One of the great joys of waiting on a new Smash Brothers is the
rampant speculation and wishing for new characters to join the series. I
fall prey to this desire just like any other fan of the game, and have
come up with 10 characters I’d love to see in the newest iteration of
Smash. Without further ado, let’s get right to it.
Isaac: Golden Sun
These characters don’t appear in my order of interest, but if they
did Isaac would be near the top. Of all the characters on my list, this
powerful adept from Golden Sun is one of my most wanted. The series of
original RPG’s from the developer Camelot, is one of Nintendo’s IPs that
is criminally underused, and while I won’t likely see a Golden Sun 4
anytime soon, I’ll settle for an appearance on Smash Brothers. Using
powerful magic of the element of Earth, he is a force to be reckoned
with and would fit perfectly in Smash’s line up of fighters. He could be
unique using magic and various Djinn as his attacks with a powerful
summon from the newest title on the DS as his Final Smash.
Isaac is actually already featured in Smash Brothers Brawl as an
assist trophy, where he can briefly show up and tosses Psyenergy around,
much to your opponent’s chagrin. I think it’s time that he graduated to
full-fledged combatant in the next title.
Dillon: Dillon’s Rolling Western
Dillon featured in a eShop game that married frantic action with
tower defense. While Dillon might not be the most obvious choice for the
mascot brawler, I do think he’d be a fantastic fit. From the very first
time I played Dillon’s Rolling Western his aesthetic design, moves and
the world he played in simply made him feel like a Nintendo mascot
character from the very start. His moves could be problematic, as he
mostly rolls in a nature akin to that of Sonic, but they could add
attacks not seen in the game using those formidable claws and
appearances of the towers you could build in his own title. His Final
Smash could even feature some of the characters from the sequel to the
original game coming out to help the Armadillo bounty hunter.
Not only would Dillon be a great addition to the lineup, but I feel
that Nintendo needs to feature at least one character from their smaller
eShop games to show that they matter. It would bring a surge of
popularity to the brand and maybe even open it up for bigger expanded
games on future platforms. It’s an all-around win for everyone involved.
Make it happen Nintendo.
Shulk: Xenoblade Chronicles
While the developers of this game aren’t owned by Nintendo, the game
company published the rare and fantastic RPG Xenoblade Chronicles. Shulk
seemed to be the typical plucky hero, but turned out to be a brave and
capable fighter that owned a mythical blade named the Monado. Shulk is
somewhat of a long shot to appear in the game I would imagine, but he is
one of the most requested characters from the Japanese players and that
is how Sonic was chosen as a fighter last time; so anything is
possible. Shulk could use the various powered attacks of the Monado, as
well as other skills that he gains throughout the game, to destroy his
opponents. His final smash could be the huge powered up version of the
Monado that he uses to take down the Mechon.
Not only would this drive Japanese and North American RPG fans crazy,
but it would also do well to hype Monolith Soft’s next big exclusive on
the Wii U, the fantastic looking X.
Shovel Knight
I know this is a bit of a long shot, since Sakurai said himself that
he wouldn’t be featuring a ton of third party characters. However, there
are a multitude of reasons why I think that this Kickstarter success
should earn a slot in the next Smash Brothers. First off Shovel Knight
is just plain cool and the game already seems to have reached a level of
quality seldom seen in platformers outside of Nintendo. Yacht Club
Games clearly has a deep love for Nintendo as their game is a virtual
love letter to games of the NES era AND the Wii U and 3DS are the only
consoles outside of PC/Mac that the game will be coming to. Sure there
are other Kickstarters that have similar love for Nintendo, but Shovel
Knight is arguably the most popular and well known.
With his trusty shovel our knight could cut enemies down to size
featuring the move sets shown in various videos. Since I haven’t played
the game I really couldn’t come up with a Final Smash just yet, but I’m
sure the two companies can work together to make this epic. The final
reason that the character should make the game is the best one for
Nintendo. Putting Shovel Knight in would clearly state that Nintendo
supports indies and their games and end up in a massive boost to sales
of the game when it does hit those platforms. Showing such love to indie
developers, who have enjoyed a huge surge of popularity recently, could
only be good for Nintendo in the long run and could lead to more than a
few exclusives.
Chrom: Fire Emblem Awakening
We’ve had Marth, Roy and then Ike featured in all the different Smash
Brothers, so it’s time for my favorite character in Brawl, Ike, to step
aside and let Chrom take the stage. The Falchion wielding hero of the
newest iteration of Fire Emblem Awakening is arguably the best designed
and the most likable of any heroes that have come before. He is noble
and self-sacrificing, without being whiny and pretentious about it, and
is a strong warrior with a great aesthetic design. Seeing how Ike plays
is a clear indication of how Chrom could play, with a little more
dexterity added to the mix.
