The Official Thread For the Sal Romano/Gematsu Leak

[BlueberrySyrup]

Or the ending, the fight and how you beat the final boss put that game in my top 10 favorite games off all time. It was just so unexpected and beautifully done. No other ending in any game even comes close for me.

But I'll take your word for it and hope I get to play it when it comes to the West.

Wait so does that mean you never played Mother 3?

 

[Vintage Creep]

That Romano dude should leak other aspects and not only characters to confirm what he says.
Like an item, or something completely unrelated and unpredictable.

 

[BlueberrySyrup]

Yes. But when we get derails about "Earthbound reps the series better", we're definitely not on topic(or arguing which game is better. :|). Speaking of, reporting now. There are reasons he could be cut, but I'm somewhat doubting it has to do with the "not enough games" bit. Sakurai doesn't really show any consistency in that, so it was likely a "too similar moves or animations" case, and that at least has happened before. I think if it was cut, it's more of a Dr. Mario/Pichu situation. That said, we don't know if any will be cut, or how soon he got this information. It's hard to say.

And yes, I'm trying hard to try and make this more about the leak itself than pure character speculation.

Character speculation plays a big part, we're not off topic, how important a character is to the series plays a big part on who will be back.

 

[ChunkyBeef]

What? A Mr. Saturn gives it to him.

It is first received from Flint as the Courage Badge during Chapter 7. After pulling the fourth Needle, a Mr. Saturn in Saturn Valley begins polishing it. Before pulling the sixth Needle, the Mr. Saturn returns with the polished Franklin Badge, its lightning-reflecting ability restored.

You might want to replay Mother 3 sometime soon.

Except Nintendo can't LEGALLY take Starmen's translation. It's not about asking for it, it's the legality of it. That's like how they invited Peachyhime to the invitational but couldn't put she was a PM player. They'd have to put out a cease and desist, which would literally stop and end it.

How can they not legally take the translation?Where does legal anything fit into that?

I realize that localizing a game this size can cost a lot, so if it’ll help in even the slightest, I’ll gladly offer to let Nintendo use my text translation files for any use at all, completely for free. I’ll even edit the files to fit whatever new standards are necessary (content, formatting, memory size, etc.), completely for free. I’ll even retranslate everything from scratch if need be. Just whatever it takes to get an official release out.

Directly from the Mother 3 Fan Translation Blog a year or so ago.

There's nothing legal about it. The guys are willing to offer it to them for free.

Are you referring to them wanting to shut down the fan translation? Who cares? We'll have the actual game on a real Nintendo console/handheld and you can buy it for $10. I guarantee you most of the people that played the fan translation didn't own the original Japanese cart anyway, and most of the people that wanted to play the fan translation have played it already, so what's it hurting? Pretty much no-one, 'cause at the end of the day, the localization is still being used by Nintendo, so that work isn't being lost.

 

[Hoots]

That Romano dude should leak other aspects and not only characters to confirm what he says.
Like an item, or something completely unrelated and unpredictable.

He doesn't need to. He's proven time and time again that his information is correct. Nitpicking won't make him fake.

 

[TeenGirlSquad]

I would honestly prefer if he just leaked everything. All characters, stages, ATs, etcetera. Not the little details, but everything important. The reason he hasn't yet, is probably because he doesn't have access to that information. :/

 

[Vintage Creep]

He doesn't need to. He's proven time and time again that his information is correct. Nitpicking won't make him fake.

I too believe strongly that what he says is true. But there are still people who don't.

 

[ChunkyBeef]

He doesn't need to. He's proven time and time again that his information is correct. Nitpicking won't make him fake.

I'd say, technically, changing the Mii reveal to Mii Fighters at the last second validates pretty much everything.

I would honestly prefer if he just leaked everything. All characters, stages, ATs, etcetera. Not the little details, but everything important. The reason he hasn't yet, is probably because he doesn't have access to that information. :/

Bingo.

