"Under the Southern Cross, Anything is Possible!" | Mike Jones Support Thread

[Rubberfrog]

I think 5 years is too little to call something retro. I'd give it at least 20, now that it's almost 2019.

 

[Organization XIII]

It's been about 8 since K Rool's last appearance and the last true major appearance was on the N64. I was just using 5 because that's normally the amount of time from a Smash release characters get considered.

 

[GoodGrief741]

Guys, I've noticed some things that may help Mike out for DLC inclusion.

I'm not saying he'll get in, but I just want to convince you that his chances may be bigger than we thought. Here's some crude evidence for his inclusion:

-"Unexpected" Lineup
Reggie stated that Nintendo was shooting for an "unexpected" DLC lineup. Mike Jones would definitely shock quite a few people if he were to make it in.

-No Old Character Yet
In every Smash game (excluding the N64), we would get a "retro" character, if you will. In Melee, we got Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch. In Brawl, we got Pit and ROB. In SSB4, we got Duck Hunt. We dont have any retro character in Ultimate yet, which makes Mike a candidate.

-No Spirit
We're still unsure if spirits deconfirm characters, but if they do, Mike has absolutely no spirit from his series in the game at all. Perhaps, should he be added, they would add a collection of spirits from his series?

-BeastBall and Banana Gun
These new Smash items seemingly came out of nowhere. They're not from any represented series, not to mention that they are both Startropics-esque items. Even though those items themselves dont appear in Startropics, it's not the first time that Smash has taken creative liberties.

-New ROB color
A character in Startropics, named NAVCOM, is extremely similar to ROB in appearance, only that NAVCOM is blue instead of gray. ROB has a new blue skin in Ultimate. Could this be a nod to Startropics?

-Is Smash-Ready
Mike has everything he needs to be a great Smash fighter. He's got the moveset, the color swaps, the taunts, the music, etc.

Anyway, that's just the stuff I noticed. Any comments or additions are welcome. Remember that I dont think he'll make it in, but he would be a very pleasant surprise.

The NAVCOM skin has been there since Brawl though, it’s the one I use for ROB.

 

[smashkirby]

Here’s hoping. They’re big omissions. I mean, Pilotwings has a stage and music! How’d they miss the .pngs?

I know, right? Heck, I'm pretty sure Nintendo's PW64 JP site is STILL open to this day. You'd think they'd just borrow from there...

View attachment 181918View attachment 181919
This is just a coincidence.

Or is it..???

 

[Deleted member]

Startropics was a really cool game. He'd have my support all the way.

 

[OpticalBlast]

It sucks that Mike didn't even get a Spirit; considering that Startropics was on the NES Classic, it's kind of surprising.

I support. Maybe he'll show up as DLC in some strange turn of events.

 

[StarDustStorm]

It sucks that Mike didn't even get a Spirit; considering that Startropics was on the NES Classic, it's kind of surprising.

I support. Maybe he'll show up as DLC in some strange turn of events.

Panel de Pon was on the Japanese SFC Mini, and Lip got a lot more than people expected in Smash I'm glad she finally appeared after all those years of only being referenced in the game which went unknown by many people. It was pretty uncertain if she'll ever get any kind of proper representation in Smash outside of the item before she was a Spirit and a Mii costume.
Though I think there should be a group of people asking for Mike Jones to be a Spirit in Smash because he does deserve a Spirit. Mike Jones shouldn't be a character who would be forgotten.

 

[solitonmedic]

I know, right? Heck, I'm pretty sure Nintendo's PW64 JP site is STILL open to this day. You'd think they'd just borrow from there...
Or is it..???

I can't believe something like this slipped past me...

 

[Arcadenik]

View attachment 181918View attachment 181919
This is just a coincidence.

It’s so annoying how Smash always pretends America-only Nintendo games don’t exist. Mike Jones from StarTropics should have gotten in as a spirit at the very least. His spirit battle could have been against Ness. I’m sure that Ness picture is just a coincidence.

Ugh... Mike Jones could have been Smash’s only America-only Nintendo character and that would have made him stand out from the crowd. It isn’t like Nintendo completely forgot about StarTropics when it was included in the international version of NES Classic Edition.

