Super Smash Bros. 4 Time: Probable Character List

Today, I want to do something a little different. Today I want to talk about my favorite game: Smash Bros. You all know that by now probably, because of the whole board game. But with the recent news of Namco jumping on board, and people already making their lists of who should be on the roster, I had to do my own. It was pretty much mandatory.

The Original 12


All of them. Why? Because they're iconic. Mario and Luigi are Nintendo's mascots (though Mario gets the spotlight, Luigi is there still in the shadow!). Donkey Kong is just as iconic, being the name of Nintendo's first game and definitely an established character on his own now after games like Donkey Kong Country. Yoshi is in a similar boat- while Mario started his career he's gone on to have his own series. Link, Samus, Fox and Kirby are all the main figures of their own respective game series too. Pikachu is the iconic star of Pokemon- because everyone knows who he is. And while you may not be familiar with Ness or Captain Falcon- Ness was the first star of Earthbound and is well-known for it while the Captain has come to truly represent F-Zero with his Falcon Punch.

Then there's Jigglypuff. And just like all the games after, people kept asking: why Jigglypuff? Back in the original game, Jigglypuff was probably the 3rd most known Pokemon behind Meowth and since Meowth wouldn't have likely played well (and without his iconic anime voice people would be confused) they went with Jigglypuff. But why keep this ball of fluff in? She's still iconic and well known. Being in three games of the series, you might hate it- but Jigglypuff represents Pokemon a lot better than others. Players of all ages can see and recognize Jigglypuff- much like Pikachu. Kicking her out now will not only disappoint but likely give the spot to a Pokemon no one really knows all too much.

The Melee 13


Not everyone in this will return in Smash U/3D. Young Link won't, for obvious reasons. Pichu was a nice experiment, but truly wasn't going anywhere else but downhill. And while I'd love to see Dr. Mario return, he's likely too busy with malpractice lawsuits for them to bother (ba dum tsh). Neither Pichu nor Dr. Mario are really representatives of a series- while Dr. Mario can be argued he's the face of the games with the same name- he's still just Mario in a jacket.

The rest however I think should be included. Peach and Bowser were both originally supposed to be in 64, but couldn't due to restrictions, and Peach has even starred in her own game while Bowser has constantly appeared in Mario games playable or not. Both iconic, both deserving.

Ganondorf and Zelda/Shiek are similar too- both having iconic roles in Legend of Zelda- and though Shiek hasn't appeared since Ocarina of Time (sorry, still haven't finished Skyward Sword but I have a feeling she's not in that) the game served as such an iconic piece of Nintendo history that not including her would be strange.

Falco is also fairly representative of his series. He's truly second nature in the Star Fox games- as Fox's main sidekick. He is Fox's Luigi basically- but ya know, more bad ass.

You also have new characters representing their own series: Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, and Marth. The latter two need no explanation: Mr. Game & Watch is representative of Nintendo's handheld start while Marth was the first hero of the entire Fire Emblem series and appeared in . While the Ice Climbers have yet to have a new title, their unique style has propelled them to iconic status and is truly representative of many classic Nintendo titles that haven't gotten sequels. Not only, it was an NES launch title- making it pretty damn iconic in itself.

Then it comes down to two who had been cut in Brawl: Mewtwo and Roy. Mewtwo is iconic: he's known. He's evil. And he had a movie about him where he was awesome as hell. Mewtwo is the closest thing Pokemon has to a bad guy, and not including him would be a travesty.

Roy is a little less iconic, but in the same fashion Marth is: he was the first main character of the first Fire Emblem game released in the West. While Marth represents the first Fire Emblem, Roy represents the first Western released Fire Emblem. I'd personally give that a deserving spot.

The Brawl 15


Let me start by saying this: I'm kicking out 5 characters, and one doesn't count for the 15.

We've got more representatives of iconic series once again: Pit who finally got the sequel people were waiting for should come back better than ever. Captain Olimar is the only iconic character we've seen in years, and with Pikmin 3 releasing I see no reason he wouldn't be included. Wario may have started with Mario, but just like Yoshi has his own series with both Wario Land and the Warioware series.

