On the topic of whether or not Nintendo is running out of first party character additions for Smash Bros., I won't lie, the pool is quite obviously smaller than it used to be. That being said, the pool is far from non-existent. It's still a pool, after all, and not a puddle. It may not be an Olympic-sized swimming pool, but it's still a small-scale suburban above-ground pool to be sure.
Analogies aside, I figured I'd just use this as a jumping off point to talk about some Nintendo-owned characters that I'd personally like to see added in the future, whether it be in Ultimate as DLC or in future games. Note that it isn't necessarily an exhaustive list of viable, non-bottom-of-the-barrel Nintendo newcomers, but just some of my preferred picks. There are just some franchises I'm not itching to get a newcomer for, but very well could, like Kirby or Xenoblade Chronicles. As well, not all viable newcomers for a series will be mentioned. Once again, they're just my preferred picks. I'll also leave out retro characters entirely, as they're chosen for completely different reasons.
One big one is the
Super Mario franchise. Yeah, it has a lot of characters in Smash already (especially when including folks like Yoshi and Wario), but it's literally Nintendo's biggest video game franchise (though it's beaten out as a multimedia franchise by Pokémon). Like it or not, you have to admit...Mario's C-Listers are much bigger deals than most franchises' A-Listers.
Though currently disconfirmed for Ultimate (but hey, maybe DLC),
Captain Toad is absolutely a big deal. Toads in general are pop culture icons to a degree to which most characters on the roster dream of reaching. As well, there is
Waluigi, controversial as he may be to some. People like to use the "spin-off exclusive" argument, but it truly doesn't matter. You're lying to yourself if you think Waluigi isn't iconic. The Mario Kart franchise alone eclipses most other Nintendo franchises multiple times over, to say nothing of the other sports and party titles.
As well,
Luigi's Mansion itself could provide future newcomers. The franchise is more than viable now, having soon-to-be three main series titles, an upcoming remake of the first title, and an arcade spin-off made by Capcom. I don't think it's too far fetched to think a character like
Professor E. Gadd (perhaps as a duo of sorts with Polterpup?) or
King Boo could make for compelling a newcomer in the future.
For
Donkey Kong Country, there are still quite a few characters who could work well in Smash.
Dixie Kong could work either as a Diddy semi-clone, or as a full newcomer with a grappling moveset using her hair.
Funky Kong is also incredibly popular, and could be added as a somewhat easy Donkey Kong semi-clone with a much more bodacious take on the great ape's moveset, all while doing some radical surfboard tricks for aerials. Plus, Flame Runner Final Smash. Do it, Sakurai.
I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of
The Legend of Zelda. I like it well enough, but outside of Link's Awakening, the franchise has never grabbed me to any meaningful extent. That being said, there is one type of character I'd definitely love to see in Smash from Zelda, and that's a Goron character, like
Daruk. Gorons are an incredibly recurring Zelda race, and are so visually different from the rest of the current Zelda fighters. Add onto that another good super-heavyweight contender and a good reason to finally add a Death Mountain stage, and Daruk could just be really neat, I think. He's the Goron Champion, after all. Plus his trailer could have a stinger at the end of him running away from Duck Hunt, Wolf, and Isabelle.
Of course,
Pokémon is a huge deal. I've been a Pokémon fan for basically my entire life, but I fully acknowledge the fact that a lot of my favorites (Chandelure, Marowak, Klefki, Ribombee, Qwilfish, Castform, etc) stand no chance at ever being included due to not being from the most recent generation. Granted, I'm still always excited to see whatever
new Pokémon gets added in each game. Hell, Greninja was an amazing surprise last time due to being my Kalosian starter of choice. Pokémon will always be a hype bringer, and like Xenoblade and Fire Emblem, not keeping a static cast means there will always be characters to add without feeling excessive or undeserved.
Like Pokémon,
Fire Emblem is a franchise that gets steady releases but lacks a static cast, meaning there are always characters to add without feeling tacked on. Once again like Pokémon, I know a lot of my favorites will likely never get added due to not being main lords (Merric, Tiki, Minerva, Hardin, Virion, Tobin, Mae, Silque, Saber...the list goes on for a while). That being said,
Celica is a character I'd love to see, and is currently my most wanted character that isn't yet playable. Smash has kind of shown a disproportionate amount of love to Gaiden in the past anyway, and with Shadows of Valentia having been a success, I wouldn't rule her out just yet. Plus then I'd have my three favorite lords in Smash: Chrom, Celica, and Marth.
Though, I also wouldn't completely rule out
Caeda. She doesn't have a huge shot, but I wouldn't call her odds completely non-existent. She's not the main lord of her games (Marth is), but she's incredibly important to the Archanea saga and is incredibly well liked among the fanbase. Plus, Lucina is a Lord in name only in Awakening anyway, so there's some leeway. Pegasus Knights are also one of the most iconic classes in the franchise, and Caeda is arguably the single most iconic one. Plus I mean hey, we'd get Cherami Leigh to voice a character in Smash, and that's a great bonus.
As a franchise,
Punch-Out!! doesn't get a lot of newcomer discussion, sadly. However, the series offers some neat options to join the fight alongside Little Mac. Personally, I'd love it if
Glass Joe, one of gaming's most iconic jobbers, were to get in as Smash's total joke fighter, more than even Pichu. He'd be added as a Little Mac echo, with his gangly physique and poor posture making him hunch over, keeping him in line with Mac's body size. However, there is one key difference: he's a balanced Little Mac. That's right, he's just as bad on the ground as he is in the air.
Finally, as far as new franchises are concerned, as much as I'd love to see Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. or The Legendary Starfy get characters, that is probably a pipe dream at this point. That being said, two new franchises stand out to me as far as being good additions:
Rhythm Heaven and
ARMS. Characters like the
Chorus Kids and
Spring Man would be worthwhile additions, and by no means scraping the bottom of the barrel.
So all in all, those are the Nintendo additions I can see future Smash games adding that have chances that at least exist, and are additions that I'd personally like. A shallower pool is still a pool, after all. But obviously I'm more than content with the current offerings. I've got Chrom now, after all.
- Dark/Fairy
