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Will we ever see more darker skin characters in Smash?

UserKev

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Ok, this has been recently running my mind. Do you think we will ever see more characters of color/African, Indian, Middle Eastern in Smash? It seems when a character of color is relevant, the character is always passed over. It seems every character in Smash remain European, or every Smash entry finds a normal way to remain European and, it occasionally make me wonder. Honestly, DK and Diddy Kong are the only characters in Smash I have to choose if I want to get a sense of playing as African characters in Smash, Green Inkling is great.

I'm starting feel as Twintelle being a really missed opportunity. She's popular, could easily be iconic and already fit Nintendo superstardom.
 
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Xelrog

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Smash is a reflection of video games as a whole. When more main characters of their franchises are not white/Japanese, more playable characters in Smash will be. Unfortunately, Japanese properties are, for the most part, distinctly lacking in darker-skinned characters, particularly the main ones.
 

Garteam

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Really, we'll only see darker skinned characters once we start seeing more important darker skinned characters in Nintendo games in general.

However, I do believe that we will start seeing more racially diverse characters in Nintendo games going forward. It's clear that Nintendo is getting much more conscientious of the international market, seeing how basically every major release now gets a simultaneous worldwide release instead of Japan getting the game first with North America second and the rest of the world third. Racial representation wasn't really an issue when the primary market was one of the most ethnically homogenous populations on the planet. With this new globalized approach, odds are the characters who appear in Nintendo games will address the desires of various people to see representation in the games they play.
 

YoshiandToad

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I'd be down for Twintelle, but it feels like she won't get in until after Springman despite being the more popular character.

Outside her there's Xenoblade X's Elma who'd be excellent, Breath of the Wild's Urbosa although why they'd pick one champion over the other three is questionable and I guess Splatoon 2's Marina for notable darker skinned Nintendo characters.

Doc Louis and Anthony Higgins are the only darker skinned male characters I can think of off the top of my head apart from some of the Pokemon Gym Leaders/Champions.

There's not a lot of choice honestly.
 

Guybrush20X6

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Representation in Smash is a tricky subject as it's a crossover and it's a reflection of that past. What's more, it's difficult to point to race as Nintendo's human characters are usually American/European rather than Japanese

Mario and Luigi are Italian, Zelda and Most of Fire Emblem are based of European Medieval Fantasy, Samus and Captain Falcon are Caucasian and Ness is from Eagleland, Wario was German (Not sure if they've retconned that), Pit's world is a mish-mash of Greek and Judeo-Christian Mythologies,

That said, all the Pokemon from Gen 1-4 are from different parts of alternate Japan so that MAkes Pokemon Trainer Asian by proxy, Popo and Nana are (highly stylised) eskimos/intuits, Olimar is a Salaryman from beyond the stars, and Villager, Inkling and the Gen 6-7 colors of Pokemon Trainer have dark skinned variants so there's something going at least.

There's still a lot more that can be done and Nintendo is including more dark skinned characters in their games lately. One recent cahracter who I think would be great as a Smash Character would be Twintelle from ARMS as she not only has the stretchy arms via her hair, she also has her normal lower case arms so she can use items and incorporate them into her close range attacks.
 

StormC

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Really, we'll only see darker skinned characters once we start seeing more important darker skinned characters in Nintendo games in general.
This is basically what it boils down to.

Impa and Elma would be a nice start though.
 

Oddball

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There's always Shantae. She has darker skin and tends to be a somewhat wildly requested character.

I think Impa is another good choice, but depending on the game she isn't always a darker skinned character.
 

UserKev

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I'd be down for Twintelle, but it feels like she won't get in until after Springman despite being the more popular character.

Outside her there's Xenoblade X's Elma who'd be excellent, Breath of the Wild's Urbosa although why they'd pick one champion over the other three is questionable and I guess Splatoon 2's Marina for notable darker skinned Nintendo characters.

Doc Louis and Anthony Higgins are the only darker skinned male characters I can think of off the top of my head apart from some of the Pokemon Gym Leaders/Champions.

There's not a lot of choice honestly.
There actually is. There doesn't need to be a lot. Just a noticeable bunch. Doc Louis, Anthony Higgins and Twintelle are legit candidates, its scary. Aside from Anthony Higgins, Doc and Twintelle have merited priority and have tons of Nintendo personality.
 