Then there's R.O.B. who- despite my despise of him- should return. He is one of the only reasons the NES succeeded, and just like Game & Watch he's fairly iconic in that instance. Plus, I mean, he IS a robot.

Toon Link of course is returning, not just a replacement of Young Link but an iconic figure in his own. Taking over the helm of portable gaming- Toon Link has truly shined in a series of games on the DS and likely will continue on the 3DS- sans remakes of course!

We can't forget supporting characters either. Diddy Kong was iconic enough to get his own racing game, and seeing as he was player 2 in Donkey Kong Country he seems to be Donkey Kong's sidekick more than ever. Appearing in every Donkey Kong title and plenty of Mario sports titles- he's well deserved. King Dedede and Meta Knight are in the same boat: both iconic characters from Kirby who, in a supporting cast role, play friend foe and rival all within. Without either of them, the game just isn't Kirby.

Now it gets harder.

Lucas has been in one game of the Mother/Earthbound series, but he's still been the main character. Despite not releasing in the West- his iconic stature in Brawl and the fan driven love that has let Mother 3 be translated into English through a fan project gives Lucas enough support to keep him on. He's iconic enough as a lead role, and Earthbound truly has no other deserving character.

Ike is a bit more difficult. He's been in two games- the last console game on the Wii. But since then he's not appeared in a title, and in so far does not look to be appearing in the upcoming 3DS title Awakening. However, we'll keep him in because he's iconic enough in that people recognize him. He's popular as a series character, and as such can easily be representative.

Sonic and Snake are awkward to come to a conclusion to. Both are third parties, and were the first third parties allowed to take part in game. Sonic makes perfect sense to include again- he's popular, fits in well with everyone, and was a crowd favorite to add. Snake however wasn't asked for, has rarely appeared on a Nintendo system compared to Sony, and doesn't feel right. With the upcoming Sony Smash game, he may be more appropriate to jump ship and leave. He's the first character getting the boot, as he's likely to do just that: appear in the Sony Smash game and jump ship to a console he's more at home to.

Lucario is next to get cut. While a great representative of the Diamond/Pearl era- the era has since come and gone. He doesn't resonate as iconic as others might, despite his movie appearances, and while he was tried to turn into a pseudo legendary, he turned into just a strange psychic/fighting Pokemon with an interesting backstory.

Wolf is next. While somewhat iconic to being a Star Fox villain, he's truly overshadowed by a cast of characters that do it a lot better than him. The annoying Slippy or eloquent Peppy are much more iconic of the team- and Andross does a much better job at playing a villain. It's just a shame Andross is just a floating head.

Zero Suit Samus is next to get cut. I think it was a great idea, but I honestly don't think it worked out for Samus. She's truly an unknown character, not iconic, and any time I saw people play with her they would be trying to survive to turn back into Samus. Just doesn't seem like a character truly iconic and useful in the world of Smash.

Pokemon Trainer is sort of next. He's being cut, but in his current form. Read below for more on what I mean by that.

The U/3DS 18


We'll start with the only Mario character that deserves it: Toad. He's been a part of the Mario series since the beginning, became playable in the second game, and even was playable in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as third and fourth players. Don't forget his inclusion in all sorts of Mario sports titles and the certain Toads that have played roles in side games like Paper Mario.

Donkey Kong series has gotten big enough I honestly feel it deserves another character, and when looking at the series only one is iconic enough: Dixie Kong. Starring in Donkey Kong Country 3 and sequels following it- she's even joined Mario for some sports. She's definitely made her place in the series, and is iconic enough for a spot.

I fought this for the longest time, but I've come to terms with not just adding a Metroid rep but letting it be the iconic Ridley. Seeing as he's literally had enough forms throughout the years, and the likes of Charizard can work- I see no problem with creating something akin to the Ridley we knew in Super Metroid rather than the giant one we know today.

