I don't know about the rest of you, but after the surprise Smash for Switch announcement in the recent Nintendo Direct, I felt like a kid in a candy store again. All signs are pointing towards this iteration being a brand-new installment over a port, as well. In that vein, more newcomers to the series are a surefire guarantee, and I've got a few ideas of my own. Here's a list of Characters I Would Like to See As Playable in Smash Bros in the future.
These are in no particular order in terms of preference. Characters that already have some kind of representation in the game as Assist Trophies/Pokeball summons/trophy collectibles/Mii Fighter costumes are also fair game. Also, I'm not exactly accounting for their likelihoods of appearing - I know some of these characters are pie-in-the-sky ideas that could almost never happen in today's world - but that won't stop me from fantasizing about it anyway.
Also, I'm not going to be able to cover all the characters I'd like to see. A lot of them are escaping me at the moment, so whenever I think of someone else to include (or, maybe if one of you lovelies could help me out and jog my memory, wink wink) I'll update the list as it goes on.
One more thing - not all the characters on this list have dedicated character pages (for some reason) so any of them that fit that category are listed separately from the list in this paragraph without descriptions.
Characters w/o character pages that I'd also like to see:
Toon Zelda/Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass
Wolf Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Showing 1-10 of 40 items
Originating Series: Kingdom Hearts Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed Appearances in Smash: None Rationale: Recognizable RPG protagonist, nearly-infinite potential in his moveset with magic spells, limit forms and other special attacks at his disposal, great music selection from his home series Issues: Very prominent licensing issues with Disney, who are notoriously stingy with their properties (as Sora and other Disney characters have yet to prominently feature in other games beyond Kingdom Hearts), as well as Square Enix, brings the issue of how much Disney content could be featured in Smash Bros. if Sora gets in
Originating Series: Donkey Kong Country Status in Ultimate: Confirmed Fighter Appearances: Trophy in Melee, trophy/sticker in Brawl, Mii Fighter costume and trophy in 4, playable fighter in Ultimate Rationale: Famous antagonist for the DK series, would make a great out-of-the-blue pick, special move potential from his boss fights in the old games Issues: May be slightly awkward and bumbling to control, slightly obscure, Nintendo doesn't often acknowledge him anymore
Originating Series: WarioWare Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed Appearances in Smash: As a sticker/trophy in Brawl/4 and a background character on the Gamer stage in 4 Rationale: Quirky, not heavily discussed, brings more WarioWare representation as well as female representation Issues: Moveset could be difficult to define, need to build up a 3D model from the ground up
Originating Series: Tomb Raider Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed Appearances in Smash: None Rationale: Heavily-celebrated gaming industry icon, brings more female representation to Smash, multiple iterations of the character to choose from, very athletic and well-versed in combat and acrobatics Issues: Moveset might be somewhat generic, licensing issues with Square Enix
Originating Series: Crash Bandicoot Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed Appearances in Smash: None Rationale: Large industry icon for gaming, one of Mario's biggest perceived rivals in the platforming genre, recent games have been released multiplatform and have appeared on Nintendo consoles, fits the zany aesthetic of the games Issues: Moveset may take some ingenuity to fit the character, licensing issues with Sony/Vicarious Visions/whoever owns him
Originating Series: Shovel Knight Status in Ultimate: Assist Trophy Appearances in Smash: Ultimate as an assist trophy Rationale: Well-known indie platformer protagonist, already appears in indie platform fighter Rivals of Aether with a well-defined moveset, HD 3D model is uncommon, great game soundtrack Issues: Moveset potential may be slightly limited, could be perceived as another blade-wielder, may not quite be popular enough
Originating Series: Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing Status in Ultimate: Confirmed Fighter - DLC Pack #3 Appearances in Smash: Rumored to have been considered for the first game's roster, DLC fighter in Ultimate Rationale: Large icon alongside Kazooie on the Nintendo 64, actually considered for previous Smash titles, has a well-defined arsenal of moves to choose from for his moveset, Grant Kirkhope tracks in a Smash game Issues: Obvious licensing issues with Microsoft and Rare, may not be allowed to use his more popular retro look as seen in the picture under this entry, possibility that the character would draw too much inspiration from Nuts and Bolts
Originating Series: Paper Mario Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed, possible Spirit Appearances in Smash: Trophy in Melee/Brawl/4 Rationale: Well-known and well-regarded Nintendo RPG series, moveset potential in the form of PM's hammer, origami transformations and paint splotches, adds another 2D character alongside Game and Watch Issues: Yet another Mario series character, ties up number of versions of Mario in the game with Link, moveset may draw too heavily upon divisive recent installments
Originating Series: Xenoblade Chronicles Status in Ultimate: Unconfirmed, possible Spirit Appearances in Smash: Trophy in 4 Rationale: Sword/shield hybrid weapon that could give Reyn a unique, defense-heavy turtle play style, possesses some of the most memetic lines from Xenoblade Chronicles, adds more Xenoblade representation Issues: Pretty obscure character, weapon could be slightly clunky and awkward to translate to a Smash Bros. character
Originating Series: Shantae Status in Ultimate: Confirmed Spirit Appearances in Smash: Ultimate as a Spirit Rationale: Big indie hit, has storied past with Nintendo, appearing on many of their handheld systems back in the days of the Game Boy Color and still appears on Nintendo consoles, unique character design, more female roster representation, great game soundtracks Issues: Licensing with WayForward, might be difficult to establish a unique moveset involving hair whip attacks