IsmaR

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The fact that this thread already misspelled Anthony's last name kind of shows that he's as bottom of the barrel/forgotten as it gets (and I like the character, especially considering the game he is from is known for unlikable characters).

Not to say characters with dark skin are any less valid choices than any others, but picking them solely for this purpose to me defeats any intention of actual progression. A majority of the characters are fantasy based, sometimes real-life geographical locations don't apply (coupled with the fact Africa/Europe aren't one specific demographic each) or at the least don't make up a large part of the character/why people want them in Smash.

I like the approach they've taken with slowly adding options to already existing characters (dark skinned alt costumes for :ultvillager: preceding the actual ability to choose skin tone in the newest AC, tanner skins for characters like Inklings/PT/Dark Pit/Ken/Olimar (in Brawl, before the Alph costumes replaced it) and of course the Miis (the default guest A Mii is black)). :ultvillagerf: :ultpokemontrainerf: and :ultinkling: are some of my favorite additions in particular, as they were unexpected/are closest to the skin tones I chose in each game (closest to my own).

I'm also holding out hope for characters like Shantae, Tetra, Octolings (default would be tan, would likely have a Marina inspired alt), but not just because they'd diversify the roster. Most additions will take some time, even if they are no-brainers like Arms/more Xenoblade/more DK/etc., but that doesn't make them any less frontrunners for the next big game.
 

UserKev

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The fact that this thread already misspelled Anthony's last name kind of shows that he's as bottom of the barrel/forgotten as it gets (and I like the character, especially considering the game he is from is known for unlikable characters).

Not to say characters with dark skin are any less valid choices than any others, but picking them solely for this purpose to me defeats any intention of actual progression. A majority of the characters are fantasy based, sometimes real-life geographical locations don't apply (coupled with the fact Africa/Europe aren't one specific demographic each) or at the least don't make up a large part of the character/why people want them in Smash.
Uh, no one is stating the because, miss. Doc Louis and Twintelle are legit additions that really should be in Smash and scream legacy and Nintendo, Doc seemly getting closer to the possibility so I'm happy.

The approach with darker skin alts of existing characters is a bit exhausting now.
 

Klimax

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Japanese like their characters white with round eyes. They make their characters more white most of the time. Also, it's not a myth that a lot of Japanese people have a problem with black people. So it's unlikely.
Who cares anyway ? It doesn't make a game better or worse.
 
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UserKev

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Japanese like their characters white with round eyes. They make their characters more white most of the time. Also, it's not a myth that a lot of Japanese people have a problem with black people. So it's unlikely.
Who cares anyway ? It doesn't make a game better or worse.
:facepalm: This post doesn't answer the thread, even has nothing to do with and negatively derails the topic. Either respond to the topic or leave your bitter attitude out of it.
 

Klimax

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Saying that skin color of the characters doesn't make a game good or bad is having a bitter attitude, yeah sure bro.

I actually answered the question by saying "no" and I told you why the possibility of seeing more black characters is unlikely. Because it's not in the Japanese culture at all (and smash is made by Japanese people, just to remind you).

I didn't think it was THAT hard to understand.

Also, I don't see what the Kongs have to do with Africa.
 

Soyaccino

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I asked a similar Q about females.

The reply that was most common towards me was how lots of characters are ‘creatures’ with so specific gender or ethnicity. Others (like those in here) take aim to the fact that lots of games use a typical model of lead character and smash is often an accumulation of these.

However I would lean on the fact that a lot of the other fighters are white human(oids).

I also like and appreciate however comments about the alt costumes for villager and inkling show a good set of Diversities.
 

TerminatorLOL

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Characters like Elma and Shantae seem like good possible candidates since they have been popular request for awhile but outside of them I find it unlikely.

I don't really like the idea of putting a character in a game only for their race though. It feels kinda disrespectful to the characters themselves, like they have no value outside of their skin color.
 