I told you to read on about Pokemon Trainer and I'm glad you did. You see, we have representation of Pokemon from the original 150. Add Zoroark in- as he's most iconic from the current games- and you've got that settled. But you're missing 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation. Pokemon Trainer solves that: Totodile representing Gold/Silver, Blaziken representing Ruby/Sapphire and Grotle representing Diamond/Pearl. Similar to how the current Pokemon Trainer works, but with Pokemon that play differently- and though Grotle may not be too iconic, neither was Ivysaur. It's more a representative than being iconic in and of itself.

When you come to the Zelda series you can see a lot of one time characters that would be great. But there are only two characters recurring enough to warrant inclusion: Tingle or Tetra. Tingle has been excluded from games due to his unpopularity in the West- and it's likely we'll see the same going forward. However Tetra is perfect for the role, giving a Zelda styled twist to her gameplay and turning into a pirate with pirate moves would definitely add something to gameplay.

Now comes reps from games that have yet to have any. Animal Crossing might be all about saving money and living in a community, but that shouldn't stop Tom Nook from joining a fight. He's the best rep of the series, and having moves derived from all the things he sells (and man would I love to see him in a suit!) will be humorous and pretty much awesome.

The Wars series aka Advanced Wars, has yet to really have a rep because the majority of games didn't have characters. Advanced Wars on the GBA changed that with Andy, Sami and Max. And a suggestion to have them as one made me go with Commander. This could mean they fight themselves, or command troops around kind of like Olimar, but standing back like Pokemon Trainer. Controlling four soldiers would be a very unique moveset that would take serious skill.

Another series popular on portables needs some representation. Golden Sun with it's handful of games is getting a fan favorite of course, Isaac. Being in Brawl as an assist trophy, moving him to the place of character makes sense- as he's one of the few who could actually work as one.

But he's not the only one. Custom Robo is such a big series in Japan, it'd be a shame to leave Ray out of the game as playable. Punch-Out! got a sequel on the Wii, and really Lil Mac should have been playable awhile ago. And a series that finally came to the US, Starfy should join the battle as his moveset and play style would likely be very unique to the world of Smash- as well as being the main rep of his series.

Iconic characters sometimes are Japan only. And rarely are North America only. The first is popular character Takamaru, who has been given a mini-game in Nintendoland. It looks as though Nintendo might be bringing the character back more than ever in recent years, and Smash Bros. is a great place to do so. While he might be Japan-only, Mike Jones from StarTropics was only ever seen in North America. With two games under his belt, he's similar to Pit in representing an old fan favorite that could warrant a return in a new game form. And while thinking about them, we should mention a game that was brought to the US that was before Japan-only: Sin and Punishment. And who better to represent than Saki- who appeared in Brawl as an assist trophy and would work well in the fighting environment.

There's one character that works well in any environment: Mii. With the Wii _____ series of games, and things like Pilotwings Resort taking the Mii as the main character- we can easily find a moveset that represents a ton of games. Not only, but considering majority of Mii related titles are aimed at "casual" gamers-- the entirety of those games are now represented.

That only leaves 2 slots for third parties. With Namco revealed as a co-developer of the game, it'd only make sense to include a Namco character. And what's more Namco than Pacman? An iconic figure in and of himself, he's not shy to crossovers before- being in the arcade version of Mario Kart. But out of all the characters that could also be chosen, who should get that last spot? An iconic character that truly represents Nintendo: Megaman. With his majority of original titles on the NES/SNES, and since then having tons of series on Nintendo handhelds- Megaman makes sense to include as long as Capcom allows it. And why wouldn't they?

This leaves us with a total playable character count of 51 characters. Could we see them all? Maybe. Dixie and Tetra were found in Brawl's code and could easily be brought back. None of the characters are too out there, but it's arguable they aren't really iconic. Other choices like Birdo could be included instead, and they always throw us a curve ball- Ice Climbers wasn't expected in Melee and ROB wasn't in Brawl.

