Social "Time to Tip the Scales!" - Robin Social Thread

[Gingerbread Man]

I think the reason they said Excite Bike didn't make it into the game was because they couldn't find a way to make him jump or move about the field without looking ridiculous.

Also I wanted to throw in my thoughts about uniqueness. A lot of you have probably already considered this, but I'm saying it anyway. While I believe that Robin has a far superior move set potential than chrom, I have no doubt that Sakurai is fully capable of giving chrom a unique moveset that people enjoy and have no regrets about. Consider little Mac's moveset. A unique moveset is moreso in the hands of the developer than the character. But again, Robin still has a larger and better variety to chose from but I don't think this is the most important factor in uniqueness.
What is very important, but perhaps overlooked, is appearance or the style and flavor the characters gives the game. For somebody new to the game who has just started playing or is watching a trailer, appearance IS roster diversity. To them, Kirby, link, and Mr.Game&watch aren't unque because of their movesets but by their animations, design and personality. That's something a developer like sakurai considers when he asks "what does this character add to the game?". We've mentioned before that Chrom's character overlaps with people like ike and marth in too many ways. It's a style that has been replicated. Robin, on the other hand, wears a robe, weilds a tome and sword and overall gives off a very different vibe than other character in the game. That is something that attracts new fans to both Smash and FE, further making Robin the better choice for the game.

 

[False Sense]

I think the reason they said Excite Bike didn't make it into the game was because they couldn't find a way to make him jump or move about the field without looking ridiculous.

Also I wanted to throw in my thoughts about uniqueness. A lot of you have probably already considered this, but I'm saying it anyway. While I believe that Robin has a far superior move set potential than chrom, I have no doubt that Sakurai is fully capable of giving chrom a unique moveset that people enjoy and have no regrets about. Consider little Mac's moveset. A unique moveset is moreso in the hands of the developer than the character. But again, Robin still has a larger and better variety to chose from but I don't think this is the most important factor in uniqueness.
What is very important, but perhaps overlooked, is appearance or the style and flavor the characters gives the game. For somebody new to the game who has just started playing or is watching a trailer, appearance IS roster diversity. To them, Kirby, link, and Mr.Game&watch aren't unque because of their movesets but by their animations, design and personality. That's something a developer like sakurai considers when he asks "what does this character add to the game?". We've mentioned before that Chrom's character overlaps with people like ike and marth in too many ways. It's a style that has been replicated. Robin, on the other hand, wears a robe, weilds a tome and sword and overall gives off a very different vibe than other character in the game. That is something that attracts new fans to both Smash and FE, further making Robin the better choice for the game.

I completely agree. Chrom can be made unique; I have no doubt about that. But I do question the likelihood of him being totally unique, and how exactly it would be pulled off. After all, all of Chrom's most iconic abilities are already used by either Marth or Ike; as you said, there's some overlapping. Now, Chrom could be given a moveset based off of one of his other abilities, such as being able to use lances later on, but such an ability is not something strongly tied to his character. It could work for a special move, perhaps, but ideas like an entire stance change set using it seem kind of odd and out of character. From my perspective, Chrom is a character they would have to put effort into making unique; there is very little potential at face value.

You also touch on a point that I think is rather important, actually; Robin and Chrom's appearances. Chrom has a rather unfortunate issue of bearing a strong resemblance to both of the Fire Emblem characters we already have on the roster. Couple that with the fact that Chrom shares his main abilities with Marth and Ike, and the result is a fairly bland cast of Fire Emblem characters on the roster. Now, I'm not saying that we can't have three blue-haired swordsmen on the roster, but frankly, that's really not ideal for representing the franchise. Anyone who knows very little about Fire Emblem would probably look at the cast of characters available and brush the series off as being bland and uninteresting. That was already present with Brawl's roster of Fire Emblem characters, so adding Chrom in would only solidify the issue. Robin, on the other hand, can bring a unique playstyle and a unique appearance to the cast of Fire Emblem characters. His distinctness from Marth and Ike could strike up more interest in players unfamiliar with Fire Emblem than a cast of only blue-haired swordsmen could. So, in a kind of ironic way, Robin could be better promotion for the Fire Emblem series than Chrom could, despite Chrom being the marketed face of Awakening.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