This one is all but guaranteed I would assume, as the newest Fire
Emblem characters have seemed to always star in the game. While I’d hate
to see Ike go, Chrom is from a game that had great sales and because of
that is the arguably the most recognized character from the series.
I’ll be shocked if this one doesn’t happen.
Geno: Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars
Ok, so I know this one is a long shot. Geno comes from the tried and
true Super Mario RPG from the SNES era, and has always been a fan
favorite. It was an odd team up between Nintendo and the company that
used to be Squaresoft, and it was so different from the Paper Mario and
Mario and Luigi games we have now, that it still stands a unique and
worthwhile game to this day. Geno was a star being who took the form of a
wooden doll that played a sage-like figure to Mario and crew. He was a
powerful ally that had an array of devestating moves, including the
highest damaging ability in the game: Geno Whirl. It’s not hard to
imagine Geno throwing out his variety of attacks with one of his more
powerful spells as a Final Smash.
Unfortantely there seems to be a license problem with this character,
because Square Enix currently owns the copyright. There is a sliver of
hope though, Geno recently appeared as a cameo in Mario and Luigi
Superstar Saga where he starred as a host of a minigame. Heck, if we
can’t get Geno I’d even settle for Mallow. Fingers crossed.
Simon Belmont: Castlevania
The original vampire slayer in the video game realm debuted in 1986,
and Simon Belmont didn’t even need swords or guns to take on all the
evil creatures; simply a whip. While this qualifies as another third
party character, it’s hard to imagine another character that screams
Nintendo as much as Simon Belmont. He helped to build the NES and was
the star of an essential game in it’s catalog of hits. With another NES
pillar recently announced in Mega Man, it’s hard not to hope for this
brave Belmont. Seeing him using his whip, knives and holy water to take
on the other Nintendo mascots would be a lot of gamers dream come true.
This one isn’t that far fetched honestly. Konami has worked with
Masahiro Sakurai and team before, with Solid Snake being in the game
previously. I wouldn’t even mind if they replaced Snake with Simon since
the modern warrior has had his share in the spotlight. It’s time for a
Belmont to show all these sparkly vampires whose the boss.
Little Mac: Punch Out
Little Mac is another character that featured in Smash Brothers Brawl
as an assist trophy. Seeing the short underdog spring to life in the
brawler and not being able to play him was more than I could bear. With
his small stature and can do attitude the boxer could take on all
comers, and with his uppercuts and jabs he could put a KO on the
toughest of opponents. I could even see the Final Smash he uses moving
into the old behind the shoulder view with the player taking shots at
all the other combatants.
King Hippo would be another good choice for the franchise, but either
way it needs to be represented. After all how can you have a fighting
game without having your premier boxer?
Wonder Red: Wonderful 101
While I was tempted to toss Bayonetta on here, the newest super hero
from Platinum Games seemed like the perfect fit. While it might be
difficult to add in his followers in a meaningful way, it would be a
challenge I bet Nintendo and Namco Bandai would be up to. A Final Smash
could be a combination of all the heroes filling the screen and
performing the various super attacks in the game.
This one probably won’t happen, but it has a better chance then some
on the list. It would not only promote the title and strengthen
Nintendo’s relationship with Platinum Games, but provide gamers a chance
to play with the protagonist of what looks to be a strong upcoming Wii U
title.
Oliver: Ni No Kuni
This one is an entirely selfish entry. It isn’t far fetched to
believe that Namco Bandai, the studio tasked with developing the newest
Smash Brothers, would have a character from one of their games as a
challenger. While most people clamor for Pac-Man or a Tales fighter, I
can’t help but hope and wish for Oliver from Ni No Kuni. “But Daniel, Ni
No Kuni is a PS3 exclusive, why would they ever put him on the Wii U
and 3DS?” one might ask. To them I would say they were only partially
right. Ni No Kuni may have indeed been a PS3 exclusive here in the
States, but in Japan a DS version was released. Not only that, but
Nintendo has a strong relationship with Level 5. The developer is not
only responsible for the very popular Professor Layton games, but also
Inazuma Eleven: a game that overseas is a big deal.
While the chances are still slim it’s hard not to hope for Oliver in the game. It was clearly
one of my favorite RPG’s of this generation and we need another mage
type character in the series. Seeing Oliver unleash a huge fireball as a
Final Smash would be my gaming dream come true.
While I could have certainly expanded this list and added much more
characters, I wanted to keep it to a decent number of fighters that have
ties to Nintendo in some way. See anyone on the list you like? Does it
feature your favorite characters you’d like to see in Smash? Let us know
in the comments below who’d you like to see fill out the roster and
stay tuned to TheParanoidGamer as we bring you the latest on all things
Smash.
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