 

[StarDustStorm]

It’s so annoying how Smash always pretends America-only Nintendo games don’t exist. Mike Jones from StarTropics should have gotten in as a spirit at the very least. His spirit battle could have been against Ness. I’m sure that Ness picture is just a coincidence.

Ugh... Mike Jones could have been Smash’s only America-only Nintendo character and that would have made him stand out from the crowd. It isn’t like Nintendo completely forgot about StarTropics when it was included in the international version of NES Classic Edition.

Sakurai did use Kid Icarus Myths and Monsters as a reference for his eye color in Brawl's redesign though its because the first game was released in Japan.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Ah, StarTropics... It's one of those many Nintendo games that long went under my radar until the internet came around. I first stumbled upon its name way back during the Brawl speculation period, on this very site, believe it or not. Now, I've always been a huge NES buff, so the fact that I'd been missing out on not one, but two major first-party NES games was madness back then. Intrigued, I snatched it up on the Virtual Console and gave it a go...

What an experience. The StarTropics games really are a rare breed; they were some of the first action games to feature a winding narrative with well-defined characters and a deeper story, one which actually had a bearing on the gameplay. This was a level of immersion scarcely seen in those days, and I think its status as one of the first story driven action-puzzlers goes painfully unrecognized to this day. It's a shame that similarly ambitious games on the SNES would come to overshadow it and its sequel in only a few years.

After playing it, StarTropics instantly rocketed up my list of all-time favorites, and it still remains my absolute favorite NES game coupled with Zoda's Revenge, divisiveness be damned. There are few NES games as nuanced in nearly every aspect of their design as these two.

So, Smash Bros.! Like all of you, I've been quietly hoping for poor Mike to pull a Kid Icarus on us and Yoyo his way back into relevance via Smash for years. But as we're all-too-aware, so long as the game continues to get absolutely zero exposure in Japan, StarTropics will remain in its place as a forgotten experiment that Nintendo of America occasionally regurgitates into their lineup of NES games among other such "classics" as Ice Climber. The sad reality is that this is unlikely to change, since quite literally NOBODY at Nintendo, be them old or young, seems to remember any of Genyo Takeda's ambitious NES ventures aside from Punch-Out -- and while I'm no expert on Japanese culture, I suspect this may stem from Japanese values dissonance in Takeda's attempts to appeal to a western audience, something that could be interpreted as hollow pandering from the perspective of the other designers and teams back in the day. That may still be a point of contention for some of the old guard at Nintendo.

That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if it all boils down to the game simply being forgotten in Japan and internally at Nintendo. It's entirely possible that, given the fact that both R&D3 and Takeda are no longer involved with game design, awareness of the StarTropics series just hasn't reached any of the appropriate people, including Sakurai. Granted, I am pretty shocked that the "spirit team" for Ultimate somehow missed it as well, but it's not completely unbelievable given the fact that documentation on the game is close to nonexistent in Japan (believe me -- I've done enough overseas research to know how bad it is. I'm willing to bet the number of easterners that have actually heard of the game is in the dozens).

The only way ol' Mikey or his game is ever getting a single honest-to-god reference in Smash is if the fans cry out for it so relentlessly that word reaches Mr. Sakurai -- essentially, a K. Rool situation. If he or anyone involved with the production of Smash had heard of StarTropics, we absolutely would have gotten a sticker in Brawl, and likely a trophy in Melee alongside Pit, Bubbles, Balloon Fighter, and the works. It just hasn't happened yet, and it probably never will unless the Southern Cross stars align just right. But here's to hoping!

Anyway, there's my long-winded two cents.
To cap this post off, I thought I'd share these rough old pencil sketches I dreamed up some years back of how I'd want Mike to look if he showed up in Smash:

Perhaps I'll do some new ones someday...

Hopefully this post'll reinvigorate the thread a little. Mike really needs more exposure if he's ever getting a shot with the big boys.



P.S.: Zoda as a Ganondorf echo please thank you

 

[GoodGrief741]

Hell yeah. I think our goal currently should be to get Mike as an Assist Trophy. It helped Takamaru become the number 1 retro pick and breathed new life into Sukapon and Prince Sable’s support bases.

Other than that, I’m hoping a big leak (talking Grinch caliber) will have Mike on it. Even if fake, it will drive a lot of supporters.

