Prejudices aside, if a few characters need to be cut who will they be?

[Mysteltainn]

At this point in time, I'd say:


I don't believe any of these guys are in any danger whatsoever. I can't really fathom the people saying that will be cut at all. He is one of the original 12 and the Franklin Badge has already been shown. Mr. Saturn has been showcased somewhere as well I believe. on the other hand, may be in danger. Although I'd hate to see him go given he represents half of their series.

Either or may go. I have a hard time believing that will go simply because he has been around so long, but I also have difficulty believing we're keeping all three space animals for some reason.

is up for debate, he may get swapped for Chrom, but this is all speculation.

Things are looking incredibly grim for and at the moment. seems to overshadow rather badly, and I'm doubtful that can make it on his own. is gone no matter how you put it. Even if and made it in by miracle on their own, Red will still not be there in my eyes. I also don't foresee much chance of a new Pokemon Trainer.

is a tricky one. Although there is a slight push for him to be integrated back in, the business world is saying no, and for the valid reason that MGS isn't really relevant for Nintendo at this point. It doesn't make much sense for Nintendo to showcase Snake again. However, I do hope I am wrong, as throwing Snake away is the loss of a good moveset. Given that hints of his moveset are being integrated into other characters though, I think he's gone.

I don't believe that 's chances have been hampered by in the slightest. Looking back at Brawl, we had 6 Pokemon reps in all; we currently have four for Sm4sh, with two slots left for most probably and .

 

[Wyoming]

Game over for Young Link, Pichu, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Roy as far as I'm concerned. Three Links would be overkill, Pichu's the Pokémon that was essentially put down due to the Greninja/Charizard trailer alongside Ivysaur and Squirtle, and Roy doesn't stand much of a chance considering Ike might be in danger himself

Dr. Mario's chances are extremely small, but nothing yet has suggested he's down and out. With that said, I don't see him making it into the game now that the roster is filling up and a few more popular and/or obvious choices are still unconfirmed.

Pokémon Trainer coming back as a fighter just doesn't seem likely to me. He's done.

Mewtwo is now 50/50. I understand his popularity, heck I like him too, but I do wonder if Sakurai is willing to bring back any of the cut Melee veterans at all. With that said IF Pokémon does have six slots he stands a good chance of making the cut. If it's only five for the franchise this time he'll face competition from Jigglypuff, who has consistently had the better of that battle for two games out of three (and I'm sure she'll be back for round 4)

Captain Falcon is basically a staple Smash Bros. character nowadays. Cutting him would be madness and a horrible kick in the gut to F-Zero fans. He has to be a guarantee. Ganondorf, Wario and Meta Knight are other veterans that I'd say are an absolute shoe-in. Cutting any of those four would be totally random and I wouldn't be able to understand any reasoning as to why they'd be gone.

Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch and R.O.B are still fairly unique and nobody else in the current roster plays like them. Can see all three coming back and deservedly so.

Lucas I'm a little uncertain about due to him and Ness taking forever to be revealed. With the roster filling up you fear that one of them could bite the dust. Considering Ness is a staple character in the series, Lucas has a bit of uncertainty around him. The same could be said for Wolf, who faces possibly competing with another long-term veteran and might see the cut because of being a 2nd semi-clone of another character and not being as important as Falco for Smash Bros.

Ike could well be the victim of Chrom or whatever getting in, which would be ironic in a way.

Snake needs to be revealed at E3 otherwise he's toast. It doesn't look too good for him but nothing concrete has ruled him out yet.

 

[KillJay]

Snake is gone. I mean come on, Sakurai doesn't even want him back in.

ICs and GAW are coming back, without a doubt. Not sure about ROB.

Wolf is sadly probably going to be cut.

And... dammit, I really hope Lucas doesn't get cut.

 

[Megadoomer]

Snake is gone. I mean come on, Sakurai doesn't even want him back in.

Do you have a source for this? The only comments I could find on the issue were positive.

