Around the time when this was announced, I used to be lurk around Nintendo Database- seeing this via live stream and chatting with other members. There was of course many other big games coming up for me to see (Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kid Icarus Uprising, etc). I remembered lurking around here a little bit when Brawl was out but in that time I was living in Africa due cultural reasons and didn't hear hpw crazy that's speculation was. I came here soon after the announcement.
Lots of things went about as I chatted with new friends made through the "New Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS"-thread, speculation being centered on building on what made Brawl great with this day's big things from critically acclaimed games, looking forward to see the roster getting more completed with many fan favourites and heavily requested veterans like Mewtwo or Roy coming back. As KI:Uprising approached closer and closer, we started to speculate and guess things based on what that game had to offer since it was the closest of thing for us to see where Sakurai would go or had created new things to go put in newest Smash. Around those times (Autumn 2012 I think) I expressed wanting Palutena after seeing how she was really likable through her personality, for what I expected her to become "an ensemble darkhorse sidekick authority" due Medusa and Pit being then top contenders for best KI-representation. But definitely so were many else.
Of course, came then E3 2013 that would show us the newest Smash (finally) after eons of waiting. Before then I picked up Animal Crossing: Wild World for just 5 euros from some cheap electronics store (Same place where I'd also buy Tetris DS and Planet Puzzle League from, no kidding). Really grew to love that game and couldn't wait for New Leaf, so seeing Villager was a neat surprise despite him being the only shown newcomer... at first. Mega Man is of course something I absolutely approved and new was hope and justice meant to be fulfilled for the Blue Bomber after what all he went through from Capcom before. And him coming back to his "bonding family" of sorts was just heartwarming to see all over the internet.
And then came Wii Fit Trainer who I thought was first an Assist, but was shown to be playable. I was clearly devastated. Smash Bros lost all of it's "All Star"-factor to me and I was quite dead set on not wanting to buy it then. Of course, an ordinary knee-jerk reaction, but the game was just announced and already they showed to me that they were merely going to "scrape bottom of the barrel".
Anyway, I supported such characters as Starfy, Lip, Toad, Palutena and Dixie - and to lesser extent Saki (I liked his game and generally as an Assist) and Isaac (due getting into Golden Sun) along with other hugely supported to make for best Smash to be in means of roster since Brawl. FE-reps I was indifferent on due expecting traditions to go on, and was just about to get into FE anyway through FE 7. I also revisited Starfy-games since playing the 3rd one around 2007.
But who would have guessed, things would go on not really go "my way". Toad was already shown as a special to Peach when Peach came about. While I knew to start throwing nails in the coffin, many Toad's supporters kept holding on the theory of "many Toads" to amend for Toad still getting a spot (Alfonso supporting this went pretty far to help this theory, but I was still sceptical). After Rosalina's sudden spread of playable appearances and promotion, it was to be more visible that she'd become a potential newcomer. And well, she did. At least Toad not being in wasn't as bitter since I was basically seeing it from miles away.
However, something struck me: Rosalina had Luma with her, which basically screamed potential of what Starfy could have been able to do (throw attacks despite having small limbs). Starfy's chances in general shot down big-time to me and boy, that wasn't fun at all. The breaking point came when I saw Sakurai merely dismiss him as "yellow thing", just cementing a big fact that he treated Starfy as a mere joke despite my big attachment to the swimming star and his marine platformers. Left forums some time after - and with it, a pretty cringe-worthy reaction from the community and speculators I was close with. I didn't find it a surprise that I was called an emo wanting attention at worst and dealing with something as petty as a videogame speculation.
After a while I just had general depression with school stuff (personal personal). Little Mac's revealed made things feel good for a while though as it was someone I was familiar with all on (I LOVE Punch-Out) and was all welcoming to see in Smash. I then tried to come on acceptance of just letting things come as they are because I had nothing to much lose anymore. Lip was just becoming less and less of a possibility despite her grown popularity again like in Pre-Brawl era and Palutena the point was becoming more and more of a shoe-in. FE-reps were still something for me to be indifferent and inactive on despite taking parts on some debates here and there, such as about Lyndis VS Roy in means of FE-representation or who was a better character. Along with just waiting on Chrom due being too attached on him to even complain if we'd get him at the end despite me also being in stance of wanting more proper FE-representation after clearing FE 7. (Gematsu-leak era...)
I remember liking being a Tactician in Awakening though, it was great to just be a mage and a swordsman at the same time. Best of both worlds.
I think I was being content with the what I expected to be the ending result, not really wanting to test my mettles with seeing proper FE-representation through other units and going against traditions: when it top of it I'd get a lord I also liked a lot in my game.
