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[Green Mamba]

The Ice Climbers have "very unique character gimmick" on their side that Takamaru isn't going to ever be able to touch, R.O.B. is a genuinely important part of Nintendo's history, and Kid Icarus was always way more popular in both regions than Murasame Castle ever was in Japan.

Takamaru only ever came up as much as he did because people incorrectly believed that Murasame Castle was a pre-Uprising Kid Icarus equivalent in Japan, but it never really was.

Choosing the unique newcomers that are in SSB4 instead of him was the right choice.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Three games.

TBF Takamaru only had one game. Fire Emblem had, like, five when Melee came out.

At the time of Brawl, he only had two

 

[GiantBreadbug]

I suspect this was the plan with Shulk, actually.

There may be some consciousness of how many of those you can cram into one game.

Yeah, you can only try to give so many obscure-ish characters a spotlight until it becomes kinda tacky.

That being said, I think Takamaru is the best candidate for retro rep for the next Smash. I always really wanted him in Smash 4, but I think the next go around will be his time to shine.

It helps that he has a lot of hooks that can be utilized for originality. I would love to see what Sakurai could do with him.

 

[WrenchNinja]

What is the appeal of Takamaru? What can he do?

 

[BosSin]

Who the hell is takamaru?

 

[Kouichi]

Aw damn he was one of my top 3 most requested characters. I actually thought he had a really good chance. Looks like I was close.

Well there's always next time!

 

[L Thammy]

It was actually really shocking to me how much of an air of disdain people had for potentials going into Smash 4 because they would all be "circling the drain/bottom of the barrel" picks in their eyes. It's so funny too, it's like a reflection of the whole "Nintendo don't make new IPs/use old IPs enough - > these IPs aren't 'Nintendo' enough" fallacy in the form of who gets billing or not. Then people get upset when another Mario or Pokemon character jumps in.

Now that I think about it, it makes even more sense why Mega Man and Pac Man are in the game. People don't want new characters, they want more nostalgia. If Sakurai's hard-pressed to add in new sources of nostalgia from Nintendo, why not look outside of Nintendo.

 

[Draxal]

Actually, it's an apt comparison because Roy and Marth were nearly removed from the western release of Melee due to concern that nobody would know who they were, but the localisation team decided to leave them in. As a result, the Fire Emblem franchise gained traction in the west.

I wouldn't say it's an apt comparison, as Fire Emblem six was in development at the time and there was speculation in bringing that over to America (which they refocused even more on seven, and put in Lyn's mode).

I don't see where a revival of Takamaru makes sense other than they really wanted to make a Takamaru game like Kamiya does.

 

[Coffee Dog]

What is the appeal of Takamaru? What can he do?

Samurai that fights with katana, throwing stars, and various magics.

 

[Ryce]

What is the appeal of Takamaru? What can he do?

• Kitana swordplay (nobody in Smash Bros. fights with that distinctive samurai flair)
• Deflect projectiles with sword
• Throwing knives (in various directions simultaneously)
• Fireballs
• Lightning
• Invisibility cloak

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

It actually does seem like Nintendo probably does have some sort of Takamaru-reboot planned down the line, so if that comes to fruition him being absent in Smash will sting a bit less.

Personally, I'd love for them to spruce up the Takamaru character to make him stand-out...one idea I had was to make him a Hua Mulan character, and have him actually be the princess of Murasame Castle who disguises herself as a Ronin to fight back against the aliens.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

• Kitana swordplay (nobody in Smash Bros. fights with that distinctive samurai flair)
• Deflect projectiles with sword
• Throwing knives (in various directions simultaneously)
• Fireballs
• Lightning
• Invisibility cloak

So what you're saying is at least half of what he would do is covered by a golden sun character, who is one of the few missing assist trophies from brawl.

Interesting.

 

[thegirlleastlikelyto]

I really see his point, I'm a huge Nintendo fan and I know where every smash character is from, but this would have really throne me for a loop.

I mean, Arino kacho just played this on Gamecenter.

 

[Red Arremer]

So far these characters were considered to be playable in Smash 4 but ultimately didn't make the cut,

-Chrom
-Chorus Men
-Ridley
-Ice climbers
-Takamaru

anyone I missed?

Wait Ridley was considered as a playable? Do you have some info on that?

 

[BasilZero]

I really see his point, I'm a huge Nintendo fan and I know where every smash character is from, but this would have really throne me for a loop.

I was like this too but look what happened to marth! Same thing could happen to this guy...maybe.

 

[Neoxon]

I suspected that Takamaru was initially planned as playable as a music from his game is in the game but got the boot for some reason, just didn't think it would be the most stupidest reason ever.