I completely agree. Chrom can be made unique; I have no doubt about that. But I do question the likelihood of him being totally unique, and how exactly it would be pulled off. After all, all of Chrom's most iconic abilities are already used by either Marth or Ike; as you said, there's some overlapping. Now, Chrom could be given a moveset based off of one of his other abilities, such as being able to use lances later on, but such an ability is not something strongly tied to his character. It could work for a special move, perhaps, but ideas like an entire stance change set using it seem kind of odd and out of character. From my perspective, Chrom is a character they would have to put effort into making unique; there is very little potential at face value.

You also touch on a point that I think is rather important, actually; Robin and Chrom's appearances. Chrom has a rather unfortunate issue of bearing a strong resemblance to both of the Fire Emblem characters we already have on the roster. Couple that with the fact that Chrom shares his main abilities with Marth and Ike, and the result is a fairly bland cast of Fire Emblem characters on the roster. Now, I'm not saying that we can't have three blue-haired swordsmen on the roster, but frankly, that's really not ideal for representing the franchise. Anyone who knows very little about Fire Emblem would probably look at the cast of characters available and brush the series off as being bland and uninteresting. That was already present with Brawl's roster of Fire Emblem characters, so adding Chrom in would only solidify the issue. Robin, on the other hand, can bring a unique playstyle and a unique appearance to the cast of Fire Emblem characters. His distinctness from Marth and Ike could strike up more interest in players unfamiliar with Fire Emblem than a cast of only blue-haired swordsmen could. So, in a kind of ironic way, Robin could be better promotion for the Fire Emblem series than Chrom could, despite Chrom being the marketed face of Awakening.

I think the reason they said Excite Bike didn't make it into the game was because they couldn't find a way to make him jump or move about the field without looking ridiculous.

Also I wanted to throw in my thoughts about uniqueness. A lot of you have probably already considered this, but I'm saying it anyway. While I believe that Robin has a far superior move set potential than chrom, I have no doubt that Sakurai is fully capable of giving chrom a unique moveset that people enjoy and have no regrets about. Consider little Mac's moveset. A unique moveset is moreso in the hands of the developer than the character. But again, Robin still has a larger and better variety to chose from but I don't think this is the most important factor in uniqueness.
What is very important, but perhaps overlooked, is appearance or the style and flavor the characters gives the game. For somebody new to the game who has just started playing or is watching a trailer, appearance IS roster diversity. To them, Kirby, link, and Mr.Game&watch aren't unque because of their movesets but by their animations, design and personality. That's something a developer like sakurai considers when he asks "what does this character add to the game?". We've mentioned before that Chrom's character overlaps with people like ike and marth in too many ways. It's a style that has been replicated. Robin, on the other hand, wears a robe, weilds a tome and sword and overall gives off a very different vibe than other character in the game. That is something that attracts new fans to both Smash and FE, further making Robin the better choice for the game.

Its posts like this that make me happy.

 

[Drakonis]

What I took from the Nintendo Direct stream tonight:
With Wireframe Mac and Male WiiFit Trainer being pretty much confirmed, I don't see any problem standing in Robin's way except for Chrom - And Chrom has his own roadblocks as we thoroughly discussed already.

Mega Man's awesome as all hell Ultra Smash also makes a "Invisible Ties" style Ultra Smash or Team-Up moves quite possible.

The only loss is that we'll most likely not see a Robin/Chrom/Lucina Team character - there won't be any transforming characters anymore.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

What I took from the Nintendo Direct stream tonight:
With Wireframe Mac and Male WiiFit Trainer being pretty much confirmed, I don't see any problem standing in Robin's way except for Chrom - And Chrom has his own roadblocks as we thoroughly discussed already.

