Thoughts on Ken getting in before Proto Man

[kaithehedgefox]

I'm surprised to see that Protoman wasn't Mega Man's echo fighter. But Ken got in instead as Ryu's echo fighter. Both are from two of Capcom's signature franchises.

But If Mega Man is more popular than Street Fighter, then why would they opt for Ken as a Capcom echo fighter instead of Protoman. (Note that characters appearing in playable character's moves/final smashes are no longer deconfirmed.) I'm not saying that Protoman should be playable and Ken shouldn't, but why not have them both.

Maybe if Protoman was playable, and Mega Man used his final smash while Protoman is in the battle, Beck (Mighty No 9) could replace him.

What are your thoughts on Ken getting in before Proto Man and why?

 

[Luigifan18]

Oh no, not again...

 

[Megadoomer]

You've made this sort of topic several times now.

It makes no sense to have Beck replace Proto Man in Mega Man's final smash because they're owned by different companies - they'd have to get permission to use a third party character from a company that hasn't been in Smash yet on the off chance that one character uses a final smash on another character.

Ken is extremely similar to Ryu in terms of body type, moves, etc., so it's easy to make him an echo fighter. Aside from his shield and lower health, it would be unusual to have Protoman use attacks from games that he wasn't in (and didn't even exist at the time of their release), like Mega Man 2.

Also, while popularity is hard to gauge objectively, Street Fighter sold more games than Mega Man despite having less titles on the market: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/finance/salesdata.html Both series are pretty prominent as far as Capcom franchises go, but a strong case could be made for Street Fighter being the more popular of the two.

 

[kaithehedgefox]

It makes no sense to have Beck replace Proto Man in Mega Man's final smash because they're owned by different companies - they'd have to get permission to use a third party character from a company that hasn't been in Smash yet on the off chance that one character uses a final smash on another character.

Ken is extremely similar to Ryu in terms of body type, moves, etc., so it's easy to make him an echo fighter. Aside from his shield and lower health, it would be unusual to have Protoman use attacks from games that he wasn't in (and didn't even exist at the time of their release), like Mega Man 2.

Well, actually, Protoman wouldn't be that complicated to make him an echo fighter. It can make sense for him to use moves from games that he wasn't in, due to what-if scenarios. His shield would be another reflector move, but it's not a bad thing.

Well, maybe instead of Beck replacing Protoman in Mega Man's final smash, Sniper Joe can replace Protoman instead.

 

[AlexOviedo]

They opted for Ken because he's ten times more iconic than Proto Man, the guy is the first echo fighter.

It wouldn't make sense to make some sort of what-if scenario for Proto Man, Ken doesn't have some attacks that Ryu does have because Ken never had those attacks in Street Fighter, Proto Man never had the same attacks and moves that Mega Man does have so it's basically the same thing, Sakurai would have to make an almost an entire new moveset for Proto Man, in that case why not just make him an entirely new character, Proto Man is unique enough to be one.

 

[Bobert]

Megaman isn't more popular than Street Fighter, especially in recent years. I'm a bigger Megaman fan than I am of SF, but Ken was definitely a better choice than Protoman. Protoman hasn't been in a game in like 10 years and Ken is essentially Street Fighter's Luigi. Street Fighter never died out either while it took us 9 years to get another Megaman game, which from what I understand, Protoman isn't even present in. Protoman doesn't even primarily use Megaman copy abilities anyway, so him being an echo makes less sense than say, X being an echo. X at least has similar moves like a Homing Missile(Crash Bomb) and Rolling Shield(Leaf Shield).

 

[kaithehedgefox]

Protoman doesn't even primarily use Megaman copy abilities anyway, so him being an echo makes less sense than say, X being an echo. X at least has similar moves like a Homing Missile(Crash Bomb) and Rolling Shield(Leaf Shield).

They opted for Ken because he's ten times more iconic than Proto Man, the guy is the first echo fighter.

It wouldn't make sense to make some sort of what-if scenario for Proto Man, Ken doesn't have some attacks that Ryu does have because Ken never had those attacks in Street Fighter, Proto Man never had the same attacks and moves that Mega Man does have so it's basically the same thing, Sakurai would have to make an almost an entire new moveset for Proto Man, in that case why not just make him an entirely new character, Proto Man is unique enough to be one.

Actually, Proto Man, (along with Bass, Duo, Roll, and Beck) can use Mega Man's weapon copy system, as seen in fan-made concepts and official media. So it would still make sense for Proto Man to use all of Mega Man's moves, so he can still be an echo fighter in addition to Ken. Proto Man would pretty much be Mega Man with Link's shield. With almost no modifications except for his final smash.

 

[Bobert]

Actually, Proto Man, (along with Bass, Duo, Roll, and Beck) can use Mega Man's weapon copy system, as seen in fan-made concepts and official media. So it would still make sense for Proto Man to use all of Mega Man's moves, so he can still be an echo fighter in addition to Ken. Proto Man would pretty much be Mega Man with Link's shield. With almost no modifications except for his final smash.

Protoman *can* use it. But he usually doesn't. It's like adding in Silver or Knuckles as a Sonic echo because they *can* spin dash, sometimes use homing attack, and have legs they can use for kicking, but why not add Shadow instead as he is more popular and actually uses those attacks regularly? It just makes more sense to use X, or to choose a different Capcom character entirely that's more similar to an existing character already present in the game and who is also part of a much more successful and popular franchise, like Ken from Street Fighter.

 

[kaithehedgefox]

Protoman *can* use it. But he usually doesn't. It's like adding in Silver or Knuckles as a Sonic echo because they *can* spin dash, sometimes use homing attack, and have legs they can use for kicking, but why not add Shadow instead as he is more popular and actually uses those attacks regularly? It just makes more sense to use X, or to choose a different Capcom character entirely that's more similar to an existing character already present in the game and who is also part of a much more successful and popular franchise, like Ken from Street Fighter.

Well just because a character doesn't often use a move doesn't mean it shouldn't be included in their moveset. Simon can use grand cross, and it's his final smash. But he doesn't use it in his main series of games.

Actually, Proto Man, (along with Bass, Duo, Roll, and Beck) can use Mega Man's weapon copy system, as seen in fan-made concepts and official media. So it would still make sense for Proto Man to use all of Mega Man's moves, so he can still be an echo fighter in addition to Ken. Proto Man would pretty much be Mega Man with Link's shield. With almost no modifications except for his final smash.

They opted for Ken because he's ten times more iconic than Proto Man, the guy is the first echo fighter.

It's possible that Protoman could have been originally planned to be playable, but due to him being in Mega Man's final smash, he was replaced by Ken. Although characters in moves are no longer deconfirmed.