 

[StarDustStorm]

Ah, StarTropics... It's one of those many Nintendo games that long went under my radar until the internet came around. I first stumbled upon its name way back during the Brawl speculation period, on this very site, believe it or not. Now, I've always been a huge NES buff, so the fact that I'd been missing out on not one, but two major first-party NES games was madness back then. Intrigued, I snatched it up on the Virtual Console and gave it a go...

What an experience. The StarTropics games really are a rare breed; they were some of the first action games to feature a winding narrative with well-defined characters and a deeper story, one which actually had a bearing on the gameplay. This was a level of immersion scarcely seen in those days, and I think its status as one of the first story driven action-puzzlers goes painfully unrecognized to this day. It's a shame that similarly ambitious games on the SNES would come to overshadow it and its sequel in only a few years.

After playing it, StarTropics instantly rocketed up my list of all-time favorites, and it still remains my absolute favorite NES game coupled with Zoda's Revenge, divisiveness be damned. There are few NES games as nuanced in nearly every aspect of their design as these two.

So, Smash Bros.! Like all of you, I've been quietly hoping for poor Mike to pull a Kid Icarus on us and Yoyo his way back into relevance via Smash for years. But as we're all-too-aware, so long as the game continues to get absolutely zero exposure in Japan, StarTropics will remain in its place as a forgotten experiment that Nintendo of America occasionally regurgitates into their lineup of NES games among other such "classics" as Ice Climber. The sad reality is that this is unlikely to change, since quite literally NOBODY at Nintendo, be them old or young, seems to remember any of Genyo Takeda's ambitious NES ventures aside from Punch-Out -- and while I'm no expert on Japanese culture, I suspect this may stem from Japanese values dissonance in Takeda's attempts to appeal to a western audience, something that could be interpreted as hollow pandering from the perspective of the other designers and teams back in the day. That may still be a point of contention for some of the old guard at Nintendo.

That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if it all boils down to the game simply being forgotten in Japan and internally at Nintendo. It's entirely possible that, given the fact that both R&D3 and Takeda are no longer involved with game design, awareness of the StarTropics series just hasn't reached any of the appropriate people, including Sakurai. Granted, I am pretty shocked that the "spirit team" for Ultimate somehow missed it as well, but it's not completely unbelievable given the fact that documentation on the game is close to nonexistent in Japan (believe me -- I've done enough overseas research to know how bad it is. I'm willing to bet the number of easterners that have actually heard of the game is in the dozens).

The only way ol' Mikey or his game is ever getting a single honest-to-god reference in Smash is if the fans cry out for it so relentlessly that word reaches Mr. Sakurai -- essentially, a K. Rool situation. If he or anyone involved with the production of Smash had heard of StarTropics, we absolutely would have gotten a sticker in Brawl, and likely a trophy in Melee alongside Pit, Bubbles, Balloon Fighter, and the works. It just hasn't happened yet, and it probably never will unless the Southern Cross stars align just right. But here's to hoping!

Anyway, there's my long-winded two cents.
To cap this post off, I thought I'd share these rough old pencil sketches I dreamed up some years back of how I'd want Mike to look if he showed up in Smash:

View attachment 185138

Perhaps I'll do some new ones someday...

Hopefully this post'll reinvigorate the thread a little. Mike really needs more exposure if he's ever getting a shot with the big boys.



P.S.: Zoda as a Ganondorf echo please thank you

Hell yeah. I think our goal currently should be to get Mike as an Assist Trophy. It helped Takamaru become the number 1 retro pick and breathed new life into Sukapon and Prince Sable’s support bases.

Other than that, I’m hoping a big leak (talking Grinch caliber) will have Mike on it. Even if fake, it will drive a lot of supporters.

For now if you want to see Mike Jones to gain exposure, I think asking Nintendo for a Spirit in the game would be reasonable. To begin with they just need to get an image of him, and create the conditions of the event. There isn't too much resources going into Spirits or time consuming unlike Assist Trophies which you would have to wait another 5-6 years with for.

 

[ChronoBound]

The two StarTropics games are among my Top 10 favorite titles for the NES. The original StarTropics in particular was one of the two games that even got me into retro gaming (the other was Kid Icarus). StarTropics II was also a fantastic title. Great underrated games.