More specifically, he only has access to E3-related information and probably just assumes the characters are the most important aspect of the game (he's right).

 

[JCDied4U]

Wait so does that mean you never played Mother 3?

Yes I said that earlier, I've only heard impressions and views from various people.

 

[TeenGirlSquad]

Bingo.

More specifically, he only has access to E3-related information and probably just assumes the characters are the most important aspect of the game (he's right).

But if he only has access to E3-related, or more generally, marketing information, then that basically confirms that there will be a few characters that slipped under his radar. Unless all three of his remaining newcomers are secret unlockables, which seems unlikely.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

But if he only has access to E3-related, or more generally, marketing information, then that basically confirms that there will be a few characters that slipped under his radar. Unless all three of his remaining newcomers are secret unlockables, which seems unlikely.

It's hardly that unlikely. Sakurai showed off a ton of characters. It'd a matter of waiting regardless, though.

 

[Kevandre]

I still hope for Chorus Kids and Shulk though They could have such Unique Move sets i even thought of a Final Smash For Both Don't care all that much for Chrom though

I'm the opposite, lol. Chrom would probably be the only newcomer I care about

 

[Deleted member]

Unless all three of his remaining newcomers are secret unlockables, which seems unlikely.

Exactly. Chorus Men would fit perfectly as a hidden character (or would that be hidden characters?) Shulk could go either way, but Chrom? He doesn't make since as a hidden character IMO. It just seems weird. Especially because Ike is back, and Marth is almost certainly a starter considering how early he was revealed, and his being playable in the demo.

 

[Robertman2]

Chrom getting would disappoint me. He's the only reason why I'm not a fan of this leak.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Yea i'm a bit sad that they might cut Lucas but Keep Toon Link and they said its likely so its still possible they won't! but i don't think just because of one thing you shouden't distrust it People could claim your a hypocrite then but again i understand why you are sad

Slightly off topic but try not to double post. I know you're new here but in forums it's considered rude to post multiple posts in a row shortly after each other. It's basically the equivalent of not giving someone else a turn to speak in an irl conversation. Not a big thing but someone did bring this to our attention.

 

[4cast]

Well Chorus Men And Shulk would Excite the Hell out of me.. Chrom Eh he's just another Bland Emblem Idiot so I won't care if he's in

 

[4cast]

Oh yeah I forgot XC

 

[ChunkyBeef]

But if he only has access to E3-related, or more generally, marketing information, then that basically confirms that there will be a few characters that slipped under his radar. Unless all three of his remaining newcomers are secret unlockables, which seems unlikely.

Pretty much the argument I've been trying to make for ages. There's more characters to come, and Sakurai intends to leave them as secrets. The guy learned his lesson from Brawl: letting too much information go too quickly kills hype for the game.

It's hardly that unlikely. Sakurai showed off a ton of characters. It'd a matter of waiting regardless, though.

Well, if we assume it really IS a 47 character roster, they're going to have to make two reveals a month the norm to match it in time for the Japanese release. I just have a hard time figuring why they wouldn't at least try to round out the roster at 50.

 

[Halfhead]

I'm putting all my eggs in this basket. At first, I didn't put too much stock in this leak. It seemed purposefully deceptive and it looked like a "perfect" leak in its dissapointingness and guessability. I myself was never dissapointed, I love Pac-Man, Little Mac, Miis, and even Rhythm Heaven, but I respect that others might be a bit sad over the exclusion of King K. Rule and Ridley.

This E3 had three newcomer confirmations and ALL THREE were Gematsu leaks. They were the three most obvious of the remaining leaks, but they were leaks nonetheless. I can't see anyway that this leak is false.

 

[Rebellious Treecko]

I'll like Chrous Men/Kids if they have unique and fun rhythm base moveset.

Chrom and Shulk are cool, too. I want some Xenoblade content.

But still disappointed over cut characters and no Mewtwo, Ridley, K.Rool, and others.

