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[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Sales have nothing to do with character selection, otherwise we would've never gotten Ice Climbers, Game & Watch, R.O.B., Captain Falcon, Lucas, etc.

Sales probably have a lot to do with character selection. The original F-Zero (and maybe X, I'm not sure) sold really well, and all of the others are special exceptions. Most of the characters in Smash Bros. aren't from unsuccessful or super-niche series.

I also don't see how Dedede is comparable to Medusa in any way. He's been in way more games than her, Kirby sells better than Kid Icarus, and he's more prominent in his series than she is in hers.

 

[Snakey]

Sales probably have a lot to do with character selection. The original F-Zero (and maybe X, I'm not sure) sold really well, and all of the others are special exceptions. Most of the characters in Smash Bros. aren't from unsuccessful or super-niche series.

The original F-Zero sold very well in Japan, (I have heard sources that have said around 700K to over one million) and Maximum Velocity probably did well due to being a GBA launch title. However, F-Zero GX only sold 100K in Japan, while GP Legend and Climax bombed worldwide.

As I said before, F-Zero's only shot at a second character is if:
1. Sakurai decides to give Ganondorf an entirely new moveset, and gives his old moveset to Black Shadow.
2. If Takamaru gets in, and Sakurai thinks Samurai Goroh could offer an interesting variation of Takamaru's moveset.

 

[Vidiot]

We have to get Ridley and Little Mac, right? I mean there are hardly any characters left that appeal to the masses and those two seem to do so. Other then Megaman I'm pretty sure those two are the most requested I've seen.

I know Smash characters don't always have to be from current and/or popular games, but they have to add some big names. So my question is of all the Nintendo characters left that aren't in Smash yet who would be the most popular, well known, and crowd pleasing?

 

[HK-47]

Shame Brawl- doesn't work that well on PAL systems.


Then why doesn't FZero have more characters eh? That's sold over million

Spoiler

collectively across the whole series

Spoiler

... maybe

Actually both F-Zero and F-Zero X were million sellers.

 

[Hero]

Sales probably have a lot to do with character selection. The original F-Zero (and maybe X, I'm not sure) sold really well, and all of the others are special exceptions. Most of the characters in Smash Bros. aren't from unsuccessful or super-niche series.

I also don't see how Dedede is comparable to Medusa in any way. He's been in way more games than her, Kirby sells better than Kid Icarus, and he's more prominent in his series than she is in hers.

So tell me exactly what sales were influential in getting Ice Climbers into Melee? Game & Watch? Let's look at Brawl. R.O.B. hasn't been relevant since the NES, don't see how sales could possibly be influential there. Star Fox got Wolf as a new character, despite every Star Fox game since Melee having been complete and utter ass. Lucas was in despite his game only having been released in Japan. Olimar was only in two games. Pit being in there despite not having a new game since the Gameboy one?

 

[cednym]

We have to get Ridley and Little Mac, right? I mean there are hardly any characters left that appeal to the masses and those two seem to do so. Other then Megaman I'm pretty sure those two are the most requested I've seen.

I know Smash characters don't always have to be from current and/or popular games, but they have to add some big names. So my question is of all the Nintendo characters left that aren't in Smash yet who would be the most popular, well known, and crowd pleasing?

Metroid is among Nintendo's best-selling franchises worldwide, and even though it isn't huge in Japan, it still has a presence there. I'd say that Ridley has a good shot at being included.

On the other hand, as much as I want him, Little Mac's far from a shoo-in. Punch-Out!!'s never been a big deal in Japan, and coupled with Sakurai's past comments about characters like the Urban Champion offering little move set potential, it unfortunately wouldn't surprise me if Little Mac didn't make the cut. To Sakurai, he's "just a boxer," and he may feel that Mac is sufficiently represented as an Assist Trophy.

The other missing characters that I'd consider the most important or iconic are:

Toad
Dixie Kong
King K. Rool
Anyone from Animal Crossing
Mega Man
Pac-Man (he's not heavily requested, but he is iconic)

There aren't many left.

 

[IntelliHeath]

So, out of boredom, I took a look back at the marketing timelines for past Smash Bros. games, and factoring what we know about SSB4 into the mix (2-3 year development cycle, etc.), we're looking at a formal reveal this fall and a release in the summer of 2014. The Dojo updates began six months before the completion of Melee and Brawl, so those will probably start in late 2013.

I wonder it might be longer since he might add more contents this time right? I do agreed with 2014 as release date.