So what then happened? I made some weird alter ego account to mask myself with "growth" of sorts and try go on with a "new start". It didn't go on long as people would find that the new member was still Young Horsetail and just had to have his posts emerged together with his more "mature" account. *Snicker*. I wrote on still with italics, but later on I knew I just had to drop acting like some high-strung zen man and just truly move on.
I guess it started to emerge on me starting from the April's Smash Direct. Around the time when the direct was live world-wide, it cut on me suddenly around the end. I'd be naturally flailing all over the place in anxiety over the ending and what was to come around it. When my internet finally got back working, I made sure to avoid spoilers and checked what it was.
Newcomer trailer, yeah. Pokemon-themed. Expected Mewtwo, but around when the shadow seemed a bit too oriental-like I thought it would be Takamaru. (Though he'd use Inazuma Lightning around the Water Shuriken-part)
Turns out it was Greninja.
I was... suprised. Not angry. Not disappointed. Just well, surprised.
I guess the best what I think was being annoying then was being... wrong?
I remember wanting to have Froakie right from the time X & Y was revealed, perhaps due my grown liking to Water-types back then. Besides he just seemed most peculiar and expressive of the starters. Around the times when his final form was shown through a leak, I was one of those people not very high on his final design being some weird ninja frog thing, instead thinking he'd become something like those Wind Gods from LOZ: Wind Waker. After seeing him being still funnily frog-like and perhaps even adorkable in Poke-Amie in someone else's game screenshots, I grew to like Greninja and just went with it. Loved him as a Mon, he reminded me a lot of the fragile speedsters archetypes I'd sometimes associate with mages or specially based Mons like Golden Sun's Ivan, Tales of Symphonia's Genis and my last major team member in White 2 before getting X & Y, Galvantula (who I named after Ivan due being similar in means of themes, stats/archetype and affinity. Cute thing who could mean business but was squishy.).
Also my initial interest on being a competitive Pokemon-fan grew around White 2-times, as I was part of the general Charizard-bandwagon of olden Pokemon-days, I found Zard and Nin-G to present both my childhood, and current generation of myself as Pokemon-fan, respectively.
Seeing Greninja there felt pretty strange first, since he was just one of the just many, like thrown in to the mix after a roulette over likes of Mewtwo. However, it was then that I realized that it could have been worse. I would have gotten someone I wasn't "acquainted" with instead of Greninja, which meant less newcomer I didn't expect, but otherwise was familiar and liking of from their source game: just not looking to see them pop in Smash of all places. Still would be kinda sad that there'd be no Mewtwo but eh.
E3 2014 would then come and while I missed it (something I really find sad) it might just had been one of the more loved E3s due the funny Robot Chicken-skits, finding out that Miis let us see Reggie and Iwata duel it out crazy and lastly get to see one of my most wanted newcomers be finally in the game in that elegancy I just wanted her be. (Aside from the anime-part that I didn't find that all fancy, but cheers for the great effort!). And in meantime the character I wanted to be in Smash gets perhaps even better than that: get finally his own game with absolutely big budget and promotion on E3 in that level of a major Mario 3D-title. It was definitely a great summer and I was quite looking forward to see what came with the rest after watching the Invitational. Oh, and Pac-Man proved better than I expected him to be after initial sad leaving of supporting Lloyd Irving and just hoping they'd do Pac-Man well.
Then around June's middle, we'd hear about the newcomer being revealed now on Monday straight out. Many ran then around with Gematsu-leak as their prophecy artifact that ruined speculation to others. I could feel it too due not seeing Dixie after Chrom, but being interested on Chrous Kids. Needless to say, I'd even blurp ironically about the folk seeing Chrom somewhere in the future on other trailer because we were being told that we'd see Shulk. Also stuff about Sakurai perhaps proving with his usual genius that he could make Chrom unique.
I was proven wrong. Like, really really wrong.
Robin came and stealed the show. Proved to take on Falcon even better than his comrade, now laying down hurt after being presumably beaten, did. Lucina appeared to be a clone. Sad.
At first I thought we got everyone due the craziness of the trailer which had me squeal because FIRE EMBLEM
DONE RIGHT.
WITH MAGIC. OMG.