I always wanted to see the games receive some sort of reference in Smash Bros. I would be happy even with a spirit battle for Mike Jones or anything from StarTropics. Considering the sheer amount of what the spirits cover (even obscure Super Famicom text adventures from 1999), it was a bit strange that Mike Jones did not also receive a spirit battle.

Hopefully, it will eventually happen through an update.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

A spirit is certainly reasonable, but the only way I can realistically see that happening is if somebody at Nintendo of America brings it up to the developers. I reckon NOA is really the key to all this -- unlike every other regional Nintendo division, they are already clearly aware and fond of StarTropics. If we can increase awareness of the games and make some noise on Twitter ala the "Bring Back K. Rool" campaign, that's our best shot at getting word to NOA and in turn the developers that some acknowledgement of the game's existence would be appreciated.

In Smash, a game that sells itself as a celebration of Nintendo history, the lack of representation for one of their most ambitious ventures (and from one of their most well-respected designers, no less) is massively disappointing. The amount of effort required for just one spirit is so small that its absence can only be explained by a lack of research on the behalf of the Smash team.

 

[smashkirby]

Ah, StarTropics... It's one of those many Nintendo games that long went under my radar until the internet came around. I first stumbled upon its name way back during the Brawl speculation period, on this very site, believe it or not. Now, I've always been a huge NES buff, so the fact that I'd been missing out on not one, but two major first-party NES games was madness back then. Intrigued, I snatched it up on the Virtual Console and gave it a go...

What an experience. The StarTropics games really are a rare breed; they were some of the first action games to feature a winding narrative with well-defined characters and a deeper story, one which actually had a bearing on the gameplay. This was a level of immersion scarcely seen in those days, and I think its status as one of the first story driven action-puzzlers goes painfully unrecognized to this day. It's a shame that similarly ambitious games on the SNES would come to overshadow it and its sequel in only a few years.

After playing it, StarTropics instantly rocketed up my list of all-time favorites, and it still remains my absolute favorite NES game coupled with Zoda's Revenge, divisiveness be damned. There are few NES games as nuanced in nearly every aspect of their design as these two.

So, Smash Bros.! Like all of you, I've been quietly hoping for poor Mike to pull a Kid Icarus on us and Yoyo his way back into relevance via Smash for years. But as we're all-too-aware, so long as the game continues to get absolutely zero exposure in Japan, StarTropics will remain in its place as a forgotten experiment that Nintendo of America occasionally regurgitates into their lineup of NES games among other such "classics" as Ice Climber. The sad reality is that this is unlikely to change, since quite literally NOBODY at Nintendo, be them old or young, seems to remember any of Genyo Takeda's ambitious NES ventures aside from Punch-Out -- and while I'm no expert on Japanese culture, I suspect this may stem from Japanese values dissonance in Takeda's attempts to appeal to a western audience, something that could be interpreted as hollow pandering from the perspective of the other designers and teams back in the day. That may still be a point of contention for some of the old guard at Nintendo.

That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if it all boils down to the game simply being forgotten in Japan and internally at Nintendo. It's entirely possible that, given the fact that both R&D3 and Takeda are no longer involved with game design, awareness of the StarTropics series just hasn't reached any of the appropriate people, including Sakurai. Granted, I am pretty shocked that the "spirit team" for Ultimate somehow missed it as well, but it's not completely unbelievable given the fact that documentation on the game is close to nonexistent in Japan (believe me -- I've done enough overseas research to know how bad it is. I'm willing to bet the number of easterners that have actually heard of the game is in the dozens).

The only way ol' Mikey or his game is ever getting a single honest-to-god reference in Smash is if the fans cry out for it so relentlessly that word reaches Mr. Sakurai -- essentially, a K. Rool situation. If he or anyone involved with the production of Smash had heard of StarTropics, we absolutely would have gotten a sticker in Brawl, and likely a trophy in Melee alongside Pit, Bubbles, Balloon Fighter, and the works. It just hasn't happened yet, and it probably never will unless the Southern Cross stars align just right. But here's to hoping!

Anyway, there's my long-winded two cents.
To cap this post off, I thought I'd share these rough old pencil sketches I dreamed up some years back of how I'd want Mike to look if he showed up in Smash:

View attachment 185138

Perhaps I'll do some new ones someday...

