FIGHTER ABILITIES |
Auto-facing |
1-on-1 facing |
always turns to face the last opponent (except when running away or in the air); allows backstepping |
Crawl |
crawling |
can move while crouching |
Glide |
gliding |
holding jump while in the air allows the character to glide |
Hydrophobia |
hydrophobia |
character takes damage while submerged in water |
Item Durability |
durability |
some moves have limited-use items that become unusable until they recover over time or when KOed |
Lenient Dodge |
dodge-leniency |
has extra frames during dodge where character takes half damage and no knockback |
Multiple Jumps |
multiple double jumps |
can air jump 2-5 times |
Passive Armor |
passive armor |
doesn't flinch when hit with attacks under a specific knockback threshold |
Passive Shield |
passive shield |
character's shield auto-blocks any reflectable projectiles when standing, walking, or crouching (can't block while holding an item) |
Slow Double Jump |
delayed double jump |
double jump has a delayed start and rises slowly but constantly in a curve |
Wall Cling |
wall cling |
can cling to walls for an extended period |
Wall Jump |
wall jump |
can jump off of walls |
List these remaining abilities as part of the attacks themselves. |
Aerial Smash Attacks |
smash-inputted aerial attacks |
can input aerials like a smash attack for stronger effects |
Chain Grab |
grab aerial (chain grab) |
has a ranged grab; can use grab mid-air to latch onto ledges or deal damage |
Command Moves |
command-input moves |
allows fighting game inputs to be used for stronger specials |
Held Moves |
tapped and held attacks |
moves have different properties when tapped versus when held |
Taunt Attack |
taunt attack |
has a taunt with a hitbox that can cause damage; cannot be cancelled like a regular taunt |
Transformation |
mid-battle transformation |
character can transform and change their move set |
FIND MII COLORS
* Black
* Brown
* Red
* Orange
* Yellow
* Green
* Light Green
* Blue
* Light Blue
* Purple
* Pink
* White
MARIO
Honestly, I think Pirahna Plant was a stupid inclusion. Other than that, it gets a pass on the number of representatives it has, given it's Nintendo's mascot IP. It could use some costumes, though. The construction outfit from Mario Maker, Paper Mario versions of characters, Shadow Peach, Dry Bowser, Cappy, the wedding outfits from Odyssey, and for the love of god someone put Waluigi in even if he is just a lanky echo of Luigi.
WARIO
The series is fine, being a part of Mario's. It only really needs Warior. If Captain Syrup could be fleshed-out into a Tron Bonne-style character, though, definitely add her.
DONKEY KONG
Nothing to say. Not familiar with the IP. It has a solid 3 reps via the protagonist, his sidekick, and the antagonist.
METROID
Has solid representation through Samus and Dark Samus. Ridley is a bit extra and has to be shrunk way down to not be absurdly-big but whatever. The series could use some costumes. Metal Ridley as well as Samus' Zero Mission (small shoulderpads), fusion suit, and Dread suit.
KIRBY
Characters are pretty one-note in the series outside of the three existing representatives, so this is fine. It has the protagonist, antagonist, and dubiously-aligned seasoned mirror of the protagonist.
STAR FOX
Not familiar with the franchise. Fox, Falco, and Wolf are definitely clones but whatever. It's hard to translate pilots into fist-fighters.
FIRE EMBLEM
While not the sole contributor to the Anime Swordfighter (TM) issue, Fire Emblem is its biggest culprit. It also has egregious over-representation for two reasons: Marth echoes and current-game cross-promotion. While Roy is a fan-favorite and his return in Ultimate is celebrated, having Lucina and Chrom slapped on top of that gives four same-y characters. Corrin and Byleth, while having unique movesets and quirks (at least compared to the three Marth clones) very much come off as forced inclusions to promote their own games. Fates, at least, did not sell so well, being a less-than-stellar attempt at milking the success of Tactical Waifu Simulator (TM) from Awakening.
My suggestion would be to cut Corrin and Byleth entirely as well as condense Roy, Lucina, and Chrom into character-costumes for Marth (retaining their voice lines and identities but dropping unique mechanics that make them separate fighters). Ike and Robin can stay, both having unique movesets, being the protagonist of their own games that don't overlap with Marth's titles, and having popularity beyond their own games. I would also suggest adding Celica, being her own protagonist popular enough to have her game receive a remake very recently. Also potentially Priam as a costume for Ike, being his descendant.
POKEMON
Pokemon suffers from having too many representatives, some of which are promotions for their generation. While Greninja and Incineroar have unique movesets, I'd personally advocate for their removal. Keep Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo and Pokemon Trainer, and relegate Lucario to a Mewtwo character-costume. The Pokemon Trainer could stand to have more costumes. Give them Red/Leaf for their default appearance and have alternates for Ethan/Kris, Wes, etc but with the standard Squirtle-Ivysaur-Charizard.
