The Post-Ultimate Mega Smash Poll -The 1,010 Vote Result Bonanza!

[DarthEnderX]

Seriously, **** every greedy Pokemon fan that voted to eat up 3 character slots with another Trainer.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Seriously, **** every greedy Pokemon fan that voted to eat up 3 character slots with another Trainer.

You want a big roster, you gotta deal with the fact that that means a large roster of characters you dislike.

 

[Sucumbio]

Seriously, **** every greedy Pokemon fan that voted to eat up 3 character slots with another Trainer.

Literally was thinking of you when I read that result lol

 

[BuckleyTim]

I think Pokemon Trainer 2 is kind of a cop-out answer since no one is really gonna object to 3 characters getting in compared to 1 (at least in a choose everyone you're interested in type poll), but the literal runner-up is Zoroark, my favorite mon so I don't think I can really complain beyond that.

Though honestly the only thing here that really surprised me is Geno getting double-teamed by Toad and to a lesser extent Starfy's continued support (maybe dragalia lost's reappearance but if that was a fandom push then that makes sense). Maybe I'm too speculation-brained for this, lol...

 

[MasterWarlord]

The category based system is making subconscious bias to vote for someone in each and every category. Someone would not necessarily vote for any Metroid or Animal Crossing character at all if not being given a category for them on an entire page. Characters who are far and away the leader of their categories, like raven beak, tom nook, and Krystal, benefit the most from this.

The one that I feel was snubbed a lot was Kamek for being in the extremely competitive Mario category instead of the ridiculously lenient and uncompetitive Yoshi category, where he would easily make top 5 and would top Poochy who is only getting votes for being in this category.

You want objective proof of the bias? 127 votes for polar bear and 96 for Professor Hector from Gyromite. Nearly a quarter of the voters voted for polar bear and 18% voted for Hector. These are as absurdly no name obscure characters as you can get. Polar bear outperforms many viable candidates who have actual popularity.

 

[fogbadge]

The category based system is making subconscious bias to vote for someone in each and every category. Someone would not necessarily vote for any Metroid or Animal Crossing character at all if not being given a category for them on an entire page. Characters who are far and away the leader of their categories, like raven beak, tom nook, and Krystal, benefit the most from this.

The one that I feel was snubbed a lot was Kamek for being in the extremely competitive Mario category instead of the ridiculously lenient and uncompetitive Yoshi category, where he would easily make top 5 and would top Poochy who is only getting votes for being in this category.

You want objective proof of the bias? 127 votes for polar bear and 96 for Professor Hector from Gyromite. Nearly a quarter of the voters voted for polar bear and 18% voted for Hector. These are as absurdly no name obscure characters as you can get. Polar bear outperforms many viable candidates who have actual popularity.

you could actually leave pages blank

 

[Swamp Sensei]

The category based system is making subconscious bias to vote for someone in each and every category. Someone would not necessarily vote for any Metroid or Animal Crossing character at all if not being given a category for them on an entire page. Characters who are far and away the leader of their categories, like raven beak, tom nook, and Krystal, benefit the most from this.

The one that I feel was snubbed a lot was Kamek for being in the extremely competitive Mario category instead of the ridiculously lenient and uncompetitive Yoshi category, where he would easily make top 5 and would top Poochy who is only getting votes for being in this category.

You want objective proof of the bias? 127 votes for polar bear and 96 for Professor Hector from Gyromite. Nearly a quarter of the voters voted for polar bear and 18% voted for Hector. These are as absurdly no name obscure characters as you can get. Polar bear outperforms many viable candidates who have actual popularity.

I understand that, and it has been discussed. The poll has its limitations, but I really wanted to find out who some of the most popular candidates within their own franchises were. Sure a Yoshi character isn't a very popular choice, the results prove that. But now, we can see that among the Yoshi characters, Poochy is the number one choice. So I still think this is valuable information.

As for Kamek, I went with what Smash categorized him as. Frankly Kamek is an enigma so I defaulted to what Smash said.

As for that last bit, which genuinely popular character did Polar Bear outperform?

 

[chocolatejr9]

NGL, these results really appeal to me. Bandana Dee being the top request overall, Rex beating the relic allegations, Euden making it into the top 10 new franchises despite the circumstances... it's all good stuff. Kinda curious about the full results rather than just the Top 5/10 now, though that'd probably be best left for after you decide to close the poll outright, whenever that is.

Also, if you're interested, I can try explaining those Dragalia Lost characters to anybody willing to listen. With the game being dead and all, I don't get many chances to talk about it, so it'd be nice to do so again.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

The Xenoblade Chronicles subreddit has agreed to host my poll.