Hopefully this post'll reinvigorate the thread a little. Mike really needs more exposure if he's ever getting a shot with the big boys.



P.S.: Zoda as a Ganondorf echo please thank you

Hell yeah. I think our goal currently should be to get Mike as an Assist Trophy. It helped Takamaru become the number 1 retro pick and breathed new life into Sukapon and Prince Sable’s support bases.

Other than that, I’m hoping a big leak (talking Grinch caliber) will have Mike on it. Even if fake, it will drive a lot of supporters.

For now if you want to see Mike Jones to gain exposure, I think asking Nintendo for a Spirit in the game would be reasonable. To begin with they just need to get an image of him, and create the conditions of the event. There isn't too much resources going into Spirits or time consuming unlike Assist Trophies which you would have to wait another 5-6 years with for.

The two StarTropics games are among my Top 10 favorite titles for the NES. The original StarTropics in particular was one of the two games that even got me into retro gaming (the other was Kid Icarus). StarTropics II was also a fantastic title. Great underrated games.

I always wanted to see the games receive some sort of reference in Smash Bros. I would be happy even with a spirit battle for Mike Jones or anything from StarTropics. Considering the sheer amount of what the spirits cover (even obscure Super Famicom text adventures from 1999), it was a bit strange that Mike Jones did not also receive a spirit battle.

Hopefully, it will eventually happen through an update.

A spirit is certainly reasonable, but the only way I can realistically see that happening is if somebody at Nintendo of America brings it up to the developers. I reckon NOA is really the key to all this -- unlike every other regional Nintendo division, they are already clearly aware and fond of StarTropics. If we can increase awareness of the games and make some noise on Twitter ala the "Bring Back K. Rool" campaign, that's our best shot at getting word to NOA and in turn the developers that some acknowledgement of the the game's existence would be appreciated.

In Smash, a game that sells itself as a celebration of Nintendo history, the lack of representation for one of their most ambitious ventures (and from one of their most well-respected designers, no less) is massively disappointing. The amount of effort required for just one spirit is so small that its absence can only be explained by a lack of research on the behalf of the Smash team.

Well, it's certainly nice to see that the Mike Jones thread hasn't died out. I have to concur here that NoA might just be what Mike (and StarTropics as a whole, for that matter) to get into Smash in some capacity. Honestly, I agree with PigmaskColonel about the unfortunate treatment StarTropics gets.

In fact, I usually liken Mike's situation to that of games like Pilotwings 64 (the 'interquel' (second) game of in the Pilotwings series, and it has NO representation in Smash whatsoever) and Gumshoe (yet another Western-exclusive NES classic that forgotten by time. In fact, this game is the ONLY NES Zapper game NOT represented by Duck Hunt's moveset. I wonder why...) and its main protagonist, Mr. Stevenson.

Oddly enough, these two games (as well as other Nintendo IPs, such as Balloon Kid) aren't wholly represented in Smash (bar a mention in Brawl's Chronicle), when they could have easily gotten Spirits in this game. It really is unfortunate to me.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

I share your grievances with Pilotwings 64. It's yet another game from the minds at R&D3 that has been suspiciously absent from Smash for no particular reason, but what really gets me with this particular game is the fact that, unlike the other examples discussed in this thread, it was released in Japan despite its clear deviance towards western audiences (mostly in its casting of Nester), and as such, I genuinely cannot see why Smash continues to disregard it unless there truly is some sort of stigma with R&D3. It definitely raises some questions about the relationship between Genyo Takeda and Nintendo's management back in the day, since for all we know, these creative conflicts could be part of the reason why R&D3's career as a game developer was cut so short (in fact, Pilotwings 64 was their final game).

I admit perhaps this all sounds a little conspiracy-like, but looking at the development team's history and how quickly they shifted from game development despite the creative prowess displayed in the StarTropics & Punch-Out series, it's not out of the question that Nintendo may have been unhappy with Takeda's dedication to the western market and wanted to put it to an end. There might be negative connotations with games like StarTropics as a result.