Well Chorus Men And Shulk would Excite the Hell out of me.. Chrom Eh he's just another Bland Emblem Idiot so I won't care if he's in

Bland Emblem: Awakening. Starring Chrob and She-Marth.

Slightly off topic but try not to double post. I know you're new here but in forums it's considered rude to post multiple posts in a row shortly after each other. It's basically the equivalent of not giving someone else a turn to speak in an irl conversation. Not a big thing but someone did bring this to our attention.

I'll add to this and say that you can edit your posts and add multiple quotes in one post. I open quoted post pages in a new tab and the copy and paste them into my main post.

Nothing was said pertaining to Mewtwo, or any of the others for that matter.

But specifically Mewtwo because by definition, he's still a veteran.

Wasn't really talking about the leak at that part, but just in general. I'm kinda pessimistic at the moment about them, so I'm just accepting the current leak roster as it is, + Rosalina.

----

 

[Louie G.]

no Mewtwo

Nothing was said pertaining to Mewtwo, or any of the others for that matter.

But specifically Mewtwo because by definition, he's still a veteran.

 

[Fenrir VII]

Working theory. Take a step back and consider this/shoot it down, please.

1. Leaker had access to pre-E3 2013 information somehow. Knew Megaman, WFT, and Villager were coming, and knew how hard those would be to guess. (this doesn't exactly explain "Animal Crossing Guy", but bear with me)
2. Leaker either tries to cover himself, or just wants to screw with us and throws on 3 very likely other chars that won't be revealed at the event.
3. Leaker didn't have any information before the Smash Direct, but knew (like the rest of us) that a char or 2 was going to be revealed. So he puts a list of 4 more very likely chars with 1 oddball (again either to screw with us or cover himself). This would explain the general "Pokemon from X/Y" placeholder. So now he has a list of 8 unconfirmed chars, 7 of which form about the most likely "net" of chars that is possible, for reasons I've posted before.
4. Leaker had access (as did some other people I've heard) to the pre-2014 E3 press release and actively changed the original Mii name to "Mii Fighters" (I can't think of a reason their name would change in development if they had ever been planned to be shown at E3 2013). Also saw 2 other chars on his list to be revealed, so only added unprovable conjecture about Ness/Lucas (won't be disproven if they are both cut or both revealed).

This, imo, covers how the original leak occurred, and how it could still be at least partly a guess. Essentially, the leaker is possibly some form of an advertising person, hacker, or related professional that has known about the e3 material, but is not directly part of the game design.

If I'm wrong about the Smash Direct, and the leaker did have some sort of info about Smash Run, it's possible he saw the Rhythm Heaven enemy in footage that we didn't see, and added "Chorus Men" in... again as a guess.


I think this is an entirely possible explanation to everything that has occurred, and justifies how he missed Rosalina, didn't get Greninja's name (but got most others right), and why it has always felt like an incredibly broad guess after the first 3, to me. If this IS the case, then Shulk, Chrom, and Chorus Men aren't locked in for this still... The Rhythm Heaven enemy in Smash Run is a potential clue to a series rep, but nothing is set on the truth of that or who would rep.

For this reason, I am asking this board to not be too quick to forgive this leak if somebody OTHER than Chrom or Chorus Men were revealed to rep their games.

 

[JaidynReiman]

I'm putting all my eggs in this basket. At first, I didn't put too much stock in this leak. It seemed purposefully deceptive and it looked like a "perfect" leak in its dissapointingness and guessability. I myself was never dissapointed, I love Pac-Man, Little Mac, Miis, and even Rhythm Heaven, but I respect that others might be a bit sad over the exclusion of King K. Rule and Ridley.

This E3 had three newcomer confirmations and ALL THREE were Gematsu leaks. They were the three most obvious of the remaining leaks, but they were leaks nonetheless. I can't see anyway that this leak is false.

