Brawl: I was just checking news about E3 through a Mario forum I used to visit at the time, saw the Brawl trailer, and was blown away. Was especially excited over Meta Knight and Wario, but was also curious about Snake since I wasn't too familiar with MGS at the time, even if at the time I was pretty annoyed about third parties in Smash. (That soon changed...)
Sonic: I had gotten up in the morning before school and saw the update (along with the announced delay). At the time I didn't really want Sonic in Brawl due to the state the series was in and wasn't crazy about third parties in general, wanting only Mega Man and Bomberman due to their close connection to Nintendo. That said, the trailer was pretty dope and more or less won me over, and then a couple of weeks later I got one of my most wanted characters in the form of a blue penguin with a hammer, so it was water under the bridge.
Smash 4: Woke up early on E3 for it (it was like 8 AM or something my time). I didn't expect a full trailer at the time actually so getting that was pretty mindblowing, and then once Villager "came to town," I freaked out, seeing the very first Smash newcomer. I thought that was it... then I saw the shadow of a super fighting robot and lost my ****, getting a character I've wanted since Brawl, and proceeded to rewatch the Mega Man trailer over and over.
Rosalina: This is the only Smash trailer where I got spoiled by reading about it first before getting to see the Direct; I had class and missed the Direct, not knowing there would be a character reveal, then come back to a forum thread jokingly titled "the year of Rosalina" and I realized what had just happened. Rosalina is my favorite Mario character and I was sort of anticipating this outcome after 3D World, so I was pretty excited. It also guaranteed I'd never miss a Direct again.
Little Mac: Watched the Direct like usual, was pretty surprised since I thought maybe the boxing ring was a hard deconfirmation. At the time... I wouldn't say I was a detractor but the idea of a character that only punched did little for me at the time. I'll admit Sakurai proved me wrong on that front and Mac was a great addition, and mostly I was happy for his fans. Plus the trailer itself was pretty great.
Smash Direct/Greninja: While I was sad about Ridley, for the first time in all of Smash 4 speculation, I was optimistic about K. Rool thanks to the Kritters in Smash Run, and I thought Greninja was a surprising but cool addition. I've always loved his design and as someone who mained Sheik in Melee at the time, having another ninja fighter was very welcome. I even have a Greninja plush sitting next to me right now!
E3 2014: I figured Miis were coming and I accepted them, again thanks to a cool trailer, but I wasn't thrilled about them having three unique movesets. Stopped really caring about that since Palutena was revealed, the first Smash 4 character since Mega Man that I was actively requesting. Rewatched her trailer over and over, then got miffed when Pac-Man was announced (through Twitter of all things) because I figured he would be a boring addition... but while I wasn't thrilled over him, the trailer made me okay with it in some way. At this point though I was getting antsy, and the Ridley shadow speculation was giving me hope he might make it after all... and thus after this, we enter Smash Speculation Hell.
Robin/Lucina: I was more or less believing Gematsu by this point and this was a breath of fresh air (even if I first thought Robin was Shulk, lol). I genuinely didn't know who Lucina was, which I can't say about any Smash character since Melee. Robin was a great addition that added some much needed variety to the Fire Emblem roster, even if four characters seemed ridiculous at the time. (If only I knew what I was in for...)
Shulk: Didn't watch his stream, already knew he was in, obviously. Indifferent, but enjoyed playing as him in 4.
50 Fact Extravaganza: After a lukewarm final roster in 3DS, this did a lot to get me excited for Wii U, despite the final nail-in-the-coffin death of playable Ridley. The Bowser Jr. trailer was great, and of course the Mewtwo reveal, along with DLC, was mindblowing. It got me thinking about characters like K. Rool, Dixie, Wolf, and Snake, and eventually led me to join SmashBoards to discuss K. Rool as a DLC character before the ballot.
Mewtwo/Lucas: My stream lagged so I missed the first ten seconds or so of Mewtwo, but the trailer was still hype as hell. Initially I was sort of neutral on Mewtwo returning because of his poor moveset in Melee, but I was really happy to see him back and seemingly with all sorts of buffs. Once I actually downloaded him, I fell in love with his playstyle and he became one of my mains. As for Lucas, he was a very pleasant surprise, and having actually played Mother 3 this time, I was familiar with the character and loved all the shout-outs in his trailer. Of course the Smash Ballot was mindblowing and changed the game. I voted for K. Rool pretty much as soon as the stream ended.
