#i hope people like the captains as much as i do when pikmin 4 comes out

[belowthesundial]

not me checking the tags of a character everyday only to see nothing

[smashingatsonicspeed]

Returning Franchise/Groups Thoughts

Before I start talking potential newcomers (Though I will at least touch on it a little here) it’s time I give my thoughts on what could happen with each of the series that were in Smash 4 and if anything changes in representation. I’ve said before that I don’t expect too many cuts so most of this is mainly that franchises are keeping where they are but I’ll still try to make a special note with each one

Mario

I don’t really expect anyone in the Mario series to get cut. They’ve pretty much nailed the representation for the most part with the original characters they’ve gotten. Maybe Dr. Mario has a shot at being demoted to alt, but depending just how much ported over the roster ends up. He might stay anyway.

I also suspect that unless Captain Toad (Or any variation of Toad) is a Newcomer in this Smash. We won’t be getting any more Mario characters. No offense to supporters of Waluigi, Paper Mario, or Daisy. But I don’t think it’s time for them.

Yoshi

Yoshi’s probably going to remain solo. The only candidates that could feasibly be a 2nd Yoshi rep is the Baby Mario Bros. and Kamek. Neither of which I think are that popular really

Wario

I also think Wario’s going to remain solo. There’s going to be some hope for Ashley thanks to Warioware Gold. But realistically I think the only chance Wario gets a 2nd rep is if they decide to cheat the system a little and count Waluigi as a Wario rep.

Donkey Kong

Obviously both DK and Diddy will return. And this is also one of the franchises I suspect will just have to get a rep in this game. Whether it be King K. Rool, Dixie Kong, or even both

Retro (That is Mr. Game & Watch, Duck Hunt, and ROB)

I assume all 3 retro characters will return. With a good chance the Ice Climbers take their long awaited return assuming 8 Player Smash doesn’t cause trouble with them. As for any new retros, who knows. They seem to pop up one each new game. So maybe Takamaru will get to join this time around or something. But who knows what Sakurai will have in mind here

Zelda

Everyone from the previous game should return here. Only questions is if Shiek will return to being a transformation or not. Link is obviously going to be BOTW styled but will that mean any moveset changes? We won’t know until we see actual footage of Link. Zelda will probably also be BOTW styled. Though Ganondorf didn’t have his Gerudo form in BOTW. So either they stay with his Smash 4/Twilight Princess design, make a What If BOTW styled Ganondorf, or even make him in Hyrule Warriors style. As for any new characters, I think by now any chances of a character that isn’t some alternate version of the trio isn’t going to get playable. Those hoping for any of the guardians will probably get the same disappointment that those people hoping for Skill Kid, Midna, or Impa got.

Metroid

Samus and Zero Suit Samus will obviously return. Though like Shiek the question is if they remain separate characters. But of course what is always going to be a big topic discussion is if anyone’s joining. Obviously Ridley’s going to be debated once again. But I think a dark horse (no pun intended) could be Dark Samus given Metroid Prime 4 is coming. Dark Samus would definitely be much better received then Dark Pit was. Even if Dark Samus turned out to be somewhat cloned from Samus. It’d at least be something. Even if it’s not the big bone that Ridley would be.

Kid Icarus

I don’t think they’ll be adding more. Much like Dr. Mario, maybe Dark Pit gets demoted to Alt. But as much as I’d like that there’s an equal chance they’ll keep him around anyway. I suppose another question would be about Palutena’s Custom Moves. We don’t know if Custom Moves will return. Given the DLC characters were not given any, that may be a sign they’re on their way out. And if Palutena’s stuck with her default Smash 4 moveset? That’ll suck for Palutena players, because some of her actual good moves are hidden in those.

Fire Emblem

Ah yes the franchise almost everybody complains about their representation. I think for the most part everyone in the previous game will return. Yes even Lucina, Roy, and Corrin. If Dr. Mario and Dark Pit get demoted maybe Lucina does too but I just don’t know. Lucia’s actually kinda popular. And they bothered to bring back Roy from Melee so I don’t know why they’d leave him out again. And I feel Corrin’s a bit of an early bird. He/she would of probably been a newcomer for this game, but instead he got into Smash earlier then we thought he/she would. I think that because I suspect everybody comes back, we may get no more additional Fire Emblem characters this time just to give it a break. Maybe the next Fire Emblem’s protagonist gets in through DLC but otherwise I don’t expect any new Fire Emblem characters from the get go.

