Sorry for the click-bait title. It’s intended to draw people who don’t normally read Source Gaming. So if it worked, welcome! If you regularly read the blog then this article probably isn’t meant for you.
I really thought I didn’t have to write this post, as I thought after the last Ridley escapade that people would finally wise up and look at things objectively. But, here we are.
Wolf isn’t coming back in Smash for Wii U and 3DS.
We’ve teamed up with Con0rrr to make a video on this article so the information can reach the most amount of people. Please subscribe to him on YouTube, and follow him on Twitter! Click to read more to follow all of the sources, and the full evidence for Wolf’s exclusion in Smash for Wii U and 3DS.
Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta are the final three DLC characters in Smash for Wii U and 3DS. There has been multiple “hints” at this. Let’s review them.
- The “Final Smash Broadcast”. Immediately after the December Broadcast, the broadcast was labelled as the Final Smash Broadcast. This was initially done by Nintendo of UK, and then confirmed by every single showing of the broadcast.
- Sakurai has stated multiple times that DLC development is wrapping up. In the Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary Interview (which, was conducted around August 2015), in the Direct itself, and in Famitsu Column 496.
- Sakurai literally counted the number of characters in the direct. There are 58 characters in Smash for Wii U and 3DS. Which lines up perfectly with the roster that has been announced.
A version of the CSS made by gameonion! Mii Fighters count as 3 fighters. (3 rows of 15, 1 row of 11 + 2 additional Mii Fighters). Again, this is a fanmade version and not official.
- Lucas was chosen as the “cut Brawl vet” representative. Veterans were included in the ballot, so Wolf did have a chance to come back, but Bayonetta was chosen.
- The last three characters were chosen based on their uniqueness. While Wolf is not a clone by any means,his fighting style wouldn’t be totally “unique”. Emphasis mine:This batch of DLC fighters took more work than the fighters in the base game, and they all have their own especially unique characteristics and playstyles. Knowing this is the final update, I put in as much effort as I could, so please enjoy! — Source
- Sakurai is NOT lying. This is harder to “prove” but Sakurai does not lie. He sometimes does a fake out but he does not lie. Mistranslations and fans taking things he said incorrectly have built up Sakurai to a troll. When he says “final” there is absolutely no reason to not believe him. This isn’t a fake out. I’m working on a post to see if Sakurai has lied in the past.
- In the Japanese direct, Sakurai introduced Bayonetta as “the last fighter”. Nintendo of America localized this as the “last newcomer”. Nintendo of Europe correctly translated this.
Special thanks for Frostwraith who brought this to my attention.
- Sakurai thanked everyone at the end of the Direct for their support of the game and waved goodbye.
Please send this article, or video to anyone who strongly believes that Wolf has a good chance of coming back. While it’s not impossible, it’s extremely unlikely (Let’s say 99.999999% likely that Wolf is not coming back).
We don’t hate Wolf, many of us at Source Gaming (myself included) would have loved to see him come back. However, it seems Wolf was just unlucky this time around. Subscribe to us on Twitter to stay up to date with all of the translations and research we conduct.
Video:
- Smash Ultimate Development Timeline - May 16, 2020
- Straight from the Source: Koji Igarashi on Castlevania in Smash, Bloodstained - October 16, 2018
- Sakurai Discusses Isabelle, Echoes, and Newcomers - September 26, 2018
“Last” could have been meant relatively.
Like “last fighter announcement *in this presentation*”
…Which happens to be the final presentation, so literally it’s the last one, and don’t forget he literally said that DLC is over, and did you forget the last part of the direct which he lined up everything in the game? That screams final presentationa and final DLC characters. Stop building up false hope, it’s over already.
