Side characters you'd prefer over their protagonists

[RileyXY1]

Although Backyard Sports doesn't have a "main protagonist", I would still prefer Reese over Pablo (outside of bias reasons because Reese is my favorite character in the whole game) because I feel that Reese has far more personality (just look at his entrance animation in the OG game for proof) and better represents the typical "underdog protagonist" that most sports-related media focus on.

 

[Perkilator]

Quoting from the Next Smash thread:

I just remembered that Slime was going to be the DQ rep in case Sakurai failed to get the Hero. After thinking about it some more, what if that was the case?

Spoiler: Slime moveset

Intro: Slime bounces into battle after using Zoom.

Stance/Idle 1: Slime bobs up and down.
Idle 2: Slime jiggles a bit.
Idle 3: Slime stretches a bit.

Notable Palette Swaps:

1. Regular Slime
   • Blue Slime (default)
   • She-Slime (orange)
   • Metal Slime (gray)
   • Lime Slime (green)
   • Lemon Slime (yellow)
   • Pink Slime (pink)
   • Dark Slime (purple)
   • Marble Slime (brown)
   • Cureslime (red)
   • Mottle Slime (spotted yellow / black)
   • Mottle She-Slime (spotted blue / pink)
   • Mottle Mendslime (spotted green / orange)
   • Tree Slime (lavender)
   • Cream Slime (white)
   • Dracky (black)
   • Man o’ War (turquoise)
2. King Slime’s crown (special costume)
   • The above colors are reused for the King Slime’s crown alt

Walk: Slime oozes across the ground.
Dash: Slime hops along the ground.
Damage: Slime recoils with a surprised expression.
Jump: Slime hops up into the air.
Crouch: Slime squishes down to avoid danger.

Normal Attacks
Jab: The Slime Knight performs two slashes (2% each) and a flurry (.5% each hit), finishing with a horizontal slash (7%, small knockback)
Forward+A: Elasto Blast; Slime elongates its face to attack (7%, small knockback)
Up+A: Slime points it pointy head upward (9%, OK knockback)
Down+A: Slime plays the Warrior’s Flute (8%, small knockback)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Slime turns into Healslime and spins its tentacles around (11%, OK knockback)
Air Forward+A: Slime turns into Healslime and jabs forward with its tentacles (13%, OK knockback)
Air Back + A: Slime turns into Healslime and performs a swinging uppercut with its tentacles (9%, small knockback)
Air Up+A: Slime turns into Healslime and infuses its tentacles with magic energy (11%, OK knockback)
Air Down+A: Slime turns into Healslime and jabs downward with its tentacles (13%, with a meteor effect, OK knockback)

Dash Attack: Slime dashes forward with a Shellmet (10%, OK knockback)
Edge Attack: the Slime Knight helps Slime get back up, performing a downward slash afterward (9%, OK knockback
Get-Up Attack: Slime hops up and creates a small shockwave of magma (8%, small knockback)

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: Helm Splitter; The Slime Knight performs a mighty slash (21%, medium knockback)
Up+A: Slime Stack; two smaller Slimes appear above Slime’s head (18%, OK knockback)
Down+A: Poison Attack: Slime hops up and slams down to create a poisonous shockwave (18%, OK knockback)

Grab Game
Grab: Slime hops up and sticks to the opponent.
Pummel: Slime attacks the opponent while sticking to them (2%)
Forwards+Throw & Back + Throw: Slime bends over to either the left or right (9%, small knockback)
Up+Throw: Slime hops down and jabs upward with a Shellmet (12%, OK knockback)
Down+Throw: Puff Puff; Slime nuzzles the opponent on the ground (9%, OK knockback)

Special Moves
B : Command Menu; Slime chooses a spell out of 4 randomly picked from the list below (with a visual indication of each spell to get around language barriers)

