Smash Bros. Options

[Ayame]

I still want Krystal. In her Star Fox adventures suit with her staff. That would pwn <3.

[Tony]

I still want Krystal. In her Star Fox adventures suit with her staff. That would pwn <3.

OMG YESH!!!

[Ayame]

OMG YESH!!!

You're a Krystal fan too, I suppouse? o_o.

[Tony]

You're a Krystal fan too, I suppouse? o_o.

I always played as her in Star Fox... 8D She's so fast!!! I love fast characters. That's why I always play as Sheik in SSBM. I hope they allow Zelda to change into Sheik again...

[Kozunai]

I think Krystal will have a warm welcome if they decide to include her.

[Kozunai]

Is King Koopa supposed to be Bowser? Or Giga Bowser?

[Tony]

Hmm? I'm confused. Isn't King Koopa, Bowser?

[Emy]

Bowser is the koopa king, so.. D:

[Kozunai]

Here's a list of speculations from IGN as to who might be in Brawl.

(IMG:http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/798/798662/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070621045011065.jpg)

Bomberman
First Appearance: Bomberman, NES, 1987
Crossed Over: Wario Blast, Game Boy, 1994

Nintendo and Hudson have been buddies for years. The companies are partners, both in the creation of new titles and redistribution of old ones ? Hudson's still in charge of developing the Mario Party series after eight installments (the new), and the volume of classic Hudson TurboGrafx titles hitting the Wii's Virtual Console is nearly overflowing (the old). Given their close relationship, then, it's not much of a stretch to consider that one of Hudson's main mascots might join the Smash Bros. brawl ? like Bomberman. Back in 1994, the white-helmeted hero crossed paths with the Big N's greedy anti-Mario in Wario Blast for the original Game Boy. It was a classic Bomberman game design, with grid-based mazes, power-ups and lots of explosions, and it was a popular multiplayer choice for gamers of the day ? as Smash Bros. is now. The B-Man could work well in the frantic fights of Brawl, hurling his signature explosives, and he's already appeared on Wii in Bomberman Land (though only in Japan). Perhaps he'll make the cut, and perhaps he'll rekindle his rivalry with Wario, who's already confirmed as a new coming fighter.

(IMG:http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/798/798662/super-smash-bros-brawl-20070621045011362.jpg)

Pac-Man
First Appearance: Pac-Man, Arcade, 1980
Crossed Over: Pac-Man vs., GameCube, 2003

"Pac-Man got the fruit!" Though not a visible cross-over, Pac-Man was joined by the narrating voice of Mario in 2003, for the Nintendo-Namco partner project Pac-Man vs. Two years later, though, the characters rubbed elbows much more closely, as the big yellow Dot Eater joined the cast of Karters in the Namco-developed Mario Kart Arcade GP coin-op cabinet. The direct interaction between Pac-Man and the characters of Nintendo's Mushroom Kingdom is probably the closest substitute for a playable Smash Bros. appearance that any other third-party character has enjoyed so far, and combined with Pac-Man's iconic status as a gaming legend, his inclusion looks like a strong and desirable possibility. Grudge matches between him and Donkey Kong, settling the old-school arcade score once and for all? Sign us up.

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Ivy
First Appearance: Soul Calibur, Arcade, 1998
Crossed Over: Soul Calibur II, GameCube, 2003

The soul of Hyrule's legendary hero burned for combat in 2003, as Nintendo's elfin mascot Link joined the cast of playable fighters in Namco's Soul Calibur II. Could a reverse-cross be a possibility? Namco donating one Soul Calibur cast member to Smash Bros. seems like equitable exchange for Link's cameo years ago. Ivy's just a suggestion, then ? if one Soul warrior makes the jump, why not make it someone with a totally unique fighting style, and why not choose a female? Ivy's skimpy outfit and ample assets may be a bit too extreme for Brawl, though, and Nintendo likely wouldn't want to defeat the appeal of newcomer Zero Suit Samus ? so we'll keep this one as a maybe.

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Black Mage
First Appearance: Final Fantasy, NES, 1990
Crossed Over: Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Nintendo DS, 2006

So Hudson likes Nintendo, and so does Namco ? but don't leave Square Enix out of the loop. The company most known for its RPG series recently stretched its design skills by developing the portable sports title Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the Big N. The usual cast of characters was included, with Luigi dribbling against Bowser, Princess Peach taking on Toad ? but hidden away as unlockable ballers were some classic Final Fantasy favorites. The Black Mage isn't that distinctive of an individual character (outside of the webcomic 8-bit Theater), but his focus on sorcery could make him an appealing brawler. Or Square could offer a fighter from its even more notable Dragon Quest series ? how about fighting against Nintendo's pink blob Kirby with Square's famous blue blob, the Slime?