Cool story bro.

FYI, that's bannable offense. IIRC

 

[HK-47]

Cool story bro. So tell me exactly what sales were influential in getting Ice Climbers into Melee? Game & Watch? Let's look at Brawl. R.O.B. hasn't been relevant since the NES, don't see how sales could possibly be influential there. Star Fox got Wolf as a new character, despite every Star Fox game since Melee having been complete and utter ass. Lucas was in despite his game only having been released in Japan. Olimar was only in two games. Pit being in there despite not having a new game since the Gameboy one?

Reps for classic series. Also the G&W series is quite successful. Olimar's games were million sellers. ROB was extremely important to the NES in the West and is a genius surprise character. Mother 3 was quite successful in Japan and sabotaged in the West. Its the same deal as FE. Plus Sakurai has a lot of respect for Itoi's creations.

None of this really supports why KI is guaranteed to have 3 reps.

 

[Snakey]

Cool story bro. So tell me exactly what sales were influential in getting Ice Climbers into Melee? Game & Watch? Let's look at Brawl. R.O.B. hasn't been relevant since the NES, don't see how sales could possibly be influential there. Star Fox got Wolf as a new character, despite every Star Fox game since Melee having been complete and utter ass. Lucas was in despite his game only having been released in Japan. Olimar was only in two games. Pit being in there despite not having a new game since the Gameboy one?

For Ice Climber, I believe their inclusion was due to Sakurai wanting to place in a character that would represent the one-off early NES/Famicom games (Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excite Bike, Clu Clu Land, Urban Champion, Devil World, etc.)

As to Mr. Game & Watch, they were basically the forerunner to Nintendo's handheld empire. The Game & Watch line spanned over 30+ games over a period of 10 years. There was also the release of the highly successful Game & Watch Gallery series which brought the games to a more contemporary audience during the time of development for Smash 64 and Melee.

Pit got in because Sakurai mentioned a strong demand for his inclusion by both the American and Japanese Smash Bros. fanbases.

Olimar's games (Pikmin and Pikmin 2) did much better than all of the other Nintendo series that currently lack a playable character in Smash Bros. (aside from Animal Crossing and the Miis).

 

[Emitan]

I wonder it might be longer since he might add more contents this time right? I do agreed with 2014 as release date.




FYI, that's bannable offense. IIRC

I think it's only bannable if you say nothing else.

 

[IntelliHeath]

I think it's only bannable if you say nothing else.

Alright. I thought otherwise.

 

[HK-47]

For Ice Climber, I believe their inclusion was due to Sakurai wanting to place in a character that would represent the one-off early NES/Famicom games (Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excite Bike, Clu Clu Land, Urban Champion, Devil World, etc.)

As to Mr. Game & Watch, they were basically the forerunner to Nintendo's handheld empire. The Game & Watch line spanned over 30+ games over a period of 10 years. There was also the release of the highly successful Game & Watch Gallery series which brought the games to a more contemporary audience during the time of development for Smash 64 and Melee.

Pit got in because Sakurai mentioned a strong demand for his inclusion by both the American and Japanese Smash Bros. fanbases.

Olimar's games (Pikmin and Pikmin 2) did much better than all of the other Nintendo series that currently lack a playable character in Smash Bros. (aside from Animal Crossing and the Miis).

And Rhythm Heaven. i think that is a bigger series than Pikmin, but only by a bit.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Should so much emphasis be placed on what's popular in Japan and not so much over here? Little Mac would probably be a surprisingly liked addition outside of Japan, in fact one of the best they could add considering how well known the series seems to be by virtue of the NES game (must be the Mike Tyson thing).

Sales data, popular in Japan, a lack of recent appearances or instalments. These points keep popping up as reasons for or against characters and while it's certainly one way to speculate I don't think we should place too much stock in them, Hero did make a good point, a few of the choices in melee and brawl aren't that logical at all really.

 

[Emitan]

Alright. I thought otherwise.

I would still avoiding using the phrase though.

I think the reason behind the bans is statements like that by themselves are basically useless. That's why the spider-man "neat" image is banned. It's just worthless spam.

 

[HK-47]

Should so much emphasis be placed on what's popular in Japan and not so much over here? Little Mac would probably be a surprisingly liked addition outside of Japan, in fact one of the best they could add considering how well known the series seems to be by virtue of the NES game (must be the Mike Tyson thing).

