Was DHD chosen to be the retro rep to replace Ice climbers?

[loslobos]

This seems like the case. Opinions?

 

[Hitzel]

You're saying that a retro rep was out of the question before Ice Climbers were cut?

 

[AEMehr]

Climbers were cut late in development due to issues with the 3DS version, even though they worked on the Wii U version.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/17/ice-climbers-were-cut-from-smash-bros-due-to-3ds-limitations

Duck Hunt was going to be in the game regardless, it's just a coincidence that things happened like this.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

This seems like the case. Opinions?

"This seems to be the case", proof? Because really, it doesn't. Like @ AEMehr said, Duck Hunt was planned from the beginning. We were going to have both, but the IC's had to be cut late-game thanks to technical issues. There is literally no evidence to suggest that Duck Hunt was a late-game addition to compensate for the Ice Climbers.

 

[Arcadenik]

No. Get that idea out of your head. DHD was still going to be in the game regardless.

If DHD was added in the last minute, why is he not a clone? It wasn't like DHD was Sonic-popular that his moveset was rushed.

 

[Falchy]

Climbers were cut late in development due to issues with the 3DS version, even though they worked on the Wii U version.

Duck Hunt was going to be in the game regardless, it's just a coincidence that things happened like this.

^couldnt have said it better myself

 

[pupNapoleon]

The only replacement we got was Toon Link.

 

[Jae]

Nah, Duck Hunt fulfills the role of the "retro-wtf characters" akin to Mr. G&W in Melee and R.O.B. in Brawl.
I believe Sakurai had already stated why the Ice Climbers were cut in an interview article.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Nah, Duck Hunt fulfills the role of the "retro-wtf characters" akin to Mr. G&W in Melee and R.O.B. in Brawl.
I believe Sakurai had already stated why the Ice Climbers were cut in an interview article.

I disagree. I think after ROB, there cannot be a retro-wtf character. There are no more that would not be too upsetting. Duck Hunt was legit, was predictable, and was highly requested as far as 'RETRO' is a thing.

 

[Jae]

I disagree. I think after ROB, there cannot be a retro-wtf character. There are no more that would not be too upsetting. Duck Hunt was legit, was predictable, and was highly requested as far as 'RETRO' is a thing.

Understandable.
Of course, there are still that good portion of people who really didn't think Duck Hunt would ever be playable, thus the duo can be seen as that type of character.

 

[Shaymikyu]

I'm still in the "he was the obligatory weird retro character" camp. We've gotten one pretty much every game (Ness could maybe count for SSB64). Yes, there's no topping R.O.B. on the What the Heck Scale, but Duck Hunt is certainly unexpected. If I time traveled back to when the SSB4 hype began and said that Duck Hunt was playable, most people would just laugh.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Understandable.
Of course, there are still that good portion of people who really didn't think Duck Hunt would ever be playable, thus the duo can be seen as that type of character.

There are people who still think "so and so" cannot have a move set.
I think it is safe to say just because fans think something does not mean it is a legitimate way to think.

To be fair, thogh, I guessed Wii Fit Trainer as a character, so not much shocked me.
Greninja did, though.

 

[DonkaFjord]

There are people who still think "so and so" cannot have a move set.
I think it is safe to say just because fans think something does not mean it is a legitimate way to think.

To be fair, thogh, I guessed Wii Fit Trainer as a character, so not much shocked me.
Greninja did, though.

I agree. At this point in time there really cant be a character that is too outside of the box that someone somewhere didn't mention it. WFT shows this and DHD shows this as he had a following.

 

[Arcadenik]

Understandable.
Of course, there are still that good portion of people who really didn't think Duck Hunt would ever be playable, thus the duo can be seen as that type of character.

Trust me, I know it all too well. Most of the detractors still haven't admitted they were wrong in the "I was wrong" thread.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Assuming by "wrong" you mean "I thought the leak was fake and didn't think he'd make it," then I was wrong. And HAPPILY so. He was one of the few things I liked about the leak initially and didn't need time to cope with/warm up to.

 

[Arcadenik]

Assuming by "wrong" you mean "I thought the leak was fake and didn't think he'd make it," then I was wrong. And HAPPILY so. He was one of the few things I liked about the leak initially and didn't need time to cope with/warm up to.

Nope. Not at all. I meant that they were wrong for saying DHD was absolutely impossible because he has no moveset potential, that he will never get in because he is the most hated character, and that Sakurai would never pick DHD over Takamaru and Sheriff since they actually fought in their games.

