A long-requested topic for fighting game fans, especially
with series like Super Smash Bros. and the Vs. Capcom games releasing to huge
success, Nintendo vs. Capcom has been one of those dream games that a lot of
people seem interested in. And with Nintendo’s new console, the Switch, selling
hand over fist and Nintendo looking to keep the momentum going with plenty of
new releases, this game will be sure to grab people’s attention.
Since a big part of the hype is seeing which characters make
the roster, I’ve looked through the lists of Nintendo and Capcom’s franchises
and come up with a few characters that may have a good chance of making it in.
This is in the form of a list and not a full roster, because while some
characters like Mario, Link, Mega Man, and Ryu are obvious inclusions, this
will focus on some of the characters who are less obvious, but still stand a
good chance. In addition, only one character per franchise.
Here are 10 Possible Nintendo Characters for Nintendo vs. Capcom
=
10. King K. Rool (Donkey Kong Country)
As a heavyweight character, a villain, and a character from
the Donkey Kong Country series, King K. Rool is a highly requested character in
Super Smash Bros. and the same could be said for the King of the Kremlins here.
He can pull moves from a variety of his boss fights with Donkey Kong and if his
Mii Fighter costume in Smash 4 was any indication, he could be used as a
brawler character using a bunch of heay-hitting punches and kicks. He may have
been absent from the more recent DKC games, but this would be a good
opportunity to reintroduce this crazy crocodile.
9. Wolf O' Donnel (Star Fox)
Yet another villainous character (or anti-villain to be more
precise), Wolf O’Donnel would also bring something to the roster as another
Star Fox rep, alongside Fox McCloud, who is already a popular (and kind of
obvious) choice for any kind of Nintendo crossover. While his appearance in
Super Smash Bros. Brawl had him as a sort of semi-clone of Fox, a character
this major could do with some differentiation. Maybe give him a laser rifle
instead of a blaster or maybe give him a grenade or mine launcher. If Fox is
light but quick, make Wolf slower but stronger. The developers can come up with
something surely.
8. Impa (The Legend of Zelda)
Something about the Legend of Zelda series is while every
game takes place in a different version of Hyrule, each version always contains
the three legacy characters, Link, Zelda, and Ganon, then builds a completely
new cast around them. That’s probably why, in Smash Bros., fan favorite
characters like Skull Kid, Midna, and Ghirahim are relegated to assist trophy
status, while the characters to actually make the playable roster are
versions of Link, versions of Zelda, and a version of Ganon. Aside from those, there
is actually only one other character who has appeared in more than one game in
the series.
While she has appeared as both an elderly figure of guidance
and a young sword-swinging warrior serving as the princess’s bodyguard, Impa is
definitely a series mainstay and is quite possibly a candidate for crossover
inclusion.
7. Decidueye (Pokemon)
When it comes to including Pokemon characters in a Nintendo
crossover, the selections tend to be Pikachu and whichever Pokemon are
currently popular with the fans. Charizard, Mewtwo, and Lucario have managed to
stay consistently popular, which is why they’re usually in everything too.
While I have my doubts about Pikachu making it into Nintendo vs. Capcom, with
him being such a little guy, some other popular mons can still make the list.
With Sun and Moon still relatively fresh on people’s minds and a certain grass
and ghost owl making the roster for Pokken Tournament DX, Decidueye is a prime
candidate for a good crossover fighting game, and with its archery skills and
creative interpretation of its Grass-type moves, it can be like a Pokemon
version of Hawkeye from Marvel vs. Capcom.
6. Kirby with Robobot Mech (Kirby)
I know Kirby may seem like one of those “of course Nintendo
would include them” characters, but hear me out. I mentioned earlier that
Pikachu might not make it in to NvC because he’s too little. Most of the time,
tiny fighting game characters can be irritating to fight against. Not saying
they can’t work, but characters are easier to fight against if they’re not
small enough that most attacks fly right over their heads. With this in mind, Kirby
being a canonically small character might have hurt his chances of getting in,
but the 3DS game Kirby: Planet Robobot may have given him a work around. By
using one of the mechs that he finds in the game, he’s essentially this game’s
Tron Bonne. He can use the mech’s different functions and abilities as shown in
that game for different moves, even possibly still using his regular copy abilities while piloting it.
