WMG / There Will Be Brawl

There are unmarked spoilers below.

Who is the Butcher?

Master Hand is So Obviously the Murderer

It's The Un-Twist we've all been waiting for.

Jigglypuff is the murderer.

Jigglypuff is the only SSB character that has yet to appear, even though it has been a playable character since the original. This also adds some irony to Mewtwo being shoved in a Poké Ball.

• Technically, it HAS shown up. It was on Red's shoulder before being hidden in his backpack when the Mario Brothers confronted him about Wario's whereabouts. Doesn't take away from your theory, though.
  • Jossed as of Episode 9, Red was just training it to sing for Luigi.
    • Which means she's Chekhov's Gun. She has to be.
    • Confirmed! Leaf uses it to attack Wario.
    • She appeared to be dead when Red handed her to Luigi. The whole thing might just a Red Herring to make viewers feel bad for suspecting poor, innocent Red.
    • I dunno, HP is a Jigglypuff's strong point. And Red would have properly trained it.
    • It has Xs for eyes.
    • Waluigi used "Pikmen" bomb. It is super effective. Jiggypuff has fainted.
    • Red has no more usable Pokémon! Red whited out . . . forever. *sob*
    • I fucking told you she was Chekhov's Gun.

Link and Zelda are behind everything.

Hyrule collapsed and was taken over by the Mushroom Kingdom. Link and Zelda would NOT have been happy about that, particularly since they have no respect for Peach whatsoever. So they've arranged for Bowser to kidnap her and for all the murders so they could take over the Mushroom Kingdom, Link through the police, Zelda by being crowned 'acting' princess. Once she's crowned, Peach would 'conveniently' be found dead, solidifying their rise to power.

• It's been confirmed that Zelda is reaching for the throne permamently, but nothing else has been confirmed yet.
  • Jossed

Tabuu is the murderer.

Well, he was behind everything in SSBB anyway...

• So would Tabuu be a Corrupt Corporate Executive in this world?
  • Jossed

Red is the murderer.

When he meets Luigi's group in episode 6 he is seen disposing of something in a bin and acts rather suspicious. Mewtwo's remains were even found inside a Poké Ball.

• Or, alternately, working with the first WMG, Jigglypuff is the murderer, Red its accomplice, since Red was seen hiding Jigglypuff from the Mario Brothers in his backpack.
• There is another interesting point. Remember when Peach went to Kirby with the envelope, Squirtle was also there, a sentry perhaps? Perhaps he knew Kirby would know something and had someone on the lookout for people trying to glean information from him.
  • Jossed after Red was killed

Meta Knight is the murderer

• If Link didn't order the raid the murderer used to cover killing Dedede, then it seems likely the murderer is someone prominent on the police force. Meta Knight also fits the characteristics Luigi outlines in the latest episode: very good with a blade, and able to disappear into thin air. Kirby points out that Meta Knight has 'come to understand [him] very well'. This could mean he's a very competent guard who's on to Kirby's mind games—or it could mean that Meta Knight's obsession with Kirby has twisted his own mind in a similar fashion.
  • It would also fit with Kirby's hints that the murderer hates the outsides of other people, since Meta-knight would hate his own resemblance to Kirby (which would match the Silence of the Lambs parallel; where Jame Gumb wants to have a lady suit, Meta-knight wants a normal person suit). In fact, Kirby's dialogue throughout his whole conversation with Luigi hints that Meta-knight is the murderer. The reason Meta-knight would want to kidnap Peach and kill the mob leaders to start a war would be because of his hatred for the Mushroom Kingdom (his kidnap of Peach also corresponding to her meeting with Kirby; he feared Kirby would figure things out and tell her); his own home fell apart while he was pursuing Kirby, it was annexed by the Kingdom he was trying to save from a cannibalistic murderer, and after all of that, he still didn't get to be the one to take Kirby down, having to watch while others defeated him while he was forced to act as Kirby's guardsman thereafter. To add insult to injury, he then saw that same Kingdom and its heroes fall apart, with the pressure (combined with his own self-loathing and proximity to Kirby) being more than he could take.
    • He Who Fights Monsters
• Not only that, but he also freed Kirby. If Kirby really had the power to escape on his own as easily as he did in episode 7, there's no way he would have remained in custody for this long. Kirby was coming closer and closer to revealing the identity of the killer while Meta Knight was chaperoning the meeting. Therefore, Meta Knight quickly freed Kirby for two reasons: to finally have his chance to kill that bastard, and because doing so would keep Kirby quiet.
  • He would have done that before Luigi even had the chance to make contact with Kirby than. Mario provides the easiest answer.