Gutted that he isn't playable. *sigh* Looks like I am gonna have to wait for Smash 5 for playable Wonder Red, Takamaru, and Saki.

As much as it pains me to say it, we'll never see Wonder Red as playable. ;_;

 

[Azure J]

Three games.

TBF Takamaru only had one game. Fire Emblem had, like, five when Melee came out.

Oh don't get me wrong (though I guess that post betrays how much I knew beforehand), I know how big Fire Emblem was in Japan at the time of Melee's production and the inclusion of Marth and Roy in retrospect makes a ton of sense. My only gripe was using the line that he's "too obscure for the fanbase" when Smash has a very strange and tangible way of bringing faces to immediate recognization once the first month '[character] got in?!' feelings subsided.

What is the appeal of Takamaru? What can he do?

Takamaru is a samurai who is tasked with retaking the four largest castles in Edo era Japan after their lords succumb to the influence of some paranormal force who forcibly makes its abode in the fourth and largest castle, the titular Murasame Castle. He fights primarily with a variety of ranged projectiles (flames/frisbee blades), summons screen filling lightning and gains support items such as scrolls that turn him into a living shadow or completely intangible. The appeal isn't so much in these seemingly random abilities alone so much as it is in [hopefully] bringing a different style of swordplay to the roster, one based on the iaijutsu/sword draw and sheathe technique. The combination of such with his projectile and support arsenal makes him an exceedingly appealing character in a game play sense to me.

Then there's also the fact that his official art is really cool in that mid 80s animation style. There's a nice use of color and the character design is simple while perfectly conveying what he's about.

 

[chaosblade]

Lyn in PM tho. The dream is still real.

That leak was hype, I can't wait. Would be so annoying if they changed plans due to the leak, but she looked really far along so I doubt they would do that.

Spoiler

Lyn was my most wanted character for Brawl back in the day, kind of a dream come true for her to be in PM.

Wait Ridley was considered as a playable? Do you have some info on that?

I don't remember if they outright said it, but the impression I got from one of the interviews was that they basically tried, couldn't really get him to work in a way they were happy with that represented the character well, so he ended up being a boss character that functions awfully similar to a playable one.

 

[j.rob]

Nooooooooo.

So close. SO CLOSE. Why must you play with my heart Sakurai?

 

[CassSept]

Little Mac? You mean Duck Hunt.

Nah I mean Mac, I'd say Duck Hunt is more like Mr. Game & Watch and ROB, an absolutely unexpected bizarre retro character.

 

[Maengun1]

I'd be fine with adding Takamaru to the next Smash game (or DLC or whatever), but there only being two Donkey Kong reps is still the current roster's most glaring problem IMO. I remember thinking it was a matter of whether both Dixie and K. Rool would get in, or only one of them. Then . . .

 

[Jezan]

Wait Ridley was considered as a playable? Do you have some info on that?

I'm not sure if that rumor is real, but judging by the amount of animations and states that Ridley has as a hazard in the Metroid stage, I think they were trying to fit him in but decided not keep wasting time with something that would look so out of place.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I wonder if Saki was the same situation in Brawl.

Obscure Japanese only character that probably could have been playable, but was just an assist trophy. Sakurai even joked that Saki looked playable in screenshots.

I'd be fine with adding Takamaru to the next Smash game (or DLC or whatever), but there only being two Donkey Kong reps is still the current roster's most glaring problem IMO. I remember thinking it was a matter of whether both Dixie and K. Rool would get in, or only one of them. Then . . .

Dixie and K Rool are such "safe" DK character ideas.

Why not go out of the box and rep the arcade side of DK, rather than the tired DKC side of the series?

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I was thinking it over, and Nintendo doesn't really have a lot of samurai...

There's Takamaru, Sakura Samurai, Samurai Goroh, and Samurott are the only really notable ones that come to mind. Not too much considering Nintendo's long history. There's probably a couple minor ones in Fire Emblem that aren't notable enough, and If... looks like it'll have some as well. Oh, and

Spoiler

Tin Man

in Codename S.T.E.A.M. surprisingly ended up being one.

I sort of consider Meta Knight a samurai-like character, even though he's more of a European Knight. He has sort of the attitude of a typical one.

 

[Nia]

I think Takamaru will get the Little Mac treatment for the next Smash Brothers, if there is one.

Spoiler

I would prefer Ashley though.