Sales data, popular in Japan, a lack of recent appearances or instalments. These points keep popping up as reasons for or against characters and while it's certainly one way to speculate I don't think we should place too much stock in them, Hero did make a good point, a few of the choices in melee and brawl aren't that logical at all really.

i think its cause Nintendo likes to place lots of emphasis on Japan, despite the fact that the game isnt nearly as successful as it is in the West.

 

[Gravijah]

And Rhythm Heaven. i think that is a bigger series than Pikmin, but only by a bit.

rhythm heaven is definitely bigger.

 

[cednym]

Hero did make a good point, a few of the choices in melee and brawl aren't that logical at all really.

The only additions that I'd consider "illogical" are some of the Melee clones, and they're sort of in a class of their own for being last minute copies of characters already in the game. There's never been a unique playable character in Smash Bros. that didn't make sense to me. Both Melee and Brawl have striking roster selection similarities:

- Very few modern franchise additions: Melee only added Fire Emblem, and Brawl only brought in Wario and Pikmin
- Besides Pokémon, no playable characters from second-party franchises like Golden Sun, Sin & Punishment, Starfy, etc.
- One retro NES character: Ice Climbers in Melee and Pit in Brawl
- One retro "historical" character: Mr. Game & Watch in Melee and R.O.B. in Brawl

Sure, I didn't expect to see R.O.B. added to Brawl, but I had a feeling there was going to be another left field character from the '80s.

 

[Black-Wind]

I think people get into these silly sells debates because NORMALLY "Popularity among fans/ Popular characters come from Popular series which sell well". So people make a connection between sells and characters getting in ...

As I pointed out already, SF somehow has 3 characters ... the same amount as Kirby and more than both Metroid and DK even though it isn't as big or important (sales wise and in general) as any of those series.

And ontop of that we have a good amount of characters in smash from games and series that didn't sale well.

So yeah ... I'm pretty much saying that I think Sakurai just picks w/e he likes outside of those series like Pokemon where I'm sure he looks to the game's dev team to point out which characters are actually important/ worthy or wanted. Which is why I could see KI getting the 2 goddesses (Though the series isn't some huge heavy hitter and only has 3 games, those 2 characters are both popular and relevant) or S&P getting the 2 latest game's characters using the same move-set (From the look of it Sakurai saw massive want for Saki but couldn't get him in as a character for w/e reason at the time. Now, he has a relevant set of content from the series to pick from).

 

[Snakey]

Metroid is among Nintendo's best-selling franchises worldwide, and even though it isn't huge in Japan, it still has a presence there. I'd say that Ridley has a good shot at being included.

On the other hand, as much as I want him, Little Mac's far from a shoo-in. Punch-Out!!'s never been a big deal in Japan, and coupled with Sakurai's past comments about characters like the Urban Champion offering little move set potential, it unfortunately wouldn't surprise me if Little Mac didn't make the cut. To Sakurai, he's "just a boxer," and he may feel that Mac is sufficiently represented as an Assist Trophy.

The other missing characters that I'd consider the most important or iconic are:

Toad
Dixie Kong
King K. Rool
Anyone from Animal Crossing
Mega Man
Pac-Man (he's not heavily requested, but he is iconic)

There aren't many left.

The original Metroid trilogy was actually very successful in Japan (with the original Metroid selling over one million copies and Super Metroid selling 700K+). By comparison, the only Metroid game to sell over 100K in Japan since Super Metroid was Metroid Fusion (which sold 155K).

Regardless, I have seen some posts on Japanese Smash Bros. fansites make mention of the fact that Ridley and Little Mac are very popular overseas. If random fans on a message board are aware of this, I am sure Sakurai who probably cooperates with NOA knows a lot more on what our opinions are.

As to your opinion about which Nintendo characters are left that are not yet playable in Smash Bros., but are important and/or iconic, the only other character I would add to your list would be the Miis.

 

[Hero]

Reps for classic series. Also the G&W series is quite successful. Olimar's games were million sellers. ROB was extremely important to the NES in the West and is a genius surprise character. Mother 3 was quite successful in Japan and sabotaged in the West. Its the same deal as FE. Plus Sakurai has a lot of respect for Itoi's creations.

None of this really supports why KI is guaranteed to have 3 reps.

For Ice Climber, I believe their inclusion was due to Sakurai wanting to place in a character that would represent the one-off early NES/Famicom games (Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excite Bike, Clu Clu Land, Urban Champion, Devil World, etc.)

