What was your reaction to the reveal of Lucina?

[Hong]

If I'm agitated, it's because Lucina is a waste of a slot. If Sakurai had to compare Lucina to male Wii Fit Trainer and female Villager, he's pretty much admitting that Lucina is a glorified alternate gender costume.

Sakurai also contradicted himself. In the first picture, he starts off saying that Lucina's abilities are identical to Marth's. But by the end of the second picture, Sakurai tries to justify Lucina's roster spot by claiming that there are small differences in her abilities.

Identical =\= small differences

Waste of a "slot". Yes. They make up a full user interface for the game day one and just "fill in the blanks" as needed.

Thank goodness that is not how game development works in any world ever. No one lost their slot. Unless they have a specific franchise quota to meet (Pokemon), there are no "slots". If there was one for Fire Emblem, no one lost anything, because we got Robin, and Sakurai knew that when he threw in the freebie. Even if they had a ballpark for the number of characters they wanted, they wouldn't cut it short with a late addition.

Lucina took a mere fraction of the development time as other characters. In fact, the developers could have just copy-pasted the data and made a Marth 2 with the same model during development and adjusted the variables from there. That way she is effectively there bright and early for balance and bug testing before the art assets are even ready.

Her actual model and voice work? It's not like the programmers and balance team have hardly anything to do with that. All it costs Nintendo is mere pennies in their coffer. What, with how Lucina's model is about decent and a game with low sales expectations like Fire Emblem: Awakening can get over 30 voice actors for it, many among the best in the industry. Adding Lucina is but a table scrap

What makes Lucina different from Lucas, Dr. Mario, Young Link, Pichu, and Roy, is people actually wanted her. Nintedo more or less barely added anything to their workload and appease the Awakening fanbase with the most popular character... which is a pretty sweet deal.

You are having an highly unnecessary knee-jerk reaction to her being a clone just because she is a clone.

 

[Hyper Luigi]

I was elated. It was a delightful surprise and I look forward to playing her. Way to circumvent expectations Sakurai, those folks expecting Chrom to replace Ike were not only wrong about that but also wrong about Chrom being playable. Instead we got Lucina and Robin aka the most creative Fire Emblem Smash fighter to date.

 

[Ryuutakeshi]

She does look faster and less laggier. I'm predicting she's like Old Marth.

 

[ChikoLad]

Kinda disappointed with how they made her work, even as a clone. Probably the blandest clone since Dr.Mario. She's basically Marth with training wheels/Marth without the factor that makes him interesting to play as (the tip of the sword being stronger), if today's Miiverse post is anything to go by.

I get that she's popular and that her presence is appreciated, but even as far as clones go, she's incredibly bland, and if they made Marth slower just to make her "fast Marth", that's a giant middle finger to Marth fans, since Marth is supposed to be quick. I quite liked using Marth in Brawl and even a bit in Melee, so I myself find this annoying as someone who liked playing as him.

 

[praline]

She has a spot on the website because she is an actual character. I don't get why that's so hard for some people to understand.

 

[ChocolatePancake]

I'm kind of ticked that she's in the game in the first place, as her own character at least. She's basically a clone of Marth, and now we have FOUR Fire Emblem reps!

 

[TeaTwoTime]

Haters gonna hate. #LucinaHype

 

[im just peachy]

She has a spot on the website because she is an actual character. I don't get why that's so hard for some people to understand.

I don't know why so many people on here get super offended whenever anyone questions something
I'm trying to figure out if she's actually her own character or not, I'm not saying she's stupid or doesn't deserve a spot
I'm not crossing my fingers that she's not in the game, I've said before how cool I think she is, and how I really hope she gets a spot.
I'm not sure if you meant it in a rude way or not, but it came off that way

Haters gonna hate. #LucinaHype

The lack of clarification is horrible I hope something comes up soon !!
And I hope you're not talking about me because I'd love for her to have her own spot in the roster

I'm kind of ticked that she's in the game in the first place, as her own character at least. She's basically a clone of Marth, and now we have FOUR Fire Emblem reps!

she's a very love able and well respected female in the fire emblem franchise.
This is the first female we see from that series and I'm glad she'll be

 

[ShrekItRalph]

I don't know why so many people on here get super offended whenever anyone questions something
I'm trying to figure out if she's actually her own character or not, I'm not saying she's stupid or doesn't deserve a spot
I'm not crossing my fingers that she's not in the game, I've said before how cool I think she is, and how I really hope she gets a spot.
I'm not sure if you meant it in a rude way or not, but it came off that way

The lack of clarification is horrible I hope something comes up soon !!
And I hope you're not talking about me because I'd love for her to have her own spot in the roster

she's a very love able and well respected female in the fire emblem franchise.
This is the first female we see from that series and I'm glad she'll be

Look at the pick of the day. Sakurai confirmed she is her own character.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Funny how both Chrom and Lucina use Ike's Aether in that cutscene despite their actual skill animations looking nothing like that.

