Starter or unlockable?

[Toxicroaker]

I am beginning to think that Sakaria is showing the uncrackable characters right up front to. But there is the chance that Toon Link is starter

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Well, there is a chance for that, but the same can be said for Luigi.

I'm not sure what to expect, Toon Link seems like an unusual character to have as a starter, being a clone, and again, this applies to Luigi as well (aside from Luigi being much less of a clone). Major things happened for both Luigi and Toon Link during their reveals though, (The Year of Luigi and M&L Dream Team's release in Japan and Wind Waker HD's release in Japan) but if we get characters like Mewtwo revealed, I'd further doubt them being starters. As of now, I don't think their reveals hint much at being starters.

 

[BlitznBurst]

It's possible Sakurai just doesn't see the point in keeping veterans secret seeing as they were already in the last game, regardless of their status as "hidden" characters. Especially with lal the confusion this lead to last time in regards to Ness.

 

[MasteRMerF]

I feel like Toon Link will be an unlockable again.

 

[Banjodorf]

I'm actually trying to figure out if we'll even have unlockable a this time around. Maybe that too is an aspect of Sakurai being disappointed in the spoilerific nature of the Internet. I guess we'll see.

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

I'm actually trying to figure out if we'll even have unlockable a this time around. Maybe that too is an aspect of Sakurai being disappointed in the spoilerific nature of the Internet. I guess we'll see.

Thats insane defeating the unlockable character is a ritual of smash bros series

As for me im extremly sure you still have to unlock toon link and luigi too

 

[Toxicroaker]

I believe that Luigi might be starter (they might do the opposite of melee and have Luigi and Jigglypuff starter and Captain Falcon and Ness unlockable) but Toon Link? He will almost definitely be unlockable. Well that ruins my plans of figuring the unlockables out by myself. I was going to just quit all smash bros related stuff on the internet until I unlocked all of the characters.

 

[Luigimitsu]

Did they already confirm that we will have to unlock characters and stages? Personally, I would prefer it if I didn't have to do that. I remember first getting Brawl, and the first thing I did was make a special Brawl on stamina 1% with the flower (instant end to the match) and spamming the start button, so I could just play the game with all the characters. I have spent thousands of hours playing Brawl, it is my most played video game by far, so I don't want to unlock anything this time round.

Look at what Tekken 6 did, you have all the characters and stages straight away, and just think about how much easier it is for competitive players, you don't need to go through the hassle of unlocking stuff on each and every set up for tournaments.

If anything I think Toon Link would be an unlockable.

 

[Xenigma]

I doubt this implies TL is a starter. What he is is a veteran, and one who is at the peak of his popularity with Wind Waker HD out now. It's a smart move to reveal him now and bring even more hype to SSB4, even if he ends up being a secret character in the final game.

 

[Deleted member]

I think that he is an unlockable. If Luigi and Toon Link are unlockables, then I find them to be the exceptions as they have a game to promote (and in Luigi's case being the Year of Luigi). Besides, this reveal could appeal to SSB fans to get Wind Waker HD and it could get Wind Waker fans more hyped up for SSB4.

 

[grizby2]

Did they already confirm that we will have to unlock characters and stages? Personally, I would prefer it if I didn't have to do that. I remember first getting Brawl, and the first thing I did was make a special Brawl on stamina 1% with the flower (instant end to the match) and spamming the start button, so I could just play the game with all the characters. I have spent thousands of hours playing Brawl, it is my most played video game by far, so I don't want to unlock anything this time round.

Look at what Tekken 6 did, you have all the characters and stages straight away, and just think about how much easier it is for competitive players, you don't need to go through the hassle of unlocking stuff on each and every set up for tournaments.

If anything I think Toon Link would be an unlockable.

if there is an unlocking system (which I think there should be, for the sake of tradition) I really hope it does make us repeat 1%-stamina-with-flower matches (I admit to doing it) . unlocking characters shouldn't be affiliated with any type of grinding.
also, someone mentioned that there should be an in-game list of all tasks you need to do to unlock anything that is unlockable, so that you can be SURE you're not missing anything. that was very good idea.

 

[moneyfrenzy]

Did they already confirm that we will have to unlock characters and stages? Personally, I would prefer it if I didn't have to do that. I remember first getting Brawl, and the first thing I did was make a special Brawl on stamina 1% with the flower (instant end to the match) and spamming the start button, so I could just play the game with all the characters. I have spent thousands of hours playing Brawl, it is my most played video game by far, so I don't want to unlock anything this time round.

Look at what Tekken 6 did, you have all the characters and stages straight away, and just think about how much easier it is for competitive players, you don't need to go through the hassle of unlocking stuff on each and every set up for tournaments.

If anything I think Toon Link would be an unlockable.

just do story mode in brawl...

 

[SmashChu]

Probably locked. I think Sakurai is just showing some of the locked characters early this time.

 

[Curious Villager]

If Toon Link is unlockable again, just please don't make him so time consumingly long to unlock again. But seeing how there is not another Subspace Emissary, I would hopefully not have to worry about that. Hopefully it would just be something simple like beat Classic mode as Link on normal difficulty or something.

