Mogisthelioma
Smash Master
Hey guys. I know everyone is super hyped for Ultimate, I myself included. But I think most of us also share a common belief: that Smash 4 had one of the most unbalanced, and frankly, disrespectful roster choices.
Let's look at the series that got nothing new or even lost some things:
The Legend of Zelda
Kirby
Metroid
Star Fox
Earthbound/Mother
Donkey Kong
What did we get from the roster? Some good things, yes, and one or two excellent things. But we also got the motherload of clone movesets, uninspired character design, an attempt at increasing extra party representation and even characters that were added simply as advertisements. The roster was truly something less than it could have, and should have been.
Let's break down what happened to these six series:
The Legend of Zelda:
Although Zelda never saw a major release on the Wii U until the very last day of the console's life, there was some potential. For one, keeping the Twilight Princess models was nothing new. Perhaps Link could have been his Skyward Sword version, with a new up smash performing the Skyward Strike, or he could use the equipment from SS in his moveset rather than making them in game items. After that, though, it does seem reasonable that Zelda was not relevant enough in regards of new releases to constitute much larger representation.
Kirby:
Among many players, not just Kirby fans, the lack of a single newcomer for the series was the ultimate insult. It seemed like the "Sakurai Bias" argument had hit its mark and prevented the smash team from increasing the representation of one of Ninendo's most popular and beloved franchises. What was even worse to players hoping to see Kirby newcomers was the fact that many slots were simply handed over to other characters regardless of the opinion of the playerbase, making it appear that their most hoped for newcomers had lost their chance to an undeserving fighter. Smash 4 was the largest disappointment for fans hoping to see Kirby newcomers. After all, no one wants to hear "Maybe it will happen next time."
Metroid:
Many players hoping to see the popular Ridley character were in for a devastating surprise when he was revealed as a stage boss. Ridley was, at the time, the only character from the Metroid series that was in high demand--and for the record, Ridley was one of the most requested characters ever. Sakurai's excuse, that Ridley was too big to downsize for Smash, was not enough for the majority of supporters. So it's no surprise that many players are happy to see not just Ridley, but also Dark Samus, in Ultimate.
Star Fox:
Star Fox was one of Nintendo's biggest jewels at the time of the N64. However, during the time of the Wii U, the series was in a major state of decline. Removing Wolf from the roster seemed like a good idea at the time, since the number of Star Fox players was dwindling and he featured a moveset already seen in Fox and Falco. But this turned out to be a let down for fans of the series and for Brawl players, who were hoping to see him return from his debut only one game earlier. Wolf would eventually become one of the fastest growing requests for DLC, and one of the famed returning veterans in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But the Star Fox series never saw anything new in Smash 4.
Earthbound/Mother (DLC)
The Mother series had concluded itself years before, ending like a typical story rather than continuing to expand itself. Just like Wolf, it seemed reasonable to the smash designers to remove Lucas due to a small popularity and zero growth. Lucas was removed, but brought back as DLC after requests came in. It seemed that although Mother was no longer producing games, it was never because oof a loss in interest, it was bcuase the story was over and fans still loved the game, and it grew on the eShop. Like Star Fox with it, Earthbound never saw anything new in Smash 4.
Donkey Kong:
One of Nintendo's oldest characters and icons, the Donkey Kong series unfortunately never saw a newcomer in Smash 4. This came as a surprise to fans hoping to see new fighters come in, since Dixie Kong was planned for Brawl but later scrapped. Other characters such as Funky Kong and the immensely popular King K. Rool also never saw the light of day in Smash 4. But this did not strike as unusual for some players, who did not expect a Donkey Kong newcomer, like STar Fox or Mother, due to the series' small popularity by comparison to other games on the Wii U and 3DS. In the end, though, many were still disappointed at the lack of a Donkey Kong newcomer.
Once the final roster was completed in 2016, it seemed like anything but. The roster consisted of many characters in some series, while just as popular, if not, more popular series lagged behind in terms of representation, who lost their spots for various reasons. I did not create this roster to make anyone feel bad, and I'm not trying to spread a message of any kind. However, Smash 4 came off as a major disappointment to anyone who hoped to see a more diverse selection of fighters, including myself. S what do you think about the choices for the Smash 4 roster? Do you agree with them? Do you think they were made poorly? Please let me know in the thread.