Mario: Heh, all it takes is one Master Key to open up all the cells. That's a Hyrulian for you.

• If what he said is correct said key would of also opened up Kirby's cell as it opened up everyone elses.
• Unless there's something magical about standing in the space just outside of his cell that doesn't apply to the space just inside it, that wouldn't explain how he was apparently able to remove his mask without assistance.

• Jossed. Turns out Meta Knight was killed and not Kirby.

Everybody Did It

• Samus, Red, Meta Knight, Link, and Zelda, they're all acting suspicious. They were all in on it.
  • Jossed.

Nobody Did It

• How do we know Mewtwo's dead? Some guts in a Poké Ball. How do we know Dedede's dead? A pile of guts with a mallet sticking out of it. Riiiight.
  • Piles of guts that have been positively identified as belonging to them. How long can YOU survive without your internal organs?
  • Jossed

The question now is why are they faking their deaths? Who gains from the resulting anarchy and mob war? Have they aligned with Bowser, or with Ganondorf as a way to lure in King Koopa for a smashing? Or are they working with a third, as of yet unrevealed faction?

• Yoshi's death is going to be pretty hard to disprove.
• Jossed

Lucario is the murderer.

The first murder was Mewtwo (who Lucario replaces), Lucario has the strength to bash Dedede's skull but also the technique Extreme Speed to get away. Red has been acting suspicious, possibly an accomplice or the brain behind it (controlling Lucario using a Poké Ball). The main problem is Pichu's death really. Mewtwo is understandable, Pichu not so much.

• As a Pokémon, Pichu was under Mewtwo's protection; maybe he walked in on the murder scene, so the killer offed him to to cover his/her tracks.
• Jossed

Mewtwo is the murderer.

All the killer leaves is internal organs, a clever way to not make it easy to figure out if the dead person is the real deal. Mewtwo faked his own death so he wouldn't be suspected, then started killing the other dons. After, he plans painting himself blue and returning to take over under the guise "Lucario" to take over, thinking his superior brain will allow him to rule far better and to create a 'Pokémon kingdom'.

• CLOSE! Mewtwo cultivated the two that ended up being the murderers.

Dark Pit is the murderer.

In SSBB, there is a alternative costume of Pit in black with black wings, dubbed 'Dark Pit' in some circles. Dark Pit would use the same weapons as Pit (which are swords) and as he's one of the quicker fighters, be able to escape easily. Now, the question is: Is Dark Pit his own entity or does the Pit we know and love have a split personality?

• Alternatively, Cel-shaded Link is the only distinct Brawl character who has not been seen or referred to in the series yet. Link could be the one with a split personality (along the lines of a Psychopathic Man Child) who's murdering everyone.
  • Toon Link or Dark Link. Either works.
  • Why not Dark Toon Link? He's got more than enough Nightmare Fuel for this series.
  • Supported thus far by Ganondorf being the man behind the Mafia killings and Blackest Pitch, as well as the hinted relationship between him and Zelda. It's quite possible that Toon Link/Dark Toon Link is the Butcher.
• Jossed

Mario is the murderer.

Though he doesn't know it. The killer is someone enraged after the loss of his practice, and someone who's handy with a scalpel. Someone who simply... disappears, leaving a confused Mario with a gap in his memories. Look out world: Dr. Mario is in town.

• Jossed

Kirby's still alive.

All they found was a burnt corpse and Meta Knight nowhere to be found, it just begs to think that Kirby killed Meta Knight, took his armor and weapons, then set the corpse on fire. Now there's two killers on the loose...

