Ten Overdue Fighters for Smash Bros.

by
Mark Nielsen
, posted 8 hours ago / 1,578 Views

While the future of Smash Bros. has been uncertain for a while – whether Nintendo will build on Ultimate or bring us a new entry entirely – within all likelihood a new Nintendo system still means something new for Smash Bros. is on the horizon, and that something will almost certainly include new fighters, however many or few. While this might be the gaming article equivalent of putting up Christmas decorations in October, it’s never too early to start speculations when it comes to Smash Bros. before two thirds of everything inevitably gets leaked ahead of time. Keep in mind that this is not a list of predictions for future newcomers, though a few could perhaps fit in that same category, but rather a small list of the characters that in this writer’s humble opinion are overdue an appearance in the gaming crossover to end all crossovers.

 10. Midna

Starting out this list we have an overdue character whose window of opportunity might unfortunately have passed, though it was a rather significant window. The Legend of Zelda is a series that’s suffered in Smash Bros. because of the ever-changing nature of its cast, with the exception of the core triad of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, who take up a combined six character slots. To pass up the opportunity on a fan-favorite outside of that trinity – not least one who was central to a game that ended up spanning three home consoles – was a damn shame. It’s never too late with Smash though, as it’s even played the role of reviving dormant franchises before, and with some partial assistance from Wolf Link, Midna probably remains the strongest candidate for a Zelda newcomer to this day.

9. Lloyd Irving

Considering that Bandai Namco actually developed the last two/three entries of Smash Bros., one of Nintendo’s flagship series, it’s surprising how few of Bandai Namco’s own characters have been included. For the longest time Pac-Man held that flag on his own, until he was joined by the somewhat leftfield choice of Kazuya from Tekken. While Bandai Namco has many sizeable franchises, Tales is one of the few that made its debut on Nintendo. The series’ most beloved entry, from which Lloyd Irving hails, also started out as a Nintendo exclusive. For that reason, and due to how similar the movesets of Tales and Smash are, Lloyd has long been a popular request from fans (you can barely Google his name without stumbling on mods or moveset concepts), particularly around the time of Fighter Ballot for Bandai’s first entry, which lined up nicely with Symphonia’s first remaster. Perhaps if that remaster had also released on Wii U, he might have made the cut among the likes of Cloud and Bayonetta, but alas instead the DLC pack ended on Corrin to widespread applause.

 8. Leon Kennedy

While Leon Kennedy might not exactly be a face of Nintendo, his inclusion was made possible ever since the very first third party character jumped out from under his cardboard box. Solid Snake and Leon have a lot in common, with both coming from more mature franchises that have had their biggest presence on PlayStation. Though it’s far in the past as this point, Leon arguably has a stronger connection with Nintendo: the game he’s most famous for, Resident Evil 4, debuted as a GameCube exclusive. He also represents a genre that (perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly) is entirely unrepresented in terms of fighters; if that ever were to change, he would certainly feel more at home with Nintendo’s cast than, say, Pyramid Head.

 7. Shadow the Hedgehog

When the notion of Echo Fighters – and particularly third party Echo Fighters – hit the scene with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Shadow the Hedgehog, who had already been enjoying some support, grew to be one of the most requested characters. Surprisingly, he never made it in despite this. Perhaps it could be argued that his potential would be somewhat wasted as an Echo, but either way if multiple fighters from the same third party remains a thing, Shadow seems a perfect fit to be next in line, especially with the Sonic franchise enjoying renewed interest thanks to the films and the man himself having just had a dang year dedicated to him. On top of that he’s one of relatively few characters to have perfect attendance as an assist trophy since the feature got introduced in Brawl, so he’s already got a foot (or perhaps a gun) in the door to Smash.

6. Lara Croft

Lara is another character that has a stronger history with PlayStation than Nintendo (I promise this will be the last), but if Final Fantasy VII can get not one but two characters in to duke it out with Mario, it’s safe to say that that particular ‘rule’ loosens up a bit proportional to fame. Of the small pantheon of classic gaming characters famous enough that even your average non-gamer could point them out in a police lineup, Lara Croft is probably the only one yet to make an appearance in Smash Bros. With Lara’s recent return to her roots, in the form of last year’s remaster of the original trilogy and this year’s upcoming remaster of the next three games, the timing has never felt more fitting than it does now for her to swing in dual pistols a-blazing.

5. Isaac

It hurts to say that the main theme of Golden Sun’s history is arguably neglect; what started out as a surprising critical success in the early 2000s has now been an abandoned franchise for 15 years, with only one somewhat middling entry in the meantime. The one thing that the series does still have, however, is fans. In Smash Bros. it hasn’t been quite forgotten, either: Isaac has shown his face twice as an assist trophy and been perhaps the most widely requested character from Nintendo’s back catalog of old IPs. While JRPGs admittedly have a strong presence in Smash Bros. already, it does seem like high time that Nintendo’s own take on Dragon Quest gets a fighter in the ring (and perhaps a remake while we’re at it?).

 4. Monster Hunter

When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate released, Monster Hunter became the first ever series to get a boss in Smash Bros. without also getting a fighter, and while the decision to bring in one of the series’ iconic monsters first is understandable, it still remains a bit of a mystery that the hunters themselves never got to join the fray with their massive swords, confident poses, and feline companions. Perhaps the problem is that the titular Monster Hunter can be pretty much anything, depending on how the player builds their character, but for that same reason the moveset potential is limitless and there are many ways to create something that’s both fun and screams Monster Hunter as loud as a Rathalos.

3. Paper Mario

While he’s not the only Mario RPG character that’s been requested for years (*cough cough* Geno), when it comes to characters that are truly overdue it’s hard to argue that Paper Mario – the face of a sizeable Nintendo sub-series that dates back to the same console as Smash Bros. itself – doesn’t fit the bill. It’s likely the existence of Dr. Mario has dimmed the excitement for the idea of yet a third Mario fighter, but unlike the Doctor, Paper Mario has plenty of potential to be a fully original character that can incorporate partners and moves from the series into an all-new moveset. And, of course, his presence would also be a great relief to Mr. Game and Watch, who would no longer be the sole character lacking a third dimension.

 2. Waluigi

Love him or hate him, when you’re dealing with a character whose omission has gotten more attention than some characters inclusion, you know there’s something there. An underdog by design, being originally introduced solely because Wario was missing a tennis partner, Waluigi has nevertheless garnered a significant fanbase over the years and has had an almost flawless attendance in Mario sports and party games ever since. It certainly can’t be argued that the demand isn’t there, and just like Ridley and King K. Rool finally getting their long-awaited time of day in Ultimate, I would be frankly shocked if the same doesn’t happen to Waluigi at one point or another.

 1. Professor Layton

Clouds and Kazuyas aside, Smash Bros. is at the end of the day a celebration of Nintendo’s history, and if there’s one third party character that’s as much a part of that history as many of Nintendo’s own then it’s Professor Layton. Except for a single mobile spin-off, every entry in the Professor Layton series has made its home on Nintendo, and even Level-5 as a whole has been almost entirely dedicated to making Nintendo handheld exclusives since the days of the DS. Now that Nintendo handheld and home consoles have fused, and the Professor is gearing up for a comeback, it’s high time this courteous and sharp-minded gets his due in the Smash Bros. pantheon.

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