Smashboards Creates: Smash with 1 Character per Company

[SnakeFighter64]

What if Smash had only one character per company? How big could the roster get? How many characters could you possibly add before you start needing to include ultra obscure characters like Lester the Unlikely and James Pond? What companies should we even consider? All of it is up for discussion.

The rules are simple. We go company by company nominating characters owned by them and trying to decide on the best fit. Sub-Companies like Creatures Inc, Hal Labs, GameFreak, APE Inc, and intelligent systems don’t count as separate. Only the parent company at the top is up for discussion (except potentially Microsoft. I feel like that one is up for debate so when we get to Microsoft, we’ll discuss it).

I’ll start with a list of every company I’m sure about and we’ll take breaks every 4-5 characters to nominate potential new companies.

• Nintendo
• Sony
• Microsoft
• Sega
• Atari
• Capcom
• Bandai Namco
• Konami
• Square Enix
• SNK
• Arc System Works
• Ubisoft
• EA
• Take-Two Interactive
• Koi Tecmo
• Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
• Epic Games
• Embracer Group
• Valve
• Tencent (up for debate)

Indie characters will be a separate discussion since most indie studios only own one franchise. So down the line we’ll nominate a handful of indie characters to include.

And we’ll obviously start with Nintendo.

Edit: I forgot to write this rule down, but characters who debuted in games only.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

easy, Mario

 

[SnakeFighter64]

easy, Mario

The Nintendo debate really comes down to Mario OR Pokèmon imo. After all Pokemon is the most popular media franchise on the planet. So do we go with the iconic Mr video game or do we include someone from Pokemon instead due to it’s popularity.

 

[Justoneguyhere1999]

I'll say Mario because even if Pokemon is arguely more popular. Mario IS a main face of video games itself that led gaming into higher heights.

And Pokemon is techinally owned by Game Freak. So Mario simply makes more sense.

 

[Louie G.]

Well, it's Mario over Pikachu easily.

In my opinion what it comes to is Mario vs Link. Chances are you would just go with Mario, but if Link was chosen it would set the tone for the rest of the game to be less mascot driven and possibly a bit grittier in tone. I think it's probably best to just let it be Mario and keep the tone very loose, anything goes, but making it Link might suit the game better if it were to take that more specific approach.

Pikachu would be another cartoony mascot, so there's less of a dynamic contrast here. If you want to go for a colorful, cutesy mascot then you're going to go with Mario because he is the most important video game character of all time. If you want to take a more specialized angle, one that feels more suited for maybe a more serious fighting game, then you go with Link. See: Soul Calibur 2.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Y'know I have a chart for pretty much exactly this

Lawful Good: Luigi​ There's logic behind this pick, acting as a sort of foil to Mario but also to represent the "Player 2" in a meta sense - a more conceptual idea.	Neutral Good: Donkey Kong​ A character that represents Mario's extended world, a major part of Nintendo's history, and works as a villain pick who also represents the arcade era?	Chaotic Good: Animal Crossing rep​ While not the first thing that comes to mind, the series represents Nintendo's more "casual" nature, and has been a major part of their marketing.
Lawful Neutral: Pikachu​ While not "Mr. Video Game", Pikachu's still the mascot of the biggest media franchise ever, and has played a massive role in video game history.	True Neutral: Mario​ Literally the most basic-*****, milquetoast pick, but obviously makes sense for more reasons than can be counted. It's Mario, what do you expect?	Chaotic Neutral: Link​ A representation of character action games, as well as one of the most iconic video game franchises out there. Also allows for a "fantastical" pick.
Lawful Evil: A Pokemon Trainer​ The idea being that despite Pikachu's "icon" status, the Trainer is your insight to the world, and better represents the gameplay of the series.	Chaotic Evil: A Mii​ Similar "casual" logic to AC, but coupled with the Wii's movement toward a blue ocean marketing strategy, and represents video game customisation.	Chaotic Evil: Samus​ A "less iconic" character who has genuine dark horse pedigree - due to being one of the earliest female video game characters and pioneering a genre.

With that in mind, I'm going to put forward;

Okay, hear me out.

Mario or Pikachu are the obvious picks here, and that's understandable. Both characters are indelibly a big part of video game history that've affected the scene in massive ways going forward. But, and I know this might sound weird; I don't think they really demonstrate what seperates Nintendo from the pack when you pair them up against other companies.

Nintendo's appeal has always been its more casual nature, and the idea that anyone can just pick up and play their games and have fun. You look at them next to Sony and Microsoft and that's always been what makes them different - not just their IPs, but their focus on "fun". Animal Crossing is that to a tee - it's one of the most casual games on the market at the moment, and it's been culturally associated (mostly due to Covid) with the idea of literally anyone being able to pick it up and relax.

