Round Table: Next Challenger Approaching

Which characters will the staff be voting for in Nintendo’s Smash Bros. fighter ballot?

By Nintendojo Staff. Posted 04/06/2015 07:00 4 Comments     ShareThis

Last week’s Nintendo Direct broadcast gave us a ton of enticing new information, but one of the most surprising announcements was the Super Smash Bros. fighter ballot. By going to the series’ official website, fans can vote for which character they’d like to see added to the 3DS and Wii U games as downloadable content. Naturally, this announcement got many fans excited over the limitless possibilities for a new fighter, from major third-party characters to other forgotten Nintendo heroes. Which characters will the staff be voting for in the ballot? Read on to find out!


Kyle England

It’s an interesting opportunity to be able to vote on a new character in Smash, but I have to wonder if it will really make a difference? I suppose Sonic got into Brawl through a poll, so developers have listened in the past. I just hope whatever characters get the most votes are good ones!

I voted for King K. Rool myself. Smash really needs more villains on its roster, as it has always shown a huge bias toward heroes. Bowser, Bowser Jr., Ganondorf are the only truly villainous characters out of a roster of 51! (True, King Dedede is traditionally considered the villain of the Kirby series, but he is actually pretty friendly and is often Kirby’s ally.) So let’s bring on the baddies! King K. Rool is a good choice because it adds somebody from the Donkey Kong universe that isn’t just another simian. The king of the Kremlings could have a fun and versatile moveset, pulling moves from his alter egos from the DKC series such as “Kaptain K. Rool” and “Baron K. Roolenstein.”

His side-special could be a toss of his crown that returns like a boomerang. And his down-B could rain down a cannonball from the sky. I’m no good at coming up with moves, so I’m sure the devs can tackle those issues. K. Rool will obviously be a heavy character, but I would think he’s a bit more nimble than Bowser. If he gets into Smash, K. Rool would celebrate with a song like this.

And if K. Rool doesn’t make the cut, I can only hope we get some other villainous types. I’d go for a rival bounty hunter from Metroid Prime: Hunters or SA-X from Fusion for a Metroid bad guy. Or perhaps Hades from Kid Icarus: Uprising? Or someone completely different? Just more villains, please!


Marc Deschamps

I’m really stumped on who to vote for. I love that Nintendo is doing this, but the latest titles fit in so many solid choices that it’s hard to choose!

I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing Metal Gear‘s Solid Snake return. It seemed like he missed making the cut due to political reasons, and that’s a shame. I thought the Smash team did a really nice job translating a character that, at first glance, probably shouldn’t have worked. Plus, I really liked hearing Otacon talk about each of the game’s fighters. It’s the kind of neat touch that makes the Smash Bros. franchise so much fun!

I also wouldn’t mind seeing Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia show up. I (incorrectly) guessed he would appear in the new titles due to Namco’s involvement in development, but Pac-Man made the cut instead. I think that ended up being a better decision, but I still wouldn’t mind seeing the Tales veteran join the brawl. Symphonia is one of the GameCube’s most underrated titles, and Lloyd also made a couple of appearances on Wii. I think he’d be a nice fit!


Anthony Pelone

I’m in no rush for any newcomers, so I voted for Snake. He brought such an incredible presence to Brawl, and the way Sakurai’s team translated Metal Gear’s tongue-in-cheek nature– from the codecs to his MGS3 fascination with food and, of course, the cardboard box– into the game was fantastic. I love what Namco’s done with Mega Man and Pac-Man too, of course, but adding Snake would perfect the roster for me. Unfortunately, I anticipate various problems with his possible inclusion, not the least of which is Kojima’s recent fall-out with Konami. Also, the games’ E10+ rating might not agree with Snake’s weaponry, and there’s the matter of David Hayter no longer voicing Snake. (Granted, Smash 4 largely recycled voice clips for veterans, but who knows what say Konami would have in that?)

On the Nintendo front, I’d love to see Takamaru, but he’s already an Assist Trophy. Perhaps it’s time for another DK character to enter the battle? I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing King K. Rool or Dixie Kong join Smash, and I was actually surprised the latter didn’t make it following Tropical Freeze. I also expect Wolf to make it back to promote the upcoming Star Fox for Wii U, and he was my favorite SF character to play as, so I’d welcome his return.


Shawn Wilkins

Okay, so, there are a lot of words I need to put here. First off, I think Snake needs to be put back into Smash. Will this happen? I’ve settled on probably not. Between the Konami and Kojima issues and Metal Gear Solid being bound to almost every-non Nintendo console, I doubt we’ll ever see Snake again. This is the burden of my life and also the demise of my generation.

However, I also think Sega and Nintendo need to finally announce their love to the world and put the entire “new Sonic” roster in the games. Allow me to explain. I don’t want a standard old school Sonic and Tails, I want the full Sonic Boom roster. Give me buff Knuckles and Sonic with random bandages. Give me Tails with a weird voice and Amy nonchalantly holding a hammer. This seems like such an obvious addition and would be incredibly easy (outside of development) to get done that I scratch my head every time I think about them not being there. Also, I want to see the Taiko no Tatsujin drums or tigers added to the game. Their moves can be limited to pounding people with blue or red circles while their special is the red and blue circles going across the screen. I’m getting pretty hyped thinking about this and I didn’t expect this to happen. You know who else should be added? Shantae. Whip her hair back and fo– nope, not doing it. She can attack people with her hair, her special can be all of her separate transformations running across the stage. I need to calm down; just thinking about this is making me dizzy.