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Ask...Snake-and-Sonic/2-Snake-and-Sonic-226172.html

Iwata:
I would, however, like to touch upon two of the new characters, Snake and Sonic. Clearly these two are the very first guests to the world of Nintendo.

Sakurai:
Correct. I know I’m the one who’s being interviewed, but I’d like to ask you how Nintendo felt about having outsiders in the game.

Iwata:
You mean, whether or not it was okay?

Sakurai:
Right.

Iwata:
Everyone understood for the most part since that’s the nature of Smash Bros. However, there were debates about where to draw the line. For the most part though, it was readily solved since we were comfortable that you were in charge for the selection. I myself thought it was best to make the game as inclusive and entertaining as possible since festive opportunities like Smash Bros. only come along once in a while.

Sakurai:
I’m glad everyone felt they could trust me. For my part, I have no regrets about incorporating Snake and Sonic into the game and I think their inclusion was well worthwhile.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/08/07/masahiro-sakurai-talks-super-smash-bros-4

"I think Snake and Sonic joining were fantastic. It made many fans happy, and it broadened the Smash Bros arena," [Sakurai] said. "However, introducing more non-Nintendo characters willy-nilly will lose the focus of the game, so I also recognise the need to narrow it down."

Sakurai was perfectly happy with the inclusion of Snake and Sonic, Nintendo trusted Sakurai's judgement, and the fans (for the most part) enjoyed seeing them in the game. I linked the articles that I got these quotes from, in case I missed something relevant, but with Kojima clearly having no problem with Snake returning, it seems to me like the only unknown factor here is Konami, and I seriously can't see them turning it down, given how big of an advertising opportunity it is.

 

[GodOfSocks]

I hate cuts, because I know that every character is somebody's main.
However, as others as said before, the removal of form changing is probably bad news for Red, unless we get him as his own fighter, which would be awesome but not very likely. I also don't think that Greninja effects Mewtwo's chances of being in.
I think it's too soon to condemn anyone else, though, but if somehow Jiggs, Ness, or Captain Falcon gets cut, than my life is a lie and no character is safe.
I don't think I added anything new to the debate, but that's okay.

 

[Fatmanonice]

The more I think about it the less I feel like Ike and Lucas will be cut because I realized something I should have realized a long time ago. Aside from Mario and Kirby, which Nintendo franchises have a decent percentage of their major new games on both home consoles and handhelds? Mother and Fire Emblem. Mother's last major game was Mother 3 on the GBA with the first two being on the NES and SNES respectively. For Fire Emblem, it started on the NES and then became primarily on handhelds starting in 2002 with the Binding Blade. Despite this, there was still two major console releases after that in the form of Path of Radiance (2005) and Radiant Dawn (2007). Lucas was the star of Mother 3 and Ike was primarily the star in both Radiant games. As stated way back in the beginning when this game was first announced, the stages and trophies would be split between the 3DS and Wii U version based on whether the games were on handhelds or home consoles. This being said, it's not unlikely for Lucas and Ike's games to be represented and, based on this, they are still both relevant as Mother hasn't had a new installment since Mother 3 and Fire Emblem has been exclusively on handhelds since 2007. We already know that the 3DS is going to have a Fire Emblem Awakening stage and, based off of this, I think it's a safe bet that the Wii U Fire Emblem stage will be based on Radiant Dawn and the Mother stages for the 3DS and Wii U will be from Mother 3 and Earthbound, respectively. As I talked about in an earlier post, Lucas and Ike are the only characters from Brawl's starting roster that haven't been heavily implied or outright confirmed yet so I feel that this makes a lot of sense in the end.

 

[Ove]

I can understand Lucas, Wolf, and Falco not adding anything to Smash Bros. (even if I don't believe it), and maybe even Ike if you really stretch the definition, but I don't see how R.O.B., the Pokemon Trainer, and both of the game's third party characters don't add anything new to the franchise.

Seems like I expressed myself a bit indistinctively earlier.

Snake and Sonic sure have unique movesets (although Sonic could have less rolling...), but I think that they both have played out their roles in Smash. They were a cool addition for the franchise, but new third party characters should get the chance. Since Mega Man is confirmed, I am rather pleased on that front.