Mega Man's awesome as all hell Ultra Smash also makes a "Invisible Ties" style Ultra Smash or Team-Up moves quite possible.

The only loss is that we'll most likely not see a Robin/Chrom/Lucina Team character - there won't be any transforming characters anymore.

All true.
I'm not sure how I feel about no transforming characters though. That's great for samus (ZSS was my main), but it pretty much puts the nail in the coffin for a lot of character ideas (and PT...).

Also Greninja sorta takes away from the need to add the poster boy. Hes a cool pokemon but I wouldn't really say he had the limelight.

 

[False Sense]

So, uh, do we think this has any significant impact on Robin's chances? It sounds fairly positive so far.

 

[Hong]

Two Fire Emblem characters that aren't Robin helps her chances, but anyone reasonable knows who the real threats were.

 

[Karafuru]

So, uh, do we think this has any significant impact on Robin's chances? It sounds fairly positive so far.

I think the most significant thing was that Lyndis is an Assist Trophy, but that's it.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Hey, I think Lyn kind of had a shot. I'm biased, though.

So Sakurai acknowledged Awakening's existence, and nothing more. Hmm I guess we'll have to wait another month at least, but on the upside we'll get the full roster by July latest.

 

[Hong]

I'll agree I was a bit harsh. Little Mac spoke highly of Lyn's chances. I would have liked to see her in, and I'm sorry to see it couldn't be done.

I hope who ever we get to carry the Fire Emblem banner does her proud.

 

[ToothiestAura]

Well, seeing as how transformations are no longer a thing we lose the possibility of (non-Ice Climber style) Chrom and Lucina duo. Which is their best option for uniqueness. Stance Change sets can still happen, so Robin is still a go.

 

[Jackson]

Awesome. As a huge awakening fan, I support this.

 

[TCT~Phantom]

Id Purpose plays with Tiki trophy.

That theme is highly associated with Robin.

I believe (also in Ridley).

#E3

 

[Jackson]

Id Purpose plays with Tiki trophy.

That theme is highly associated with Robin.

I believe (also in Ridley).

#E3

Lol, let's cross our fingers.

 

[False Sense]

Id Purpose plays with Tiki trophy.

That theme is highly associated with Robin.

I believe (also in Ridley).

#E3

Oh, I see. So that implies that the Id Purpose song is actually in the game...

Despite being the final boss theme and all, I always thought it an unlikely song to include in the game, unless of course they had the character the theme is associated with. We typically don't get final boss music in Smash, after all. So, maybe this bodes well for us.

 

[Captain Toad]

Well, seeing as how transformations are no longer a thing we lose the possibility of (non-Ice Climber style) Chrom and Lucina duo. Which is their best option for uniqueness. Stance Change sets can still happen, so Robin is still a go.

I genuinely hope so. *fingers crossed for Robin*

Back again (after ages) and I finally got round to colouring Robin.

 

[Pacack]

Something I thought about while playing a Marth vs. Ike battle recently.

Has anyone ever looked at the fire Emblem reps as if they represent a certain recurring aspect of the series?

Marth: Lord
Ike: Mercenary

Because, if that's the case, Marth already represents the "Lord" aspect of Fire Emblem, thus making Chrom redundant. It also would mean that having only main characters could just be a coincidence since they just happen to be the most important characters.

Possible Fire Emblem candidates which fill another archetype:

Robin: Mage/Avatar/Tactician
Anna: Shopkeeper (/Anna since she herself is a recurring aspect of the Fire Emblem series)
Tiki: Manakete

Thoughts? Did I miss anyone important?

 

[False Sense]

Something I thought about while playing a Marth vs. Ike battle recently.

Has anyone ever looked at the fire Emblem reps as if they represent a certain recurring aspect of the series?

Marth: Lord
Ike: Mercenary

Because, if that's the case, Marth already represents the "Lord" aspect of Fire Emblem, thus making Chrom redundant. It also would mean that having only main characters could just be a coincidence since they just happen to be the most important characters.