While it could’ve been a translation nuance, it was stated that the “Final Smash Presentation” was “the last presentation dedicated to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS” by Nintendo UK and US. While it’s almost certain that this is simply a business decision in case there’s some overwhelmingly good reason to revisit Smash 4 down the line, I think it’s worth bearing in mind. That said, I would advise against anyone getting their hopes up on that tidbit alone. As I said, it’s likely just a business decision; Nintendo leaving themselves some sort of back door in case they ever want to show off a returning stage in a Nintendo Direct or something (personally, I like to think that the last empty stage slots indicate a stage from Melee returning is possible, as I would love to see Fourside return, if only to see its Omega form).
I actually feel like specifying this is the last broadcast for these games (Smash for Wii U and 3DS) might be, indeed, a backdoor, but in case they decide to port Smash to NX. If they do this, some new content or at least an overview of the available content would be expected. Smash is always a big draw at E3, so if such a port were to be made, another mini broadcast and some expo presence would be expected.
Not sure why Wolf has to be specifically mentioned.
I know and have accepted it already but just why.
This title does just sound like you guys are strongly against Wolf, or that you mean Wolf fans are all delusional to think there will be stuff like this.
Etika wasn’t the only one, I’ve seen comments here and there on other sites/ Twitter. Just wanted to set the record straight.
I’m actually a Wolf fan. I’m just against people being delusional and completely ignoring all the evidence in front of them.
Because Wolf is far and beyond the most common character whom these theories are based around.
Every single time I’ve seen someone say “There could be another character!”, the character they always suggest is Wolf.
This was a super pointless article. We knew going in DLC was over after those characters. The proof is that all DLC has been announced. Literally a sentence.
Sadly some people still believe in it :(. I honestly didn’t think I’d have to write this article either, but I got multiple requests.
Tell that to all the people in the Smash community who are still insisting that Wolf is coming and refuse to accept that Bayonetta is the last character.
Like EWNetwork/Etika, a popular personality in the community who recently posted a video telling people that Wolf’s still coming.
i still think it’s pretty unfair to cut a character with no real reason to get cut
Roy fans in Brawl would agree with you.
As someone who wanted Roy in Brawl, I can definitely shake my head to that.
Mewtwo had even less reason to get cut in Brawl than Wolf did in SSB4, and it still happened.
Given the fact that Wolf’s series was on indefinite hiatus for the majority of SSB4’s development and was an extremely low priority character in Brawl to the point that he barely made the roster last minute (and ended up being a semi-clone who borrowed standard A move animations from the likes of Sonic, Link, and Diddy Kong), and it suddenly becomes apparent why he was cut and wasn’t brought back later.
True, Wolf is almost guaranteed not to return, but point three seems more like conjecture since it was never stated.
That said, why do you seem so against Wolf? You have admitted he isn’t a clone. Maybe you aren’t against him, but you certainly sound like you are in your articles. He would help balance out the roster, so it really is a shame he isn’t coming back.
“We don’t hate Wolf, many of us at Source Gaming (myself included) would have loved to see him come back.”
It’s not that we dislike him, no, it’s just the cold, hard truth, which sucks, but sometimes needs to be said.
Every single piece of “evidence” pointing towards his inclusion is conjecture, so what’s your point?
Most of them are at least supported by something, but this one has no official support. That is my point.
Aren’t all the Smash Bros character “slots” filled? http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/10/02/dlcslotsupdate/
Since April, we’ve known that “New” characters been incoming, due the 5 slots+ Mewtwo in the coding.
If Wolf (or another surprise Character) is due, I’d expect to find that there would be Character slot would be left unused.
I’m not saying Wolf won’t come back, I’m just thinking not unless an announcement from Nintendo or well known hackers like ShinyQuagsire, I think there won’t be any more Characters. Given that Shinyquagsire has noticed no new characters slots added (and a stage removed!): https://twitter.com/ShinyQuagsire/status/677311273554468864 I seriously doubt it.
At this point, for us to get any more characters in Smash 4, one of the following would have to happen:
-Sakurai would have to change his mind _and_ find the programmers to allow him to do it.