That’s all I want, Nintendo. All I want is a league of unreasonable requests fulfilled.


Robert Marrujo

I have trouble with this question because I’m torn between wanting all the old characters back and seeing some new ones. Pichu, Snake, Wolf, the Ice Climbers, Roy, who wouldn’t want to see everyone battling it out along with those in the incredible roster we have so far? I’d even take Young Link!

For new characters, well, that’s a long list in its own right. King K. Rool and Dixie are awesome ideas. I’d love to see Shadow or Knuckles. The thought of Proto Man, X, or Zero joining Mega Man is equally compelling. Toad or his Captain Toad alter ego have to make an appearance at this point, right?

Let’s throw out the ultimate dream character, though. If I can see Link versus Cloud before I die, I’ll be a happy man. Let us choose between Advent Children, FF VII, and Kingdom Hearts skins for him, too, and I’ll pay whatever the heck Nintendo wants for him as DLC. Make it happen, people! Cloud for Smash! Cloud for President!


Angela Marrujo

I didn’t even have to think about the two people I’d be voting for as DLC: Snake and King K. Rool. I thought Snake was a fantastic addition to Brawl, and seeing him fighting alongside (and against) Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mega Man, as well as the entire Nintendo roster, would be nothing short of epic. Given that his weaponry in Brawl wasn’t particularly kid friendly (Nikita missiles, grenades, land mines, C4, his Final Smash grenade launcher, etc.), I can see why Nintendo may have felt less comfortable including him in an E rather than a T-rated title, but the argument can be made that there are plenty of characters using weapons that could be considered equally as violent, so I really hope Nintendo doesn’t try to use that as an excuse for not including him.

I agree with Kyle that Smash Bros. could benefit from the inclusion of more enemies rather than allies/heroes, and I think King K. Rool is one enemy that’s been long overdue for his time to shine in Smash. Link has Ganondorf, Mario has Bowser, Kirby has King Dedede and Meta Knight, and in a way, the Pokémon will have Mewtwo (though he comes around at the end of Pokémon: The First Movie, he was still an antagonist), Fox had Wolf in Brawl, Samus can even square against Ridley on Pyrosphere– why the heck hasn’t King K. Rool just been a no-brainer inclusion as another enemy/rival counterpart?

Plus, can you imagine a four-man brawl with DK, Bowser, King Dedede, and King K. Rool? Or a one-on-one between he and DK? Nintendo, if you’re gonna have King K. Rool as an unlockable character in Mario Super Sluggers, you can include him in Smash, come on now.


Kevin Knezevic

I’m a little surprised by how many people want Snake to return. I thought he was painfully out of place in Brawl. Not only did his explosive-based moveset completely clash with the rest of the roster, but his sporadic appearances on Nintendo consoles made him such an odd choice to appear in a fighting game that celebrates Nintendo history. I’m personally glad he didn’t return in the Wii U and 3DS versions, and I hope he stays right where he belongs: on the cutting room floor. (Yeah, I said it!)

While everyone seems to want more third party heroes to appear in Smash Bros., I’d much rather see another obscure Nintendo character resurrected for the series. King K. Rool is a solid choice, but give me Isaac from the Golden Sun series. Not only is he the star of one of Nintendo’s most underrated franchises, his Psynergy attacks would set him apart from the other swordsmen on the roster. Imagine being able to summon Ragnarok for his Final Smash. Now that would be cool!

Of course, if Isaac doesn’t make the cut, there are plenty of other obscure Nintendo characters that would be great additions to the roster. Mike Jones from StarTropics, Takamaru from Mysterious Murasame Castle (who apparently was almost included in the latest games!), the detective from GumShoe, Captain Rainbow from, well, Captain Rainbow– there’s such a vast and eclectic selection of characters still waiting to be plucked from obscurity, and I’d love to see any of them finally make their Smash Bros. debut!


What about you? What character are you voting for in the Smash Bros. fighter ballot? Let us know in the comments!

4 Responses to “Round Table: Next Challenger Approaching”

  • 66 points
    haruhi4 says...

    i voted for daisy! She is a wonderful and cheerful character that is cast just for parties and golf and kart. It’s time for her to shine like other famous nintendo characters. She could have moves like mario sports games and parties ^^

  • 819 points
    Toadlord says...

    All the King K. Rool love warms my heart. I think that he’s got a real shot at being included.

    What a shame that we have to wait until October for the poll to close though. Hopefully this means we get more than one new character announced by the end of this thing.

  • 745 points
    OG75 says...

    I agree with Kyle in that we need more villains.

    That’s why my vote is for Wart from Super Mario Bros 2.

    His inclusion would “literally” be a dream come true.

  • 12 points
    Taipan20 says...

    im really getting sick of whiny fanboys saying they want their x favourite character in previous smash bros games added back into the new super smash bros as DLC. if you wnna play as ur favourite old character PLAY BRAWL OR MELEE!!! DLC is ment for new characters not clones or old ones. idc who they add in or which game they come from i dont wnna see more clones or characters we’ve already seen before like lucas. i wnna see more new characters also i think they should make more stages as DLC as well.

    the new characters i wnna see added in no particular order would be
    – banjo kazooie
    – protoman
    – king k rool
    – shovel knight
    – shantae
    – bomber man
    – bayonetta
    – gunvolt

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