I don't believe it because E3 had three newcomer confirmations and all three were part of the Gematsu leak. That didn't affect me in any way, shape, or form. What sold it for me is the fact that right before E3 the leak said "Mii Fighter" specifically. If he didn't say "Mii Fighter" I would still be skeptical. Until we discovered Rhythm Heaven enemies in Smash Run at which point I'd be like "damnit, I was hoping this leak wasn't true."

 

[SmashBurner]

Well Chorus Men And Shulk would Excite the Hell out of me.. Chrom Eh he's just another Bland Emblem Idiot so I won't care if he's in

From a Fire Emblem fan (and Ike fan/user in Brawl), I feel Chrom's significance dwindled when Ike was reintroduced. Most people (myself included) thought he'd replace Ike. Now that Ike is back, having three blue-haired male protagonist may seem unnecessary to some FE fans and those who don't know the series alike.

I think diversity is important in the roster, but I wouldn't particularly mind Chrom being included and I wouldn't call FE characters bland. I just believe having Lucina or another Awakening character breaking the male, blue-haired mold would result in better reception and representation of the series as a whole.

And I think @ Fenrir VII is right. While I'm not particularly for or against the leak (though it seems very accurate), Sakurai could be a MLB pitcher with all the curve balls he throws. So perhaps we should take nothing 100% for granted.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I don't believe it because E3 had three newcomer confirmations and all three were part of the Gematsu leak. That didn't affect me in any way, shape, or form. What sold it for me is the fact that right before E3 the leak said "Mii Fighter" specifically. If he didn't say "Mii Fighter" I would still be skeptical. Until we discovered Rhythm Heaven enemies in Smash Run at which point I'd be like "damnit, I was hoping this leak wasn't true."

That's been covered. The name was available on the website according to another poster before the actual full reveal. So it's not terribly good evidence for that particular name. DLC being available, and Ness or Lucas being cut is actually more important information here.

 

[JaidynReiman]

That's been covered. The name was available on the website according to another poster before the actual full reveal. So it's not terribly good evidence for that particular name. DLC being available, and Ness or Lucas being cut is actually more important information here.

Oh yeah, I know that. By the time I figured that out, though, we had already seen Rhythm Heaven enemies in Smash Run.

EDIT: That said, I really am hoping that Chrom is wrong and we've actually got Robin or Lucina instead.

 

[TeenGirlSquad]

Pretty much the argument I've been trying to make for ages. There's more characters to come, and Sakurai intends to leave them as secrets. The guy learned his lesson from Brawl: letting too much information go too quickly kills hype for the game.

Then I'm betting on Ridley, Mewtwo... Ehhh, maybe nobody else. Takamaru would be cool though.

 

[Louie G.]

K. Rool, Ridley, Mewtwo, and Mach Rider for secret characters.

If there are still secret characters.

 

[ChillySundance]

I don't think we've seen any Xenoblade enemies in Smash Run yet though, have we? Why allow Rhythm Heaven enemies to show up there, but not Xenoblade? That's something I'm a bit fuzzy on.

 

[Rebellious Treecko]

I don't think we've seen any Xenoblade enemies in Smash Run yet though, have we? Why allow Rhythm Heaven enemies to show up there, but not Xenoblade? That's something I'm a bit fuzzy on.

There are a crapload of different enemies in Smash Run. Much more than I imagined for something that only lasts for 5 minutes.
Xenoblade enemies like Mechon might not've been seen yet.

 

[4cast]

Dr.Kawashima as DLC XD And SmashBurner I actually like the FE Series a lot and play them quite a lot but again I don't like Chrom's character If were doing Relevance then we should at least Anna in here sure she's a Joke Character but she's been in pretty much every FE Game Since the original so why not? Again Chorus Kids and Shulk would excite me a dang lot and I hope they are added!

 

[Curious Villager]

I don't think we've seen any Xenoblade enemies in Smash Run yet though, have we? Why allow Rhythm Heaven enemies to show up there, but not Xenoblade? That's something I'm a bit fuzzy on.