As for R.O.B., a nice moveset cannot be the only reason for a character to stay in Smash. We don't know if the developers could have made an even more impressive moveset for a different character, that as the same time feels relevant for the franchise as a whole.

Ike and Lucas go under the same category as Sonic and Snake in the sense of being irrelevant for Smash today. At the same time, Fire Emblem and Mother are two broad series with many potential aspirants. Ike could easily be replaced by Chrome and is Lucas really necessary since we have Ness? How many representatives do every specific series need and which characters are relevant for Smash?

PT is special, no doubt about that. But in reality, the idea of a character that can transform completely into a new character mid-game is a bit bizarre. Obviously, the developers thought so too...

 

[Mr.Seven]

Here's what I believe so far:



These guys above, without a doubt, are returning for the battle. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Meta Knight will surely be revamped to be WAY more balanced. Ganondorf is one I hope gets reworked to become more unique. A decent amount of people are getting the treatment, it'd be a shame if he doesn't.


I'm not too sure about Wolf's chances. I would give him a 77% chance of returning.


Ike is tricky. Ike was a unique character in terms of play style. Sure, some of his moves were inspired by , but a majority of his stuff was unique to him. Roy's cut was understandable, as he was a clone of . Ike, on the other hand... It would be a shame to see go. I say Sakurai should keep Ike, AND add Chrom.


ROB is a one-trick pony in my opinion. Honestly, I thought, and still think, he is a waste of a character space. I think that he's had his 15 minutes of fame, and don't expect him to return at all.


Lucas, as much as I liked him, is a character I expect to see cut from the roster.


As soon as was made standalone, these three were dead on arrival.


These two are probably the most controversial veterans out of all of the Smash roster. Roy's chances are just about zero now. Mewtwo on the other hand... That's a bit tricky. He was used A LOT in the advertising of Pokemon X and Y, and even had a movie based on it. Yet, 76% of his moves were basically inherited by . If one were to count the Pokemon Trainer as 3 separate characters, then we would lose a Pokemon rep if Mewtwo isn't in. On the flipside, one could make the (rather sensible) argument that Generation 1 would have too much representation. Also, if one were to consider Pokemon Trainer as one character, then one could argue that Pokemon would have too many reps.


Do I even really need to state why this was a terrible idea?

 

[the smash nerd]

Do I even really need to state why this was a terrible idea?

Um.. no

 

[A Lucky Person]

From what I know, this is what it's looking like:

In:


Out:

 

[Fatmanonice]

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back that aren't "because they're old and weird" because it feels like this is the only criticism that people have of them...

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back-

No. There, I helped answer all that is needed to be answered.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Are the only ones I think can get possibly cut.
Only reason Lucas is not on this list is because he really isn't fighting for recent protagonist, just there to represent the best of Mother.
Ganondorf is a possibility since he could be replaced with a refined Pig Ganon.

 

[Pazzo.]

Spoiler

At this point in time, I'd say:


I don't believe any of these guys are in any danger whatsoever. I can't really fathom the people saying that will be cut at all. He is one of the original 12 and the Franklin Badge has already been shown. Mr. Saturn has been showcased somewhere as well I believe. on the other hand, may be in danger. Although I'd hate to see him go given he represents half of their series.

Either or may go. I have a hard time believing that will go simply because he has been around so long, but I also have difficulty believing we're keeping all three space animals for some reason.

is up for debate, he may get swapped for Chrom, but this is all speculation.

Things are looking incredibly grim for and at the moment. seems to overshadow rather badly, and I'm doubtful that can make it on his own. is gone no matter how you put it. Even if and made it in by miracle on their own, Red will still not be there in my eyes. I also don't foresee much chance of a new Pokemon Trainer.

is a tricky one. Although there is a slight push for him to be integrated back in, the business world is saying no, and for the valid reason that MGS isn't really relevant for Nintendo at this point. It doesn't make much sense for Nintendo to showcase Snake again. However, I do hope I am wrong, as throwing Snake away is the loss of a good moveset. Given that hints of his moveset are being integrated into other characters though, I think he's gone.