 

[Red Arremer]

I see Duck Hunt, much like Game & Watch and ROB, as a hardware-based character, rather than a "retro rep". The retro reps are Ice Climbers, Pit and Little Mac, to a lesser extent even Palutena.
Duck Hunt represents the light-based Nintendo peripherals - the NES zapper first and foremost, of course. I feel like it's pretty clear considering that the other zapper games are included in Duck Hunt's moveset, as well.

 

[friskykillface]

That's not king k rool
Free the rool B^)

I still think Nintendo was silly not to include a smash Bros brawl HD the first year of the Wii u

My guess is the next Nintendo system will have smash Bros Wii u HD x cut content and characters


Shame cause I remember that PoTD , everyone was hyped then assist character

 

[Kyzon]

So nothing of value was lost then?


Where's playable Dark Samus?

 

[Ryce]

The retro reps are Ice Climbers, Pit and Little Mac, to a lesser extent even Palutena.

Little Mac is a classic character based heavily on a modern game, like Mario, Link, and Samus. His visual design and Final Smash are taken from a Wii game. Long dormant characters resurrected for Smash Bros. are considered "retro," like Ice Climbers and Pit (at the time of Brawl).

 

[Noirulus]

They should've had a Chrono Trigger character.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Little Mac is a classic character based heavily on a modern game, like Mario, Link, and Samus. Long dormant characters resurrected for Smash Bros. are considered "retro," like Ice Climbers and Pit (at the time of Brawl).

I would even lump Megaman in as a retro character revival. Yea, he's had modern games, but Megaman in Smash really just reps the first 7 and seems to be more meant as a retro character.

 

[Regulus Tera]

They should've had a Chrono Trigger character.

They should have added Goku.

 

[FSLink]

I haven't really followed Smash 4 much, but Doc also seemed like an all-around worse Mario without customs. With customs, he's saved somewhat.

He is but he at least differs from Mario a lot more than the others, like having the Doc Tornado and the pills, fair, etc.

With customs he's great IMO, potentially better than Mario, though I think with people discovering that Scalding FLUDD is good with Mario I think Mario will still be better.

Anyway, the point was, I meant worst as in "clones that hardly have any changes". Doc is an example of a "good" clone IMO.

 

[Ryce]

I would even lump Megaman in as a retro character revival. Yea, he's had modern games, but Megaman in Smash really just reps the first 7 and seems to be more meant as a retro character.

Pac-Man too. He isn't considered dormant, but his Smash Bros. depiction represents the golden age of arcades, and he uses his classic appearance instead of the awful new one. His smash attacks, neutral special, and side special are from Pac-Man (1980), his grab is from Galaga (1981), his Final Smash is from Super Pac-Man (1982), his up special is from Mappy (1983), and his down special is from Pac-Land (1984).

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

They should have added Goku.

What's the difference?

 

[R0ckman]

People are aware that when Little Mac was revealed, A LOT of Japan comments on Japan gaming news sites were like -"Who?" and there was a really funny one, but I forget what he said. All in all, his reason for excluding Takamaru is pretty damn bad, BUT, we got Duck Hunt, which I think if I had to choose between them, I would choose Duck Hunt. My only gripe with Duck Hunt is that I think his stage is lazy as hell.

 

[Neoxon]

People are aware that when Little Mac was revealed, A LOT of Japan comments on Japan gaming news sites were like -"Who?" and there was a really funny one, but I forget what he said. All in all, his reason for excluding Takamaru is pretty damn bad, BUT, we got Duck Hunt, which I think if I had to choose between them, I would choose Duck Hunt. My only gripe with Duck Hunt is that I think his stage is lazy as hell.

I prefer it, it's actually tournament-legal.

 

[Neoxon]

That's not king k rool
Free the rool B^)

I still think Nintendo was silly not to include a smash Bros brawl HD the first year of the Wii u

My guess is the next Nintendo system will have smash Bros Wii u HD x cut content and characters


Shame cause I remember that PoTD , everyone was hyped then assist character

Brawl was pretty much dead & is hated by most of the competitive scene. If anything, those efforts would be better-placed in a Melee HD re-release.

 

[IntelliHeath]

SmashGAF never change!

The topic title is inaccurate. Sakurai actually said that he briefly considered Takamaru but decided against him due to a lack of recognition. “Planned” suggests he was finalized and penciled into the roster at some point, but Takamaru didn’t even make it past the brainstorming stage. Sakurai only brought up Takamaru in the first place because he was asked about him.

At least, Sakurai did considered him for shot time. That could meant that Sakurai could reconsider the position for Takamaru to be in Smash 5 if it's possible. The time will tell.

Custom Robo first please.

also is heath secretly Sakurai? Errybody he wanted either made it in or came close.

