Smashboards Mini-Recreates: The SSB Series Rosters

[darkvortex]

1. Mr. Game & Watch
2. Meowth
3. Mewtwo

 

[Pupp135]

Hey Pupp135 , could we choose to bring back / nominate one of the Melee clones for the semiclone slot?

I'm not 100% on who I'd like to nominate right now, I'm contemplating Dixie Kong as well, but I don't see us using our remaining veteran slots on clones when G&W and the two Pokemon are still absent, and I think coming back in Brawl could do a lot for Daisy. So I'm somewhat inclined to nominate her and simply opt to sacrifice one newcomer for the sake of letting another veteran evolve further.

In general I'd like to leave that open for ourselves, if we want to snub a newcomer for a veteran or vice versa, cut more characters for the sake of more newcomers etc. Not sure how to handle that in an organized fashion but it might be a good idea to establish that option further for the next couple games.

I’ll allow Melee clones for this nomination. I can have your spot tentatively as Daisy or Dixie Kong depending on who gets nominated if you’d prefer.

 

[Louie G.]

I’ll allow Melee clones for this nomination. I can have your spot tentatively as Daisy or Dixie Kong depending on who gets nominated if you’d prefer.

Cool beans, I'll just go ahead and nominate Daisy then.

Job 28: Princess Daisy

Even though she was my tertiary priority last time, I feel like Daisy would be a valuable inclusion. I think she fits better in Brawl than she did in Melee, where her personality was much less set in stone. Post-Gamecube era, her spunkiness has been increased tenfold. This further expanded personality would be more than enough to inform a more physical variation on Peach's kit, perhaps at the expense of her float. There are a few newcomers I'd like to see also but I feel like trying to change the status quo a little bit more.

And if enough people vote for Daisy to get her back in as a veteran this round, then we can change this to Dixie Kong I suppose. This is just an alternate option to save one more veteran in danger of falling by the wayside.

Job 29:
1. Mr. Game & Watch
2. Meowth
3. Mewtwo

Outside of Daisy, these feel like the last three characters worth salvaging. Game & Watch is easily the most important returnee, for reasons others had emphasized and also simply because he's one of the most strikingly creative characters in the series. As much as it pains me to do, with Mewtwo being one of my favorite Pokemon, I think I have to vouch for Meowth over Mewtwo.

For the record, I came into this expecting to do the opposite. But I'm considering the spread of Pokemon that we have currently, and with the addition of Grovyle / Blaziken / Lucario I'm concerned we're risking going overboard with "cool" humanoid characters from the series. Meowth balances out the cuter mascot kind of Pokemon like Pikachu and Mudkip, which I consider to be equally important of a presence. I wouldn't be too mad at either outcome, but looking at this strictly through the lens of a balanced and diverse roster I think we unintentionally gated Mewtwo out a bit. It makes me understand why the decisions that were made in Brawl were made in the first place. As much as I wanted to push against this coming into this game I don't know if it's the healthiest choice for the roster that we've built up so far.

And I do appreciate Meowth's role in the roster. We don't have a lot of other characters baring their claws, so I'm sure he still stands as a pretty unique character. On top of that, in the context of villains / rivals he represents a distinct archetype in this sort of scrappy, silly rival character juxtaposed against some intimidating boss threats. He's a fun character to have around.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. Meowth
2. Mr. Game and Watch
3. Princess Daisy

 

[nirvanafan]

G&W
Mewtwo
Meowth

Midna (True Form/Twili)

Not much to say, Zelda could use another rep, twilight princess is the big game at the time, & think she could be a good fit as a semi clone of Zelda

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Mewtwo
2. Mr. Game & Watch
3. Daisy

Wolf (StarFox)
The rival of Fox, Wolf focuses on the villain theme we have in Brawl.

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Mr. Game & Watch
Daisy
Meowth

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

If a third parties are allowed, then I'll submit Shadow the Hedgehog. Was heavily pushed by Sega in the 2000s and fits Brawl's aesthetic imo.

