Alright guys, obviously anything could change, but if this is indeed our final list of newcomers:
How do you feel Smash 4 did with it's newcomer selection? I made this picture so you try and think of the newcomers as a whole, not just the ones leaked.
Me personally? A few missed opportunities aside, fucking stoked. 15 new fighters is nothing to scoff regardless of clones, and you could even bump that number to 17 if you count the Mii Fighter as 3 different characters.
Shulk: Really glad he's in since I feel Xenoblade is probably the best new 'IP' to get represented in Smash after Brawl. Should hopefully also dispell the idea Nintendo's going to run out of ideas for what new franchises to pull into Smash, but whateves.
Pac-Man: Fairly boring on paper but really interesting in motion. Don't expect to main him, but they've done a great job in selling him so far and he definitely deserved to get in.
Bowser Jr.: Same as the above really, though I definitely appreciate having the Koopalings as alts since I care way more about them than I do Jr.
Wii Fit Trainer: Definitely the best choice for a completely out of left field roster pick, though I'm not sure on how fun she actually looks to play. Still think she was a worthwhile addition though.
Villager: AC deserved some proper playable representation, but I'd be lying if I said I thought Villager looked all that interesting. Could just be since they're an even blanker slate than Link/Robin, but it doesn't feel like outside of memes there's too much to latch onto the character.
Mega Man: Easily the most excited for him, almost pitch-perfect representation beyond maybe finding the lack of VA (even if his voice in the show and MM8 is awful) a tad awkward.
Rosalina: Favorite new Mario character in the mainline games, also fairly unexpected. Don't have a great feel for the 'puppet' mechanic yet, but I still appreciate she's there. Her and Bowser Jr. together also help represent the two different sides of 'main' Mario games (3D and NSMB) pretty well too!
Palutena: Despite being one of my most wanted newcomers after Mega and Ridley, I don't really know what to feel about her now that I've seen her in action. She doesn't look as expressive or fun as she came across in Uprising, and custom moves are too much of an unknown for me to know whether playing as her largely custom-dependent moveset a chore or really fun.
Little Mac: Behind Palutena in my list of most wanted before the game was announced, I really love how he looks. Like MM he's really close to how I imagined him and I feel they worked in the boxer-motif excellently, right down to his intentionally but amusingly shit air-game. Just hope we get an easter egg with Doc Louis like the Codec scenes in Brawl.
Duck Hunt Dog: Probably the best NES rep you could choose. From the little we know he almost looks like Sakurai's weird way of alluding to the Banjo & Kazooie addition that'll never happen now, but that could just be the Rare fanboy in me talking. Still, really look forward to seeing how he looks.
Lucina: Definitely the most sensible idea for a clone and a great way to appease fans who really wanted her without sacrificing a proper FE:A rep. She's cool with me.
Greninja: Looks pretty fun, but I'd be lying if I said Pokemon stuff in Smash outside the possibility of Mewtwo ever gets me excited. Probably the character I'm the least excited for, but he clearly has his place in presenting X&Y.
Mii Fighters: Like Pac-Man/Bowser Jr., they sound really boring when you just have their name on a piece of paper but are way more interesting in execution. Really looking forward to having the Breaking Bad cast duke it out with my Game of Thrones and Arrested Development Mii's, though it definitely sucks how they're restricted on the internet.
Robin: Absolute best possible FE newcomer I didn't expect due to Chrom. Really glad I played FE:A too since I really do think there's a ton of cool shit they can do with Robin, and working in their female version was a great move on their part too. Just hope you can change the face and hair-styles to bring it closer to my version I played as in FE:A.
Dark Pit: I'm fine with him since I was a huge Uprising fan, but I'd be lying if I said he was all that justified beyond being another character addition. Still, I'm probably more excited for him than Greninja which I'm sure will piss people off.
Overall it's a mostly great newcomer list, beyond the lack of a Metroid, DK or Zelda newcomer stopping it from being perfect. In the context of Wii Fit and Xenoblade, the lack of Rhythm Heaven also feels a bit weird since it's another noteworthy Nintendo franchise that's big enough to justify a rep now.
The addition Ridley/Dixie/Mewtwo/Impa/Mach/Chorus Kids would easily make it the absolute best newcomer lineup we've had yet, though if those don't pan out it gives SSB5 more to work off I guess.
