THE WORLD IS SQUARE
And also part Disney-owned, apparently.
-♪-
Sora
Chance: 3.5%
The result of a crossover himself, Sora is the result of a collaboration between Square-Enix and Disney...though the character himself seems to be in Disney's hands. As a member of the ever-popular Kingdom Hearts series, one
could make an argument for him being close to the iconic status of the other third party characters we've seen. And as a Keyblade wielder who also has a handful of spells and other techniques at his disposal, his inclusion in Smash would be more than just franchise lip service.
However...that's ignoring the issues he faces beforehand. To get permission for Sora, Sakurai would likely have to gain permission from Square-Enix and Disney
both. We've seen an example of something where Disney went and used Sora without SE's permission...and it got on their nerves. Bringing a character into Smash without getting the all-clear from both companies behind his series...well, it wouldn't be a good idea, and therefore,
aaaaall the red tape already involved with a third party character is magnified even further. Furthermore, despite the Kingdom Hearts games that've appeared on Nintendo systems, he's still primarily a Sony character, with the
main games in the series being Playstation-exclusive! While Ryu hasn't done much on Nintendo lately, his Smash incarnation was heavily inspired by Street Fighter II, an old classic that was a
massive success on the SNES! Sora...doesn't have anything like that on a Nintendo platform.
To say no less of how his support base has died off in the weeks after the Smash Ballot started.
I can't say he's out of the question...but you might need to wish upon a star for this one.
Want: Abstain
There's nothing wrong with him
on paper, and yet for whatever reason I have such strong feelings
against the guy getting into Smash that...I shouldn't give a rating for this part. It'd be in poor taste.
Black Mage
Chance: 15%
The iconic faceless sorcerer who--ironically--became the
face of early Final Fantasy, and still has meaning to the series nowadays. While his home series has a handful of icons--protagonists Cecil, Terra, the Warrior of Light, and Cloud and Lightning, although
their games haven't seen a Nintendo release, and the recurring Moogles and Chocobos--the Black Mage is the only one among them to have both lasting presence in the series
and have a tailor made thematic niche amongst the Smash roster as a master of offensive magic. Final Fantasy's loss of presence on Nintendo systems wouldn't even hurt him, if Ryu is any indication, as he could be one giant homage to the series' early games! If Square-Enix were to get in on Smash, Black Mage would be their most likely pick.
That said, I wouldn't call him
likely at this point. Though SE
is on very good terms with Nintendo, something the likes of Konami and Ubisoft can't claim, they're also rather restrictive when it comes to other companies using their IPs. Bringing one of their characters--and
series--into Smash for the first time though means that are optional and could easily lose them money would likely be too big a risk for them to take. As well, Black Mage hasn't held up very well in support, overshadowed by Sora's bandwagon and by everyone's favorite no-hoper, Geno...though Black Mage isn't
without his share of support.
It probably won't happen with Sm4sh DLC...but I'd keep an eye on this guy when Smash 5 rolls around.
Want: 70%
Not only am I as big a fan of spellcasters as ever, I'm also a big fan of old school Final Fantasy.
I've even come across some really intriguing moveset ideas that'd help him stand out. Tying his strongest attacks to a mana meter that must be slowly regenerated? Building his A moves around variants of Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard, freeing up his specials for more varied spells like Flare, Bio, and Gravity? The mana-absorbing Osmose spell as a faster means to fill the aforementioned mana meter? Attacks that inflict the multitude of status ailments that fall under black magic in the games? How about Ultima as a Final Smash?
Tingle Prediction: 1.37%
A character who is
disliked by the vast majority of the fanbase
and is already a summon? Yikes. Though I'm willing to bet we'll see a couple "high" ratings from people thinking they'd add him as a troll move.
Homecoming Hijinx Music Prediction: 32.75%
Total shot in the dark. This one'll depend on how likely people thing a new Donkey Kong stage is...and how likely they think it is we'll get music outside of new stages.
Nominations: Delphox x5
)
. Then again if he does end being a character I can see them doing something like they did with PacMan and have him represent for the early days of the Final Fantasy franchise that could work. I feel if Square were to ever get represented in Smash Black Mage would probably be their best choice.
