What are the new characters that you liked the inclusion the most and why?

[lucasla]

Ignoring Echo Fighers and returning characters from previous games, what are the new characters that you liked the inclusion the most and why?
For me, it was:

1. : Because it reminds me the DK games I played on my childhood, and I always wanted to see him in Smash and his moves feels so great on the videos. Of course I need to play with him to have an opinion, but it looks on point.

2. : Because the gameplay looks so fun and on point with the Splatoon games, and I played Splatoon a lot on the WiiU and it really deserves to be here. The ink mechanics will be great to paint the levels on matches with many Inklings.

3. : Being fair, I actually never played a Castlevania game, but I loved the design and moveset of this character on the reveal trailer. Probably the best inclusion I never knew I wanted.

4. : Yeah, I can't hate this character, it looks so much fun. It will be very pleasent to defeat others with a plant vase. It's probably the first joke character I really liked the inclusion (cause I really dont like Mr. Game & Watch, Wii Fit Trainer, Duck Hunt and I don't care about Pichu), and for me, Piranha Plant will not work as a joke character, I will really use it as a serious character (if I like the moveset obvious), it looks super fun.

5. : Similar to Simon, I never played a Metroid game, so, I have no feelings about Ridley, but I think it's very different and cool to have some kind of pterodactyl as a playable character. And being a request from many players, it's nice from them to really listen the requests, despite I'm not really feeling I will care about this character.

6. : She looks adorable, she is in sixth just because I preffer the others, but I really appreciate her inclusion too. It looks so cute how she walks like a lady and kills everybody without demonstrating any remorse and always with a smile on her face.

7. : I'm not putting this character here in last because it was the last inclusion above some better character, but really because I couldn't care less about him. I dont think it looks cool, I had not played a Pokemon game with him, and it looks like a generic inclusion, and easily the most irrelevant inclusion of a new character in the game to me.

 

[BioZelink]

I honestly liked them all... WIth one obvious exception of course.

 

[Frizz]

1. - I didn't really expect this character at all. I really liked her trailer, since it made fans skeptical over whether or not it was a Smash announcement or an Animal Crossing announcement. Turned out to be both, and Animal Crossing fans like me were pleased.
2. - I was originally against this character because of Vergeben, but I grew to prefer him and Ken over the other characters from the Grinch leak fiasco. His moveset looks interesting too.
3. - This character made me laugh. Hard. A general "WTF" moment for everyone.
4. - I like the Splatoon series, so I welcome their inclusion. Not much to be said.
5. - I never played a Castlevania game, but I feel like Simon fits in well with the rest of the Smash Bros. roster.
6. - Never cared for this character or the trailer.
7. - See above.

 

[Yosher]

#1: - Being a big fan of Splatoon which I've played since day 1 the day it came out on the Wii U, and switched right over to Splatoon 2 when that came out on Switch, I've wanted the Inklings as DLC characters in Smash 4 more than any other character, which obviously didn't happen. So yeah I'm pretty happy that they're finally here, I just wish they'd get Splatoon 2 alternates as well rather than shoving those onto the miis, but the Inklings still have some of the best alternates in the game so I'm not complaining too much.

#2: - I've never been that big of a K. Rool supporter, but that doesn't mean I'm not glad he's here. He looks really fun to play as and I'll happily try him out once I unlock him. Gotta love this big chunk of a crocodile.

#3: - Villager was pretty fun to play as, and Isabelle looks even more fun to play as even if just because of how adorable she is and the sheer factor of 'beating a murderous space dragon as a cute little puppydog'.

#4: - After Snake returned, it seemed pretty likely that Simon would get in, so I wasn't too surprised when the word came out. He looks really fun to play though and I love how he's represented.

#5: - Like K. Rool, I've never been a big of a Ridley supporter either, but I'm just not as happy with Ridley's inclusion if only for that sole reason that I do think he is too big, and his relatively small stature here in Ultimate just really downplays what an absolute monster he really is supposed to be. That said, I know how much people wanted him in, so for that reason alone I can't place Ridley dead last on this list.

#6: - Funny, Sakurai. Really funny. Worst joke character yet, as I feel like Piranha Plant just kind of lowers the bar on what it takes to be in Smash. It feels less.. special. That's just my opinion of course. I'll still try to play the plant but this, uhm, ''character'' really just feels like a waste of a slot to be honest, development time that I personally would rather have seen going to making proper alternate costumes for more characters and not make it limited to just 8 per character again.

#7: - I never understood the appeal of Incineroar and I honestly still don't. Litten looked really cute, as did Torracat, and then it evolves into this..... thing. I'd just so much rather have had Decidueye and I was really hoping it would be that one, but nope, Incineroar. Well, at least there's finally a cat in Smash, I guess. I'll still try it out and see if the playstyle is fun, but this character is easily... EASILY my least favourite. But hey, previously I also really hated Shulk, but I've grown to like him as well so who's to say the same won't happen with Incineroar? I'm guessing I'll at least like him more than Piranha Plant before long, but we'll see.

 

[FirestormNeos]

I'm ****in' hyped, my dudes:
At first I was skeptical, but the more I thought about it, the more I warmed up to their inclusion:
Neutral:
At first I was hyped, but now I'm a bit worried:
*sigh* fine:
No, not fine. The ****'s the matter with you people? making an echo fighter of a Semi-clone, jfc...:

 

[Uffe]

Not including Echo fighters? Alright.

A lot of people were hoping they'd be in Sm4sh, so I kind of figured they'd be in the next game. I wasn't actually surprised by Inkling's entry.
After the issues with Konami, I didn't think they were going to make it. Then Snake came back, so I was hoping to at least see Simon Belmont. Instead we got him and Richter Belmont, so I was pretty happy about that.
I was actually surprised since Sakurai said he was too big. His reasoning was that Ridley wouldn't appear intimidating on a smaller scale, but he still looks pretty dangerous.
I thought for sure he would have gotten in by the time Sm4sh came out.
I wasn't impressed with Isabelle's entry. I would have preferred her not to be in Ultimate, but the same day I just accepted it and was fine with her being in the new game.
I really know nothing about this Pokemon, and I don't care about having a new Pokemon, but Incineroar looks pretty cool.
I'm tired of the over-abundant Mario characters, but I definitely made an exception for Piranha Plant. The way he struck Mario made me laugh, and I'm definitely going to try him out. People can call him a joke character, but he's had big roles, such as not only being a generic Mario enemy, but being a boss a few times, and being in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! I'm not sure what other games he's appeared in with bigger roles, but I'd say he's earned a spot.

 

[Arthur97]

Why are we ignoring echoes? They could easily be someone's favorite (as Chrom was at least second for me)?

In any case, I'd go with the plant. It was just so weird and helped make up for Ken and Incinaroar. Plus, first party DLC, and Mario nonetheless.

