For convenience
Here's most of the big updates from his other post so far:
[collapse="Page 11"] I got a Private Message from Snakey asking for some additional details, mainly involving 3rd Party, and I replied to him with some info about that that I feel safe posting here.
Most of the 3rd Party characters are still being mulled over and such, and there's been interest from Konami and Sega regarding the inclusion of other series characters, although there's been much debate over this. NiGHTS, Monkey Ball, Goemon, Castlevania, and Twinbee are all series I've heard have been brought up, but personally I doubt we'll actually see any of those make it in. I'd assume that Snake and Sonic are set to return.
Namco will include a character, but nothing has been set. I don't think they want to use Tekken because it's a more "realistic" fighter and it would be weird seeing those characters in Smash, and I think the fact Tales is mainly an Eastern series is hurting it, though. But minds could change.
Link, Marth, and Ike will be using there new styles from SS/Awakening, but adjusted for Smash. Pit will also greatly draw from Kid Icarus Uprising, I'm guessing he'll be much more talkative now. All the other characters as far as I know from Brawl are coming back.
Interest in bringing back dropped characters has been shown, specifically for Mewtwo. Chances for Roy seem lower, but possible. Dr. Mario, Pichu, and Young Link probably less.
arvilino posted...
"few early roster tidbits"? of 10 possible new characters? That''s almost nearing the number of new characters Brawl had. That isn't a few by large margin this is all pretty doubtlessly false.
Only 4 of the characters (Ridley, K. Rool, Takamaru, and Little Mac) are definite as far as I know. That's 1 less than Brawl debuted with. The other four are merely being considered and are strong contenders.
Ghirahim may or may not make it in, the big factor for his inclusion apparently lies in the what goes on with the Zelda Series. If a new, main game comes out before Smash, Ghirahim may be dropped unless he appears as he'll be considered "old". Personally, I don't see a new mainline Zelda coming out that soon.
Shulk's inclusion apparently came about due to the strong showing in the UK and US, as it showed that Xenoblade resonated with a larger global audience. Apparently, before Xenoblade came about and gained steam, Kalas from Baten Kaitos was considered as a possibility, but I don't think it went anywhere beyond that.
Dillon and "Debu" are being considered due to Nintendo wishing to use the next Smash to help boost some series. I think one can assume that, like Pit in Brawl, they may wish to expand Dillon's series in the future.
The "Debu" character, as mentioned before, Nintendo wants to promote. Why such a push? I'm not quite sure. The only thing I know is that he's Yoshi's new dinosaur buddy, he's red, he's presumably large, and he seems to play like Yoshi. The first clone confirmed? I don't know the extent of his similarities, information about him has been very sparse.[/collapse]
[collapse="Page 15"] A poster asked me about the possibility of some other characters making the roster and why things are of course subject to chance, there are a few characters who I am quite certain will not make it to playable status based on what I've heard and a few of my own observations.
*As I said before, Kalas was considered before Shulk and Xenoblade took off, but since Shulk will likely make it in, Kalas is pretty much out of luck. At best we can hope that Sakurai can include some of Baten Kaitos' stellar soundtrack.
*Level 5 as far as I know has not been contacted or contacted Sakurai in regards to Professor Layton.
*I don't think the view on Animal Crossing characters as fighters has changed. Unless there's some sort of underground fight club that Resetti runs in the new Animal Crossing, I don't think that will change so no playable Tom Nook.
*Square-Enix is surprisingly protective of Mario RPG characters, which is why all we've seen is Geno in SuperStar Saga as a cameo. I've heard rumors that it goes further than Smash...Nintendo apparently wanted to use him and other RPG characters in the Mario x SE games (like Sports Mix) but Square Enix wanted their well-known Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest characters instead and wouldn't let them.
* Bowser Jr. is now considered by Nintendo more or less as part of the Koopalings. Apparently that interferes with him being included, as he's been considered prior to the Koopalings returning, but now there's worry that including him and not the others isn't a good choice.
* No Sukapon, probably. Sakurai doesn't want to include Japanese-only characters unless they're known enough and have potential among Western audiences. The reason Takamaru is getting in is due to Nintendo Land, which is apparently the beginning of Nintendo's aim to introduce him to the west. I'd expect we'll see a 3D Classics Nazo no Murasame Jo released for the 3DS in the near future as part of this aim. Takamaru's character (a classic samurai) is also considered to be far more recognizable to foreign audiences than Sukapon.
* There's no plans to finish Toon Zelda, Tetra, Dixie, or Plusle and Minun, mostly revolving around the fact that their time has come, more or less, and they're dated. They were at once seriously considered, but dropped once the majority of the actual development began because they were expendable being less popular.
If there's a specific character you're wondering about, ask and I'll give you what I've heard. There's a lot of little tidbits regarding early roster ideas I've heard about, but most of this is older information and, like I said, probably on the cutting room floor. [/collapse]
[collapse="Page 17"] I believe Waluigi was chosen to be an AT for Brawl because he fit that role so well...it's his character to be "just good enough", you could say. He was never considered playable at any point for Brawl, and that hasn't changed.
I know Capcom does want a character in, but I doubt Resident Evil is what they're aiming for.
I don't think a new Fire Emblem character is going to happen. Krom isn't likely as he's considered too Marth-like in terms of his character and how that would translate into gameplay.
scottwritten posted...
@TC, Note, this is a test.
What have you heard in regards to Impa (Legend of Zelda)?
Is the test judging my knowledge of the Zelda-verse, in which we have old woman Impa in Zelda II, Muscular Impa in Ocarina, Fat Impa in Oracle, and two Impa, young and old, in Skyward Sword (and Impaz in Twilight Princess)?
I'm pretty sure there won't be an additional Zelda character if Ghirahim makes it, and if he doesn't, then it certainly won't be a character from Skyward Sword like Impa. Sheik will probably be redesigned and, yes, I'd say that they may draw inspiration from Impa for her new look. [/collapse]
[collapse="Page 23"] I wouldn't get your hopes up for Starfy. His series didn't make a substantial splash when it was given a non-Japanese release back in 2009, and there hasn't been anything done with the character since.
I'd say Saki/Isa Jo are in the same boat, Star Successor was pretty lackluster in terms of sales as well and there's no Sin and Punishment in the foreseeable future.
The period between Brawl and Smash 4 was their testing periods when it came to global audiences, and I don't think they met expectations. They could be given a second chance, but their games are getting older and older as time passes and they don't have the same longevity as big series installments like Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword. [/collapse]
[collapse="Page 24"] Starfy seems like the kind of franchise that Nintendo wants to drop, that they want to kill off... and it's really the kind of franchise that they never really attached themselves too much to anyhow, it being from a distant 2nd party, and them never using the franchise alongside any of their bigger names while doing cameos or references... I think Nintendo wants to forget about Starfy.
Sin & Punishment is in a similar boat, I don't think it's a franchise that Nintendo uses to represent itself in any way. Just another 2nd party, not the most successful, not a bomb either, but it's not something I see Nintendo sticking into the spotlight with a playable character.
Dillon? Hmmm... it's too new for us to know what Nintendo wants to do with it. It along with Pushmo are franchises Nintendo really did push for the e-shop service. If a sequel for Rolling Western rolls around then there may be a better chance of Dillon getting the playable status. The studio behind it is close with Nintendo, or so I hear (they developed the Tingle games, which, I mean, that's Zelda, that's really dang close with Nintendo), so it could be something that Nintendo will want to push and continue with... But a "maybe" is as far as I'm going to go, it's still too soon for it.
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