 

[im just peachy]

Look at the pick of the day. Sakurai confirmed she is her own character.

What ! That's awesome !! Thanks for telling me I haven't seen it yet, I just woke up

 

[JohannFKNFaust]

Yeah I found this strange as well... I am one of the ones who started saying she might be an alt costume since the release of the video, it just seems as so and that small box just makes even more questions bounce around in my head... so confusing.

 

[KingBroly]

I think it's possible that early on they were going to use Chrom to be a Marth clone, but realized that it'd be super weird to have 2 short, blue-haired males with similar movesets from the same series, which is why they went with Lucina, ultimately.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

I never even thought she was a seperate character, I thought the question mark in her splash text was an indication that she was an alt costume, and she sure looked like it too in gameplay. Then she's suddenly on the site, and I'm still all "okay, she doesn't have a wide box, so it's probably because she's the first alternate costume that's technically not the same character as the original." Then I see the newcomer sign and everything, and it's about a sealed deal.

And actually, that was a pleasant surprise. I like Marth's moveset, but I'm not so much into the whole tipper thing, by the looks and sounds of it Lucina is more of a rush-down version of Marth, and that fits my playstyle almost perfectly. Furthermore, I like her design way more than Marth's. So yeah, it took a bit time but at this point she's one of my favorite newcomers, which is crazy unexpected as I was shaking my head whenever I saw her on rosters.

 

[8-peacock-8]

"Oh ****! It's not Shulk!"

That was my reaction.

 

[TeaTwoTime]

My reaction:

Lucina's in. I'm done. This couldn't possibly get any bet- ROBIN TOO? TIME TO BARF RAINBOWS

 

[Ragna22]

This thread is.now reserved for those like myself who thought Lucina would be a costume.

 

[Suli Hyuga]

Being another person who hasn't played any Fire Emblem game (with the exception of one GBA one for like 10 minutes) I was like
"Is that Marth....as a girl?! O.o.........SHE LOOKS SO KAWAII"

 

[Malkior7]

I was surprised it wasn't Shulk, I freaked out when it showed Cap Falcon, and I never played Fire Emblem so I can't say it hypes me much (I always welcome a fatter Smash roster though) since don't really know the characters of the game.

 

[sir_mihael]

I posted this reaction in the King K. Rool thread, a comical response to yesterday's news. It will never stop being appropriate.

[Replace K. Rool with Ridley for all you Ridley supporters out there.]

 

[Robertman2]

I posted this reaction in the King K. Rool thread, a comical response to yesterday's news. It will never stop being appropriate.

[Replace K. Rool with Ridley for all you Ridley supporters out there.]

I'm pretty sure that's the birth of the Joker right there.

 

[sir_mihael]

I'm pretty sure that's the birth of the Joker right there.

Surely he'd become... THE RIDLER! *ba dum tss*

Sorry, that's a terrible joke. I'll get my coat.

 

[SaturnFrost]

Excitement when I saw her revealed. Disappointment when I saw her moveset and idle stance. Anger when when I realized her being in was why everyone who played Marth said he felt nerfed.

 

[HenryZusa]

I have an strange theory: Chrom was originally planned as the Fire Emblem character of this game, but Sakurai and his team seeing the people's opinions about him since last year/months made them change their mind about his inclusion, and instead they changed Chrom for Robin. Remember the main argument of the community against Chrom is 'oh not just another blue-haired SWORDSMAN from Fire Emblem', also the whole internet considering Chrom's inclusion a fact thanks to the Gematsu leak caused a lot of hate against him, and if you remember there was stated at E3 that there are people from Nintendo among us (Smashboards and other videogame sites), so maybe knowing this the development team changed their mind and decided to include Lucina as a 'last minute replacement', making her a clone cause they didn't have the time to develop a whole new character having wasted Chrom.
But maybe they finished Lucina before planned and had still some time, so they included Robin, if you payed attention you may remember him stating during his trailer 'I am no ordinary swordsman', making a reference of how people didn't want another swordmand from FE. And Chrom defeated on the floor 'having his chance another day'. But his model was already complete, so they decided to use him as a part of Robin's Final Smash.
If this supposed change of plans ocurred it could have been during the last few months, as they even had to make a CGI trailer for them.
Yeah, this may sound far-fetched for some of you, but I think it could be a possibility.

 

[Banjodorf]

I'm assuming she was a very quick, easy addition to increase the number of newcomers, which means we may have at least another newcomer like her show up in a more unique one's trailer. I don't think she was last minute, but was probably just easy, and IS probably wanted someone to wield an Awakening Falchion.

Why not pick the female character, when Sakurai wanted more females? Now this game has double the number of females, (as newcomers) than Brawl had total. (Not counting Nana)

 

[Rich Homie Quan]

I don't think she's a clone because she's last minute. I think she's a clone because she's supposed to be.