-Sakurai would have to greenlight an enhanced NX port, and decide to give it some new content that might or might not also be made available for the two versions we already have.
-Sakurai would have to have lied to us.
Out of those, only the second seems remotely plausible, and even that is still very much up in the air.
It is still possible for Wolf to come back. Sakurai is known surprises.
It really isn’t. We know that was the last of the DLC and Nintendo is moving onto the NX, most likely in 2016.
We were flat out told that Bayonetta is the last character and DLC development is wrapping up.
Crap like “Sakurai is known for surprises!” holds no water. Telling yourself it could happen doesn’t make it any likelier. Just ask all the morons who swore up and down that Ridley’s shadow in the first Smash Bros Direct was actually a sign he’s playable despite him being called a boss in the subtitle and narration.
It saddens me that this article exists, not because it didn’t need to be said, but because it did need to be said.
Perhaps Wolf will get his chance another day.
Personally, I think this could be a good thing in the long run. I think it would be better Star Fox representation if both Slippy and Peppy were included as new Star Fox characters. They may not be too distinct from Fox and Falco, but we’ve already seen very diverse and unique things done with characters that all weird big swords, so I’m sure Sakurai and Co. could do something with them. It ultimately would just be really appealing to have all four members of the Star Fox team in Smash Bros.
Thank you very much. It is a shame that people think there’s more DLC left when Sakurai clearly said it is the end. What more do they want? Some probably won’t listen anyways. Instead of bitching about Wolf not in the game, make a decent looking Wolf Mii as a swordfighter and not a Gunner. Sure it is not the same thing, but it’s similar. Or you can play brawl or project M once in a while. This is just like when Mewtwo was cut from brawl.
I don’t know about specifically Wolf, but if you look at the time pattern (we can’t predict), each character took about 2 months to make. Mewtwo was announced in October, and was finished in December. They started working on Lucas in December, finished in February. Started on Roy in February, finished in April (didn’t include him in the April 1st direct for more to be revealed in June). Started working on Ryu in April, finished in June (which if you remember, this explains why we got Roy and Ryu RIGHT AFTER THE DIRECT). Then they started on Cloud in June, finished in August. Started on Corrin in August, finished in October. Started working on Bayonetta in October (when the ballot concluded), finished in December (which was the direct). The fact that they went into a deep depth of explaining Corrin and Bayonetta pretty much tells us that they were done (explained as much as Roy and Ryu). Why wait until February 2016? That is two months away from December my boys.
I think characters take a lot longer than two months. See “Is Wolf a Shoo In” for more details.
Your right smash they do take a long time.
Unrelated to smash. But I’m really surprised at Dissidia Final Fantasy Arcade they stared make Ramza (from FF tactics) to be released soon and now there doing the chaos team the veterans from the psp game. They said that the making the character take about 1 and half to 2 month making a character. I guess this factors in DFF has less move and no items than smash but their ambitious to make additions really quickly instead of like smash taking a long time to make an character addition.
Just because Corrin and Bayonetta “look done” to you doesn’t mean they are done. There’s still fine-tuning and bug testing.
Lucas, Roy, and Ryu were developed at the same time, by the way. Sakurai stated this himself.
Even after this article, all I can think is how he said “the final NEWCOMER” is Bayonetta… Maybe, just maybe, Bayo and Corrin come with one veteran like Ryu came with Roy. Extremely doubtful but… I’m really hoping somehow it happens.
God I hate characters getting cut… So annoying…
Final Newcomer is something that only exists in America. Everywhere else it’s Final Fighter.
Did you even read the article?
The very first piece of evidence presented refuted the “Final newcomer” point.
Didn’t you touch on this very topic in another article before?
I suppose this one really hammers it in. 😛 Most of the SmashBoards Wolf fans (afaik) seem to have accepted Wolf isn’t coming back.