Of course, there are also other, more optimistic ways you could approach this; Nintendo has been very kind towards the Punch-Out series in the years since R&D3's game developing days came to end, as we saw with Next Level Games's ambitious reboot on the Wii, and subsequently its inclusion in Smash 4. Perhaps the biggest Smash-related takeaway is Little Mac's appearance as an Assist Trophy in Brawl, since, at that time, Punch-Out hadn't yet gotten the Japanese exposure it would later see in the Wii reboot and was nearly on a StarTropics plane of obscurity (for those who don't know, all Punch-Out games only saw extremely limited release in Japan and didn't have even a fraction of the popularity they did stateside). The fact that it still got an Assist Trophy despite that is very reassuring.

So, assuming in this scenario that there ISN'T an anti-Takeda/western complex at Nintendo, I can only think that the reason why so many western-exclusive or western-tailored first party games are neglected in Smash is just a combined lack of interest and research. We already know that said research and resources were often pulled from unofficial online sources -- I've done a lot of overseas digging regarding StarTropics, and every Nintendo-related Wikipedia discography I've ever found makes ZERO mention of either game, even on biographies of Genyo Takeda himself. Aside from the shoddy article dedicated to the first game (there is none on Zoda's Revenge last time I checked) which would take some major digging to find, StarTropics might as well not exist to easterners. That the "spirit team" on Ultimate let the game slip by them is not surprising, assuming NOA wasn't involved in spirit research.

Pilotwings 64 still baffles me, though. It definitely has historical importance as one of the two Nintendo 64 launch titles, and despite its underwhelming performance in Japan, it's definitely a well-loved game with a memorable cast of spirit-ready characters. Why it's treated so poorly both in and outside of Smash is beyond me.

 

[smashkirby]

I share your grievances with Pilotwings 64. It's yet another game from the minds at R&D3 that has been suspiciously absent from Smash for no particular reason, but what really gets me with this particular game is the fact that, unlike the other examples discussed in this thread, it was released in Japan despite its clear deviance towards western audiences (mostly in its casting of Nester), and as such, I genuinely cannot see why Smash continues to disregard it unless there truly is some sort of stigma with R&D3. It definitely raises some questions about the relationship between Genyo Takeda and Nintendo's management back in the day, since for all we know, these creative conflicts could be part of the reason why R&D3's career as a game developer was cut so short (in fact, Pilotwings 64 was their final game).

I admit perhaps this all sounds a little conspiracy-like, but looking at the development team's history and how quickly they shifted from game development despite the creative prowess displayed in the StarTropics & Punch-Out series, it's not out of the question that Nintendo may have been unhappy with Takeda's dedication to the western market and wanted to put it to an end. There might be negative connotations with games like StarTropics as a result.

Of course, there are also other, more optimistic ways you could approach this; Nintendo has been very kind towards the Punch-Out series in the years since R&D3's game developing days came to end, as we saw with Next Level Games's ambitious reboot on the Wii, and subsequently its inclusion in Smash 4. Perhaps the biggest Smash-related takeaway is Little Mac's appearance as an Assist Trophy in Brawl, since, at that time, Punch-Out hadn't yet gotten the Japanese exposure it would later see in the Wii reboot and was nearly on a StarTropics plane of obscurity (for those who don't know, all Punch-Out games only saw extremely limited release in Japan and didn't have even a fraction of the popularity they did stateside). The fact that it still got an Assist Trophy despite that is very reassuring.

So, assuming in this scenario that there ISN'T an anti-Takeda/western complex at Nintendo, I can only think that the reason why so many western-exclusive or western-tailored first party games are neglected in Smash is just a combined lack of interest and research. We already know that said research and resources were often pulled from unofficial online sources -- I've done a lot of overseas digging regarding StarTropics, and every Nintendo-related Wikipedia discography I've ever found makes ZERO mention of either game, even on biographies of Genyo Takeda himself. Aside from the shoddy article dedicated to the first game (there is none on Zoda's Revenge last time I checked) which would take some major digging to find, StarTropics might as well not exist to easterners. That the "spirit team" on Ultimate let the game slip by them is not surprising, assuming NOA wasn't involved in spirit research.

Pilotwings 64 still baffles me, though. It definitely has historical importance as one of the two Nintendo 64 launch titles, and despite its underwhelming performance in Japan, it's definitely a well-loved game with a memorable cast of spirit-ready characters. Why it's treated so poorly both in and outside of Smash is beyond me.