 

[Pupp135]

If a third parties are allowed, then I'll submit Shadow as a Sonic clone. Was hot off the heels of his own game and fits Brawl's aesthetic imo.

I’ll allow Shadow here.

I’m also thinking maybe changing my nomination to Dixie Kong if someone else would like to pick up the Toon Link nomination just so both are available for tomorrow‘s votes.

 

[darkvortex]

I'll do Toon Link.

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the votes:

Spoiler: Eligible Fighters

Mr. Game & Watch 25
Princess Daisy 11
Donkey Kong Jr.
Celica 1
Meowth 14
Mewtwo 9
Pichu

Mr. Game & Watch & Meowth are added to the roster.

For the final fighter, here are the nominations:

Pupp135 Dixie Kong
DragonRobotKing26 Lucas
Louie G. Princess Daisy
nirvanafan Midna
Northsouthmap Wolf
TheLastMaverickHunter Shadow
D darkvortex Toon Link

Vote for your three most wanted, where yours is not first.

1. Lucas
2. Toon Link
3. Daisy

After this voting, I’ll set up a check in. Looking back, I should’ve notified in advance the limitations that would’ve come up with Diddy and Dixie Kong as a pair based on the Brawl development cycle and Rex in Ultimate.

 

[darkvortex]

1. Toon Link
2. Daisy
3. Lucas

 

[BritishGuy54]

1. Toon Link
2. Lucas
3. Wolf

I think Daisy missed the boat. I’d rather include a new character here right now. Maybe she could come back in Smash 4 taking Dr. Mario’s place.

Toon Link makes sense to bring in. Getting a second Link isn’t always a bad thing, and he’s visually unique. At this point, I might as well throw a bone to Lucas.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Daisy
2. Lucas
3. Wolf

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. Midna
2. Daisy
3. Shadow

 

[nirvanafan]

Shadow
Midna
Lucas

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Toon Link
Shadow
Daisy

 

[LoZ00]

1. Toon Link: he feels like a glaring omission, which is weird since we quite literally already have Link in the game, but OT Smash got me used to at least two Links in each Smash installment after 64. Other than this, Toon Link still feels like a great choice, as he represents a decently popular branch of his home series and provides for some nice visual distinction with the other Zelda fighters. Besides all of this, I think Zelda could use a fourth fighter.
2. Lucas: he is probably the most sensible choice after Toon Link, although I wouldn't mind getting another, potentially wilder Mother newcomer in Smash 4. Besides, Mother is the only Smash 64 series without a second rep along with Wario Land (which is a branch of the Mario series anyway).
3. Midna: I'm not 100% convinced with this, but I'd still say that she's the third best choice we can have. She'd also boost both female and Zelda representation in one fell swoop, so that is lovely, I suppose.

I share the sentiment that Daisy missed her chance. That is sad, but I'd rather boost the newcomer tally at this point.

 

[Louie G.]

1. Lucas
2. Toon Link
3. Daisy

Alright, Lucas is getting my top billing because I really wish we could squeeze in something from Mother 3 here. It's my favorite game and its presence in Brawl was a significant one. I'm sure New Pork City can still make it into the game, probably even the Porky boss too, but at that point why not give Lucas the nod? In any case, I think Toon Link is a similarly valid choice. I personally love his inclusion in Brawl, and I believe the "toon" branch of games deserves some acknowledgement in its own right. I may have preferred Tetra if we were given a bit more wiggle room, but I'm quite alright with this.

And Daisy... yeah, I just figured I'd throw her a bone and nominate her, but I understand why people would prefer something new. I just think it feels odd to cut her right now when her popularity and individuality is reaching a new peak, but I suppose she's not the only unfortunate loss (sorry Mewtwo...). Mario and its subseries have a fair amount of content as is. Still, I'd be glad to have her back if she did nab the vote.

