Frostwraith
The Demon King
I think as long as Sakurai is in charge, the changes veterans get will be limited to slight tweaks here and there, be it in animations, a few new moves, or attribute and balancing adjustments.I got that. My question is, should that still be relevant for Smash now? Toon Link and Young Link were created as clones, yes, but grandfather clause aside, is there any reason to keep them that way?
Except for Sakurai's "vision", I don't think we're going to lose anything by changing them up and bringing them more in line with their Zelda appearances. They are created as clones doesn't mean they have to stay as clones forever, especially since you have customs and can easily implement different moves into the characters.
Keeping Toon Link a clone makes him less faithful to his own games and also serves as an obstacle to Young Link's inclusion. This... just seems like all-around bad idea, just kept there for the sake of tradition.
He pretty much sets each character's play style in stone once he conceives a character. He's argued that he doesn't want to alienate those who played as that character in a previous game... The reason why Dr. Mario is a clone and not a costume is exactly that.
He wants every character to generally feel the same as previous games, though never without occasional tweaks and all that.
I do agree that custom moves could be expanded to further represent aspects of characters not otherwise represented. Ganondorf's Warlock Blade, Link's Big Bomb, Toon Link's Fire Arrow, Luigi's Ice Ball, Kirby's Freezing Breath, and especially all of Mega Man and Palutena's custom moves are a good example of this feature's potential.
Stuff like magic projectiles for Ganondorf, usage of FLUDD's different nozzles, more weapons for Samus's Power Suit, more copy ability-inspired special moves for Kirby, more Uprising weapons for Pit and Dark Pit (with potential to set these two apart) and the list goes on. There's limitless potential for some characters' custom moves.
Even Mr. Game & Watch, given the amount of G&W games that exist.
Anyway, and changing the subject to a less heated one...
I've played as Tingle in Hyrule Warriors Legends. His moveset is... amazing. He's absolutely hilarious. I like the references. Tingle Bombs, crazy balloon shenanigans, smacking enemies with a Rupee bag and he can even drop a Tingle Statue!