SharkLord
Smash Hero
Is Karate Joe the mascot? The Chorus Kids were the ones I heard about the most, but maybe that's just because they were part of the Grinch Leak and my strongest Spirit for a little.Lip
Chance: 3% - Mainly being talked about again due to the NSO release, though she shares this with Arle so it isn't something special for her, along with the game continuing to remain untranslated. While New Leaf did reference the franchise directly, and she's fared better than someone like Mach Rider, her series' future is still up in the air. This could more than likely end up meaning nothing, especially since Takamaru's game in Nintendo Land didn't suddenly cause a Murasame Castle resurgence. She does have a decent amount of fan demand but there's bigger first parties that Nintendo would likely prioritize.
Furthermore, when Nintendo does their "what the ****" retro picks, it's ALWAYS NES or older. Melee had Ice Climbers and Game & Watch, Brawl had Pit and ROB (though the latter appeared in Mario Kart DS a couple of years prior as an unlockable driver), and Smash 4 had Duck Hunt. They love to shill the NES, and with Lip being an SNES character, she may very well be skipped over by Nintendo's nostalgia goggles.
Want: 15% - While she has a lot of potential, there are other first parties I'd rather see first. Furthermore, I did play her game on NSO and while I thought it was alright, puzzle games aren't really my thing. So I'd be pretty much neutral to her inclusion.
Takamaru
Chance: 4% - Unlike Lip, Takamaru's an NES character, so he very much has a chance in a future game as the surprise NES retro pick. Furthermore, he does have some western exposure himself with one of his games being released on VC worldwide, along with his Ninteod Land game and various nods in other Nintendo media. However, the advantages stop there. Sakurai specifically stated that Takamaru wasn't well known enough outside of Japan to be part of the roster (and that he wants to avoid situations like that going forward), and alongside that he's been an assist trophy for two straight games along with being a Mii Costume now. Like Lip, he certainly is gaining some ground internationally but he'll more than likely be passed over for bigger characters, especially in a period of paid DLC. I'd give him a bigger score if this were prerelease speculatin but I don't expect him as paid DLC.
Want: 20% - I'd be interested in seeing a Katana user, and I did really enjoy his minigame in Nintendo Land. Though overall I'm pretty neutral on him since I've never played any of his games.
Gonna abstain on Mach Rider, though he has many of the same disadvantages as the other two without the same level of fan demand. Surprised he was chosen for the Grinch Leak.
Nominations:
[Rerate] Prince of All Cosmos x5
Predictions:
Chorus Kids - 10.43%
Karate Joe - 15.73%
Rhythm Girl - 2.68%
Expecting all of them to get decent scores despite Rhythm Heaven's current dormancy, and expecting Karate Joe to get the highest score (due to being the de facto mascot) and the Chorus Kids to get a decent score due to their fan demand.
As for Mach Rider, I think he was just chosen as the obligatory "Wait what the ****" rep, so the leak didn't seem too good to be true. If it was only massive fan requests and "Well, duh" picks, it wouldn't seem as real, at least for a leak that had Banjo, Isaac, and Geno.