 

[Banjodorf]

I don't think she's a clone because she's last minute. I think she's a clone because she's supposed to be.

This. If any character makes sense to have the exact same moveset as another, isn't it Lucina? Even if she was planned from the beginning, wouldn't it be true to her character to have her copy Marth's style completely, minus sword physics, because she idolized him, and even pretended to be him?

 

[Gene]

This. If any character makes sense to have the exact same moveset as another, isn't it Lucina? Even if she was planned from the beginning, wouldn't it be true to her character to have her copy Marth's style completely, minus sword physics, because she idolized him, and even pretended to be him?

Where does this leave characters like Doctor Mario?

 

[Banjodorf]

Where does this leave characters like Doctor Mario?

I'm honestly not sure, but who knows, he may be either a last minute clone, or if Sakurai finally logic'd that they're the same person, a costume. I'm unsure though. Lucina is at the very least an actual seperate character, so...hmm.

 

[Rich Homie Quan]

Where does this leave characters like Doctor Mario?

Out of the game. Lucina was the most requested FE character in this generation of smash.

She's in here because she's popular, she's a clone of Marth because she's supposed to be.

I'm not passing this off as fact, but it seems like the most likely explanation.

 

[Snagrio]

Sakurai pointed out something interesting for her Miiverse debut today.

"Her physical ablilites are identical to Marth's--it must be in her D.N.A."

Unlike Roy, Lucina is actually related to Marth (granted there's a few thousand years of decadency, but related nonetheless), so her having a fighting style very similar to his does make some canonical sense. In other words, Lucina being a clone is more fitting then if she had a completely separate moveset.

 

[DustyPumpkin]

Yeah i thought she's be a costume too
and honestly I'm a bit dissapointed in that because I was hoping a Non-Costume Lucina would be unique.

 

[Ragna22]

Well at least Lucina is the closest we'll get to having Roy back but hey who knows they might throw him in just to say we have all the Fire Emblem characters that appeared in the Smash Bros series.

 

[NoiseHERO]

I expected Lucina as an alt costume for Marth at best, not in at all more likely.

I am now grinning like an idiot. I love FE so much.

This.

I thought her getting in as a alt costume to Marth or Chrom would be a given. And that's probably what they were gonna do looking at how """""cloney""""" she is. Either way no problems over here. I just hope she has masked reverse trap outfit like in first chunk of Awakening.

Since I thought she'd get in, but not as her own character I guess I'll choose the neutral vote.

 

[Tyrannotaur]

I fully expected Lucina...to be in a tag team with Chrom. At least I was only half wrong! Glad we got Lucina! Also I was completely wrong about Robin. Didn't really like the sound of him being playable but he looks awesome!

 

[Curious Villager]

Oh, yeah. As was stated at the other thread. It has been confirmed today that Lucina is in fact a separate character from Marth. I guess it's only fair I'd lock this thread as well.

 

[TeaTwoTime]

Chrom wouldn't have been scrapped for a cloned Lucina if his moveset and animations were completed (or close to). They may very well have intended for Chrom to be playable initially (given how detailed his model seems to be), but her being a clone definitely seems intentional and not a decision forced by time constraints.

 

[TeaTwoTime]

Excitement when I saw her revealed. Disappointment when I saw her moveset and idle stance. Anger when when I realized her being in was why everyone who played Marth said he felt nerfed.

Just for the record, that last part is pure speculation. We have no idea if that's true or not or if Marth has been changed/buffed since the demo.

 

[DraginHikari]

This was something I had said earlier this morning about my view on the Awakening character situation and feel it sort of applies to this situation as well.

Given how heated the Fire Emblem debates were even here this time around, I can't image the decision by the developers to chose which of the Fire Emblem Awakening Characters to go with was going to be particularly easy to do. Chrom, Lucina, and Robin all had pretty decent popularity within the fanbase. That may be why Lucina is the first clone newcomer we've had could of been a compromise they reached so they could include two of the three.

Considering Chrom has a model for the final smash that doesn't look graphically inferior like some of the assist trophies are does seem to support that it may not have been that straight forward. It doesn't appear the Chrom was a complete afterthought at least in regards to who was going to be playable.

The sad fact is we will never really know why Lucina was chosen for this particular route, so whether it was actually to save time in the long run, it was last minute, or something more complicated, we'll probably never know.

 

[Deleted member]

My crazy theory regarding it is this;

• Chrom was planned
• Info was leaked, but not published
• Independent of the above, roster is revised, and the team opt to have Robin over Chrom
• Chrom and Lucina are chosen to be in Male Robin and Female Robin's final smashes respectively.
• Due to popularity, extra development time, and similar proportions among other things, Lucina is promoted to a playable character as a clone of Marth rather than being part of Female Robin's final smash.

This is no evidence supporting this whatsoever, however, it is interesting to note that all footage of Robin's final smash shown thus far has involved Male Robin.