Super Smash Bros.

I have entertained the idea, but only for manga characters. (Mostly because I think it’d be easier legally for Nintendo than someone like Harry Potter or any Disney character)

But I recognize that in an official Smash game, that won’t happen unless Sakurai suddenly changes his mind (which that won’t happen) or a new director comes along.

But for fangames, I think anything goes for those. Just about every fan game idea I make has a lot of manga characters in it.

That said, I don’t think adding non-game characters will happen and I’m fine with it.

Edit: Yay, page topper! For context, someone last page decided to bring up how adding non-game characters to Smash is a bad idea.

Edited by powerpuffbats on May 4th 2021 at 6:04:18 AM

R.O.B.'s different in that he's not just first party, but made specifically to work with video games. That, and he does appear in them too. The toy labeling was just to properly sell it over the game crash. He's not really an edge case in context.

There's characters who debuted as a non-game character but for games as well, like Lucario, and it's pretty clearly a game character too.

That said, I have zero issues with non-game characters being in. There's tons of fun options to me. Nothing wrong with the way it is either, of course. I don't see it as tainting the game either, I just see it as an even better crossover as it expands, regardless of the particular world being expanded into. More is better in this case, even for series I don't care for.

That said... Popeye having a game doesn't really make a difference from any other non-gaming character who has had a game too(Goku, Spongebob, etc).

Exactly. Fan-games should be up to the director and creators of the particular game. Regardless of whether it's cameos or playable. It's not the actual games, but just a fan thing. They can do what they want. Whether it ends up popular as a game or not is always a risk, cause there's tons of characters who can cause backlash, whether they're a gaming character or not. The fanbase is honestly that rabid, so... take your chances if you want.

Edited by Irene on May 4th 2021 at 6:08:23 AM

I think the reason people here don’t mind Popeye is because he was the inspiration for Mario, back when they made the OG Donkey Kong.

Which doesn't really relate to the point I was making; him being in a game isn't special in itself, the context of what I was saying. Who is an inspiration for who is cool and all, but that doesn't mean they're a game character either. Either you're taking into account they're not a game character too, or you're ignoring an important part of the character. That still should matter overall, but only cause it's an actual rule of Sakurai's(mainly due to licensing factors at the time it was noted first).

And it's fine if that's why you want to make an exception for it too, of course. That's a cool reason. Hell, I like video game specific versions of non-game characters, and I feel that's a fair exception as is for game-based rosters. Of course, that's not realistic in terms of actual licensing, and since they're often not the iconic variant, the only exception you're really making is the fact they have games, so they can "be in a video game gaming crossover" due to that factor. To me, if they've had zero game appearances, I don't think they should even cameo in Smash as something like a Mii costume, spirit/etc. But that's a personal rule of mine. Even if they're Nintendo-owned(like Captain N). That feels awkward. A reference to him seems a bit more plausible to me(though I wouldn't call it a bad thing either, since it's a fun series I enjoyed. References/cameos of a series I like is always good to me in the end, whether it clashes with my design philosophies or not).

Ah, okay.

I see your point.

Huh. Popeye is a comic book character, not a video game character.

The best character in melee...

King Koopa

Ultimate is at 23.84 million as of March 31st.

And it's only three million away from doubling the lifetime sales of Brawl!

The World of Light opening video with a bit of added dialogue for a bit of humor.

Edited by wanderlustwarrior on May 7th 2021 at 12:20:31 PM

Can you please elaborate on the video's contents? I'm having trouble playing videos at the time being.

EDIT: Ah, it's just a memetic video. But for future reference, leave a brief comment on what the posted video is about next time, please. Not everybody at a given time is in the capacity (whether technical, permitted or time-based) to watch a video just to figure out the poster's message.

Edited by MyFinalEdits on May 6th 2021 at 2:34:40 PM

Ah yes, my bad.

I don't like the idea of non-game characters. That's a line Smash can't cross without giving up a big part of its identity, which is that it's a celebration of gaming's contributions to the popular culture. Third-party characters are fine since it's not like Nintendo is the only game in town (no pun intended), but SpongeBob and Goku? They just don't belong there.

I'm probably among the few here who wouldn't mind having an anime character at least.

Note that I'm only fine with the idea of adding an anime character if Smash were to go that route. I'm not sure why but even I wouldn't want a comic character like Spider-Man, or Western Cartoon character like Sponge Bob. I only suggest those when I'm joking around (like a few weeks ago when I joked that the next characters were Big Smoke and Angelica Pickles).

I think the anime characters are covered by Jump Super Stars, no?

For characters owned by Shonen Jump, yes.

We need a proper sequel to that game. We played the hell out of JUS back in high school.

I don't really want non-game characters, but I won't be broke up about it if they add one. My only disappointment will be that it makes my most wanted characters less likely, in the same way third parties did for first parties.

It sure would be an unprecedented shake-up to Smash speculation though.

I ultimately would mind an anime character either but, but there's value in restraint

I'd still be fine with Popeye getting in but that's just me.

You and me both. If we got an exception to the video game characters only rule, it should be him. Goku and Shrek can be in Playstation Allstars for all I care.

I think that if we do get non-video game characters. They have to represent the games they starred in. I'd down for remixes of tracks from Ducktales, The Simpsons Arcade, Simpsons Hit and Run, Transformers Devastation, the TMNT games, and Marvel vs Capcom.

Edited by MisterZygarde64 on May 8th 2021 at 9:26:27 AM

I've been watching the endings for some other fighting games like Injustice and Marvel VS Capcom, and I can't help but think how cool it would be if Smash had individual endings for each fighter. I get why they don't, it'd be a ton of work for such a big roster, with little practical benefit. But it'd have been a nice way to get some more story and character interaction while avoiding the problems of having more cutscenes in the middle of World of Light (mainly having to account for what characters you've freed yet since it's never required to free most of them).

Of course, it'd also probably necessitate explaining just what the deal is with the Smash universe, rather than leaving it ambiguous, which they don't seem to want to do.

Edited by FGHIK on May 8th 2021 at 9:21:02 AM

On the subject of character speculation, a thought occurred to me: akin to how Pyra and Mythra are considered two separate fighters in a single roster slot/DLC pack, what if there was a Challenger Pack that included an Echo Fighter for the main featured character? Echoes can be stacked with their basis character on the menu; and on the basis of Echoes being far easier to produce than regular fighters, I don’t think that it’d be out of the realm of possibility.

Example: a Sora Challenger Pack with Roxas as his Echo Fighter.

I've had the same thought along those lines for potential characters like Crash and Coco, or Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy.

I'm not sure Coco could really work as a Crash echo fighter, given they have a significantly different skeletal structure. It doesn't matter for the main games, hence why she can be freely swapped with Crash in the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash 4, but in a fighting game these things are much more significant. I'd think she'd have to be a clone instead. Besides, Crash would definitely be successful as DLC by himself, doesn't really need anything extra.

I could see Miles Edgeworth working as an echo for Phoenix Wright though. They have a very similar size and figure, and he's very important to the games. And since Ace Attorney is more niche, an extra bonus wouldn't hurt. The one good argument I've heard against it is, he might not fit all the moves, EG if Phoenix attacks by sneezing or falling over and other goofy things like that, it wouldn't fit Edgeworth's personality. But that all depends on the moveset, and I don't think it has to be especially goofy.

Chris & Leon being echoes of each other is possible, but that would be a serious disservice to characters themselves after the RE Action-Era.