Sunrise, Sunset - Isaac for Smash Ultimate #GoldenSunday

[Kisae]

Call me crazy, But as i've sat down here observing the newcomer list. I think I might have found a pattern. Inkling, Ridley, Simon, K rool, Isabelle. I've been sitting here for a while trying to think of what that could mean, why they would order things out in this manner. Then it hit me. Every other fighter is a character that was prevalent in the ballot, follow this.

The ballot basically didn't have to play a role to get the Inklings in. I mean I saw fans asking online, but nowhere near as much so as the really big names. They were a dead give away, with or without a ballot. But the next newcomer is Ridley, who is obviously a fighter fans pushed hard for online. Simon came after, who is seemingly Ultimate's big new third party representative. Not saying he's not worthy, but I don't know about you. But who was a big Simon supporter during the ballot era? I didn't see him on many poles at all. Then we get to K rool, who again, was humongous so much so Sakurai even said he got a ton of votes. Go next to Isabelle who was like inklings, the next most obvious shoe in, I doubt that ballot was the defining factor for her as she was already an assist, but her popularity and recency spoke for itself.

So going by this, assuming this is the pattern, I have a strong feeling whoever is next will be a character that is a heavy as heck fan demand. Be it Geno, or Isaac. Then we can follow up with another -obvious- choice. Probably Incineroar. So if we do get a direct, I expect the inverse of the last smash direct. Where we open up with character that will set the internet on fire, and close on a character that while sure to make some folks happy, wasn't a huge factor in the ballot. I'd also like to think that seeing as we started off with a character who didn't have MASSIVE ballot support, that being Inklings, would it not be appropriate to also end off on a character who fans wanted? So my prediction would go, Isaac, Incinroar, Geno. Or, Geno, Incinroar, Isaac. And those are our final true newcomers for the base roster. Again this is all predicated under the assumption that a pattern exists. i'm just thinking about things is all.

Dude this is yet crazy but i do want to believe this soooo much. Hope you're right about this^^

 

[Q-Long]

Would have prefered another franchise getting a new track, honestly.

It was a pretty "expected remix"

Especially in comparison to stuff like City Trial and the Daytona style Fzero remix

 

[JaidynReiman]

It was a pretty "expected remix"

Especially in comparison to stuff like City Trial and the Daytona style Fzero remix

We already knew about Id~Purpose because of Chrom.

 

[FlawedAI]

We already knew about Id~Purpose because of Chrom.

And Robin's 20 second trailer.

 

[Pyzlnar]

I don't follow all the leaks, so I'm just wondering.

Is there any evidence/theories pointing to a new Pokemon, or Incineroar other than "Vegetable Bin said so"?

(Eg: Skull Kid's chair theory + missing assist, Isaac's Sakurai's tweet + missing assist)

 

[TempestSurge]

Call me crazy, But as i've sat down here observing the newcomer list. I think I might have found a pattern. Inkling, Ridley, Simon, K rool, Isabelle. I've been sitting here for a while trying to think of what that could mean, why they would order things out in this manner. Then it hit me. Every other fighter is a character that was prevalent in the ballot, follow this.

The ballot basically didn't have to play a role to get the Inklings in. I mean I saw fans asking online, but nowhere near as much so as the really big names. They were a dead give away, with or without a ballot. But the next newcomer is Ridley, who is obviously a fighter fans pushed hard for online. Simon came after, who is seemingly Ultimate's big new third party representative. Not saying he's not worthy, but I don't know about you. But who was a big Simon supporter during the ballot era? I didn't see him on many poles at all. Then we get to K rool, who again, was humongous so much so Sakurai even said he got a ton of votes. Go next to Isabelle who was like inklings, the next most obvious shoe in, I doubt that ballot was the defining factor for her as she was already an assist, but her popularity and recency spoke for itself.

So going by this, assuming this is the pattern, I have a strong feeling whoever is next will be a character that is a heavy as heck fan demand. Be it Geno, or Isaac. Then we can follow up with another -obvious- choice. Probably Incineroar. So if we do get a direct, I expect the inverse of the last smash direct. Where we open up with character that will set the internet on fire, and close on a character that while sure to make some folks happy, wasn't a huge factor in the ballot. I'd also like to think that seeing as we started off with a character who didn't have MASSIVE ballot support, that being Inklings, would it not be appropriate to also end off on a character who fans wanted? So my prediction would go, Isaac, Incinroar, Geno. Or, Geno, Incinroar, Isaac. And those are our final true newcomers for the base roster. Again this is all predicated under the assumption that a pattern exists. i'm just thinking about things is all.