 

[TJ-Works]

1. / These two were all I ever truly wanted from Smash Ultimate. Iconic Nintendo villains, they're important and it's a shame they'd been out of reach for so long. They also brought new rep for Metroid and Donkey Kong who were lacking all-star characters.
2. I don't care what the haters thinks. This guy is a gem nobody asked for but needed. This shows Sakurai & co. were still having fun developing Ultimate and not just trying to please the outrageous fans. I'm looking forward to him.
3. I can't say nobody was expecting her, since she was the newest Nintendo All-Star that was bound to get in the next Smash. Nonetheless, she looks really fun to play and it's great to see how much she carries her Splatoon traits.
4. Not an Animal Crossing fan, but even I recognise this character. She's the de facto AC mascot, so if they were ever going to bring another AC character, it was bound to be her. I'm sure AC fans are super happy.
5. Not gonna lie, I wasn't really looking forward to him when he was hinted in leaks. After the trailer though, he looks pretty sweet. He reminds me alot of Zangief, so I may or may not play more of him that I expect when the games out. We'll see.
6. He's only at the bottom 'cos I've barely played any Castlevania games, so I don't have any nostalgic connection to him. I don't mind that he's in Smash either, since he's a video gaming legend. His trailer was pretty hype.

 

[pap64]

, no contest. I saw the trailer alongside with S_B the day it aired and that was the most hype I'd ever been watching a game trailer. He just represents everything SSB needed:
- More DK representation
- More heavy characters
- More villain characters
- More forgotten character representation

So many birds were killed with just one stone as soon as the words "King K. Rool Comes Aboard" appeared on-screen. He may not be as iconic as Bowser or Ganondorf, but he fits in the DK universe so perfectly and just seeing him fight against DK makes me smile. As good as the Retro DKC games were, it just lack that maniacal presence K. Rool brought in all the past games, and Smash captures that oh so beautifully. Plus the trailer was so hilarious and a nice palette cleanser after the Ridley and Belmonts trailer with a balance on slapstick and epic stature.

So yeah...Interior Krocodile Alligator FTW for me!

 

[Mogisthelioma]

1. : HYPE!
2. : ALSO HYPE!
3. : High tier superheavy? Also he's super cool.
4. : P L A N T G A N G.
5. : Looks top tier, better than Ryu, and reminds me of Johnny from Kobra Kai.
6. : Interesting new concept for a fighter.
7. : Like Simon, but doesn't look like He-Man.
8. : Edge.
9. : Peach is cool, so I guess I'll try her.....but otherwise, pass.
10. : Ugly Richter. Pass
11. : Villager clone. Pass.
12. : Yet another ****ing Marth clone. Mega pass.

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

Great to see them in, I can't wait to give my opponents a nice paint job with their arsenal. 9/10

She's okay I guess. 3/10

It's about time he showed up, it'll be funny to watch all the silly stuff that happens when him in Smash. 9/10

Don't really have a strong interest cause I kinda wish she was a bit more unique, her animations are cool though. 5/10

I like how he was handled but I still prefer Roy for the fire. 6/10

It's great to have the famous vampire killer in Smash! 9/10

I'm a bit more interested in using him over Simon since I'm a big fan of Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. 9/10

Nice that Dkc finally got something this time around but I don't really see myself using him too much, I'll probably face him a lot while playing as Diddy in theme matches. 8/10

The dog is in the house! I'm very glad she's in(and not an echo either) she'll be the perfect candidate for the matches with the eight dolls, cuteness overload with chaos! 10/10

My favorite shoto clone got in! I always preferred him over Ryu and he looks just as good as he was in Street Fighter! 9/10

Don't know much about him but he looks kinda like Tony the tiger which is great! 7/10

Eh not really into the idea of this becoming a fighter but at least now there's less hate towards people who want generic Mooks. 4/10

 

[Putuk]

12. - It's Marth again.
11. - A DOG??! Yeesh. Pass.
10. - He's okay.
09. - I hope someone makes a video of him winning an online match by just spamming Shoryuken.
08. - He's pretty funny.
07. - She's a'ight.
06. - He's cool.
05. - She's like some sort of monstrosity, that's wonderful!!
04. - He's ALSO a monstrosity! Finally some fighters with actually pretty faces and not that FE-esque trash!!
03. - They're CEPHALOPODS!!!! INVERTEBRATES even!!!!!! The first on the roster, how could this take so long?!
02. - He's a REPTILE!!!!! And EVERYONE LOVES HIM! And he's really FUNNY!!!! AND HE HAS OSTEODERMS ON HIS BACK!!!!!!! I love zoology.
01. - It spits POISON!!!!!!! That automatically puts you in first place!!

My tastes are IMPECCABLE!

 

[SmashBro99]

- Assumed they would be in, I don't play Splatoon but they look fun.

- Sure?

- Wasn't too shocked that they caved and made this big badass boss a silly hunched version of his former self. Not a fan and he looks bad anyway. Glad his fans got him tho.

/ - Not into Castlevania but they seem interesting and I'll try them out.

- Good echo, he should have been in 4 instead of Lucina.

- Cool choice.

- OMFG THEY DID IT IM SO HAPPY

- Why isn't she an echo...*sees AC 2019 ad* oooooh. Still a clone anyway.

- My favorite Street Fighter character, will never use Ryu again.

- I don't see why people wouldn't want him (except butthurt over the too good to be true grinch leak being debunked the second we saw those eyes). A newer pokemon that is a freaking wrestler? And he poses after his attacks? I was ok with him getting in, now I'm pumped to play as him.

- Wait really why would they....oh my god, it is beautiful, main'd the second it's available.

6 newcomers, 5 echoes...not sure how I feel about that spread but the way I see it it could have been much worse.

 

[Blackwolf666]

Based on my current feelings about each one...
1. Splatoon 2 is my favorite Switch game atm and I enjoy everything I've seen of this character so far
2. simply because of how silly it is.
3. - Looks fun to use, I love the wrestling aesthetic and how he taunt after every attack.
4. - I've wanted him since Melee... Do I need to say more?
5. - Wanted him since Brawl... Plus I love how he takes moves from each one of his games
6. - Never played a castlevania game but I love that whip mechanic and his tools
7. - I enjoy her inclusion but honestly unlike all the characters above I don't see myself seriously trying to get good with this character and only playing her for fun and not caring if I win or lose.

All Echoes are below full characters in my eyes
8. - I enjoy playing Samus so I put Dark Samus above everyone else
9. - the differences from Ryu make him appealing
10.- For the same reasons as Simon but... I enjoy the look of Simon more ( I know that most people have opposite views on this subject but to each their own)
11. I'm horrible at playing Peach so I don't see myself using her.
12. the clone of a Marth clone...