Roy/Ryu: Of course they were leaked, so what can you do. I was happy that they at least differentiated Roy enough from his Melee counterpart but the FE characters were really getting to me. I thought Ryu was a very neutral choice; he had cool moves but I felt like something about his design just seemed "off" for Smash 4, like it was too dark and realistic looking, and the character himself I'm indifferent to, but I was happy to have more characters in the game. I did feel like Roy was a bad choice when Star Fox could have gotten Wolf instead, but I held out hope for him to be announced later.
Cloud: I missed this live but managed to watch it in archive... while on a treadmill in a gym. With no Smash logo preceding him I didn't know what was going on, I saw stars and thought "Wolf," then I heard Bombing Mission and was very confused... seeing SUPER SMASH BROS. X FINAL FANTASY VII made me even more confused. Okay, so we're getting some sort of Mii Costume? That's... that's a Cloud costume, right... wait... WHAT?! I literally could not comprehend what was happening. Safe to say this is probably the most mindblowing Smash announcement I've ever seen. As for my opinion? Having felt punched in the gut thanks to the K. Rool costume, Cloud was a character I actually got super, super excited for, the way I hadn't since Mega Man... or ever, really. Although I wasn't actively requesting Cloud, FF7 is one of my favorite games and seeing the character done justice by Smash was just crazy. I was freaking out in the gym and couldn't wait to get home to read about him. The announcement of a Smash Presentation got me even more hype, but...
Corrin/Bayonetta: Corrin was just a splash of cold water. The only Nintendo newcomer for DLC was a Fire Emblem advertisement. At this point I was starting to feel like Smash had jumped the shark. Bayonetta didn't do any favors to me either since immediately I was suspicious of her being the "ballot winner" despite thinking she was a cool character and had a lot to offer to Smash as a fighter. So it was disappointing overall. I even left SmashBoards because K. Rool speculation was pretty much the only reason I joined. When I downloaded them I thought "well at least Bayonetta is fun" but Corrin was just... blah. I played them like 5 times and then let them collect dust. After that I swore off Smash speculation and moved on with my life.
Smash Switch announcement: Again, was not sure where this was going at first; more Splatoon DLC? Seeing the Smash logo... everything changed in that moment. At first I was like "okay, K. Rool, Ridley, and Snake won't be in, but at least Wolf should be coming back, and we'll surely get a third DK character with Dixie." Then as time went on I became more and more optimistic about K. Rool, thinking surely the ballot and the costume were a good sign for him. I found my way back into SmashBoards, telling myself this was it, my last ride of Smash speculation. Then some mumblings about a certain purple dragon got me thinking "but what if..."
E3 2018: I was very nervous going in, knowing Vergeben so far was right on multiple announcements during E3 but still bracing for the worst. I had class literally right after the stream was to end, so I watched it in my car in the parking lot. When the characters started piling in, I was like "okay okay, where's this going..." and when I saw Cloud I was ecstatic because I thought there was a very real chance of him being cut. Cue Snake with "EVERYONE IS HERE!" blowing my freaking mind. I was already over the moon thanks to Cloud, Snake, and Wolf, but once the big boy showed up, I already felt this was the best Smash ever, practically jumping up and down outside of my car and making myself late for class watching the Treehouse footage. For the first time in years I was optimistic about K. Rool, my most wanted Smash character, appearing. Things were looking up...
8.8 Smash Direct: I was in the K. Rool discord watching this at 7 AM (oof), and we were all salty because of 1) the "no DK reps" BS from Verge (even if he later disowned it, we were all getting antsy and worried to say the least), 2) Simon already being leaked and for many of us assuming this meant no K. Rool. I didn't assume K. Rool would show up here but thought he had a good chance. Simon being revealed right out of the gate was a very promising sign for multiple reveals with a fantastic trailer, and Richter was a crazy but cool announcement. I was happy for Chrom's fans and Dark Samus was a cool addition after Metroid was lacking some love in Smash 4. Everything about the game was looking amazing through this entire Direct, and Klaptrap pretty much locked K. Rool for me. Of course 10 minutes later, following the screen shaking and a montage of villains, I knew what was about to happen... cue some shivers, heavy breathing, and crying, King K. Rool was confirmed as a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter, making all of my wildest dreams come true and making me spend pretty much the entire day online, reading and talking about K. Rool. The fact that I could get all my most wanted characters this early in Smash speculation was crazy to me, and gave me a sense of closure I didn't get with Smash 4. Now? I just want to see what else the madman has in store for us. pls say banjo
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