After the August direct, one of Sakurai's interviews in the portion he talks about K. Rool, he mentions how he referred to the Smash ballot when selecting characters and even states how K. Rool received a ton of votes.

Of course you'll likely find mixed opinions from the community on whether a majority of the roster is popular fan favorites or if he meant like two characters.

Simon in particular, I've actually went back to old 2015 polls to see how Isaac placed back then and surprisingly enough, there were some comments from fans here and there on these poll articles that talked about wanting Simon. I mean as a third party, I don't think the bar is that high, since naturally there would be more requests for Nintendo characters anyways, so it's probs a matter of how many times Sakurai just happens to see it come up/suggested vs Simon and Cloud having to receive a huge ton of requests on the level of Ridley and K. Rool.
.

 

[THE 6r]

Call me crazy, But as i've sat down here observing the newcomer list. I think I might have found a pattern. Inkling, Ridley, Simon, K rool, Isabelle. I've been sitting here for a while trying to think of what that could mean, why they would order things out in this manner. Then it hit me. Every other fighter is a character that was prevalent in the ballot, follow this.

The ballot basically didn't have to play a role to get the Inklings in. I mean I saw fans asking online, but nowhere near as much so as the really big names. They were a dead give away, with or without a ballot. But the next newcomer is Ridley, who is obviously a fighter fans pushed hard for online. Simon came after, who is seemingly Ultimate's big new third party representative. Not saying he's not worthy, but I don't know about you. But who was a big Simon supporter during the ballot era? I didn't see him on many poles at all. Then we get to K rool, who again, was humongous so much so Sakurai even said he got a ton of votes. Go next to Isabelle who was like inklings, the next most obvious shoe in, I doubt that ballot was the defining factor for her as she was already an assist, but her popularity and recency spoke for itself.

So going by this, assuming this is the pattern, I have a strong feeling whoever is next will be a character that is a heavy as heck fan demand. Be it Geno, or Isaac. Then we can follow up with another -obvious- choice. Probably Incineroar. So if we do get a direct, I expect the inverse of the last smash direct. Where we open up with character that will set the internet on fire, and close on a character that while sure to make some folks happy, wasn't a huge factor in the ballot. I'd also like to think that seeing as we started off with a character who didn't have MASSIVE ballot support, that being Inklings, would it not be appropriate to also end off on a character who fans wanted? So my prediction would go, Isaac, Incinroar, Geno. Or, Geno, Incinroar, Isaac. And those are our final true newcomers for the base roster. Again this is all predicated under the assumption that a pattern exists. i'm just thinking about things is all.

Perhaps, but this does depend on what Sakurai considers a "fan favorite" character. All characters have their supporters and, while this pattern seems plausible, I wouldn't say it's something that is truly set in stone.

 

[Knight-Adept]

Hmm, still no announcement of a Direct. One-off trailer, then, I presume. Probably Incineroar, then, supposing Verg isn't just pulling things out of thin air.

 

[XenoWarriorX]

Also, **** Incenroar.

I get Music Theory was a thing against a Pokémon Rep, but now that there are people spouting this, people will expect Incenroar.

But what sane person at Nintendo would include that cat over the cooler owl?

Honestly, I would the Grass owl over that dumb tiger anyday.

But I also don't want any new Pokémon since my most wanted newcomers are from franchises that people don't give a **** about on SmashBoards.

So for the sake of pissing off the Vergeben fanboys, I'll just say that Incenroar's chances are non-existent to me, since I refuse to acknowledge it.

 

[Knight-Adept]

I mean, there's no guarantee it will be Incineroar, but if we assume Verg isn't lying he would seem to be the most probable character for a single reveal- you don't need much context for yet another Pokemon rep. But it could be another Pokemon, I suppose.

 

[XenoWarriorX]

I mean, there's no guarantee it will be Incineroar, but if we assume Verg isn't lying he would seem to be the most probable character for a single reveal- you don't need much context for yet another Pokemon rep.

I don't need much context to want to hate the mere possibility of it.

10 characters for Pokémon? 10!?

Yet they can't even be bothered to give the lower franchises a chance. Imagine a world where Pokémon wasn't getting a newcomer, and that development time went to instead work on other characters.

That would be my "too good to be true" world.

