead of Lucas, but I'd rather see more than one Mother game with playable reps. And, while I love them (Paula especially), I wouldn't want Paula or Poo added unless they actually use the other PSI moves since they'd likely just be Ness clones. If you have to add only M2 reps, give us Porky or Jeff, or even go creative and give us a New Age Retro Hippie!

Which is cool, because it mirrors his development in Mother 3, too. He grows from a timid, frightened boy into a braver young man who goes into danger to protect those he loves, even if some other Tazmilians look down on him by Chapter 4. I didn't mind his portrayal in SSE- it pays homage to Mother 3, after all- but it is odd seeing him go through the same development twice, to say nothing of the people who attacked and hated him for a while because he "abandoned" Ness (yes, people seriously hated on Lucas over this).

Dude, did you see Wario during that cutscene?
Anybody who saw that would've been out of there faster than Thomas during a forest fire.

 

[BluePikmin11]

You should add a support list for fun to see how far we get @ TumblrFamous

 

[Shaymikyu]

You just wait until the Wii U version releases and I get a lovely HD version.


Dude, did you see Wario during that cutscene?
Anybody who saw that would've been out of there faster than Thomas during a forest fire.

Hey, I'm not disagreeing with you! Wario was pretty creepy.

 

[DoodleDuck97]

You just wait until the Wii U version releases and I get a lovely HD version.


Dude, did you see Wario during that cutscene?
Anybody who saw that would've been out of there faster than Thomas during a forest fire.

Can I say that Wario is a creepy, spooky guy in this Scene O.O (how fitting for Halloween ^.^)
But seriously I can't get my head around the fact was meant to replace in Melee but due to delay it never came through.
Then Brawl Happened we got first, People freaked out because "WHERE'S NESS" they got and they were happy
Just the two of them happy as can be :3
Now that brings to my next point, If Lucas was fully intended to replace Ness don't you think Sakurai would want to live on through ? which explains why he is "a bit" similar (just like how he wont change even though Blood Falcon fits the role so well CURSE YOU NINTENDO XD)
But seriously here we are now discussing why the "replacement" should come back.
And any naysayers that Say "Oh but he never left Japan" Well it's not his fault if Nintendo just released I would just enjoy the game because no I haven't played Mother 3 I want to support the official release ( One of longest waiting games I have ever played) (Retched Reggie)
Personally I can see Lucas happening in order it should be for cuts at least in order of how they were put into smash
Or who knows we might get all 3 (Good God I hope for my sake I'm right)
Overall Lucas is coming I just tell myself he's either stuck with these two wither it be on an icy mountain or in space traffic, He's just running late :3

 

[Shaymikyu]

Can I say that Wario is a creepy, spooky guy in this Scene O.O (how fitting for Halloween ^.^)
But seriously I can't get my head around the fact was meant to replace in Melee but due to delay it never came through.
Then Brawl Happened we got first, People freaked out because "WHERE'S NESS" they got and they were happy
Just the two of them happy as can be :3
Now that brings to my next point, If Lucas was fully intended to replace Ness don't you think Sakurai would want to live on through ? which explains why he is "a bit" similar (just like how he wont change even though Blood Falcon fits the role so well CURSE YOU NINTENDO XD)
But seriously here we are now discussing why the "replacement" should come back.
And any naysayers that Say "Oh but he never left Japan" Well it's not his fault if Nintendo just released I would just enjoy the game because no I haven't played Mother 3 I want to support the official release ( One of longest waiting games I have ever played) (Retched Reggie)
Personally I can see Lucas happening in order it should be for cuts at least in order of how they were put into smash
Or who knows we might get all 3 (Good God I hope for my sake I'm right)
Overall Lucas is coming I just tell myself he's either stuck with these two wither it be on an icy mountain or in space traffic, He's just running late :3

This is my attitude towards cuts in general, but if a character isn't "worthy" or "important" enough to be playable because of not coming out of Japan or only being in one game, why add them in the first place?

 

[DoodleDuck97]

This is my attitude towards cuts in general, but if a character isn't "worthy" or "important" enough to be playable because of not coming out of Japan or only being in one game, why add them in the first place?

