Actually, that's a good question...Flip, any idea what Sakurai thinks of MJ? (No, not
that MJ...sickos.
).
Other than my crazy dream where Star Tropics became one of the most downloaded games on VC and got another sequel for the Wii and massive Brawl rep, he's said nothing
NSiders forums is littered with n00bs and guys who are in their early to mid teens, so they have no frigging clue what Star Tropics is. The only NES games they "recall" are the ones they played with their older siblings (of which their memory isn't that clear, probably), the really popular ones that everybody knows, or the ones that got rehashed recently. You can tell so easily that the NSiders forums will be the death of fan requests in Smash Bros. All they want is that POS Sonic and Waluigi and Wolf, and then OCCASSIONALLY someone will mention like... Mach Rider or Takamaru, and get flamed or empty support.
Anyways... the Japanese don't really know Star Tropics exists, so it wasn't mentioned on their polls at all either.
HOWEVER, Punch-Out IS heavily requested from both sides, and, that being a largely American influenced game, HAS piqued Sakurai's interest. And, considering Star Tropics is also heavily American and was developed by the same team, Sakurai I'm sure has at least knowledge that the series exists. NOA is apparently putting a decently sized hand into this, bigger than they had in Melee, by sharing suggestions from fans, and rumor persists that many NOA reps do regularly surf fan forums outside of NSiders (esp. Gamefaqs and IGN). Sadly, they ALSO have ****ty suggestions, but I would not be surprised if at least a few people saw these forums and some Mike support.
Like I said, Star Tropics is very very popular with American gamers who remember the NES. I think it's up to all of us to spread that love. Somebody go to NSiders and push Mike. Heavily. Use my moveset and my picture, I don't care. But I think Sakurai needs to realize that there are intelligent fans out there, who want intelligent and faithful inclusions. Mike would be a fantastic addition to the Smash cast, and would definitely reinterest a lot of older gamers. I know a few already who would play Smash more often if they had more vintage characters, LIKE Mike.
The game cannot be filled by using ONLY new and popular characters. That's not the spirit of Smash Bros. Would we have Ness, or Samus, or Captain Falcon in the original? Ice Climbers and Game and Watch in Melee? Or even Marth and Roy in the US release of Melee? The series represents ALL of Nintendo's history and franchises, not just the ones people recognize. While it makes sense Mario gets more rep than, say, Star Fox, it DOESN'T make sense that Star Fox gets more inclusions than Pokemon, or that a popular franchise such as Pokemon has so many new additions it outweighs BRAND NEW franchises. Just because a few fans don't like the idea of Pit doesn't mean he won't be successful. Kid Icarus was just as deserving a franchise as Zelda, as is the same with Wario Ware, as is the same with Mother, as is the same with any other you can come up with. Every game has its fans, and Smash is the game that brings them together. You can't shaft one group just because the others are more vocal. Didn't we learn anything from past generations of human civilization?
And so, by dissing characters like Mike who are decently worthy, Nintendo would be in effect dissing its fanbase. They deserve to be educated and rewarded for their devotion over all these years, wouldn't you say?
Sorry to go off on a rant like that. I was on a roll
).
