Who wants to Smash?: 3rd Party Additions

Now that Smash is confirmed to be coming for Nintendo Switch at the end of 2018, I wanted to share my own thoughts about the roster. The Smash hype season is always such a glorious time, fraught with emotion and anticipation for what may come. 

Sakurai himself noted that he wanted Smash Bros. to represent "the history of video games," and remarked that Smash 4 was the biggest celebration of that yet. With the combination of first party and third party characters, you could make a pretty good argument that story of video games as a whole is represented well within that title.

HOWEVER, I think there are still some parts of that history which are missing. And since the floodgates opened up to 3rd party characters in Smash 4, I think it's safe to say that we will be getting even more non-Nintendo characters in the next game and that all bets are off over who or what can get in.

So, here is my not-so-exhaustive list of what 3rd party characters I want to be included. This doesn't mean they will happen, but I'm also not going crazy with my suggestions here so these are within a shred of a grain of a piece of the realm of possibility. Note that my criteria more or less follows these rules:

1. They must be part of "the history of video games." Define that as you will, but I take that to mean "they are well remembered for their contributions to video gaming" and "they're instantly recognizable as a part of gaming culture." 
2. They bring something "unique" to the table that hasn't been done before, either in design or playstyle (this is another criteria of Sakurai's)
3. They can be turned marketable (also one of Sakurai's criteria, to an extent). This character could be turned into an amiibo, plastered on coverart, or used in advertising and nobody would question their inclusion. There are exceptions to this rule, obviously, so this is the loosest criterion.

Simon Belmont

Origin: Castlevania Series

Copyright Holder: Konami

If I had to put my finger on one character I want to see, this is it. The Castlevania series was a mainstay on the NES in both Japan and the West, and has continued to hold strong across all markets over 30 years of gaming history. If there was one goliath franchise from the olden days that stood toe-to-toe with Mario and Zelda, and is still churning out games, this is it. Castlevania games have always been popular, and like Zelda it has a diehard fanbase, tons of lore, and devoted development team. This, in my opinion, is one of the last "greats" Smash is still missing after adding in Final Fantasy, Mega Man, and Street Fighter during the last game. Castlevania absolutely has a significance to video gaming history as a whole, and deserves a place among the ranks of Smash Bros. Simon Belmont is the original protagonist, and provides the best opportunity for a character that "feels" Castlevania. His whip, subweapons, and unique control scheme would make for a fun character to design and play as. Alternatively, they could choose Dracula as the representative, though he may not offer much more different from character like Bowser or Ganondorf to be honest. Alucard might meet an interesting middle ground between the two, but I would absolutely throw my weight behind Simon being the wisest choice for a Castlevania representative. Plus a Castle Dracula stage in Smash? Sakurai could make something 10x better than what the fans created in Project M. Just give it to us now, Daddy Sakurai!

Solid Snake

Origin: Metal Gear Series

Copyright Holder: Konami

Not much to say here considering Snake was already in Brawl. His chances of returning are slim as Konami has distanced themselves from his creator, Hideo Kojima, which in turn distances him from Smash's creator, Sakurai. There's still hope, however, that Snake can have a triumphant return to Smash -- complete with all his new gadgets from the more recent Metal Gear titles.

Bomberman

Origin: Bomberman Series

Copyright Holder: Konami (currently), Hudson (formerly)

Bomberman is arguably up there with Mario, Sonic, Pac Man, and Mega Man in terms of "classic" video game mascots. While he wasn't the actual mascot for Hudson, he was the de facto mascot of Hudson for many gamers of the '80s and '90s. Bomberman also has a perfect attendance award, with at least one title appearing on every Nintendo console since his inception -- including the Virtual Boy! He would fit right in with the rest of the cast, with his design almost tailor made for a mascot fighter. Bomberman did appear in Dreammix TV, a Japan-only Smash clone for the Gamecube, so he's got a moveset already "created" for Sakurai's team to work off of. And while a character who throws bombs for all his moves may seem boring (or exciting), Bomberman does have other abilities from his huge library of titles. He's also already appeared in a game with Wario (Wario's Blast on the GameBoy), so he's got "vetted for Smash" stamped all over him. One of the few mascot characters I can say with conviction will be (and should have been already) put into Smash at some point in the future. 

