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Multiple characters per third-party *franchise* is now a thing!

Sakurai has broken unwritten rules before; should this happen?

  • Yes

    Votes: 64 48.1%
  • No

    Votes: 51 38.3%
  • Don't care

    Votes: 18 13.5%

  • Total voters
    133

Quillion

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I mean, Sakurai did break the unwritten rule that there can be only one character per third-party company, and only good has come of that decision.

So, will any good come out of allowing a third-party franchise to get more than one character?

On one hand, we can see characters like Tails or Proto Man. We may even get characters like Jeanne or Raiden.

On the other hand, it could easily get out of hand when there are other companies that could get some representation.

What do you guys think?
 

PreedReve

Smash Journeyman
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I think it depends on how big the franchise is and their relationship with Nintendo.
Something like Street Fighter, Sonic, or even Final Fantasy I can see them adding more then one character.
 

Aetheri

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If the character in question has something to offer and they can stand on their own merits then there shouldn't be an issue tbh...

Knuckles and Tails do come to mind as does Zero...Chun-Li if feel could be another choice...

Final Fantasy has plenty to choose from since the franchise has many protagonists...
 

Morbi

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I am vaguely against it. Do not get me wrong, it would be cool to play as some of those characters. I am a Street Fighter fan, I enjoy some of the Final Fantasy games, and Sonic alone has a lot of interesting potential. But at the same time, I do not feel as though many characters hold a candle to the ones we already have, at least not without being overly similar. Akuma would be great, for instance. But Ryu satisfies that style just fine. Knuckles might be cool, but he does not offer too much in a way that would warrant double dipping.

Final Fantasy would be a lot better. But with characters from Bravely Default, Dragon Quest, or even individual characters such as Geno and Sora, who are among the most requested, why would they go back to Final Fantasy?
 

ProtoTwi

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I always thought they could go the Alt costume route for more 3rd party rep per franchise
Sonic ---> Shadow,
Mega Man ---> Proto Man or Bass
Ryu ---> Ken, or Dan
Pac Man, ---> Mrs. Pac Man.
Sure all these could very easily go the clone route, For example Proto Man has a shield hes known for, that could be easily Incorporated in to his move set to set him apart from his younger brother.

As for completely unique new characters, If the character can stand on their own and bring something new to the table, I'm for it.
 

Velvet Rebirth

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I am vaguely against it. Do not get me wrong, it would be cool to play as some of those characters. I am a Street Fighter fan, I enjoy some of the Final Fantasy games, and Sonic alone has a lot of interesting potential. But at the same time, I do not feel as though many characters hold a candle to the ones we already have, at least not without being overly similar. Akuma would be great, for instance. But Ryu satisfies that style just fine. Knuckles might be cool, but he does not offer too much in a way that would warrant double dipping.

Final Fantasy would be a lot better. But with characters from Bravely Default, Dragon Quest, or even individual characters such as Geno and Sora, who are among the most requested, why would they go back to Final Fantasy?
I think that's a pretty fair point. Why go to the trouble of getting other characters from a franchise when you can get the main characters of other franchises?
 

Quillion

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I think that's a pretty fair point. Why go to the trouble of getting other characters from a franchise when you can get the main characters of other franchises?
Agreed. At least for companies who only have one rep thus far like Squeenix and Konami.

I stand by my opinion that only two characters per company is enough.
 

Mario123311

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Unless you are all up for every third party franchise having them (for “fairness”), No.

I know too many people who wouldn’t be keen with Ms. Pac-Man being a seperate character slot sadly.
 

Runic_SSB

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Unless you are all up for every third party franchise having them (for “fairness”), No.

I know too many people who wouldn’t be keen with Ms. Pac-Man being a seperate character slot sadly.
I always thought Ms. Pac-Man would make a really good clone character. Like, she'd be faster and have more combo potential, but be lighter and have less kill power.

Also this "rule" isn't real. If there's enough demand for another rep of an existing third-party series, there's nothing stopping Sakurai from adding them. If anything, they have a better chance because they already have the rights to it.
 

andimidna

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I love Jeanne, but they definitely shouldn’t. It’s not their job to represent those franchises, but rather bring in those big icons as guests. Even as last minute clones, it shouldn’t happen. Two icons from the same company is an entirely different story.
 

Lord-Zero

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While I’d prefer only one character per 3rd-Party company, Smash 4 already broke that concept with PAC-MAN and Ryu. They should stick to only one character but I can see the reasoning for a second one if it’s anything like Ryu.
 

FunAtParties

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I really think the only 3rd party franchise they should look into adding more characters, is Sonic. Knuckles, Tails, Eggman, the series has some legends.
 