• Except Mario tells the cultists he saw the body's face.
  • Not quite...he says he saw "the Cannibal's" face "burned to the bone." All he saw, then, was a skull, and since nobody knows what Meta Knight's face looks like anyway...
    • When we see Meta Knights face in the game, he looks a hell of a lot like Kirby. Take that as you will, but I agree with the OP.
    • Possibly confirmed or at least suspected in-world; with Luigi in episode 9 saying that Kirby was on the loose. This might be because he hasn't talked to his brother yet, though.
    • Confirmed! Kirby is still alive and yes, he did take his armor and weapons.

Princess Peach is Alive and Hiding Amongst the Foreigners of Old Town.

One will notice that in Episode 8, amongst the throngs of the foreigners and destitute that the End of Days, (Olimar) has gathered together for his cult, there is a blanketed figure in the front row that gets quite a number of views and even a close-up. While the face is most conceled, that eye is rather familiar. If it is Peach, a probable reason for hiding her face is she's either been disfigured, amnesiac from an attack on her, (possibly both) or is doing her own investigation and is trying to hide herself as she would stand out too much otherwise to make her efforts effective.

• Jossed. Ness and Lucas gave her the same fate as the other victims.

There are actually two killers.

Ok, so we have the death of Roy, Pichu, and later Yoshi, probably from some sort of psychopath - the Ice Climbers Perhaps? Considering that Wario doesn't let them go home with him, leaving a time they are unaccounted for. Not to mention their appearance in episode eight... Someone (most likely an important figure who could gain power from it) hears of this, and kills the Dons in similar ways to create confusion.

• Well, there ARE two killers, but they're not in it for the power. So Confirmed!

Olimar is not only alive, but preparing a Final Smash.

That thing he took with him at the end of Episode 8 looks suspiciously like a Smash Ball.

• So agree, Olimar's actions at the end of 8 is so going to play a huge part on the final battle in episode 10 or I'll eat, my own underwear!
  • Yep. But the GW's cherry pick it before Olimar has a chance to blast off.

Waluigi is the Murderer.

He's not as stupid as he looks. Either Wario's fooled, or he's in on it.

• Worse alternative: he is as stupid as he looks, and just doesn't know the difference between right and wrong well enough to realize what he's done.
• Jossed

Peach is the Murderer.

It's unlikely, sure. But years of being more than trophy (no pun intended) for Bowser and Mario to fight over, being little more than a rebound for Luigi, and being in charge of a crumbling kingdom's pushed her over the edge. While everyone fights their own battles and makes assumptions, she can sit back, kill whomever has the moral fiber to pick up the pieces of the kingdom, and watch it burn to the ground.

• This idea scares me because while unlikely, it's no less possible then any other ideas about the Murderer.
• Or she's pulling Ganondorf's strings in order to avoid getting blood on her own hands, and is motivated more by a Utopia Justifies the Means Lawful Evil mission, rather than just wanted to destroy the kingdom.
  • Jossed

Sonic is the Murderer

I am honestly shocked not to see it on this page, since I had thought it almost painfully obvious. We know exactly three things about the Murderer: (1) they appear to be omnicidal, having attacked every power block save Bowser (and several people point out that even he was never this crazy). (2) they are very, very fast, able to kill, skin, and pile up the remains of Dedede in less than a minute. And (3) they must be a Brawl character. Who's the lightning-fast Brawl character who has reason to hate everything from Nintendo?

• I would be inclined to believe that, but we already saw Sonic. He's a destitute, insane immigrant. He's also, you know, in a wheelchair.
• I would be far more inclined to believe it was Snake as a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass, since Brawl Snake is mostly based off of MGS3 Snake (with the MGS2 Sneaking suit) who's a master with a knife, and can disappear into thin air (Camo-index, also it's a stealth game.) But it's unlikely to actually be a third party character, given their less-than-flattering depiction.
• Nobody gets a flattering depiction, really. And Sonic, one of the most talked-about characters in Brawl, only appearing in the background of one scene is possible, but might be considered unlikely (Snake got dialogue in two episodes).
  • Jossed

Tabuu is behind everything.

He sent his Game & Watches to find a suitable champion—when Olimar was found lacking, he recruited Ganon instead. He sent the butcher to kill Mewtwo and Dedede (and G&W to kill Bowser) to secure the streets for Ganon and orchestrated Peach's kidnapping to clear the throne for his puppet, Zelda. Why? Good question.

