Choose Your Character!...Within Reason.

Hello again Smash Fans! It's Brandon "the Bman" Alicea here with another Smashing topic...
Characters

Characters Everywhere...

One thing that really makes a crossover fighting game like this shine, in my opinion (which might be accurate), is the Characters. Some ya know, some ya don't. But its all in good fun to watch them pound the Magikarp out of each other.

But my main point is that all the Characters have been checked out as clear for the game. There are guide lines that everyone of them follow that allows them to be Playable Characters in the game.

So they don't look like this

The problem isn't the number of Characters, its just where some of them came from...
Now without further delays...

The Official SSB Character Guidelines

#1: Character must be of video game origin.
From famous characters like Link, to more obscure characters like the Ice Climbers, every Smasher has had a humble beginning as a video game. Which makes sense really. This is why we have Red as the Pokémon Trainer instead of Ash.

Thank Arceus for that

And even if something has an anime or cartoon about it, they are not going to reference it in game.
Like at all.
And before anyone asks "Well what about Jigglypuff cuz that's the one from the anime," No she is not. She was just a recognizable face in Pokémon to add into Smash to replace the obscure Pit. She is in no way that same Jigglypuff.

I don't see a marker in her hand

Bad Character Examples: Goku, Naruto, Ichigo, Spongebob, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Homer Simpson, Yugi, Harry Potter, Stitch, Samurai Jack, Ash Ketchem, Inuyasha, Darth Vader, Chuck Norris.

Basically, anyone who started out on an anime, manga, movie, or cartoon. Or any real person.

#2: Character must have at least 1 game on a Nintendo system.
This is another obvious kind of guideline like the last one. Given this is a Nintendo game for a Nintendo system. Snake has had a game for the NES, and Sonic has been on Nintendo since Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for the Gamecube. Mixing one foreign console character with a different console exclusive game is like...well...                                                        

This...doesn't feel right...

Bad Character Examples: Master Chief, Duke Nukem, Altair, Kratos, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, Sacboy, Jak & Daxter, Nathan Drake, a Creeper, a Heavy.

Basically, anyone exclusive to Sony, Microsoft, or PC.

#3: Character of a 3rd Party can be included, but as a minority.
Don't get me wrong. I love zooming across the Bridge of Eldin as the Blue Blur or planting mines as the Legendary Solider of Fortune just as much as the next guy. And I'd love a bigger focus on 3rd Party people like them. Just as long as they add people who fit the top two guidelines and fit Smash's style of gameplay. The Nintendo characters should still outnumber the 3rd Party people by about 3x or so.

Plus, there's a (literal) price to pay when including too many 3rd Party Characters. But if the other companies are lenient (which I hope they are), then there's no problem.


3rd Party Character Examples: Mega Man, Ryu, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Rayman, Pac-Man, Sora, Scorpion.


#4: Character must have high popularity/wealth.
This guideline isn't as heavy as the others but should still be regarded in its own right. While more well-known characters are important, a few mysterious competitors add a bit of intrigue into the game. Just who are they? What could they do? Where did they come from? Soon enough, they'll be one of your favorite characters. Or punching bags.

Adding small-time characters boosts their fan base. You would not believe how many people love playing as someone from Team Retro (Pit, Ice Climbers, R.O.B., and Mr. Game & Watch.) That being said, people would be happier to get a chance to play as Vaati instead of a Goomba.

In Conclusion
Just as long as the Character in question fulfills the criteria above, then he/she/it might have a chance to be added to SSB4's Character Roster. What an honor it would be.

Speaking of Characters, it's time I give some Character-related posts. Whether they'll be a Character Spotlight on a current/past Smasher, or a Warning! Challenger Approaching about a predicted Newcomer.

Comment below and tell me what you'd like to see first! Until next time everyone! :D