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Toon Link
2. Lucas
3. Daisy

 

[Pupp135]

Here are the votes

Dixie Kong
Lucas 16
Princess Daisy 12
Midna 6
Wolf 2
Shadow 6
Toon Link 18

Toon Link is the final addition.

Here is our Alternate Brawl Roster

Spoiler: Roster

Mr. Game & Watch
Mario
Luigi
Bowser
Princess Peach
Yoshi
Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong
Wario
Link
Princess Zelda
Ganondorf
Toon Link
Samus
Ridley
Dark Samus
Pit
Marth
Lyn
Ike
Captain Falcon
Black Shadow
Kirby
King Dedede
Meta Knight
Fox McCloud
Falco Lombardi
Krystal
Ness
Pikachu
Meowth
Pokemon Trainer (Blaziken, Grovyle, Mudkip)
Lucario
Olimar
Isaac
Snake
Sonic the Hedgehog

Brawl Check-In: What is everyone’s opinion on our Alternate Brawl roster? What do you like about this roster, and what would you have done differently, and what do you hope to see with our Alternate For roster? Feel free to discuss newcomers and cuts that you expect for our alternate For.

Spoiler: My Opinions on Roster

I really like this roster overall, and I think that Ridley, Krystal, Isaac, Lyn, and Dark Samus would have fit perfectly in Brawl. I also think the Hoenn Pokemon Trainer adds a nice twist to the roster. If I was being picky, I’d probably sneak in Ice Climbers and maybe swap Meowth and Black Shadow for Mewtwo and Daisy.
In terms of For, I’ll start with the cuts first. Honestly, I’m fine with just cutting the Pokemon Trainer entirely as Grovyle or Blaziken’s removal would feel less jarring than Charizard. Additionally, this would allow us to keep both Krystal and Isaac in case we still decide to cut three unique Nintendo veterans as they’re probably the two most at risk barring Pokemon Trainer. For the other cuts, I’m unsure which of the Brawl semi-clones as they all have some justification.
For newcomers, the lineup was honestly pretty strong, and I’d gladly take it again in this timeline. If I were to make some changes, I think R.O.B. would be an interesting addition, and I’d be glad to give Sheik “his” chance given the Ocarina of Time remaster. In terms of what I actually think will happen, I’m confident that at least Little Mac, Mii Fighters, Pac-Man, Robin, Shulk, and Bowser Jr. will join. In the cases of Mega Man and Rosalina, I could honestly see us potentially priortizing a different third party and Mario fighter respectively. Animal Crossing will probably happen, and it’s a matter of Villager vs. Tom Nook more or less. I’ll ask if we should set up a poll to automatically select a Khalos pokemon, which would probably be Greninja. While Wii Fit Trainer and Duck Hunt are cool, I think they’re unfortunately the most likely to miss the boat.

One thing that I wish I did differently was being very transparent with the Diddy & Dixie Kong situation in Brawl (I’ll give another heads up when we get to For with Chorus Kids and Ultimate with Rex/Aegis). I‘d like to check if there is additional feedback to improve this thread.

 

[BritishGuy54]

It’s okay, but I can see it being divisive. I kind of wish we did include Daisy or Bowser Jr earlier on, as Mario feels kind of barren in Brawl, even more so than the real Brawl. Hopefully Daisy comes back for Smash 4.

I’m also a bit on the fence on the inclusion of Pokémon Trainer and Black Shadow here.

Once we get to Smash 4, I’m hoping to see more emphasis put on more modern series, and the unfortunate cuts and preventing characters getting in due to technical constraints of the 3DS.

Pokémon Trainer likely get knocked down to just Blaziken, and I can see Isaac taking Ice Climbers’ spot of just flat out not working on the 3DS. His AT trophy wasn’t in the real Smash 4 for a reason.