We could also see a lot more characters cut from the game. Jigglypuff might be the original 12, but we're on game 4 now and she's not been relevant for ages. Lucas doesn't truly represent Earthbound, and does it honestly need 2 reps?

Stay tuned next week when I destroy people's hopes for some fan favorites to be included.

Sounding Alone

Silence. That's all I heard anymore when I woke up. I could hear the motor of my fan, the buzzing sound in the background. But once it was off, silence.

Every sound felt louder in this house. The opening of the fridge to get milk out, the sounds of a glass filling up, cereal poured into a bowl. Even the crunching of each piece in my mouth was louder, ending with a clink of my spoon into the empty bowl.

I was, in fact, alone. The last of my friends from high school left in town. Never bothered with college, but a year I couldn't afford and that I'm still paying for. Romantic relationships seemed hard to come by. Alcohol was never a solution for me, leaving bar scenes and clubs out of the mix. I was too old for clubs anyways. At least at 26 I felt I was too old.

My family was off doing their own thing. Parents traveled the country. My younger brother had a family and rarely called. Mostly, I felt, to make sure I hadn't killed myself. He was always paranoid about it since I had made a simple suicide joke. It was in poor taste, I'll admit, but it was still a joke.

The shower was calming at least, sounding like a storm. Each drop hitting the bathtub or my naked body. Relaxing. The sound of zippers- the only thing keeping a one piece suit on- was terrifying. I was closer and closer to work.

I never bothered with the television in the morning. I just sat and waited, a wall clock- gift from my mother from Hershey, Pennsylvania- ticking along. And I stared into nothing. This is what my life had come to. Sitting around in a blue jumpsuit. Working in a factory. Being alone.

I would close my eyes and remember. Even when my friends were in college they would return and we'd have fun. I remembered the last time, sounds of laughter surrounding me. Four years. Everyone moved away. Married.

The girls were so beautiful in their dresses. The guys looked handsome and distinguished in their tuxes. And there I was, sitting alone in the pews of the church, the chairs outside the gazebo and in the chairs of the synagogue. I heard the amens and the birds chirping and the Yiddish I didn't understand.

I remembered my last relationship, when I was 19. A good seven years, and I still remembered her. Her dark hair flowing down, her beautiful green eyes. I couldn't hear her voice anymore telling me how special I was to her though. That was gone. Just like her.

I looked at the ticking clock. It was time to go to work. The closing of my front door a resounding reminder that this was life for me. There was no sun yet, it wasn't up. Even outside it was quiet this early in the morning. Birds had yet to start chirping. Cars had yet begin moving. My car door, an old Mazda from so many years ago it barely worked, slamming shut was another reminder of my life. Each choice I had made. The roaring engine, somehow still working, chugged and likely woke up the old lady nearby.

As I took off, I felt like I did every morning. This was all there was for me. Everyone had left, everyone else was happy. But as I thought about it, I realized they really were happy. Even though my friends had moved away, they were doing what they wanted to do in life. And they had found someone to do it with. My brother had found a nice girl, and though they were too busy to ever come visit, they were happy with my niece. Even my parents traveling the country were happy.

I smiled and the noises around me didn't matter. The car chugging along, the distant tune of AM radio gone. Everyone I knew was happy, and I wouldn't take that away from them no matter what. Maybe that's all that mattered, was for my friends and family to be happy. For my ex- who had since gone onto much greater things than me- to be happy.

I closed my car door and looked at the factory in the early morning light. The hissing and clinking sounds. Something would always be making noise in my life, I told myself. Maybe that was just the world making sure I was never really alone.

This Week's Soda: Pig Iron Cola

Last week I admitted that I bought the drink because of the name. This week I'll admit I bought it because of the pig drawing on the cover. I wasn't sure what it was going to taste like, or really much of anything about it. Pig Iron is a name that doesn't mean anything to me, and the picture of a pig looking punked up and a hard ass is something I don't associate with drinks.

Nonetheless, the more I looked at it the more I expected something ridiculous. I began to expect it tasted like bacon. Then with the BBQ web address below I expected it to taste like barbecue sauce. I can tell you now, it tastes like neither.