As to Mr. Game & Watch, they were basically the forerunner to Nintendo's handheld empire. The Game & Watch line spanned over 30+ games over a period of 10 years. There was also the release of the highly successful Game & Watch Gallery series which brought the games to a more contemporary audience during the time of development for Smash 64 and Melee.

Pit got in because Sakurai mentioned a strong demand for his inclusion by both the American and Japanese Smash Bros. fanbases.

Olimar's games (Pikmin and Pikmin 2) did much better than all of the other Nintendo series that currently lack a playable character in Smash Bros. (aside from Animal Crossing and the Miis).

You're both missing the point of what I said through context and instead replied only to the words. I have a decent understanding of why those characters I listed got into SSB but they weren't because of sales. That was the point.

As for Kid Icarus, you think after the major game that was Uprising Sakurai wouldn't add in another character, whether it be Palutena, Medusa or Magnus? Since Brawl there have been very few Nintendo games with challenger-worthy characters and Uprising easily fits the bill. Like I said, at the very least I would expect Palutena in. This is just my speculation so I don't know why some of you are getting your panties in such a twist.

 

[cednym]

Most of us are expecting Palutena, but you originally said, "I'm pretty sure Kid Icarus is a lock to get at least 3 characters from the series" on the last page, thus prompting this little debate.

 

[Snakey]

rhythm heaven is definitely bigger.

The problem with Rhythm Heaven is that its not a character driven franchise, or any real stand out mascot. I am still expecting a stage, Assist Trophy, and items based off this series though.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

So tell me exactly what sales were influential in getting Ice Climbers into Melee? Game & Watch? Let's look at Brawl. R.O.B. hasn't been relevant since the NES, don't see how sales could possibly be influential there. Star Fox got Wolf as a new character, despite every Star Fox game since Melee having been complete and utter ass. Lucas was in despite his game only having been released in Japan. Olimar was only in two games. Pit being in there despite not having a new game since the Gameboy one?

I think you should have read my post a little more closely. Most characters in Smash Bros. have successful games. The ones that don't have successful and / or recent games are in for other reasons.

The Ice Climbers, Game & Watch, Pit, and ROB were all throwback characters (and in the Ice Climbers' case, they were chosen because Sakurai thought up a unique gameplay gimmick for them). They were the few exceptions I was talking about.

Wolf probably got in because Sakurai wanted him in ever since the first Smash Bros., but even so, a lot of Star Fox games sold well. Mother 3 sold fairly well, but he (probably) got in because Sakurai wanted to put the newest main Mother character in, and because he could be made to play somewhat similarly to Ness. The Pikmin games sold well, and the franchise is newer than all of the others in Smash Bros., so Olimar had that going for him.

So yes, not every character gets in based on the sales of their games, but there are only a few characters who didn't get in because they were part of some prominent franchise. I don't think Smash Bros's developers just randomly pick the entire roster based on their whims.

 

[Hero]

Most of us are expecting Palutena, but you originally said, "I'm pretty sure Kid Icarus is a lock to get at least 3 characters from the series" on the last page, thus prompting this little debate.

Again, that's my PERSONAL speculation. You're free to agree or disagree, but getting into this argument about why or why not because other series deserve more or Sakurai being humble and shit is just kind of stupid since it's not going to have any kind of effect on Sakurai's decisions for the next SSB game. The worst was bringing in sales figures as some kind of measurement for who gets in when it's clearly not the case.

If we don't get 3, I'll be a little disappointed but I'll understand why. But the fact that somehow Star Wolf got to be an inclusion in Brawl makes me believe that at the worst case scenario Medusa could just be a clone of Palutena.

I think you should have read my post a little more closely. Most characters in Smash Bros. have successful games. The ones that don't have successful and / or recent games are in for other reasons.

The Ice Climbers, Game & Watch, Pit, and ROB were all throwback characters (and in the Ice Climbers' case, they were chosen because Sakurai thought up a unique gameplay gimmick for them). They were the few exceptions I was talking about.

Wolf probably got in because Sakurai wanted him in ever since the first Smash Bros., but even so, a lot of Star Fox games sold well. Mother 3 sold fairly well, but he (probably) got in because Sakurai wanted to put the newest main Mother character in, and because he could be made to play somewhat similarly to Ness. The Pikmin games sold well, and the franchise is newer than all of the others in Smash Bros., so Olimar had that going for him.