So here's how it's gonna go down.

Ganon and Zelda are working together (oh the irony). Ganon recruited Olimar, who made the Pikmin bomb which Zelda gave to Wario to kill Red. Also, if I remember correctly, Bowser was poisoned when Luigi talked with him. This could be a result of the poisoned knife Olimar tried to use on Falco and Mario, or perhaps just other White Pikmin extract. However, since Olimar and Ganon were named by Luigi as two possibilities, we can pretty much rule them out. Then who would have the ability to disappear, the skill with a blade, the connection to Zelda, and the sheer better-than-everyone-else-ness necessary to be the killer? As guessed above, Meta Knight. However, he will become less of a problem when Olimar unleashes the End Of Days upon the Mario Bros.

• Jossed

Ganondorf is the murderer.

He slips under the radar because he's one of the slowest fighters. However, there are two things that statistically support his ability to be the one. 1) He has a sword, thus giving him the ability to make the kind of kills being made, and 2) HE CAN TELEPORT, giving him extremely quick entrances and exits into areas that no one should be able to enter.

• Close. He was the Man Behind the Man for the murderers. Too bad there was a man behind HIM.

The Ice Climbers are the Disembowlers

Wario's two little minions have already been hinted by Zelda to be up to more than Wario knows about, and they always seem to be in the background when bad things happen AND they're just ax crazy enough to do it all. I submit that in the tenth episode they'll either show themselves to be of more intelligence than they've shown so far or at the least be doing the murders at Zelda or Ganondorf's behest. I also hope for a scene where the reveal is given by them killing either of the two Hylians (Ganondorfs a Gerudo I know, shut up), as he would love to see that self assure smirk wiped off Ganon's face, especially by a mallet or an ice pick.

• Jossed

Toon Link is an Enfant Terrible, commanding Zelda and behind everything.

Why else would he be the only character who hasn't shown up yet? Also, having a child be the real enemy would rather wonderfully twist the "As long as a single child still laughs" quote from Peach, which is obviously the only reason Luigi can still go on. This theory is not unlikely, because... well... just look at Kirby... Oh, and, before I forget, there must be a reason why Link is always listed in the credits and casting as "Police Chief Link" rather than just "Link". This could hint at another Link appearing in the final episode, which would support this theory.

• Remember the photo of Young Link from episode nine? And how there was a drawing of Toon Link along with it? Well, that drawing was singed by Zelda, meaning that she drew it. Toon Link, however, wears a different tunic than Young Link and Zelda would have no reason to draw her best friend (at least best friend back then) in a long-sleved shirt and a sleveless tunic instead of a short-sleved tunic. This could mean that Toon Link is really a different person in this continuity and Zelda has been having a crush /affair on/with this other Link for many, many years now. Just now she decided that the "original" Link has gone soft, so she killed him and settled on the other one.
  • Jossed. Lucas and Ness were the Enfants Terrible

Mewtwo set the whole thing up

Mewtwo is a psychic, and a powerful telpath as it is his only way to be understood being a Pokémon and all. with Ness and Lucas prefering telekinesis over telepathy he could have easily figured out that Ganondorf had taken Ness and Lucas, so instead he forms a plan, fake his death by cloning a body in a similar experiment to what created him in the first place and have Ness and Lucas kill him, with one mob boss suppossedly gone he could just sit back as the others try to take control, get killed along with the culprits all in time for a sweeping return as thier saviour with only the police in charge to make himself acting regent of the mushroom kingdom after a bit of brainwashing. However since things didn't quite work out they way he hoped with the return of Kirby being at large and the death of Red possibly being one of the few he could trust that he has decided to stay hidden.

Link and Ganondorf either aren't dead by the end of episode ten or will soon revive.

Link could have a fairy on him, possibly Navi, since we have already seen her. As for Ganondorf, he always comes back. He's had the master sword shoved straight through him before and still returned eventually. Someone will revive him to use as a powerful henchman/dragon. Maybe Kirby, who offed his lackies at the very end of episode ten, will discover he needs some muscle to get the job done, or perhaps Bowser survived afterall, and will decide to go after Kirby himself with the help of an old enemy. Ganondorf would probably be more than happy to kill the guy who cut his head off, especially since the killers he was actually terrified of, Lucas and Ness, are now out of the picture. Just rambling here, really, but it could happen.

