New Super Smash Bros. Part One – Guaranteed Returns

Gavin Gronenthal ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff

Welcome to the first of our New Smash Bros articles! In light of the recent reveal of two new games, Super Smash Bros For Wii U and Super Smash Bros For 3DS, I will be going over different theories and ideas about what characters are going to appear in the game. Now, before we begin, let’s clarify a few ground rules.
One: This is not a reflection of who I think should return. It’s more of a reflection of whom I think will return, based on theories and facts, not based on who is my favorite character and what not.
Two: Everything I say is complete conjecture based on what I think is going to happen. So, when I say that a character won’t be coming back at all, or is guaranteed to come back, that’s simply what I think is going to happen. Nothing has been confirmed from this article, it’s all speculation.
Three: This section is solely about the characters who I think will make it back, without a doubt in my mind.
So, let’s get started with the guaranteed returns!

Yoshi

The last of the original 8 non unlockable characters who hasn’t been announced,  there’s no way everyone’s favorite dinosaur isn’t coming back. The only way he wouldn’t return is if the entire staff of programmers and designers had a completely collective mental breakdown and just neglected to put him in.

Peach

The princess of the Mushroom kingdom is in the same boat as Yoshi: if that collective mental breakdown happens, she’ll be left out of the game. Otherwise, let the turnips fly!

Luigi

Mario’s brother is another pretty guaranteed shoo in. Not only is he one of the original twelve characters, but Nintendo themselves have also dubbed this year the “year of Luigi.” The only change that might happen is the inclusion of a move that includes the Poltergust 3000, his vacuum of choice in Luigi’s Mansion and it’s sequel, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.

Zelda/Sheik

The leading lady of Nintendo’s second most popular franchise has no cause to be worried about her inclusion either. The only thing that may be overhauled is her art design (it may resemble Skyward Sword more), but you can definitely expect Zelda and her ninja-like counterpart Sheik to reappear.

Ganondorf

Since Smash Bros is a series that is sorely lacking in villains, The King of Evil will definitely be back to wreak havoc on Link and everyone else in the game. The bigger question, however, is how. See, Ganondorf first appeared in Melee, and his move set was (for some reason) a near carbon copy of Captain Falcon. As strange as it was, the character was still pretty popular, and when he was translated to Brawl, his moves were kept mostly intact with some subtle changes to make him slightly more unique. However, his moves affected his overall character and he is, in my opinion, one of the worst characters in Brawl. With Pit getting an overhaul to match his incarnation in Kid Icarus: Uprising, it’s not that far off to think Link’s nemesis could too. The moral of the story though? Ganondorf will be back.

Marth

Fire Emblem’s first protagonist and unofficial mascot will most likely be making a return to fight another day. The character is notoriously good in both incarnations he’s in, and his kind-of recent appearance in Fire Emblem: Awakening for 3DS has all but guaranteed his return.

Falco

The elite member of the Star Fox crew was a character that a lot were skeptical about returning to the next series, but I figure he has a pretty high chance of flying back into the fray. Though he may be a carbon copy of Fox, he’s also the second most popular character in the series, as the Han Solo to Fox McCloud’s Luke Skywalker. If any Star Fox characters are eliminated, it’s not going to be Falco.

Meta Knight

Meta Knight, the second most popular Kirby character aside from the pink puffball himself, and is pretty much a guaranteed return. Sakurai has a particular love for his own series (see: Pit from Kid Icarus) so Meta Knight has a huge chance of reappearing.

King Dedede

The self-proclaimed king of Dreamland has more than a chance of coming back as well, if not more than Meta Knight. Not only is he from the Kirby series, but he is also a villain, something the series needs a little more of.

Wario

One of the most popular new characters in Brawl, Mario’s evil doppelganger is also a pretty obvious choice for the new Smash Bros. His unique move set and alternate costume (he’s the only one in Brawl with one) are a strange and great combination for Super Smash Bros.

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong’s partner in crime is not only the costar of their recent adventures but has a completely unique move set to boot. To help Donkey Kong represent the world of Konga Jungle, you can bet the peanut popping monkey will be making his triumphant return.

Pokémon Trainer

This one may actually take a while to explain.
I have no doubt the very unique Pokémon Trainer will be making a return, but I do have doubts about how. The Trainer uses three different Pokémon to fight in Smash Bros, and smartly picked different evolutions of the starter Pokémon from the original 151. However, this time they could go a number of different routes with what Pokemon this trainer will have.
Option 1: Stick with the same ones. Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard are obviously popular, and they could definitely return for the fight.
Option 2: Same generation, different evolutions. Rather than keeping them exactly the same, they could change the Pokémon without completely re-doing the characters. So, for example, they could have Bulbasuar, Charmeleon, and Blastiose, or Charmander, Wartortle, and Venusaur.
Option 3: Another generation, in any forms. Though some of us may not like it, there’s way more starter Pokémon beyond the Original 151. Any one of the other generations could be picked, but I’d say some are more likely than others. My money would be on Generations II and V, as II would make sense chronologically, and V is the only generation to have direct sequels to the original games.  III and IV came out too long ago and haven’t really been seen since, and VI would be too close to the game’s release.
Stay tuned for part 2, “On the Bubble!”