 

[Wiinner159]

- Was expected but also still put a smile on my face, I love Splatoon and seeing all the alts and fun moves based on all the weapon types from the game and seeing the return of a classic (albeit occasionally frustrating) super as the final smash
- Honestly don't really care for her, does seemed like a flower version of Peach with some sass, but hey, she's got a fanbase and I'm happy for them at least also glad she doesn't have HI I'M DAISY as a taunt
-GIMME ME MURDEROUS PURPLE SPACE DRAGON!!! I've wanted him ever since I started speculating for Smash back in the Smash 4 days, looks like a ton of fun and glad to add another heavyweight to my repertoire
/-Same boat honestly, I'm a big Castlevania fan as well so seeing it in Smash is sweet, plus that trailer was quite humorous. The fact that they pretty much decided to include the West's and the East's favorites from the franchise is also quite nice.
-Meh, I'm fine with him because I got Ridley but I've got no ties to FE so I don't really care. Good for the people that like him I guess
-Would have preferred a semi-clone because she has SO much more to offer with her phazon corruption but I'll settle for an echo fighter. Animations and model look just great and I can't wait to give her a spin when the game releases because I like Samus and am also an Edgelord
-Second biggest hype character for me behind Ridley, I grew up with the GBA ports of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy so he holds a special place in my heart. Great to finally see another DK character and it being the villain we deserve
-I feel like I was one of the few people who had very little Smash related expectations for the direct she came in so her inclusion was a pleasant surprise to me (also seeing some friends freak out over her and a new AC game was golden). Genuinely hoping she's top tier not because I care about tiers but just for the sheer hilarity of a character as cute and innocent as Isabelle being this game's menace
-Have never really cared for Street Fighter but his unique animations look nice and flashy so I think he'd be a fun guy to see and play as if I ever get around to trying Ryu
-At first I was pretty lukewarm on his inclusion, I'm a grass starter player for life and despite loving flamethrowers in most games never really got behind any of the fire type starters. But the second he started suplexing and posing around like a mad cat I was sold, will definitely mess around with him every now and again, my main list is bloated enough as is!
-Thank you Sakurai, piranha plant is the character I never really knew I wanted until now. He's wacky, he references a lot of the other types of piranha plants (including the Thousand Year Door varieties!) and his moves are the perfect combination of silly and "wow that might actually be pretty fun to mess with". Definitely gonna jump straight into online with him when he releases, he's gonna be a ton of fun

 

[Aetheri]

Ignoring Echoes?

Hell naw!!
was one of my most wanted since Brawl! A little disappointing she's not more unique but its either this or nothing

A big addition indeed, long overdue and super hyped to play as everyone's favourite space dragon!

I don't even care how silly this is I'll be playing the **** out of Piranha Plant!

 

[EricTheGamerman]

I'm going to rank all of them just because it's fun.

1. He was my number two, but Sakurai just did him so much justice that I actually have to put him over my number one. To pull from literally every mainline appearance of King K. Rool and give him this super fun and crazy looking move set was just kind of perfect. I just absolutely lost my **** with his reveal.

2. My actual number one. He looks appropriately brutal, but there are definitely a couple of missed opportunities with him (How is down air not the tail attack???). That said, I was extremely hyped to see him show up as well as my original number one and he just seemed like he was never happening. He also looks like he has some really cool mechanics that'll take some time to learn properly.

3. I adore Castlevania and had been hoping to see Castlevania content in the game for some time, and Simon/Richter seem to play exactly like I expected they would with such great usage of different items and the Vampire Killer whip. Plus, his reveal trailer is just the absolute best.

4. See above, I never expected to get another Belmont, let alone Richter! Rondo of Blood is a great Castlevania game, so I was super excited to see him show up along side Simon. So much good fan service to Castlevania being paid with these two.

5. They just make absolute sense and the way that Sakurai implemented them seems right on the money. Giving them the unique ink mechanic is a great way to make them stand out from basically the rest of the roster.

6. Maybe not as unique as it should have been, but beautiful looking when it comes to the animations and somehow giving Metroid a fourth rep when I considered that impossible. Just an actually way more hype newcomer than I expected an Echo to be.

7. Animal Crossing deserved a second rep and she just is the most popular choice as a breakout star of recent years. Going all in on the cute angle makes her unique enough from Villager and makes her another sort of precious little character alongside Pichu.

8. Another character that just makes sense and almost seems to behave more like a semi-clone than the other Echoes. His kicks make him stand out enough from Ryu and he just absolutely fits as a representative for Street Fighter without having to fully incorporate a new unique character. The original Echo ideas make him work really well.

9. The plant looks really unique, and if nothing else, I do love my unique characters in Smash. It's a weird choice on a lot of levels, not quite my ideal crazy pick as neither a retro nor an obscure character, but I accept it for what it is, and that's absolutely ridiculous. I'm sure it'll be more fun to play in person and possibly find a higher place on this list.

10. They at least made the Pokemon I was dreading seem like a decent addition with his focus as a wrestler. His move set seems decently unique, but I'm not super convinced of him being a necessary addition, and I still just don't like the way he looks. But he might be more fun once I get my hands on him.

11. A weird sort of amalgamation of different Fire Emblem characters and his recovery legitimately looks awful despite making him more unique. I know people wanted him and he did get a weird turn in Smash 4. So I accept him even if he's already a clone of what I consider probably the least necessary character in Smash overall and another blue haired Marth clone...

12. Cool I guess? In retrospect, she is easily the least exciting character. I couldn't be more apathetic to her inclusion and I've seen nothing to indicate she is in the least bit unique. All the other Echo fighters have something going for them I feel like, but not her. That said, I know people have wanted her and she probably deserves a small spot on the roster. I'm also just not that interested in Peach's move set.

Overall, pretty damn satisfied, only the last four have any disappointment for me, and they're all for various individual reasons. Even those look like I could have some real fun with them, so I'll see if things change when I start playing them.

 

[Alternis]

The character that got me the most excited. He and Ridley were huge holes in Smash's rosters in the past, so their joining is excellent in my eyes. As a player of heavy characters, his moves look great, too!

Mentioned above. Though I don't particularly care about him as a character, his absence was quite glaring, and I'm happy his fans may at last know peace.

I think I'd be more excited for these guys if they didn't share a trailer with the reveal of the game itself... That said, they look really fun, and I do want to try them out.

/Sticking them both here because I don't have any experience with Castlevania. Their reveal wasn't very exciting for me as a result.

I'm honestly really excited for Isabelle. I love Animal Crossing, and another character for the series makes me very happy.

I was partial to Decidueye for all of the pre-release period for this game, but then I saw Incineroar in action. I very much anticipate trying him out. His animations are just so good!

No other character can say they blindsided me more than this one. I can't wait to try them out, though!

