Welcome to the eighth edition of Rate That Character Round Up!
Before we get to this week’s characters though I am happy to introduce our first RTC discussion video, where NantenJex and PushDustIn have come together to discuss some of the more… controversial RTC picks.
Starting us off we have TheMangoViking discussing the Gematsu’s missing stars: the Chorus Kids.
Verdict:
There are few characters and franchises left to choose from without getting niche with the choices. So I think a Rhythm Heaven character is inevitable. However when a character is cut, they tend to stay that way. While Tibby has only appeared in one game, he fills the same role as Chorus Kids, and better fits Sakurai’s criteria in regards to importance and personality. — 25%
Then the next day, NantenJex took a look at 3rd party favourite Crash Bandicoot:
Verdict:
In the end, I doubt that matters. Crash is still very much an icon who would easily transition well into Smash and is highly relevant with his game coming to Switch and potentially more games in the future. The biggest issue facing Crash is Activision as a western company and how Sakurai might work with them. He might find it more difficult than it’s worth, especially when japanese companies like Konami, Square, Sega, Capcom and Namco all have characters who are just as equally as important, if not more so than Crash. They may be prioritised first. — 45%
Then we went back to TheMangoViking again to talk about one of the most requested Pokemon for Smash, Decidueye:
Verdict:
Not only is Decidueye popular and recognizable (as evidenced by his inclusion in Pokken), but Grass and Ghost-types are either no longer in Smash or haven’t been featured in it. The only other strong contenders that could overthrow him, couldn’t have established themselves as more important by the time development started. — 85%
Next Spazzy heads back to Konami to talk about the other big star after Simon: Bomberman.
Verdict:
Bomberman is a character that fits Smash better than most, and he is one that has been on the minds of fans since Smash 64, appearing on Sakurai’s if there was a Smash 2 poll as a potential third party fighter. He’s a classic video game icon, and sure, he’s not from biggest franchise out there, I mean he’s no Pacman or Mario after all, but he’s still a character that left his mark on the world of gaming. — 65%
Next on the list is Impa and the debut of Tris in RTC.
Verdict:
Being one of the most notable characters in the Zelda series, despite not using the Triforce, Impa has a decent chance of getting into Smash. She has the moveset potential, fan and player recognition, and a long history with the Zelda series. Despite this, it still depends on if Sakurai considers Hyrule Warriors noteworthy enough to pull from, and if lacking the Triforce makes Impa considered “important” enough. Most of all, it depends on if Sakurai believes Impa is best represented by her elderly appearances or her younger ones. Overall, I’d say Impa has a fair yet even chance. — 50%
Finishing off this week was PhantomZ2 making his RTC debut with the infamous Princess Daisy.
Verdict:
Honestly, with the lack of mainline Mario representation, I think an upgraded alt costume is the best fans can wish for. Unless Sakurai decides to open the floodgates for Mario characters or unless she stars in another mainline title soon, Daisy as a fighter doesn’t seem very likely. — 30%
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Glad to see a Rhythm Heaven character on the list. Here are the rest of my suggestions.
-Dixie Kong (Donkey Kong)
-Medusa (Kid Icarus)
-Parabô and Satebô (Satellaview mascots)
-Anyone from Megami Tensei (including sub-series)
-Slime (Dragon Quest)
In response to the discussion video, I think people tend to get caught up with the percentages more than the actual content of the videos, which is a little disappointing considering I feel they’ve been quite comprehensive with the pros and cons being discussed. Another factor is how quickly community trends change for/against certain characters based on new information and rumors; with E3 around the corner we could see a major paradigm shift in what characters people will be expecting for release at the end of the year. I’d love to see a comparison chart of sorts after the release of the game where we can compare our expectations to reality, because I think the RTC series could be an interesting cross-section of the pre-Smash Switch speculation period that we can all look back on in the future. Keep it up SG team!
While I have been enjoying the series, I question the decision to use percentages: I think a fuzzier approach – something like Very unlikely/Unlikely/Could go either way/Likely/Very likely, which sort of matches up with what was presented in the discussion video – would have helped to reduce controversy.
As for potential candidates, I would be interested in seeing Pokémon other than Decidueye being evaluated.
sorry for the late reply, i was hanging out with my mom, i don’t get to see her often! anyway here is my changed list again.
Dixie Kong
Mona
Jimmy T.