Possible Fire Emblem candidates which fill another archetype:

Robin: Mage/Avatar/Tactician
Anna: Shopkeeper (/Anna since she herself is a recurring aspect of the Fire Emblem series)
Tiki: Manakete

Thoughts? Did I miss anyone important?

So, what about Roy? Where does he fit in all this?

 

[Pacack]

So, what about Roy? Where does he fit in all this?

Since he was added as a clone to the roster last minute, it's entirely possible he was just a special case.

 

[Karafuru]

Something I thought about while playing a Marth vs. Ike battle recently.

Has anyone ever looked at the fire Emblem reps as if they represent a certain recurring aspect of the series?

Marth: Lord
Ike: Mercenary

Because, if that's the case, Marth already represents the "Lord" aspect of Fire Emblem, thus making Chrom redundant. It also would mean that having only main characters could just be a coincidence since they just happen to be the most important characters.

Possible Fire Emblem candidates which fill another archetype:

Robin: Mage/Avatar/Tactician
Anna: Shopkeeper (/Anna since she herself is a recurring aspect of the Fire Emblem series)
Tiki: Manakete

Thoughts? Did I miss anyone important?

The idea is definitely plausible, but I don't think we really have a pattern with just two characters. Even that they represent different aspects, that could be coincidence as well. Though, I do hope so because having Robin or Tiki would be pretty cool.

 

[andimidna]

I'm still hoping for my IC style Chrom and Lucina team...

But after I lost Tiki to the direct, my choice for a 4th FE character is Anna or Robin.
Both Anna and Robin are much more important and unique when looking at Fire Emblem as a whole, but I really just can't see Sakurai not adding Chrom, despite him not being the ideal choice.

Marth, Tactician, and Anna are the face/main character/mascots of Fire Emblem.
And Ike is basically the Marth of the West.
They all make the most sense.
But I just can't see Chrom as just an assist or a regular trophy.

I think Tiki helped Robin's chances though

 

[Neanderthal]

After never having an opinion on which FE character/s I wanted in the past (as long as Marth is in), I've finally decided that Robin is definitely my most wanted FE newcomer. Just for being much more unique and interesting.


I think Robin is the obvious choice too and I'm half expecting her/him to be in.
In terms of the third rep, either Ike or Chrom would do fine. Neither excite or bother me. But both would be too much of the same in my (unpopular) opinion.
Lucina or Chrom/Lucina duo another small but reasonable possibility.
I think the Roy boat has sailed *ducks for cover behind *.

 

[False Sense]

By the way, there's been something I've been thinking about lately... Could Greninja be evidence against the "this character's not the face of his/her game" argument? After all, Greninja is far from the face of X and Y. Heck, he wasn't even known about until the games came out. Could this be considered a point in favor of Robin?

Oh, and good to see we got another supporter.

 

[Ocrilio]

By the way, there's been something I've been thinking about lately... Could Greninja be evidence against the "this character's not the face of his/her game" argument?

Funny. I had that exact thought shortly after Greninja's reveal, something along the lines of 'unexpected character reveals'.

I'd be willing to consider it a point in Robin's favor.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

By the way, there's been something I've been thinking about lately... Could Greninja be evidence against the "this character's not the face of his/her game" argument? After all, Greninja is far from the face of X and Y. Heck, he wasn't even known about until the games came out. Could this be considered a point in favor of Robin?

Greninja changes nothing in regards to Chrom or Robin's chances, though to be fair, it's not as if Robin some totally impossible character to happen. Unless you assume Mewtwo won't be in.

 

[Hong]

By the way, there's been something I've been thinking about lately... Could Greninja be evidence against the "this character's not the face of his/her game" argument? After all, Greninja is far from the face of X and Y. Heck, he wasn't even known about until the games came out. Could this be considered a point in favor of Robin?

Oh, and good to see we got another supporter.

Nice post. Solid reasoning.

Whether or not it improves Robin's chances is a matter of perspective.

