Manic Rykker
Smash Lord
We have to remember, the whole Nintendo VS. Sega war was still a thing back then.. (I mean, I would highly doubt we would have seen Sonic on a Nintendo console back then, because they were still fierce rivals.. I mean Sonic was pretty much originally made to combat Mario).. Plus, the little pincushion is an icon like Mario, so of course he would get in eventually.. lolAlso, it was Rayman's first appearance on a Nintendo console.
Rayman was on Nintendo consoles before Sonic.
Sonic is playable in Smash, but Rayman isn't.
I'm just putting it out there. I don't want this to become the Rayman vs. Sonic Thread.
As for Rayman, I can definitely agree. The ties with Nintendo have always been there.