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Khao

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Honestly, I don't see it happening anytime soon. Nintendo has a few black characters, but more often than not, they're far from being the most revelant choices in each of their respective franchises. And yes, relevancy does matter, and no, Piranha Plant is not evidence to the contrary. As random as it may feel, the Mario series had to have its main character, his brother/sidekick, the princess in distress, the villain and his son, the one off princess from the one popular game, the other princess in distress and the main character again before the generic enemy was even in consideration.

What I mean is, Twintelle is not the main character, there's 0 chance for her to make it before Spring Man and Ribbon Girl. Doc Louis is not the main character, and though he's closer to the main character than anyone in the game, there's little reason to choose him before one of the several bosses which is what the game is most known for. Marina is not even remotely close to being the main character in splatoon, and she ultimately doesn't stand out compared to the other three characters who play the same role. Urbosa's in a similar position. The only one I could imagine actually happening is Elma, as she's arguably the most important character in her game even including the player character, but I figure they'd have to choose between her and Rex in the next game, and to tell the truth, I'd think Rex is more likely.
Also the fun part is that Elma is not even black considering she's in fact an alien in disguise.

The thing is, due to the very nature of the game, we can't just look at smash and say woah, this game needs more characters of color. Pushing for more characters of color in Smash is useless when the problem is, in fact, that Nintendo is not creating characters of color with important roles in the first place. And if that doesn't change, Smash won't (and arguably shouldn't) change either. Buuuut it might just be a matter of time before we see a new Nintendo franchise that has a black character as its face, and once that happens, Smash representation is inevitable.
 
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Klimax

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Characters like Elma and Shantae seen like good possible candidates since they have been popular request for awhile but outside of them I find it unlikely.

I don't really like the idea of putting a character in a game only for their race though. It feels kinda disrespectful to the characters themselves, like they have no value outside of their skin color.
Exactly. We have characters in the game because their franchise is iconic and they have a big role in it. But now, we should add characters because they're black, mexican or yellow. Best way to introduce characters that people are going to hate because they have no legitimacy, which is true because skin color or sexuality doesn't make a character legitimate. So, unless Nintendo make a new IP with a black main character, it's probably not happening.

And when you know what Japanese people think about darker skin color, you understand that it's probably not happening.

I don't give a **** about a black character. I want good characters from great games, if they happen to be black, it doesn't change any ****ing thing about how I appreciate them.
 
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Xelrog

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Exactly. We have characters in the game because their franchise is iconic and they have a big role in it. But now, we should add characters because they're black, mexican or yellow. Best way to introduce characters that people are going to hate because they have no legitimacy, which is true because skin color or sexuality doesn't make a character legitimate. So, unless Nintendo make a new IP with a black main character, it's probably not happening.

And when you know what Japanese people think about darker skin color, you understand that it's probably not happening.

I don't give a **** about a black character. I want good characters from great games, if they happen to be black, it doesn't change any ****ing thing about how I appreciate them.
There's really no need to be so angry about any of this.
 

UserKev

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Saying that skin color of the characters doesn't make a game good or bad is having a bitter attitude, yeah sure bro.
Nothing to do with the topic.

I actually answered the question by saying "no" and I told you why the possibility of seeing more black characters is unlikely. Because it's not in the Japanese culture at all (and smash is made by Japanese people, just to remind you).
I addressed Doc Louis, Anthony and Twintelle, characters I'm more familiar with, doesn't mean you have to. Indian, Middle eastern, etc. And duh.

I didn't think it was THAT hard to understand.
Wut

Also, I don't see what the Kongs have to do with Africa.
DK and Diddy Kong are the only characters in Smash I have to choose if I want to get a sense of playing as African characters in Smash.
Monkeys in generally associates with Africa. I mean, if you don't want to be too literally at least.
 
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UserKev

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I'm not angry, I just use "****" a lot, nothing more.


UserKev UserKev I think you're definitely trolling
Whatever, bud. No one is forcing you to respond to this topic. Accept that this site doesn't revolve around you and stop being negative. So yeah, thanks.

Bye, Felicia.
 

TerminatorLOL

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Whatever, bud. No one is forcing you to respond to this topic. Accept that this site doesn't revolve around you and stop being negative. So yeah, thanks.

Bye, Felicia.
Dude your being very negative yourself. Your the one that picked a fight with him with your face palm emoji and calling him bitter for some reason. Posting stuff like this is only bringing in more negatively to your own thread.
 