I don't believe that 's chances have been hampered by in the slightest. Looking back at Brawl, we had 6 Pokemon reps in all; we currently have four for Sm4sh, with two slots left for most probably and
.

Character cuts: The Easy Reader Version. XD

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back that aren't "because they're old and weird" because it feels like this is the only criticism that people have of them...

IMO, R.O.B and G&W will return, but that's just my opinion.

If ANYONE is going to be cut, I'd say PK Trainer, and maaayyybbbeee Lucas.

 

[Goten21]

(including B and S)

 

[MargnetMan23]

Might as well give my 2 cents...

The other 2 pokemon from PT are probably gone like everyone else said (I liked them, but it would feel awkward to have them as standalone characters. Oh yeah IVYSAUR, I really needed him to get representation! Though venusaur to represent the grass side of the trio would be nice, though sceptile seems more likely, even though he barely has a chance either. Especially with greninja ripping off some of the ninja qualities that could make him feel unique.)

Other than those guys, I see being the most likely cut.
I wouldn't really care if was cut, but he still stands a good chance of staying.
Anybody saying would get cut over is delusional (hey, Earthbound VC release was a thing) and yeah the latter is in trouble if time constraints do prove to be a legitimate problem.
Also, while I would certainly prefer getting cut over I almost guarantee the latter would go if Sakurai had to cut either of them.

Frankly, the only cuts I actually EXPECT are and possibly

 

[SuperSmashDrake]

My thoughts on this are quite ballsy, but I only think Pokemon Trainer, Squirtle, and Ivysaur will be cut. Snake could be in trouble, but I don't think Sakurai would cut the first guest character he used.

 

[josh bones]

Anyone who thinks rob is leaving is on some weird drugs. Jigglypuff is out using the following Logic
Pika, Zard, and Lucario were revealed before greninja. If jigglypuf was going to be in, we would have saw her/him/potato earlier, Mew2 counts as a newcomer using fighting game logic

 

[RelaxAlax]

I think Snake is still in simply because he's so stealthy. He'll sneak up on us, no mention from Sakurai or Kojima. We'll unlock him and be like 'UH-EXCUSE ME?!"

 

[Swift Fox]

Has hints
/ Mother items
Polar Bear in Smash Run
Goroh as Assist Trophy
Halberd stage confirmed returning
Ashley as Assist Trophy

No hints, nothing, zilch







Potentially hurt
Steel Driver item (item), Sheik's grenade (new move), Pilotwing jetpack (item)
Fox and custom move sets
by solo
by solo

 

[Thirdkoopa]

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back that aren't "because they're old and weird" because it feels like this is the only criticism that people have of them...

G&W no. R.O.B., yes, but not much. There's the argument of him not having much of a completed moveset and the idea that he could have been only used in Brawl, but that doesn't have much weight to it. There was more I had but I twittered it with someone else at a point. Personally? I just want him retooled if he comes back.

The only characters I feel aren't safe at this point are Snake, R.O.B., any Melee vet, and a Star Fox character, but even then I'm not too sure about those (unless the 48 leak is somehow real) - Snake is the only one due to interview's. R.O.B. is probably easier to retool than giving someone else parts of R.O.B., and both star Fox characterfs have reason to stay - Falco for popularity/fanservice/longevity, and Wolf for importance to the series/fan service/etc. Other then that I consider most of them safe... I guess there's doubt for Ike, but Ike's still the face of FE for the non-japan market (Granted he shares the spotlight with Marth, but Marth shares the spotlight with peeps in japan, and this series generally does, so...)

