Nintendo Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Ultimate Character List

Let’s face it: The daily updates of the Smash Brothers website for Smash Bros. Brawl, the latest installment in the Smash Brothers series which is set to be released for the Wii later this year, is more than any Smash Brothers fan can ask for. Each day brings with it new information (whether it’s the introduction of a new feature such as assist trophies, or the makeover of a staple character), and ultimately brings us one step closer to the long anticipated sequel to Smash Bros. Melee. The site is updated with one piece of information a day, which is sometimes extended to include examples of the introduced feature (i.e.- when the Assist Trophy function was introduced, three examples were given of assist trophies).

However, the release date of this game is coming up fairly soon. The game is set to be released in Europe by September, by which time all the news we need on this game- not to mention first hand impressions of the game’s gameplay- should be presented to us.

So let’s say- for argument’s sake- that the game is released on September 21st. Today is July 6th. That means from July 6th to September 21st, Monday through Friday (the website is updated during the week), assuming that the site is updated every day, we have, after today, fifty four more days of news. Now that’s a decent amount of time to learn about new characters, items, trophies, etc., but at the rate we find out new characters, we may not have a complete roster of characters by the game’s release date.

Consider this: Since the site re-launched back on May 22nd- a whole thirty-one days of news- we have learned of two new characters (not including the characters shown in the E3 and other video)- Bowser and Zelda, both fighters in the previous Smash Bros. game. While we have other important information- four types of gameplay, the assist trophy option, and a promising musical score-, and will hopefully be receiving information on such features as online play, the site has failed to produce in the character department. And with three characters still to confirm from both demos (Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Meta Knight of Kirby fame, and the mysterious Zero Suit Samus), the possibility of us finding out the full roster of characters seems hopeless at this rate. Unless a new demo or a massive update is presented to us within the next fifty or so days, there’s no way that we’ll know who all the fighters are by the European launch.

It’s time to play the guessing game.

The following predictions are based on the trends I see developing in the making of this game (reviving old games such as Kid Icarus) and my own ideas of who should be in this game. Here are the characters I think we’ll see:

First, the characters I expect to come back:

Yoshi- a two-time veteran, Yoshi’s re-appearance is foreshadowed by the fact that his own level was confirmed.

Donkey Kong- another two-time veteran, Donkey Kong is essential for longtime Smash players who long for power, without the sluggishness of Bowser.

Ness- another two-time player who is fully expected to return.

Captain Falcon- Captain Falcon’s return is foreshadowed by an assist trophy of a character from one of his games.

Luigi- the brother of Mario will certainly be making his return, though it may be interesting to see how his character will change.

Mewtwo- though not the most played character in the game (from my experience), Mewtwo could be tweaked to be that much more effective and, in turn, popular.

Sheik- Sheik’s return is accepted, otherwise the Zelda character would be much harder to play with.

JigglyPuff- a two time veteran, Jiggly is a worthy foe if mastered right, and adds a lot of diversity to the game.

And now, the new characters I expect to see:

Geno- From Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars; I’m still keeping my hopes up that Geno will make his first appearance on a Nintendo console in eleven years, which would excite millions of gamers across the world. His mysterious aura and grand mystique lend themselves to the Smash Bros Brawl world.

MegaMan- I think we all can agree that it’s time for MegaMan to make his debut. A staple character in the Nintendo world in the eyes of many, MegaMan’s chances of entering the Smash Bros Brawl arena increased substantially when Snake arrived.

Simon Belmont- of Castlevania fame, Simon’s whip and array of potential Smash-friendly moves would fit in well.

Bill Rizer- of Contra fame; the debut of Rizer in Smash Bros. would coincide nicely with the eventual release of Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS.

Sonic- Another thing I tout besides online play for this series is the debut of Sonic. Although some people see the 2008 Beijing Olympics Game as the proper debut of Sonic in a Mario game, the overwhelming vote by fans to have Sonic is too powerful to ignore. Sonic brings with him speed (move over Fox), swift and powerful attacks, two great assist trophies in Tails and Knuckles, and a potentially awesome taunt. Sonic’s absence will undoubtedly bring both outrage and disappointment within many fans of both the series and of Sonic.

Little Mac - the protagonist of the Mike Tyson Punchout series. Revamping Little Mac’s image for Brawl could surprise many people, and make the game that much more well-rounded.

This brings the total number of characters in the game to twenty-seven, counting Sheik and Zero-Suit Samus as separate characters. This is a fair number, given the fact that, while characters are being added, some characters from Melee are not returning.

So there you have it. If these characters make the cut, expect Brawl to live up to everyone’s expectations.

Source