The rest of the echoes aren't at all exciting to me.

 

[soviet prince]

obv the most exciting character to me is ridley,

 

[Idon]

Simon's the only character I actually wanted... Richter's a nice bonus, too, but I kinda wished we got the other Vampire Killers too.

I'd be a fan of Dark Samus if she wasn't such a similar clone.

 

[ｐｓ＿]

- Long overdue & deserving.
- Great ideas.
- Everyone expected you'd be here, but that's alright.
- Nobody expected you'd be here, but that's alright.
- Feel free to leave at any time.

 

[Diddy Kong]

1: Needs no explanation, absent for way too long. And just look at his moveset! About time DKC got some loving, and this was the best they could do. Sure Dixie is missing, but that's a thing that can be overlooked because of this inclusion. The reveal trailer was also easily the best of all Smash newcomers ever.
2: Mostly cause I called him being in there, and I was glad being right. Him being a Roy Echo but with a even blade is very interessting, it gave us hope for more unique Echoes, and I still think he is the most unique Echo. Glad he made it in after being so roughly denied last time.
3: Didn't feel all too much for him at first, but glad he made it in. The design is wicked, and fits real well even if it clashes with the Samus design. Still think he's somewhat awkwardly posed, and some of the moves don't fit much, but he's the proof that fan demand is real. And he's a real unique character. Hype seems to have died down on him however.
4: Just blew away everyone's expectations. Seems like a fun and gimmicky character. Won't play it much, but it's basically *hits blunt*-the character and am fine with that.
5: Seems like a great playstyle, love the zoning parts and made me curious about Castlevania after only playing one of the DS games.
6: Like above, but not the face of the franchise.
7: I always wanted a feline character in Smash. He's not exactly my cup of tea, and I disliked him innitially cause he was the front face of Vergeben's predictions. But I like him now. Might play him a little.
8: Never played the source game, but think I missed out. The way she moves around is real cool. Glad to have some variation to Samus's gameplay.
9: Almost forgot they are there. Seems like a promising character, but not one that interessts me much.
10: It's like Ryu, but slightly different. Yeah, Vergeben made me dislike him at first. But he deserves it in being the original Echo Fighter of fighting games.
11: Very clonish. Don't see why she wasn't just a Echo. Still not fighting material, but she's somewhat cute I guess?
12: HI I'M DAISY HI I'M DAISY HI I'M DAISY HI I'M DAISY

 

[Christian_CAO]

1. - I didn't really expect this character at all. I really liked her trailer, since it made fans skeptical over whether or not it was a Smash announcement or an Animal Crossing announcement. Turned out to be both, and Animal Crossing fans like me were pleased.
2. - I was originally against this character because of Vergeben, but I grew to prefer him and Ken over the other characters from the Grinch leak fiasco. His moveset looks interesting too.
3. - This character made me laugh. Hard. A general "WTF" moment for everyone.
4. - I like the Splatoon series, so I welcome their inclusion. Not much to be said.
5. - I never played a Castlevania game, but I feel like Simon fits in well with the rest of the Smash Bros. roster.
6. - Never cared for this character or the trailer.
7. - See above.

you liar. You lied to yourself to cope.... Then again, looking at your list it looks like you're too young to care about the fake leaked characters in the grinch leak so i'm more than likely wrong. Or you just didn't play those games or had the opportunity to.

As for myself, I hate to admit it but my favorite newcomer has to be K. Rool
I never liked the Donkey Kong games growing up and preferred other platformers to them due to the visuals being too gross to me (the music made me want to play them to completion when I did play though)... even though I played boogerman before so idk what younger me was thinking... ahem

I NEVER Liked K. Rool. Ever. Not in the games. Not in the so godawful that it's good cartoon show. And I certainly wasn't an advocate for him to be in smash at all. Like ever. I always thought I'd rather see Anyone Else than that big freaky reptilian bug-eyed nub tailed Slack Jawed crusty conniving crocodile in the smash series.

Then. The trailer dropped.

I'm a sucker for Donkey Kong music and Gangplank is high on my list of favorite tunes from the franchise. The music was the only thing that kept me playing donkey kong games despite not liking the visual style of the characters, the environments grew on me because the music fit so well to each area... so when those horns came blazing in towards the end I was sold on him joining in because it pumped me up. Exactly as intended, damn you musical psychology!

The "full" version of the remix may be my favorite smash bros tune in the entire history of the franchise since smash 64, trumping even fountain of Dreams in Melee...No... I changed my mind... The orchestral Kirby Scores will always have a place in my heart... The main theme of Melee also is a favorite of mine (fun fact for those who don't know but it's literally just a remix of Bowsers final level in Mario 64 with a lot of improvisation to make it it's own thing of course), but still, the muffled rapping (I hate vocals in game music that isn't the opening or ending of a game) was entirely on point. I don't even like rap, I dare say I even "hate" it for what it is today but that's an opinion and those are like mix-tapes, nobody wants to hear mine. Lots of music themed context in my statements so far...weird.

Also the DeDeDe (favorite Kirby Character btw) fakeout troll made me fall in love with Sakurai all over again. The Man has good taste, what can I say

Ridley was a cool addition and I'm happy to see him in the game. I am so glad to eat crow for being a naysayer. He's a murderous Space Dwagon with personality past rawr scary scaly space pirate.

I was never an advocate for these characters (ridley or K Rool) nor was I one for Banjo (and kazooie), but other people wanting them in made me want to root for their inclusion because it would make Sooooooo Many peoples smash roster dreams come true since it's fans of those franchises who grew up with the birth of something as special as smash since the first game into melee that laid the ground work for this community. The roster has been answering Dream favorites of everyone so far (rest in peace Issac fans I'm so sorry he couldn't make it). Still slim hopes for Geno though... seeing D'Ron cry with happiness if Geno ever gets in is also something I'd pay for, so I always have my fingers crossed for the cosmic spirit in a mole child's wooden doll to be in the game.

But this isn't about what ifs, it's about enjoying what we already have, and boy Howdy do we have a ton!

tldr. Favorite newcomer is K. Rool because feelings :L

 

[Frizz]

you liar. You lied to yourself to cope.... Then again, looking at your list it looks like you're too young to care about the fake leaked characters in the grinch leak so i'm more than likely wrong. Or you just didn't play those games or had the opportunity to.

You're only right about the last part. I simply have no interest in their games so I never played them. That's all there is to it. When the Grinch leak arose, I looked at it and felt it was plausible, but at the same time, too good to be true, considering it was compromised of many fan requested characters. Instead, I stuck with my guns and went over to the Vergeben side, mainly because of Sakurai literally telling us not to expect too many characters. 2 more character reveals was the perfect amount, but 7? That's overshooting it.