Ashley
Impa
Hades
Viridi
Anna
Lyn
Tiki
Caeda
Minvera
Slippy
Lyanroc
Eevee
The Ultra Beasts
Lin
Kos-MOS
Andy
Ray
Saki
Vivosaurs
Chibi Robo
Dillon
Professor Layton
Jibanyan
Dr. Eggman
Megaman X
Megaman EXE
Zero
Ken
Phoenix Wright
Black Mage
Cecil
Bartz
Terra
Sora
Edea Lee
Dragon Warrior
Slime
Ryu Hayabusa
Zhou Yu
Cao Cao
Yukimura Sanada
Nobunga Oda
Sophie(from the Atelier games)
Jack Frost
Aigis, Teddie or Morgana
Devil Summoner
Lloyd
Heihachi
I do admit the percentage do conflict as it contradicts with the verdicts. While I don’t mind having one as its nothing but opinions, it can be risky towards people who don’t understand the difference between personal opinions and official facts. Numbers aren’t always perfect in every ways, so its rather difficult to rate on certain characters whether they have a chance or not. But even then, I do enjoy the series as I do also enjoy writing comments about their possibilities too.
Anyways, moving on to commenting each characters…
Chorus Kids: I don’t know how iconic the trio can be, because I don’t see them that important entirely to the series. There are so many other characters to choose from as everybody is popular, such as Karate Joe, the wrestler reporter, the baseball girl, and even Marshal and Tibby. Honestly, we don’t even know what that emblem found through data mining really meant though, whether to be a new comer or a stage. Furthermore, I don’t think Chorus Kids have a chance as there are more other possible characters to choose from, and I do think the mascot could be the best candidate, whoever that’ll be…
Crash: I’m not a huge fan of Crash, but his entry is interesting. It would make sense to see him in Smash as both him, Mario and Sonic have relationship to each other as former rivals since the nostalgic console wars. But even he’s well known in Japan, it may be difficult to bring the character that’s originally made in the west, due to travelling issues. Diddy is made in the west, but the property already bought by Nintendo, so that wouldn’t be the problem for sure since its nearby. So, I would think his chances are low, but would like to see if there’s still a chance.
Decidueye: People suggest him being the next Greninja, which would make sense if he’s been decided through the concept art before Sun/Moon’s development, and being the grass/ghost-type representative as that type hasn’t been brought to Smash yet (except for Ivysaur but we know she ain’t coming back). I wouldn’t suggest him joining Smash due to the anime as Ash having Rowlet, which I do think Rowlet’s not gonna evolve through the entire show. Pokken DX’s entry may also reflect his inclusion too, but we don’t know about that for sure. But even then, there are still other Gen 7 Pokemon to choose from, such as the popular Mimikkyu to Lycanroc, or even the UB representative Nihilego. So it really depend on the possibilities at this moment…
Bomberman: His entry would make a lot of sense since he was heavily requested back in Brawl as a Hudson rep, even the company is already dead and passed down to Konami. Bomberman’s return has even became a huge success, which proves Konami do care every ex-Hudson characters, including Momotaro Dentestu that has been revived since December 2017. His brothers and sister’s colors would fit perfectly as color palettes, including his movesets as well. But even then, Konami’s reputation is still worse even recovering, which we don’t know if they’ll return to Smash. If they do return, then maybe they’ll bring Bomberman to Smash for the first time, or maybe revive Snake which we don’t know the possibility at this moment.
Impa: Definitely, I do love to see her join Smash. But even then, her identity is problematic, since she mostly appear as an old lady than her adult version. If Sakurai view her as an old powerless and inflexible lady, then her chances may be low. Even her Hyrule Warriors version is heavily difficult since it belongs to Koei Tecmo, and permission would be necessary but rather bring their character instead, like Ryu Hayabusa. But even then, she (and maybe Tingle too) has been appearing throughout the series as an important supportive character, and maybe Sakurai would think about it if there’s any idea for not just what she can do in Smash, but what she’ll look like in Smash instead.
Daisy: While I do like to see Daisy in Smash, I do agree her chances are low at this moment. Not that she might end up being Peach’s clone, but how she’s viewed as by Sakurai. Sakurai tend to ignore spinoff titles like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and as Daisy appears mostly on titles that’s separated from the main core series (except Mario Land), then her chances may be low. But if she does join, then they should differentiate her from Peach as being more sporty, being faster and powerful, using sport and party referenced movesets. Maybe she can use the Super Ball from Mario Land too if possible.
While I don’t care much for Bomberman, I was surprised to see him in Ultimate as an Assist Trophy. I felt a similar surprise when I saw Rayman and that indie character (forgot his name) in Smash 3DS/Wii U as regular trophies. I bet the Bomberman fans are dissapointed to say the least but I guess representation through assist trophies are better then no appearance at all. Makes me wonder if most, if not all indie characters have a better chance appearing as ATs instead of full playables, I have mixed feelings about that.
And how about that, instead of alternate skin costume (or whatever the proper fighting game term for it is), Daisy got in as a clone (which is not surprising from a moveset POV), despite having only appeared in sports/racing/spin-offs games to date after her debut in one mainline title. Sakurai is really making a lot of firsts with Ultimate. Never personally liked Daisy so this one is a bummer for me.
Come to think of it, I forgot about Super Mario Run when I wrote this but I’m uncertain whatever it counts as a mainline Mario game or not.