What's Smash?

One of the premier fighting game franchises of all time, Super Smash Bros is a party series published by gaming giant Nintendo which sees characters from their various franchises (alongside several third-party characters) coming together for some family-friendly violence. Beginning with the original title in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, Smash has seen several outings in the years since, such as the iconic Melee for the Gamecube, Brawl for the Wii, the unoriginally named Smash 4 for the WiiU and 3DS, and the most recent title, Ultimate, which released on the Switch in 2018. Ultimate was seen as a huge celebration for the franchise, boasting that EVERYONE IS HERE- all seventy + fighters, ranging from staples of the original game to guest fighters and DLC, were in the launch roster. Helmed by Masahiro Sakurai, Smash is a household name and staple for parties worldwide, with Ultimate being one of the highest-selling fighting games in the world at over 12 million units sold.

What's Fire Emblem?

Fire Emblem is Nintendo's forray into strategy- a turn based fantasy seires that's one of the longer-running staples of the company with its roots in 1990 for the Famicom. Despite a lot of pushing from Nintendo, Fire Emblem failed to take off in the West for many years, with the future of the franchise being uncertain after several successive commercial flops in the 2000s. With the franchise risking cancellation if it failed to find a market, the team made a Hail-Mary pass of epic proportions thanks to Fire Emblem Awakening in 2013- a launch title for the 3DS that finally marked the series getting a foothold in the West. Since then, the series has released three big games: Fates, which wasn't very good due to pulling a Pokemon and cutting the game into three separate releases and having an awful story, Heroes, a free to play mobile game, and Three Houses, which saw the series move to the Nintendo Switch. In Three Houses, you play as Byleth, a mercenary hired to teach one of three classes in a military academy that are all led by House Lords- Edlegard, Dimitri and Claude. Three Houses combined Persona-style time management for social interactions with the tactical gameplay of the series, and was a critical success for the company, selling over 3 million units.

Smash and Fire Emblem's shared history

Fire Emblem and Smash have a tied history, due to Smash being part of the reason the series even began releasing in the West (Fire Emblem had such a small presense before this that a lot of people unironically thought Marth and Ike were original characters made just for the game). Two characters, Roy(Who's also our boi) and Marth, were playable in Melee, with their popularity leading to Nintendo beginning localisation efforts of the other games. Since then, Fire Emblem has gotten consistent additional represetation in each mainline title:

• Brawl added Ike, protagonist of Path of Radiance and its sequel, Radiant Dawn. His massive two-handed sword and battle cry of "GREAT AETHER" made him stand out as a fun battler, with high damage potential but a weak mobility selection to balance him.
  
• 3DS/WiiU would bring back Marth, Ike and Roy, alongside newcomers Robin and Lucina from Awakening and, post-launch, Corrin from Fates as a DLC fighter. The Mii Fighter would also get an outfit themed on Awakening's co-protagonist Chrom as DLC.
  
• Ultimate would launch with all prior Fire Emblem characters as part of the launch roster with a new addition- Chrom making the transition from Mii Fighter to Echo Fighter (the game's term for characters who are moveset clones, in this case for Roy while Lucina was officially made an Echo Fighter for Marth). Ultimate also saw a large collection of music from the series being available alongside three stages.
  

Perhaps one of the largest showings of how tied together the two series are, especially regarding FE getting off the ground in the West, can be seen in the announcement trailer for a re-release of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first game in the series as part of 30th anniversary celebrations. The trailer shows two young boys playing Melee and wondering where Roy and Marth are from, leading to them discovering Fire Emblem at large.
It's at the launch of Ultimate, before the DLC released, that I'd like to dovetail and cover some of the tensions between Smash and Fire Emblem, alongside the post-launch support Ultimate got.