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

I think the following are in the most danger

Or

Squirtle and ivysaur: both because of charizard and mewtwo and jigglypuff likely to take there place

Snake: the interview with hideo spaying he has nothing to do with smash 4 and a few items and moves for characters

Falco/wolf :well one of them is toast but falco has a higher atvantage due to being in 2 smash games but falco is hurt by custom moves but not too much though wolf is in more danger despite being foxes rival

Lucas : for room for another character and lucas is only game is in japan nothing to do with the west (besides brawl)

Ike : that would be because roy was kicked marth survives I'm sure history repeats its self for ike being kicked for a more relevant fire emblem character and that's chrom/lucina/both

And this one has a good chance of resurrecting

 

[Networker1]

Has anyone considered MK becoming the next Mewtwo? (popular and unique character gets cut for no reason)

 

[R0Y]

There's a Solid answer to this question.

 

[TheUltraDeino]

Has anyone considered MK becoming the next Mewtwo? (popular and unique character gets cut for no reason)

The Halberd is back.
MK is gonna return.

 

[Wanderer from Roseyard]

Has anyone considered MK becoming the next Mewtwo? (popular and unique character gets cut for no reason)

We should all make peace with the idea of a character getting cut for absolutely no reason but time, which was probably the case with Mewtwo. That could mean Meta Knight, or Wario, or Ike; characters who deserve to be Smash regulars but could get dropped if their development is lagging too close to release. Who knows?

 

[RelaxAlax]

The way I see it, here are my tiers

A-Okay Tier:

B Tier (Copycat tier) :

C Ya Later Tier:

Copycats are on a short leash. I think Lucas and Wolf should return, Ike may be kicked for Chrom. I hope not though. Other than this, I see no reason to cut anyone else.

Now, that's rational me. I have a gut feeling someone we love, or an original may get the boot, like say Jiggs or Ice Climbers. I hope not, but I feel we'll get one character like that.

 

[SpiderJerusalem]

Safe:
Iffy:
Pack your bags:

I don't see Ike and Roy coming back, only one of them will *if either of them do come back*.

 

[CombatScouter]

Has anyone considered MK becoming the next Mewtwo? (popular and unique character gets cut for no reason)

I always have that worrying thought in the back of my mind, but I'm still fairly confident that it won't happen this time. Bamco is (hopefully) a big help, and I can't imagine any characters like Sonic popping up at the last minute again. There's also the fact that many of the most popular unconfirmed characters have gotten some great clues that allude to their return.

Sakurai pls ; _ ;

 

[PKNinja95]

Safe Zone(100%):, , , , , ,
No Clue(50/50): , , ,, or

Sayanara(Cut):, , , , , , ,

GTFO(no explanation needed):

 

[NocturnalQuill]

is as good as dead with the inclusion of Charizard as a playable character, as well as Greninja's addition. was used heavily in the promotion of X and Y and featured in a movie, I think he stands a fair chance of returning. is one of the original twelve, I'm pretty sure they're all safe.

3 Star Fox reps is simply too much. The last we saw of the series was a remake of SF64, and before that a DS game in 2006. Either or is going, I think Wolf is more deserving personally.

Skyward Sword was essentially an origin story for , and Sakurai has even said that Ganon is his favorite. He's not going anywhere.

is one of the original twelve, and Earthbound got released on the VC finally, I think he's safe. is a little more iffy.

probably won't make it back in again. He only got in the first time around because Hideo Kojima basically begged Sakurai.

Three FE reps may seem like quite a bit, but Awakening is incredibly popular virtually everywhere. I think both and Chrom is entirely feasible. Way more deserving of 3 reps than Star Fox.

has a distinct playstyle and is very popular in the competitive scene, I feel like they're safe.

is incredibly iconic, if DeDeDe is in, he's in too.

It's not smash bros without FALCON PAWNCH

and are both pretty interesting characters. If one had to be cut, it's R.O.B. G&W is just too original to be cut.

Ashley is an assist trophy, is safe.