 

[nirvanafan]

Pretty happy with roster, i tend to like going lighter with the Mario related fighters but feel like the 8 we have (like Brawl) is good for me before it feels like too much. Happy Isaac got in although wish Advance Wars could have join as it feels it may be too late after this point. He did when fair & square but never been a big fan of Toon Link over something a little more unique imo.

As for cuts expecting maybe a couple clones/semi-clones, Pokemon Trainer (given 3DS issues), & Fire Emblem (Ike & Lyn may have been too much) to see cuts. Hoping for Fire Emblem Awakening (probably Robin), Kid Icarus (Uprising), & Animal Crossing reps. A surprise fighter & maybe doing something different with Miis could be interesting too.

 

[Louie G.]

What is everyone’s opinion on our Alternate Brawl roster? What do you like about this roster, and what would you have done differently

I think this roster is pretty strong. Since we were able to bring characters like Wario and Dedede in early, some extra space was allowed for additional rising stars and Nintendo icons. We got our unique Ganondorf, we've got Ridley early, those who unfortunately missed the boat during their prime like Isaac and Krystal were able to slot in and get their chance. Notably our spread of Pokemon representation is more efficient than the real deal - I'm uncertain if I prefer the Gen 3 Trainer lineup to our universe's Gen 1 trio, but I think it's a valuable flavor that lets this roster shine brightly.

What would I have done differently? Well, there are a few characters I was trying to advocate for that missed the boat. Little Mac still remains absent, an oversight that I'm certain can't last any longer than Smash 4 at least. I wanted to play with the idea of introducing Tom Nook early, but that didn't work out. Chances are Villager will be added in Smash 4, and Nook may miss his chance for good. Duster, or some other Mother character, was something I also would have liked to explore. I think Mother 3 warranted something in Brawl and unfortunately space ran out a little too quickly. Lucas or otherwise. I started warming up to Dixie Kong a lot by the end too, but I think she will get another chance.

Pokemon Trainer is a polarizing addition however we cut it, filling out an additional two character roles. I wasn't certain that I wanted to go for that, but I admired the boldness of switching it up with different Pokemon from a generation that lacked a playable character. So I don't think I regret that... although I do think our lineup ran the risk of leaning too much into the rule of cool, humanoid type Pokemon. Unfortunately it was the absence of Mewtwo that helped maintain this balance, in favor of another silly mascot type Pokemon like Meowth. Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard provide some more distinct archetypes from two more upright humanoid Pokemon (and one Mudkip... no issues there) so perhaps we should have weighed that out a bit better. That said, in a vacuum I think they're neat and again just give us something fresh to work with. And to be fair, I don't especially regret snubbing Charizard when we added Ridley in this game. Just feeling like maybe we could have done better by the "creature" part of Pokemon.

It would have been nice to fit ROB back in. That's the only Brawl absence that I sincerely miss, outside of the aforementioned Lucas. And maybe Wolf, but the exchange for Krystal is worth it. I do wish Daisy could have returned, but that's that. Personally I think Mario is just fine right now though - I'd go as far to say we overplayed our hand a little bit in Melee, where we added Peach / Bowser / DK / Yoshi / Daisy / DK Jr and it warranted letting Mario sit back to let other universes get their due. The 8 Mario and DK-verse characters we have in Brawl are a pretty comfortable lineup of the most essential picks. Smash 4 will allow us to delve into supplemental choices. I'd much rather have fresh characters like Krystal or Isaac here than bringing in any number of Mario characters who will have just as much in their favor next game. Even though Brawl's take on Bowser Jr would have been pretty interesting to explore.

As for Black Shadow, maybe one of the more controversial returnees - F-Zero was still kicking during GCN era, and it only had one other character (compared to Mario) with no foreseeable replacement (compared to say - DK, Pokemon or Fire Emblem which all got new characters). I think we made hte right choice to bring him back. And I'm glad Falco remains a staple, while we're at it.

what do you hope to see with our Alternate For roster?

