This has been a long time coming, so I hope you all enjoy! Due to its size, I will post it in parts.
(NOTE: please wait a bit before posting. Gotta make sure I have enough
Smash games are always greeted with a lot of speculation on the roster. While all of us have dream rosters, some of us what to guess who will happen. However, I feel we end up running in circles and many try to be the smartest guy in the room rather than to understand what will happen. Of course, the end result is that many of us turn out wrong. Rather than step back for a second, people continue on the same flawed crusade. Instead of that, I want to try and forge a new path and learn from the past.
Looking Beyond the Norm
One of the issues that comes up in this art of roster analysis is trying to understand the roster selection. From what I saw in Brawl, most people were very wrong on who got in and who didn't. With SSB4, many of us try to correct this mistake. However, to do this, we must change our point of view.
The current roster analysis environment (if you want to call it that) is based on “what.” It is base on arbitrary facts on why one character will get in and why another wont. With Brawl, many look at it and see “what” got characters in. For instance, one character didn't into Brawl, so everyone applies that context onto other characters. They look at what happened. What needs to happen is looking at “why” something happened. Understand what only works in that instance of what happened. Consider this: You take a test and fail is. That is what happened. You don't want to fail, so you would try to find out “why” you failed. See, what is only half of the story. Why something happened is the full story. What only tells us what was or is. Why tries to understand it in hopes of applying.
What I have learned from roster analysis is that what doesn't get you anywhere. It is only a recount of history. What needs to happen is “why”. In this analysis, I will say what happened but also why it happened. If I know why something happened, then I can start applying it in today’s context. Then, he can make more accurate predictions.
Lastly, you have to be wary of the norms. Somewhere along the lines, new rules are made up which may or may matter. In all of this, you can't be afraid to question an idea. You have to ask yourself “does that make sense.” I feel that a lot of us cling to an old idea. We have this set context of how this all works and ideas become stale. We don't sit back and ask ourselves if an idea is right or not. Question everything. In this article, I plan to try and question ideas that come up. I call these Sacred Cows and I plan to knock them out.
I hope you all enjoy!
Sakurai's Criteria
At GDC 2008, Sakurai mentioned his criteria for new characters in the Super Smash Brothers games. If the idea is to understand what characters got it, it would make sense to understand these first. I'll list off each criteria and give a brief interpretation of it.
# 1: The character's inclusion must make people want to play the game.
This means that the characters added have to make people excited. They have to make people interested and want to play the game just by looking at them. They have to be an easy sell. At first glance, this means just characters people want the most or the popular ones. But it also includes characters who would make people interested despite knowing little about them. Think of it as characters that are easy to sell. They have a certain charm that attracts people and makes them want to find out more. A good example is Pokemon Trainer. He was not asked for a lot before he was shown. Afterward, he became a big hit. A lot of people wanted to play as him. They were quickly won over. This is a very hard quality to find in a character and not easy to pin down except for the really popular ones.
As I go though this, you'll see me point to a lot of different characters and note that popularity helped them get in. So why do I put this here then? I point this out that popularity alone can not make a characters. It may be better to ask what makes a character popular. I don't think the character starts popular, but a character is really cool or interesting and that makes them popular. So a lot of these popular characters are really interesting and become popular as a result. Generally, I see them as likable. They are importaint int heir game, they are unique and are just flat out cool. There is something endering about them. The hard part of this is it is an art. There is no formula you can apply to figure out who fits the bill. But when you see them....
One last note on popularity.
Sacred Cow # 1: Popularity is all that matters
As I go though this, I'll point out some things I hear and try to stamp them out. This is one I use to think and I'm sure others still do. Popularity is important, but not the only factor. Mr. Game and Watch was not popular. ROB wasn't. Most people didn't like the Pokemon Trainer until they saw it. Popularity alone does not drive characters. Like I said above, why is a character popular. That is what you need to ask.
The first criteria is one of the most important, but it is also one of the hardest to nail down. I say this includes characters who are likable. What does this mean? I will explain as I go.
