I’m still gathering some thoughts on all the information today. I’ve talked to a number of friends and a pair just left after we played Wii U for over an hour or so. One loves Castlevania and is excited for Simon, one has always wanted K.Rool. Another friend of mine said that as he was getting lunch at work and saw Simon, he almost cried.
This series is awesome.
Anyway, I must say that I hope we're not suddenly thinking "a few" means another 8-10 characters. While I think that would be awesome, and not "impossible", I'd be extremely surprised if we got that many unique newcomers.
Now, if that includes echoes, then maybe. But that's a huge maybe. I'm feeling pretty good about Dixie Kong being in this game, as well as Isabelle and whoever the Gen 7 Pokemon is (my guess is Incineroar). That's 3 right there. We've still got another 3rd party, I'm sure of it. That's 4. I think it's entirely possible we get Shadow and Ken as 3rd party echo fighters. That's 6.
If we get Geno, that would not only be crazy but pretty awesome. This is projecting, I admit, but I do kinda still think people are sleeping on Sora with Roxas as an echo. If it doesn't happen in the base roster, I could totally see it being prime DLC material (pay for Sora, get Roxas for free).
I'm not sure how I feel about those 6 remaining stage slots. Obviously they can create another page for additional stages, but that assumes stage builder is coming back or that DLC stages would need an additional stage.
It probably seems like I'm rambling at this point. It's been a long day. An awesome day, but a long one nonetheless.
One last thing. The same friend who almost cried suggested that Goku could be the last reveal. I told him what I said the other day, and I will state this only because I think it bears repeating. It's not a matter of if you think you'd be fine with licensed characters. What I've said is more directed at the design of the game.
Smash isn't the same thing as Tekken. Comparing Negan in Tekken to Goku in Smash isn't the same thing. Smash is a crossover brawler, Tekken is not. Imagine hyping up a game that's dedicated to bringing the biggest stars and icons of gaming together, hyping up the final reveal, and then adding a...non-gaming character.
Everything advertised about this game is about gaming. Goku is not a gaming icon. He's an anime icon. Yes, he's got popular games. They're popular because of the people who have watched the anime or grew up with it. That's what he's known for. He's not a gaming character, no matter how many video games he has. He's an anime icon.
Smash Ultimate is designed with "gaming legends" in mind. Goku, despite having several video games across various platforms, is not a gaming legend. There's a theme to Smash in that every character, despite the company they come from, is a character of gaming. If somebody is a gamer, they probably recognize all of the series or characters, or at least most. Goku is extremely recognizable, but he or any other non-gaming character would stick out like a sore thumb.
I'm really, really, excited for this game. Goku wouldn't deter me from buying it. But he's probably the only character I'd be mad about being in the game. Everybody has their opinions, and that's fine. I simply think it would be a bad decision to, with the final reveal, add a character that goes against the rest of the design of the game/series. It just wouldn't make sense, no matter how much of a meme the "Add Goku" thing is.
/rant.
I swear I will get some "analysis" stuff, or at least projections for the remaining 4 months until this game is out.