Here's Entry #5 in my series of how I feel Smash "5" is looking and where the franchise is headed, character-wise...
Previous Posts
Mario + Yoshi Series
Pokemon Series
Xenoblade, Mother, Fire Emblem Series
Wario and Metroid Series
This time, I'll be talking about "Guest Series".
Personally, I feel that the Guest Character selection is pretty much perfect. Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mega Man are the perfect line-up...however, I still think getting one more Guest Character for Smash 5 would be nice, just so we have an even 4.
Sega
Well, first off, I think it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that a 3rd Party could have a second rep from the series, or even their company, although I think that unlikely. But here's speculation regardless!
Sonic is a pretty large series, and I think it's the best bet to get a second rep among the Third Parties. Shadow always seemed obvious...I mean, he's requested a lot, would probably be a fairly easy clone, and people would love him. Tails and Knuckles would take more work, but are also heavy hitters. And Dr. Eggman seems like he'd easily be a re-working of Bowser Jr. Personally I'd love Classic Sonic, but he's got a different body type so couldn't be a simple alt, yet I can't imagine him having his own spot since Sonic doesn't really have any post-Classic moves outside the homing attack.
From SEGA, well, NiGHTS, AiAi, and Billy Hatcher are the only SEGA characters that have a decent presence on Nintendo really and would fit Smash. But I don't see any of them happening, although I'd love to see references to them.
Now that SEGA owns Atlus, there's Jack Frost, who is pretty cute. But considering SMT tends to be rated M, I don't know if Nintendo would ever want SMT in Smash Brothers...yeah, there was Snake in Brawl, but I think one of the reasons he was cut is because he messed with the family-friendly image, especially as the newer Metal Gears seem to tackle much darker themes.
Capcom
From Mega Man, X is the likeliest choice for a second rep, being the second (or first?) popular Mega Man. The next choice is definitely Zero. Proto Man would also be a suitable alt for Mega Man, and something I wish Smash 4 did in the first place.
From Capcom in general, Ryu always seemed like an interesting choice. The original fighting game hero in Smash Brothers! But Sakurai seems to not want traditional fighters in Smash, I believe he mentioned that in regards to Tekken, so he might be out. Phoenix Wright is another popular choice, and would fit more so in Smash since he's a weirder character, and then with all the Monster Hunter cross-overs people have considered a character from that. The designer apparently didn't want a MH character in MVC, but I wonder if he'd reconsider for Smash since it's a bit of a different game.
Namco-Bandai
Ms. Pac-Man is the only Pac-Man second rep really available, but she seems like she'd just be an Alt at best.
I don't know a lot about Namco, but Klonoa is the only Namco-Bandai character I can think of that would legit fit into Smash. Well, the Tales characters are cute enough, but we don't need any more JRPG-swordsmen. But Klonoa doesn't seem really "around" much anymore, and never really had mainstream popularity, so that probably hurts his chances.
Konami
Next, let's talk about Snake. Will he ever return? Personally, I think not. Brawl was an interesting experiment, but he just didn't really fit aesthetically, and honestly I'm not too miffed about him being absent. I wouldn't mind if he stayed, but I'm not losing sleep over it. Who is to blame? Was it Nintendo not wanting a character like that in Smash? Did Konami do it, perhaps wanting to keep Snake "focused" now that Metal Gear is really their leading franchise? Or did Sakurai decide it didn't work out? We might never know.
Now, on the topic of Konami, there are two big characters everyone always brings up: Simon Belmont, and Bomberman. I think the biggest issue with Simon is the character lacks an iconic design. His appearance has changed throughout the franchise, more so than Sonic or Pac-Man, and I'd really wonder what design they'd go with to make him as instantly recognizable as the other Guest Characters. If Simon was a Nintendo character, this wouldn't be as big of an issue, but I feel Guest Characters need to have a certain design element that sticks out.
Bomberman's problem is that he's only recently a Konami character, and so far they don't really seem interested in using him. I think his chances may have been better if he stayed a Hudson Character, and that would've been great since I imagine Sakurai might've taken the chance to incorporate classic Hudson elements in as well. Who knows, I think Bomberman is probably the last big character anywhere close to Pac-Man, Mega Man, and Sonic, and would fit really well with their aesthetic. Hopefully Sakurai can work his magic!
Konami also has Master Higgins and Goemon as the only other real mascots I think have any chance, Higgins has the same status as Bomberman being sort of on hiatus once Konami took over, and Goemon's a bit obscure, and his global presence is basically gone.
Square-Enix
Now into possible future third-parties, and SE is one that comes to mind. They're not really "fun" guys anymore it seems, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy had a good life on Nintendo consoles, and say, Slime or Chocobo would be cute mascot characters. Or the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy I would be a cooler inclusion (I think it'd be best to avoid any specific FF character, so an empty slate would fit better).
Neku from TWEWY I actually feel has a decent chance, since Sakurai has obviously been influence by that game looking at the difficulty scale and "Street Smash". But it depends on if the franchise ever continues, and if sticks to Nintendo.
Level 5
Yes, Guest Characters tend to be old dudes, but I wouldn't mind some new blood, and Level 5 seems the best company in terms of mascot characters...you have Professor Layton, mainly, and with Yokai Watch becoming extremely popular, I wouldn't be surprised if THAT got in. I mean, it depends on if it can catch on in the west...I'm not sure WHO the Pikachu of Yokai Watch is, but I guess it's the cat one? It's the best we'll ever get to Pikachu vs. Meowth, and I'd take it.
Other
The only other Guest Characters I think are notable are Crash, being Mario's "rival", and Banjo-Kazooie, once a classic Nintendo character. But Crash is basically being whored out and couldn't even get into the Sony Smash. So, yeah...don't see that happening. I still hold out hope for Banjo-Kazooie. I've given up Rare ever making a proper sequel, but if Microsoft doesn't do anything with him, I'd love to see Sakurai somehow negotiate to get Banjo-Kazooie, classic-style, in one Smash Brothers.