That’s addressed in literally the opening sentences of this article:
“Sorry for the click-bait title. It’s intended to draw people who don’t normally read Source Gaming. So if it worked, welcome! If you regularly read the blog then this article probably isn’t meant for you.”
Yes, it was stated previously. But the rumors are starting to pick up steam, and are only getting worse now that a channel as popular as Etika’s has started backing them. Just because the Nintenzone board at Smashboards knows better doesn’t mean the Smash community as a whole does. I doubt even the entirety of Smashboards knows, actually. I’m sure there’s people outside of the Nintenzone topic peddling this nonsense, too.
I do agree with the part of “Sakurai is NOT lying”. I don’t even remember of him lying about something throughout any presentations, which including every Directs, Twitter, Brawl’s updates, and Miiverse. Well, there were times he was teasing about certain things, but he never lied about anything as I could recall. For example, when he introduced the Pyrosphere stage for the first time through Miiverse, he stated that someone from Samus’s nightmare will appear in that stage. He also showed a shadow of that creature in the Smash Direct before too during his explanations of stage bosses. Yes, he has teased that Ridley will appear in that stage as a boss character, but he never said any single word of Ridley being playable. Besides, teasing isn’t lying. He does it because he doesn’t wanna spoil the fun. He also joked that ZS Samus wouldn’t return too before in the first Smash Direct, and joking isn’t lying either.
There are also times that he’ll change his mind too. Back in Brawl, he stated that Animal Crossing and Nintendogs weren’t eligible to be in Smash because they weren’t fitted to fight. But after the Brawl’s completion (and during KI:U’s production), he decided to bring Villager to Smash as he researched the character’s uniqueness and possibilities to be a fighter. Changing his mind isn’t lying either. He has a plan which only he knows, but some can be changed to improve that character to become upgraded or newly playable, or some can be declined for certain difficulties like lack of machine power (Ice Climbers), lack of western popularity (Takamaru), etc. He has a mind of imagining how that character can work in Smash, which uniqueness is what’s important for every characters in Smash.
I don’t know if I can still recall Wolf as another Fox clone than Falco or not, but just like PushDustIn said, he’s not unique. He’s another “Land Master user”, something that Wolf never used in the original game, and seemed to be too simple. But I can say that’s a problem with any Star Fox characters, its difficult to imagine what kind of uniqueness any Star Fox character have than riding on a laser-shooting vehicle. That can be said the same to any F-ZERO characters too which explains why there’s no new character for that roster. Any characters from a jet-fighting shooting game and racing game is difficult to think of how they could fight in for Smash. Most of those characters may end up being clones for similarities but different power levels. Whether to call Wolf a clone or not, he’s still one of them.
I still don’t know why people think that this isn’t the final DLC. Sakurai DID stated that this will be the last, but many hardcore fans still believe he’s lying for no reasons. Eventually, I don’t even know why there a lots of people worshiping Wolf to return to Smash 4. Where did this false heat even came from? Why they don’t wish for other than Wolf like the Snake and Ice Climbers? And I do hear this “Smash 4 for NX with more expansion of new contents” thing all over the place…where did this even come from anyways? Is Nintendo really planning for it? Where’s the source because I’ve never heard such info before. Seriously, if this is one of those hardcore fans making up some meaningless rumors and some craps like that, then they shouldn’t be credited at any cost as they’re hyping irresponsibly.
You are correct to point out the lack of official confirmation for an enhanced port for NX as we know nothing about NX for specified hardware. Besides, each installment is likely to be made as a new experience, even if it has to take some code from the older installments.
“It’s difficult to imagine what kind of uniqueness any Star Fox character would have than riding on a laser-shooting vehicle.”
Well what about Krystal then? She’s been known to own a staff as seen in her debut in Star Fox Adventures and the basis for her moves could have all came from the different fighting techniques and specials staff upgrades that Fox obtained with it in that game. As for a final smash, I don’t know exactly what it could’ve been, but it could also come from Adventures too in some way and not be another Landmaster. Krystal would have be the true unique Star Fox rep whose moves aren’t based from Fox at all, that is, if she actually got to be in Smash this time. Sakurai even said that she’d be unique in an interview if she was in Brawl.