 

[TempestSurge]

Perhaps, but this does depend on what Sakurai considers a "fan favorite" character. All characters have their supporters and, while this pattern seems plausible, I wouldn't say it's something that is truly set in stone.

I don't think Sakurai has to do much considering himself with the ballot in hand. He even came out and states in his column how K. Rool received a ton of votes in particular. He has a cheat sheet if you will, and all veterans returning makes sense in that context, they probs received a ton of votes (the ballot started before Roy and Lucas would be revealed as DLC later) and it's likely why the number of assist trophies has been bumped up even more this installment to represent as many of these ballot picks as he can. If anything, with the limited newcomers this smash cycle, the question becomes which ones got prioritized for the base roster.

 

[THE 6r]

I don't need much context to want to hate the mere possibility of it.

10 characters for Pokémon? 10!?

Yet they can't even be bothered to give the lower franchises a chance. Imagine a world where Pokémon wasn't getting a newcomer, and that development time went to instead work on other characters.

That would be my "too good to be true" world.

In fairness, three of those characters are under the PT banner but anyways.
Something I've noticed with franchises with greater amounts of characters in Smash that they tend to have a high amount of character turnover in the base games. Every generation of Pokemon has a completely different set of characters then the previous one. Similar story with Fire Emblem, that series tends to hop from one timeline and contingent too another with little or no connect to the previous one that they were on in the prior game. Same can be said about Zelda. Most of the other franchises have a pretty consistent cast of characters from all the games in their series. Mario is the only oddity, but it's Mario so it gets a pass.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

I don't think Sakurai has to do much considering himself with the ballot in hand. He even came out and states in his column how K. Rool received a ton of votes in particular. He has a cheat sheet if you will, and all veterans returning makes sense in that context, they probs received a ton of votes (the ballot started before Roy and Lucas would be revealed as DLC later) and it's likely why the number of assist trophies has been bumped up even more this installment to represent as many of these ballot picks as he can. If anything, with the limited newcomers this smash cycle, the question becomes which ones got prioritized for the base roster.

What gets prioritized is whether or not Sakurai believes K. Rool and Ridley are good enough to represent the ballot choices. It is uncertain how many, if any, ballot newcomers remain that Sakurai will add in.

We also have not seen any of the usual newcomers that Sakurai adds each game:

• Retro Rep
• Unexpected Rep
• Pokemon Rep

 

[KoopaSaki]

What gets prioritized is whether or not Sakurai believes K. Rool and Ridley are good enough to represent the ballot choices. It is uncertain how many, if any, ballot newcomers remain that Sakurai will add in.

We also have not seen any of the usual newcomers that Sakurai adds each game:

• Retro Rep
• Unexpected Rep
• Pokemon Rep

Does Isaac fall under the retro rep given his first game coming out in 2001? Or could he qualify for unexpected rep?

 

[XenoWarriorX]

If Incenroar gets in, he'll be the first newcomer that I'll actively purge from my active memory.


I'll just pretend it doesn't exist.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Does Isaac fall under the retro rep given his first game coming out in 2001? Or could he qualify for unexpected rep?

Nope. Someone like Excite Biker is retro. Golden Sun is not old enough to be retro, but not new enough to be considered modern either.

As for unexpected rep, those mainly come from franchises nobody would have seen coming such as: . What I mean is, they are so far out of left field that they rarely were on anybody's radar.

Edit: In the likely hood that Sakurai decides K. Rool and Ridley are enough for the ballot, then the only characters who still have good chances are Banjo and Geno since they are 3rd party and they don't normally follow any Smash guidelines as Nintendo characters have.

Edit 2: As for DLC, upcoming franchises such as ARMS and other new Nintendo IPs would likely get priority since Bayonetta and Corrin were added in the last Smash game. Then we need to factor in 3rd party characters who were added as promotions for games/exclusives/ports, if all the Final Fantasy games coming to Switch is anything to go by by adding in Cloud.

 

[ZelDan]

Of all the theories, the "music theory" was the one I liked, athough Geno was in an iffy spot because of it so I guess one takeaway is that this helps Geno (and apparently Isaac since there's a seperate theory revolving around composers).

As for Incineroar, I'm not exactly against its inclusion, I just wouldn't want it to be the only unique left to announce. If I get some of my other most wanted characters then Incineraor existing in Smash would no issue to me.

