I know I’ll get no end of crap for this next selection, so let me make my case quickly. Mog was one of my favorite all time characters from Final Fantasy VI, which released on the Super Nintendo. As such, it is not entirely inconceivable that Square Enix would allow Nintendo to use the adorable little moogle as a brawler. I mean, god knows they’ve forgotten all about the smash dancing moogle, so why not let him have his moment in the sun once more? I see Mog playing like Eddy Gordo from Tekken, constantly dancing about and using his smooth moves to punish foes. He even has a built in recovery with his iddle wings, and for a Final Smash he could even crush foes with a moogle swarm! All I know is he’s adorable and I want him in Smash. Make it happen, Sakurai.
ANDREW G.: Admittedly, there are not very many potential choices for EarthBound characters. While one could go with another player character from one of the games (if I had to choose, I would pick Kumatora, personally), it would probably be more appropriate to go with a villain. After all, if wouldn’t make much sense for only the good guys to be fighting each other. Of the available villains in the series, I think the most obvious choice would be Porky Minch. The only other two major villains are Giygas and the Masked Man. While I personally think those two are also kind of cool, I would say that Porky has the most moveset potential and is the most frequently occurring villain. First of all, having a moveset based around someone using his… crab walker tank…thing… would definitely make for a unique play-style. I mean, what other character is there that uses six legs? His design should be based on his EarthBound appearance, seeing as how his Mother 3 tank is a lot larger. A Final Smash could likely be the King statue, which could serve as a reference to both Mother 3 and his appearance in Brawl’s Subspace Emissary. Porky would definitely make for an interesting playable character, although, if he makes it in, he better not take the same route as Wario and make his attacks toilet humor-based. Seriously, just don’t.
ANDREW G.: While the Mario series certainly has no shortage of playable characters, there are still plenty of interesting choices available. Professor E. Gadd is a character from Luigi’s Mansion that gave Luigi his Poltergust 3000, a vacuum cleaner engineered to fight ghosts. Considering that his backstory states that he used to fight ghosts himself, I think it would be safe to assume he has experience with combat. The reason that he did not fight any ghosts himself in Luigi’s Mansion was due to him supposedly getting too old for this job, but I think we all know that was just an excuse to have Luigi doing it instead.
His moveset definitely can be based off of Luigi’s abilities in Luigi’s Mansion. There would be more of an excuse to implement those abilities than with Luigi, who has plenty of other games he was represented in. Some of the moves that would be interesting to see would be his use of the element medals, as well as being able to catch projectiles with the Poltergust. In addition to this, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon also gave the Poltergust the ability to charge up attacks and blow enemies away. E. Gadd may not be the most desired or most requested character, but that just makes him more of an interesting choice.
Oh, Tharja. What is it about you that I and so many fans find so captivating? Is it the Cleopatra haircut? The constant threats? The dark and powerful magic? Whatever it is, I loved her in Fire Emblem: Awakening, and see her as a very epic new character in the next Smash Bros.
While it’s true we now have Robin and Lucina in the Smash ranks, both of those use swords to varying extents. Tharja would be all magic, all the time. I see her having a very weak up close game but an AMAZING away game, akin to Ness. She could drain foes of health with Nosferatu, hit them from afar with Mire, multi-attack with Waste and much more. For her Final Smash, she could even summon Chrom, since she generally has a deadly obsession with her favorite guys. Maybe she could empower him with dark magic and send him on a killing spree? Whatever the case, I need Tharja in the next Smash. She covers the bases by being a woman and a villain (of sorts), and could have a great play-style. Not to mention she’d look good while kicking ass. Win-win situation.
ANDREW G.: As obvious as a pick as this may be, it is not as if there is no reason for it. Before one tries to argue about The Last Story not being owned by Nintendo, one should remember that Nintendo did publish it in both Japan and Europe. So, naturally, seeing as how the Smash Bros series is developed in Japan, there is a more likely chance that the decision will be made from a Japanese perspective. It is not as if getting Zael from XSEED in the North American release would be particularly difficult when compared to having Sonic, Mega Man or Pac-Man playable. It is not like XSEED is a particularly big company, either.
As for why Zael would be a good pick for the next Smash Bros, it would just be appropriate to see some more recent Nintendo IPs included. Considering that we have Shulk playable in Smash 4, it would be only natural that Zael would be the next step. Not to mention that this would also draw more attention to The Last Story, which is always a good thing. Zael also has plenty of moveset potential with the various weapon styles used in The Last Story, in addition to his many magical abilities. Particularly, it would be interesting to see Gathering Burst used as a Final Smash, as well as seeing Gale, Ancient Barrier, Vertical slice or Guard Counter being implemented in the game. That is not even going into the abilities of other The Last Story characters.
So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed our list as a tribute to Smash Bros. I want to thank Andrew and Tyler for their assistance in writing this, as well as our Editing Manager Jeff Neuenschwander for editing it. Also, one more giant thank you to Brodie for the awesome featured image and all those that contributed in the Most Wanted Brawler and Character of the Week segments! Keep on playing Smash Bros., and check with oprainfall for more gaming news!