• Alternatively, Zelda characters in this continuity possess the special ability to be reborn. Would explain why the two pictures of Kid-Link looked wastly different. Those were from two different childhoods of his.

Porky was really behind it all

In the Smash Bros. universe, anyone who died in their original games is still alive. Although Porky was defeated in the Subspace Emissary, it never really showed him dying. He used Mewtwo to get Ness and Lucas under control, but once the boys were under sufficient control, he turned on Mewtwo and had him killed. Now, why did Porky have all the victims be disemboweled? Because HE was the owner of the trophy gallery, and he was bored, so what else was he to do besides torture and trophify the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom? It also sounds rather typical of his Mother 3 incarnation. His plans looked like they were ruined when it was destroyed, but he's also controlling Miyamato, so his evil plans might be able to continue...

• I knew it... I knew it! Man, I am SO writing a fanfic about this!

Other

Zelda is in deep and acting behind Link's back

Lakitu claims to get all of his political information from one source. He goes to get information on his informant (who he always refers to as a "he", keep in mind "Sheik" was a male disguise of Zelda in OOT), and ends up with an envelope. This is likely the same envelope that Mario gives to Luigi when he's fighting off Link and Zelda in the jail (right after he uses the Fire Flower) in Episode 7. The envelope contains a photo of Zelda without her mask, revealing her true identity. So it can be concluded that Zelda was Lakitu's informant, and that she possibly knew about the murders earlier than the others. Also, at the beginning of Episode 6, Link was seen yelling at "Sheik" about the city being his city alone, making the point that Link and Zelda don't see eye to eye on everything, which leads to the possibility that Zelda/Sheik was the one who called the raid on Dedede's place, possibly in order to deliberately cover the killer's tracks. Finally, when Link was yelling at Zelda in episode 6, Zelda flat out looked at Luigi when he was looking at argument scene. Seems kinda suspicious.

• Confirmed! If stabbing Link was not a giveaway. He's still twisting in agony at the end of the episode, so he has yet to actually expire...
  • And might still have some Maxim Tomato extract....
    • Or a fairy.
  • She turned back in time to get herself killed.

It's all in Luigi's head.

Cue last scene: Luigi in some psych ward, gone insane from too many ghosts at Luigi's Mansion or something.

• Hm. This WMG might have been Jossed now, cause if it really was in Luigi's head, then why a good chunk of time from Mario's point of view? Unless Luigi developed some sort of disorder that made him think he was his brother at times.
  • Not entirely Jossed, as Mario has dreamt he was not only his brother, but his main squeeze and a random Toad; the same could happen to Luigi if they are twins.

Wario killed Yoshi.

Either him or the Ice Climbers, but they're not the dismemberer. If the dismemberer killed Yoshi it would mean he wanted to send a warning to Mario but needs to keep him alive. However it is also possible that he was killed by someone with a grudge against Mario. Wario fits the bill and the Ice Climber's didn't seem to like Yoshi too much either, Wario seemed quite fascinated with the murders in episode one and the Ice Climbers are outside Mario's window before Yoshi is found. wario could be the dismemberer but it feel more like he's taking advantage of the chaos rather than causing it.

• All but confirmed in Episode 9. Remember that the Ice Climbers take orders from Wario. In Ep. 9, Zelda says that Wario's goons (Nana and Popo) are more useful than he is, implying that she had him send the Ice Climbers to do the deed, probably to intimidate Mario. In the same episode, Ganondorf—heavily implied to be Zelda's co-conspirator—is conspicuously eating some meat, which was very possibly Yoshi. Anyway, Wario isn't a murderer—he hires other people to do it for him.
  • It probably doesn't make chronological sense for that meat to be Yoshi, since Yoshi was alive at the beginning of Episode 8 and the beginning of each occur at the same time.