It isn’t like Wolf is the only controversial casualty among veterans. Ice Climbers are more important then him since they represent a whole Nintendo series. I’m actually more worried about Snake then anybody else. Konami is on a downward spiral that they may never recover from and by the time the NX Smash begins development the Metal Gear IP may have switched hands. This was Snake’s last chance to return I think. I never expected him to come back but it is still upsetting to have my suspicions confirmed.
How did you guys find out people were expecting more DLC? I can understand if they were using Sakurai as a basis but it is Nintendo themselves that said this was the last presentation. Given only three character spots were found in the code people should only have expected two more after Cloud.
Truthfully I will miss Fourside, Ice Climbers and Snake way more then Wolf. Wolf is disappointing but Ice Climbers and Snake are much bigger losses to me.
I(and many others) believed long before the final presentation that outliers were going to speculate on “THERE’S GONNA BE MORE DLC AFTER THIS GUYS”, particularly if Wolf were somehow not included, mainly because of Star Fox Zero coming out in the next few months.
Regarding the spots, it was very common to think that we would get more than one ballot character because there was a good portion of people(myself included) that thought it was a suggestion box more than “most voted character overall”. That and with people placing their bets on supposed “ballot superstars” like K. Rool and Isaac, people were naturally inclined to expect more.
I miss Snake as well, but after Cloud my faith in him dropped like a rock.
I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea that the Ice Climbers’ cut was viewed as being a bigger issue by the community than Wolf’s failure to return.
There were more people upset about Mewtwo, Wolf, Lucas, and Snake when the game first came out than there was for the Ice Climbers. After all the DLC was announced, Wolf was pretty much the only veteran who failed to return that people were upset about.
The 9th generation: How about better systems that can handle the Ice Climbers, and a SSB game, where NO veterans are cut. NONE (unless it’s Dr. Mario, a.k.a. Mario Twice).
1. Dr. Mario is my favourite Melee character so no.
2. This is practically an impossibility now. Even if they cut down on newcomers to compensate old fighters, several are locked in legal issues and Nintendo have no control over them returning.
There have been too many characters to have everybody come back. There are so many I won’t count Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon or Ness as locks.
1. Being one’s favorite doesn’t guarantee a deserved spot. Roy is MY favorite, and he didn’t get in Brawl (good thing we had PM to complete the game)
2. Aside from third-party characters, EVERYONE ELSE should never be cut.
3. Then SSB will have a dismol future and lose its long-time fans. It’ll be just a Nintendo Street Fighter (with platforming).
BTW, I am willing to be flexible with Dr. Mario in the form of this:
http://kidbobobo.deviantart.com/art/SSB-Custom-Mario-Menu-555917474
Sakurai has lied. He stated after releasing Ryu, Lucas, and Roy that the next dlc will be “strictly fanservice.” I highly doubt that Corrin was a popular character and he said this character was included to advertise/promote the the FE game. So much for fanservice.
I agree. This is what bothers me a lot as well. I can somehow understand why people still think Wolf will be announced. For the sake of Etika I hope so, haha.
Personally I always thought that Wolf has a great choice compared with most of the characters… but after all the things like the excessive people confidence in him that even don’t actually support him. And Sakurai explain it that Lucas was the “Brawl Vet” makes lose a little bit my “faith” (I actually don’t care too much about him but is still sad for his fans).
In the end, after Cloud’s Reveal. I could expect anything… So… Bayonetta’s Reveal and Wolf’s Lacks doesn’t shock me that too much.
Personally, I would have liked Wolf in Smash 4, the only reason being that I like the character in general compared to the likes of Falco, not meaning to bash on Falco fans/players.
