Job 59: StarTropics
StarTropics is a duology of games released for the NES in the 90s. Developed by Genyo Takeda (of Punch-Out fame), these games were developed with a Western audience in mind, and thus never released in Japan.
The games follow all-American teenager Mike Jones, and take a sci-fi bent similar to EarthBound. The first game sees Mike searching for his uncle, a scientist who mysteriously disappeared, in the tropical setting of C Island, while the second game finds Mike traveling through time and space. The games feature gameplay similar to Zelda, with Mike traveling through an overworld, visiting towns, and of course fighting through dungeons. However Mike's arsenal is more outlandish, wielding yo-yo's, shurikens, bolas, and more.
Why would this series get a fighter in Smash? For one, because the games are really fun, and there's a fun arsenal to be crafted for whoever is its playable rep. StarTropics brings a new setting and aesthetic to Smash, with the tropical beaches and caves of C Island differing from what we have so far and Mike himself being a different take on the traditional RPG hero (a heroic teenager, but swapping the sword and sandals for a baseball bat and a blue jacket). But also, it would mean that the franchise would finally be acknowledged in Japan. A series developed in Japan, that releases everywhere in the world but Japan? That's got to be a one-of-a-kind scenario, and one that benefits nobody. However, by giving it the Smash spotlight, its fate changes: not only does Japan learn about (and hopefully get to play) two unknown classics, but also Nintendo stops forgetting it exists, which is good for the Western fans as well.
Oh and also the music. The music in StarTropics is banging.