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Strong gamer bias here. Parents and kids would *not* recognize Cloud or Ryu and many people confuse Link for Zelda.Like others have said, there would be some alterations. This is all taking into consideration that you're talking about 'people who play games, be it a variety or otherwise' versus those who don't. After all, Those people who don't 'know sports' are not going to recognize any names outside of those trending (this would apply to non-gaming individuals, or those who only play a close few, as well).
More Recognizables:
-Ryu is the face of fighting games. Even if you don't play Street Fighter, he's a known face.
- If you look at one Link, you'll look at the others and recognize them as Link.
- In the defense of Zelda? She is more recognizable in that her appearance i largely consistent...contrasting with Ganondorf/Ganon/Pig Ganon/Demise/ETC.
- Cloud is the face of the Final Fantasy Franchise, which has been all over the place and for a while now. Even if you don't know Final Fantasy (or remember the days when it didn't involve four kids driving a mercedes and fighting dragons), you likely recognize this spikey boi.
Megaman has been pretty popular lately among kids because of the TV show.I'd definitely put Mega Man under though, he is less iconic than all the other third partys besides the Belmont's and Bayo.
I try to look at it from the perspective of a parent who has barely played video games in their life. Anyone mildley into gaming would regonize Wario, Samus, Kirby, Cloud, Snake, Mewtwo, Duck Hunt, and Mega Man but I don't know if a parent would.
Seems like Sakurai agrees with the OP.Sakurai said:On surprising fans with unexpected characters like Piranha Plant…
I’m actually not paying too much focus on the surprise element when we introduce a new fighter. The surprise element quickly fades once the announcement has been made.
Rather, I believe it’s important to have a good balance as a game. In the past titles in the series, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B. and Duck Hunt Dog were some of the examples we offered outside of people’s typical expectations. However, if we don’t have these types of fighters, and we only had typical “hero/heroine” type fighters in the lineup, there’s not much difference. It’s probably not very interesting. Correct?
Also, unlike some main characters from some (not widely known) franchises, Piranha Plant is a character everyone knows well. And, I want to make sure to remind everyone that it is a limited-time offer fighter everyone can get for free as an early-purchase bonus.
Duck hunt and little Mac? I highly doubt that. Mario was played way more even in the 80’s than them. And most people who did play the game aren’t going to really recognize a character who they last played 30-40 years ago. Wii fit should be above, minis should be above, Pokémon Trainer should be above, but Link stays below IMO, though BOTW makes it tough to decide. Mega Man should be nowhere near the top. He’s no one compared to our leafy boi. Kirby honestly sells pretty poorly compared to what you may think. Is he recognizable to non gamers? To an extent yeah. Do more people know him than Piranha Plant? Eh, I doubt it.I agree with most of these. For the ones listed below Piranha Plant, it's not that those characters aren't unrecognizable to most people (although a lot of them are). It's just that Piranha Plant is more recognizable. A lot of people might recognize Ryu, but it's possible that more recognize Piranha Plant.
That being said, I do feel like some on the bottom should be on the top though. Maybe Duck Hunt and Little Mac due to how popular their games were in the 80's. Maybe also Wii Fit Trainer and the Miis, due to how popular Wii Fit and the Wii itself were. Would probably also put Ivysaur, Pokemon Trainer and the Links above Piranha Plant.
Duck Hunt was bundled alongside the first Mario Bros. game on the NES and that game sold hella copies like you wouldn't believe, so I'd say at the very least Duck Hunt is more recognizable or at least as-recognizable. You'd be surprised how many people, even if not born then, had siblings / parents / etc. that would've owned a copy of that. Plus the hatred for that dog extends well outside of the sphere of people who would've been the target demographic way-back-when in the 80's for some reason.. to the point where I've met several people who claimed to despise DHD even though they've never played Duck Hunt to see him laughing at you for failing.Duck hunt and little Mac? I highly doubt that. Mario was played way more even in the 80’s than them. And most people who did play the game aren’t going to really recognize a character who they last played 30-40 years ago. Wii fit should be above, minis should be above, Pokémon Trainer should be above, but Link stays below IMO, though BOTW makes it tough to decide. Mega Man should be nowhere near the top. He’s no one compared to our leafy boi. Kirby honestly sells pretty poorly compared to what you may think. Is he recognizable to non gamers? To an extent yeah. Do more people know him than Piranha Plant? Eh, I doubt it.
Pretty much, though I'm unsure why Daisy is on the lower tier. I know people don't know Daisy like they know Peach, but given Daisy is literally just a palette swap I'd be willing to bet that most people who could recognize Peach would still be able to associate her with Mario and Nintendo to some degree.This list shows that you could kind of make an entire roster out of Mario characters.
Problem is, a lot would probably just call her Peach, and that doesn't count.Pretty much, though I'm unsure why Daisy is on the lower tier. I know people don't know Daisy like they know Peach, but given Daisy is literally just a palette swap I'd be willing to bet that most people who could recognize Peach would still be able to associate her with Mario and Nintendo to some degree.
Yeah, but he's not Ash, so that would be mistaken identity.Just curious, what makes you think Squirtle and Charizard are more recognizable but not Ivysaur? Personally I would just throw in the trainer since he looks almost identical to Ash.
I'd say that still counts for something, being able to associate something with its franchise is better than the good old 'huh?' a lot would give.Yeah, but he's not Ash, so that would be mistaken identity.
And then there's Rosalina, who a lot of non-gamers will mistake for Elsa...Mistaken identity is still bad if not worse. It's probably a big reason as to why Daisy wouldn't make it higher, because she could be mistaken as Peach and doesn't have enough notoriety for the layman to separate the two just seeing Mario style princess in a dress and therefore assuming Peach. I would say to be truly recognizable, people need to know who the character actually is.
I'm not denying that, simply asserting that being mistakenly identified (but still associated with the series they're from) is better than an outright 'huh?' from someone who doesn't recognize them on any level.Mistaken identity is still bad if not worse. It's probably a big reason as to why Daisy wouldn't make it higher, because she could be mistaken as Peach and doesn't have enough notoriety for the layman to separate the two just seeing Mario style princess in a dress and therefore assuming Peach. I would say to be truly recognizable, people need to know who the character actually is.
Plant gang