So yes, not every character gets in based on the sales of their games, but there are only a few characters who didn't get in because they were part of some prominent franchise. I don't think Smash Bros's developers just randomly pick the entire roster based on their whims.

Dude, just stop. I'm going to do us both a favor and not reply to you anymore.

 

[Gravijah]

The problem with Rhythm Heaven is that its not a character driven franchise, or any real stand out mascot. I am still expecting a stage, Assist Trophy, and items based off this series though.

a stage would be amazing. warioware and electroplankton give me high hopes!

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Dude, just stop. I'm going to do us both a favor and not reply to you anymore.

So you literally didn't read my post earlier and you're looking down on me?

 

[cednym]

So you literally didn't read my post earlier and you're looking down on me?

Your observations are logical ones; I'm not sure why Hero is being so dismissive of you.

 

[BGBW]

The problem with Rhythm Heaven is that its not a character driven franchise, or any real stand out mascot. I am still expecting a stage, Assist Trophy, and items based off this series though.

If we get a samurai based fighter in the next game one of his colour schemes could be based off RH samurai.

The main problem is representing the game through a fighter. They could easily take the karate bloke since he has been in all the games so is kind of a main character of the series, but how to you reflect the rhythm based gameplay? You can only perform A moves to the beat of the song (which would mean programming it for every possible song file)? Yeah right.

 

[hydragonwarrior]

We have to get Ridley and Little Mac, right? I mean there are hardly any characters left that appeal to the masses and those two seem to do so. Other then Megaman I'm pretty sure those two are the most requested I've seen.

I know Smash characters don't always have to be from current and/or popular games, but they have to add some big names. So my question is of all the Nintendo characters left that aren't in Smash yet who would be the most popular, well known, and crowd pleasing?

I always thought the "Add Ridley/Geno!!!" thing was just a meme.

 

[Tyeforce]

The problem with Rhythm Heaven is that its not a character driven franchise, or any real stand out mascot. I am still expecting a stage, Assist Trophy, and items based off this series though.

Rhythm Heaven may not be character driven in ways like other franchises are, but there certainly aren't a lack of characters in the franchise. There are many recurring characters among the three games, and there is kind of a mascot: Karate Joe.

 

[leroidys]

That reason being he didn't want to promote his own work over other people's, which sort of goes against your Kid Icarus argument. That it took three games before Sakurai added additional Kirby characters speaks to his humility. He isn't going to include tons of characters from a series as small as Kid Icarus just because he worked on the latest entry. Even if Sakurai wasn't the director of the series, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Dedede all deserve to be in Smash Bros. The same can really only be said for Pit and Palutena.

I agree that probably Kirby deserves 3 reps, but I think the self promoting nature of Sakurai comes out more in the rest of the games content than character selection. Tons of kirby items, kirby stickers, kirby stages, kirby enemies, kirby-ish single player, kirby characters prominently featured in the storyline...

 

[Tyeforce]

The main problem is representing the game through a fighter. They could easily take the karate bloke since he has been in all the games so is kind of a main character of the series, but how to you reflect the rhythm based gameplay? You can only perform A moves to the beat of the song (which would mean programming it for every possible song file)? Yeah right.

I think they could implement rhythm into a moveset in some way. Take Karate Joe, for example. His Neutral B Special could be punching a rock/flowerpot/lightbulb/whatever, but pressing B once would only send the object flying towards him; in order to successfully pull off the move, you'll have to press B at the right time to punch the object towards your opponent. Different objects could have different speeds, too, so you'll have to find the right rhythm for everything. And the closer you are to perfect rhythm, the more damage the attack does.

 

[cednym]

I agree that probably Kirby deserves 3 reps, but I think the self promoting nature of Sakurai comes out more in the rest of the games content than character selection. Tons of kirby items, kirby stickers, kirby stages, kirby enemies, kirby-ish single player, kirby characters prominently featured in the storyline...

There are only two Kirby stages in Brawl including the Melee one, and the amount of Kirby stickers is proportionate to the amount of stickers from other big series like Mario, Pokémon, and Zelda. Maybe I'm blanking, but I don't remember any Kirby enemies in the game. All of Sakurai's games have a similar feel to them, so I don't think the single player was explicitly designed with Kirby in mind; that's just how he makes games. Even Kid Icarus: Uprising feels like Kirby and Smash Bros. in terms of menu design and additional content. That's Sakurai's style -- he likes simplicity.

