When it comes to first time showings, the Super Smash Bros. games are some of the most exciting and highly anticipated to look out for. One of the most important and most intriguing parts of the reveal comes down to the playable characters that are revealed to return, or newcomers that are joining the brawl. As we anticipate the next Super Smash Bros.’s upcoming reveal in the coming months, let’s take a look back at the characters initially revealed whenever a Smash Bros. game was announced.
Super Smash Bros. [N64]
The reveal of the original game on the Nintendo 64 didn’t receive quite the same attention normally given to a Smash Bros. game, simply because this was the first time the series was making any kind of news in the gaming world. Unsurprisingly, the list of characters revealed included almost all of the characters in the entire game. They included:
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Wario
- Donkey Kong
- Yoshi
- Samus Aran
- Captain Falcon
- Kirby
- Fox
- Link
What’s interesting is that two characters that were initially announced ended up not making it into the game at all. Peach and Wario were absent from the first game, and the inclusion of Luigi in the list clearly shows that the final roster was still being played with at the time of the announcement. Images and videos were not accompanied by the announcement, so it will be hard to look at this situation in relation to the one we should receive in the coming weeks, something that is guaranteed to show us some kind of media.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
After the critical success of the original game on the Nintendo 64, the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Melee was accompanied by wild excitement and a roaring crowd. Don’t beleive me? Take a look at the video below.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfQ75gr2znA
It’s clear Nintendo knows that popularity of the series, and that is why there is a huge emphasis on the characters in the video. Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Ness, Pikachu, Sheik, Bowser, Captain Falcon, Fox, Samus, Link, Shiek, Ice Climbers were all seen in the video and in the official announcement on the same day. For this announcement, Nintendo decided not only to show off the entire intro, but also revealed all the starter characters, leaving the unlockable characters as the only secrets. You might be wondering why Nintendo went all out with this announcement. At this point, Melee was already far in development, so these characters were not only ready to be revealed, but there was the assurance that plenty of secrets and unlockables remained. The game was released just six months after its announcement.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Unfortunately for Brawl, things weren’t as far in development as many would have hoped for. Skipping on showing any gameplay, Nintendo released a teaser trailer that showcased several returning characters, as well as five newcomers. Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Kirby were confirmed, with Pit, Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, and Solid Snake joining as the new guys.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bhkbqT21gs
It was mix of old and new that acknowledged some of the existing characters that are expected, and exciting the fanbase with new and noteworthy additions. While the teaser trailer only revealed nine characters, Brawl ended up featuring an impressive cast of 25 different playable characters. Many of the characters were slowly revealed through the Smash Bros. Dojo, but we still don’t know if this will return for the next Super Smash Bros. game for the Wii U and 3DS. Brawl was released nearly two years after the initial announcement.
Super Smash Bros. 4 [Wii U/3DS]
So what can we expect from the next Super Smash Bros. reveal that is hitting in the coming weeks? My guess would be placed on something similar to that of the Brawl reveal. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS officially started development last June, and with the game being withheld from being playable at E3 while Mario Kart and Super Mario are, things don’t look so good on a release any time soon. Nintendo is going to have plenty of time to release more information as we wait for the game’s release, so information that is revealed will be informative and exciting, but kept at a low level.
For starters, Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Kirby will appear just as they did in the Brawl reveal. I would also expect Samus and Fox to appear, simply because we won’t have a newcomer like Zero Suit Sames, as well as the fact that these two will look gorgeous on the Wii U. With six veterans shown off, I would also expect four newcomers to appear. Two would come from completely new series with the other two coming from existing series. Takamaru and Little Mac? Tom Nook and Krystal? The newcomers can be any character, really, but I would expect to see characters all together.
Who do you think will be first shown during the announcement for the next Super Smash Bros.? Which veterans will they show, and any guesses at newcomers? How do you think the two versions of the game will have an impact on who is revealed? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below!