Let's see, Bowser, Ganondorf, Ike, arguably Dedede, maybe Wario, maybe Snake...not really.
It's a lot more than can be said for other fighters, at any rate.
edited 31st Dec '13 10:01:35 AM by Nap1100
I also want Hector because he's my favorite Lord personality-wise, so yeah.
Well then you have Celica, Micaiah, and Robin/Avatar pretty much. The first is from a Gaiden Game that no one really cares about even in the Japanese fandom, the second is a bit of a Base Breaker from a game that already has a rep in Smash, and Robin is the one who always seems to cause the arguments on this topic.
Did I cover everything?
Just would like to point out that while second game in the series is called Fire Emblem Gaiden, it is part of main series and not spin off or any kind of side game :P Its just side story to first game plotwise since they take place in same world but different continent and they share few characters.
You can do things with an Ax that you cannot with a sword and back because they are different shaped objects with different distributions of weight. Even looking beyond the way you hit things with them you are not going to drop or cut yourself with an ax the way you can with a sword. Not as much as in real life, due to the magic of hit boxes but turning Ragnell into a big ax is going to inherently change things or make Ike look incredibly awkward and disbelieving when he waves it around (yes, I say that in perfect knowledge of his throw the sword-jump catch it-slam down animation) It is the same reason why you generally do not want to arbitrarily turn a sniper rifle into an AK 47, or a frag round into a concussion one(oh wait)
But beyond inherent changes in gameplay, be they meaningful or not (Smash Bros is toys on a table top after all) people just want variety. Mario fighting Link on Shadow Moses Island is not just charming because it is two characters people know to the backdrop of Metal Gears but also because Mario moves, handles and behaves in a manner completely contrasted to Link and they clash not just with each other but with the island. There are lot of different conventions going on between Diddy Kong, Squirtle and the Frigate Orpheon, between Samus, Snake and the Seventy Five Meter Construction zone.
There is inherently less of that when half a dozen characters are primarily hitting things with swords. Okay, most of them are still using very different weapons or styles (except for the Links and Marth's style would be roughly the same according to his games of origin) but the Ice Climbers have hammers, Samus has a suit of powered armor, Pikachu is an electricity discharging rodent and Yoshi is a frog tongued dinosaur that throws exploding eggs.
That is the same reason "third party characters like Snake" are requested. Personally I do not want them, though I liked Snake in Brawl, but I understand why because I liked Snake in Brawl. His much less exaggerated appearance, cynical attitude and fighting style brought something new to the Smash Bros circus and the much higher degree of Like Reality, Unless Noted instantly helped the other Metal Gear elements stand out. (I think Nintendo actually has its own properties that could fill the niche Snake provides but Sakurai opted not to use them, that I would rather see Nintendo use its own properties is why I am not requesting more third party slots of that vein or third party slots in general)
Really, I just want as much variation as can be gotten out of Nintendo's library. The less like what is already around the better. Yes, the swordsmen can be different from each other but an ax will be even more so. The cartoony and heavily stylized characters are not interchangeable but subdued and grizzled types still standout more at this point. Heroes and neutral characters are okay but I want to see more villains. (Well we are getting more females this time around, so Sakurai himself seems to share these feelings on some level)
edited 31st Dec '13 11:26:08 AM by IndirectActiveTransport
Buldogue's lawyerSpeaking of frags, it ''is'' bit annoying how grenades in fiction seem to be more about explosions than sharp shrapnel shredding you into tiny pieces
Thats like totally inaccurate. The explosive ones are meant to be used inside hallways!
edited 31st Dec '13 11:07:23 AM by SpookyMask

Are Marth and Ike the same?
Technically speaking, wouldn't axe character be same as Ike anyway? I mean, slow moving hit hard type of character? :P Otherwise it'd be rather inaccurate to the series.
Also people keep forgetting that Robin also has variable body type. From small and child like to tall and burly :P
edited 31st Dec '13 9:51:33 AM by SpookyMask