Re: Smash Bros. Character Merit (Switch Edition)
GalacticPetey said:
Regarding Chorus Men, a series icon for Rhythm Heaven was found grouped with the other playable series icons by dataminers. That plus the Gematsu leak makes me think the Chorus Men or a RH character in general was planned.
Weasel said:
If you were unaware, Celica (along with Alm) originated in Gaiden, the second game in the series. This game saw a very well received remake recently with Shadows of Valentia. While technically not recent, they both are relevant again in the FE community. There are even 2 versions of Celica in Heroes. She's also Warriors while Alm isn't.
Personally I can't say of any of that increases her chances for a Smash appearance. Having played through SoV twice now, I don't think there's much she could bring to the table that Robin doesn't since she's also a sword-wielding mage. Magic works differently in her game in that spell casting hurts the caster and I don't think anyone would want another Pichu scenario.
Thanks for the feedback.
So yeah Chorus Men is looking like a real strong possibility
And I did see that Celica had some recency with some recent titles. But wasn't sure if that was enough. It might make her at least a little more likelier then I made her out to be but I think competition will still be fierce.
Anyway back to the merit thoughts
Okami
Type of Character: 3rd Party Newcomer
Franchise: Okami
My Level of Want
Would be ok, though I've never played Okami. Though I think I saw at least most of Chuggaaconroy's let's play of the game. And it seemed nice enough. Capcom's already got Mega Man and Ryu in there though. Maybe give some space for other companies to have their shot. Otherwise this starts turning into Nintendo Vs. Capcom
Estimated Chance
Just going to repeat this: Capcom already has Megaman and Ryu. And as loved as Okami is the character probably isn't the legend of gaming Mega Man and Ryu are. There may even be stiff competition from other Capcom franchises if for some reason they gave Capcom a 3rd character like Dante or Phoenix Wright.
Balloon Fighter
Type of Character: Newcomer
Franchise: Balloon Fight
My Level of Want
Would be a relatively well known retro character coming in. So I'd be fine. Sakurai considered him back in the Melee days. Maybe Jigglypuff would finally have a challenge in terms of having the best air game/recovery
Estimated Chance
With how many chances since Melee that Balloon Fighter failed to make it. I'm not sure if it will ever happen. I think Villager's recovery is pretty much Balloon Fighter in spirit. So basically Villager is as close as we're going to get.
Ashley
Type of Character: Newcomer
Franchise: Warioware
My Level of Want
I do like Ashley, though probably far from GBA Toad's like for her, heh. She's probably a strong candidate should Wario recieve a 2nd rep. On a side note I am glad that even if it's mostly just remade classic games we have something new for WarioWare to look forward to. Always loved that series. So addicting
Estimated Chance
May be slightly higher then before thanks to WarioWare Gold. But I think it's more likely her assist trophy appearance returns instead. If they decide to give Wario more characters, Ashley is a strong candidate though.
Sora
Type of Character: 3rd Party Newcomer
Franchise: Kingdom Hearts
My Level of Want
Never played the Kingdom Hearts series. But Sora is kinda the only character semi-owned by Disney to have any shot in Smash. Though because he's kind of part Disney, that kind of makes it more difficult to include him because could they get away with making 4th Party trophies or even background appearences for Mickey, Donald, and/or Goofy? If they didn't include anything Disney and just do the Square/Final Fantasy stuff that kinda nerfs representing the series for what it is. So it's kinda complicated.
Estimated Chance
Even beyond the complications of Disney. And while there have been Kingdom Hearts games on Nintendo systems before (GBA and DS games if I recall correctly). None of the main series Kingdom Hearts games have made it onto a Nintendo console. And I don't think KH3 is going to arrive on Switch any time soon. So Sora's in quite the pickle. You have the strange part Disney ownership, Square already got Cloud in and he'd likely come back if Square were to include a character, Kingdom Hearts doesn't even have the advantage Final Fantasy has that it once was an exclusive franchise in the old days, and Square does have other franchises that could prove to be stiff competition even beyond that. So I think Sora's not any more likely then he was last time. Cloud, who is even a character who appears in Kingdom Hearts sometimes pretty much sunk his chances.