I suppose I'm technically too young to care about the characters in the Grinch leak—I AM only 18, after all, which is certainly young when compared to most of the other users on these boards. But if I honestly wanted to, I could've emulated their games and played it myself. But like I said before, I just don't have any interest in them.

 

[Deleted member]

My reception of the all the newcomers is above-average on the whole. Makes it more fun to experiment with them. Just a few honorable mentions:

• : An echo of my long-time main is quite the surprise. Loved playing as her in the Mario Party and Mario Kart games. No question on who my main in Ultimate will be.
• : His/her DLC costume from Smash 4 looked good.
• : She is too cute. I bought her DLC costume and the based on myself looks good in it.
• : It looks gimmicky, and gimmicky is interesting. It will be worth my time to look into him.
• : He is starting to rekindle my interest in returning to Street Fighter. I think it was 2002 since I last touched a Street Fighter game although I sucked at it. Now, he will not be my main but playing as him and every once in a while can get me ready for Street Fighter when I return to it.

Sayonara

 

[letsgetsmashing]

1. - With all that said about Ridley, I will admit that King K. Rool was one of my most wanted, ahead of him. Yeah, I personally wanted Dixie Kong a little more, but I know that K. Rool is a better option as he's another villain, heavyweight, and nostalgic character. Not to mention, he looks like one of the funnest newcomers to play and his movesets one of the most inventive I've seen yet. I mentioned that Ridley was the biggest win the Smash community has achieved, but K. Rool is definitely a close second and likely was the true winner of the fighter ballot. So getting him put a huge smile on my face
2. - To me, this was the biggest win the Smash community has ever achieved. Bigger than Sonic. Bigger than Mega Man. Bigger than K. Rool. We'd been asking for Ridley since the very first installment, and each time his chances seem to get slimmer, but we got more resilient. We never gave up. Maybe he wasn't my most wanted. But if the Smash community has taught me one thing about what a community is, it's that we're all in this together. Ridley symbolized that. Whether you love him or hate him, he proves that this community can work together respectfully to make something happen.

3. - We all knew that whenever the next Smash came, Inkling was a 100% lock. But that teaser in which she was introduced was undeniably amazing and had me hyped all the way up until E3. Not to mention her moveset looks amazing; they did a nice job of "smashifying" her while making sure she still felt like she was ripped out of Splatoon. Those characters are always the best, when they feel so close to their source material but are given a Smash feeling.

4. - I'll admit it, I've never played a Castlevania before, but I recognize how important of a series it is in the history of video gaming and recognize Simon Belmont's status as a video game icon. While I would've taken Bomberman over him as the Konami rep, I'll take what I can get, and I love what I did. Simon not only looks extremely fun to play, but has a moveset different than any other in the game. His range with his whip will surely result in me gravitating towards the character as I like to attack at distance. Oh, and by the way, I can't way to do Samus VS Simon, and see Metroidvania finally come to life. Never though I'd see the day.

5. - I never get all that hyped over new Pokemon. I have nothing against their inclusion, but it's hard to become attached to one character in this universe as there is so many. And even if you do like one a lot, chances are one of the other 700+ Pokemon will get in before them. That said, Incineroar's moveset took me by surprise and is probably the one I'm most excited to try out, behind King K. Rool. Also, they nailed his fur in Smash and I just love his look in the game. His reveal trailer was also amazing, and it's great to see another fire Pokemon in the game. Plus, Smash is a game about fighting, so it's cool to finally see a legitimate pro wrestler in.

6. - Despite Isabelle's low placing, I"m still extremely excited to play as her, and she was one of my most wanted newcomers. She's only near the bottom because I knew she was going to be in the game, and her moveset is largely based on Villager's. Neither of these are bad things, but rather just reasons my excitement for her doesn't compare to someone like K. Rool or Simon. I like what differentiates her from Villager, like the fishing rod, and am honestly stoked to see her in Smash. Let's face it, she's the mascot of Animal Crossing and Villager's more of the title character, such as with Pikachu and Ash in Pokemon.

7. - I was so mad when he got announced. I think it was a mix of the direct being a trainwreck up until that point (imo) and the fact that I would've preferred Captain Toad, another Mario character over him. It's hard to see him get in over Toad, especially when the argument of too many Mario characters strengthens with each addition. Also, to me being in Smash is truly something special and only goes to gaming icons, which I do not consider a Piranha Plant. That said, him being in warmed up to me, as I realized there's no use in being mad over something that's done. I'm actually quite excited for him now, as him moveset is hilariously innovative, and he looks like a ton of fun to play.

 

[Tino]

1. Because I like Animal Crossing and she’s adorable.
2. I was laughing my ass off at his reveal trailer. I don’t plan to use him but I will get him when it’s ready.
3. Only because he’s like my 5th favorite protagonist in the Fire Emblem games. Also cuz I have no connection to .

The rest I don’t give a damn about because I either don’t care about the characters themselves or don’t have any real connection to them.

 

[Christian_CAO]

You're only right about the last part. I simply have no interest in their games so I never played them. That's all there is to it. When the Grinch leak arose, I looked at it and felt it was plausible, but at the same time, too good to be true, considering it was compromised of many fan requested characters. Instead, I stuck with my guns and went over to the Vergeben side, mainly because of Sakurai literally telling us not to expect too many characters. 2 more character reveals was the perfect amount, but 7? That's overshooting it.

I suppose I'm technically too young to care about the characters in the Grinch leak—I AM only 18, after all, which is certainly young when compared to most of the other users on these boards. But if I honestly wanted to, I could've emulated their games and played it myself. But like I said before, I just don't have any interest in them.

I felt the same the second I saw that grinch leak, just too good to be true. I only called out because of this statement you said about incineroar
"I was originally against this character because of Vergeben, but I grew to prefer him and Ken over the other characters from the Grinch leak fiasco."

To prefer Incineroar over six other characters is just not plausible from an objective perspective.
Shadow, Issac, Geno, Machrider, Chorus Kids and Banjo along with ken were the ideal.
Incineroar is an awesome addition but the statement you said before just sounded like coping from any angle.

You should at least try out super mario rpg if you haven't played it, it's pretty timeless (literally flawless if you don't mind grinding aspects of rpgs, not even that much grinding needed) and the grandpa of all mario rpg based games. Every other reps games really only pander to old men like myself who're stuck so far in nostalgia that we'd somehow enjoy the jank of those ancient games to this day. And Rhythm Heaven is...yeah... cute

 

[HotelSoapy!]

Just because of cuteness factor. The others I just cant get hype over for some reason, and I'm someone who played a lot of DKC growing up.

I am hyped for all the echoes though. Ive never played Street Fighter but Kens Theme is awesome.