# 2: The character must be unique.
The character should have abilities and traits that only they can do. People will say “But that's not true at all. Look at Lucas. Look at Wolf.” While those two have a lot in common to other characters, they also look and act different, which is part about being unique. They also have some abilities the other can't do, so while their special moves are similar, their other attacks are not (and for good reason). A good example of a character that violates this is Ninten. He is really just Ness and there is nothing that sets him apart. Dark Pit is another example. And as I said before, looks matter too. Moves are not the only thing that is taken into account here. Generally, they should stand out from the rest of the cast.
# 3: The character must fit into the style of Super Smash Bros.
This can mean a lot. For one, it means they should be able to fight. L Block would be a good example of this. The other thing which is ignored is that the game shouldn't have to work around them to work. Kraid is a good example, or even Doshin the Giant. They are huge characters. They wouldn't be able to be smashed out. Taking this concept even further, I can apply it Slime from Dragon Quest. Some think he will be added since Nintendo has supported the series more. But he can't work in the game space. He has no limbs. He can't hold items, or grab the ledge. “But wait a minute” they say “He can hold the ball in Mario Sports Mix.” This isn't Mario Sports Mix. They'd add big Kraid if he needed to be in. Smash is not as liberal in these regards and will not make items float next to the character. If it's not practical, than it wont work. If the game has to work around the character, it means it violates this rule.
Generally, most characters will work, so I will assume every character I'm talking about fits this.
# 4: They must contribute to the series balance.
This means that when a character is added, they have to round out the series. There can't be too many characters from one series, and not to few. Most people will apply this to just the smaller series, but it works for the bigger ones too. When looking at characters, we have to run the gambit. The series should blend well so the new characters feel like they come from all over. In others words, you cant add a bunch of characters from a larger series, but you cant add a bunch to a lot of smaller series, ignoring the major series. This is easier to see when you look at the roster as a whole, so keep this in mind.
While this seems simple, it is much hard to point out. I'm sure a lot of people here can apply it (loosly) to any character. The thing is that some will fit these better than others. And still, it may be hard to interpret them at times. Though my analysis and my roster, I will try to apply it to the characters in each game.
So now we have an understanding of what Sakurai is looking for, we can move onto the games. I'll be coming back to this towards the end.
(NOTE: please wait a bit before posting. Gotta make sure I have enough
Smash games are always greeted with a lot of speculation on the roster. While all of us have dream rosters, some of us what to guess who will happen. However, I feel we end up running in circles and many try to be the smartest guy in the room rather than to understand what will happen. Of course, the end result is that many of us turn out wrong. Rather than step back for a second, people continue on the same flawed crusade. Instead of that, I want to try and forge a new path and learn from the past.
Looking Beyond the Norm
One of the issues that comes up in this art of roster analysis is trying to understand the roster selection. From what I saw in Brawl, most people were very wrong on who got in and who didn't. With SSB4, many of us try to correct this mistake. However, to do this, we must change our point of view.
The current roster analysis environment (if you want to call it that) is based on “what.” It is base on arbitrary facts on why one character will get in and why another wont. With Brawl, many look at it and see “what” got characters in. For instance, one character didn't into Brawl, so everyone applies that context onto other characters. They look at what happened. What needs to happen is looking at “why” something happened. Understand what only works in that instance of what happened. Consider this: You take a test and fail is. That is what happened. You don't want to fail, so you would try to find out “why” you failed. See, what is only half of the story. Why something happened is the full story. What only tells us what was or is. Why tries to understand it in hopes of applying.
What I have learned from roster analysis is that what doesn't get you anywhere. It is only a recount of history. What needs to happen is “why”. In this analysis, I will say what happened but also why it happened. If I know why something happened, then I can start applying it in today’s context. Then, he can make more accurate predictions.
Lastly, you have to be wary of the norms. Somewhere along the lines, new rules are made up which may or may matter. In all of this, you can't be afraid to question an idea. You have to ask yourself “does that make sense.” I feel that a lot of us cling to an old idea. We have this set context of how this all works and ideas become stale. We don't sit back and ask ourselves if an idea is right or not. Question everything. In this article, I plan to try and question ideas that come up. I call these Sacred Cows and I plan to knock them out.
I hope you all enjoy!