Smash fans vs Fire Emblem Fans: A Short History

Smash fans and Fire Emblem fans don't get along a lot of the time, it must be said (though Smash fans don't get along with anyone very well). Many Smash fans blame FE as the reason for Smash's roster being stereotyped as "Anime swordboys," due to Nintendo almost entirely drawing from the sword-fighting leads of the series instead of an axe or lance fighter. (Hector from Blazing Blade is often called an example of what a more atypical Smash rep would be due to wielding a large axe). While most of the fighters try and do different things mechanically (Robin is almost entirely a spellcaster for instance, while Corrin can turn into a dragon), that Chrom and Lucina were both moveset clones didn't help this perception.
Many other Nintendo franchise fans aren't happy additionally at how Fire Emblem gets blatant preferential treatment by Nintendo. While it is justified as them wanting to show off the new FE games in each Smash title, that Fire Emblem is all but guaranteed to get new Smash rep every time a new game releases has embittered fans of older franchises that Nintendo hasn't given as much love lately (especially F-Zero, Metroid, Golden Sun and more). Sakurai being an open Fire Emblem fan hasn't helped the perception of an inherent bias for FE, though this is usually countered by the low representation for the Kirby and Kid Icarus franchises despite Sakurai's own roles in them.
By Ultimate, a growing sentiment is that Fire Emblem is getting over-represented, as with the addition of Chrom it was now the third-most represented series in Smash after only Mario and Pokemon. Given FE's niche status in the West for most of this time, fans weren't very happy at this, partly for the aforementioned reason of wanting their own favorite franchises to get a new fighter (Metroid fans at least got a bone when Ridley joined the Ultimate roster and when Dark Samus became an Echo Fighter for Samus).

Ultimate's Fighter Pass 1: HOES MAD

Following Ultimate's launch, Nintendo released a season pass for five characters who would be added post-launch. Smash getting new fighters is notable not just because it means a new fighter and that franchise getting the prestige of saying it got into Smash, but because it means new music that can be used (unless you're Cloud) during matches. For the most part, the DLC fighters got really positive reactions due to the majority being unexpected third-party choices. Case in point, most players never saw it coming when during the Game Awards 2018, the first fighter would be revealed to be Joker from Persona 5. He'd be followed in 2019 by three more reveals: Dragon Quest's Hero, representing the more iconic protagonists in the legendary JRPG franchise, Banjo and Kazooie from the cult Microsoft series, and Terry Bogard from the SNK franchise (shout out to Sakurai's history lesson that's pretending to be a showcase for Terry, which also involves Sakurai's story of how they got 50 tracks from the SNK games into Smash)
Also Sans from Undertale got in. This unironically led to an increase in Mii Gunner mains.
Terry and Hero would generate some salt in the West due to perceived antiquity and lack of pedegree/mainstream appeal (Hero being "another anime sword boy" didn't help), leading to a mocking response of HOES MAD from Hero's fans especially, though Terry's got in on the fun thanks to the pun involving Terry's home series, Fatal Fury.
Thanks to the four characters seen thus far, the expectation was that Fighters Pass 1 would be made entirely of third party characters, and as January 2020 rolled around the expectations were high as to who would get in. Sora from Kingdom Hearts was a popular choice, alongside Geno from the Mario RPG series. Some dumbasses even wanted Tracer from Overwatch, partly thanks to Blizzard all but openly begging Nintendo for a Smash invite. The one with the most consistent support was Dante from the Devil May Cry series. And a few accidental coincidences boosted the idea of Dante getting in:

• Dante's first three games had been ported to the Switch during Fighter Pass 1, with Devil May Cry 3 releasing in February 2020 soon after the final character was announced.
  
• Brian Hanford, who played V in Devil May Cry 5, had a slip of the tongue where he talked about Dante in the context of Smash (“to be part of Marvel Vs Capcom, or Super Smash Bros., would be huge, which is what Dante is gonna be,”), leading many to believe Brian had leaked Dante as the fifth fighter.
  
• Dante was experiencing a large-scale renaissance in popularity thanks to DMC 5 launching in early 2019, leading to him being on everyone's minds when it came to him joining the roster. Adding in his experience in fighting games already thanks to the Marvel vs Capcom games, it seemed set in stone that Dante would join the hallowed halls of Smash.
  
• To hype up the final character, Sakurai posed with three fingers outstretched. DMC fans took this as a hint of Dante, given that DMC 3 would be coming soon to Switch.
  
• On the same day as the character reveal, Capcom had planned a DMC announcement (it turned out to be an announcement that the game would have a co-op mode for Dante and Vergil in Bloody Palace).
  

With expectations set high, everyone tuned in on January 16th 2020 to see the final Season 1 character... and it was Byleth, the player character of Three Houses.
Another fucking Fire Emblem rep. The internet took it well, as you'd expect. Dante's fans just resorted to sad memes and jokes about one of Byleth's alt skins being "close enough" to let them pretend Byleth was Dante.