KID ICARUS
Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit are solid representatives. The series could stand to have Magnus added as a playable character.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
The Legend of Zelda is simultaneously over-represented and yet perfectly fine. The issue comes from Link, Young Link, and Toon Link all sharing essentially the same move-set. I would either turn them into character-costumes with only differing hurtboxes or diversify their move pools to justify considering them separate characters. Otherwise the series is perfectly fine. It has the three main characters - Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf - and lets Sheik fill a fourth slot so that she isn't tacked onto Zelda.
What the series could benefit from, however, is a slew of costumes for each character. Bordering mad hyper-monetization levels of costumes. Each character should be their Ocarina of Time version for default to tie them all together and because it is still the most popular game in the franchise to date, then have alternates for all big outfit changes. This would include Twilight Princess, ALTTP/ALBW (utilizing the unused Ganondorf concept from OOA/OOS), BOTW/TOTK, and Hyrule Warriors. Toon Link could also stand to have the Minish Cap; Young Link could have different masks or even those masks' forms; Ganondorf should also receive his Wind Waker outfit; Fierce Deity and Demise could also be included; and Sheik could potentially have Impa from Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors fit her ninja-like moves.
SPLATOON
Solid Nintendo IP. Could have Octoling costumes.
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FINAL FANTASY
While FF7 is the most popular Final Fantasy series, its home console is Playstation. Even its spinoff - Dirge of Cerberus - was for a handheld Sony console. Final Fantasy should really be represented by game(s) that started or lived on Nintendo - chiefly the Crystal Chronicles series or the very early titles (FF1-FF3). I don't have any experience with those series personally, though, so have no character suggestions to bring to the table.
BRAVELY DEFAULT
Riding in Final Fantasy's tailwind is the Bravely Default series which started as a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy 4: Heroes of Light and whose home is on the 3DS. While not a very popular game, it did get two sequels and its characters Agnes and Edea are personable favorites among those who recognize the series. The gameplay also allowed characters to change jobs on-the-fly - perfect for giving them a varied Smash moveset. Given all four protagonists (at least in the first game) could all change to the same classes with the same abilities, having one character - likely Agnes, the story's protagonist - represent the game with the other three being alternate outfits (with unique voice lines) would work well.
MEGA MAN
The Mega Man franchise is by-and-large housed on Nintendo consoles and deserves more representation. Rather than including echo characters of classic Mega Man, other big names in the IP should make an appearance. My vote is for the two GBA series protagonists. Zero is probably the second-most recognized protagonist in the main series timeline. MegaMan.EXE not only kicked off the alternate timeline but also created its own competitive battling community before e-sports or online battling were even realized.
SONIC
Not familiar enough with the series. Could add Shadow as a costume for Sonic.
STREET FIGHTER
Solid representative with the first two games being on the Super Nintendo. More Ryu clones alongside Ken as character-costumes would be funny.
ACE ATTORNEY
Made its home on the 3DS. Solid IP though movesets would be quite awkward, even if it takes from Marvel Vs. Capcom.
ASTRAL CHAIN
A Nintendo Switch-exclusive game. A bit more adult-oriented but Bayonetta made the cut so this should be fine. The different Legions would make for a varied moveset.
CHRONO TRIGGER
Chrono as another representative from Final Fantasy-styled games native to Nintendo consoles. The title is considered a classic SNES-era game and deserves to have representation as such.
MONSTER HUNTER
A series that started on Sony consoles but has since switched to Nintendo with the 3DS and continued into the modern era. A generic hunter is just fine, taking cues from Marvel vs Capcom Infinite.
NO MORE HEROES
A very solid third-party choice, having always been on Nintendo Consoles. A very adult-oriented series normally but Bayonetta made the cut and all you really have to tone down is Travis Touchdown's cursing. An avid gamer with a varied move set between his beam katana, wrestling moves, and special videogame abilities granted by the Dead Drive.
OOKAMI
A timeless classic for the Gamecube. Amaterasu deserves to be in Smash, hands down.
RAYMAN
While not a Nintendo console-exclusive, his games have been on their platforms throughout the years and really shined with Raving Rabbids on the Wii.
SHANTAE
Way Forward's prodigal child whose home was on the Game Boy. Deserves to be in Smash.
SHOVEL KNIGHT
A spiritual descendant of Mega Man. While not Nintendo-exclusive, was programmed with an art style and gameplay that intentionally emulate the NES.
VIEWTIFUL JOE
A Game Cube cult classic.