Hahaha! Maybe!

Haha, still waiting to see how Intelliheath and Azure J are taking this.

I'm totally okay with it. At least, he actually had Takamaru in his mindset so who know that he might reconsider about Takamaru in the future. I'm pretty sure that Takamaru might pop up again.

Since we only got one retro character in Smash 4. So If i have choice to pick between Duck Hunt and Takamaru, I would definitely go with Duck Hunt. Sorry TakamaruGAF. I will be right there with all of you next time if I'm still around. Takamaru for Smash 5!

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Edit: This logic makes NO fucking sense when this is the series that made a large part of the Nintendo fanbase aware of what the fuck Fire Emblem was. That and I got fucking robbed of my iaijutsu character two times in a row for Smash. Totally sad right now.

there, there. At least, we know that Takauaru is more likely to pop up in Sakurai's mind if he is going to brainstorming for future Smash. That's big IF tho.

So far these characters were considered to be playable in Smash 4 but ultimately didn't make the cut,

-Chrom
-Chorus Men
-Ridley
-Ice climbers
-Takamaru

anyone I missed?

Chrom but he changed from Chrom to Robin in term of better moveset style. Also I would included Lucas and Wolf because he said that he had to cut characters if they ran out of times.

Woah, this goes against a lot of old knowledge I remember getting between pre-Brawl and now. Takamaru was actually mentioned by name on the Melee Dojo site where Sakurai mentioned he wanted to/would think about including him if the character received a new title/renewed interest when a fan wrote in a question asking about him and Lip IIRC. In the Brawl Dojo votes, he was only beaten by things like Ridley/K. Rool/Dixie/Megaman topping the charts 3 times to their 4+ times.

I do agree with your general point though, Takamaru is one of those characters who has the wrong type of obscurity and only enters conversations because he's remembered by older staff in Nintendo.

Yes, I remember that. I recalled that Sakurai said that if Takamaru got new game then he would reconsidered Takamaru.

Problem is those 3 new games that Takamaru got in isn't actually Takamaru's. It's just cameos. I hope that we are going to get new game someday so Takamaru's inclusion would become locked for Smash 5, along with Inkling. However I wouldn't get my hope high tho.

 

[Crayolan]

RIP Azure J.

 

[Anth0ny]

DLC DLC DLC

 

[Rising_Hei]

Here i thought it was going to me hamije no ippo's

 

[IntelliHeath]

DLC DLC DLC

I would like that but I'm not sure because it would be weird to see Takamaru as assist trophy and Takamaru as playable character at same time. I think his chance had sailed away but there is a chance for him to be playable character in Smash 5.

 

[Azure J]

I somehow feel weird that the fate of a 30 year old samurai character from the annals of a Japanese entertainment firm is what most people on gaming side GAF recognize me for in eight years of posting on GAF... :lol

@Heath: Yeah, I feel kinda optimistic for Smash 5 too but that's so many years off it's not worth thinking about here and now.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Explanations like this one for not including certain characters wouldn't be so bad if they were consistent with past roster additions. Takamaru's too obscure, yet G&W is a mainstay. Tak had no recent games, though Pit got into SSB: Brawl, and so forth. Same goes for a few other characters that didn't get in.

It'd be better if Sakurai just stuck to saying there wasn't enough time to add some of the cut/considered characters, something that no one would question considering all the work put into the game and its development time.

 

[King Gilga]

Honestly I've never heard of him or his game.

 

[Unspeakable Evil]

I somehow feel weird that the fate of a 30 year old samurai character from the annals of a Japanese entertainment firm is what most people on gaming side GAF recognize me for in eight years of posting on GAF... :lol

Oh.... you were first person I thought about. XD
Maybe next time my samurai friend.

 

[Crayolan]

Explanations like this one for not including certain characters wouldn't be so bad if they were consistent with past roster additions. Takamaru's too obscure, yet G&W is a mainstay. Tak had no recent games, though Pit got into SSB: Brawl, and so forth. Same goes for a few other characters that didn't get in.

It'd be better if Sakurai just stuck to saying there wasn't enough time to add some of the cut/considered characters, something that no one would question considering all the work put into the game and its development time.

Not exactly. It's a pretty safe bet that Takamaru was contending with Duck Hunt to get in as a retro rep. Duck Hunt is a lot more well known in this case.

 

[Neoxon]

DLC DLC DLC

Can't, he's already an Assist Trophy.

 

[Red Arremer]

Can't, he's already an Assist Trophy.

Can you link me to an official statement of Sakurai that says that AT characters cannot become playable at all?