Kirby became a genius monster after eating Hannibal Lecter

Before he was a childlike creature that never really seemed fully aware of the damage he does. Then one day, he eats a genius cannibal serial killer and gains his power, namely, he becomes a genius killer. His transformed state includes the teeth and the intellect.

The bomb that killed Red was sent to the wrong house.

Red wasn't really a major player in the Brawl going on in the Mushroom Kingdom, so it's possible the bomb was intended for somebody else. Waluigi's condition is a good piece of evidence for this, as he might have gotten mixed up and sent it to the wrong house by mistake.

• Waluigi seemed to know he was at the right place. The bomb was wrapped like a present, and he told Red "Happy birthday!"

The bomb that killed Red was a Power Bomb of Metroid fame

It doesn't seem like Wario to off his own minions, and it'd be a shame if all that foreshadowing and gloomy music surrounding Samus went to waste.

• Wario's minions consist of the Ice Climbers and possibly Waluigi, but not Red. Also, the bomb was very clearly one of those giant pill/capsule-looking explosives from the Smash Bros. series, powered by a Red Pikmin inside, which Luigi found when sifting through the wreckage.

Zelda is the victim in this.

Like Princess Peach Zelda is also a well known damsel in distress. Also if one recalls the events of Twilight Princess it's possible that Ganon has Zelda under his control due to magic. Should Zelda succeed in ruling she would be nothing more than a puppet ruler while Ganon is the real overlord behind the scenes. The movie went through great detail on how alike Zelda and Peach are when it comes to being the damsel that Link and the Mario Bros save on a daily bases. Link even commented that Zelda isn't the same person he knew before.

Red was learning Poké-speak before he died.

Red was taking care of and training all the orphaned Pokémon. As a result of spending so much time with the little critters, he began to learn their language. Since most of the Pokémon worked with Mewtwo before he was killed, they might be able to tell Red information that the murderer wants to be kept a secret. So Zelda (or whoever she's working for/with) sent the bomb to kill Red and all his 'mons in one fell swoop, to elminate any possible witnesses.

Red comes back from the dead.

Leaf is unable to cope with his death, and so over a period of two years, she carefully cultivates a 1-Up Mushroom—very hard to raise, and equally rare. Unfortunately, experiencing what happens after death has hardened him, and 1-Up Mushrooms are less effective when used postmortem. He never speaks, and becomes obsessed with becoming stronger. He heads to Mount Silver to harden himself and his once-innocent Pokémon...

In the end, Kirby took over Nintendo

That's what he's doing with Miyamoto Shigeru's skin.

• This explains why the Subspace Emissary is the first Kirby game never made for the Wii.

Kirby now has Ness's powers.

As pointed out on the main page, the reason we're able to tell that Kirby killed Ness was that he was wearing Ness's baseball cap...just like if he had ate him to copy his powers. And that's exactly what he did.

Meta Knight was either Dead All Along or never existed in the first place.

Kirby has been using the identity of "Meta Knight" to screw with the police since he first came to the Mushroom Kingdom. After he was "captured" by the Mario Brothers, he arranged to place himself under his own guard, sitting back to watch the chaos of the Kingdom's last breaths.

Despite the fact that he's supposed to be guarding Kirby, Meta Knight's location can never be confirmed at the same time as Kirby's. Take his meeting with Luigi: as it starts, the lights go out, Meta Knight vanishes into the shadows, and only a few moments later - plenty of time for an escape artist as skilled as Kirby later proves to be - does Kirby become visible in his cell. Luigi notices Meta Knight isn't present - notably only at Kirby's prompting - but Kirby waves it off by saying Meta Knight is always present, which is literally true as much as it is misleading. Kirby even played a short recording of Meta Knight's voice, saying something that he knew would eventually be appropriate to the conversation, to steer the encounter as he desired while giving Luigi the illusion of control.

As for the burned remains of "Kirby", later attributed to "Meta Knight"? An innocent Mr. Saturn, killed with PK Fire. After all, one small pile of burned flesh looks like another if you don't have the time and resources to study it properly.

• But didn't Meta Knight come between Kirby and Luigi when the prison cells were unlocked and Kirby escaped?

