I still don't see enough relevance to really suggest there will be cuts this time. Sakurai saying there'll be less newcomers, that he hates cuts, that he's striving for DLC/patches, etc... The only basis we have for cuts is subjectivity (Mewtwo vs Lucario, Ike vs Chrom, etc.) or going off Brawl's priority list. The thing about the latter that people love to use as a basis for discrediting Jigglypuff is that we have zero proof that Brawl's character priority list will be the same as SSB4's. We had Villager as our first reveal, despite Sakurai having used him as the exact example of a character that wouldn't work in Smash Bros. during the time period of Brawl. If he's going to do a complete 180 turn over something as blatant as that, can you seriously say you know Sakurai is going to hold his characters in the exact same regard as he did in Brawl?
I'm not saying folks like Jiggs, Toon Link, and Wolf are safe because the Villager is a character. I am saying, however, that there is not sufficient evidence to say that Jigglypuff and Wolf will be considered low-priority this time. Between Jigglypuff having the same attendance as Luigi and Captain Falcon, Wolf having one of the highest character requests in Japan, and Toon Link having a playstyle that spiritually predecesses back into Melee, there's more going for them than against them.
We may as well be clamoring for Mew's addition as well since it was supposed to be in the original Smash Bros. if we're to rely on Brawl's known character priority. After all, the priority in previous games will dictate SSB4's, right?
Everything Sakurai has said in interviews up until now about characters has been about managing people's expectations.
Less characters than we expect: "There is a certain charm to games that have huge casts of playable characters, but they tend to have issues with game balance and it becomes very difficult to fine-tune each character and have them all feel distinctive…"
Gameplay direction focus over adding characters: "In terms of quantity, we’ve probably already reached the limit of what’s feasible. I think a change of direction may be what’s needed."
On roster size and cuts:
Limited roster: "On the topic of the roster, Sakurai noted that the 3DS version of the game, with its hardware’s technical limitations, would likely keep the volume of the roster in check,
The no cuts line has been horribly misread: "though no characters had been cut so far,
and any determination to that effect is a ways away."
And not every one is coming back: "I can answer that: no. We don’t have the time to fully recreate every single character who’s been in Smash Bros at this point."
Some people read this one as applying more to Melee veterans, but I would think it seems to indicate possible cuts to Brawl characters.
It depends on how you want to read it. My guess if he is says cutting a character is equivalent the pain of death, that means he's probably experiencing that pain. Hence, why he's saying that. Meaning that there will be a cut.
It's better to manage expectations. Sakurai has been clearly trying to do this in all his interviews.