Here comes the Xeno sweep!

 

[Arcanir]

Glad to see Euden is still holding on. Dragalia is still my favorite mobile game I've played and I'm still sad it closed down, so I'm happy that the Losties are still supporting him even now.

As for the rest of the votes, I was somewhat surprised by Raven Beak's number of votes and very surprised by Krystal's placing. For the former I expected him to be first for Metroid, but not by the margin he got as I thought that Sylux would've closed the gap now that their game has a set release date and more are now expecting him. Raven Beak still holding the top spot shows that he left a great impression and isn't someone who'll easily fade away. For Krystal, while I knew she's still a wanted character from Star Fox, it's current dormancy made me think she'd have a weaker performance here since many seem gloss over the franchise's presence in Smash nowadays. She really has a strong underground support, which is nice to see.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

Wish Pandora had made it to the top five for KI.

 

[MasterWarlord]

you could actually leave pages blank

I know, I did leave pages blank and plenty of others did also, given polar bear has 75% of people skip his page.

The fact you have to even say that shows it isn't inherently obvious, and it seems like some people didn't realize it.

 

[EarlTamm]

The Xenoblade Chronicles subreddit has agreed to host my poll.

Here comes the Xeno sweep!

Obviously this might have some interesting results for the Xenoblade section, but I do wonder if there is any characters from other franchises that will get a notable boost from this. A lot of Xenoblade fans are also general Nintendo fans, but I would not be shocked if other RPG characters get a notable boost as well.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Obviously this might have some interesting results for the Xenoblade section, but I do wonder if there is any characters from other franchises that will get a notable boost from this. Obviously a lot of Xenoblade fans are also general Nintendo fans, but I would not be shocked if other RPG characters get a notable boost as well.

So far they seem to be big fans of Astral Chain and Golden Sun.

And Pokemon.

 

[SharkLord]

Ooh, Bandana Dee in first. I was honestly expecting Waluigi to take the lead. Still, the SourceGaming megapoll had Bandana Dee place in 2nd overall, so maybe he's bigger than we realized.

Of course, everyone had unlimited votes, so a lot of characters probably benefitted from people going "Sure, why not," or "Not my absolute favorite but I'd be down."

 

[ssbashworld]

Surprised Fire Emblem isnt on that list boosted by Xenoblade subreddit, although maybe that has something to do with its rep situation in Smash

 

[EarlTamm]

So far they seem to be big fans of Astral Chain and Golden Sun.

And Pokemon.

That sounds about right, though I do wonder about the Pokemon results. I don't image the top spot is going to change, but the lower placings are probably in a constant flux.

 

[Gorgonzales]

Of course, everyone had unlimited votes, so a lot of characters probably benefitted from people going "Sure, why not," or "Not my absolute favorite but I'd be down."

I feel like if the number of votes was limited then people would have to really think about what characters they want to cash in their votes for, but regardless I don't think the way the poll is currently is necessarily worse. It provides a good boost to characters that wouldn't have otherwise made it and serves as a more general indicator of what characters people would find cool.

That being said, I love how Oatchi and Louie are the top picks for Pikmin and Bulborb managed to wiggle his way into the top 5. Glad to hear Moss surpassed the boring Pikmin 3 captains, too. She deserves it.

 

[SharkLord]

I feel like if the number of votes was limited then people would have to really think about what characters they want to cash in their votes for, but regardless I don't think the way the poll is currently is necessarily worse. It provides a good boost to characters that wouldn't have otherwise made it and serves as a more general indicator of what characters people would find cool.

That being said, I love how Oatchi and Louie are the top picks for Pikmin and Bulborb managed to wiggle his way into the top 5. Glad to hear Moss surpassed the boring Pikmin 3 captains, too. She deserves it.

Yeah, the poll isn't a straight "absolute most popular first choice," but it's still a pretty good metric for how well a character might be recieved. Evidently, enough people are at least chill with Bandana Dee and would be content with him joining the fight. I think that's still pretty interesting, because in some places I've seen people suggest Bandana Dee is too contentious a character to add because of his simplicity and being a Waddle Dee with a Bandana would make him too "boring" to most people. Evidently, it doesn't bother that many people overall

 

[Gorgonzales]

in some places I've seen people suggest Bandana Dee is too contentious a character to add because of his simplicity and being a Waddle Dee with a Bandana would make him too "boring" to most people.

