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Something to remember about the WiiU/3DS leaks and future SSB5 leaks...
First it's probably good to recap all the way back to the dismay when both melee leaked and brawl leaked. Summaries of those leaks can be found here:
http://www.smashboards.com/threads/...brawl-roster-does-get-leaked-on-topic.134204/
http://www.smashboards.com/threads/chronobounds-thoughts-on-the-brawl-roster-very-long-read.139579/
Now that Smash 5 is on the way and roster predictions are flying around with people arguing who's definitely in and who has absolutely zero chance, it's probably a good idea to look back on when the roster for WiiU/3DS leaked. The first leaks for the WiiU/3DS games came right before the trailers shown at E3. However, even then it wasn't the leak that got people most upset.
Nearly immediately after the trailers confirming Villager and Mega Man were out, all of the hype involving the characters was cut short with the reveal of Wii Fit Trainer. Instantly there was outrage. Many convinced themselves that she was just an assist trophy when she was first seen, but the trailer confirmed that she would indeed be playable. Thankfully her announcement was early when the roster only had a few characters confirmed. People had time to get used to her, as there were only Villager and Mega Man as newcomers other than her. This allowed for people to really look at her, and she felt at home rather quick. Some convinced themselves that her inclusion meant that there would be an abundance of characters and that cuts wouldn't be something to worry about.
However, the reveal of these three newcomers happened to reveal a possible leak. This leak involved a prediction confirming those three characters alongside Mii, Pac-Man, and Little Mac. Some clung to the rumours, but without the other three newcomers being revealed at E3 as the prediction stated, it quickly became the majority opinion to dismiss the leak. There was a lot of distaste of the Mii; after all Villager was already confirmed and certainly the two wouldn't be too different; humanoid characters using various items as moves. Many were also convinced that Pac-Man would not make the cut due to a comment of Sakurai's involving Mega Man being a special case as well as Namco characters not getting 'special treatment'.
Other controversial comments revolved around when Sakurai mentioned that there might not be enough time for all smash veterans to return and that the focus would be on unique movesets. Instantly many began to predict their cuts and it was always the 'clones' who were targeted. Any character that could vaguely be considered a clone was targeted: Toon Link, Ike, Wolf, Falco, Lucario (it was heavily assumed that Mewtwo would return thus rendering him a clone), Lucas, and even Ganondorf were on the chopping block for some. However others adopted the theory that instead cuts were not confirmed yet and that the comments referred to characters such as Roy, Dr. Mario, Pichu, and Young Link not being able to come back.
Fast forward to the week before the first character was revealed on the new SmashBros website. A random poster said that Yoshi would be revealed in the next week, and that Ridley was not in the game, that there were a whopping three Links, and that one of the original 12 would be cut. The SmashBros website had not been regularly updating at the time, with Sakurai only posting pictures without any new information. Needless to say once Yoshi was revealed on the site a week later as promised, the fire had been lit. Instantly people were postulating who would be cut out of Luigi, Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, and Ness. The big debate was between Ness and Jigglypuff. Others took it as nothing more than a lucky guess, the thought that there would be three Links seemed inconceivable to many: Toon Link was more likely to be cut than there be three Links! And Ridley deconfirmed already? The heartbreak from Brawl was already too much for people to handle. Along with the other leak, which remained unpopular, this was not shaping up to be the roster players had been hoping for, similar to the case of Melee and Brawl.
Eventually, the roster did leak, albeit without any prophecies to back itself up with as with the prior two leaks. A picture of the cast written out in Japanese began to float around the internet. The roster coincided with the first two leaks. It was another leak that was easy to dismiss: No new Fire Emblem rep? No new rep for Kid Icarus? These series were practically guaranteed to get a newcomer! Falco of all characters getting cut; while Wolf stayed even? Not to mention the lack of retro characters; which Sakurai had been on record mentioning he'd like to include more of them. Similar to how many would not believe Brawl's roster due to lack of females when Sakurai had said he was interested in more female characters; the same trope was found in regards to retro characters. Instead others clung with a more popular roster with characters such as Takamaru, Mach Rider, Dillon, Isaac, and Ridley.
Time would begin to prove the demon roster true however. Screenshots began to surface of the character select screen and a low quality gameplay video of two Miis in battle helped to drive the point home. Many still refused to believe it, but once their hands were on the game all of their worst fears were confirmed. People kicked and screamed and cursed Sakurai's name for giving yet another disappointing roster to them. Still, others gave the roster a chance. Those who played were delighted to see their thoughts of Fox/Wolf, Link/Toon Link/Young Link, Bowser/Bowser Jr., Mewtwo/Lucario, Ness/Lucas, etc... being clones were incorrect. While many were upset that someone with as an original moveset as Jigglypuff could be cut over clones, they found our that the closest to a clone there was in the game was between Mario and Luigi. Sakurai's comments about building from scratch were true, with all characters having surprisingly unique movesets and very diverse playstyles. Eventually players got used to the new roster, and many began to love it; including the Mii which as we all know has been at the top of the tier list since the first release.
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