 

[Frizz]

I felt the same the second I saw that grinch leak, just too good to be true. I only called out because of this statement you said about incineroar
"I was originally against this character because of Vergeben, but I grew to prefer him and Ken over the other characters from the Grinch leak fiasco."

To prefer Incineroar over six other characters is just not plausible from an objective perspective.
Shadow, Issac, Geno, Machrider, Chorus Kids and Banjo along with ken were the ideal.
Incineroar is an awesome addition but the statement you said before just sounded like coping from any angle.

You should at least try out super mario rpg if you haven't played it, it's pretty timeless (literally flawless if you don't mind grinding aspects of rpgs, not even that much grinding needed) and the grandpa of all mario rpg based games. Every other reps games really only pander to old men like myself who're stuck so far in nostalgia that we'd somehow enjoy the jank of those ancient games to this day. And Rhythm Heaven is...yeah... cute

Well, you're not wrong. From an objective standpoint, choosing one character over six others DOES sound rather ludicrous. And I can understand why my statement sounded like coping—I could've definitely worded it a bit better. What I was really trying to say is that, I was originally against the idea of Incineroar and Ken being in Smash because I didn't want the leaks to be true—I only wanted one Smash game where the roster wasn't leaked beforehand so that I could genuinely be surprised. Sure, I could've tried to ignore it like some people might've, but you're inevitably bound to run into some person or some content that spoils the content for you. It just happens when you surround yourself with friends, content creators, and communities that share similar interests with you.

When the Grinch leak came around, I felt that it was too good to be true, considering the fact that it consisted of many fan-favorite characters, especially Shadow, Isaac, Geno, and Banjo. Even if most of the other newcomers this installment were mainly included due to their overwhelming popularity (Ridley, King K. Rool, Chrom, Dark Samus, Daisy, Simon), getting 7 more characters—4 of which were well-requested—to be revealed in one last direct was just too much. And that part where I said I didn't want Vergeben's leaks to be true? That also applies here; I didn't want the Grinch leak to be real either. As a matter of fact, I didn't want ANY leak to be real at all.

But it came down to the ultimatum of either Vergeben or Grinch. And I sided with Vergeben. Mainly because it felt more possible, but also partly because of how I'm not too fond of too many fan-favorite characters getting priority over lesser known characters, especially in one single installment rather than being spread out throughout the games proportionately. I'd much rather there be 2-3 fan-favorite newcomers in a single game if it meant Sakurai and the rest of the Smash team got to choose the rest of the newcomers for their own reasons, whether it's for advertising purposes (Roy, Corrin), Nintendo relevancy/retro purposes (Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B., Duck Hunt), joke pick purposes (Pichu, Wii Fit Trainer), or if they think they have enough source material to be turned into an interesting, fun, and unique moveset, which could be said for a decent amount of the characters in the roster. They generally make good choices, so I'm glad they get to pick the DLC characters.

But yeah, just to clarify, I wasn't coping or anything when I said I preferred Incineroar over 6 other characters. I'd just much rather have two characters that aren't popular requests over 4 characters that are, mixed with 3 lesser popular characters. Is it biased of me? I suppose. Petty? Also possible. But that's just how I feel.

I'll think about playing Super Mario RPG since RPGs are one of my favorite videogame genres, but I'll most likely not feel any different about Geno than the way I do now.

 

[Christian_CAO]

I'll think about playing Super Mario RPG since RPGs are one of my favorite videogame genres, but I'll most likely not feel any different about Geno than the way I do now.

Oh I'm not shilling for geno or anything. He's a blank faced puppet with next to zero personality past the cool factor of his design and abilities in the game. He's basically an early final fantasy lead protag. He's a blank slate, perfect to project any kind of personality you'd want to portray him as since he himself has nothing really going on for him.

He's popular because you'll enjoy his gimmicks in the rpg and he looks cool. People want him in smash simply because the game was so good and the most marketable character happened to be geno as far as a new mario character goes and he appealed to our age group in that demographic. Geno is the face of that game despite mario being the one on the cover and the fact that you'll probably prefer other party members to him instead will end up happening. You could play that entire game without ever using geno if you wanted to...

He's not exactly optimal for a balanced party so...yeah, playing the game will definitely not effect your stance on his inclusion or lack there of in smash.

I feel bad for geno. Square will never touch him because he's too tied to the mario universe but they keep him in their pocket because they designed him for the game and nintendo doesn't care about him at all because there's no reason to. They could shoehorn him into any rpg or even mario party games but they don't because it's a bother to bother Square to get the rights to do so. "Why should we pay to have this guy in our game? Does anyone even remember that game? It didn't even do that well in japan and sold far more intensely in the states" The list continues for reasons not to utilize him in anything at all.

However the only reason people can think of to put him in smash is... because he's geno and he is cool. They aren't wrong. He is geno. He was and is cool. Good on him but that's just not enough of a reason to make him relevant past smash ballot inclusions and cameos.

He represents a time in a good amount of folks childhoods where games were chalked full of surprises and hidden secrets to unlock. When people started to make guides on the internet a good amount of time later, it really gave scope to how much content is overlooked back then.
This is a game that "needed" a guide book if you were even going to want to know that there was more in the game than you thought even after beating it.

When you do play it, I suggest going in blind, then looking up a guide to go on a secrets hunt for any you've missed ^v'

though I guess I already ruined that aspect by mentioning that there were secrets. I didn't know there were back then, when I found out years down the line and went on a hunt I was plenty surprised. So my apologies if that alters your perceptions of the game if and when you do play it.

 

[Arthur97]

Oh I'm not shilling for geno or anything. He's a blank faced puppet with next to zero personality past the cool factor of his design and abilities in the game. He's basically an early final fantasy lead protag. He's a blank slate, perfect to project any kind of personality you'd want to portray him as since he himself has nothing really going on for him.

He's popular because you'll enjoy his gimmicks in the rpg and he looks cool. People want him in smash simply because the game was so good and the most marketable character happened to be geno as far as a new mario character goes and he appealed to our age group in that demographic. Geno is the face of that game despite mario being the one on the cover and the fact that you'll probably prefer other party members to him instead will end up happening. You could play that entire game without ever using geno if you wanted to...

He's not exactly optimal for a balanced party so...yeah, playing the game will definitely not effect your stance on his inclusion or lack there of in smash.

I feel bad for geno. Square will never touch him because he's too tied to the mario universe but they keep him in their pocket because they designed him for the game and nintendo doesn't care about him at all because there's no reason to. They could shoehorn him into any rpg or even mario party games but they don't because it's a bother to bother Square to get the rights to do so. "Why should we pay to have this guy in our game? Does anyone even remember that game? It didn't even do that well in japan and sold far more intensely in the states" The list continues for reasons not to utilize him in anything at all.