Will never understand how this argument didn't die out the moment a literal Piranha Plant joined the roster.

Yeah, there are definitely people vehemently against Dee. I've wasted enough time on that absolute cesspool known as Twitter to understand that. Despite this, I'm sure the amount of people who'd be fine or elated to have him included far outnumber this vocal minority.

Seriously, do NOT go to Twitter to engage in Smash speculation or discussion, unless you're conducting a poll. Worst mistake of my life.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I feel like if the number of votes was limited then people would have to really think about what characters they want to cash in their votes for, but regardless I don't think the way the poll is currently is necessarily worse. It provides a good boost to characters that wouldn't have otherwise made it and serves as a more general indicator of what characters people would find cool.

Yeah, the poll isn't a straight "absolute most popular first choice," but it's still a pretty good metric for how well a character might be recieved. Evidently, enough people are at least chill with Bandana Dee and would be content with him joining the fight. I think that's still pretty interesting, because in some places I've seen people suggest Bandana Dee is too contentious a character to add because of his simplicity and being a Waddle Dee with a Bandana would make him too "boring" to most people. Evidently, it doesn't bother that many people overall

I think this also has a lot to do with why Funky could be as high as he is. It's not that he's secretly the Smash community's #3 most wanted, he's just someone a lot of people would be fine with.

Will never understand how this argument didn't die out the moment a literal Piranha Plant joined the roster.

I blame the lack of enemies in the two Fighters' Passes. Dragon Quest was pretty much their only real chance of having one, and Slime was just Sakurai's backup choice.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Surprised Fire Emblem isnt on that list boosted by Xenoblade subreddit, although maybe that has something to do with its rep situation in Smash

It's getting some votes, but Zelda is getting a lot of boosts honestly.

It provides a good boost to characters that wouldn't have otherwise made it and serves as a more general indicator of what characters people would find cool.

I'll post what I wrote before.

"The positives of this polling system let me single out single franchises and analyze who is most popular within that fanbase. For example, I can still find out the most popular Pikmin characters even if they aren’t in the top ten or even the top fifty. No franchise gets left behind in a flurry for more Zelda or Kirby characters."

That sounds about right, though I do wonder about the Pokemon results. I don't image the top spot is going to change, but the lower placings are probably in a constant flux.

Honestly, Gengar has already taken fourth again, while A Human Character from Pokemon got bumped down to sixth.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I wonder how much of this poll speaks to people's tendencies to see characters as the next natural selection for their respective franchises. While they're obviously all popular (heck I'll champion the inclusion of all three) I think that might explain why BWD, Dixie, & (to a lesser degree) Impa got so high. All of them have a "fourth rep of the series" energy to them in speculation circles and within the context of an IP by IP vote could imagine an unspoken sentiment of "Yeah that makes sense" when they're seen in a poll.

 

[Scrimblo Bimblo]

So DK characters are popular? Who would have thought? Nintendo wouldn't, that's for sure...

 

[SharkLord]

I wonder how much of this poll speaks to people's tendencies to see characters as the next natural selection for their respective franchises. While they're obviously all popular (heck I'll champion the inclusion of all three) I think that might explain why BWD, Dixie, & (to a lesser degree) Impa got so high. All of them have a "fourth rep of the series" energy to them in speculation circles and within the context of an IP by IP vote could imagine an unspoken sentiment of "Yeah that makes sense" when they're seen in a poll.

This might also add to FE not having anyone rank super highly overall. The presumed frontrunner is always "newest FE game," which would either be Alear (Who is already assumed to be somewhat derivative as a one-handed swordfighter who summons other FE characters, on top of Engage not being as relevant by the time Smash 6 releases), or someone from the inevitable next game, who we don't know anything about. Lyn's still pretty popular, but I don't think support has coalesced into making her a frontrunner yet

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I wonder how much of this poll speaks to people's tendencies to see characters as the next natural selection for their respective franchises. While they're obviously all popular (heck I'll champion the inclusion of all three) I think that might explain why BWD, Dixie, & (to a lesser degree) Impa got so high. All of them have a "fourth rep of the series" energy to them in speculation circles and within the context of an IP by IP vote could imagine an unspoken sentiment of "Yeah that makes sense" when they're seen in a poll.

Would this not be another form of popularity?

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Would this not be another form of popularity?

It definitely is, and I don't think it invalidates the votes for any of them. It's just an interesting psychological angle to wonder how much is driven by a distinct desire for that character in particular versus that a desire for more reps from franchises and simply consider either such characters as most likely and/or most deserving (however that can be defined).

