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Namco Bandai Characters Ripe For Super Smash Bros.
We put together a substantial list of who we want for Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS earlier this year, but that was before we knew Namco Bandai is developing the game.
Smash Bros. steward Masahiro Sakurai recently said he wants to scale back the Smash Bros. cast. In an interview with IGN, Sakurai said, "I think Snake and Sonic joining were fantastic. It made many fans happy, and it broadened the Smash Bros arena. However, introducing more non-Nintendo characters willy-nilly will lose the focus of the game, so I also recognize the need to narrow it down." We disagree. Now that Namco Bandai is developing the game, we think several great options exist for expanding the roster outside of its comfort zone.
We know all the Nintendo standbys will be on hand, but these are the Namco Bandai characters and properties we'd like to see in the game.
Ridge Racer and Ace Combat
I group these two together because both games put you in control of vehicles, and that's what I want to control in Super Smash Bros. I want to play as an actual plane from Ace Combat or as one of the vehicles from Ridge Racer. Think it's an unreasonable request? Well, it has been done before.
Spock, Curious George, Popeye, Dilbert, Spawn, and Vin Diesel from The Fast and the Furious
Namco Bandai does not own the rights to any of these franchises or characters, but they have published games based around them. Basically, they know who to talk to, and could probably work out the details to make some magic happen. I would love to see a battle between Spock and Curious George, or The Man with the Yellow Hat. Spawn made his way into Soul Calibur, so why not another fighting franchise? Vin Diesel didn’t appear in The Fast and the Furious video game that Namco released for PlayStation 2, but that's just a minor detail. Those familiar with the history of Mario know that Donkey Kong began with the Popeye license in mind, so the two deserve a chance to fight. Also, Dilbert.
The Tales Series
Namco Bandai’s flagship role-playing series has hundreds of characters spread across a huge collection of games, so it's hard to pick just one. Since the GameCube entry Tales of Symphonia is a fan favorite, I'm going with the strong-headed orphan Lloyd Irving. His duel-sword fighting style makes him a formidable foe.
Pac-Man
Pac-Man made it into the arcade-only Mario Kart racing game Namco Bandai created, so his appearance in Smash Bros. would be the least surprising of all. Maybe he could incorporate some Kirby-like powers swallowing enemies left and right with his triangle shaped mouth.
The Prince and The King of Cosmos
Namco should only include these two if their sizes are accurately scaled to all the other fighters. The Prince should be a barely visible dot with incredible strength, and The King of All Cosmos should pretty much just be a giant foot, because that’s really all you would be able to see.
Read on for the possible resolution to one of video games' great rivalries.
Digimon
If any Digimon monsters appear in Smash Bros., they could finally take on their greatest, nearly invincible rivals:
Pokémon. My generation argued over Sonic and Mario, and those two
finally got a chance to duke it out in Brawl. It’s time for the next
generation to battle over their own formative video game characters.
Klonoa
Klonoa has had a lot of critical praise (and the love of Matthew Perry randomly), but he's never experienced the kind of runaway success that moves units. He's perfect fit for Smash Bros because he's obscure enough that not every Smash Bros. fan will know who he is, but those who do will lavish him with praise. Think of him as the Ness of the next Smash Bros.
Monkey
Namco Bandai published the Ninja Theory game Enslaved: Oddyssey to the West. The studio's prior release was Heavenly Sword, whose protagonist, Nariko, is making an appearance in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Why can’t Monkey make an appearance in Smash Bros.? Monkey's expandable staff is perfect for knocking enemies out of the park, and his cloud could save him from falling off the edge.
Lucky & Wild
Remember this arcade light gun shooter where one character drives and another shoots? Many may not, but I think we all agree that we need to get Wild’s feathered hair into Smash Bros. as soon as possible. I'm not sure how the two would fight, especially considering they never left their vehicle in the arcade game, but those details are negligible. It's all about the hair.
Breakdown
Breakdown’s big selling point is its first-person brawling and eating. I don’t think any game before or since has emulated eating a cheeseburger and drinking a soda from the first-person perspective quite like Breakdown. I don’t know how that could be incorporated into Smash Bros. but I am confident that someone at Namco Bandai or Nintendo can pull it off. The game's protagonist, Derrick Cole, has two first names and excellent melee skills. As Cole you could eat a cheeseburger, down a soda, and then spiral kick Mario off a ledge. He's perfect.
Which Namco Bandai characters would you like to see in Super Smash Bros.?
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