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staindgrey

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Alright, play nice everyone or I'll start handing out infractions.

Opinions are valid and there's no reason to cast stones when they differ.
 

Klimax

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I'm playing nice, I'm just saying that someone who doesn't want to have a discussion (by refusing to answer simple arguments or saying "duh nothing to do with the subjeafter opening a thread

I actually made arguments about why it's unlikely that we'll get darker skin characters in smash, I didn't see any answers to it, only stuff about my attitude.
 
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YoshiandToad

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The fact that this thread already misspelled Anthony's last name kind of shows that he's as bottom of the barrel/forgotten as it gets (and I like the character, especially considering the game he is from is known for unlikable characters).
In all fairness that says more about my inexperience with Metroid as a series than speaking about Anthony's impact as a character.
As he says; I 'remembered him'...even if I mixed his surname up with the English actor Anthony Higgins...oops!

Impa's a weird one for me. I really adore the Hyrule Warriors look, but I'm not massive on the Skyward Sword look. I like my sheikah to have white hair and red eyes. Swap the hair colour and I'm a little more okay with her inclusion, but there's no reason we couldn't have both versions as alt colours should she get in.

I may be the only one but I absolutely adore Sheva from Resident Evil 5...but the liklihood of her getting in over her partner Chris, his original partner Jill, his sister Claire or her team mate at one point, Leon is highly unlikely. Hell, Rebecca Chambers, Ada Wong, Albert Wesker and Barry Burton are all probably more likely than poor Sheva too...
Still pumped for Resident Evil 5's Switch release though. Everyone loves Resi 4 but I feel like I'm alone in my love of Resi 5.
 

UserKev

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Come to think of it, I used to see Daisy as an intended, dark skin much? character. Maybe I was introduced to her at a transition point of the character, she used to be legit-ly "black" to me. Peach's Daisy Melee alt also triggered it at the time with its more browner skin complexion.
 

Sebas22

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How about Rodin? He's an assist now, but maybe he could become playable in the future? He's cool, creates weapons, play videogames in his free time, and is confirmed to be the strongest character in the Bayonetta games so far.
 

Mogisthelioma

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Japan is notorious for racial flattening in it's media. If you were to compare the amount of diversity in Japanese games/manga/anime/etc. to western media, the latter comes out as much more favorable. And considering only 4 characters in Smash were designed in the west it's pretty clear that unless Japanese media experiences a paradigm shift more racial diversity in Smash is going to be hard to get.
 

UserKev

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How about Rodin? He's an assist now, but maybe he could become playable in the future? He's cool, creates weapons, play videogames in his free time, and is confirmed to be the strongest character in the Bayonetta games so far.
THANK YOU! The game will still be heavily as its been with just a few absent characters. Basically, Doc Louis and Rodin are already in the game, just in assistant roles. They'd be no difference if they suddenly became playable because no one will care. There doesn't need be a "worldly shift" because It can already happen and worth discussing. Its not impossible as its made out to be. Its actually pretty simple and the characters are there.
 

Oddball

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Doc Louis was mentionjed, but Punch-Out has a bunch of actual boxers with darker skin that I think could be more likely.

Although it's hard to tell with some of them.

Super Macho Man has dark skin, but I think that's just supposed to be a tan.

I'm not sure what King Hippo is supposed to be but I'm faily sure he's not Caucasian.

There's also Sandman, Great Tiger, and Bald Bull.
 

Xelrog

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THANK YOU! The game will still be heavily as its been with just a few absent characters. Basically, Doc Louis and Rodin are already in the game, just in assistant roles. They'd be no difference if they suddenly became playable because no one will care. There doesn't need be a "worldly shift" because It can already happen and worth discussing. Its not impossible as its made out to be. Its actually pretty simple and the characters are there.
Why are you exasperated? People aren't talking about what Nintendo should or shouldn't do. They're discussing what they will do. And what they will do, in my opinion, is not add another Punch-Out character. This isn't a jab at Doc or anyone who wants him in--I'm not against him being in at all. Just saying it's not likely to happen based on past inclusions, in my opinion.