 

[Swamp Sensei]

The DK subreddit has also agreed to my poll.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

The DK subreddit has also agree to my poll.

Sorry Dee, but we're now in the Planet of the Apes.

 

[Guynamednelson]

The DK subreddit has also agree to my poll.

As if the Funky Sweep wasn't already beginning.

 

[fogbadge]

It's getting some votes, but Zelda is getting a lot of boosts honestly.

hot dog

 

[FazDude]

Reading through the results, Waluigi coming first for Mario is nothing new, but I am pleasantly surprised that Toad beat both Captain Toad and Geno. About time my boy got some spotlight. Also happy two of the Kongs made it to the top 3.

also also epic off the hook w

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Out of curiosity, how many did Pauline and Toadette get? Feel like we miss some info for some of the bigger franchises like Mario since there are so many candidates.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

It’s okay Kohga nation, we’ll come back….with a secret weapon. Otherwise I’m very content with Off the Hook hitting the mainstream amd surprised at the Fire Emblem line-up

 

[Z25]

Dang Raven beak, Dixie and Bandanna dee slaughtered the vote count.

Which I love to see. Dee has been one of my most wanted characters for a long time. Kirby deserves it. Metroid going with a one and done villain is way better because of the moveset potential and character design in general. So o really hope next smash adds Ravenbeak.

 

[Louie G.]

I think the way this poll was handled was valuable. It demonstrates more who everyone is chill with, not so much who has the strongest most dedicated fanbase but the agreeable characters that would put a smile on everyone’s faces. We actually don’t have a lot of reference for this otherwise. We can speculate on who is fairly uncontroversial - it’s no surprise to see characters like Dixie Kong or Isaac rank highly - but I think the moderate “I can get behind that” support is just as worthy of being emphasized as the diehard votes where you only have like three of them.

I spoke of this in the roster thread, but look at Geno. On a normal poll he’s easily taking Top 10-15 because his supporters are dedicated and somewhat exclusive in their ambition. But at large, does this go beyond that toward casual support? This poll implies… maybe not. And I don’t mean to single out Geno specifically, but it’s a good example of how this works and the way this dichotomy of data is neat to be able to size up.

I think vocal niche support can be effective. There’s a reality where fan support gets Geno into Smash despite being less widely beloved, and neglects Funky Kong despite being overall well appreciated. So I don’t think this poll conveys which characters will necessarily be those big loud fan favorites discussed next game, but I’m happy we get to shed light on the margin support bases that might be more agreeable than we first thought.

I do agree that the format of the poll resulted in some oddballs. The misunderstanding with Prof Hector and Polar Bear seems pretty clear… even if I for one think the Polar Bear kinda rocks. But I think these cases are pretty obvious outliers where there otherwise aren’t many. Sure, it probably did motivate a handful of people to vote for characters like Tom Nook or Raven Beak just to fill in the blanks. But enough to propel them to the Top 10? I think it’s safe to say these choices are just organically popular.

Although in another draft of this poll, perhaps the “N/A” selectable option right at the top of the list would be valuable. Just to make it even more abundantly obvious to some voters that they can pass if they’d like.

 

[Z25]

One takeaway from this that is fairly validating is that people do want Tom Nook. Much of the community seems to be torn on more Animal Crossing but even KK Slider comes close to hitting the Top 30 - and I’m going to assume not everyone who voted for one voted for the other either.

Anyway, it’s very nice to see. Just good concrete evidence that the sentiment that more Animal Crossing representation is unpopular or unwarranted is false, IMO one of the most egregious misconceptions in speculation right now. Although perhaps we’re all set once we add those two… and then Resetti is his own can of worms.

Who doesn’t want to play as Tom Nook and drop a couch on someone.

Or smack them with a bag of bells.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Seriously, do NOT go to Twitter to engage in Smash speculation or discussion, unless you're conducting a poll. Worst mistake of my life.

Got some even better advice.

 

[Laniv]

Black Shadow being the top F-Zero pick is proof that this fanbase is lost and when the day of reckoning comes you shall all suffer the wrath of God

I'm curious, who would you have picked for an F-Zero character?

 

[Guynamednelson]

Black Shadow being the top F-Zero pick is proof that this fanbase is lost and when the day of reckoning comes you shall all suffer the wrath of God

I'm sorry, but PMEX Remix has shown me the light. Or should that be the darkness? Either way...it's forced to make Black Shadow be something other than Falcondorf Dumping Ground because Ganondorf's moveset in PM is still mostly based on Falcon's.