For my own, I think people made up a lot of silly rules for which character can or cannot exist. I don't think anything has ever held back Robin's chances in any way. Our venerated director has gotten all of the staple characters such as Mario, Link, Marth or Samus already implemented. Anyone else who is added, is added on the merits of what they can offer. Nothing more, nothing less. If he sees Robin as offering something worthwhile for his time and monetary budget, he will pursue the implementation of the character.

 

[Popo Nana Power]

The lack of blue hair alone is a big point in favor of Robin over Chrom for me. Plus they could be optionally male or female like WFT.

(I'm pretty sure Chrom will be chosen though...)

 

[TCT~Phantom]

The lack of blue hair alone is a big point in favor of Robin over Chrom for me. Plus they could be optionally male or female like WFT.

(I'm pretty sure Chrom will be chosen though...)

You must believe. Believe in tactics, my friend. Embrace the light side of the Fire Emblem/

 

[Minato Arisato]

Reading this thread makes me want Robin instead of Chrom... I don't know how to feel about that.

 

[Pega-pony Princess]

The lack of blue hair alone is a big point in favor of Robin over Chrom for me. Plus they could be optionally male or female like WFT.

(I'm pretty sure Chrom will be chosen though...)

Agreed. Robin could really complement Villager and WFT really, since they sort of all represent the player in some way. Villager is male only (for now), WFT can be either gender, and then there's Robin, who in this case could be female. They'd be a trio of sorts.

 

[FalKoopa]

I thought that the direct didn't have any effect on his chances one way or the other, but reading the replies here, looks he got a slight boost.

The point about Greninja was a good one. Being the posterboy isn't as necessary as thought.

 

[Drakonis]

I have thought quite a bit about Robin vs. Chrom shortly after the direct and have come to the same conclusion as Hong - There's no reason why we couldn't have both. I'd still prefer having Ike over Chrom since I assume they'll only pick one for gameplay reasons, even if I think they can pull of both with mainly original movesets. However, there's really no reason why any of the two being announced should reduce the chances of Robin being in.

Honestly, the only two things that stand in Robin's way are time constraints and Sakurai not being all that aware of Fire Emblem characters. And I don't even know if the latter is true.

 

[IronFish]

Robin was my favorite character in Awaking and I think He/She has a lot of potential over Chrom in the moveset department like how I see it as basically Link meets Ness

Weight/speed: same as Link

Standard Melee attacks: uses Steel Sword attacks like how he/she uses sword in Awakening

Neutral Special: Thoron
The "arcane symbol sphere" thing appears around Robin and he/she does the Tome pose with Thoron in his/her hands
and then shoots thunderbolt straight across stage from his/her direction (horizontal Pikachu thunder) doing damage but no knock-back (Fox's Laser)
a little cool-down between uses to prevent spamming.

Side Special: Bolognone
The "arcane symbol sphere" thing appears around Robin and he/she does the Tome pose with Bolognone in his/her hands
and then an eruption of fire appears a slight distance in front of him/her that damage those hit (like PK fire but it just appears no spark)
Can be charged for more power like a ranged Ike's eruption.

Up Special: Rexcalibur
The "arcane symbol sphere" thing appears around Robin and he/she does the Tome pose with Rexcalibur in his/her hands
and then he/she rushes up (like Lucario's extreme speed but does damage) leaving a mini cyclone in there wake that lasts for a second and damages any who touch it.

Down Special: Rally Spectrum
Works just like WFT's deep breathing

Final Smash: Ignis
Robin swing's his/her sword and if missed nothing happens and looses the smash if you hit an opponent they are knocked into background
and then you go to a field with the opponent standing it the battle goes into a FE13 style (like Capt.Falcon's in a F-Zero course) with Robin standing with his sword ready and the camera floating around like in awakening.
Robin's turn and attacks and gets Ignis trigger and says "time to tip the scales" or "checkmate" then hit's opponent with flower pedals everywhere
Then you return to the stage with flower pedals floating down for a moment with the hit opponents getting knocked very far usually KO'ing.