However the only reason people can think of to put him in smash is... because he's geno and he is cool. They aren't wrong. He is geno. He was and is cool. Good on him but that's just not enough of a reason to make him relevant past smash ballot inclusions and cameos.

He represents a time in a good amount of folks childhoods where games were chalked full of surprises and hidden secrets to unlock. When people started to make guides on the internet a good amount of time later, it really gave scope to how much content is overlooked back then.
This is a game that "needed" a guide book if you were even going to want to know that there was more in the game than you thought even after beating it.

When you do play it, I suggest going in blind, then looking up a guide to go on a secrets hunt for any you've missed ^v'

though I guess I already ruined that aspect by mentioning that there were secrets. I didn't know there were back then, when I found out years down the line and went on a hunt I was plenty surprised. So my apologies if that alters your perceptions of the game if and when you do play it.

Can Square even use him without Nintendo's approval?

They also missed a chance to put him in those Mario sports games Square worked on.

 

[Mogisthelioma]

If I don't name my Dark Samus amiibo "Edge Sams" then I'm naming her/it Sylux.

 

[AzureFlame4]

1. Never really played Castlevania before the reveal but since have played Castlevania 4, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Also watched timeline videos and as such Castlevania has quickly become one of my favorite franchises.

2. See above

3.Voted for him on the Smash ballot. Donkey Kong country is the earliest game I can even remember playing. DK64 was one of my favorite N64 games, and he looks sick.

4.I like fire Ryu. May be my best chance to play as Sanji in Smash despite the fire not coming from his legs as far as I know. I'm going to do all of the kicks though.

5.A character that definitely belongs and though I haven't played the games much I do enjoy what I have played.

6.I'm more just happy for the fans on this one.

7.She looked super cute in her trailer.

8.Worst FE character to use since it is indeed just another blue haired swordsman who fights like Marth. I love FE and he just gave people another reason to hate it.

9.Can't lie, I often forget this character is a thing.

10.Cool?

11. No comment

12.My personal opinion is that this thing is a slap in the face to everyone who ever hoped for a beloved character to get in. I'm not even a Waluigi fan, but why this thing over him?

 

[Crystanium]

Yes, another Samus, but another Samus who also could have been given a different moveset while also maintaining some semblance to Samus' own moveset. Dark Samus was part of a story arc, and if Ridley wasn't able to make it in, then at least it'd make sense to have Dark Samus. She is one of the few recurring characters whose presence was a problem for Samus.


Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Star Fox, and Pokémon had villains. Why not Metroid? Yes, yes, Metroid isn't as popular in Japan as it is in the western world. Well, the western world is giving you most of the money. Ridley has a history with Samus, so it didn't make sense for him not to be present. I know, his size would diminish his intimidating presence. I think the technology was around to make Ridley a reasonable size and work.


Like the first two, King K. Rool seems to truly be the new antagonist of the Donkey Kong series. Sure, there was Mario, but that was between Mario and Donkey Kong, who is now commonly known as Cranky Kong.


A more recent IP, it only made sense to introduce Inkling. I've only played a demo of the first Splatoon and I thought the controls were interesting with the Wii U Game Pad.


I enjoy Castlevania. My earliest game I recall playing was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I'd say this game is comparable to Super Metroid in terms of being the best in the series. Nevertheless, my brother and I went back and played many other Castlevania games from the NES days, as well as the more recent ones for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Simon Belmont is a well-known character, and having history with Nintendo, as well as contributing in some way to the gaming industry, his and Richter's inclusion is, in my opinion, an absolute must.


I'm really not sure what the reaction for Piranha Plant's inclusion is with regard to fans of Super Smash Bros. I thought its inclusion was pretty funny, and while I'm not one to favor more Mario characters, I couldn't get mad at this hilarious addition. No, I don't think Piranha Plant is a "joke" character, unless Sakurai or whoever thought it was a good idea to add this character says so.


I'd say Isabelle's inclusion was the weakest, but Animal Crossing is popular and I can't be mad. I actually felt bad after saying she should not have been added.


I think many people were expecting Ken, and the cut-scene between him and Little Mac was pretty awesome. While I am not a fan of Street Fighter in the truest sense of the word, I'm glad Ken made his debut, especially in his better-looking outfit.


I have no interest in Incineroar, and its previous evolutionary forms look much better. I simply didn't care for Incineroar's appearance, but its inclusion did make me like its appearance, even if only a little. I'm more of a water-type starter, although I would have made an exception in Sun and Moon, since grass-flying types sound cool. Also, owls. Anyway, I'm not sure what more there is to say. There are a lot of Pokémon characters, so I'd honestly prefer fewer.


I have no affinity for Fire Emblem, so I'm not sure who Chrom is. I've only heard of his name years ago and never knew what he looked like. I think there are plenty of Fire Emblem characters already, so Chrom just comes off as another one.

 

[Mariomaniac45213]

1. Obvious he's been my most wanted character to join Smash since Melee. Yeah it took 17 years and I have a full grown beard now but I still cried tears of joy when he was revealed. This character is AMAZING my favorite Nintendo villain. Sakurai did his character JUSTICE! Stays in line with what Rare started and unfortunately PAON dropped the ball on. 10/10

2. I've always wanted Ridley. I like Metroid but for some reason Ridley wasn't OMG hype like I thought he would be for me. Still gonna be one of my many mains but Idk something about him...still he gets an 8.5/10

3. Fantastic addition repping a fantastic new Nintendo franchise. These Squid Kids are All-Stars and while we all knew they were a lock for this game I still got super stoked when they were announced. 8.5/10

4. I'm not a Pokemon fan in the slightest. I don't hate when a Pokemon is added to Smash. I'm just indifferent. But Sakurai really sold me on the character in the direct and I think he has a unique moveset even though his recovery looks to be complete trash. If I like what I play with I might add him to my rotation. 7/10

5. I love Animal Crossing and I love Isabelle glad she made it to Smash. The more Nintendo All-Stars added to the roster the better. I play with Villager a lot and love his moveset she looks to be pretty similar but with a few new moves so I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy her playstyle. 7/10

6. Meh 3/10

7. *sigh* Looks to have a really fun moveset but sadly I just can't like that a generic mook was added to Smash Bros. Feels like the bar was lowered and now literally anything/anyone can get into Smash and sadly I can't get behind that so no matter how unique/fun to moveset it will never get me to like this "character" in Smash. 2/10


Echoes just for fun:

I wanted Dark Samus and while yeah she COULD'VE been more unique given different development circumstances I will still use her a lot. Villain squad for life! 8/10

My boy Chrom made it! 8/10

Meh 4/10

Meh 2/10

UGH! 4/10

 

[lucasla]

7. *sigh* Looks to have a really fun moveset but sadly I just can't like that a generic mook was added to Smash Bros. Feels like the bar was lowered and now literally anything/anyone can get into Smash and sadly I can't get behind that so no matter how unique/fun to moveset it will never get me to like this "character" in Smash. 2/10

I don't think you should think that the inclusion of Piranha Plant lowered the bar. It is a joke character. Lower the bar is a 2D sprite called Mr. Game & Watch, or Duck Hunt or Wii Fit Trainer, that no one cares... I would even say Daisy and Dr. Mario is lower the bar, but I will not include them on this discussion.
Smash has joke characters, and Piranha Plant is just the joke character of this version of the game. You just shouldn't treat it seriously.