Wonder Boy

Origin: Wonder Boy series

Copyright Holder: Sega

Maybe an oddball choice, but the Wonder Boy series has a long history across several consoles. It has appeared on nearly every console in some form of another, was one of the first scrolling platformer games, and spawned dozens of sequels, spinoffs, and ripoffs throughout the '90s. Without getting into too much detail, the original game fell into some copyright dilemmas leading to the creation of multiple different video game franchises, including Adventure Island, Monster World, Dynastic Hero, and Wonder Boy proper. This is not so much a specific character as a character idea. I think any of the iterations of the hero from this series would be fantastic additions to Smash. In some games, the protagonist is a caveman who fights with tomahawks, dinosaurs, and skateboards; in others, he takes a more fantasy role and transforms into monsters or fights with swords and arrows. However, the best idea, in my opinion, would be to base the character on the hero from the 4th game in the series (which was Japan only until about 10 years ago). Asha, the main character, has a basic sword and shield setup as her main mode of attack, but can also use magic and is followed by a pet monster named Pepelogoo. In her game, the pet acted as a platform, a projectile, recovery, and a bevy of other things -- all things that make for a unique and dynamic moveset. She also hails from a world based on Arabian Nights, which is pretty different when compared to the rest of the cast. Alternatively, the development team could go the other route and create a basic caveman character who adopts abilities from across the series -- magic, swords, skateboards, summoning a magic bee/fairy, throwing fruit, etc. They could even get the copyright from Hudson/Konami and make this character specifically Master Higgins, which would be neat too. Regardless, I think people are sleeping on these games and the significance they had to the history of gaming, especially in Japan.

Bonk

Origin: Bonk's Adventure series

Copyright Holder: Konami (currently), Hudson (formerly)

Building off my last character idea, we now come across Bonk. Bonk was the mascot for the TubroGrafx-16, a system that did not fare so well against the SNES and Genesis in the West but did really well in Japan. The TGFX-16 did so well in Japan, in fact, that it spawned a few different console iterations over its lifetime. Bonk, as the "coverboy" for this console line, has multiple games under his belt as well, including a few on other systems such as Super Bonk on the SNES and Bonk's Adventure on the Game Boy. It is also worth mentioning that when the Wii's Virtual Console was launched back in the 2000's, the TGFX-16 was one of the first consoles available along with the original Bonk's Adventure titles. By the end of the Wii's lifespan, nearly all of Bonk's major titles became available on the Virtual Console service. Suffice to say, Nintendo is aware of the significance of this character and his games. Do I think he's worth a spot in Smash, however? Well, yeah, or else I wouldn't have put him on this list! Bonk was the "Sonic the Hedgehog" of the TurboGrafx line, and like Sonic saw marketing pitting him against the rival console mascots of his day. While he may be forgotten these days, he is still a significant relic of his era and deserves a spot among the contenders of Smash. His moveset could revolve around his signature headbonks mixed with his various transformation abilities. He could change size by eating candy, cause earthquakes on the stage as Butthead Bonk, shout explosive letters as Mini Bonk, or use propeller flowers to get around for his recovery -- just as a few ideas. His Final Smash could be turning into Kronkzilla or even his futuristic descendant Air Zonk to attack the stage. There's some neat potential for a fun and diverse mascot character here.

Tails

Origin: Sonic series

Copyright Holder: Sega

Not much to say on this one, but I think that the Sonic series has earned a second representative. Do I want Smash Bros. to turn into a giant party for all of Sonic's friends? No, of course not. I want that cancer as far away from Smash as anybody else does. But Tails is a safe bet and not-so-cancerous character idea from the days when Sonic was still "good" in the eyes of most gamers. So, let's add him in. 

Geno

Origin: Super Mario RPG

Copyright Holder: Square-Enix

You fall into either one of two camps as a Smash player: you love Geno or you don't know who he is and by default hate him. I'm serious. I think the people who argue against this character just never played his game or have no clue his significance. Is he important to video game history? Yes. He is undoubtedly the most popular character from the first Mario RPG spinoff. Is he unique? Of course! He's a Mario character based on an action figure who can transform and fights with guns. His list of attacks from Mario RPG is tailor made for Smash Bros.! Is he marketable? Duh! He's a Mario character! And I think his costume getting into Smash 4 was a big nod that Sakurai knows this character is beloved by fans. It should also be noted that Smash is one of the few games where Geno's inclusion makes sense. Since his copyright is held by Square-Enix, and they have worked with Smash in the past, half the work is already done. Put Geno in this game now!

Chun-Li

Origin: Street Fighter series

Copyright Holder: Capcom

I want another Street Fighter character and Chun-Li is PERFECT. That's as simple as it gets.

Rayman

Origin: Rayman series

Copyright Holder: Ubisoft

The idea of Rayman in Smash intrigues me because I'm both repulsed and excited by it. Is Rayman that notable? I don't know. Some people make him out to be on par with Mario, but I don't think that's reality. However, he comes from a company that is on good terms with Nintendo, to the point that they were allowed to use the Mario characters freely in their own spinoff title with the Rabbids. That's worth mentioning, because that's the kind of relationship which denotes familiarity and comfort with one another's licenses. Rayman also got a trophy in Smash 4, which points to Sakurai's team being knowledgeable about the character and his value to the audience. Is Rayman a shoe-in? No, I don't think so. But he's had more representation in Smash (and across Nintendo products) than some of the 3rd party characters who are actually in the game, so I think he is very much worth bringing to the table alongside the rest of the characters I'm suggesting. I don't really want Rayman in the game, but I see where people who do are coming from and, at the end of the day, I'm not completely disgusted by his possible inclusion. He could be a unique fighter and does have that charm that fits right in with the rest of the cast.