Like, let's think long-term about this. Most companies are likely to end up with more action-based representation here somehow or other. But what other companies are likely to have a pick similar to this? My only thought is really EA with The Sims, and yet EA arguably has massive competition in their whole sports line. (John Madden might genuinely be the best EA pick.)

If we wanted each pick to showcase the company, their vibe, their history, and their ethos? I think Isabelle works well for this. She's a representative of a more relaxed, light-hearted, chilled out space that we're not likely to see elsewhere in this roster (again, aside from maybe The Sims and then... possibly a mobile game or two somewhere?) She's not an unknown, obscure character by any means. And while her competition might be icons of platformers and RPGs... I think there's certain other characters that would better represent both genres.

I know this is probably not the most "logical" pick out there... but I do genuinely think there's something in this.

 

[SnakeFighter64]

Y'know I have a chart for pretty much exactly this

Lawful Good: Luigi​ There's logic behind this pick, acting as a sort of foil to Mario but also to represent the "Player 2" in a meta sense - a more conceptual idea.	Neutral Good: Donkey Kong​ A character that represents Mario's extended world, a major part of Nintendo's history, and works as a villain pick who also represents the arcade era?	Chaotic Good: Animal Crossing rep​ While not the first thing that comes to mind, the series represents Nintendo's more "casual" nature, and has been a major part of their marketing.
Lawful Neutral: Pikachu​ While not "Mr. Video Game", Pikachu's still the mascot of the biggest media franchise ever, and has played a massive role in video game history.	True Neutral: Mario​ Literally the most basic-*****, milquetoast pick, but obviously makes sense for more reasons than can be counted. It's Mario, what do you expect?	Chaotic Neutral: Link​ A representation of character action games, as well as one of the most iconic video game franchises out there. Also allows for a "fantastical" pick.
Lawful Evil: A Pokemon Trainer​ The idea being that despite Pikachu's "icon" status, the Trainer is your insight to the world, and better represents the gameplay of the series.	Chaotic Evil: A Mii​ Similar "casual" logic to AC, but coupled with the Wii's movement toward a blue ocean marketing strategy, and represents video game customisation.	Chaotic Evil: Samus​ A "less iconic" character who has genuine dark horse pedigree - due to being one of the earliest female video game characters and pioneering a genre.

With that in mind, I'm going to put forward;

Okay, hear me out.

Mario or Pikachu are the obvious picks here, and that's understandable. Both characters are indelibly a big part of video game history that've affected the scene in massive ways going forward. But, and I know this might sound weird; I don't think they really demonstrate what seperates Nintendo from the pack when you pair them up against other companies.

Nintendo's appeal has always been its more casual nature, and the idea that anyone can just pick up and play their games and have fun. You look at them next to Sony and Microsoft and that's always been what makes them different - not just their IPs, but their focus on "fun". Animal Crossing is that to a tee - it's one of the most casual games on the market at the moment, and it's been culturally associated (mostly due to Covid) with the idea of literally anyone being able to pick it up and relax.

Like, let's think long-term about this. Most companies are likely to end up with more action-based representation here somehow or other. But what other companies are likely to have a pick similar to this? My only thought is really EA with The Sims, and yet EA arguably has massive competition in their whole sports line. (John Madden might genuinely be the best EA pick.)

If we wanted each pick to showcase the company, their vibe, their history, and their ethos? I think Isabelle works well for this. She's a representative of a more relaxed, light-hearted, chilled out space that we're not likely to see elsewhere in this roster (again, aside from maybe The Sims and then... possibly a mobile game or two somewhere?) She's not an unknown, obscure character by any means. And while her competition might be icons of platformers and RPGs... I think there's certain other characters that would better represent both genres.

I know this is probably not the most "logical" pick out there... but I do genuinely think there's something in this.

I like this argument. 3 stars.

Well, it's Mario over Pikachu easily.

In my opinion what it comes to is Mario vs Link. Chances are you would just go with Mario, but if Link was chosen it would set the tone for the rest of the game to be less mascot driven and possibly a bit grittier in tone. I think it's probably best to just let it be Mario and keep the tone very loose, anything goes, but making it Link might suit the game better if it were to take that more specific approach.

Pikachu would be another cartoony mascot, so there's less of a dynamic contrast here. If you want to go for a colorful, cutesy mascot then you're going to go with Mario because he is the most important video game character of all time. If you want to take a more specialized angle, one that feels more suited for maybe a more serious fighting game, then you go with Link. See: Soul Calibur 2.

Yeah. Link is definitely on the table but I really think it does come down to Mario or Pikachu. In the end it feels like Mario is the better choice.