Animal Crossing, Punch-Out and Xenoblade are must-haves moving forward. I'd like if Wii Fit Trainer could come back too. Honestly, for as strange as some of Smash 4's choices were I'm not sure I can think of that many adjustments I'd make. Greninja, Robin and Palutena are great choices, Duck Hunt is a clever surprise pick, I think Miis were implemented well. Mega Man and Pac-Man were like, objectively the right third party pulls. So I'm curious which characters will end up missing the boat here, and which will be added in their wake. I hope it doesn't come at the expense of Smash 4's eccentric and unpredictable nature.

If anything, I'd like if we could find a way to squeeze Rhythm Heaven in there. I recognize Chorus Kids may have been blocked off due to technical difficulties, so perhaps there's another way we can make it work. I may throw Tom Nook out there one more time over Villager, but if we opt for Villager instead I've got no complaints. Otherwise... I unno, no strong desires right now.

I can see Isaac taking Ice Climbers’ spot of just flat out not working on the 3DS. His AT trophy wasn’t in the real Smash 4 for a reason.

Is there any reason you think this other than speculating on his AT? Because I can't really think of a reason why Isaac wouldn't be viable here, and I don't recall Sakurai ever making note of it himself. I think his AT was just arbitrarily cut on account of his series' dormancy - other ATs like Ray Mk III, Helirin and Barbara met the same fate. So I don't think we should really factor this into our decision.

As far as who may get cut... should we talk about whether or not that would even be necessary if we don't have any Ice Climber adjacent character? Would Icies have made it in over any character we got in Smash 4, or if they were able to be implemented would we simply have had one more character on the roster? Kinda hard to say, and I'm not sure how we should judge that yet.

I‘d like to check if there is additional feedback to improve this thread.

Not much, although I think transparency about which jobs will appear moving forward may be valuable. In the reboot game and such, that unpredictability is fine because it's sort of a challenge we all have to adapt to. With this, we're filling roles that are already well established in a real game. It's just easy for us to lose track of which of those roles have been filled and which have not. So maybe laying out all these spots ahead of time will help us better sort out who's worth nominating and when, yknow?

Additionally, not really something we can control so much, but I wish everyone offered more in depth explanations about their choices and how they may anticipate them playing. As much as this is a fantasy scenario based entirely on the serotonin we get from looking at characters in boxes, it would be nice if we emphasized the same kind of inspiration that convinced Sakurai to take chances on wilder ideas, or at least open each other up to them and have that conversation. I'm content with Brawl since we're still kinda laying out the foundation, but once Smash 4 rolls around we easily run the risk of becoming too safe and sterile in favor of wackiness and innovation. For the most part, I don't want to just vote for a character because I arbitrarily think they "deserve" it.

And as a last minor thing, maybe we should just make clear how once we are rolling out the final newcomers and last minute clones that we should also be able to nominate remaining veteran characters in their place. I think we're going to be more inclined to favor the new over the old almost always, because newcomer slots are valuable and limited, but we should just know that it's an option.

 

[LoZ00]

Brawl Check-In: What is everyone’s opinion on our Alternate Brawl roster? What do you like about this roster, and what would you have done differently, and what do you hope to see with our Alternate For roster? Feel free to discuss newcomers and cuts that you expect for our alternate For.