 

[thirsty-pocket]

1.
K. Rool is the highlight for me. Donkey Kong Country was the first game I ever beat... which is surprising to me because it's on the tougher side. That, and some of my favorite characters are goofy over the top villains with huge personalities. K. Rool fits that bill very well, being a ham ball that role plays something different in every game and stares directly into the camera, and builds killer robots with pots and pans. I feel like younger people have been missing out with this character being absent for so long. Hopefully the next DK game will include him, based on the fact that Retro wanted him in DKCTF Switch but Sakurai called dibs, I think it's a safe bet he's back for good.

2.
I'm actually not a big Castlevania guy, I only really like the first NES game and the SNES remake, and of course those are Simon's games. But I loved those two games a lot, particularly the music which I'd listen to over and over in my high school days. I've also got an extreme fondness for all those cliche halloween monsteres like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Creature of the Black Lagoon. A guilty pleasure movie for me was Van Helsing. Not to mention, Simon was once one of the more famous characters. He had a TV show with Pit and Megaman on the same block as the Mario and Zelda cartoons... Yeah yeah "We don't talk about those", we weren't embarrassed about campy stuff back then and I'm still not embarrassed. I'm just happy to see Simon back with Pit and Megaman.

3.
I'm kind of a casual Metroid fan, I don't replay the games that often, not a big fan of non linear side scrolling games. ( explains why I only like the early Castlevania games ) but I've always rooted for Ridley. I've known who Ridley was long before I even played Metroid games thanks to it's presence in crappy sprite comic I used to read. But, I don't really need a big meaningful reason. I just like dragons, and dinosaurs, especially pterodactyls, and Ridley is basically a pterodactyl, but cooler.

4.
I thought Inkling should have been in the Wii U game, if not base, then DLC. Seemed dumb to me that we got Bayonetta and Corrin but not one of the only reasons to even own a Wii U. I loved Splatoon and i'm not a fan of shooters nor am I a fan of competitive online multiplayer games. I wasn't even sure I was going to like Splatoon until several trailers came out and I got to try the global test fire. The only reason this character is below Ridley is because of how obvious it is.

I was disappointed in the other reveals. I'm kind of a lapsed fan of both Pokemon and Animal crossing. I don't care about their spinoffs and their main series games have become too samey. AC didn't need more than one rep imo, and I just don't care about gen 7. The less said about the plant, the better.

 

[Gyrom8]

1. Going into the last direct, I was a little sad. Every new Smash game I like to main at least one newcomer. So far, nobody caught my attention. I was happy for Ridley and K Rool fans, but they're not personally characters I'm that interested in. The characters I was interested in were never happening, were deconfirmed or were about to be (RIP Skull Kid). The Grinch 'leak' had got a load of people hyped and I could see that it delivered a lot of fan favourites, but I wasn't personally interested in any of them. And the 'worst case scenario' alternative, Kencineroar, didn't do much for me either. So when the Grinch leak turned out to be fake, I wasn't as dissapointed as I'm sure many were, but I was hardly excited either.

Then along came the plant. I didn't ask for him and nor did anyone else (apologies to the one person who actually did), but that was why he was great: had Ultimate just pandered to the big requests (a la the Grinch), then it would have been predictable and kind of boring. But here was a character who came completely out of nowhere. And to top things off, looked really fun. Piranha Plant's moveset just looks so wacky and the sight of him running on two little legs was hilarious. I get why people were salty: we do have plenty of Mario characters already and he's just a generic mook. Yet Sakurai gave this generic mook a really creative moveset, and that's what counts. Really looking forward to picking up Piranha Plant in February. 9/10

2. Though I had nothing against his inclusion, I wouldn't say I was a supporter. Yet his reveal was completely infectious. The DeDeDe fakeout, the glorious Gangplank Galleon remix, the references in his moveset - it was all just perfect. So too was the personality they put into his animations and behaviour. Do I plan on using K Rool? No. But I think he's definitely a good addition, and I'm honestly kind of jealous of K Rool fans for how well he was implemented. 8.5/10

3. I have never played a Castlevania game in my life but Simon's reveal was really cool. So too was everything about his moveset and I like how they went with his OG design (Simon > Richter, fight me). Also, newcomers from new series are often better as they bring a load of other content (stages, assist trophies, music) with them. All in all, a good addition, even if his reveal was spoiled somewhat. 8/10

4. Splatoon 2 is my most played Switch game. So why isn't Inkling higher? Probably because she was so expected that her inclusion didn't hype me up much. Plus, after playing so many hours of Splatoon, playing as an Inkling isn't as much of a novelty. For whatever other reasons, this character doesn't interest me that much. But they're undeniably a good inclusion and, like Simon, have brought a load of other content to the game. 7.5/10

5. Like K Rool, I didn't have much interest in Ridley. But you can't deny that his reveal was glorious. I'll fully admit that I was in the '2big' camp, but I'm more than happy to eat my words. Just the fact that after all these years, after all the memes, he was finally in, was great. I also love the details they added to him, making him seem more alien-like and really vicious in his mannerisms. 7/10

6. I'm not a big fan of Incineroar as a Pokemon, and that's still the case. But I've really warmed up to this character (pun intended). The personality they've given him and some of his moves (like the rope one) are enough to justify his inclusion in Smash. Yes, there are dozens of other Pokemon I'd have picked instead. But I'm not sure they could have brought as much to Smash. 6.5/10

7. Isabelle is precious and definitely a good newcomer, but I've never been a massive fan. Am a little salty that she usurped Tom Nook and KK Slider as a series mascot, even if I get the reasons behind it. 6/10

8. The creepy animations they gave her are a really nice touch. Otherwise, not particularly interested. 5/10

9. Nothing wrong with Ken, though a pretty predictable inclusion. I like how they've differentiated him more than most echoes. 5/10

10. Richter's fine but Simon's better. 4/10

11. There are plenty of Mario characters I'd have chosen over her but I guess she made sense as an easy echo. 4/10

12. Good for his fans, considering how he got shafted in the last game. But I really can't get enthusiastic over yet another blue-haired FE sword lord and another Marth clone. 2/10

 

[SmashShadow]

1. - Bout Time + DK rep
2. - Bout Time
3. - Most obvious addition
4. - More interesting Ryu