The drink actually comes from a Seattle, Washington restaurant known as Pig Iron Bar-B-Q. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Manufactured by Orca Beverage Soda Works, the company makes specialized drinks to help sell from a marketing perspective. Seeing as I'm in Ohio and I'd definitely hit up Pig Iron if I ever wound up in Seattle, I think that's pretty good marketing.

Other than that, this drink hasn't got much history to it. It's a much newer flavor compared to the other drinks that were lost somewhere along the way.

So then, what's it taste like?

It has a very cola taste it, sharp like Coke more so than Pepsi. At the same time though, it's sweeter than Coke- in a Pepsi kind of way. Meaning to me it tastes like a blend of each. It doesn't have that Coke aftertaste you might expect, but it goes down easy. I definitely drank the whole bottle and would likely drink another.

The soda uses cane sugar and does contain caffeine.

If you're looking for something that isn't quite Coke, and isn't quite Pepsi- give Pig Iron Cola a try. That is, if you're from Seattle, Washington. Otherwise, you may have to find it online. Until next week, soda fans.

My Life Is a TV Show

I've always felt like my life was a TV show and I was the main character. Even when I was younger I had this feeling that life was just a big TV show, and much like The Truman Show I would one day find out that my life was in fact a giant movie.

Obviously that day has never come.

I still like to go and use the TV metaphor for life, in which we are all main characters in our own TV shows and within each we have supporting characters. But when I look at my short 24 years here, I find the ridiculousness of everything to be so in tune with that of TV that I always come back to it. And now, as I and other friends of mine move into truly being adults, I feel like my TV series is coming to an end. It's not that I'm dying, it's not that I'm leaving a show within a show or that my family now suddenly gets along and loves each other after being broken. The screen won't cut black and I won't be thrown in jail with three close friends for a year. And my family certainly isn't going to jail because my mother is a mastermind at cooking the books and selling illegal things. Nothing like that.

My story has every bit of drama and comedy you could find in a movie. My origins as a rambunctious youth living with my grandmother and mother, potentially witnessing strange things like hand mouths (think that annoying kids show that was Oo something) coming from nowhere. The moving in with my step father, and living in an area that unbeknownst to me was full of idiots and troublemakers. Someone by my school where I attended Kindergarten got stabbed right by the driveway, for instance.

Then there's the love story that supposedly lasted all throughout my early childhood, that may have started in 1st grade. Filled with all the necessary elements: secrets, people constantly attempting to help, strange circumstances that make absolutely no sense, and the more soap opera like moments of divorce, family issues, and suicide.

And within that drama was the comedy. The friends who were there thick and thin, who acted like siblings. Despite the occasional backstabbing from either side, friends nonetheless that we forgave and kept like brothers and sisters. We were The Gang, The Outcasts, whatever you wanted to call our group of quirky friends. We were your every day American teens of the 00s. Wanting to start a band with no knowledge of music, constantly saying we should do things we never did, and in the meantime still having tons of fun. There was your standard always-broke guy. You had the girl next door, the quirky girl next door. The guy in-the-closet. A hard rock guy and a cowgirl. The preppy kid, the nerd, the innocent dumb guy, and the girl who was nice but you didn't want to fuck with. And of course the incredibly quirky out-of-this-world guy. Oh, and you had the foreign kid. Always gotta have a foreign kid. (I should note, we had your token black character too- but none ever stayed long enough for me to count them as "main" characters.)

And the storylines just made sense. You had romantic pairings of people you wouldn't think of. You had breakups and awkwardness. You had everything you needed to write an entire series. You had characters leave the show to move hundreds of miles away, characters we loved years ago come back for a season to only leave for other reasons. You had storylines that intertwined themselves- like one girl who said she would date a guy if she was single, dating that guy's friend and then denying him when they broke up. It was all like a TV show, and when we graduated from high school and separated our ways we told each other The Gang would live on.