In general, I'd say I'm pretty happy with how this Brawl roster turned out to be. Even in our timeline, I feel like Brawl has probably the strongest roster in the series, all things considered (Ultimate of course has it beaten, due to Everyone is HERE! being a thing, but overall I'd still say that Brawl had a better lineup). The three choices I don't really agree with are the return of Black Shadow and the addition of Pit and Pokémon Trainer. I would have loved to have Little Mac in early (heck, I think he was a great fit in Melee instead of G&W, but that's just me) and Animal Crossing with either Villager or Tom Nook would have been a great series to reference. In addition to this, I am not a particular fan of Gen 3 Pokémon Trainer, but that is mostly because I don't really agree with the "Gen 1 is overrepresented in Smash" argument (I won't go into detail about this, but I got an idea for a nice "Unpopular Smash Opinions" post). Therefore, if I were in charge of the roster, I would have probably replaced Black Shadow, Mudkip, Grovyle, Blaziken, and Pit with Princess Daisy, Bowser Jr., Villager, Croagunk (I think a poison-based moveset would have been neat), and Little Mac.
But these are all minor gripes and I can see the value of having a Pokémon Trainer in the grand scheme of things. Ridley, Lyn, and Krystal are all neat addition that, in my opinion, neatly fit with the rest of the game. Isaac represents yet another series, and I'm happy we didn't drop Olimar.

Honestly, most of Smash for's lineup was flawless as well. Now that enough time has passed, I think we can all see the value of some of Sakurai's choices back then. Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Villager, Shulk, the Miis, Bowser Jr., those are all characters I definitely want to see even in this timeline, but there is still some room to experiment a bit with some cuts and replacements: namely Rosalina, the two echo fighters, as none of them was super popular, probably even Palutena, and we could definitely use a rework for the Miis to have two more character slots. DLCs are going to be interesting too.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with Brawl's roster and I'm looking forward to work on Smash for's, as that was my first Smash speculation era and where I feel like it peaked.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

on my opinion, the alternate brawl roster is very better than the original one, but i felt that was missing some characters who on my opinion are Midna, Bowser Jr., Ice Climbers and a 3rd third party character

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Roster is pretty good! I will miss R.O.B. and Wolf, but I dig choices like the Gen 3 Trainer, Black Shadow and Lyn. I would have liked to have seen Dixie paired with Diddy, but with Sm4sh and the 3DS in mind, we probably made the right call. Maybe she can be an alt instead? I kinda miss Daisy and Mewtwo, but they'll probably return in the next game.

Speaking of, I'd like to see Mega Man, Villager/Nook, a new Zelda character and Bandana Dee in Sm4sh. I'm also interested in how the Miis will be handled; I like the three types we have, but I'd be down for pulling from the Wii series of games and Streetpass.

 

[Pupp135]

I liked reading the comments above regarding our Brawl roster, and I’ll start our SSBFor Jobs now.

Job 30: Submit your three most wanted newcomers/cut Melee veterans (i.e. Daisy, Donkey Kong Jr., Celica, Pichu, Mewtwo) for SSBFor.
1. Shulk
2. Robin
3. R.O.B.

I find Shulk and Robin fun to play as in the real games, but Shulk would provide a new franchise, and Awakening is important to Fire Emblem. R.O.B. would provide a formal surprise fighter, which was absent in our alternate Brawl.

Job 31: Submit a List of 9 Fighters in Brawl to reveal at E3 2013.

Spoiler: Veterans

Mario
Luigi
Wario
Link
Samus
Marth
Captain Falcon
Kirby
Fox
Ness
Pikachu
Meowth
Mr. Game & Watch
Bowser
Princess Peach
Donkey Kong
Yoshi
Princess Zelda
Black Shadow
King Dedede
Falco
Diddy Kong
Ganondorf
Toon Link
Ridley
Dark Samus
Pit
Lyn
Ike
Meta Knight
Krystal
Blaziken
Grovyle
Mudkip
Lucario
Isaac
Olimar
Snake
Sonic

There are two major differences: Marth and Captain Falcon are added, but Bowser and Fox are excluded. I did this partially to keep the 7-1-1 thing, Captain Falcon was a starter in 64, so starting off with Captain Falcon would be attention grabbing, and Awakening had been released at this point, so Marth would be nice to see.

I’ll set up a poll whether there should be a poll to decide which Khalos starter should be added, or if they should be decided through regular job submissions?

