Donte, el exterminador de demonios.
Chance: 35%
I firmly believed that Capcom wasn't getting more chances for characters last Pass. Now things have changed a little, from the producer saying how Dante should need a Nintendo presence before his debut (which he now does) and his recent popularity whitin the fandom and his well defined popularity in the Capcom Sphere as a whole AND his franchise's return, should be an indicator of him beign a very plausible choice. Im not even taking into account the fact that Sakurai is friends with Dante's (and Bayonetta) creator: Hideki Kamiya, and i im firmly in the camp that believes that Sakubias is a thing, so i wouldn't surprised that should Nintendo ever propose him this character, Sakurai would probably go for it.
However, Min-Min showed me one thing, First Parties are now the ones leading this Pass, and i just can't see us having the same situation in which the rest of the Pass is JUST Third Parties. Im willing to die in this hill. For me this means that the spots for Dante to take are reduced, since adding at least one more Nintendo character would probably be easier and cheaper than adding nothing but guests like last time (yes i know Byleth exists, but the exception proves the norm).
IM not saying he is unlikely because he is a third party, no no no. If E3 wasn't cancelled, im pretty sure we would have seen ONE by now, but since Third Parties MAY not be as dominant as before, i wouldn't surprised if Sakurai skipped him. Not to mention he likes introducing characters from new companies each installment, and im expecting at least another one to show up. Not only that but i still believe Capcom may not be getting another character for the time beign.
Want:1%
Im sorry. Dante is cool and all, but i just don't like the idea of him in Smash, and nothing i have seen of him convices me.
Harvey Birdman, Anime Edition.
Chance: 40%
Similar to Dante above, but he has the benefit of having a longer history with Nintendo which means a lot of N Players overlap with Ace Attorney fans, making him more requested in the Smashshphere (read: Hardoce community, the same one that pushed for the likes of Banjo, K.Rool, Little Mac, Mega Man and Ridley) and his series while not as mainstream as the one above, sitll has a strong passionate following. Does not make a guarantee, but i think it helps. His moveset is also not an issue since if MVC3 can do it, so can Sakurai, A.K.A "i want to give a moveset to a Plant".
Want:3%
Im not interesed in Phoenix Wright's games, so he doesn't do it for me. I do have to say he feels much more at home here than Dante, but this is based on of much interest i have on the character, not if they are a good fit for Smash (which i do admit, Phoneix is) i also have to say my bias plays a big part here. My most wanted characters always come from action games, namely sidescroller platformers or adventure games, and characters like Pheonix Wright aren't just the kind of character i think "oh yeah, this character would be fun to play as in Smash as in its home games!". If im beign honest between Dante and Phoneix...........i prefer Sir Arthur.
Chance: 60%
This is it!, The Third Party character that i see as THE most likely choice. Why? Many reasons.
One, Sakurai has made a big fuss of wanting to expand Smash's horizons. Because of this, it's no surprsie to me that during the course of the series, many Third Party companies have allowed their most popular and iconic and versatile characters in Smash. We have almost all the major japanese third party companies here. Capcom, Konami, Sega, SNK and Namco. The only other one i can name of the top of my head is Tecmo Koei, and while they have an Assist Trophy in Smash, i wouldn't be surprised if they wanted a bigger slice of tht Smash pie. Why Ryu out of all characters? Ninja Gaiden isn't the best selling Tecmo series (DOA and DW sell better) but neither was Mega Man for Capcom. Ryu isn't just Ninja Gaiden's main character, he is Mr. Tecmo, in the same way Terry is Mr. SNK.
-Ninja Gaiden is a long franchise with spawns way back from the 80's as an Arcade beat em up game, an era Sakurai is undobdebtly fond of. It made its way into the NES as a trilogy and is Tecmo's most well known work for the System, not to mention one of the most memorable games on the library next to Castlevania, Mega Man, Punch Out and so on. As shown above, it was even mentioned in the Wizard, a movie that's just a walking advertisement for Mario 3 in America, so it's clear that in the large gameshpere of old school games, Ryu and Ninja Gaiden are Extremely fondly remembered among gamers. The series also made appereances in almost any old school system like The Game Gear, the Amstrad, the Super Nintendo, the ZX Spectrum, Game Boy, PC Engine, etc. It wasn't just a NES Trilogy, it was one of the most memorable franchises to come from the Third Generation.
-You may think the appeal of this franchise would only apply to Nintendo boomers who laugh at game journalists who can't even pass a tutorial, but you're wrong on that. After taking a hiatus on the Fifth Generation of Systems, it came back with a vengance on the Sixth with the Ninja Gaiden Reboot. A full on hack and slash series featuring multiple weaponry for your character. It was released on the Xbox and later went on to appear on systems like the PS3 and Vita, and not to mention it became a trilogy once again showing up in the Xbox 360 and even the Wii U. It also had a spin-off in the Nintendo DS. This franchise also appeals to the non-Nintendo hardcore gamers of the 6th and 7th generations, which are becoming all the more nostalgic of these games as time passes.
Lastly, He is a recurring fighter in the Dead or Alive series. He isn't just a cameo for show, no. He's actually one of the most prominent characters in the franchise and the ONE male character that isn't overshadowed by the large female cast when it comes to beign recognizable to outsiders of the franchise (outside of maybe Hayate and Zack). He was the main narrative character in DOA2 beign the winner of the second tournament and the one who defeats the big bad of the game, Tengu. He even appears in the Koei Tecmo's Warrior games, albeit in Unplayable form in Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce and Warriors Orochi 3. He would however get his playable chance in Warriors All Stars.