5. Takamaru (Mysterious Murasame Castle)
Of course, one of the best things about crossover rosters is
seeing some surprise new characters. Be they from new franchises or classics,
these are some of the best things you can see come out of an idea like this.
While Nintendo has a lot of classic franchises they can pull from, there is one
that they’ve been teasing western gamers with without giving it to us. Okay,
several actually, but the one being focused on here is Mysterious Murasame
Castle. It was a top-down adventure games for the NES, like The Legend of
Zelda, and its main hero was a shuriken-throwing samurai named Takamaru. While not
a lot of western gamers know about this franchise incorporating its name
character into a large-scale crossover could ignite more demand for the series.
It worked for Fire Emblem in Smash Bros. Melee; who’s to say
it can’t happen again?
4. Dr. Coyle (ARMS)
Though very good cases can be made for representing older
franchises in a crossover, they can also be made for incorporating newer series
as well, since they are currently relevant and can tie in to the studio’s
current projects. After Splatoon, the motion-control fighting game ARMS is
Nintendo’s newest big(-ish) IP. The characters in this would fit well in a
Capcom fighting game (Dhalsim anyone?), but while seeing Spring Man or Ribbon
Girl enter the roster would be good, a compelling case could be made for who is
apparently the main antagonist of the story, the rad scientist, Dr. Coyle. Her
signature ARMS can give her unique attacks, she can hover and turn invisible,
and she can even use the boss character Hedlok (her creation by the way) to
triple the attacks she can throw. She’s also responsible for creating a lot of
the things seen in the series, from events to other characters.
3. Chrom (Fire Emblem)
Fire Emblem has come a long way since it first can to the
West in Smash Bros. At one point, Nintendo was considering killing off the
series, but then Fire Emblem Awakening came along and it was like the lightning
strike in Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. This is now one of Nintendo’s biggest
series, big enough for it to get six characters in Super Smash Bros. 4 and its
own Dynasty Warriors style spin-off game. This series is sure to be represented
If Nintendo vs. Capcom becomes a reality and while several characters from the
series could deserve a spot, Chrom is one of the most deserving. Not only is he
a fan favorite character who has made appearances outside the Fire Emblem
games, but he was also a main character in the game that arguably revived the
series. That’s a strong case for NvC roster inclusion.
2. Inkling (Splatoon)
Splatoon is one of Nintendo’s most recent smash hit series
that showed that you can have all the fun of a shooter while dialing down the
violence. Since then, the game’s playable avatars, the Inklings, have been big
hit characters among gamers. So, including an Inkling in the roster for NvC
would make sense. Alternate colors of costumes could be matched to the
different ink colors of the game and they could even use several different
weapons from the regular guns to chargers, rollers, Splatlings, and more, and
that’s not even getting into the sub-weapons. The possibilities are endless.
1. Dimentio (Paper Mario)
This is a list about the Nintendo side of a Nintendo vs.
Capcom roster, so it’s probably a given that a Mario character would make the
list somewhere, but even this series can have room for some surprises. Most
people gravitate towards the staple characters of the Mario series when
figuring out who to include in rosters like this and in fact, most of this part
of the roster is likely to contain staple characters. Mario himself is
guaranteed to make it in. But for a less obvious character, Dimentio from the Paper Mario RPGs would make for a big surprise villain character. In Super Paper Mario, he was shown to be insanely powerful, like a Mario version of Kefka or Bill Cipher and he also had a quirky personality that helped to make him stand out in that game and make his actions seem just a little bit creepier.
And if the developers need a Story Mode explanation for why these characters are all meeting each other and fighting, Dimentio manipulating portals to and from realms provides an effective excuse.
=
Of course, these are just ten characters that would make
interesting inclusions for a roster like this. Who would you like to see in
Nintendo vs. Capcom? How excited would you be if Nintendo vs. Capcom was
announced? Make your voice heard in the comments below and check back for when
I post the companion to this article, discussing 10 possible Capcom characters
for this would-be game.
Thanks for stopping by!