1. Sizzle (20MP) is indicated by a flame
2. Kaboom (37MP) is indicated by a bomb
3. Snooze (16MP) is indicated by a “ZZZ” symbol
4. Thwack (30MP) is indicated by an X
5. Magic Burst (All MP) is indicated by a wizard’s hat
6. Kamikazee (1MP) is indicated by a flash
7. Psyche Up (14MP) is indicated by an electrified fist
8. Oomph (16MP) is indicated by a sword
9. Accelerate (13MP) is indicated by a speeding shoe
10. Bounce (14MP) is indicated by a hexagon

You can cancel out of the Command Menu by pressing Shield.
B + Forwards : Frizz / Frizzle / Kafrizz; Slime charges a fireball with three levels of power

• Frizz (6MP) is a small fireball that deals a single hit (11%, small knockback)
• Frizzle (16MP) breaks off into two slightly larger fireballs (15% each, OK knockback)
• Kafrizz (36MP) breaks off into a large fireball (18%, OK knockback) and two slightly smaller fireballs (15% each, OK knockback)

B + Up : Woosh / Swoosh / Kaswoosh; Slime charges a tornado with three levels of power

• Woosh (5MP) is a gust of wind that propels Slime into the air and deals no damage
• Swoosh (9MP) is a tornado that propels Slime even higher into the air and, when on the ground, goes in the direction Slime was facing and propels opponents into the air (14%, medium knockback)
• Kaswoosh (18MP) is a stronger tornado that propels Slime even higher into the air and, when on the ground, traps a single opponent and attacks them (19%, medium knockback)

B + Down : Zap / Zapple / Kazap; Slime charges a lightning bolt with three levels of power

• Zap (8MP) is a simple lightning bolt (12%, OK knockback)
• Zapple (18MP)summons two lightning bolts around Slime (16% each, OK knockback)
• Kazap (42MP) is a mighty AOE bolt that explodes and hits opponents multiple times (35%, medium knockback)

Final Smash: Slime-pede!; a King Slime crashes down and hits four opponents (20%). Any opponents hit are taken into a cutscene where multiple types of Slimes form a stampede loosely based on the Yoshi stampede from Melee’s intro (43%, far knockback).

Gimmick: MP Gauge; starting at 100MP, Slime’s special moves require a certain amount of MP to use, and cannot be used if Slime’s current MP is lower than the required amount. The gauge slowly refills over time, but Slime can regain MP faster by taking or dealing damage; the refill is paused when the Command Menu is open.

Taunts
Up: Slime jumps in the air and gives an armless wave.
Side: Slime begins scooting on the ground in a circle, then shivers.
Down: Slime hops around in the air, making a "wheeeeeee" expression.

Winposes
1: Three Slimes stack together to form a Slime Stack.
2: The Slime Knight rides valiantly before making a pose resembling its official artwork.
3: A group of multi-colored Slimes look at the camera and jump towards it playfully.

Applause: Slime jumps up, trying to stay within the camera’s line of sight.
Icon: Erdrick’s symbol
Boxing Ring Title: Good to Goo!
Star K.O.: N/A
Victory Music: Overture
Kirby Hat: A Slime hat

 

[Oracle Link]

Quoting from the Next Smash thread:

Slime wouldve been amazing but honestly Hero is the main Char(s) so it does make some sense (although slime should be the next dq Char)

 

[Zakyyn]

i would like to see more representation from the punch out series tbh like maybe coach over little mac or any of the boxers like sandman

 

[HYRULESHERO42]

Does Sami over Andy count?

 

[Alsorash]

I would have preferred Jin Kazama over Kazuya so much better. My main in Tekken.

 

[Perkilator]

I would have preferred Jin Kazama over Kazuya so much better. My main in Tekken.

Well, technically, Jin’s been the protagonist since Tekken 3. Kazuya was only ever the protagonist in Tekken 1.

