By the release of the final DLC expansion forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, there are 89 playable characters from across gaming history. While most of the playable fighters come from Nintendo’s franchises old and new, there are additionally over 15 characters from third-party franchises. However, many obvious Nintendo characters are still not part of the roster.
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Although some of these characters do appear inSuper Smash Bros Ultimateas Assist Trophies or Spirits, many Nintendo fans believe their debut as playable fighters are long overdue. Hopefully, in the next installment of the franchise, Nintendo considers adding these long-time favorites and iconic faces to the ever-growing roster of Nintendo opponents.
10Waluigi
Perhaps one of themore surprising characters to be left off theSmashrosteris Waluigi, the sidekick to Mario’s rival Wario. Waluigi is a staple of theSuper Marioseries in various spin-off titles likeMario Kart,Mario Party, andMario Tennis, which could serve as the inspiration for his unique moveset among the other includedSuper Mariocharacters.
However, Waluigi has remained in theSuper Smash Brosseries as an Assist Trophy ever since the mechanic’s introduction inSuper Smash Bros Brawl. Unfortunately,Super Smash Bros Ultimatedid not prove to be Waluigi’s turn in the fighting ring, even losing a spot to theSuper Mariominion Piranha Plant, who was the game’s first DLC character.
9Captain Toad
When it comes toSuper Mariomascots, it’s just as surprising that some version of Toad hasn’t made an appearance as a Smash fighter yet. Toad was first playable inSuper Mario Bros 2for the NES and returned as a playable character in the Wii U titleSuper Mario 3D World. The version of Toad that would likely appear inSmashalso comes from that title.
Captain Toad made his debut inSuper Mario Galaxy, but inSuper Mario 3D Worldhe was the face of several side-quests throughout the main story. These mini-puzzles also served as the basis for Captain Toad’s own game,Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Though this Toad is unable to jump, he seems like an obvious choice asa potentialSuper Marioseries rep.
8Tingle
The Legend of Zeldahas many great characters throughout the franchise, fromThe Wind Waker’s Tetra toMajora’s Mask’sSkull Kid. However, one of the more iconic characters who appears in several games is Tingle, the wannabe fairy who debuted inMajora’s Maskas a balloon-bound cartographer who Link encounters during his adventures in Termina.
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Tingle later got his own spin-off series, starting with the DS titleFreshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland, which was released in Japan and Europe. The character also plays a role inThe Wind Waker, one of the more popular installments in the franchise. Though he was an Assist Trophy inBrawl, his absence in future titles leaves him open to be playable someday.
7Blaziken
It’s quite surprising that Generation 3 ofPokemonhas no representatives inSuper Smash Bros, given it’s one of the most popular eras of the franchise. The generation also has one of the most iconic fully-evolved starterPokemonin Blaziken, the Fire/Fighting-type evolution of Torchic. Particularly, Blaziken played a big role in the sixth-generation games.
With the introduction of Mega Evolution, Blaziken was one of few Pokemon to be chosen to gain new forms. However, whenSuper Smash Bros for 3DSreleased, Blaziken wasn’t included asSmash’s signature Fire-type representative, choosing Charizard instead. It’s pretty tough competition to be up against Charizard, but Blaziken certainly deserves a spot.
6Krystal
TheStar Foxseries has been oddly dormant for such an important part of Nintendo’s history.Star Fox Zerofor Wii U was the last title released in the franchise, which garnered criticism for its motion controls. As a result, the future of the already-infrequent franchise is unknown, yet there are still some iconic characters from older games who belong inSmash.
One of those is Krystal, a character who debuted in the divisive but popularStar Fox Adventuresfor GameCube.Unlike Fox, Falco, or Wolf, her moveset could be completely unique, utilizing her staff to fight enemies rather than a Blaster. Krystal’s popularity amongStar Foxfans also makes her an obvious choice for a future series representative.
5Celica
ManySuper Smash Brosfans would probably argue that there are more than enoughFire Emblemrepresentatives inSuper Smash Bros. Nevertheless, while most of the franchise’s reps are from recent installments in the series, there are plenty of iconic characters from older titles that are more than worthy of appearing as playableSuper Smash Brosfighters.
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One of those is Celica, one of the protagonists from the second-everFire Emblemtitle. Notably, Celica re-appeared inFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of the game on 3DS that was released in 2017. One would think this renewed popularity, plus her inclusion inFire Emblem Engage, would make her the perfectSmash Brosnewcomer.
4Medusa
It’s quite obvious to many fans ofSuper Smash Brosthat the series' director, Masahiro Sakurai, has a bias towards his own characters. However, it’s a lucky turn of events for fans ofKid Icarus: Uprisingfor the 3DS, one of the most critically-acclaimed titles on the handheld system.Kid Icarus: Uprisinghad quite the influenceonSuper Smash Bros for Wii U & 3DS.
However, the series still only has three representatives: Pit, Lady Palutena, and Pit’s evil clone Dark Pit. One potential addition could be Medusa, one of the main antagonists fromKid Icarus: Uprising, who also appeared as the final boss in the original NES title. She could even be included as an Echo Fighter of Palutena, just like Dark Pit for Pit.
3Ashley
TheWarioWareseries is tremendously underrepresented inSuper Smash Bros, with only the titular character appearing from the series. However, compared to otherSuper Mariospin-offs,WarioWarehas some of the most diverse and likable characters. One of those, Ashley, the immature witch even appears inSuper Smash Brosas an Assist Trophy.
What makes Ashley such an iconic character in theWarioWarefranchise is her theme song, which was givenan incredibly popular remix inSuper Smash Bros Brawl. Given the fact that everySuper Smash Brosfan knows her name, she’d be the perfect choice to round out theWarioWareseries roster while offering a much different playstyle than Wario himself.
2King Hippo
There are plenty of great characters in thePunch-Outfranchise other than Little Mac who could make uniqueSuper Smash Brosfighters. One of those, perhaps even more iconic than Little Mac himself, is King Hippo, one of the first tough and ruthless boss characters that Mac fights in the original game, as well as its remake on Nintendo Wii.
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Though King Hippo may not offer more strength with midair attacks than Little Mac, he’d surely pack a big punch like the series' other heavyweights, like King K. Rool or Donkey Kong. Even just hearing the character’s iconic roars on stage would send chills down the spine of any opponent who finds themselves facing the unstoppable boxer.
1Balloon Fighter
Nintendo has included many retro characters in theSuper Smash Brosseries, from Duck Hunt to Mr. Game & Watch. However, one character who has been requested by manySuper Smash Brosfans is Balloon Fighter, the character from the classic NES gameBalloon Fight, which even has its own stage in theSuper Smash Brosseries.
As an arcade classic that transitioned to the NES,Balloon Fighthas certainly earned its representation in theSuper Smash Brosroster. Though the character’s moveset may be simple, that could honestly be a breath of fresh air in the franchise, as more recent DLC characters come with many complex mechanics and new systems to utilize them.
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