Kirby

All Kirby Characters should return being Sakurai’s pride and joy. Don’t know if it’ll get a 4th character or if it’s even necessary to have one, but if they do. It’s probably Bandana Waddle Dee

Punch-Out!!

Little Mac will likely remain solo. Don’t see them suddenly adding another. That is unless… Mike Tyson enters the ring O: (Nah, I’m kidding. Though it would be hilarious)

Star Fox

This one’s going to be a little difficult to figure out. I think both Fox and Falco are safe. But the question is if Wolf will finally make his come back after missing out on Smash 4. Star Fox Zero didn’t do as well as some hoped, so there’s ground for maybe Star Fox remaining where it is. That said maybe they’d save Wolf for DLC to have that hype return like Mewtwo and Lucas was for many. Any other choices likely already missed their chance. Including Krystal.

Pokemon

Pokemon is the franchise that has historically had the most cuts within Smash. So this is incredibly hard to predict. The Pokemon company has been said to be actually a little difficult for Sakurai to deal with. For now I think everyone that was in Smash 4 should return. With the likeliest newcomer being Decidueye to complete the fire-grass-water trio that has left a hole ever since Pokemon Trainer being cut down to just Charizard. Possibly a Gen 8 newcomer for DLC.

Earthbound

Ness and Lucas should be here to stay. Don’t think there need to be any additions from here on out

F-Zero

Captain Falcon without any new games still will remain the only F-Zero character. And that’s just fine.

Animal Crossing

I think Villager stays solo. Though a small chance that maybe Tom Nook, Isabelle, or even Mr. Restti comes into the picture.

Pikmin

If there was any chance Pikmin was going to grow beyond Olimar. It’s too late as Alph is simply an alt. So other then maybe other Pikmin characters also being Alts. Olimar will be solo. Though the real question is how many Pikmin will he have this time. He could have only three at a time in Smash 4. But up to 6 in Brawl

Wii Fit

If there’s any chance at all that for the first time a new series is cut for a reason other then 3rd party issues (Metal Gear) and technical problems (Ice Climbers) then Wii Fit would probably be first on the chopping block. But I doubt they cut her out as much as some will probably be clamoring for it.

Xenoblade

I highly expect Shulk to make it back. And a good chance he’s joined in with Rex from Xenoblade 2. Shulk will likely be the Marth of the Xenoblade franchise I feel.

Miis

I think they are more likely to return in some way. Though admittedly custom moves at least leaves them a little bit in Limbo. But I just don’t see why they’d cut them. The Miis allowed for those who are young (or young at heart) to include real-life characters, impossible ones, or extremely unlikely ones to at least kinda satisfy them. It’d be kind of disappointed to go to this game without that option to create your fighter. Even if Custom Moves is largely removed, I hope the Mii Fighters still return and maybe they’re the only characters with Custom Moves. Even if that comes into conflict with Palutena.

3rd Parties

Now this is the interesting part. I think Sonic, Megaman, and Bayonetta are absolutely safe. All 3 of them have had significant releases or upcoming releases on the Switch. Plus they’d all risk alienating the fanbase should either of them be dropped because they were all included by fan demand of some sort. I think Pac-Man and Ryu are in the middle in they probably will return. I think even if Namco isn’t helping out as much as they did with the last one Pac-Man may stay anyway and if they get Megaman might as well get Ryu again too but they have some degree of doubt compared to the 3 I already mentioned. Cloud’s probably the most likely 3rd Party to leave only because I heard Square can be stingy (I mean we did only get two songs for Final Fantasy. Which is kinda ridiculous). But given that Square isn’t at odds with Nintendo right now and the Switch is selling well. I don’t see why Square wouldn’t love the free promotion for Cloud whether or not the FF7 Remake comes to the Switch. While the risk is always there, I think we’re slightly more likely to actually keep everyone along only because 3rd Parties have gotten huge. Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprised if by the time development has finished and all the DLC released. We have 10 or more 3rd Party characters playable. As for likely newcomers? I think the most likely BASE GAME 3rd party is probably Rayman. While Crash Bandicoot might be a strong DLC candidate.

And that’s all for now, if there’s something that’s announced that leaves some evaluation I may do another post like this. Probably at least a post based on this when the base game’s roster has been revealed when we know who’s returned for the base game and who didn’t. Coming next I will start covering potential newcomers and/or veterans that weren’t in Smash 4 in posts of their own soon enough.