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

My stance on Halo representation for Smash is weird because I would prefer Arbiter over Master Chief, but if Chief gets in I’d want Cortana over Arbiter as the second rep

 

[MasterCheef]

Giovanna , over , Sol Bad Guy

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

I guess you could call this a "side-over-side-over-protag", but IMO Sans and Frisk are probably tied for worst potential Undertale rep from the main cast - unless Sans' moveset was based on the pacifist route at least. Not a big Undertale guy though, so perhaps I'm missing something.

 

[FazDude]

I've always seen Sans as a glass cannon/stage control fighter more than a pure zoner - If I were in charge, his projectiles wouldn't deal flinching to reflect how his bones work in UT while his non-projectile moves (some of which being gag moves) would deal regular knockback. I'd also make him pretty slow. He'd be a more cerebral character.

Frisk is something I'm a lot less sure on, but I'd probably focus on the Pacifist route of the game when it comes to moveset stuff, seeing as that was one of the game's biggest pushes both storywise and marketing-wise. If I wanted to focus on a more violent moveset, I'd probably pick Undyne.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Outside of the realm of gaming, I see **** in Boots as a better candidate to represent the Shrek franchise, over the Ogre himself.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

Outside of the realm of gaming, I see **** in Boots as a better candidate to represent the Shrek franchise, over the Ogre himself.

Agreed.

Also Shredder from TMNT over the turtles would be cool too. Just imagine his taunts being insults taken from 1987 cartoon (archived due the voice actor being dead).

There are a lot of options for side/villain-over-protag like Cobra Commander, Frieza (DBZ), Joker (DC), Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhess (They count because they're villains of movies), Darth Maul, Predator/Yautja, Ochako (MHA) and other side characters/villains.

 

[Torgo the Bear]

If we ever got Yo-kai Watch in Smash I'd like to choose almost anyone else over Jibanyan, Komasan, Whisper, or Usapyon. The series has such a bizarre and unique cast of characters that just about any of them could be really fun and provide some unique aesthetics, playstyles, or even just unique body shapes.

I think I may just go with Baku. She's got a very unique body shape for Smash, and with a powerset mainly deriving from dreams while also having HP-draining abilities, I think she could really stand out.

 

[MAtgSy]

I definitely prefer Sami over Andy when it comes to Advance Wars.

 

[Oracle Link]

I guess you could call this a "side-over-side-over-protag", but IMO Sans and Frisk are probably tied for worst potential Undertale rep from the main cast - unless Sans' moveset was based on the pacifist route at least. Not a big Undertale guy though, so perhaps I'm missing something.

I've always seen Sans as a glass cannon/stage control fighter more than a pure zoner - If I were in charge, his projectiles wouldn't deal flinching to reflect how his bones work in UT while his non-projectile moves (some of which being gag moves) would deal regular knockback. I'd also make him pretty slow. He'd be a more cerebral character.

Frisk is something I'm a lot less sure on, but I'd probably focus on the Pacifist route of the game when it comes to moveset stuff, seeing as that was one of the game's biggest pushes both storywise and marketing-wise. If I wanted to focus on a more violent moveset, I'd probably pick Undyne.

Frisk Would be amazing as a rep!
If they somehow incorporate the Mercy/ Fight Options into them!
After all frisk is the character most associated with these MAin Underatle Mechanics!
Also when it comes to their Moveset they would use the weapons of all the other humans gioving them acsess to:
An Empty Throwable Gun, A Note book, their stick and a frying pan amongst all other wepon Abilitys!
Their Specials would probably be Diffrent acts!
Also one thing everyone ignores is frisk would 100% Be called the human in smash!

 

[Torgo the Bear]

Also one thing everyone ignores is frisk would 100% Be called the human in smash!

I’m gonna be real with ya chief

Smash would call Frisk “Frisk.”

There is absolutely nobody in the Undertale fandom who calls Frisk anything other than “Frisk,” and judging by the Sans Mii costume being the very first piece of official media to depict Sans wearing the pink slippers (a notion popularized exclusively by fandom headcanon) I would not by any means expect to see “The Human” used in an official capacity here.