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Sonic the Hedgehog
First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog, Genesis, 1991
Crossed Over: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Wii, 2007

And, of course, we must end with the clear and obvious selection. The fans are clamoring for Sonic to become a Smash Brother, and have been ever since the release of the previous game, Melee, back in 2001. The rivalry between Sega's Sonic and Nintendo's Mario is an epic one, and no one living in the early '90s would have ever guessed that the two characters would one day work together. But Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games will see the two going head-to-head in the same game for the very first time, and that one confirmed cross-over is more than enough to fuel months' worth of speculation about the possibility of another. We'd be shocked and amazed if Sonic didn't appear in Brawl ? call this one a near-guarantee.

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Nightmare
First Appearance: Soul Calibur, Arcade, 1998
Crossed Over: Soul Calibur II, GameCube, 2003

The storyline of the Soul Calibur games is a complex one, full of twists, turns and altered characters ? and Nightmare is at the center of it all. Appearing as a possessed, demonic knight in armor, Nightmare was originally the human fighter Siegfried before being overcome by the power of the Soul Edge. He wields the Edge (his massive blade with a freakish embedded eye) now in battle, and is one of Soul Calibur II's heavyweight fighters ? though his moveset and abilities have been changed in subsequent games. The Smash Bros. series could use more hefty brawlers to round out the weight class previously defined by Donkey Kong and Bowser, but Nightmare might be too extreme. Brawl is making each of its included mascots a bit more mature, but probably not mature enough that this devilish warrior would fit in ? Soul Calibur characters probably aren't a good choice for a cross-over after all.

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King Dedede
First Appearance: Kirby's Dream Land, Game Boy, 1992
Terrorizes: Kirby, The Citizens of Planet Popstar

Few fans realize how close this plump and pudgy penguin has come to playability in the past. King Dedede is the classic recurring villain of the Kirby franchise, and he was created by Masahiro Sakurai ? the man who is now the game director for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Because of the close ties and shared creative leadership between the Kirby and Smash brands, the hammer-wielding, wacky monarch of the Dream Land kingdom was actually a part of the planned design for Smash Bros. from the very beginning, and he could have shown up as early as the original Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. Sakurai held him back, though, in both that game and in Melee ? but his time might have come now. With the confirmation of fellow Kirby universe character Metaknight as a playable newcomer, Masahiro seems to have finally decided that it's OK to include more of his own in-house mascots.

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Wart
First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. 2, NES, 1988
Terrorizes: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad

Another regal, rotund royalty, Wart declared himself the frog prince of the land of Sub-Con in Super Mario Bros. 2. He's definitely the least likely of any of our choices this week, but that's a shame ? because he's been craving vengeance against Mario and his friends for almost 20 years now. The ending credits sequence of SMB2 showed him laughing sneakily, no doubt plotting a counter-attack against the plumber after being forcibly dethroned, but nothing has ever come of that subtle, suggestive hint. Wart's been sidelined ever since, reappearing again most recently in the 2001 GBA re-release, Super Mario Advance, but being defeated there in just the same way as before. Everyone else on this list has a greater likelihood of making the cut, but no one deserves the opportunity to get his revenge more than this ample-bodied amphibian.

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Ganondorf
First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64, 1998
Terrorizes: Link and Zelda, The Kingdom of Hyrule

Link has been fighting back against the evil forces of Ganon since 1987, but it wasn't until just nine years ago that the pig-man wizard first appeared in a more human form. Ganondorf is the seemingly unkillable central villain of the Legend of Zelda series, and Nintendo has few characters more iconically evil than him ? it makes sense, then, that he was made a playable fighter in the last Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. What didn't make sense was his moveset. Ganondorf arrived in Melee as a clone character, copycatting the fighting style of F-Zero's Captain Falcon. It was ridiculous, and it undermined the Triforce tyrant's potential to be truly unique. He can reclaim that potential in Brawl with his own, uncopied moveset, and that's why we've included him in the list this week. And with the confirmed reveal of Link and Zelda updated into their more current Twilight Princess forms, it seems like a sure thing that this King of Evil would get the same treatment too.

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Ridley
First Appearance: Metroid, NES, 1987
Terrorizes: Samus Aran, The Galactic Federation, Baby Metroids

A standard, recurring boss character in almost every Metroid game, the gargoylish dragon alien Ridley is Samus Aran's arch-nemesis. He's been rumored to appeared in Smash Bros. for a long time, as strong evidence suggested that he might fly onto the battlefield six years ago for Super Smash Bros. Melee ? that didn't come to pass, though, and he remained solely a part of that game's opening cinematic. Could Brawl be his time to debut? It's certainly possible, as the Metroid franchise could use more diverse representation ? currently, only Samus herself fights under that series banner, though both in her Power Suit and out of it. And a recent update to the developer's blog at smashbros.com gives this creature even more credibility ? his boss battle music has been confirmed to appear in the game, in remixed form.

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Eggplant Wizard
First Appearance: Kid Icarus, NES, 1987
Terrorizes: Pit, Palutena and all of Angel Land

Let's end on a more investigative note this week, with the suggestion of the most popular, most cunning enemy character to come out of the Kid Icarus series ? the Eggplant Wizard. This vegetarian magician is the definitive choice to serve as a potential arch-nemesis for Brawl's most recognized newcomer, Pit, and has a history that might support such an appearance ? he starred as a regular villain in the Nintendo cross-over cartoon series, Captain N, and is still known to the minds of Nintendo's developers. Check out this exchange in an interview that our own Matt Casamassina conducted with none other than Shigeru Miyamoto, back in 2005:

IGNcube: Will you make Kid Icarus for Revolution?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, I'm actually working really closely right now with the director of the [original] game. Now, whether or not when we get the Revolution all set up and everything is finalized, well who knows? That might be one of those characters where everybody says, "Hey, with the way our console is designed, that would be a perfect match." My question to you is, if we made this game would you buy it?

IGNcube: Absolutely.

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, we obviously can't ignore that. Okay, we'll get the Eggplant Wizard coming back.

If Shiggy still remembers him after all these years, that's got to be a good sign ? and another would be that we've already seen two different Kid Icarus levels revealed in the Brawl trailers so far. Could Pit call the cloud stage home, while Eggy here dwells in the Atlas-inspired underground dungeon? We can only hope ? we'd love to attack our friends with his vegetable scepter, encasing their heads in attack-neutralizing eggplants.

(IMG:http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/809/809770/01_KingKRool_1185970298.jpg)

King K. Rool
First Appearance: Donkey Kong Country, SNES, 1994
Terrorizes: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, The DK Isles

Donkey Kong had been a dormant mascot for quite a while by the mid-'90s, only to be thrown flailing back into the spotlight with the arrival of the 1994 SNES blockbuster, Donkey Kong Country. The Rare-developed platformer completely reinvented Nintendo's monkey man, giving him a spectacular new visual style, a new world to run around in, and many new characters to interact with ? like King K. Rool. This pot-bellied crocodile is the leader of the Kremlings, the band of baddies who stole DK's giant horde of bananas in the original Country adventure and have been plaguing the big ape ever since. He's still an active villain, as he's been confirmed to appear in the next two upcoming Donkey Kong games. And it'd be good to see some more representation for the DK series in Brawl, as well, since DK himself is the only character from that franchise to have ever been a playable Smash Brother.

(IMG:http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/809/809770/02_Lip_1185970447.jpg)

Lip
First Appearance: Panel de Pon, Super Famicom, 1995
Most Recent Appearance: Panel de Pon DS, Nintendo DS, 2007

SNES owners who loved puzzle games definitely remember Tetris Attack from 1996 ? the tile-swapping puzzle design was addictively fun, and the presentation of the game overflowed with characters from Nintendo's Yoshi's Island. Yoshi was an American addition to the game, though, because in Japan the same title had shipped with a totally different cast of characters. The headliner in Nintendo's home country was this girl, Lip, the Fairy of Flowers. Lip's quest was to play rounds of puzzles against her fairy friends all across the planet Popples, eventually facing off and defeating the demon Sanatos with her magic, flower-shaped wand. The wand actually did make the leap to America in the last Smash Bros. game ? you know it as Lip's Stick, the item that makes your foes sprout health-draining plants on their heads. But Lip herself hasn't yet appeared here. Is there a chance she might in Brawl, bringing another female into the fighting fold? Or would she better serve as an Assist Trophy, to be summoned forth and assault your enemies with tumbling Tetris Attack tiles? The latter seems more likely, but she looks ready for action either way.

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Prince Richard
First Appearance: Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, Game Boy, 1992
Most Recent Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Game Boy Color, 1998

Gamers who followed the Zelda series to its portable debut in Link's Awakening may remember a cameo from this character in that game ? Prince Richard appeared to aid Link on Koholint Island, and lived in a house filled with happy, hopping frogs. The reason for all the amphibians was reference, as Nintendo was giving a shout-out to a Japan-only game that came out earlier on the Game Boy ? Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, or "For the Frog the Bell Tolls." For the Frog was, in a way, the spiritual prequel to Link's Awakening. It told the tale of two princes, Richard and Sable, who were constant rivals. Both of the young men set off an adventure to save a kidnapped princess, and along the way both learned how to transform into frogs ? it would be interesting to see a Smash Bros. fighter who could take an alternate animal shape on command, so Richard (or Sable) is a worthwhile consideration, but we'd also be excited for him to appear as an Assist and perhaps attack the screen with a Biblical plague of toads.