 

[TempestSurge]

What gets prioritized is whether or not Sakurai believes K. Rool and Ridley are good enough to represent the ballot choices. It is uncertain how many, if any, ballot newcomers remain that Sakurai will add in.

We also have not seen any of the usual newcomers that Sakurai adds each game:

• Retro Rep
• Unexpected Rep
• Pokemon Rep

Pokemon rep seems the most likely on that list, maybe if this was the usual smash cycle with expected 15 newcomers or something the others wouldn't be as questionable. Right now we're still sitting on just one new first party franchise, in Splatoon, with a chance of it being the only one.

 

[Delta64]

Here are some thoughts on today's remix. I really am not a fan of this remix sample choice because we already knew about the remix (Chrom trailer/ Robin 20 second video). It would be like them putting up the remix for Termina Field which we already heard in the last smash direct (during the stage showcase).

The thing I like best about this music sample is that it makes it more unlikely we will get another Fire Emblem character in the base roster. Because if we did they would post a third Fire Emblem remix after an announcement which I certainly hope they don't do. Also maybe the reason they chose this remix was so they could keep showing the work of multiple composers and not double up (composer theory).

Edit: Apparently the composer of this new remix is a former KONAMI employee. Nice to see he is able to work on something.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Pokemon rep seems the most likely on that list, maybe if this was the usual smash cycle with expected 15 newcomers or something the others wouldn't be as questionable. Right now we're still sitting on just one new first party franchise, in Splatoon, with a chance of it being the only one.

If we go by new series added by Smash game after 64:

Melee:

Brawl:

Smash 4:

So far, the least amount of newest franchises represented in Smash have been three and we already have Castlevania and Splatoon (the question is if 3rd party franchises would take from that number).

 

[TempestSurge]

If we go by new series added by Smash game after 64:

Melee:

Brawl:

Smash 4:

So far, the least amount of newest franchises represented in Smash have been three and we already have Castlevania and Splatoon.

I mean strictly first party. All we have are the Inklings who were considered the biggest shoo in for the next Smash game anyways. Cloud and Ryu didn't come at the expense of new Nintendo first party reps, so I'd kinda hate it if most of the new franchises in this small amount of newcomers were repped by third parties (considering Verge also mentioned a Square rep and all).

 

[SuperNintendoKid]

Also, **** Incenroar.

I get Music Theory was a thing against a Pokémon Rep, but now that there are people spouting this, people will expect Incenroar.

But what sane person at Nintendo would include that cat over the cooler owl?

Honestly, I would the Grass owl over that dumb tiger anyday.

But I also don't want any new Pokémon since my most wanted newcomers are from franchises that people don't give a **** about on SmashBoards.

So for the sake of pissing off the Vergeben fanboys, I'll just say that Incenroar's chances are non-existent to me, since I refuse to acknowledge it.

my only guess is that they wanna save the grass starter for Sceptile or something, but that seems unlikely.

 

[GoodGrief741]

I used to be behind Decidueye getting in Smash, but then I played Pokken DX at a friend’s and goddamn does he look ****ing derpy.

 

[ZelDan]

I used to be behind Decidueye getting in Smash, but then I played Pokken DX at a friend’s and goddamn does he look ****ing derpy.

If we had to have a pokemon rep, Decidueye is the one I would want. Even then I wouldn't bat an eye if the owl wasn't in Smash.

 

[jweb23]

Out of all the various theories to be slain of course it had to be the one that gives us the most hope for more newcomers, smh. At least Blog Theory still lives for now.

On another note, I'm actually surprised we haven't gotten an announcement yet of a direct or one-off trailer.

 

[Jonny Westside]

Blog theory suggests about 5-6 more characters before release right?

 

[SuperNintendoKid]

Blog theory suggests about 5-6 more characters before release right?

i sure hope so :3

 

[LegendOfDragoon]

Blog theory suggests about 5-6 more characters before release right?

I'm not sure what the current estimate is, let me check with Sabi

Edit: @Sabi said:

@LegendaryDragoon 2 min, 8 max, 4-6 most likely

 

[Nazyrus]

4-5 is our (blog theory workers) safe estimate as calcs makes us see so far, but yeah 4-6 is it atm

 

[Gioka]

So, no announcement for today, do you think we are getting something for tomorrow anyways or we have to start guessing for another date for an announcement?

 

[JaidynReiman]

What gets prioritized is whether or not Sakurai believes K. Rool and Ridley are good enough to represent the ballot choices. It is uncertain how many, if any, ballot newcomers remain that Sakurai will add in.