And besides, Frisk is literally the least interesting Undertale character they could pick. Sure, there’s some interesting things you could do with Fight and Act (check out the Smash Bros. Lawl Beatdown moveset video for Frisk) but just about any other Undertale character is a better choice. Both for moveset potential, aesthetic, and the chance to have someone with actual personality rather than Frisk who’s basically just the player all things considered.

 

[Oracle Link]

I’m gonna be real with ya chief

Smash would call Frisk “Frisk.”

There is absolutely nobody in the Undertale fandom who calls Frisk anything other than “Frisk,” and judging by the Sans Mii costume being the very first piece of official media to depict Sans wearing the pink slippers (a notion popularized exclusively by fandom headcanon) I would not by any means expect to see “The Human” used in an official capacity here.

And besides, Frisk is literally the least interesting Undertale character they could pick. Sure, there’s some interesting things you could do with Fight and Act (check out the Smash Bros. Lawl Beatdown moveset video for Frisk) but just about any other Undertale character is a better choice. Both for moveset potential, aesthetic, and the chance to have someone with actual personality rather than Frisk who’s basically just the player all things considered.

Both are official plushes existing before Smash Ultimates costume!
Also Every single mention of Frisk on the fangamer Website Uses The Human!

You have to dig into undertales and deltarunes code first (or just watch a video) and have to go through 20 Fantheories before you fight me on the topic of UT/DR Knowledge!

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Come to think of it, though Ryu is the obvious choice for a Street Fighter character, I do genuinely think the series as a whole is iconic enough to theoretically warrant another character being its focal point... at least, not in Smash. I think the poster child example of this would probably be Akuma in Tekken 7, though Sakura as a guest fighter in Rival Schools: Bound by Fate, or Cannon Spike featuring both Cammy and Nash seem like good comparisons. Hell, you could even argue Skullomania's appearance in SNK Heroines could technically count given he originated in Street Fighter EX, though admittedly he is an Arika character so that's kinda different~

That said, Sakura feels like a pretty solid choice for this sort of thing. She's a popular, fan-favourite character with a moveset that's similar enough to the general shoto archetype whilst still being its own unique twist on the concept, plus she's got a lot of personality and a pretty neat design overall. Whilst Chun-Li is probably the obvious pick, Sakura seems like she'd be a lot of fun, especially in a smaller game of some kind compared to Smash's whole thing of "representation" and such.

Then again, there's quite a lot of prominent characters from the series that could reasonably work in certain contexts. Akuma is an obvious pick, but I personally reckon Sagat could work well in an external context like that - or, if you wanted to really do something different, even Vega!

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

Edgeworth over Phoenix Wright could be nice. A lot of ideas for Phoenix’s moveset might have overlap with MvC which is fine but could lessen the impact he might have in Smash. The Investigations games gives Edgeworth mechanics that could work pretty well in Smash to work with and it might be nice to get a character whose not all gags all the time like Phoenix’s MvC depiction.

 

[Quillion]

I know Mio is a deuteragonist, but I'd like her over Noah.

If we need both, I'd rather that Noah is an "along-for-the-ride clone" like Lucina and Chrom were.

 

[Perkilator]

I’ve been pretty open recently to the idea of Bridget as the Guilty Gear rep of Smash, if for no other reason than A). her increased popularity and B). I mainly want to see if Sakurai’s willing to animate the hypothetical Guilty Gear rep in the style of Strive, right down to both art style and animation style.

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

I recently played Thunder Ray and I think the Glam Witch would be a good character choice. Ray himself could be fine (being a Little Mac echo could be cool but I do wish the game would get to showcase more of what makes it cool) but his moveset might not be too "just a boxer." A character like her would showcase more of the fluid animations of the game and have more interesting attacks. Some other characters, like Lord Worw, could be cool too but Glam Witch has my favorite design. She might be a little projectile heavy though.

