Crystanium
Smash Hero
Most people who play Super Smash Bros. knows that Sakurai has a criteria for who joins the roster. I recently made a criteria of my own, so I thought about presenting mine. I'd be interested in see other criteria.
1. Protagonist
The character ideally must be the protagonist of the series. If a series lacks a specific protagonist—as is usually the case with RPGs—but has had a recurring protagonist, then the recurring protagonist shall be the preferred choice.[1] If these are not present, then the next choice shall go to a specific antagonist. If there isn't a specific antagonist, then a recurring character shall be the representative of its respective series, regardless of whether or not he, she, or it played an important role.[2]
2. Recurrence
The character must be a recurring character, i.e., the recurring character shall appear at least in two different games, excluding remakes or cameos. If it's a spin-off, it must remain within its mainstream canon source and timeline and be relevant to the series.[3]
3. Origins
The character must have his or her origins from a video game. Any character who didn't start out in a video game, even if that character ends up in a video game, shall not be included. If a character is a new IP who was debuted as both in a video game and some media, scrutiny shall be made to determine which media was first released to the public. If both were released to the public at the same time, then that character shall be a potential character, provided the creator shows interest in having his or her character added.
4. Officiality
The character must be from a series that has been officially playable on Nintendo hardware.
5. History
The character should have history with Nintendo. This isn't necessarily a requirement, but a character who has history with Nintendo has a higher probability to appear on my roster.[4] If a new IP is owned by Nintendo, then this would be an exception, especially if it's not from a second- or third-party source.
6. Limitations
In order to reduce the number of characters on the current roster, I would permit that every series has at least two characters minimum, with four characters maximum.[5] Any new character that may be introduced shall replace an already pre-existing character.[6] This would help maintain a fresh game with new, unique characters. The protagonist, however, would not be replaced, except under certain circumstances.[7] There shall be only one protagonist.
Feel free to provide your criteria. If you agree with mine, but would like to add another criterion or two, please share it.
Footnotes
1. Marth is a good example of a recurring RPG character, even though he's not present in all Fire Emblem titles.
2. Chocobos, Sid, or even mages are good examples of being representatives of Final Fantasy. Of course, since Final Fantasy X-2, it appears this particular RPG series has had recurring protagonists.
3. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a spin-off of Metal Gear Solid, but it fits within the mainstream canon and timeline. This would mean Raiden would have a chance at being on my roster.
4. Mega Man and Castlevania are Nintendo classics, whereas Bayonetta is not.
5. Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda would have a complete set of characters, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, or Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and Sheik.
6. Since characters like Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf are treated as important characters in The Legend of Zelda, Sheik would likely end up being replaced with another Zelda character. Ganondorf could be replaced with another antagonist, such as Agahnim or Demise if fans wanted to see other antagonists from the series.
7. If fans wanted Dr. Mario, for example, or if fans wanted Toon Link, then this could cause Mario or Link to not be present on my roster, since the roster would have a certain amount of characters from each series and could not exceed four per series.
1. Protagonist
The character ideally must be the protagonist of the series. If a series lacks a specific protagonist—as is usually the case with RPGs—but has had a recurring protagonist, then the recurring protagonist shall be the preferred choice.[1] If these are not present, then the next choice shall go to a specific antagonist. If there isn't a specific antagonist, then a recurring character shall be the representative of its respective series, regardless of whether or not he, she, or it played an important role.[2]
2. Recurrence
The character must be a recurring character, i.e., the recurring character shall appear at least in two different games, excluding remakes or cameos. If it's a spin-off, it must remain within its mainstream canon source and timeline and be relevant to the series.[3]
3. Origins
The character must have his or her origins from a video game. Any character who didn't start out in a video game, even if that character ends up in a video game, shall not be included. If a character is a new IP who was debuted as both in a video game and some media, scrutiny shall be made to determine which media was first released to the public. If both were released to the public at the same time, then that character shall be a potential character, provided the creator shows interest in having his or her character added.
4. Officiality
The character must be from a series that has been officially playable on Nintendo hardware.
5. History
The character should have history with Nintendo. This isn't necessarily a requirement, but a character who has history with Nintendo has a higher probability to appear on my roster.[4] If a new IP is owned by Nintendo, then this would be an exception, especially if it's not from a second- or third-party source.
6. Limitations
In order to reduce the number of characters on the current roster, I would permit that every series has at least two characters minimum, with four characters maximum.[5] Any new character that may be introduced shall replace an already pre-existing character.[6] This would help maintain a fresh game with new, unique characters. The protagonist, however, would not be replaced, except under certain circumstances.[7] There shall be only one protagonist.
Feel free to provide your criteria. If you agree with mine, but would like to add another criterion or two, please share it.
Footnotes
1. Marth is a good example of a recurring RPG character, even though he's not present in all Fire Emblem titles.
2. Chocobos, Sid, or even mages are good examples of being representatives of Final Fantasy. Of course, since Final Fantasy X-2, it appears this particular RPG series has had recurring protagonists.
3. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a spin-off of Metal Gear Solid, but it fits within the mainstream canon and timeline. This would mean Raiden would have a chance at being on my roster.
4. Mega Man and Castlevania are Nintendo classics, whereas Bayonetta is not.
5. Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda would have a complete set of characters, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, or Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and Sheik.
6. Since characters like Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf are treated as important characters in The Legend of Zelda, Sheik would likely end up being replaced with another Zelda character. Ganondorf could be replaced with another antagonist, such as Agahnim or Demise if fans wanted to see other antagonists from the series.
7. If fans wanted Dr. Mario, for example, or if fans wanted Toon Link, then this could cause Mario or Link to not be present on my roster, since the roster would have a certain amount of characters from each series and could not exceed four per series.
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