Would you like a poll to determine which Gen 6 Starter joins? - Online Poll - StrawPoll

What's your opinion? Vote now: Yes, No...

strawpoll.com

Spoiler: Potential Jobs

Submit a List of 6 Veterans to Return
Add Newcomers from a Represented Series
Submit a List of Four Veterans to Return
Add Newcomers from an Unrepresented Series
Submit a List of Four Veterans to Return
Add One/Two Third Party Fighters
Vote for three veterans
Submit Newcomers (Open Ended)
Submit Last Minute Clones.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Villager
2. Mega Man
3. R.O.B.

1. Mario
2. Link
3. Samus
4. Kirby
5. Fox
6. Pit
7. Donkey Kong
8. Captain Falcon
9. Pikachu

 

[LoZ00]

Job #30
1. Villager: I think Villager was an ingenious choice to kick things off for Smash for. He is a recognizable and distinct choice that is and feels super Nintendo. His moveset is very unique and could generate some potential. And besides, he adds onto the "who's next?" kind of question, seeing how out of place he might feel
2. Mii: they are by far my most anticipated newcomer in this game. I think we should go for a more "standardized" Mii moveset, one that mostly focuses on Wii Sport, Wii Party, Wii Play, and similar games. I know this bears no relevance to this thread per se, but with only one type of Miis, then we have room for two more newcomers.
3. Little Mac: BRING MY BOY MAC IN! I have talked at length about him and his role as the "most sensible retro choice imo", but now he is no longer a retro choice. We owe him a spot, come on!

Shoutout to Wii Fit Trainer and Shulk for almost having made it. I think that this trio makes for a more balanced selection, though.

Job #31


I also wanted to keep the 7-1-1 proportions from the original Smash for veterans tally. As a matter of fact, I kept all of them the same except for Pit, who I replaced with Olimar. Now, I feel like I'm getting the aura of the "Kid Icraus hater" and this couldn't be farther from truth, I loved KI:U, but it is undeniable that it was just one, single game in the vast Nintendo library. It is quite like EarthBound, in a way, with the difference that EarthBound had three games in its series. On the other hand, Pikmin proved to be a lasting series for Nintendo and with Pikmin 3 on the Wii U I think that Olimar would have made for an interesting early pick. Besides, I like the aesthetic he brings in a lot more than Pit (who kind of overlaps with Link)

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

1. R.O.B.
2. Mii
3. Little Mac

 

[BritishGuy54]

Job 30:

Additions:
1. Shulk
2. Villager
3. Robin

Cuts:
1. Isaac
2. Black Shadow
3. Krystal

If someone’s getting cut because they won’t work on the 3DS, my bets are on Isaac. He’s going to be heavily demanded going into Ultimate.

Black Shadow’s time has passed, and I’m okay leaving him behind.

Krystal also just takes Wolf’s position of possibly missing the boat.

Job 31:

 

[darkvortex]

1. Villager
2. Little Mac
3. Shulk

 

[nirvanafan]

Newcomers
1
2
3 Crash / Mii Athlete
(Not sure 3rd parties are allowed, think timing for Crash could be better but this would lineup close with Crash/DK & Bowser Skylanders crossovers & be big for marketing after sony failed to get him for PS Allstars in between our games)

 

[Louie G.]

Job 30:
1. Little Mac - I've been endorsing his addition into the series since the beginning, and he genuinely would have made sense at any point. That should really emphasize him as one of the most glaring omissions thus far. Punch-Out received a brand new game for the Wii, putting him back into the limelight. I don't really think we can or should avoid this any longer... please.

2. Villager - So I wanted to add Tom Nook, but I'll wave the white flag for now and endorse Villager. I have no issues with the guy really, I just don't like resorting to avatars if a stronger character-driven choice is similarly valid. However, Villager's implementation is remarkably charming and IMO, at this point in the series lifespan he makes the most sense. Nook takes a bit of a backseat to Isabelle in New Leaf, so I don't think he would be quite on the forefront of the conversation anymore... which unfortunately makes him an unlikely addition in either of the next two titles.