 

Crash Bandicoot

Origin: Crash series

Copyright Holder: Activision

This will be interesting to see if it ever happens. On one hand, Crash was the mascot for PlayStation in the '90s. He was absolutely created to crap all over Mario and Sonic. However, he never really was a Sony character to begin with (most "PlayStation" franchises aren't). Since "leaving" PlayStation, Crash has had GBA and Wii games, he has appeared in Skylanders, and is now getting the remastered edition of his original PS1 trilogy ported to the Switch. If that doesn't scream "this character is on the table now," I don't know what does. Definitely 10, 15, or even 20 years ago, I would have baulked at the idea of Crash in Smash Bros (and yes, I am actually old enough to remember the speculation over the first Smash game on N64). Crash in a Nintendo game would have disgusted me. But I said the same thing about characters like Sonic, Cloud, and even Diddy Kong in the past, and look where we are today. Now I'm a little older, I'm a little wiser, tensions between developers have cooled, Smash has had a lot of time to develop as a franchise, and the list of "must be in Smash" first party characters from the Nintendo library is starting to get thinner... Now in 2018, Crash appearing as a guest fighter in Smash Bros. makes sense. And to be honest, seeing him get his ass handed to him by Mario in Smash Bros. makes me smile. I actually really want to see this now, and to be honest I think there's a good chance it will. From what I've read, his games actually sold well in Japan, so he's not as "Western-only" as some other suggestions on this list. Despite being a Western-developed character, the Crash Bandicoot games apparently are well regarded in Japan. Also, I should note that if Crash gets into Smash Bros., that would now be TWO characters Smash "stole" from Sony that never got into PlayStation All-Stars (Cloud and Crash), three if you want to count Snake as being separate from the Metal Gear franchise (since Raiden from MGS2 appeared in PS All Stars, not Snake). 

Shovel Knight

Origin: Shovel Knight

Copyright Holder: Yacht Club Games

Controversial? You bet. But don't lie and say this wouldn't be neat to see. I don't want the floodgates to open up to all indie characters, hell no (I think Smash should be left to the major developers, no offense). But Shovel Knight in Smash DOES feel right. He's the only indie character with an amiibo, his games were Nintendo exclusive for a short time, and they feel like classic NES games (which they are based on). His moveset is also tailor made for Smash, as is his art style (and his whole game's style, to be honest). If there were a character to represent the "Nindies" side of Nintendo, this is it.

Banjo-Kazooie

Origin: Banjo-Kazooie games

Copyright Holder: Rare/Microsoft

This may never, ever, ever happen, but I'm still holding out hope. They were rumored to be planned for Melee, just prior to the Rare buyout by Microsoft. Whether or not that rumor is legitimate, they were the "true" mascots of the N64 era (along with Rare in general). They really belong in Smash Bros, and would bring all sorts of charm to the game. Some may argue the Duck Hunt dog sort of usurps the point of Banjo-Kazooie, but I wouldn't mind seeing both in the game personally. They're different enough and B-K is significant enough to Nintendo's history to warrant the inclusion of both characters. There's not much more to say about these characters that hasn't already been said; Phil Spencer of Microsoft even admitted they would love to work with Nintendo on getting Banjo into Smash. I don't know what else I can add to that. Sakurai, I hope you have a good translator or a development team that loves Rare games as much as all us millennial Smash players do. Banjo-Kazooie in Smash Bros. would fulfill the childhood dreams of so many Smash players, and there is no way these characters weren't top-rated on the Smash Poll a few years back. No way. Sakurai and his team must know the support that's out there for these two, which to me makes their very slim chances just a little bit more likely

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Honorable Mentions (characters that I know don't have a shot, but would fun as hell to see)

• Goemon (from the "Mystical Ninja" games, Konami)
• Roll or Protoman (from the "Mega Man" games, Capcom)
• Doomguy (from the original "Doom", Id Software)
• Valkyrie (from the "Legend of Valkyrie" games, Bandai-Namco)
• Konami Man/Konami Girl (from various Konami crossover games)
• Crono and his pals (from "Chrono Trigger," Square-Enix)
• Jack Frost (from "Shin Megami Tensei" games, Atlus)
• Slime (from "Dragon Quest" games, Square-Enix)
• Joanna Dark (from "Perfect Dark," Rare/Microsoft)