Kirby wasn't always a monster

Prior to the events and backstory of the series, Dark Matter let itself, as a whole, be swallowed up by Kirby by disguising istelf as food. Dark Matter then gradually corrupted Kirby, combining it's hatred for all life with Kirby's unstoppable hunger to become the monster he is today. How else could you explain him surviving the explosion at the end of the series? Dark Matter cannot be destroyed of course! So basically, It is Kirby with Zero's "ability".

• Alternatively (and less complicated-y), this is the end result of all the horrible things Kirby experienced in his childhood. He wasn't always a monster, but it was inevitable.

Adding on to the previous WMG, There Will Be Brawl takes place in the same universe as Brawl in the Family.

Yes, you can hate me now.

Otacon's in this series.

There's a skinny, bespectacled man with shoulder-length brown hair styled in a way similar to Hal's Metal Gear style who stands at Snake's side among the immigrant cultists when Falco is killed and Mario confronts Olimar. Obviously, he (and probably Mei Ling and Campbell too) immigrated along with Snake and is living alongside him and Sonic in the slums. After all, wherever Snake goes, Otacon goes with him. Plus, Snake and Sonic are in no shape to survive on their own. Either Otacon's mind snapped under the stress of caring for his partner, plus all the horrible stuff going down, or he was twisted by End Of Days, Ness and/or Lucas. Either way, in desperation and madness, he inducted Snake and Sonic into the cult. Hmmm... to the fanficmobile?

Paula was crying over Ness' death

While Ness was the butcher, it was still the same person as his video game counterpart, so odds are he still kept tabs with Paula offscreen.

Mario caused Waluigi's brain damage.

After beating up Wario he said "Say hi to your brother for me." to which Wario reacted with a very pissed off "Fuck you." Later on when we meet Waluigi, he inadvertently makes a Mario Party joke that almost causes Mario to have a go at him had the others not stop him. So odds are at some point Mario beat him senseless.

Ganondorf is Captain Falcon's Father

Because that joke must be canon in all fan works! Plus it would actually give some history to Falcon's animosity yet willingness to work for Ganondorf.

How would newer characters work?

I imagine the Inklings to be part of the same gladiator fights as the Pokémon. Pirahna Plant is probably someone's pet.

• Pac-Man: A serial killer who predates Kirby but inspired his MO, retconning him as a Jack the Ripoff.
• Ryu: An elite prize fighter within an underground bloodsport circuit. Ken might be his retired tag team partner, who split with him on less than amicable terms due to Ryu becoming punch drunk and violent.
• King K. Rool: Formerly one of the dons, but fell into financial ruin and disappeared off the face of the Earth. He returns to prominence years later, seeking revenge on those who dethroned him.
• Joker: A masked Vigilante Man, not unlike his role in his game of origin. Except given the nature of this series, he'd be a violent, Rorschach-esque zealot enacting his own brand of gruesome justice upon those he deems corrupt.
• Byleth: A schoolteacher who moonlights as a hitman under the pseudonym "The Ashen Demon." Might have Marth and Ike in his pocket as a reference to the perception of Fire Emblem characters by the fandom.

In this universe, Sakurai and Miyamoto were the highest powers at the time of their probable deaths

With a power vacumm from the mob bosses and Peach's death, either one of two things happened. Either the kingdom reformed into a republic or democracy, or one of them was the closest heir to the throne since the Toadstool line died with Peach. Somehow. My guess would be that Miyamoto would have the higher position, president, prime minister, or king, and Sakurai was his vice president, chancellor, or something else.

• Doubtful. They seemed more like gods. (The kind of low-ranking gods that can be killed, but gods nonetheless)

The story has a stealth Take That! against Meta Knight.

Meta Knight, who in Brawl is widely considered to be the best character in the game to the point of being a game-breaker, gets his long-awaited fight with Kirby, who was ranked as one of, if not the worst character in Melee. And then loses. His body is so badly burned that he's mistaken for Kirby - Mario dropped a Fire Flower a few minutes earlier, presumably Kirby got hold of it and used it to win the fight. This could possibly be a Take That! to people who prefer to use Meta Knight in tournament play.

• Alternatively it could be a Take That! to item usage, implying it messes up the balance of the game.

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