Super Smash Bros. 4 now has the biggest roster of the series with 58 playable characters, counting the 7 DLC characters. With the NX (or whatever its new name will be) on the horizon, there is a chance we may see a fifth game in the series on the new console. It probably won’t come too soon since the fourth game is still fresh in everyone’s minds but some people are already thinking about what could be changed about the roster.
I can’t see too many more characters being added to the Smash 4 roster, because then it may become too big for some people. So there is a chance that some characters may get cut in favor of new characters.
This list is in no particular order and was determined by observing several factors like the characters’ roles in their series, popularity in their series, relevance in the modern gaming community, and uniqueness in the Smash roster. Also, I am not saying that I necessarily dislike any of these characters, just that I could possibly understand why they might get removed from the future game’s roster.
1. Dr. Mario
Currently the series with the most characters in Smash, numbering at seven, the Mario series may be the first one the developers look at if they want to cut some characters out. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser are all essential to the series so they are probably staying. Bowser Jr. is a series mainstay at this point and his alternate costumes are the seven Koopalings so he is (or they are) probably staying too.
However, less important to the series is Dr. Mario, a version of Mario used in the Dr. Mario puzzle games. While he was in Melee, he was originally supposed to be an alternate palette for Mario until some tweaks in gameplay made Dr. Mario different enough to warrant him getting his own characters slot. If the developers decide to de-tweak him, they could make him into an alternate costume for Mario again and free up a character slot.
2. Rosalina
Originating from the Super Mario Galaxy 3D platformers, Rosalina is another character in danger of being cut. Since her appearance, Rosalina has been a popular character and she has appeared in several Mario spin-off games. While a strong case can be made for keeping her in the roster, she may also be replaced if a new Mario game gets released that causes another Mario character, old or new, to rise in popularity.
3. Sheik
The Legend of Zelda is another one of the Big Four series that have a large number of characters in the Smash 4 roster, having five characters. As such, it is also one of the four series likely to have some characters cut. Three of those characters, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, are essential characters to the series, so they’re likely to stay.
Sheik, however, may not. She may have been in the Smash series since Melee, but outside of Smash and Hyrule Warriors, Sheik hasn’t had a major role in a game since Ocarina of Time. She may stay since she is still a popular character with a unique move-set, but she may also be replaced by a popular character from a different Zelda game, like Skull Kid from Majora’s Mask, Midna from Twilight Princess, Ghirahim from Skyward Sword, or whichever new major character the upcoming Zelda game for Wii U is likely to give us.
4. Toon Link
The fifth Zelda character in the Smash roster is Toon Link, a version of Link used in the cel-shaded Zelda titles, like Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. While he is the rep for a sub-section of Zelda games, he still plays almost exactly like the regular Link. He may stay in the roster but there is still a small chance that he may be removed from the roster or made into an alternate costume for regular Link. At the very least, there is a chance that his move-set may be changed to make him more of a unique character.
5. Dark Pit
Introduced in Kid Icarus Uprising for the 3DS, Dark Pit is basically an edgy anti-hero version of Pit, the angelic archer protagonist of the game. Dark Pit is one of three characters, along with Dr. Mario, that were meant to be alternate costumes for different characters (in this case, Pit), but were given their own character slots after small tweaks in gameplay made them different enough from their base characters. All that needs to happen is for Dark Pit to get un-tweaked and he could get re-introduced in the next Smash game as one of Pit’s alternate palettes.
6. Zero Suit Samus
Zero Suit Samus is basically what Samus Aran looks like without her armor on, first seen in Metroid: Zero Mission for the Game Boy Advance. She wears a blue skin-tight bodysuit and is equipped with a Paralyzer gun/energy whip (and as of Smash 4, jet boots). This is probably one of the less likely characters here to get cut and the Metroid series already has very little representation for such a major Nintendo series, but there is still a chance that the developers may give the Metroid characters a second look when they realize the characters for it are Samus and... Samus again.
7. Jigglypuff
The third of the Big Four franchises involved in Smash Bros. is Pokemon. There are currently six playable Pokemon characters. Three of them are Charizard, Lucario, and Mewtwo, three of the most popular Pokemon in the series. Unless one of them experiences a sudden drop in popularity and gets replaced by another super-popular Pokemon, they are likely to stay. The fourth one here is Pikachu. While he’s not the most popular Pokemon, he is the mascot of the franchise, so while he may not be the first pick for some people for a crossover fighting game, it does make sense for him to be there.
Apart from those four above, one of the two Pokemon that may get cut in the future is Jigglypuff, one of the original first generation Pokemon. Jigglypuff has been in the series since the first game, when Jigglypuff was still a prominent character in the Pokemon anime. While Jigglypuff is no longer a recurring character in the anime, she is apparently still a popular character in Japan, which is how she made it into the roster in the fourth game. But, she isn’t that popular outside of Japan, so who knows how long that will last.
8. Greninja
The sixth Pokemon in the Smash roster, Greninja is the final evolved form of one of the Generation 6 starter Pokemon. Greninja proved to be one of the most popular Pokemon introduced in Gen 6, putting him around the same level as the other popular Pokemon entries, but he is also relatively new, so there may be a chance that he’ll get replaced if another Pokemon rises in popularity when the next generation of Pokemon games comes out.
9. Lucina
The last of the Big Four series to have a large number of characters in the Smash roster is Fire Emblem. The recent rise in popularity in this series is very surprising to some Nintendo fans, as the series was relatively obscure for a long time. Then, when Fire Emblem Awakening turned out to be a big hit, it’s like the series got its second wind. It is now big enough that the Smash developers saw fit to include six characters from the series into the game.
The number of characters here may bring it more attention when the developers decide who to leave out of the Smash roster for the next game. Marth is the legacy character for the series, so he may stay, Ike and Robin are representing different eras of the series and have unique playstyles to differentiate them from other sword-wielders or FE characters, and Corrin looks to be heading in the same direction.
One of the ones left out here is Lucina, who, like Dr. Mario and Dark Pit, was originally supposed to be an alternate costume for a different character, until changes in gameplay made her too different from her base character Marth. If the developers undo the small changes, they could re-integrate her as a costume for Marth, like originally intended, and give the empty slot to a different character. It is also likely that she may stay, since she was one of the most popular characters from Fire Emblem Awakening and she is even making appearances in other games..
10. Roy
The sixth of the Fire Emblem characters, Roy was originally included in Melee along with Marth, but was cut from the Brawl roster before returning in Smash 4 as DLC. He was popular among Smash fans and helped the Fire Emblem games make their way into the western market. However, some people playing the current Smash game think that Roy plays a bit too similar to Marth to the point of being a clone of him. While he may be a popular with fans of the Melee roster, he may also be taken out to make room for a more unique character.
This was the list of ten characters currently in the Smash 4 roster that may not make it into the roster of the next game. Just as there is a chance that any of these guys may be cut or any characters not discussed here, there is also a chance that none of them may get cut and we’ll just get new characters added onto the roster we now have.
If anyone’s reading, what do you think? Do you think any characters here have a chance at getting cut? Let me know in the comment section and thanks for coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment