I didn’t want to do another one of these lists since I already did one for Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U almost three years ago, but the most recent Smash Bros. Direct inspired me to. I mean, all the revelations showed a lot of love from Capcom and Konami: Zero (Mega Man X) and Rathalos (Monster Hunter) making appearances as assist trophies, all the Castlevania assets, heck even Shovel Knight’s inclusion as an assist trophy shows that Smash Bros. is more than just a celebration of Nintendo’s video game history.

With that thought in mind, I have a list of five characters that I’d like to see become part of the Smash Bros. Ultimate Roster. Let’s begin!

Ken Masters from Street Fighter

When Masahiro Sakurai first talked about the concept of Echo Fighters (clones of existing characters with slight modifications), the first character that came to mind was Street Fighter’s Ken because he fits the definition of an Echo Fighter so well. Since Ryu will be returning in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including Ken as an Echo of Ryu shouldn’t require too much work as he’s got pretty much the same moves and it’s not hard to picture out how he should be tweaked or modified. In terms of why I want to see Ken in Super Smash Bros., it’s all because I think Street Fighter (and Capcom) needs a little more representation and I’ve always been a fan of secondary lead characters like him and Resident Evil’s Leon Kennedy (who always seems to take the backseat behind Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine).

Heihachi Misihima from Tekken

It’s a mystery why Heihachi did not get included in the Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U roster. I mean, Bandai Namco worked on that with Sakurai’s team and they already lent Pac-Man to Nintendo’s fighting game franchise. Maybe back then you could argue that Heihachi wouldn’t be a good fit alongside Pokemon, Mario, and the Wii Fit Trainer, but the roster now includes characters like Ryu and Bayonetta which is a little less “cartoony” than Nintendo’s characters.

And Tekken ain’t all that serious anyway – don’t forget that Tekken had fighters like Gon and Roger and a freaking Panda. Even if Tekken made it’s start on Sony Playstation, we’ve seen several Tekken releases on Nintendo devices as well (more than Final Fantasy 7 releases). With Bandai Namco working on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I think it’s about time we see one of Tekken’s most famous characters become part of the roster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat

Okay, I understand that this is a bit of a reach. It’s been more than a decade since the last time we saw a Mortal Kombat game get released on a Nintendo device (2007 when Mortal Kombat Armageddon and Ultimate Mortal Kombat were released for the Wii and DS respectively). And yet, Mortal Kombat had been a significant part of Nintendo’s fourth and fifth generation of consoles – I remember playing a lot of Mortal Kombat 2 and 3 on SNES over at a friend’s house for several summers.

And Mortal Kombat managed to cross over with DC, so if those two franchises could fit in witih each other then why not Sub-Zero? I’m not exactly talking about a Mortal Kombat vs Nintendo title, I’m just talking about Sub-Zero in Smash Bros. and in my opinion, he fits right in. His ice powers could easily be represented in the Smash Bros. fighting game engine, as well as the usual Mortal Kombat mechanics like legsweeps, roundhouse kicks, upper cuts and running combos. Maybe the hardest Mortal Kombat concept to translate over to a Nintendo title would be Fatalities, but they can always go back to the blood-free Fatalities of the original Mortal Kombat on SNES.

You know what? Just the thought of Sub-Zero cracking a Smash Ball then performing a Final Smash on someone while Shao Kahn exclaims “FINISH HIM!” in the background makes me want to see Sub-Zero join the Smash Bros. roster even more.

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

Lara is another character that became famous due to all those Tomb Raider games that got released and played on Sony Playstation, but she’s had enough appearances on Nintendo consoles (Tomb Raider Legend and Tomb Raider Anniversary were released on the Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo Wii, respectively) and she’s an iconic video game character that deserves to be with the rest of the “who’s who” of video games.

Sure, the current Tomb Raider games aren’t getting released on Nintendo Switch but Square Enix has got a great relationship with Nintendo and with the Switch selling great, a Tomb Raider release on Switch isn’t exactly impossible. In terms of gameplay, if you can have a two-handgun wielding character like Bayonetta or bow-wielding characters like the different incarnations of Link or Pit, then you know you can represent Lara’s many different incarnations well enough.

Doom Guy from Doom

It may be strange for some to see Doom’s protagonist on a Super Smash Bros. roster wishlist but let me explain. Doom has actually been released on several of Nintendo’s consoles like the SNES and the Gameboy Advance, and 2016’s remake/revival of Doom was one of the biggest third party titles released on the Nintendo Switch last year. One of 2018’s biggest announcements for the Nintendo Switch is the news that Doom Eternal will also be released on the Nintendo Switch.

Despite the more mature subject matter, I think Doom is actually a good fit with Nintendo – when I played the latest version of Doom recently, I felt that there was a lot of emphasis on the fun factor of the game and less on story or on following the tropes of modern day FPS shooters. As a Smash Bros. character, most of Doom Guy’s arsenal is easily represented: make him a gunner with access to several different guns like grenade launchers, rocket launchers, lasers, standard automatics. Add some melee combat moves by utilizing the chainsaw or just enact a few of his more palatable Glory Kill moves and you’re all set.

And there you go, my “current” wishlist of characters that I want to see in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Just to make it clear though: the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is already massive so even if we don’t get any of these characters, I’m already very pleased with the game’s roster. I just think that Smash Bros. Ultimate would be more awesome if these characters were included.

What do you think about my list? Do you have characters that you want to see in Super Smash Bros. that I didn’t include? Let’s talk about it – leave a comment or two below!