3. Palutena - Well, you did ask for my three most wanted. I wanted to shout out Rhythm Heaven here, but I'm still meditating on what the best alternate character choice would be. Assuming Chorus Kids are a no-go, with the evidence being... real life. So Palutena gets a shout here, she was one of my most wanted characters during that era and the next logical step from a series that just got a wonderful new installment. As much as I want to diversify and think up some brand new ideas to supplement Smash 4's batch of newcomers, this is one I'd like if we could keep.

Job 31:


I think the crop of returning vets chosen for the real version of Smash 4 were really good. It was exciting to see the likes of Bowser and Pit given new life in response to more recent releases, while bringing in many of the faces you'd come to expect. Uprising was a hot title at the time too and personally it excited me a lot to see that acknowledged right out of the gate. It's important to show us the way certain veterans have evolved, since otherwise it's showing us more of the same. Some of the significant absent characters here aren't going to change all that much (Fox, Falcon, Ness...).

The real 2013 trailer has all of the OG 8 aside from Yoshi. In this version I'm swapping Fox out for Marth - not a matter of any real preference, just because Fire Emblem has hit a new stride at this point and is likely to see a strong presence in this game. Star Fox is on ice, for the time being. But Fox will almost certainly come back within the next batch or two. Almost tossed Olimar in here too, but Marth got dibs.

I’ll set up a poll whether there should be a poll to decide which Khalos starter should be added, or if they should be decided through regular job submissions?

I'm going to say no to this, but I wouldn't mind a job specifically for a new Pokemon. Because obviously, a new Pokemon is a necessary addition. I just really don't think it should be limited to starters... I don't think Sakurai ever emphasized as much. He just said he was able to look at some new designs early, and Greninja was the standout. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that could have certainly involved other Gen 6 Pokemon outside of starters like... I unno, Hawlucha or Goodra.

I don’t see us NOT picking Greninja, but surely we can extend this out beyond Chesnaught and Delphox too.

Cuts:
1. Isaac - Technical constraints for the 3DS.
2. Black Shadow - It’s time.
3. Krystal

Would be kind of disappointing if we just walked back on all that unique stuff we established that isn't in our reality's version of Smash, lol. That's a big part of what makes this exercise fun. But regardless, I still really don't understand why you're convinced Isaac would cause technical issues. Beyond the fact that his Assist Trophy wasn't in Smash 4 - he wasn't the only one cut, and we have never heard a definitive statement of why. I'd like to know your speculated root of these problems, since nothing he actually does strikes me as problematic.

I wanna reiterate, I don’t think we need a proper “replacement” for Ice Climbers in that we’d have to force one character out for arbitrary technical reasons if there are none. Whether we need to cut one extra character in their place or not is a question worth answering, but I think it would just be a normal cut and not involve these complications since... it's wholly speculative at that point, we don't have a duo character.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Veterans:

1. Mario
2. Link
3. Samus
4. Marth
5. Captain Falcon
6. Kirby
7. Pikachu
8. Bowser
9. Mudkip

Cuts:
1. Snake
2. Grovyle
3. Blaziken

 

[TheLastMaverickHunter]

Newcomers:

1. 
   
2. Bandana Dee
3. 

Veterans:

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 

 

[Pupp135]

Because there have been a couple posts listing characters that should be cut, I’d like to note that cuts are being handled the same way our alternate Brawl was handled where we drip feed veterans until we run out of slots.

 

[BritishGuy54]

Because there have been a couple posts listing characters that should be cut, I’d like to note that cuts are being handled the same way our alternate Brawl was handled where we drip feed veterans until we run out of slots.

My mistake. Misread the job description.

 

[Mamboo07]

Veterans

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. (Poor guy gets ignored and left out)
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 

Newcomers

1. Bandana Dee
2. 
3.