Obviously Thunder Ray is never getting into any crossovers like this but maybe something like Fraymakers? idk

 

[darkvortex]

I’ve been pretty open recently to the idea of Bridget as the Guilty Gear rep of Smash, if for no other reason than A). her increased popularity and B). I mainly want to see if Sakurai’s willing to animate the hypothetical Guilty Gear rep in the style of Strive, right down to both art style and animation style.

God a Yoyo moveset would be so sick

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

Princess Devilotte over Jin Satome,before anyone comment "who is Princess Devilotte?",i will say: she is a character from a obscure Capcom game called Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness, and she had some appearences on other games as Peoject X Zone

Ans it's not just in Smash,as also probably a Marvel VS Capcom 4

 

[Geno Boost]

Quoting from the Next Smash thread:

i dont think Slime counts as side character since he got his own games
that will be like saying Pikachu is a side character

 

[Good Night !]

Well, technically, Jin’s been the protagonist since Tekken 3. Kazuya was only ever the protagonist in Tekken 1.

Kazuya is not the protagonist anymore since a long time, but you can say he's still one of, if not the main character of the franchise. I mean, he's basically the reason why Tekken exist and its still here in the first place. I understand why he was chosen over Jin honestly.

If Mortal Kombat has a chance to be put in Smash, I hope Scorpion or Sub-Zero will be the one who get in over Liu Kang. But it's honestly not a hot take since Scorpion is the poster boy of the franchise.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

If Mortal Kombat has a chance to be put in Smash, I hope Scorpion or Sub-Zero will be the one who get in over Liu Kang. But it's honestly not a hot take since Scorpion is the poster boy of the franchise.

Even if Sub-Zero appeared in more games, I feel Scorpion SHOULD be the first MK choice, because of his "Get over here" quote and his moveset potential that would attract MK fans, fighting game fans, gaming fans and former gaming fans to Smash, which is kinda awesome.
Also give him Klassic design from MK 1-3 games as default design because nearly all 3P characters have classic designs like Sora, Simon and Banjo-Kazooie for example (Except Sonic).

Plus he is a Pikachu of the Mortal Kombat (they both have yellow color scheme, they were popular in 1990's and they are poster faces of their home franchises)

 

[darkvortex]

Honestly Majima over Kiryu

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

Etna over Laharl,because i think that she is more popular than him in Disgaea series

 

[Geno Boost]

Stephen from SMT over any SMT main character it would be insane to see him animated in a fighting game since he can fight on a wheelchair

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

This is probably a weirder one, but for as much as I absolutely adore Sukapon, I'd honestly be open to almost any of the Joy Mech Fight bots getting into Smash in a playable role. The game does have like 36 playable characters so there's tons to choose from, and tons of them have plenty of weird and cool designs or potential mechanics that'd be fun!

Neo immediately springs to mind because I love his design (and the little plasma balls around his head could lend to some fun stuff too!), but I also wouldn't write off Skater (who literally fights with floating wheels), Senju (because I think his drills & multi-punch gimmick would be fun to work around!) and Flame (on account of being constantly on fire!)

 

[Perkilator]

I've seen people request Yunaka from Fire Emblem Engage as a rep for that game over Alear. I mean, I know Yunaka's definitely a fan favorite, so I'd be pretty open to her if Alear didn't work out.

 

[nirvanafan]

I've seen people request Yunaka from Fire Emblem Engage as a rep for that game over Alear. I mean, I know Yunaka's definitely a fan favorite, so I'd be pretty open to her if Alear didn't work out.

Out of curiosity is this referencing just me or are their other Yunaka supporters out there?

 

[Perkilator]

Out of curiosity is this referencing just me or are their other Yunaka supporters out there?

I'm on the Source Gaming Discord and I know at least one user supports Yunaka.