What 3RD-PARTY characters will be in the new SMASH BROS?

A gamer’s wet dream.

The new Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS was announced  this week along with the game’s first new third-party character: Megaman! Super Smash Bros Brawl was the first game in the series to feature non-Nintendo characters; those being Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Fans now expect  these two third-party to return along with additional third-party characters such as Megaman and more. However,  Smash Bros producer Masahiro Sakurai has made the statement that this game is still to be considered an all-star collection of Nintendo characters at that any 3rd party character appearance would be a “special situation”. Still, fan speculation is running riot which begs the question. What third-party characters will be in the new roster? Will Sonic and Snake return?

Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog were the first two 3rd-party characters to appear in the Smash Bros series.

Here’s what I think:

I’ve seen many 3rd party characters listed on forums for “who should be in this game!!” such as  Lloyd Irving, Yoshimitsu, Shadow the Hedgehog, Jin Kazama, Bayonetta, Bomberman, Kazuya Mishima, other Tekken characters,  Simon Belmont of Castlevania fame,  Tails, Knuckles, the entire fucking Sonic cast, Son Goku and much, much more. Quite frankly, not one name in that list is an iconic enough video game character to make the Smash Bros roster. Only gaming legends can crash Nintnedo’s party and the word legend is used far too loosely in my opinion.

I predict that there will be no more than three 3rd-party characters. Sakurai has repeatedly stressed that Super Smash Bros is a Nintendo crossover and that he does not want to lose that feeling by overcrowding the roster with “outsiders”. So the three 3rd-party characters I think will make the cut are:

1.That Namco character 

For those who don’t know, the game is being co-developed by Nintendo and Namco so I reckon Namco will have their mark in the game somewhere.  Rumors of a Namco character are pretty legit ranging for making the roster from Lloyd Irving to Jin Kazama. Now I love me some Tekken and I’m sure this Lloyd Irving is a sound guy but if any Namco character is making the cut has to be this one…

When I say iconic, I mean “my-parents-know-who-he-is” ironic. No one can dispute Pac-Man’s status as a gaming legend and he has that cartoony presence that fits right into the world of Smash Bros.  Imagine playing on a Pac-Man stage!

2. That returning Hedgehog 

This is the one I’m least confident about only because  it’s the one I want the most. Sonic was in the last game but it is uncertain as to whether or not he will return. I’m a SEGA fan more than anything else and Sonic’s appearance in Brawl was initially the only reason that Smash Bros got my interest in the first place. Talk about being shallow I know. But like Pac-Man, Sonic is a gaming icon and I know for a fact he’s more requested than many Nintendo characters. Sonic’s more-or-less a Nintendo character these days anyway. SEGA and Nintendo have a very close relationship,  plus the next three Sonic games are Nintendo exclusive, so Sonic for Smash Bros?

Another thing I also have to address is the demand for Tails, Shadow and etc to be playable. Sonic alone should and would be enough. Non-Sonic fans wouldn’t appreciate the roster being flooded with Sega characters. Remember it’s a Nintendo crossover and it should remain as such. While some think Sonic is a shoe-in  but I’m only fairly confident. He has more of a chance than Solid Snake that’s for sure.

3. MegaMan duhh……

He’s already been confirmed. Megaman’s games started out of the NES in the 80s, around the same time as Super Mario Bros, so it is fitting that he’s here. I wasn’t that surprised. He is a perfect fit and I had suggested this many times before.

So they you have it. I predict Sonic and Pac-Man to be the other 3rd-party characters in the new Super Smash Bros alongside Megaman. Funnily enough, I was gutted that these three characters weren’t in Project X Zone. A Mario vs Sonic vs Megaman vs Pac-Man match would be an epic thing to see.