Sakurai's Criteria
At GDC 2008, Sakurai mentioned his criteria for new characters in the Super Smash Brothers games. If the idea is to understand what characters got it, it would make sense to understand these first. I'll list off each criteria and give a brief interpretation of it.
# 1: The character's inclusion must make people want to play the game.
This means that the characters added have to make people excited. They have to make people interested and want to play the game just by looking at them. They have to be an easy sell. At first glance, this means just characters people want the most or the popular ones. But it also includes characters who would make people interested despite knowing little about them. Think of it as characters that are easy to sell. They have a certain charm that attracts people and makes them want to find out more. A good example is Pokemon Trainer. He was not asked for a lot before he was shown. Afterward, he became a big hit. A lot of people wanted to play as him. They were quickly won over. This is a very hard quality to find in a character and not easy to pin down except for the really popular ones.
As I go though this, you'll see me point to a lot of different characters and note that popularity helped them get in. So why do I put this here then? I point this out that popularity alone can not make a characters. It may be better to ask what makes a character popular. I don't think the character starts popular, but a character is really cool or interesting and that makes them popular. So a lot of these popular characters are really interesting and become popular as a result. Generally, I see them as likable. They are importaint int heir game, they are unique and are just flat out cool. There is something endering about them. The hard part of this is it is an art. There is no formula you can apply to figure out who fits the bill. But when you see them....
One last note on popularity.
Sacred Cow # 1: Popularity is all that matters
As I go though this, I'll point out some things I hear and try to stamp them out. This is one I use to think and I'm sure others still do. Popularity is important, but not the only factor. Mr. Game and Watch was not popular. ROB wasn't. Most people didn't like the Pokemon Trainer until they saw it. Popularity alone does not drive characters. Like I said above, why is a character popular. That is what you need to ask.
The first criteria is one of the most important, but it is also one of the hardest to nail down. I say this includes characters who are likable. What does this mean? I will explain as I go.
# 2: The character must be unique.
The character should have abilities and traits that only they can do. People will say “But that's not true at all. Look at Lucas. Look at Wolf.” While those two have a lot in common to other characters, they also look and act different, which is part about being unique. They also have some abilities the other can't do, so while their special moves are similar, their other attacks are not (and for good reason). A good example of a character that violates this is Ninten. He is really just Ness and there is nothing that sets him apart. Dark Pit is another example. And as I said before, looks matter too. Moves are not the only thing that is taken into account here. Generally, they should stand out from the rest of the cast.
# 3: The character must fit into the style of Super Smash Bros.
This can mean a lot. For one, it means they should be able to fight. L Block would be a good example of this. The other thing which is ignored is that the game shouldn't have to work around them to work. Kraid is a good example, or even Doshin the Giant. They are huge characters. They wouldn't be able to be smashed out. Taking this concept even further, I can apply it Slime from Dragon Quest. Some think he will be added since Nintendo has supported the series more. But he can't work in the game space. He has no limbs. He can't hold items, or grab the ledge. “But wait a minute” they say “He can hold the ball in Mario Sports Mix.” This isn't Mario Sports Mix. They'd add big Kraid if he needed to be in. Smash is not as liberal in these regards and will not make items float next to the character. If it's not practical, than it wont work. If the game has to work around the character, it means it violates this rule.
Generally, most characters will work, so I will assume every character I'm talking about fits this.
# 4: They must contribute to the series balance.
This means that when a character is added, they have to round out the series. There can't be too many characters from one series, and not to few. Most people will apply this to just the smaller series, but it works for the bigger ones too. When looking at characters, we have to run the gambit. The series should blend well so the new characters feel like they come from all over. In others words, you cant add a bunch of characters from a larger series, but you cant add a bunch to a lot of smaller series, ignoring the major series. This is easier to see when you look at the roster as a whole, so keep this in mind.
While this seems simple, it is much hard to point out. I'm sure a lot of people here can apply it (loosly) to any character. The thing is that some will fit these better than others. And still, it may be hard to interpret them at times. Though my analysis and my roster, I will try to apply it to the characters in each game.
So now we have an understanding of what Sakurai is looking for, we can move onto the games. I'll be coming back to this towards the end.