So basically, not only his franchise is one of the most prominent old school series of the third and sixth generation, not only is he agruably the most prollific and iconic and popular "Video Game Ninja" in its purest form, but he's also made appereances in the other 2 of Tecmo Koei's most recognizable franchises outside of Ninja Gaiden.
He overlaps with certain types of characters that we have seen in Smash before, but he doesn't feel like a rehash since he caters to both types. An old school third party whose series was heavily feature in old school Nintendo systems for all ages? Mega Man, Simon and Hero. A M-Rated Third Party character who caters to gamers outside of usual Nintendo sphere? Snake and Joker.
Moveset? Please, this guy has a Katana, can climb walls and wall jump, can use Shurikens, Windmill Shuriken that works like a Boomerang, A Shield made out of Fire, Fire Ninjutsu, etc. And this is only his NES iteration. I haven't gotten into the full on combos Ryu can do in the Modern Games or his MASSIVE arsenal like a Scythe, a Bo, Nunchucks, Claws, and even Dual Wielding Katanas.
and before you say "MUH SHIEK" and "MUH GRENINJA" Im gonna go and repost what i said months ago:
Have you ever noticed similarities between characters? I don't mean echoes or clones or characters re-ussing animations, but as it tropes and ideas a character uses. Back in Melee, we had Shiek, a ninja-like character, and another one in 4 with Greninja. Those characters tell us some of the ideas Sakurai is interesed that he revisist from time to time, and sometimes it feels like it gives us a picture as to what Sakurai wants from a character.
Shiek's Chain pre-Smash 4? That's like Simon's whip from SCIV (Sakurai said himself that Castlevania made a big impact of him, so i wouldn't be surprised he took inspiration from the franchise and made nods to it before Simon's debut in Ult, after all Sakurai referenced Street Fighter in Super Star with the Fighter copy ability) Yoshi's Side B and Jiggly's rollout? Basically Proto-Spindash (Sonic was conisdered in Melee even) Some characters as a whole embody ideas that are similar to other characters. Smash 4 Zero Suit Samus gives Bayonetta vibes with all the things they added to her, from the Heels to the Beauty Mark, to the new Side Smash and Up Special. So much so that her All Star Congratulations Picture is a Bayonetta reference (before Bayo herself was even confirmed). Duck Hunt is basically Proto-Banjo at this point in my eyes, it would explain why the Duck is always mounted on the Dog, which is an idea i have only see Sakurai use, other pre-Smash 4 fan movesets i have seen for Duck Hunt used the Duck to much lesser extents (and especially not in the way they are used in Smash officially)
Where im going with this, is that Sakurai likely wants a Ninja Character in Smash, no only he has toyed with this idea, but now he has a basis for said Theorical Ninja character thanks to Shiek and Gren, so development time could go smoother than usual (Hero clearly takes attacks from other sword users like Link's Dash attack, and Joker takes a lot of character animations, as a tweet once showcased)
That's why i think Ryu could stand a chance, because his archetype a Ninja warrior is something that Sakurai likes (he even added a Ninja Copy Ability in Super Star) and he has used this idea before, but only in the more superficial "super agile fragile character" style, he probably would like to go full Ninja with everything that embodies one like Ninjutsu abilities or other Ninja Weapons, and Ryu fits the bill.
And no i don't Shiek and Greninja "already beign Ninjas in Smash" hurt his chances, if anything they make him more likely (plus if an archetype makes a character more unlikely i seriously dobut we would have so many sword users)
I mean for christ sake, Sakurai considered NINJARA out of all people for the ARMS rep before setting on Min Min. Im pretty sure Sakurai has a thing for ninjas at this point.
Oh what? "MUH RELVEANCE"? Yeah sure, tell that to Banjo and Terry. and before anyone says "BUT BANJO WAS SUPER POPULAR AND THAT'S WHY RELEVANCE WAS IRRELEVANT" is a non-argument. Sakurai saw merit on the character and therefore he added him, despite his series beign dead since 2008. Terry's Smash reveal says "Smash X Fatal Fury" despite Fatal Fury beign dead since 1999, EVEN BEFORE MELEE CAME OUT, and that's because Terry has become SNK's number 1 mascot, which is why he appears in the KOF series despite his series beign dead (a case of
Iconic Character, Forgotten Title).
When it comes to merit, moveset potential and legacy, Ryu is the only one who i have any majore confidence outside of Geno and maaaaybe Crash. The only reason he is not rated any highter is because of me beign a pessimist in chances, the fact that Nintendo may suggest another guest that will play more to their interest, or Tecmo beign satisifed with their representation in Smash for whatever reason, etc
Outside of that, yeah, this is my pick when it comes to predictions.
Want:70%
I could go on and on about why i like Ryu Hayabusa in Smash, but you can see i already kind of did when it comes to his chances. I will say that i hope his moveset is mostly based on his NES outings, but im not against using modern or DOA elements at all either.
He's probably the only Third Party left that i want alongside Crash. I mean i like characters like Bomberman, Sophia and Quote, but those 2 are the ones that i actively would like to see.
Noms:
Sophia and Jason Frudnick (Blaster Master Zero) X5