 

[Xigger]

Actually, if you think about the game as a whole... A lot of gameplay time is spent unlocking characters because there isn't TOO MUCH outside the actual games. That realistically could change.

This game around, the focus is on customizing "your" characters... perhaps Smash will approach the modern fighting game philosophy and not lock characters. After all there's something better to spend your time fighting for, if customization is as big as Sakurai makes it to be...

 

[JetpackX]

I personally think that Toon Link should just be an unlockable character like he was last time in Brawl. Except that it should be like clearing Classic Mode on Normal with Link or something

 

[MSmariosonic]

Well..If they were to reveal another unlockable before release it would probably be Jigglypuff due to Pokemon X and Y. Because Jiggly is now a normal/fairy type I wouldn't be surprised if they revealed it before release.

 

[MSmariosonic]

I personally think that Toon Link should just be an unlockable character like he was last time in Brawl. Except that it should be like clearing Classic Mode on Normal with Link or something

I agree with your signature

 

[O Dog]

Well, there is a chance for that, but the same can be said for Luigi.

I'm not sure what to expect, Toon Link seems like an unusual character to have as a starter, being a clone, and again, this applies to Luigi as well (aside from Luigi being much less of a clone). Major things happened for both Luigi and Toon Link during their reveals though, (The Year of Luigi and M&L Dream Team's release in Japan and Wind Waker HD's release in Japan) but if we get characters like Mewtwo revealed, I'd further doubt them being starters. As of now, I don't think their reveals hint much at being starters.

Luigi cannot be a starter due to the tradition of him being a secret character. Remember the Secret Perfect Attendees mission in Brawl? Him, along with the other 3, should they return, will all be secret due to tradition.

 

[TigerBizNiz]

Unlockable more likely. It seems too sketchy to have two Links as starter characters just like someone mentioned earlier. I see him being unlocked more early in the game unlike Brawl.

 

[AnOkayDM]

He and Luigi will both be unlockable, and I assume third-party characters will as well, like Brawl. If that's the case, we currently have four unlockable characters confirmed (though Brawl showcased both its third-party characters early as well).

I can't imagine the game starting with both Links on the character screen, unless there are no more unlockable things. Besides, clones are traditionally unlockable. I think his reveal was this early (a) because of WWHD and (b) because he's a veteran, so there's no point in keeping him a secret, unlockable or not. (Plus this paves the way for a related character such as Toon Zelda/Tetra, should one be in the game; announcing a Toon character before Toon Link himself would be silly, as it would essentially confirm Toon Link's existence before officially confirming him.)

 

[GreenPhysco]

Hopefully everybody announced will be starters and unannounced characters will be unlockable

 

[MZX64]

Hopefully it isn't a hassle to unlock him.

 

[Morbi]

I feel as though starting with 2 Links would be awkward, so he will probably be unlock-able, as per tradition.

 

[KatKit]

I think he'll be unlockable. I hope that there are several different ways to unlock him like:

-Beat Classic on Hard with Link without getting a game over.

-Alternatively, fight any Zelda stages for a total of 15 matches.

-Beat Classic with Zelda or Sheik on Normal or above without losing a life.

Or maybe have something random that you discover accidentally like customizing the likelihood that Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, or Spirit Track songs play on a Zelda stage. Something music and Zelda oriented would be pretty neat, for a number of reasons.

 

[Curious Villager]

I'm starting to think that he's going to become a starter along with &. Not sure about though. I guess I'm going to wait and see about the rest of the veterans that get revealed before the release of the 3DS version...

I'd be totally cool with that.

 

[Knight Dude]

If we do have unlockable characters, then I think he might be one of them. It makes some sense to have an alternate version of a character be unlockable, rather then be shown from the get-go. But Smash 4 could take the Ultimate Marvel 3 route and have the entire roster playable as soon as you boot up the game. I'm sure some people would prefer both methods.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

Probably would be unlockable again. Perhaps make him unlockable during the middle of the game, not like right at the end

 

[Homelessvagrant]

I'm sure he'll be a starter. The only character I can see not being a starter in the roster right now is Megaman, Sonic and maybe Luigi (given the comment made by Sakurai). If Sakurai was revealing unlockable characters, he would be revealing characters more liberally than he is. As of now we are at 29 characters, which is respectable number approaching a complete starter roster. However considering we have a rough 10 to 20 more characters yet to be revealed, with the game coming out at the latest in August - it just doesn't make sense.

However making certain characters unlockable starters makes perfect sense. At this point unlocking certain characters has become a chore, there's no fun unlocking the same 14+ characters. the mysterious factor has faded so saving them for post release is fruitless; it makes more sense to have more newcomers to fit the unlockable slots. Furthermore haging 20+ unlockables would just be taxing.

Now as far as representation goes, why Tink was chosen as a starter instead of Ganondorf is a good question.

 

[GreenPhysco]

Everyone announced so far will be a starter while the unannounced will be unlockable

 

[AppleCracker]

There needs to be unlockable system! That's like tradition!

 

[Wyoming]

He's on the back of the cover. Essentially confirms his starter status?

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah I think he's most likely a starter now if the back of the cover is anything to go by (The third parties is anyone's guess I suppose though)

I'm totally fine with that if he's a starter now. c: