Last Minute SSB4 Roster Predictions!!

by SaikyoBro on Jun 7th, 2013

It’s insane to think that in about 3 days, we’re actually going to be seeing this game. People have been talking about the possibilities since Brawl came out and the conversations have only gotten bigger over time. Now that we’re so close to seeing the game in motion, I think it’s time to put in any last minute bets on how the game is going to be…and by the game I mean the roster, because that’s the only REALLY important part, right?! Here’s a picture of the roster I’ve come up with:

In terms of numbers, I think the most reasonable amount is anywhere between 45 and 50. Anything beyond that just seems excessive to me. I think the approach with this game will have a bigger focus on representing miscellaneous series as opposed to expanding on series we already have (for example, I think we’ve got a better chance of seeing newer characters like Dillon and Shulk than another Starfox or Mother character). With that out of the way, I’ll be addressing the series one at a time.

For Mario characters, it could go either way. You could justify adding Bowser Jr. or Paper Mario or several other characters (besides Waluigi), but I think honestly adding another Mario character is just redundant and doesn’t represent any particularly important part of the franchise. Bowser Jr. and Paper Mario are both unique and would have fun movesets, but they just aren’t very exciting. While Bowser Jr. is important to the story in pretty much every recent Mario game, his role almost never goes beyond that of a recurring mini boss and certainly never surpasses that of Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Bowser. Adding a character like him just makes it look like you’ve run out of the really important ones. Paper Mario I think is a better choice since we don’t currently have anyone specifically representing the RPGs, but truthfully the major players in those games are the same as they are in the other Mario games, and the same as we’ve seen in Smash. It just seems unnecessary.

The Mario spin-off series (Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario) don’t offer many good choices if you ask me. I mean, what are your options? Baby Mario and Jimmy T.? The only real exception I think is King K. Rool, who I’ve decided to add to my roster. This character was very popular before Brawl came out, but in recent years his popularity has died down…a lot. However, I haven’t quite given up hope! For starters, his relevance to the DKC series is huge. He’s had a role as a final boss in 3 out of the 4 Donkey Kong Country games, as many times as Diddy Kong has been playable (interestingly enough, even more times than Donkey Kong himself has been playable). He’s present in pretty much every one of Donkey Kong’s spin-offs and even a few of Mario’s. His moveset would be really unique since he’s taken the form of a pirate, a mad scientist, and even a boxer, and honestly I just think he’s a good example of how you can do a villain that provides comic relief without being a complete joke himself. The only Donkey Kong games he’s not been in are the recent Returns and Returns 3D, as well as a few other oddball games like Jungle Beat, but other than that it’s almost always a safe bet that you’ll have K. Rool as the final boss in any DK game you play. Because of his long-running and important roles, I think K. Rool definitely deserves a shot.

Afterward, you get to the Zelda series, which I would argue that like Mario, doesn’t need a new character. Why? Because the recurring and important characters are all there already. You sometimes see characters like Vaati or Ghirahim, but honestly any Zelda besides Ganondorf is usually just a one-time thing. The only decent choices for the series I think are Impa and Toon Zelda, but adding them just seems weird to me and I’d much prefer leaving this series the way it is.

Next up, the only third party character I added: Pac-Man! Namco is working on Smash 4. This doesn’t confirm him on its own, but I don’t think there’s any reason to be surprised if their influence carries over to a slot on the roster. And what better character to represent them than their own long-time mascot Pac-Man? What can you say about him? He’s one of the most popular and iconic video game characters there’s ever been, and he’s managed to stay relevant today with games, cameos, and even a brand new cartoon. I’d say he’s the most (and if you ask me, only) likely 3^rd party character.

For Pokemon, I added Mewtwo as a playable character (replacing Lucario). I’m really, really glad there’s an excuse to bring him back. Some would say he was removed for a reason, his new form doesn’t suddenly make him all that important, or argue that another Gen 6 Pokemon is more suited for the role. However, I disagree. Even before he was given an increase in popularity and relevance thanks to his new form he was a very highly requested character. He represents a side of Pokemon that even Lucario or Zoroark fail to; the legendary Pokemon. His power unmatched, his intelligence off the charts! He’s even capable of speaking English! Err…telepathically…or something. Whatever! He’s an awesome fighter, a classic Pokemon, ridiculously popular, and with his new form, he represents the newest Pokemon generation. Is there any reason NOT to bring this character back? I would think his Awakened form would be included as a transformation special, but at this point seeing all of the roles that Mewtwo fills makes it hard to believe he won’t come back.

For Metroid, I added Ridley. Is he too big? Eh, probably, but they can work with it. Seeing as Metroid has been around since the 80’s and Samus has been in the Smash games since the N64 installment, I think representing the series in the form of another character is a good idea. Ridley’s importance to the series has been clear since its earliest installments, and honestly, who wouldn’t want to play as him? He’s managed to consistently stay important and offers a lot of unique properties that would be fun to see translated into a moveset. While you’d definitely need to resize him a little bit, it’s not like you’d have to make him ridiculously tiny or anything: he can still be the biggest character in the game, but just making him a bit smaller in order to make him a more practical character isn’t really asking too much when you consider his popularity and his importance in the Metroid games.

After going back and forth a bit, I added Palutena from Kid Icarus. While she wasn’t very important when Brawl came out, Uprising made her a major character in the KI series. She’s constantly talking to Pit, shows combat power, and isn’t too big at all (as shown by the SPOILER boss battle against her in Uprising.) While I’ve seen suggestions for Magnus, Hades, Medusa, etc., Palutena is the only one of them to remain important to the story throughout the entire game. I think she’d be really nice, and considering Uprising was a game made by Sakurai, her inclusion is pretty likely. Some would question Kid Icarus’s importance, but eh. It’s had as many games as Mother, and THAT has two characters.

This wasn’t really an easy choice, but I added Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Fire Emblem is still alive and well and could use a new rep. While it’s unfortunate that the protagonist of Awakening had to be ANOTHER blue-haired swordsman in a series known for such diversity, representing the newest game in the series probably can’t be done very well by anyone except the main character himself, Chrom. While he’s actually of relation to Marth, the two do fight using different skillsets and I believe could have very different movesets in Smash. While Ike’s a powerhouse and Marth is quick and technical, Chrom could be a fun and balanced middleground. While the three of them may not represent all the diversity Fire Emblem is known for, they do represent three very important stages in the series’ history, if you ask me. There’s room for all three of them I think.

Next, the miscellaneous characters, which I added 4 of. There was this really weird period of time between 2008 and 2010 where characters that were popular choices for Brawl ended up getting new games; Sin and Punishment, Punch-Out, Golden Sun, and even the first localized Starfy game. While all of them ended up being pretty well-received, it’s been several years and I think one of these series deserves a representative more-so than the others: Little Mac! Punch-Out is among the most iconic NES games there is, and its SNES sequel isn’t half-bad either. Its revival was a hit critically and, if you ask me, made Mac a little less generic; while he’s still not the most fleshed out of characters, his animations and interactions with Doc Louis and the other boxers make him a likable guy and his new design is awesome. While some would say he has a limited fighting style since he only really punches, I think this actually goes a long way in making him more unique. A professional fighter is something we’ve yet to see in the Smash universe and I think making him a quick, close-range fighter would be something fun and new. Throw in the mighty star punch, Giga Mac, and an alternate costume of his pink hoodie and I think we have a deal. I can’t speak too much about Shulk and Dillon since I haven’t actually played Xenoblade Chronicles or Dillon’s Rolling Western, but I do know that they’re both two brand new Nintendo IPs with unique designs and moves, so I think that kind of speaks for itself. I’d be surprised if we didn’t at least see one of them.

The last of these characters is the Mii, which I think is pretty logical at this point. Back in 2008 when Brawl came out they were basically the Wii’s custom avatars, which was cool, but didn’t really justify a playable character. But now it’s 2013 and these things are everywhere. If you have a multiplayer Wii game, it might as well be a rule to include the Mii. They’re in the newer Mario Kart games, the Mario and Sonic crossovers, Mario Party, they’re even the only playable characters in the 2011 Pilotwings reboot. They’re not just on Wii anymore, they’re on 3DS and Wii U as well, which tells me that their role isn’t so much that of a random generic avatar, but really, a piece of Nintendo history. You could easily give them a moveset from their appearances in Pilotwings and the Wii series, but with the rumors of customizable characters, it’s not an impossibility to think you’ll be able to give them a moveset of your own…

And lastly, the retro characters. I added two, Takamaru and Sukapon. Takamaru has, to my understanding, always been a favorite of Sakurai’s, and is (at least a little bit) more relevant thanks to the Nintendoland mini game. He’d have a fun, unique moveset that we haven’t really seen yet given that he’s a samurai and all. As for Sukapon, he’s kind of a historical character like Game & Watch and R.O.B. While Mr. G&W represents Nintendo’s oldest games, Sukapon represents their oldest FIGHTING game! His moveset is really clear cut while still being fun and interesting, and while he’s no household name, he’s a pretty popular choice to boot. If I remember correctly Sakurai said not to expect Sukapon in any Smash games back when Melee was in development, but since then he’s gained attention and popularity and I think he’s a viable choice.

The only other thing I feel like I should explain would be cutting characters, which I tried my best not to do. I’d say Lucario is the only one that’s definitely gotta go, but I also had to give Snake and Ike some serious consideration. While Snake’s moved on a lot with several new games, none of them have been on Nintendo systems lately at all. In Brawl he basically represented a GameCube port of a PS1 game, which is pretty weak, but keeping that version of Snake in SSB4 would be even weirder since that remake is almost 10 years old now. However, he’s seriously one of the biggest video game icons there is. He’s not just unique and popular in Brawl, his popularity reaches much further. In a way I think it’s more likely we’d see Big Boss since MGS3 recently had a 3DS remake, but if you have the opportunity to keep a character as popular and beloved as Snake, you should by all means take it. Ike I was considering replacing with Chrom, but having only Marth and Chrom gets you little diversity since the two of them are so similar. Having all 3 is still workable in my opinion and that’s what I decided to go with. Beyond that, every character represents something unique and important. Some of them could definitely use some moveset enhancements, but I think the line-up we had in Brawl was pretty good.

Beyond the roster it’s difficult predicting anything (besides stages…seriously, Wuhu Island, Cosmic Observatory, and Nintendoland are shoo-ins) so I’m not gonna bother. I trust that Sakurai and the team working on the game have learned from everything with Melee and Brawl and can totally make a great game by combining the best aspects of both. I’m just hoping we see it without a 3 month delay from the original release date.

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