Let's look at the series that got nothing new or even lost some things:
The Legend of Zelda
Kirby
Metroid
Star Fox
Earthbound/Mother
Donkey Kong
What did we get from the roster? Some good things, yes, and one or two excellent things. But we also got the motherload of clone movesets, uninspired character design, an attempt at increasing extra party representation and even characters that were added simply as advertisements. The roster was truly something less than it could have, and should have been.
Let's break down what happened to these six series:
The Legend of Zelda:
Although Zelda never saw a major release on the Wii U until the very last day of the console's life, there was some potential. For one, keeping the Twilight Princess models was nothing new. Perhaps Link could have been his Skyward Sword version, with a new up smash performing the Skyward Strike, or he could use the equipment from SS in his moveset rather than making them in game items. After that, though, it does seem reasonable that Zelda was not relevant enough in regards of new releases to constitute much larger representation.
Kirby:
Among many players, not just Kirby fans, the lack of a single newcomer for the series was the ultimate insult. It seemed like the "Sakurai Bias" argument had hit its mark and prevented the smash team from increasing the representation of one of Ninendo's most popular and beloved franchises. What was even worse to players hoping to see Kirby newcomers was the fact that many slots were simply handed over to other characters regardless of the opinion of the playerbase, making it appear that their most hoped for newcomers had lost their chance to an undeserving fighter. Smash 4 was the largest disappointment for fans hoping to see Kirby newcomers. After all, no one wants to hear "Maybe it will happen next time."
Metroid:
Many players hoping to see the popular Ridley character were in for a devastating surprise when he was revealed as a stage boss. Ridley was, at the time, the only character from the Metroid series that was in high demand--and for the record, Ridley was one of the most requested characters ever. Sakurai's excuse, that Ridley was too big to downsize for Smash, was not enough for the majority of supporters. So it's no surprise that many players are happy to see not just Ridley, but also Dark Samus, in Ultimate.
Star Fox:
Star Fox was one of Nintendo's biggest jewels at the time of the N64. However, during the time of the Wii U, the series was in a major state of decline. Removing Wolf from the roster seemed like a good idea at the time, since the number of Star Fox players was dwindling and he featured a moveset already seen in Fox and Falco. But this turned out to be a let down for fans of the series and for Brawl players, who were hoping to see him return from his debut only one game earlier. Wolf would eventually become one of the fastest growing requests for DLC, and one of the famed returning veterans in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But the Star Fox series never saw anything new in Smash 4.
Earthbound/Mother
(DLC)The Mother series had concluded itself years before, ending like a typical story rather than continuing to expand itself. Just like Wolf, it seemed reasonable to the smash designers to remove Lucas due to a small popularity and zero growth. Lucas was removed, but brought back as DLC after requests came in. It seemed that although Mother was no longer producing games, it was never because oof a loss in interest, it was bcuase the story was over and fans still loved the game, and it grew on the eShop. Like Star Fox with it, Earthbound never saw anything new in Smash 4.
Donkey Kong:
One of Nintendo's oldest characters and icons, the Donkey Kong series unfortunately never saw a newcomer in Smash 4. This came as a surprise to fans hoping to see new fighters come in, since Dixie Kong was planned for Brawl but later scrapped. Other characters such as Funky Kong and the immensely popular King K. Rool also never saw the light of day in Smash 4. But this did not strike as unusual for some players, who did not expect a Donkey Kong newcomer, like STar Fox or Mother, due to the series' small popularity by comparison to other games on the Wii U and 3DS. In the end, though, many were still disappointed at the lack of a Donkey Kong newcomer.
Once the final roster was completed in 2016, it seemed like anything but. The roster consisted of many characters in some series, while just as popular, if not, more popular series lagged behind in terms of representation, who lost their spots for various reasons. I did not create this roster to make anyone feel bad, and I'm not trying to spread a message of any kind. However, Smash 4 came off as a major disappointment to anyone who hoped to see a more diverse selection of fighters, including myself. S what do you think about the choices for the Smash 4 roster? Do you agree with them? Do you think they were made poorly? Please let me know in the thread.