We also have not seen any of the usual newcomers that Sakurai adds each game:

• Retro Rep
• Unexpected Rep
• Pokemon Rep

Does Isaac fall under the retro rep given his first game coming out in 2001? Or could he qualify for unexpected rep?

Nope. Someone like Excite Biker is retro. Golden Sun is not old enough to be retro, but not new enough to be considered modern either.

As for unexpected rep, those mainly come from franchises nobody would have seen coming such as: . What I mean is, they are so far out of left field that they rarely were on anybody's radar.

Edit: In the likely hood that Sakurai decides K. Rool and Ridley are enough for the ballot, then the only characters who still have good chances are Banjo and Geno since they are 3rd party and they don't normally follow any Smash guidelines as Nintendo characters have.

Edit 2: As for DLC, upcoming franchises such as ARMS and other new Nintendo IPs would likely get priority since Bayonetta and Corrin were added in the last Smash game. Then we need to factor in 3rd party characters who were added as promotions for games/exclusives/ports, if all the Final Fantasy games coming to Switch is anything to go by by adding in Cloud.

"Retro rep" is a fan-made term. As is "unexpected". "Pokemon rep" I also feel is highly misleading. We got two Pokemon twice in a row, then we got one. That doesn't sound like a single "rep" to me.


In general, all of these things are fan-made, and Sakurai's stance on Duck Hunt kinda denies the idea entirely that he sees a "retro rep". A better term for what the fanbase likes to call it is "surprise character", which is exactly how Sakurai described Duck Hunt in the project plan.

For more info, see this Source Gaming article:
https://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/04/english-smash4-project-proposal-slides/

Here's the preview of the Duck Hunt's slide from the original project plan:
https://i0.wp.com/www.sourcegaming.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Scan-Translation-3.png


"They will be this game's surprise character."

There's no evidence that Wii Fit Trainer, for example, was ever included because she was unexpected. Sakurai just thought she'd be a fun character to include.

So, no announcement for today, do you think we are getting something for tomorrow anyways or we have to start guessing for another date for an announcement?

Hard to say. I certainly think its possible.

 

[Metocles]

I'm not sure what the current estimate is, let me check with Sabi

Edit: @Sabi said:

@LegendaryDragoon 2 min, 8 max, 4-6 most likely

4-5 is our (blog theory workers) safe estimate as calcs makes us see so far, but yeah 4-6 is it atm

This being the case, it sounds oddly familiar to the total we saw revealed back in August meaning this could all just culminate into one Smash Direct in late October/early November. Maybe what Sakurai meant with 'slowing down the pace' is more or less just having one more showcase before the game drops and they have the tournament/demo stuff. Sounds like it's basically just time to buckle down for at least another month and put our minds elsewhere because you'll go insane from going around in circles with this stuff. I'll treat anything that might happen around now as a tremendous surprise.

 

[Isaac for Smash Pls]

I still think we'll get something this month. I'm no marketing expert but it seems dumb to have nearly two months of radio silence by skipping all of October when your game is coming out in early December. Surely you'd at least release a character trailer or something to snatch up a few headlines and keep your game at the front of people's minds. Everyone on these boards (myself included) probably has Smash on the brain 24/7, but the average consumer doesn't. There are a lot of big upcoming games so Nintendo should release something now while the news cycles are still slow.

 

[jweb23]

In general, all of these things are fan-made, and Sakurai's stance on Duck Hunt kinda denies the idea entirely that he sees a "retro rep". A better term for what the fanbase likes to call it is "surprise character", which is exactly how Sakurai described Duck Hunt in the project plan.

For more info, see this Source Gaming article:
https://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/04/english-smash4-project-proposal-slides/

Here's the preview of the Duck Hunt's slide from the original project plan:
https://i0.wp.com/www.sourcegaming.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Scan-Translation-3.png


"They will be this game's surprise character."

There's no evidence that Wii Fit Trainer, for example, was ever included because she was unexpected. Sakurai just thought she'd be a fun character to include.

Well...considering Smash 4's surprise was a unique newcomer from it's own series, here's hoping your golden boy is Ultimate's surprise!

 

[JaidynReiman]

Well...considering Smash 4's surprise was a unique newcomer from it's own series, here's hoping your golden boy is Ultimate's surprise!