In summary:

Good as dead: () or
Possible cuts:

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

Um.. yes

What this guy said

 

[soviet prince]

if I was forced to cut charcters to make room for more newcomers, jigglypuff, lucas, ike, and snake,

 

[P0pz]

One thing people seem to be overlooking is the fact that Sakurai said he doesn't want the roster to be much bigger than brawl's was, and the current roster is already at 29. Even if the Pokemon trainer's Pokemon are counted as 3 separate characters, that means there's only really room for 9 more characters give or take. And even then, I expect that there are going to be at least 2 more newcomers added in, as 6 seems like too few given the series track record. Basically what I'm trying to say is that at this point Sakurai is probably going to be very careful and selective of who's coming back and who's getting shafted, and that's going to play a big role with what the roster will look like moving forward.

With that said, here's who I think is coming back:

, , are all safe as they're the rest of the original 12, and Sakurai said he would never cut any of them from future smash installments.

Pretty sure Falco's coming back as there should be one more star fox representative (always has been since melee) and I feel like he has a better chance than Due to his seniority.

Very popular character in brawl, and Halberd is back.

Ashley's an assist trophy, so that almost guarantees Wario's return.

One of Sakurai's favorite characters, and I feel like there can't not be a Zelda villain, it would feel like something's missing.

Characters who may have a chance but probably aren't returning:

There probably will be a second FE character, but Sakurai might replace him with a more recent character such as Chrom.

, Been with the series for a while, but there isn't as much demand for them as there is for some of the other veterans (plus, having as a new old school rep lowers their chances even more IMO.)

His recent involvement in x and y and the general demand for him make his return possible, but with puff almost inevitably coming back, that would mean there would be 6 Pokemon characters, and that's probably too many reps from a single franchise.)

Depends entirely on whether or not Sakurai wants 2 earthbound/mother reps.

Characters that are definitely out:

(and by extension and ), ,, (unfortunately, as Doc is one of my favorite characters in melee), ,, (as awesome as he is, I don't see Snake coming back unless by some miracle an agreement is worked out between Sakurai and Kojima again, which I feel would be extremely unlikely considering MGSV isn't coming to Wii U.)

 

[soviet prince]

One thing people seem to be overlooking is the fact that Sakurai said he doesn't want the roster to be much bigger than brawl's was, and the current roster is already at 29. Even if the Pokemon trainer's Pokemon are counted as 3 separate characters, that means there's only really room for 9 more characters give or take. And even then, I expect that there are going to be at least 2 more newcomers added in, as 6 seems like too few given the series track record. Basically what I'm trying to say is that at this point Sakurai is probably going to be very careful and selective of who's coming back and who's getting shafted, and that's going to play a big role with what the roster will look like moving forward.

With that said, here's who I think is coming back:

, , are all safe as they're the rest of the original 12, and Sakurai said he would never cut any of them from future smash installments.

Pretty sure Falco's coming back as there should be one more star fox representative (always has been since melee) and I feel like he has a better chance than Due to his seniority.

Very popular character in brawl, and Halberd is back.

Ashley's an assist trophy, so that almost guarantees Wario's return.

One of Sakurai's favorite characters, and I feel like there can't not be a Zelda villain, it would feel like something's missing.

Characters who may have a chance but probably aren't returning:

There probably will be a second FE character, but Sakurai might replace him with a more recent character such as Chrom.

, Been with the series for a while, but there isn't as much demand for them as there is for some of the other veterans (plus, having as a new old school rep lowers their chances even more IMO.)

His recent involvement in x and y and the general demand for him make his return possible, but with puff almost inevitably coming back, that would mean there would be 6 Pokemon characters, and that's probably too many reps from a single franchise.)

Depends entirely on whether or not Sakurai wants 2 earthbound/mother reps.

Characters that are definitely out:

(and by extension and ), ,, (unfortunately, as Doc is one of my favorite characters in melee), ,, (as awesome as he is, I don't see Snake coming back unless by some miracle an agreement is worked out between Sakurai and Kojima again, which I feel would be extremely unlikely considering MGSV isn't coming to Wii U.)

there is no way game and watch,rob, or ice climbers are getting cut.

also it's stupid theroy that pokemon can not have more reps then mario, there were 6 poke reps in brawl plus has a lot more characters that can add to the roster. I believe mewtwo is in as well as the puff.