MacDaddyNook

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I think it boils down to a handful of criteria that's not too different from what Nintendo characters are chosen by. If a series has more than one iconic, unique and popular characters, and they rights to use said characters is secure, then why not?
 

Geno Boost

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No please I prefer the crossover to get bigger and bigger one 3rd party character should represent the entire franchise even though I would love to play as Black Mage, Toc-man, Knuckles
 
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pupNapoleon

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There is no rule against it.

But honestly, most of them would annoy me.
Especially when I see so many Nintendo characters that are still so important to the company.

Or at least should be.
 

Quillion

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I really think the only 3rd party franchise they should look into adding more characters, is Sonic. Knuckles, Tails, Eggman, the series has some legends.
Why not Mega Man and Street Fighter as well? If anything, SF has the potentially richest cast of characters should this "rule" be broken.
 
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Blue_Sword_Edge

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I think with series like Mega Man, Street Fighter, Sonic, and Final Fantasy we do have some options.

Street Fighter can easily bring in Chun Li, one of the "First ladies of video games" who can be different from Ryu. Not to mention there are so many more from SF.

Final Fantasy has so many characters to pick out, like Terra and Kefka of FF6, Cecil Harvey of FF4, Bartz Klauser of FF5, Shantotto of FF11, Tidus of FF10, Lighting of FF13, and many more.

Sonic as a series has Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman, Shadow.

Mega Man has the ever popular Zero and classic Mega Man's rival, Bass.

I'm sure there could be more.
 

GoodGrief741

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I say nah, too many third parties would really bring the focus away from the point of the series, which is to be a celebration of Nintendo franchises. If there’s no limit to how many third parties we can get, they’ll basically trample the other Nintendo characters (how can Isaac compare to Chun-Li?)
 

Quillion

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I say nah, too many third parties would really bring the focus away from the point of the series, which is to be a celebration of Nintendo franchises. If there’s no limit to how many third parties we can get, they’ll basically trample the other Nintendo characters (how can Isaac compare to Chun-Li?)
TBF, Isaac's series was only big during the GBA era. It fell off the map when other JRPGs started moving to Nintendo handhelds.
 

AncientArk

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I am mostly against this idea.
Although part of me would love more playable Sonic characters.

I think however, its still a celebration of Nintendo characters and those Nintendo franchise's take priority.
 

GoodGrief741

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TBF, Isaac's series was only big during the GBA era. It fell off the map when other JRPGs started moving to Nintendo handhelds.
That’s kind of the point. Famous third parties will always be more relevant than other franchises from Nintendo’s past, and Nintendo’s history should be the focus of Smash Bros. (At least, that’s what it sold most people on)
 

CaptainAmerica

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I’ve never been big on third parties, with a few notable exceptions (Sonic). Smash is a Nintendo game, so it should be Nintendo stars mainly.

For Sonic - he’s basically Nintendo at this point with all of the Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and with the vast history of rivalry. I would have no problem with more Sonic characters like Tails or Knuckles.

Anyone else, I don’t really approve of unless they are gaming history. If you want a crossover, get one elsewhere. Otherwise, keep the Nintendo all-stars in Smash. I don’t mean cut all 3rd parties, but for example Ryu I accepted as the father of fighting games, but Ken should have been an alt, not a second character. And so on...

But a lot of that also has to do with personal bias and which characters I do and don’t know. I guarantee if they gave us Dovahkiin from Skyrim, my argument about “muh Nintendos first” would go right out the window as I picked up a new main.
 

Kevandre

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I honestly feel like it's likely. I almost expect Tails, Knuckles, or Eggman to show up in a future Smash game.

I'm for it specifically so that when we do eventually get Shovel Knight, we can also get Specter Knight DLC. Every time I play through those campaigns I revel in the glory of what those characters could be in Smash Bros.
 

Quillion

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I still don't get why Sonic has "exclusive privilege" to getting more than one character. Especially when the Sonic games that end up on Nintendo platforms tend to not be well-received for one reason or another.

If we're going by history with Nintendo alone, Mega Man has more than every third party, including Sonic.
 

8-peacock-8

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I'm not for it. But I also wouldn't complain, too much, if it did happen since there are characters from these franchises i'd love to see in Smash.

Zero
Knuckles
Chun Li (Or M. Bison since Ono wanted him in Smash)
Terra (Or Sephiroth)
Blinky/Ghosts (You can make a moveset for them since they have been playable in the World games)
Lumen Sage
 
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UserKev

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I am vaguely against it. Do not get me wrong, it would be cool to play as some of those characters. I am a Street Fighter fan, I enjoy some of the Final Fantasy games, and Sonic alone has a lot of interesting potential. But at the same time, I do not feel as though many characters hold a candle to the ones we already have, at least not without being overly similar. Akuma would be great, for instance. But Ryu satisfies that style just fine. Knuckles might be cool, but he does not offer too much in a way that would warrant double dipping.