Well there are a lot of enemies included in that mode. I kinda wouldn't be surprised if they switched most enemies off that could wind up being hints to potential newcomers and forgot to switch off the Sneaky Spirit or something. It's similar with that one Namco enemy that can be seen in Pac-Man's page. I don't believe it has been encountered in the demo yet either.

 

[SmashBurner]

Dr.Kawashima as DLC XD And SmashBurner I actually like the FE Series a lot and play them quite a lot but again I don't like Chrom's character If were doing Relevance then we should at least Anna in here sure she's a Joke Character but she's been in pretty much every FE Game Since the original so why not? Again Chorus Kids and Shulk would excite me a dang lot and I hope they are added!

I completely agree that other characters should get a nod over Chrom. I think two main characters for the series is enough representation from mains. Anna is iconic in FE games so I'm not against that at all. I mean she's the final boss in the Awakening DLC thingy. I personally wouldn't mind one of the children characters either (thought that may be unlikely). We'll see what's to come. Fingers crossed!

 

[4cast]

Yep! I hope We get some FE DLC Characters though Anna would be great Michalah could be unique being a Female Magician there is lots of characters!

 

[TeenGirlSquad]

If there is an FE DLC character, wouldn't it be Roy? Not that I want him...

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Well there are a lot of enemies included in that mode. I kinda wouldn't be surprised if they switched most enemies off that could wind up being hints to potential newcomers and forgot to switch off the Sneaky Spirit or something. It's similar with that one Namco enemy that can be seen in Pac-Man's page. I don't believe it has been encountered in the demo yet either.

A lot of things were excluded from the demo like costumes (all were limited to 4) and different winning animations (limited to 1), most definitely to have them run smoothly, not to mention save file size. Having a few enemies excluded from Smash Run is expected if you ask me, so not seeing any Xenoblade enemies in there isn't odd in the slightest.

Now why the Sneaky Spirit was left in there I of course don't know, there's probably no big reason to it.

Technically, the Franklin Badge is not exclusive to Lucas. Ness uses it throughout his adventure. I'd imagine it becomes an heirloom in Flint's family at some point prior to Mother 3 somehow, which is why Lucas acquires it. It also serves as a plot point for both games, though arguably, the Franklin Badge serves a far greater role in Mother 3 than it does in Mother 2.

Just to add to this, the Franklin Badge is also in Mother 1, and there are multiple of them. The Franklin Badge itself is a Mother icon, it's one of the only, if not the only thing that connects all three games together. It can easily appear without Lucas.

 

[HugoBoss]

Interesting analysis from the official Smashwiki

Before E3 2013, the owner of the gaming site Gematsu, Sal Romano, claimed to have received an email from an anonymous source claiming to know which newcomers would be introduced at E3 2013. Initially doubting the veracity of the letter, Romano jokingly posted the list to NeoGAF as a "unlikely prediction". Among the predicted newcomers were an Animal Crossing Villager; Capcom's Mega Man; the female trainerfrom Wii Fit; Little Mac from Punch-Out!!; Nintendo's Mii; and Namco's Pac-Man.[5]

To the surprise of many observers, including Romano himself, the leak successfully predicted the reveal of the Villager, Mega Man, and female Wii Fit Trainer; the lattermost was especially considered surprising, asMasahiro Sakurai himself stated that the character was one that "no one expected".

While Little Mac, Mii, and Pac-Man were not revealed at E3 as the email claimed, some observers believed Sakurai decided to postpone their reveal for various speculated reasons, and that the characters would be revealed later on. Little Mac was later revealed as a playable character, but some observers found these predictions less surprising than the previous ones, due to the fact that all three characters were significantly speculated.

A few hours before the Smash 4-centered Nintendo Direct, the leaker reportedly sent another email to Romano; the contents of the email continued to claim that Pac-Man and a Mii would still be playable, as well as adding predictions for Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles; Palutena from Kid Icarus: Uprising (tying in withanother rumor); Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening; the Chorus Kids from Rhythm Heaven (referred to by their Japanese name of Chorus Men in the leak); and an unknown Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y. Toward the conclusion of the Nintendo Direct presentation, Greninja, who made its debut in Pokémon X and Y, was confirmed as a playable character.

