It's only truth.
Does FE warrant a second rep before Metroid? Or before Punch-Out!!, a very old franchise that has been extremely popular? Or the spiritual predecessor to FE, the Wars series?
Let's look at the choices for which characters for which series, third parties excluded.
Mario:
Bowser Jr. - The most likely rep for the Mario series, what with each and every new game in the series featuring him, as well as him getting a trophy in Brawl.
Paper Mario - Would be a secondary choice.
If we get one Mario character, it'll be Bowser Jr. Remember, we're not discussing third party involvement, as it brings in far too much complication and discussion. Paper Mario has a good chance of being a secondary choice, and characters like Daisy and Waluigi have a chance with a revised moveset. However, a character like Toad, possibly paired with Toadette, has a good chance as a secondary character as well.
Pokémon:
The fan favorite of the fifth Pokégen - Self-explanatory. Pikachu was the fan favorite of gen one, Pichu of gen two, Lucario of gen four (and anyone from gen 3 was already outdated by the time Brawl was to be released).
Second Trainer - Unlikely.
Mewtwo - Very possible, with the alloted time to revise him.
One slot is guaranteed for whomever is most popular next gen, and I believe Mewtwo will make a comeback. Pichu is doubtful, and another Trainer may diminish the original Trainer's originality, although his originality may have been diminished by then, anyway.
The Legend of Zelda:
Tingle - Possible, it depends on Sakurai's opinion and how many games he gets in between Brawl's release and SSB4's.
Midna - Unless Midna appears in a sequel to Twilight Princess and her role is just as significant, I don't think she has a chance, as her role will become diminished over time.
Vaati - Villain of three different games, an unprecedented feat for anyone besides Ganon himself. Role in the game depends entirely on future roles in the series.
The problem with Zelda is that there are only three universally important characters, and Toon Link, a very important version of Link. Tingle and Vaati have the best chance of being a secondary character if Zelda gets any new reps at all, especially when Sakurai will (hopefully) unclone Ganondorf and Toon Link.
Kirby:
Waddle Dee - Probably the most likely Kirby rep, but not a likely rep on the whole. With the many variations of Waddle Dee, he has moveset potential.
Rick - The star animal friend, and could very well be like Kirby, where he uses his versions of the moves Kirby finds in Dream Lands 2 and 3. However, the animal friends aren't terribly well known, thanks in most part to them not having a role since the SNES age.
Kirby has pretty much the representation that it needs. There are only two more characters that may warrant being in - Waddle Dee and Rick. Rick suffers from not being current in a current series, thus lacking notability to the average gamer. And Waddle Dee, while having a major role in Kirby 64, may be considered too generic. So overall, don't be surprised if we're done with new Kirby reps.
Donkey Kong:
King K. Rool - Considering his popularity, I would bet money that he's in. However, I believe that he's in not first place in "need" to get in.
Dixie Kong - Considering her popularity, I would bet money that she's in. ...Well, to be exact, one of them at the very least. Dixie Kong may get in by the fact that she was in the beta as a fighter, she may not get in for being just another Kong, losing out to K. Rool, or she may get paired with Diddy, a possibility Sakurai must have thought of at one time.
The DK series is not high priority to get a third rep - for instance, I would hope that Sakurai puts a second rep for Metroid and a second rep for F-Zero in before DK - but after those are done, I wouldn't expect less than a third DK rep. The only problem is that Sakurai may notice DK's dwindling popularity and quality, and hasn't had one single original traditional platformer since the N64, although DKJB is indisputable a great game, a great game which sold far too poorly, although that may be because people do not like the idea of playing it with the bongos.
Metroid:
Ridley - Probably the #1. character that deserves to get into Smash 4 the most. Not only because of his importance to Metroid, but because of Metroid's importance to Nintendo, while yet lacking two unique characters (not talking movesets, but talking about unique entities).
Dark Samus - It's definitely a possibility, but if Ridley does not get in, DS probably will never get in. Even if Ridley gets in, Dark Samus must get a new game within Brawl's release and Smash 4's release, and hopefully will, although the Prime series seems to be done for.
The Metroid series has gotten the kick in the *** when it comes to the roster, and I worry that Sakurai may overlook Ridley again. However, I think that Sakurai may agree that Metroid finally needs a second unique character, and Ridley's the best pick, and would be more unique and usable than anybody else. Even if he's the biggest character by far, did we complain when Bowser became the biggest character? Even if Ridley is really effing huge, it would make him unique, and they wouldn't have to make him God-like.
Star Fox:
Krystal - Maybe. While I definitely wouldn't react negatively to it, it almost seems redundant. First, Sakurai needs to declone Wolf and Falco, or at least drop one of them. If he makes original movesets for the two, Krystal may be unnecessary or prove to be too much representation for Brawl. If one is revised and one is dropped, however, that may be a whole 'nother story.
Really, Star Fox has excellent representation - the only thing I would like to see is at least one of them decloned. If, say, Wolf became his own character while Falco remained a clone (or vice versa), I could probably see Krystal in. If Wolf was dropped and Falco decloned (or vice versa), Krystal NOT getting in would be an injustice.
Wario:
Mona - The series is popular, and I think that Sakurai, if he makes Smash 4, definitely has someone from the series that has a chance. Mona has a great chance for her priority in the series, and being an early character, she's often easily recognized by anyone who plays the series.
Jimmy T. - Now, Jimmy T. would be a humorous character, what with his animations and attacks, although I suspect that his attacks may seem a bit out there and hard to make feel unique.
9-Volt - Would be a great Smash mascot let alone a Wario mascot, and could feature moves based on classic NES games (imagine him being able to summon Balloon Fight balloons as his Up B, using Dr. Mario's pill as his B, throwing a Duck out as his Smash B, and a Punch-Out uppercut as his Down B).
Kat & Ana - A good duo character, and a good sword wielder. Her AT appearance gives her notability, as well as evidence that Sakurai must think she deserved that spot.
Ashley & Red - Two simple reasons - the music helped boost the idea that Ashley had a chance, and her magic abilities. Although, her younger age compared to Mona, Jimmy T., Kat & Ana, and 9-Volt hurts her chances (by age, I mean age in the series).
There's many choices, but from what I can see, it goes (worst chance to best) - 9-Volt, Ashley, Kat & Ana, Jimmy T., and Mona. However, don't read too far into this - Wario may never get another rep, but it definitely has a chance at it.
Yoshi:
The only character in the Yoshi series that really warrants an appearance is Kamek. Would have a decent moveset without too much manufacturing, but it's questionable if Yoshi really needs a second character, especially when it's so connected to the Mario series.
Animal Crossing:
It all depends on how his perception changes - if he continues to believe that a character should have SOME fighting history, then no one. However, he may stretch the character inclusion criteria and let a character such as K.K. Slider, who could feature attacks based on his music.
*Cheers for Isaac*