Sadly enough, that wasn't to be the case. Chrom was confirmed not being a playable after all (GEMATSUGOTREKT) and now was turning into it's scapegoat to the leak being humiliated (along with Chrom's support in general) in form of sheer mockery and being butt-of-the-jokes-on "Ha Ha Chrom won't be part of Nintendo's Best of All Stars after all, Captain Falcon also is a GOD ALL BOW DOWN TO HIM (who is Robin, I bet he at least is sided with Falcon on proving that he kicked the guy out of the roster). And yada yada. Robin's fans going all the way out to be jerkasses back on any Chrom-supporter despite being treated badly by their more bandwagony and Gematsu-driven supporters, made me just resent Robin's inclusion as it again meant that we couldn't have everybody, and the one who was left behind, would be mocked and laughed for being left out of all the fun and getting any respectable title on his belt. Reminded of more painful times of my childhood, for sure. But I just had more empathy than humour on this issue and that's why I couldn't bear much on looking forward to rest of the roster.
****ing Internet and Sakurai for turning Chrom look like a joke now around then. I really liked him despite admitting before that he wasn't that big on moveset potential, but at the end, I didn't really care what came because on FE I was a traditionalist + defeatist on idea with FE-representation being made better in this game.
Like I said a lot, it took me a while to come back here again because I was perhaps done with Smash Bros as a series at this point when coming on it's internet fame. I have to always see characters mocked and characters being praised based on whether they make it in Smash or not. Remembering how (Captain) Toad got a new game, I decided to keep supporting him and Chrom on despite them missing the boat for this Smash (and maybe for good, if Sakurai might stay on that stance). I thought it mattered more to at least see your character emerge on still despite not being in the most biggest All-star Fighter next to Marvel VS Capcom-series and definitely most biggest Nintendo-franchise (though I'd just call it it's official culmination milestone celebration series rather than a franchise that tops all of the franchises it features).
When I got deeper into seeing more stuff about Robin, I just grew to like the character perhaps again after looking into him as a whole instead of getting clouded with resentment and hate from his fans. Perhaps also talking back to them about how their behaviour was about as dumb as those Chrom-fans who were as mean to them. All ends well though as I got more along with them after we talked more about things we shared as FE-fans and finding more polite supporters. After so, my liking to Robin returned, as his inclusion was miles ton better than that of Greninja's in means of "surprise good". The guy not only brought FE the way it was meant to be, he was based on the favourite class I had in Awakening and was even given his own identity fully now instead of oversaturating on the Avatar-concept with likes of Villager and Miis. As I read character analyses and browsed fan stuff about him, Robin grew instantly to become into my most favourite newcomer. I think it was inevitable though, it was just deterred by Internet messing with Chrom. Chrom though getting still love despite not being playable (an amazing outcome to him for not having any moveset potential) had me also rest fully in peace with what came to FE-representation. While I didn't get everyone, I got the best second scenario becoming true. I wish Lucina was still more of a semi-clone though, I might have even thought she would have been more superior to Chrom as a newcomer in tradition of blue-haired swords user actually. Even if my interest on her grew after she was shown in Smash.
Anyway, after started to emerge new leaks through Ninka-Kiwi's and vaanrose's leaks. I read stuff about Bowser Jr being shown along with Dark Pit and Doc returning, while also hearing Duck Hunt Dog and Shulk being last of the fellas. I found Doc bit odd, but Pittoo had me quite in disdain. Something though that popped in my eyes was Bowser Jr. getting Koopalings as his alts.
Roster images, videos and other things emerged, which of course, proved all of the above being true (to more or less extent). I again readied myself for the worst case scenario with ESRB-leak's roster being the final one. Of course I wasn't too happy with the cuts and still seeing Pittoo as a character, but he was merely a clone with treats Sakurai would give to his baby. Ah well. However, I'd then see Larry being a trophy - on a Koopa Clown Car no less! It just meant that I'd get one more "unexpected happy surprise" on being a playable character in Smash.
That'd be Lemmy Koopa through my fondness to him in Mario Kart 8. His child-like joy and playful nature reminded me highly of myself when being little and enjoying my time around thrilling rides or adventures - sometimes found in videogames like Mario Kart, no less!
Shulk was a nice surprise also, I got a (broken) copy of Xenoblade and played it just that enough bit to know his funny way of jumping, recognizing Dunban and Back Slash-skill and finally knowing Shulk's tendency to "feels" through saying one cliche quote to me after clearing some sidequest: "I can feel the power!". His trailer proved pretty damn sweet too, but perhaps too awesome to leave me melancholed on the newcomers I wished to see in Smash never getting this awesome trailer tributing and making their spotlighted as best as they can be to the audiences before them, new and old.
When the game would come out much earlier than usual last weeks ago, I kept my eyes glued to see Lemmy up along with other Koopalings. Gladly they were confirmed along with other things. The ESRB-leak proved to be final after all, which'd finally end the speculation for good to me. It meant no Dixie, but after a while I got to accept that anyway after all the last losses. Also Chorus Kids wasn't too difficult to let go due me not being entirely clear on their moveset or potential despite some great ideas.
