Well, i agree with you for the most part, but have you played Kirby Air Ride? Dragoon and Hydra were the only two legendary machines in which you had to collect 3 different pieces in order to create them. Its like only putting in Mario and not Luigi.....dragoon and hydra just go hand in hand.
Yeah I've played it, and it might make sense in that game. Just change some stats around and they are different enough for a racing game.
But what's the point of having 2 items that do the exact same thing... in a fighting game?
I can see Dragoon or Hydra being an item in Brawl, but I can't see both of em being in.
Why? Cause it doesn't add anything to the game.
Actually, I would say the same for Luigi, he doesn't bring anything new to the table.
But the major difference between Luigi and Hydra, is that Luigi has appeared in almost every Mario game. Perhaps he's "just a sidekick", but he's really well known, and lately he's even gotten a personal game or two.
That's what gives Luigi enough character to put him in Brawl, his popularity.
Can you say the same thing about Hydra? As far as I know, it's only appeared in one Kirby game. That makes it a very minor item.
And yes, you could say the same thing about Dragoon. Why choose Dragoon over Hydra? Well, I don't know about that, but it's Sakurai's choice... and he did a good job working it out like a very unique item, it brings something new to the table. Although it does kinda remind me of Assist Trophies.
But anyway, my point is just that having 'clone items' is just taking it a bit too far.
At least clone characters add something to the game, because they have popularity and a fanbase, and people would be overjoyed to see their favorite character appearing in the game. I just feel that clone items can never have such an impact, and therefore having various items with the same effect would only lower the brilliance of the game in my eyes.
But hey, who knows what crazy things have been put into the game? Perhaps Hydra has a chance, who am I to deny that possibility? Let's just see what happens.