 

[Terrazi Terrajin]

Jigglyfuk
Falco
Maybe Snake
ROB
Hopefully game&watch

 

[Terrazi Terrajin]

One thing people seem to be overlooking is the fact that Sakurai said he doesn't want the roster to be much bigger than brawl's was, and the current roster is already at 29. Even if the Pokemon trainer's Pokemon are counted as 3 separate characters, that means there's only really room for 9 more characters give or take. And even then, I expect that there are going to be at least 2 more newcomers added in, as 6 seems like too few given the series track record. Basically what I'm trying to say is that at this point Sakurai is probably going to be very careful and selective of who's coming back and who's getting shafted, and that's going to play a big role with what the roster will look like moving forward.

With that said, here's who I think is coming back:

, , are all safe as they're the rest of the original 12, and Sakurai said he would never cut any of them from future smash installments.

Pretty sure Falco's coming back as there should be one more star fox representative (always has been since melee) and I feel like he has a better chance than Due to his seniority.

Very popular character in brawl, and Halberd is back.

Ashley's an assist trophy, so that almost guarantees Wario's return.

One of Sakurai's favorite characters, and I feel like there can't not be a Zelda villain, it would feel like something's missing.

Characters who may have a chance but probably aren't returning:

There probably will be a second FE character, but Sakurai might replace him with a more recent character such as Chrom.

, Been with the series for a while, but there isn't as much demand for them as there is for some of the other veterans (plus, having as a new old school rep lowers their chances even more IMO.)

His recent involvement in x and y and the general demand for him make his return possible, but with puff almost inevitably coming back, that would mean there would be 6 Pokemon characters, and that's probably too many reps from a single franchise.)

Depends entirely on whether or not Sakurai wants 2 earthbound/mother reps.

Characters that are definitely out:

(and by extension and ), ,, (unfortunately, as Doc is one of my favorite characters in melee), ,, (as awesome as he is, I don't see Snake coming back unless by some miracle an agreement is worked out between Sakurai and Kojima again, which I feel would be extremely unlikely considering MGSV isn't coming to Wii U.)

When snake was added to brawl, MGS4 wasn't coming to a nintendo console either.
Kojima said it himself fairly recently that he wants snake in smash 4, implying permission is always there should Sakurai decide he wants snake to return.

 

[NintenRob]

I never understand why people say R.O.B. is likely, he has a unique moveset and isn't competing with anyone else from his series, Smash has never (and likely never will not counting third parties) cut the sole representative of a series, All the Melee cuts were either from a large series or replaced by someone else, sometimes both. Because of this I think the only characters who will be cut is Squirtal, Ivysaur and maybe Snake. Everyone else is just in minor danger imo. and those minor dangers only being Lucas, Ike Wolf or Falco.


And on Melee vets, I don't see any of them coming back because 5 solo reps is plenty for any series. but thats just my opinion.

Also with R.O.B., his All Star Stage in brawl wan an NES inspired stage.
The 3DS version now has an NES inspired stage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRoh62wRgkc

 

[Admiral Pit]

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back that aren't "because they're old and weird" because it feels like this is the only criticism that people have of them...

Some would say it's because they were a historic part of Nintendo's history back in the day, or a least ROB was last I heard. Also, although it doesn't matter much, they weren't clones either, but I feel G&W has greater chances than ROB despite ROB being the historic one for Nintendo back then, but my info could be wrong, so I'm not completely reliable, but maybe the history of those 2 for Nintendo should be looked at at the very least.

EDIT: I realize I answered the question wrong. Consider it my reason on why they may not be cut.

 

[RODO]

Are there any legitimate arguments against ROB and Game and Watch coming back that aren't "because they're old and weird" because it feels like this is the only criticism that people have of them...

I have one. R.O.B. was a peripheral, not a video game character. G&W on the other hand is ok, but saying that a character that didn't originate from a game (even though important to Nintendo history) should stay and we should cut an actual Nintendo all star instead...just doesn't seem right.