 

[False Sense]

Hey, it looks like Robin is starting to gain a few more supporters! That's always nice to see. And it looks like the next Rate Their Chances day will be featuring Chrom and Robin. This would be an excellent time to show our support!

On another note, it looks like this thread is about to reach 1000 posts. Not bad.

 

[ToothiestAura]

Well, obviously none of this actually affects Robin's chances; he's either in the game or not. But I think that using other confirmed characters is helpful in deciding what criteria Sakurai may have used to choose them.

Villager shows that Avatar characters are acceptable in Smash. Which bodes well for Robin.

The Wii Fit Trainers (Did anyone else notice that it was pluralized in the Direct?) mean alternate gender costumes are a reality. Another good sign for Robin.

Rosalina shows that uniqueness is a more important criteria than popularity/relevance. This helps Robin as he'd be quite unique, and is not the face of Awakening (though he's pretty important to the game).

Little Mac again shows that a character does not have to be hugely popular to be chosen. More niche audiences are being appealed to this time. Robin is a more niche choice than just going with Chrom.

Greninja shows, again, popularity isn't everything as he was chosen before the release of X and Y. This suggests that unique design has to do with choice. Robin certainly has a more unique design than another blue haired Lord.

 

[IronFish]

Hey, it looks like Robin is starting to gain a few more supporters! That's always nice to see. And it looks like the next Rate Their Chances day will be featuring Chrom and Robin. This would be an excellent time to show our support!

On another note, it looks like this thread is about to reach 1000 posts. Not bad.

Been thinking about Robin in smash before I found this thread XD

 

[JeremySama]

When I saw the Gender swap Wii Fit Trainer, the first newcomer that came to my mind was Robin. As a character, s/he would be awesome for demonstrating the custom features involved in that, plus s/he has greater potential for a genuinely "new" fire emblem character (kinda tired of Charging Bs and Counters...)

Also Fire Emblem is one of my favorite series and I would be thrilled to see a new character, no matter who it is. Too bad Owain doesn't stand a chance..... HIS SWORD HAND HUNGERS

 

[IronFish]

I did notice how Robin does fit more of Sakurai's criteria than Chrom does like being unique or adding something to the game or even making the game sell because I think 3 blue haired Lords with swords isn't going to promote FE that well...

 

[FalKoopa]

Well, obviously none of this actually affects Robin's chances; he's either in the game or not. But I think that using other confirmed characters is helpful in deciding what criteria Sakurai may have used to choose them.

Villager shows that Avatar characters are acceptable in Smash. Which bodes well for Robin.

The Wii Fit Trainers (Did anyone else notice that it was pluralized in the Direct?) mean alternate gender costumes are a reality. Another good sign for Robin.

Rosalina shows that uniqueness is a more important criteria than popularity/relevance. This helps Robin as he'd be quite unique, and is not the face of Awakening (though he's pretty important to the game).

Little Mac again shows that a character does not have to be hugely popular to be chosen. More niche audiences are being appealed to this time. Robin is a more niche choice than just going with Chrom.

Greninja shows, again, popularity isn't everything as he was chosen before the release of X and Y. This suggests that unique design has to do with choice. Robin certainly has a more unique design than another blue haired Lord.

I thought Little Mac was hugely popular. I agree with the rest of the points though.

Speaking of alternate genders, which one do you think will be default? WFT went with the female version, for example.

 

[False Sense]

I thought Little Mac was hugely popular. I agree with the rest of the points though.

Speaking of alternate genders, which one do you think will be default? WFT went with the female version, for example.

I'm honestly not sure. With Wii Fit Trainer, I think that the Female version is the one that's more marketed and recognizable, and appeals more to the primary audience of Wii Fit. But with Robin (or Villager, for that matter), neither gender is more prominent than the other. If I were to guess, I would say the male version is more likely, simply based on past trends, but I wouldn't count the female version out either.

And it looks like I got the 1000th post! How nice.