It didn't. The spinoff series of The Gang: The College Years was significantly different. Main characters shifted to a few people. And life became less dramatic at first. You gained a handful of new main characters, mostly shifting the standard you had in the original series to that of someone else.

And we lived that way for 4 years. The same characters, the same shit. Drama unfolded much the same as it did: you saw the main characters falling in and out of romantic relationships that made no sense. Some of the old mains returning to tell of their stories of love and anguish. Of dumb classes and fun things that happened.

It was then I felt like I wasn't a part of my own show then. I wasn't the main character, the one the writers wrote to. My spinoff was taken over by someone else, and the main series needed that derivative to stay afloat. But after 4 years, the writers and the audience wanted my character to return. They were tired of seeing the romantic struggles. And The Gang: The College Years became the spin-off Life After College.

Despite me still being in school, the other main characters were out. Focus shifted back to main characters you had before: the nice chick to not fuck with, the hardcore rock guy and the foreign kid. And it all worked out until one point in time, in which I decided to change focus. The drama we once had with romantic relationships changed to a goal oriented finishing college. And some main characters didn't enjoy that.

Especially after the romantic relationship occurred anyways. And like that of a TrueBlood episode, the show Life After College was moved to a 10 PM timeslot. Madness ensued, ratings suffered and writers scrambled to change the show back to its original format: fuck relationships, we'll break these two up.

But it wasn't enough. My character had to make some sense out of it all. My character had to redeem himself, and in doing so- Life After College became less of a TV show and more of a mini-series. Main characters got written off in the slaughter, others returned for a bit.

In the retooling of the show, you saw only two main characters remain with only friendship intact. And Life After College became My Life As a TV Show.

The series isn't catching on though. Trying to bring back characters from The Gang: The Early Years didn't work, so they wrote them off. Guest appearances by others didn't work. So now, it all feels as though the series is ending. Everyone is having their final moments, attempting to make appearances. Storylines are wrapping up with each character- even minor ones that at one time would never have come to mind.

Your standard always-broke guy has become an alcoholic who continues to vow to get his life back on track for two years, but continues to drink his money away and never have cash. The girls next door got married off, one in a way that spoke to the series ending. The guy in-the-closet came out, was written off years ago, and has made an appearance to give a hint of his future. The hard rock guy was written off, and is likely never to return. The cowgirl is about to make a return to the series, only to wrap up her story. The preppy kid was written off after a one time episode years ago. The innocent dumb guy wound up becoming an alcoholic too and was written off. The girl who was nice but you didn't want to fuck with is getting an ending to her story by finally finding what she's always wanted. The incredibly-quirky guy already made his final appearances it seems, and has been written off. Oh, and you had the foreign kid who also already had his storyline finished up it seems.

There's only one person in this whose storyline isn't wrapping up in any significant way. The nerd. Mine. Maybe it has already wrapped up. I've found a decent job that pays well, and is potentially looking at a future that can be summarized with thumbs up. The minor drama pushing me towards an inevitable and dramatic ending where I struggle to write a novel or a screenplay. Who knows where my character is going to wind up?

I'll admit that I'm afraid to know. If the series is truly ending, does that mean another one will begin? Is it going to be like Lost and never get true answers to what we've always wondered? Or maybe, just maybe, we'll see something more ridiculousness than anyone ever thought happen.

I've written about fate on here before. I've contemplated life and the idea of what it all means. I've told people this is all just a coma I'm in before, and maybe when the series ends I'll wake up. Maybe 2012 really is the end of the world, and that's why we're wrapping up storylines before then. I can only hope The Gang series isn't lost upon me or any of the other characters though.

I hope the series finale is truly a finale. A reunion of everyone, far and close, main and side characters alike. I hope that one significant thing that makes it feel like a finale happens. But no matter what, it's been a good TV show. I just hope there's a lot of reunion episodes. (Or if someone gets a spinoff, I sure as hell hope my character makes a lot of appearances!)

Because no matter the circumstances, life goes on...unless it's all a dream/we're in a snowglobe/everyone dies.