Final Fantasy would be a lot better. But with characters from Bravely Default, Dragon Quest, or even individual characters such as Geno and Sora, who are among the most requested, why would they go back to Final Fantasy?
As much as I agree with this, I still really want Knuckles in. He has groundbreaking potential. Sonic also seems to be the likeness.

Say no to Shadow though.
 

culumon

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I'm for it depending on the context. Sonic's been a staple of Smash for a decade now and been on Nintendo consoles for nearly twice that, so I think that series getting another rep isn't a problem. And as cool as it is that Cloud's a part of the series, it's a little unfair that the actual big Final Fantasy release on a Nintendo console got snubbed, so I think Terra's earned a spot. I guess it depends on whether that series is a much a part of Nintendo's history as some of the company's first party titles. Most of the third party series in the game fit that criteria, but I'd rather they tread carefully for the rare exceptions (ie Metal Gear and post-VI Final Fantasy).
 

GolisoPower

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If hypothetically, Sakurai DOES put in another character from a third-party franchise, here are some of my picks:

For Sonic: Dr. Eggman could have a minion mechanic similar to Gargos from Killer Instinct with a few zoning capabilities...

For Mega Man: Zero seems popular enough, but people might complain that a quarter of the last game's roster had swords...

For PAC-MAN: Toc-Man could work like a cross between Pac-Man and Bowser Jr. considering what he's about...

For Street Fighter: Akuma could represent the secret boss of fighting games, which is a popular trend that his debut game started. Not to mention, he has enough to make him different from Ryu (Downwards aerial fireball, Demon Flip, Shun Goku Satsu, maybe in Smash he could even take more than a few moves from Oni).

For Final Fantasy: Smash has a considerable lack of playable villains, so I have the perfect candidate: Garland, the first antagonist of the series from the first game in the series. He could have the potential to be unique.

For Bayonetta: Rodin certainly seems to have a lot of potential, and considering the Bayonetta 2 Smash easter egg, I wouldn't be surprised.
 

Quillion

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You know what? Maybe just two per third party franchise would be a good selection for the existing franchises, but there should still be a limit on how many characters a company can get. Maybe four in total.
 

Blue_Sword_Edge

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You know what? Maybe just two per third party franchise would be a good selection for the existing franchises, but there should still be a limit on how many characters a company can get. Maybe four in total.
I can agree to the number 4 in total for a limit. As for franchises like Final Fantasy which has multiverses or different storylines, I wouldn't populate the roster with strictly just one universe or storyline. Make it multiple universes, storylines, etc if the focus is all of the series.
 

Astraltar

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I wouldn't knock the idea of bringing more fighters from certain classic franchises. Chun-Li is on my wish list. though I admit she's a lower priority for me. But people would like to play Tails or Knuckles or Bass.

I also think we shouldn't limit fighters based on their development company. You can never have "too much Capcom" or "too much Konami" or "Too much Square". If the character is iconic (and it's not Master Chief or some other shooter) it has a place in Smash Bros.
 
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NintenRob

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NO!!

Smash Bros is a Nintendo crossover and I don't want it to get over saturated with third party characters.
 

Quillion

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I also think we shouldn't limit fighters based on their development company. You can never have "too much Capcom" or "too much Konami" or "Too much Square". If the character is iconic (and it's not Master Chief or some other shooter) it has a place in Smash Bros.
In my opinion, unless they're going for full-on Smash vs Capcom or something, yes, you can have too many characters from a single company.

It could overshadow the primarily Nintendo cast, and other companies need a fair shake.
 

PsychoJosh

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I mean, Sakurai did break the unwritten rule that there can be only one character per third-party company, and only good has come of that decision.
I don't see where or when this was a rule by any stretch of the imagination, written or otherwise.

But yes, I wholeheartedly support the idea of third party franchises getting second reps. Dr. Eggman is one of my most wanted characters for Smash, and additional Street Fighter or Final Fantasy characters would be cool too. I think Terra should've been the character to get in over Cloud.
 

Altais

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Having two or more characters from one third party franchise could lead to a backlash. If, for instance, Tails or Zero got added to Smash, then people would want another Street Fighter character--and so on. Ergo, to avoid drama, I think every third party franchise in Smash should be limited to one character. The only way I see a third party franchise getting a second character is if (1) the character has something eccentric to offer in terms of moveset, and (2) their series has a future with Nintendo.

That said, if Final Fantasy XV ever manages to get ported to the Switch, then I'm supporting the hell out of Noctis.
 
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Quillion

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I don't see where or when this was a rule by any stretch of the imagination, written or otherwise.
Brawl had only one per company, and we had no idea if Smash 4 would have more than one per company until DLC eventually came around.
 
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