A day before E3 2014, Romano received another email from the leaker. The leaker continued to claim that Miis, Pac-Man, Palutena, Chrom, Shulk, and the Chorus Kids would be playable, while not implicating any new characters, but also stated that there are plans for post-launch character DLC, and that there was internal debate about keeping either Ness or Lucas, with the latter being "likely to get the cut". During the E3 Nintendo Digital Event of 2014, Mii Fighter was confirmed as a playable character, as well as Palutena, andPac-Man was confirmed later that day[6], confirming all characters implicated in the original leak, and leaving only Shulk, Chrom, and the Chorus Kids of the subsequent leaks left to be announced.

While the first leak is now confirmed to have been wholly legitimate, the veracity of the subsequent leaks remains unclear. While the second leak accurately slated Palutena as playable, she was a character widely expected to be playable, due to Sakurai having worked on Kid Icarus: Uprising and the presence of the "leaked" images that had been posted on multiple news sites. Additionally, while "Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y" was technically correct, the leaker's inability to specifically state Greninja and only being able to do so with a vague blanket statement was scrutinised. The leaker also never implicated Rosalina as being playable, and has never implicated anything outside newcomers that was later confirmed as correct, bringing doubt into the extent of the leaker's inside knowledge. The prevailing theories are that the leaker had legitimate information for the first leak, but made up predictions for the subsequent leaks, or the leaker had significantly outdated information. The latter is supported by the fact he could only refer to Greninja as "Pokémon fromPokémon X and Y", when Sakurai confirmed that he decided on Greninja well before the release of Pokémon X and Y (which was six months before the second leak and the Smash Direct), and the fact that only three of the original six were revealed at E3 2013, when the leaker initially said all of them would be. The leaker also just only brought up the Ness vs. Lucas debate at E3 2014 with a non-definitive answer about it, with it being highly unlikely that the roster wasn't finalised well before this, as the final few months of game development are typically devoted to balance tweaks and debugging.

I now believe that the leaked newcomers are legit , at least for the most part ignoring inconsistencies. What I hope is that Sakurai pulls a Brawl on us by announcing the Locked Characters AFTER the Japanese launch, including locked veterans and newcomers. Maybe the revealed fighters are the starting roster with the exceptIon of third party characters, like Brawl. I may be very optimistic, but of I am not mistaken, Sal Romano never said he knew every newcomer or the entire roster, only E3/Direct reveals.

 

[4cast]

Well I'd rather have Lucas hen Ness but Then you still only have 1 MOTHER REP! AND YOU KEEP TOON LINK???!!! >:O

 

[Curious Villager]

A lot of things were excluded from the demo like costumes (all were limited to 4) and different winning animations (limited to 1), most definitely to have them run smoothly, not to mention save file size. Having a few enemies excluded from Smash Run is expected if you ask me, so not seeing any Xenoblade enemies in there isn't odd in the slightest.

Now why the Sneaky Spirit was left in there I of course don't know, there's probably no big reason to it.

I don't know about that really. It could just as well have been developers oversight by not removing the Sneaky Spirit's from the demo build, from the looks of things, there are a ton of them after all. And they have hidden quite a few things before officially revealing said character and whatnot. Such as Little Mac and the Punch Out version of the Boxing Ring.

 

[SmashBurner]

There were a lot of FE DLC characters in Awakening now that I think about it. And the Gematsu Leak did say possible DLC so its up in the air. Roy could be a possibility, but I think that may only be likely if Melee cuts were to return.

Micaiah could be interesting, though Sakurai seems to be pulling one character per game (i.e. Lyn, Marth, Ike) and Awakening is the new baby of the family. But you never know. #TeamSpellcasters