That's the thing. I wouldn't classify Isaac as a "surprise character". Simon kinda falls into that idea more than anyone. Or maybe Ridley only because of how Sakurai described Ridley. Another example, I feel, is the likes of Geno who is just this way out there character.


Isaac would just be a highly requested addition. And I still think he's in.

This being the case, it sounds oddly familiar to the total we saw revealed back in August meaning this could all just culminate into one Smash Direct in late October/early November. Maybe what Sakurai meant with 'slowing down the pace' is more or less just having one more showcase before the game drops and they have the tournament/demo stuff. Sounds like it's basically just time to buckle down for at least another month and put our minds elsewhere because you'll go insane from going around in circles with this stuff. I'll treat anything that might happen around now as a tremendous surprise.

While that could be the case, I think Sakurai's statement lines up well for a reveal with 1-2 fighters and another with 3-4 later (depending on if the first had 1 or 2). Especially if its Isaac and Felix, who could fit perfectly into a single reveal on their own.

It breaks things down more and doesn't have as many at once. And the evidence is there that we may be getting something soon.

 

[EricTheGamerman]

I think the surprise character notion goes away when all the characters are being revealed prior to launch. Those characters were typically the unreveales strange newcomers that made people kind of question what they were doing there. This time, that isn’t something that can happen, so I expect a surprise to be less of a priority when they actively have chosen to not have surprises this time around.

I also think that with Pokémon getting three veterans to return, there might be enough of a precedent to stave off the traditional Pokémon addition. That’s far from guaranteed and I’m sure The Pokémon Company exerts way more influence on Smash than most outlets, but it’s a chance given the only thing going for one is the old tradition and Vergeben.

That just leaves the retro, and my sneaking suspicion is Geno gets that spot to fulfill fan demand and such a character in one swoop.

I just think expecting Ultimate to play by the traditional rules of Smash newcomers is a little misguided. Ultimate is trying to be very different from its predecessors in that way.

Also, I can’t get over the absence of so many high ranking characters (ballot and popularity wise) so far. I suspect we’ll get some hearts broken in the last Direct, but still, I don’t imagine they’d save all the disconfirmations of some of the most popular characters to last. Of the popular picks, Geno, Bandanna Dee, Isaac, Paper Mario, and sort of Skull Kid are nowhere to be found still. They all performed very well on the ballot (well not Skull Kid, but he’s in a weird place so far too and had more popularity during Brawl) and have major popularity in most Smash circles. Plus they’re all easy to implement either being owned by Nintendo or already negotiated for inclusion in Geno’s case.

When Sakurai has taken the time to include Knuckles, Zero, Krystal, and Bomberman assists and showed off the likes of Waluigi and Lyn immediately as returning despite their popularity, the absecene of these few feels weird. I highly doubt we’ll see them all in the base game (maybe two at best), but why would someone like Krystal even get the assist trophy treatment when the likes of Bandanna Dee and Isaac aren’t even included in any capacity? Unless all fan polls and metrics are off that we have, and that seems unlikely.

 

[Isaac for Smash Pls]

Man, my mind just rejects the thought of Geno, a character from 1996 counting as "retro" because that would make me a retro human as someone who played that game soon after it came out. Although to many teenagers who will be playing Brawl, Geno will be even less familiar than Game & Watch was to people who played Melee.

 

[Chiroz]

There's no evidence that Wii Fit Trainer, for example, was ever included because she was unexpected. Sakurai just thought she'd be a fun character to include.
.

Not true. There was an interview where Sakurai was asked about character inclusions (I believe it was specifically asking about WFTs inclusion) and he said something along the lines of: "Fans ask for a lot of characters, but Wii Fit Trainer basically no one was asking for" implying that he likes to include a few characters like that.

I would say it was probably one of the interviews done right after WFTs reveal which would have been at E3 2013 (or was it 2012?).

 

[EricTheGamerman]

Man, my mind just rejects the thought of Geno, a character from 1996 counting as "retro" because that would make me a retro human as someone who played that game soon after it came out. Although to many teenagers who will be playing Brawl, Geno will be even less familiar than Game & Watch was to people who played Melee.

If it makes you feel any better, 22 years is retro in the sense of video games due to their relative infancy as a series. Ice Climbers wouldn’t have even been that old when added to Melee (18 I think). Nintendo really only has like 35 years of NES and later history to pull from anyways, with Game and Watch being the only other one to pull from other than Hafunda cards and the less video game oriented history.