Cough....Cough Marth
Why can't lucas be like Marth :'(
Also If some one can turn this:

into an icon similar to this I will cry many happy tears that thing will be in my sig so quickly :'D

 

[Putuk]

And any naysayers that Say "Oh but he never left Japan" Well it's not his fault if Nintendo just released I would just enjoy the game because no I haven't played Mother 3 I want to support the official release ( One of longest waiting games I have ever played) (Retched Reggie)

Keep in mind that MOTHER 3 sold rather poorly in Japan (you could find it in bargain bins) and the japanese audience wasn't very fond of the way the game was presented. From what I understand, the japanese gamer crowd is very passionate about RPGs and seems to have very high standards. MOTHER 3 is generally talked down upon, from what I've heard.
They also don't seem to like sappy stories at all (yes, MOTHER 3 is sappy, but I feel it's presented well enough so it's not obnoxious). Meanwhile, us westerners eat that stuff up like there's no tomorrow!

Also doubt Reggie really hates the game, he's probably just annoyed from being bombarded with the same question every E3. I'm sure he's a pretty cool guy if you get to know him.
Sometimes, however, I wonder if other Nintendo fans laugh at us. We are kinda the oddballs.

 

[DoodleDuck97]

Keep in mind that MOTHER 3 sold rather poorly in Japan (you could find it in bargain bins) and the japanese audience wasn't very fond of the way the game was presented. From what I understand, the japanese gamer crowd is very passionate about RPGs and seems to have very high standards. MOTHER 3 is generally talked down upon, from what I've heard.
They also don't seem to like sappy stories at all (yes, MOTHER 3 is sappy, but I feel it's presented well enough so it's not obnoxious). Meanwhile, us westerners eat that stuff up like there's no tomorrow!

Also doubt Reggie really hates the game, he's probably just annoyed from being bombarded with the same question every E3. I'm sure he's a pretty cool guy if you get to know him.
Sometimes, however, I wonder if other Nintendo fans laugh at us. We are kinda the oddballs.

Oh no Doubt the fact Reggie is a nice guy
His Body was not ready For the requests X3
But I feel like if they fired it over here especially with how well Earthbound did it could be a success I mean You have Lucas sitting there as DLC Hype character Material.
They could do a sale for his reveal were Mother 3 and Earthbound could be cheaper for the first week of his reveal or something like that
I believe :')

 

[TheGingerRussian]

This is my attitude towards cuts in general, but if a character isn't "worthy" or "important" enough to be playable because of not coming out of Japan or only being in one game, why add them in the first place?

Sakurai's statements are odd, because a lot of them seem to contradict each other.

For example, he has stated that he won't add characters if he believes their franchise has no future. This goes against the addition of R.O.B, G&W, DHD, and even Ness. (Itoi has stated he's finished with the Mother series and is content with three games)

And considering Sakurai has ALSO stated that Kid Icarus is basically dead until another revival, the addition of Palutena and Dark Pit baffles me.

But hey, this could just be me looking at this in a bad way due to Lucas being cut.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Keep in mind that MOTHER 3 sold rather poorly in Japan (you could find it in bargain bins) and the japanese audience wasn't very fond of the way the game was presented. From what I understand, the japanese gamer crowd is very passionate about RPGs and seems to have very high standards. MOTHER 3 is generally talked down upon, from what I've heard.
They also don't seem to like sappy stories at all (yes, MOTHER 3 is sappy, but I feel it's presented well enough so it's not obnoxious). Meanwhile, us westerners eat that stuff up like there's no tomorrow!

Also doubt Reggie really hates the game, he's probably just annoyed from being bombarded with the same question every E3. I'm sure he's a pretty cool guy if you get to know him.
Sometimes, however, I wonder if other Nintendo fans laugh at us. We are kinda the oddballs.

If that's the case, though, then why is Other M material present? Wasn't it pretty poorly received? Please correct me if I'm wrong, as I have little familiarity with Metroid. EDIT: Now that I think about it, Other M could fall under the "newer games" rule, since it is a more recent Metroid. Therefore, it gets representation.

EB was also poorly received in the US (more sales-wise than review-wise), but that didn't stop Ness from being in every SSB.

While I adore Mother 3, I have a feeling a big reason it's so revered here is that we DIDN'T get it. The grass is always greener. While I'm sure it would have gotten decent reception here (at least review-wise) had it made it here, I'm sure its dissenters would be louder. Even talk of it as it is seems to have quieted a little after the fan translation came out.

Does it still have Japanese fans, though? I've definitely seen Japanese fan art of it, even more recently.

Sakurai's statements are odd, because a lot of them seem to contradict each other.

For example, he has stated that he won't add characters if he believes their franchise has no future. This goes against the addition of R.O.B, G&W, DHD, and even Ness. (Itoi has stated he's finished with the Mother series and is content with three games)

And considering Sakurai has ALSO stated that Kid Icarus is basically dead until another revival, the addition of Palutena and Dark Pit baffles me.

But hey, this could just be me looking at this in a bad way due to Lucas being cut.