Rodin is arguable--as far as Bayo characters go there's fan demand for both him and Jean.
 

UserKev

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Why are you exasperated? People aren't talking about what Nintendo should or shouldn't do. They're discussing what they will do. And what they will do, in my opinion, is not add another Punch-Out character. This isn't a jab at Doc or anyone who wants him in--I'm not against him being in at all. Just saying it's not likely to happen based on past inclusions, in my opinion.

Rodin is arguable--as far as Bayo characters go there's fan demand for both him and Jean.
Just some people are making it out to be hopeless when it isn't. There doesn't even need to be a new Nintendo IP with a black or whatever front character. Oddly merited darker skin Nintendo characters already exist.
 

Sean²

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The Japanese, and general east Asian cultures, see dark skin as undesirable. If you don't believe me, go searching for Japanese skin lightening creams and you'll find a myriad of results.

To them, at least long ago, dark skin meant you were poor. Because you got tanned by the sun while laboring outdoors all day long. Light/white skin meant you were of rich heritage. Echoes of that stigma still ring in today's age. That's partially why you mostly see those with resemblance to European and Asian ancestry in their fictional media.

It's slowly starting to dissipate, as the outside world continues to slowly trickle their influence into Japan, but still present nonetheless. A lot of the "classic" characters created in the 80s and 90s were designed with light skin, so they kept their look. They do seem to be more open-minded now considering the alts for Inkling and Villager. I'd like to think that there will be at least one more humanoid character, so there's still a chance it will be someone with a darker complexion. That is, if we can even see their face.
 

#HBC | Red Ryu

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Part of the issue if you want to see more characters like that is a cultural one. Not one I blame Nintendo for but just how it is.

Best they have done would be the alt skins on PT, Villager and such. For a main title, there are side characters would can fit into this, but how many are the main obvious pick? Sure Arms has twintales and such, but I feel they would aim for springman if anyone since he is the face of arms.

Alt skins seem to be the way Nintendo has gone about it and with what they got, seems to be the only way they can at least right now.
 

Klimax

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The Japanese, and general east Asian cultures, see dark skin as undesirable. If you don't believe me, go searching for Japanese skin lightening creams and you'll find a myriad of results.

To them, at least long ago, dark skin meant you were poor. Because you got tanned by the sun while laboring outdoors all day long. Light/white skin meant you were of rich heritage. Echoes of that stigma still ring in today's age. That's partially why you mostly see those with resemblance to European and Asian ancestry in their fictional media.

It's slowly starting to dissipate, as the outside world continues to slowly trickle their influence into Japan, but still present nonetheless. A lot of the "classic" characters created in the 80s and 90s were designed with light skin, so they kept their look. They do seem to be more open-minded now considering the alts for Inkling and Villager. I'd like to think that there will be at least one more humanoid character, so there's still a chance it will be someone with a darker complexion. That is, if we can even see their face.
That's also the case with the north of Africa.

It's not going to change in Japan, they're too proud of their culture and legacy to change their mind about that. The only chance is to have dissident making games with black character (Hideki Kamiya is a good example). At this moment, there's not a Nintendo character.

Also, black people are nonexistent in Japan, so of course there's no black characters.
 

Aetheri

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Elma, Impa and Shantae (besides avatar reskins) are likely the only darkskinned characters that have any sort of shot atm.

Twintelle's not getting in over Springman who's the essential mascot of Arms as a franchise, Anthony Higgs.....ya that's not happening. As far as metroid goes the most likely contender to be the next character added is Sylux, whos skin colour is irelevant to the character.

The only other notable characters are from M-rated western franchises that aren't likely to get any smash representation at all.
 

UserKev

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Elma, Impa and Shantae (besides avatar reskins) are likely the only darkskinned characters that have any sort of shot atm.

Twintelle's not getting in over Springman who's the essential mascot of Arms as a franchise, Anthony Higgs.....ya that's not happening. As far as metroid goes the most likely contender to be the next character added is Sylux, whos skin colour is irelevant to the character.

The only other notable characters are from M-rated western franchises that aren't likely to get any smash representation at all.
That's what it all really comes down to. Just, current legit darker skin contenders are victims of circumstances. Nothing to do with racism.
 
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