 

[Shaymikyu]

Oh, got it. I admit I had no clue how he'd work, but that got me even more interested in seeing him in action.

 

[Luigi580]

A little late on asking this question. I put up a topic like this last week of this very same question, which has been locked down due to confusion.
There are a couple flaws to this theory: first off, Sakurai does mention that his picks are made from the get-go, meaning that the Duck Hunt Dog was meant to be in from the beginning along with the Ice Climbers, who were cut late in development (the only characters I personally think may be exempt from this rule are the clones, who seem to be late additions due to extra time, hence why they aren't with their respected franchises. DHD isn't one of them). Second, if Duck Hunt was truly meant to be in to replace the Ice Climbers, then there shouldn't have been any development on them at all. Yet Sakurai has actually told us about the struggles of adding them in an interview. Plus, their audience chant can be found via glitch.
I think Duck Hunt just conveniently filled up the hole that the Ice Climbers left behind, but I highly doubt that's the soul purpose.
And by this logic, one could also argue that he is actually replacing Pit, who was once a character that only existed in the 8-bit era, but now has a game that was made in this century, no longer being another 8-bit era rep.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

A little late on asking this question. I put up a topic like this last week of this very same question, which has been locked down due to confusion.
There are a couple flaws to this theory: first off, Sakurai does mention that his picks are made from the get-go, meaning that the Duck Hunt Dog was meant to be in from the beginning along with the Ice Climbers, who were cut late in development (the only characters I personally think may be exempt from this rule are the clones, who seem to be late additions due to extra time, hence why they aren't with their respected franchises. DHD isn't one of them). Second, if Duck Hunt was truly meant to be in to replace the Ice Climbers, then there shouldn't have been any development on them at all. Yet Sakurai has actually told us about the struggles of adding them in an interview. Plus, their audience chant can be found via glitch.
I think Duck Hunt just conveniently filled up the hole that the Ice Climbers left behind, but I highly doubt that's the soul purpose.
And by this logic, one could also argue that he is actually replacing Pit, who was once a character that only existed in the 8-bit era, but now has a game that was made in this century, no longer being another 8-bit era rep.

Well you're not wrong, though "decade" may fit better. Not trying to nitpick, just picturing some Victorian-era aristocrat playing a Gameboy. Which, to be fair, would be hilarious.

Anyway, on point. Couldn't agree more with this. I didn't stop to think that Pit is no longer 8-bit only anymore, so I suppose we needed someone to bring in some 8-bit charm.

 

[Luigi580]

Well you're not wrong, though "decade" may fit better. Not trying to nitpick, just picturing some Victorian-era aristocrat playing a Gameboy. Which, to be fair, would be hilarious.

Anyway, on point. Couldn't agree more with this. I didn't stop to think that Pit is no longer 8-bit only anymore, so I suppose we needed someone to bring in some 8-bit charm.

Well, by this century, I meant "in the 2000s". Sorry for the mix up.
However, I don't truly think this was the case either. The Ice Climbers were the original "8-bit reps" in Melee and still were so in Brawl, but Pit was added in as well, giving us two reps for the NES (fun fact: Sakurai wanted Pit in since the beginning, but he couldn't make it into the first two games due to time constraints. Same with Dedede).
I personally think the most logical theory is this: Sakurai just likes to pull out "dead" characters from the old days so they can have some spotlight again. Knowing how infamous DHD is, I'm surprised this didn't happen with him sooner.

 

[Tino]

I was wondering the exact same thing myself until I learned that Duck Hunt Dog was actually going to be in the game regardless or whether or not the Ice Climbers are in.

 

[Morbi]

No. Duck Hunt Dog was intended to replace Ivysaur. They are both quadrupedal animals, don't you see? Unlike Ice Climbers, Pokemon Trainer was planned to be cut from the very beginning because of (presumably) issues pertaining to balancing him against the roster and his transformation mechanic. No one gives a **** about Squirtle, but what about our favorite four-legged friend that was super unique and awesome? If Pokemon Trainer were gone, we, as Smash fans, could never experience that again.

Deal wit it.

 

[Foosedogg]

DHD wasn't intended to cut ICs. DHD was meant to be with ICs. But of course, the 3DS sucks so yea... Forget I said this, I praised my launch day XY 3DSXL all day yesterday, it was it's birthday.