Last Dragonborn/Dovahkiin
Type of Character: 3rd Party Newcomer
Franchise: The Elder Scrolls
My Level of Want
I've never played Skyrim. Despite the attempts to port that to literally every gaming device that released at the time or after Skyrim was originally made. But he's an extremely "eh" character. Like even more so then a random Fire Emblem character. Why would we ever get a 3rd Party character that's supposed to be an avatar for the player? That's fair game for some 1st party characters like the Miis, Robin, Villager, and so on. But a 3rd party avatar character? It'd be pretty questionable.
Estimated Chance
I'm willing to admit that 3rd Parties have become a much wider open door then ever before. But I do still think the 3rd parties have to be recognizable to the general gaming public. While I don't think Bayonetta is on the legend status of the previous 3rd party characters to get in Smash, she was instantly recognizable once she appeared in her Smash trailer. While Dovahkiin does have a default appearance in promotional stuff for Skyrim, the fact that he's customizable means that appearance may not be the one that defines him for everybody. They could give him Male and female alts like many of the characters in Smash 4 that did that. But I think a 3rd party character in Smash must have a recognized appearance that makes you feel "OH THAT's *insert character*" once you see them. Those who aren't that familiar with Skyrim may be confused who he is until they finally name him. And that's not a good sign for a 3rd party character at all. It's cool people will have Skyrim portable on the Switch. But to the level of including the avatar of the game to Smash? I just don't see it.
Crash Bandicoot
Type of Character: 3rd Party Newcomer
Franchise: Crash Bandicoot
My Level of Want
Oh man, you have no idea how much I'd love it if it were to happen. I do really like the Crash franchise. Hell, I do have the N. Sane Trilogy on my PS4. And I'm considering getting it again on the Switch just because of the portability aspect. Also back when Playstation All-Stars was new, I said that the only way I was getting that game is if Crash made it in. And unfortunately he didn't, and to this day I still have not played Playstation All-Stars. So Crash was a pretty big deal for me. It would be super hilarious to see all the characters that Playstation looked over and know that Nintendo got to use them at least once like Snake, Ryu, and Cloud. And now Crash be added to all that. Mario, Sonic, and Crash have been on the same console before with the Gamecube, DS, and Wii games. But to have all three of them in one game will make all those who grew up and/or their childhood was in the late 90's squee in delight. I don't think it'd be on the level of what's already been achieved with Megaman and Pac-Man. But nonetheless very cool.
Estimated Chance
The N. Sane Trilogy being ported to the Switch certainly makes the chances higher then they were before. As last time we didn't even know if Crash was ever going to return at all.
By default his chances are so much better as a result. He's certainly a dark horse candidate for a 3rd party newcomer spot. He just might be beaten ahead by other characters like say... Rayman. But he probably has a better chance now then Banjo-Kazooie at least. Hey, the way 3rd parties went even back in Smash 4 means just about anything's possible now. 3rd Parties can't get 2 characters? Ryu. Must have history on Nintendo consoles? Cloud. Must be a longtime well-known icon of gaming? Bayonetta. I think Crash is more then a possibility then he ever was. It probably won't be enough, but if it's going to happen. It can now.
Impa
Type of Character: Newcomer
Franchise: Zelda
My Level of Want
Again, not into the Zelda series.
Covered her last time, and she is one of the few other then Triforce 3 to have recurring appearances even if vastly different versions. She's often either a warrior character mentioned to be Zelda's mentor or an old lady with lots of wisdom. In the most recent game, Breath of the Wild she's back as an old lady. But if she were to get in Smash. She'd likely be in the form she takes in Hyrule Warriors which harkens back to her Ocarina of Time appearance as a Shiekah warrior. Which could be cool but might get people worried she'd be at best an Luigified Shiek
Estimated Chance
Unfortunately, I don't have any more reason to change from what I said last time for most Zelda characters. That no matter what, the Zelda representation seems to be doomed to be restricted to Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and any alternate versions of those 3. They could be clever by having Zelda be BOTW Zelda with much of the same moves she had in Smash 4. And Impa replacing Shiek and having Shiek's moves. But that might be somethings that fans of Shiek can't get behind even if Impa plays exactly like Shiek did. Or even
especially if Impa plays just like Shiek.