Every few years when Nintendo looks into their coffers and decides they don’t have enough money, a cycle begins anew. This cycle is the Super Smash Bros hype cycle. If you haven’t heard of Super Smash Bros., you’ve more than likely been living at the bottom of the ocean. Super Smash Bros. is the biggest, most beautiful swamp-water of all things Nintendo. It’s the gaming industry’s most epic, playable digital museum that takes the most beloved and well recognized characters in all of gaming, and has them beat the snot out of each other.
A favorite pastime of the series’ most staunch followers is something used to help count down the days to the new games release. That something is brainstorming potential new entrants to the roster of fighters. Because let’s face it, what’s the most important thing about a fighting game? It’s the playable characters. Nintendo has a pretty deep well of characters, some of which that haven’t seen the light of day in a very long time. They’ve also got characters that get plenty of screen time, but are lost in the shadow of bigger, more important figures. For the purpose of this list, I’ve put together characters that haven’t had their series be represented in any sort of playable form. My mind set has always been one of diversity. So while characters like Ridley and Krystal may indeed warrant a slot of their own, there are also so many other franchises that just haven’t been seen yet! Let’s take a look.
5 – Ray 01 (Series: Custom Robo)
Weighing in at number 5 is the robotic Ray 01. Ray 01 is a member of the Ray series of combat robots in Nintendo’s Custom Robo series. Despite its few entries, Custom Robo commands a respectable following, and has even appeared in Super Smash Bros previously. Ray 01 appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophies. He would wiz around and fire off flurries of missiles at the ground below, blasting anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in the way.
Making Ray 01 playable wouldn’t be a very difficult feat in the slightest. Ray 01’s home games, Custom Robo, feature an enormous array of weapons, thrusters and armor to use and customize your robot with. These range from the simple to the extreme, and even enter the realm of the illegal (in game of course). Applying this to a Smash Bros fighter would simply boil down to finding a selection of weapons and jump-jets that would set Ray 01 apart from veteran fighter, and give him his own unique style of play.
4 – Shulk (Series: Xenoblade)
Shulk is relative newcomer to the ranks of Nintendo. His first and only appearance belongs to Xenoblade, the Wii exclusive blockbuster RPG. Developed by Monolith Soft, Xenoblade combined action and RPG in a clever way, making it an instant cult classic. The story follows a young boy named Shulk who gets wrapped up in something nasty. Luckily, he’s got the help of his friends and a mysterious and powerful sword.
Super Smash Bros. features a number of sword wielders in its roster to date, and they “ain’t no jokers”. Link, Meta Knight, and Marth head the list of weaponized warriors, so how can Shulk compete? Shulk’s sword, the Monado, offers a very different take on swordplay. The Monado grants Shulk the power of foresight, and the ability to manipulate ether; a sort of magic. A potential Final Smash for Shulk could include a sort of “glimpse into the future”, freezing his opponents in place for a few seconds and allowing for him to run rampant. If memory serves, the opening for a spell casting swordsman is still available. Though he has some pretty stiff competition…
3 – Captain Rainbow (Series: Captain Rainbow)
In third we have…who? Captain Rainbow! Most don’t know him because he never made it out of Japan, but that doesn’t make him less interesting or worthy. The Japanese game titled Captain Rainbow has you playing as a washed up superhero that uses yo-yos to fight his enemies. In a bid to reclaim his popularity, he travels to an Island that is said to make wishes come true. There he finds a number of other washed up Nintendo characters that are in desperate need of his help. Enter Captain Rainbow!
I won’t lie. I have no idea how to make this guy work as a fighter. But I do know that he’s unique, and he represents a fresh series in Nintendo’s arsenal. Also, he kind of looks like Captain Falcon got into a fight with a paint store and lost (who doesn’t want that?) He’s got Yo-yos. Ness made that cool, right? And he’s got…a costume? I’m sure somebody who’s actually played the game could do a much better job than I am now. Make it happen Mr. Sakurai!
2 – Pac-Man (Series: Pac-Man)
Okay. You caught me. Pac-Man isn’t Nintendo. But neither are Sonic, Snake, or Megaman! With Namco-Bandai behind the wheel of the latest Super Smash Bros. game, it’s a fair assumption that we will see them get some form of representation. And who better to represent them than the man that needs no introduction? Pac-Man is almost as old as video games themselves, and is a more than welcome roster addition in my books.
Picture this; You execute an excellent combo, brushing away your enemies and claiming the Smash Ball for yourself. Your body glows even more yellow than it already is, and you explode with power! The screen goes blue. Suddenly Bowser, Pikachu and Pit turn the color of skittles, run around in a panic and start dropping little pellets behind them. It’s dinner time! Pac-Man is a great candidate to bring more gaming heritage forward like the Ice Climbers, Mr. Game’n’Watch, and R.O.B. have done before him. I’m getting excited already.
1 – Isaac (Series: Golden Sun)
This one shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone with an internet connection. Isaac is perhaps the most requested character addition for Smash since Brawls release (other than a certain purple dragon). Isaac represents the wildly popular Nintendo RPG; Golden Sun. Golden Sun has only had 3 entries, but has huge traction regardless of this. Perhaps that’s because of the great story telling, addictive gameplay, and fun, memorable characters. Like Ray 01, Isaac has actually appeared in Smash before, also as an Assist Trophy. Isaac would stand his ground, shooting waves of magic known a Psynergy in the shape of hands off horizontally, shoving anyone who made contact with them.
Isaac’s options for a playable move set are near limitless thanks to the structure of the Golden Sun combat system. Throughout the games, you would find these adorable little critters named Djinn. These Djinn represent the four elements, each one imbuing it’s user with a unique new spell. When enough of these Djinn have been used, you can take their used energy and summon monstrously large beasts to aid you on the battlefield. Final Smash anyone? Recovery special? Jupiter Djinn. Down Special? Venus Djinn. And what I wouldn’t pay to see the gigantic sword from the Ragnarok spell flying through the air. Isaac was made for Super Smash Bros.
Of course this is all speculation, and simply for the fun of it. Everyone has their favorites and least favorites. In fact I’m sure many of you will read this, swear at your screen and tell me I’m wrong. But that’s all part of the fun! What characters would you like to see? I guess only time will tell, and E3 is just around the corner! Fingers crossed!