A fun lil' roster I whipped up, featuring a careful balance of characters I find plausible.
I was also OCD about symmetry when arranging the layout.
For example:
- The Metroid and Kid Icarus characters are next to one another due to shared heritage. So are Mysterious Murasame Castle and the Zelda series, the other half of Japan's "Famicon Four."
- Six Mario slots, six Zelda slots (with symmetry -- three "realistic," three "toon"), six Pokémon slots.
- The Pokémon characters are arranged on either side of the two Random buttons in the middle, with the mascots at opposite ends (Pikachu and Jigglypuff), the trainers second from either end (see the breakdown of each trainer's team near the bottom -- they're also symmetrical, representing Gen I and Gen VI, with type advantages), and the promoted Pokémon (Lucario and Mewtwo) near the middle. They're lined up as though they're two sides in a Pokémon battle!
- Villager, Wii Fit Trainer and Mii are together as "modern Nintendo," while Ice Climbers, R.O.B. and Mr. Game & Watch are together as "vintage Nintendo." In-between are the two captains, C. Falcon and Pikmin & Olimar.
- Two third-party characters at left end of bottom row; two third-party characters at right end of bottom row; Fire Emblem in the middle, with newcomer Chrom & Lucina near fellow newcomers Mega Man and Pac-Man.
- I tried to stagger the newcomers so that if they were at the start of one row, they'd be at the end of the next.
- I don't realistically expect Pokémon Trainer Y with Chespin, Braixen and Greninja. I'm not really expecting Ridley, K. Rool, Bowser Jr. or Toon Ganondorf, either. The other newcomers I find quite possible. But for the purposes of this roster, they're all workable.