From what I can tell, R.O.B., G & W, and DH are retro characters, so they don't fall under that rule, Ness is protected by Original 12 status now that they've survived three games going on four (plus EB only recently got overseas Virtual Console release), and the KI characters are newer, so they fall under the newer character representation. For instance, even if Awakening failed to save FE, I would assume we'd get a new FE rep anyway, even if they got dropped next time around. Lucas in Brawl also counts, since Itoi said right after Mother 3 that it was the last game in the series.

Cough....Cough Marth
Why can't lucas be like Marth :'(
Also If some one can turn this:

into an icon similar to this I will cry many happy tears that thing will be in my sig so quickly :'D

Marth confuses me as well, since he only recently saw overseas release for a game featuring him. I'm still getting my feet wet in FE, but I'd assume with it getting more games by the time Brawl came out and Marth being in the most FE games, he was allowed to stay. Plus, he was a unique character in Melee (whereas Roy was a clone of him and Lucas was just barely a clone of Ness).

 

[Putuk]

Does it still have Japanese fans, though? I've definitely seen Japanese fan art of it, even more recently.

I do believe there's people who like the game, but people who felt it was a disappointment are definitly numerous. I've seen some comments from japanese fans (translated, of course, I only speak two languages, japanese ain't one of 'em).
You can check 'em out here. (That site is run by the person who did the fantranslation of MOTHER 3.)

 

[Shaymikyu]

I do believe there's people who like the game, but people who felt it was a disappointment are definitly numerous. I've seen some comments from japanese fans (translated, of course, I only speak two languages, japanese ain't one of 'em).
You can check 'em out here. (That site is run by the person who did the fantranslation of MOTHER 3.)

I've read that article before. I just didn't know if it was a vocal minority like the people who only accept the first generation of Pokémon.

I respect the opinions of others (and can see why Mother 3 wasn't everyone's cup of tea), but it's a shame that it was enough to keep Lucas out possibly (for now, anyway).

 

[Putuk]

I respect the opinions of others (and can see why Mother 3 wasn't everyone's cup of tea), but it's a shame that it was enough to keep Lucas out possibly (for now, anyway).

Absolutely.
I recently finished MOTHER 3 again and since I've been hearing various opinions on whether MOTHER 3 or EarthBound is better, I went back to play through EarthBound again. Most opinions from the western fans seem to like both, but prefer one or the other, for different reasons (in my case, I prefer MOTHER 3).
EarthBound has a certain odd vibe to it that MOTHER 3 cannot deliver. It also feels more vast and the world seems more alive, as opposed to the Nowhere Islands, where there's a town and a few buildings spread throughout the island.
I can absolutely see why people would prefer EarthBound.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Absolutely.
I recently finished MOTHER 3 again and since I've been hearing various opinions on whether MOTHER 3 or EarthBound is better, I went back to play through EarthBound again. Most opinions from the western fans seem to like both, but prefer one or the other, for different reasons (in my case, I prefer MOTHER 3).
EarthBound has a certain odd vibe to it that MOTHER 3 cannot deliver. It also feels more vast and the world seems more alive, as opposed to the Nowhere Islands, where there's a town and a few buildings spread throughout the island.
I can absolutely see why people would prefer EarthBound.

I'm (slowly) making my way through EB right now (slowly because school), and I can see why people tend to prefer one or the other. I like EB and respect it for being so unique and different. I love the old cheesy sci fi movie vibe it gives off, I love how bizarre it gets at times with things like the Happy Happyists or even one-off quotes, and I love young Porky as a villain. The only things really putting it below Mother 3 for me is how annoying it can be to heal at times (the hotel system was cute at first, but gets kind of annoying to go through every time, and the Escargo Express can be a pain time-wise) and how stingy it feels with save points (Mother 3 tends to have them before bosses). I didn't like how it dragged at first, but now that I've gotten into it, I've grown to appreciate that it takes it time and lets you play with the world instead of being put on a linear path. I'll have to replay Mother 3 to truly compare the two, though.

As for Mother 1, I actually like it. If they did a remake with graphics in the style of Ness and Magicant in SSB (or even in Mother 3's style) and balanced it a little better while adding certain improvements from its sequels, it might actually be my favorite, or at least close to Mother 3.

 

[J04KlM]

Sakurai's statements are odd, because a lot of them seem to contradict each other.

For example, he has stated that he won't add characters if he believes their franchise has no future. This goes against the addition of R.O.B, G&W, DHD, and even Ness. (Itoi has stated he's finished with the Mother series and is content with three games)

And considering Sakurai has ALSO stated that Kid Icarus is basically dead until another revival, the addition of Palutena and Dark Pit baffles me.