Personally, I'm taking your thoughts into consideration here, as it really does baffle me how PW64 has virtually NO representation in Smash. Not even in regards to Spirits, for that matter. I mean, StarTropics and Gumshoe? Them I understand (due to being Western-exclusive games), but PW64? Something just isn't adding up here. I've even always pointed out how PW64 was actually released in Japan, and while I can't imagine sales were THAT great, I can't see the 'Spirit team' totally overlooking that game as a whole (Despite the fact that it's the only game in the series with defined playable characters, whereas the original SNES game had an unnamed trainee as the protagonist, and Miis were who you played as in Pilotwings Resort).

BTW, I figure I should mention this now, before I forget it.

https://gonintendo.com/stories/325808-smash-bros-ultimate-now-you-re-playing-with-spirit-power-spi

So... If you or anyone else come across any new Spirits that get added to this one, could you all let me know?

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Spirit board events don't actually add anything as far as I know, but perhaps this one will shake things up. Here's to hoping... If Lark/Nester is added as a Spirit, it'd have to be during this event given the Nintendo Power reference.

 

[ChronoBound]

Spirit board events don't actually add anything as far as I know, but perhaps this one will shake things up. Here's to hoping... If Lark/Nester is added as a Spirit, it'd have to be during this event given the Nintendo Power reference.

There were three new spirits added during the previous Mario event. A Golden Mushroom, a Dice, and artwork of a bunch of Mario characters on a raft.

 

[fleshdude.gov]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

 

[GoodGrief741]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

It would certainly be ****ing awesome, but I’d rather not dream.

Also we only got two games this month because Nintendo are idiots and didn’t want to release Joy Mech Fight in the West.

 

[Rubberfrog]

Well considering K Rool is the only character who hasn't had a game in the last 5 years I think it's pretty safe to call him the retro character.

I remember people more or less saying "Little Mac is the ONLY time this happened", so it's good to see some more examples.

Speaking of anniversaries, Mother will be turning 30 soon, which has Porky fans thinking something will happen then. Not that I'm expecting it to happen anyway, given Nintendo and Itoi's stance on the Mother series.

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

I like the way you think, but I think they'd have to wait until they could add both Startropics games. Unpopular opinion here, as I like the sequel better than the first. The series just doesnt feel complete without Zoda's Revenge.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

Pretty good explanation. If you manage to guess this, you'll win the Arcadenik award.

 

[shinhed-echi]

I like the way you think, but I think they'd have to wait until they could add both Startropics games. Unpopular opinion here, as I like the sequel better than the first. The series just doesnt feel complete without Zoda's Revenge.

You know.... There are times when I like ST2 better. I love both, I usually prefer the first one. But ST2 is still relatively new to me, and the novelty remains. Even though I first played it like12 years ago.

I hope they'd add both. I've already organized the NES library from personal favorites to least favorites. If either ST is released, it will Forever be #1.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

I want to believe, but it's difficult to imagine them dedicating a DLC slot to yet another retro character. If Simon wasn't in the game and didn't already fill the niche of "annual retro rep", then I'd be whistling a different tune. In that scenario, Mike would serve to "complete" the roster. But as it stands, there's really no incentive for Nintendo to go for a character like him beyond advertising Nintendo Switch Online (assuming StarTropics is coming to the service), which seems... Odd. Simon being in the game really hurts his chances.

That being said, it's not entirely out of the question that we could get a second retro rep as DLC. Think about it. Every game up until now has had at least TWO unique retro characters; Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch in Melee; Pit and R.O.B. in Brawl; Mega Man and Duck Hunt (arguably Little Mac as well) in Wii U/3DS; and now, just Simon?
It's entirely possible that a second retro character isn't in the pipeline, but if Nintendo wants to truly "complete" the roster and follow Smash tradition, you never know.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

I mean, the latest WTF character we've had so far isn't even in the base game to begin with. Or based on a lesser-known NES game, for that matter.

 

[smashkirby]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

Good heavens, how I want to this to all mean that Mike is coming...

 

[smash puffle]

Ok, I know it seems crazy, but I seriously think Mike Jones is the Brave DLC character.

They’d be a fairly heavy mid-ranged zoner due to their abilities and arsenal, and their floatiness could be explained by their psychic powers.