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The Exclamation Warriors
First Appearance: Exclamation Warriors Sakeburein, Nintendo DS, 2007
Most Recent Appearance: Also Exclamation Warriors Sakeburein, Nintendo DS, 2007

Nintendo's most brand-new mascots were just announced to exist a few weeks ago ? the Exclamation Warriors! But we can be already assured that there's no way they're coming to the States, since their debut game is only being offered as a bonus for members of the Japan-only Club Nintendo. The Exclamation Warriors are a group of five Power Rangers style heroes, and they're controlled almost entirely by sound. You play their DS game by yelling commands into the DS microphone, telling them when to punch, kick and morph into Warrior form. Why are they on this list? Because look at them ? they're freaking awesome. Wouldn't it be a blast to have this team of non-Rangers leap into action in the middle of a Brawl battle and cooperatively destroy your opponents? Or even having one of them playable ? it would essentially make Brawl a cross-over between the Nintendo world and the Ranger universe. It's morphin' time!

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Takamaru
First Appearance: Nazo no Murasame-jo, Famicom Disk System, 1986
Most Recent Appearance: Famicom Mini: Nazo no Murasame-jo, Game Boy Advance, 2004

Here's a pick that may well turn out to be inspired ? Takamaru, the samurai-in-training from Nazo no Murasame-jo. Smash Bros. already has plenty of sword-wielding warriors, but most of them are flavored with a more European flair ? the Fire Emblem fighter Ike certainly is, as well as the shield-carrying Link. But Takamaru's different. He was Nintendo's first ever samurai character, a young man who was the hero of an adventure that only ever came out on the Famicom's Japan-only Disk System add-on ? "The Mystery of Murasame Castle." The game's setting was based on ancient Japan, and remains unique among Nintendo's catalog of titles, even over 20 years later ? a battleground styled after feudal Japanese shrines, paired with a shuriken-throwing, Kenshin-esque hero? Sounds like a great fit for the Brawl. And if Pit from Kid Icarus can be resurrected and reimagined after such a long absence, Takamaru might just stand a chance too. (Bonus observation: Nintendo's other samurai, Goroh from the F-Zero series, has been confirmed as an Assist Trophy. So any potential playable samurai position is still unoccupied.)

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Starfy
First Appearance: Densetsu no Stafy, Game Boy Advance, 2002
Most Recent Appearance: Densetsu no Stafy 4, Nintendo DS, 2006

We'll end this edition with the most likely pick of them all. Starfy the Starfish is currently the biggest, most active, most popular Nintendo character to have still not made it out of Japan. He's the star of a side-scrolling "marine platformer" series that had three installments on the Game Boy Advance, sold very well, and continued onto the DS last year with a fourth adventure. Starfy's games have been compared to the Kirby series in their look and feel, but set themselves apart with their setting ? almost everything is underwater, and other Nintendo games don't often spend a lot of time beneath the waves. An adaptation of Starfy's wet and wacky world would work wonderfully as a stage in Brawl, and Starfy himself could serve as an excellent addition to the "cute" characters lineup that currently includes Kirby, Pikachu and Yoshi. Doesn't really make any sense why Nintendo of America hasn't brought this little guy over to the States yet, but it would be ridiculous to think that he won't show up in some form in the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

They do some of these speculations every week or so

[Tony]

NEWEST UPDATE!

For about a week now, we've been wondering what the "???" update was. Now, we know. "???" is Adventure Mode. However, its an Adventure Mode that has never seen SSB. They have made it a complete side-scroller with an interesting, but not too complicated, plot. There are pictures to show more of this new mode at www.smashbros.com/en_us/index.html But above all, there is a video. This video shows Zelda using her teleportation and it also leaks another character...

PEACH!

[Christopher]

Shweet! Peach was pretty cool, I think.



And they should have Ganondorf, if they don't, you know how many people are going to be pissed?

[Tony]

I wont. Ganandorf was crap. His moves were powerful but very clone-like of Captain Falcon. I'm so happy that Peach is back because my sister said she wouldn't play the game unless Peach is in it DX. I'm looking at the picture on the site now and right above the movie to the left, the one with Pit, who is that in the foreground?

[Emy]

Not sure. A random enemy? D:

That video was cool. Short, but cool. :D

[Christopher]

It looked kind of like someone with blonde hair.

[Saffy]

A wild Emy approaches.

[Emy]

A wild Emy approaches.

:O I wanna' be on SSBB.

Blonde hair? It's probably Zelda.

[Christopher]

Look at the arms though. They're completely different. And they have golden blonde hair.

[Tony]

It looks like some sort of Mer-person or something...

[Christopher]

I looks like someone in a lot of armor.

[Katie]

ololol. If Bomberman gets put in SSB, my life would be complete. Bomberman was my childhood, maaaan.