But hey, this could just be me looking at this in a bad way due to Lucas being cut.

What he said is that characters from franchises with no future are rarely choosen, he also stated characters who aren't getting new installments anytime in the future are given low priority during development. This really explains why Lucas and Wolf were cut. (Sakurai and the team most likely was not aware of StarFox U when developing Smash 4) Ness and Captain Falcon have been living with survivors guilt all these years...

The amount of Kid Icarus representation is mostly due to Sakurai's bias, though Dark Pit was a clone thrown in at the last second in the development of the game. Kid Icarus does not need 3 characters.

 

[[Obnoxshush/Dasshizer]]

What he said is that characters from franchises with no future are rarely choosen, he also stated characters who aren't getting new installments anytime in the future are given low priority during development. This really explains why Lucas and Wolf were cut. (Sakurai and the team most likely was not aware of StarFox U when developing Smash 4) Ness and Captain Falcon have been living with survivors guilt all these years...

The amount of Kid Icarus representation is mostly due to Sakurai's bias, though Dark Pit was a clone thrown in at the last second in the development of the game. Kid Icarus does not need 3 characters.

He also left a bunch of evidence for Wolf. You know I'm wondering if he purposefully named Fox's custom Wolf Flash or if he meant to name it Fox Flash. The Star Fox game was also stated to be in development since the Wii days so I'm sure Sakurai heard of it possibly. I'm honestly a bit surprised that none of the people who are interviewing Sakurai ask about Lucas and Wolf.
If Wolf and Lucas were in Kid Icarus having 3 reps wouldn't be so bad, but since they're not in, Sakurai needs to add them in via DLC.

 

[Frostwraith]

Sakurai's statements are odd, because a lot of them seem to contradict each other.

For example, he has stated that he won't add characters if he believes their franchise has no future. This goes against the addition of R.O.B, G&W, DHD, and even Ness. (Itoi has stated he's finished with the Mother series and is content with three games)

And considering Sakurai has ALSO stated that Kid Icarus is basically dead until another revival, the addition of Palutena and Dark Pit baffles me.

They're not so much as a contradiction as it seems. This fanbase has a problem in taking his words out of context and it also doesn't help some things may be lost in translation.

He meant that characters with series without a future are given lower priority in development, meaning that the development team works on the biggest characters first, such as Mario, Pikachu or Link.

If he saw Star Fox and EarthBound as such cases (and very likely did), that could mean Lucas and Wolf were given low priority and were cut due to time constraints. Ness and Falco out-prioritized them. I think the development team worked on them early, but cut them when they realized they had not enough time to bring them back.

Isn't it very suspicious that Ness has Lucas's specials and Fox has Wolf Flash? Something tells me that Lucas and Wolf were in development, but were scrapped and remnants of their movesets were given to similar characters as custom moves.

This leads me to believe they may end up finish those characters and release them as DLC. Sakurai did say he wanted to bring back as many characters from previous Smash games as possible, but knew there wouldn't be enough time. With DLC, it's now possible to bring back a few more characters. Wolf and Lucas seem to have the most things going for them, so let's hope they make their return to Smash.

As for the Kid Icarus series, do note that the franchise nowadays isn't exactly dead. It got a reboot and said reboot was a million seller. Smash games always has their share of stuff from recent games. Palutena was the only Kid Icarus newcomer considered, with Dark Pit meant as an alt for Pit (similar to Alph and the Koopalings), but he got upgraded to slot status thanks to last minute changes. The three clones in this game were already in the game, but as alts, so the changes given to them didn't take much time and resources. Sakurai even stated they didn't want to spend time and man-power on them to avoid spending more resources and avoid balancing issues, hence why he made the "free dessert" analogy. They're as much of a bonus as playing as the Koopalings from Bowser Jr.'s slot, except they have some differences and, to avoid statistical flukes in the records, they were given their own spots in the roster.

Also, Kid Icarus: Uprising was big in Japan and Pit, Palutena and Dark Pit (and Viridi, but she isn't playable in Smash) became really popular characters over there, according to several polls.

Of course, if in a few years, there's no new Kid Icarus game, we can see the franchise as dead again.

But hey, this could just be me looking at this in a bad way due to Lucas being cut.

Indeed.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

I alredy said my opinion regarding the whole "franchise without a future are rarely chosen" thing already and I don't feel like arguing with people in a support thread for Lucas. Regardless, I support Lucas for Smash DLC. He's a good, solid character who I don't feel should have been cut.

Lucas really needs to be majorly buffed in order to be competitively viable, though.