I find Wolf not being included in Smash 4 a bit odd, I know with this, people might already disagree, but I mean Wolf is a Nintendo character, and the series is already represented in Smash, so it’s not like getting him into Smash 4 would require too much negotiating* (*as far as I’m aware.)
So Lucas made it into Smash even though nobody outside of Japan “officially” played Mother 3.
and how the series ended years ago, but that’s the thing, there’s a lot of people who want Mother 3 to be released outside of Japan, whether it’s an actual demand or just a running joke with NoA, I can see that there is a lot of love for Mother 3, so Lucas coming back wasn’t too shocking, however, I wouldn’t find Lucas not making the cut for Smash 4 wouldn’t have been surprising either. I don’t hate Lucas to be clear, I played Mother 3, I love Mother 3, I like Lucas, I prefer him over Ness.
Now for a controversial thing here, Lucas and Wolf are pretty much semi-clones, if not at all to some people, so really either would’ve made it, and obviously, one of them did, that said, Wolf may have been able to make it in, but Lucas was much more popular. Sucks for people who wanted Wolf, such as myself, but we’ve got quite the cast (Despite a couple clones) and I’m loving it.
TL:DR Wolf would have been a viable candidate to return, but I believe Lucas’s popularity (Character or Game) is one of the factors for him not returning.
I knew from the start my main wasn’t coming back. I have learned to use a 2332 Fox really well. Use the black palette swap if you want the Wolf feel.
Something occurred to me, since Wolf is not that unique, I wonder if he was planned to be an alternate costume than switched to a full playable character than was cut due to time constraints.
Argh, ignore this comment. This is pretty dumb on what I said.
Well technically, Sakurai never gave us a real reason why Wolf got cut. And I don’t think these are the reasons why he’s still cut. He’s the only cut veteran with no issues surrounding him. So unless Sakurai runs out of room in the game’s data, It’s still possible that he might come back. We’ll wait for the next Nintendo Direct to come and find out.
The fact that we weren’t given an explicit reason for Wolf getting cut doesn’t automatically mean he’s coming back; especially when we were told Bayonetta is the last character. We were never actually given a reason as to why Snake was cut, all we have to base his cut off of are assumptions. In fact, the only cut veteran we ever got an explanation for were the Ice Climbers. None of the others were explained.
There is nothing to gain for the developers to lie and tell us there’s nothing else, when in actuality there’s an extra character.
Snake got cut because Kojima left Konami and that made them lose their contract with Sakurai, Young Link and Pichu have been cut since Melee because they were both too much for Semi-Clones, The Ice Climbers got cut because they made both the 3DS game and 8-Player Smash lag and Sakurai didn’t wanna make them as separate characters, The Pokemon Trainer got cut due to the loss of transformations, And even though Squirtle and Ivysaur are very unique, They still got cut because Charizard was way more popular than them.
Source on any of those things? Because none of them have been stated openly (other than the removal of transformation characters, which still isn’t a reason on its own grounds, seeing as how ZSS, Sheik, and Charizard all made it on the roster).
They’re all assumptions. We could just as easily assume that Wolf was cut due to time constraints and due to being a low priority character. He was low priority in Brawl, to the point where he barely made the roster, and considering the Star Fox series had been in hibernation for almost the entirety of SSB4’s development, it’s safe to assume he was among the lowest priority characters for Smash 4. We can also assume he wasn’t chosen for DLC because they only wanted to bring back one Brawl cut, and they selected Lucas over Wolf.
The Snake theory is quite ridiculous, by the way. What “contract with Sakurai”? The one from Brawl? Because licensing doesn’t work that way. You don’t just ask once and get the rights forever.
You can find the source right here in this YouTube video by the Video a Game Dictator. https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=LLCxHc-OzbkANglxe7ARiVhg&v=iw07eUF9ZQ4
Sorry for the typo. #ttc (That means To This Comment.)
wolf, snake and zelda when she could transform into sheik were by main characters in brawl, now i rarely touch this new game