That distinct slipperiness that Brave’s turn has? Well, in the original Startropics, Mike would not stop moving after releasing the directional input button until they hit the next tile. By making him slippery when turning, they can replicate that in Smash.

Brave’s fast fast-fall speed can also be explained by the top-down movement of Startropics - he’s running downwards.

And that codename? Simple, really - America, Mike’s home of origin and as-of-this-point exclusive place of release, is the “land of the Brave.”

Oh, and what better way to advertise an official international release of Startropics for the NES via the online service than announcing Mike Jones for Smash alongside it? We did only get 2 NES games this month....Perhaps they’re saving a certain third for a Direct?

Well that would explain why Startropics is not represented AT ALL in Ultimate with no spirits to speak of.

 

[solitonmedic]

https://twitter.com/zieguy/status/1061970368561381376

Did anyone see this yet?

 

[smashkirby]

View attachment 187301
https://twitter.com/zieguy/status/1061970368561381376

Did anyone see this yet?

Hot damn! That looks so fresh!

 

[shinhed-echi]

View attachment 187301
https://twitter.com/zieguy/status/1061970368561381376

Did anyone see this yet?

I saw it on a Discord chat a while back. But looking at it on a big screen makes it look so much better!

Why Sakurai... why no love for Mike? They've even mentioned StarTropics in an interview with you, and you just brushed it off.

 

[smashkirby]

Why Sakurai... why no love for Mike? They've even mentioned StarTropics in an interview with you, and you just brushed it off.

Oh, my... are you serious? StarTropics was actually mentioned? In an interview with Sakurai himself??? Did... did he react in any way to it being mentioned?

 

[Toyamasmash]

Who? Mike Jones?

 

[shinhed-echi]

Oh, my... are you serious? StarTropics was actually mentioned? In an interview with Sakurai himself??? Did... did he react in any way to it being mentioned?

https://gamerant.com/super-smash-bros-4-roster/
This one.

Yeah, kinda sad that we're getting no old 1st party character in Ultimate. Or maybe DLC, but that's up to Nintendo.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

It's not that they don't care, it's more of "but these guys won't be able to play the game, let alone know of it period" than anything. That they're stuck in outdated mentalities in one thing, but in this case Startropics was never released in any language but English (the EU version is theoretically German, but the back of the box's screenshots imply otherwise), let alone Japanese.

Let's put this in perspective; the only fan translation is for the first game, in Spanish, and released this year.

Barely having any language releases really limits the series' audience. Especially worse with 2, since that game never came out in Europe until the Wii era.

 

[PigmaskColonel]

Why Sakurai... why no love for Mike? They've even mentioned StarTropics in an interview with you, and you just brushed it off.

https://gamerant.com/super-smash-bros-4-roster/
This one.

Yeah, kinda sad that we're getting no old 1st party character in Ultimate. Or maybe DLC, but that's up to Nintendo.

Well, this is certainly news to me. Kudos to the interviewer for thinking of the game.

Not to sound like a broken record, but in all honesty, it wouldn't surprise me if Sakurai didn't recognize the name. It really wouldn't. There's apparently a complete lack of archival evidence at Nintendo of Japan that the game even existed, aside from word of mouth presumably passed down by ex-R&D3 employees (and even THAT is uncertain).

StarTropics's future rests entirely on Nintendo of America's shoulders at this point.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Yeah, that's the thing. The games were made for a NOA audience first and foremost. In this case fan support for Mike truly is crucial.

 

[smash puffle]

Maybe we can make like a movement or something to really push Mike at least as a Spirit, or even as a fighter in future instalments.
Maybe we can also get some popular YouTubers that are big fans of Mike and StarTropics in general. Now I know that AntDude, the Gaming Historian, Shezez from Boundary Break and Nitro Rad are big fans.

We can specificly ask NoA about this since they're the only ones that even acknowledge StarTropics' existence at this point.
StarTropics really got the shaft in Ultimate, specially with all of these other obscure Japan-only games being represented.


Also I feel this thread needs to be open for a takeover. Nobody is taking care of the OP or the supporters list.

 

[3DSNinja]

How is simon a retro rep? he appeared in a 3D's castlevanis game a few years ago. made by the makers of Samus returns, so Nintendo must have noticed it.