 

[Gravijah]

I agree that probably Kirby deserves 3 reps, but I think the self promoting nature of Sakurai comes out more in the rest of the games content than character selection. Tons of kirby items, kirby stickers, kirby stages, kirby enemies, kirby-ish single player, kirby characters prominently featured in the storyline...

uhm... kirby doesn't stand out more than any other game.

 

[Professor Beef]

uhm... kirby doesn't stand out more than any other game.

Subspace was practically a Kirby game with cameos.

 

[Gravijah]

Subspace was practically a Kirby game with cameos.

not really.

 

[Jezan]

Incidentally, I really want the goofy bonuses from 64/Melee to make a comeback. I honestly kind of missed them in Brawl.

This. All the Melee bonuses were awesome, they thought about everything

 

[NeonZ]

I agree that probably Kirby deserves 3 reps, but I think the self promoting nature of Sakurai comes out more in the rest of the games content than character selection. Tons of kirby items, kirby stickers, kirby stages, kirby enemies, kirby-ish single player, kirby characters prominently featured in the storyline...

Huh... Kirby only got one new stage. Kirby had no enemies in SSE. If you're talking about the trophies, it's just because they could import the 3d models from other games.

The gameplay similarities are due to Sakurai designing both games. I mean, if you go back and compare SSB and Kirby Super Star, several basic mechanics from SSB seemed to have their basis there - like falling through "thin" platforms and the directional attacks.

I do agree that Kirby stands out in SSE in a certain way though - it's basically the only series that gets dynamic characters there.

Kamek (Yoshi series) - I really think yoshi should get another PC, and there are not enough villains as is. The named magikoopa would be great.

There was another named Magikoopa in Galaxy.

 

[leroidys]

There are only two Kirby stages in Brawl including the Melee one, and the amount of Kirby stickers is proportionate to the amount of stickers from other big series like Mario, Pokémon, and Zelda. Maybe I'm blanking, but I don't remember any Kirby enemies in the game. All of Sakurai's games have a similar feel to them, so I don't think the single player was explicitly designed with Kirby in mind; that's just how he makes games. Even Kid Icarus: Uprising feels like Kirby and Smash Bros. in terms of menu design and additional content. That's Sakurai's style -- he likes simplicity.

Yeah that makes sense. As far as items though, kirby series has 4. Halberd(which is in itself 3), star rod, spicy curry, maximum tomato, and the warp star. By contrast Pokemon has...1. Metroid has...1. Zelda even only has 3. Yeah, you're right about stickers and levels now that I look into it. In retrospect, my argument mostly sucked.

 

[Hero]

So you literally didn't read my post earlier and you're looking down on me?

Okay, I came across as rude so I will reply to what you wrote out and go through it with you.

I said

Sales have nothing to do with character selection

.

You then said

Sales probably have a lot to do with character selection.

I then pointed out

So tell me exactly what sales were influential in getting Ice Climbers into Melee? Game & Watch? Let's look at Brawl. R.O.B. hasn't been relevant since the NES, don't see how sales could possibly be influential there. Star Fox got Wolf as a new character, despite every Star Fox game since Melee having been complete and utter ass. Lucas was in despite his game only having been released in Japan. Olimar was only in two games. Pit being in there despite not having a new game since the Gameboy one?

Then you start to backpedal.

I think you should have read my post a little more closely. Most characters in Smash Bros. have successful games. The ones that don't have successful and / or recent games are in for other reasons..

So yes, not every character gets in based on the sales of their games, but there are only a few characters who didn't get in because they were part of some prominent franchise. I don't think Smash Bros's developers just randomly pick the entire roster based on their whims.

You don't need to list reasons why characters I mentioned got into SSB, I know just as well. The bottom line is sales figures is not any kind of accurate measurement of why characters have gotten to be in SSB games previously nor should it be used to predict who will or won't get into the future ones. The only thing that matters is what Sakurai thinks. Sakurai could put in Ryota Hayami from Wave Race if he wanted to and the reasoning would be he thought it would be cool or funny, not because Wave Race is some amazing selling franchise.

 

[Professor Beef]

not really.

The level layouts, the boss fights, the enemy rooms, the trippy final boss; all of it screamed "hey I'm a Kirby game in disguise!"

 

[Emitan]

The level layouts, the boss fights, the enemy rooms, the trippy final boss; all of it screamed "hey I'm a Kirby game in disguise!"

By that logic everything Sakurai makes is secretly a Kirby game.

 

[Red Arremer]

EDIT: @Berordn, even though I don't want Mii's in the game, I would love to play as Tom Nook.

His Final Smash would be enslaving the other characters, so they pay off their debts.

For Ice Climber, I believe their inclusion was due to Sakurai wanting to place in a character that would represent the one-off early NES/Famicom games (Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excite Bike, Clu Clu Land, Urban Champion, Devil World, etc.)

I believe reading that Balloon Fighter was considered as well (and Sukapon for Smash64), but Sakurai wanted a twin character, hence the Ice Climbers were chosen, since they aren't from a full solo game.

Regarding G&W and ROB, both of these characters represent Nintendo's early history, and have likely been included to show the whole spectrum of said history, and to honor its roots.

I know Smash characters don't always have to be from current and/or popular games, but they have to add some big names. So my question is of all the Nintendo characters left that aren't in Smash yet who would be the most popular, well known, and crowd pleasing?

To put it very simply: Villains and support characters. Characters like Ridley, K. Rool, Dixie Kong, Toad, Bowser Jr., etc., that aren't actual main characters but still popular household names. Also, Miis and series that have not been included yet such as Animal Crossing, Stafy, and the likes.

Of course, at this point, Nintendo is kinda running out of popular heavyweight names, so the big selling points might be third-party characters. Mega Man seems very likely (Inafune did say he'd like Rock in Smash, and Capcom is really crossover-loving atm), and I would also think that Castlevania might have a good shot at getting in.

 

[Nocturnowl]

The level layouts, the boss fights, the enemy rooms, the trippy final boss; all of it screamed "hey I'm a Kirby game in disguise!"

There certainly are a few Kirby elements.
Even the Barrel Cannons and minecarts take after Kirby, the DKC style level is filled with Kirby series black cannons instead of barrel cannons, occasionally being blasted into bomb blocks.
Even Ridley takes a bit from Dynablade.

 

[Javier]

I really hope they add an Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan character. We need a fighter with break-dancing moves and defeats his opponents using the power of SONG!

Or at least a stage. Or an Assist trophy. Or something! I just want series representation, dammit!

 

[IntelliHeath]

The level layouts, the boss fights, the enemy rooms, the trippy final boss; all of it screamed "hey I'm a Kirby game in disguise!"

I don't know. It may feel that way but it's sakurai style game. That's why I am glad that Sakurai worked on Kid Icarus so he can branched out his experience.

 

[leroidys]

There are many series that I don't even really care for that I think deserve representation. It's a nintendo mascot fighter, so I feel it is a better game if all major franchises are represented. Here are my picks for that / how I feel about the series.

Animal Crossing (kind of like)
Advance/Famicom Wars (meh)
Mii (meh)
Kid Icarus (liked the old games, haven't play KIU)
Golden Sun (Still haven't played any of them)
Punch Out (meh)

On the other hand, there are some series I love that I don't think should probably get a pc in smash.

Mega Man Probably my favorite gaming series of all time right up there with Zelda. I just don't think he would be a good fit in smash.
Rhythm Heaven Love it! But any character they made would feel like a huge stretch, and I don't want a flimsy feeling character in.
Sin & Punishment I love the Wii game. It would just be such a weird style mismatch though, and the series is almost certainly dead.

Then there are a couple new series that I love, AND think should get some reps:

Tingle (Tingle Series) - I have still only played the first DS game, but I loved it, and I love tingle in the Zelda games.
Duster (Mother Series) - If Star Fox gets 3 reps then mother should get 3 reps. It may be bad logic but I give no fucks.
Kamek (Yoshi series) - I really think yoshi should get another PC, and there are not enough villains as is. The named magikoopa would be great.

 

[BGBW]

I really hope they add an Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan character. We need a fighter with break-dancing moves and defeats his opponents using the power of SONG!

Or at least a stage. Or an Assist trophy. Or something! I just want series representation, dammit!

That's the kind of news that would break NeoGaf.

 

[SmithnCo]

I really hope they add an Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan character. We need a fighter with break-dancing moves and defeats his opponents using the power of SONG!

Or at least a stage. Or an Assist trophy. Or something! I just want series representation, dammit!

If they do a character they should do a Wario-esque costume change so they can have both Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents costumes.

 

[Nocturnowl]

That's the kind of news that would break NeoGaf.

It would certainly break me, i'd be rebuilt with pure hype, that's how great it would be.