Smash likes to date around, and Fire Emblem is that girl that he always goes back to.
Byleth Joins The Roster: The Salt Mines Floweth

Byleth's announcement generates some of the most negative reactions to a Smash fighter yet seen, boasting the largest like-dislike ratios of Ultimate's DLC, and only matched for disliked announcements across the entire franchise by Corrin.
A lot of people weren't happy at Byleth's inclusion, suffice to say, though like Terry and Hero the HOES MAD crowd came back for another go around. It didn't help how utterly predictable it was given it was a historical recreation of Corrin's inclusion in WiiU/3DS. While Byleth had been predicted, many expected the mechanical variance would be that Byleth would function similar to the Pokemon Trainer (who swaps between the Gen 1 Pokemon) in that Byleth would command Claude, Dimitri and Edlegard from the sidelines. Instead, Byleth had four weapons- three representing each of the House Leaders alongside their own custom whip-sword, the Sword of the Creator. That being said, at least Nintendo were somewhat self aware about it this time, given the reveal had supporting character Sothis mock Byleth for losing a fight by going "Too many swordsmen, were there?" as a way to reveal that Byleth's female variant would join the roster.
While Byleth did offer some mechanical variety from the other FE reps, some were disappointed that Byleth specifically was representing Three Houses, due to Byleth's personality not being one of their selling points. Perhaps it would have been more preferable to have one of the House Leaders instead represent the game, but given how any one being selected would have been seen as favoritism of the Leaders (and the arguments about said Leaders being quite vicious), Byleth was the safest choice, if perhaps the most predictable. Fans of Xenoblade 2 were also unhappy at clear bias on Sakurai's part, given he'd previously said Rex, the MC, was from too new a game to qualify for a roster slot in Ultimate. In comparrison, Sakurai admitted in his presentation of Byleth that he pestered the developers to get early access copies of Three Houses to get to plan out Byleth's moveset, which only helped the idea of Fire Emblem operating on different rules from other series.
Overall, Byleth was seen as a disappointing inclusion to wrap up the Fighters Pass, with the announcement honestly being more notable for the memes about the salt over the character themself. (My favorites were the ones about Joker adding yet another teacher to his harem) After the shock reveals from relatively niche series such as Persona and SNK, Byleth was generally felt to be an overwhelmingly safe option to close on. While Sakurai did announce Fighters Pass 2 in the same event, promising six more DLC characters for Ultimate, a lot of fans from different franchises were still let down given how unpredictable the first wave had been.

Fighters Pass 2 and the Byleth aftermath

Byleth would launch a few weeks later and the reception was largely "Yeah they're fine," after an initial launch of "Yeah you're fuckin' overtuned and overpowered." They got some people who main them, others swore off them, much like any other DLC character in a fighting game, and the salt gradually diminished.
In February of 2020, Sakurai would tacitly admit during a Famitsu article about Byleth's development that he was aware of the criticism about the addition, saying that he doesn't have as much power over roster choices as people like to believe (Byleth apparently snubbed a fighter he was much more enthusiastic about) but that he agreed that there were a few too many sword fighters and Fire Emblem representatives specifically in the game. Given Sakurai has said Smash will never have a roster as large as Ultimate again, it's likely some of Fire Emblem's representation will be cut down in future games as part of this culling.

That being said, I understand. First and foremost: there are too many Fire Emblem characters; and what’s more there are too many sword-users.

So far, three of the six planned characters for Fighter's Pass 2 have been released, with Min-Min from the Arms series coming first, Steve from Minecraft literally breaking Twitter (Steve's addition could be a post of its own with how much salt he generated) and the OG Anime Sword Boy, the One Winged Angel himself in Sephiroth being announced at the Game Awards 2020. We're still waiting for updates on when the fourth fighter will be revealed and who they may be, but regardless of who it is, there will always be a few mad hoes in the background.
Also Geno finally got into Smash!... As a Mii skin which led to the character's fanbase collectively reaching for a noose. These hoes weren't even that mad, it was mostly just sad.
Still. At least it's better than whatever the Walluigi mains are up to.
Thanks for reading.

Basic Info

Yu would be a medium weight fighter with decent grounded speed and two jumps. Yu wouldn’t be able to wall jump or crawl. Yu would have Izanagi by his side. Unlike Joker, Izanagi isn’t based on a meter but is instead summoned for certain moves. Yu would, however, be able to summon a few other personas in order to help him out. More on that later. Of course, whenever Yu summons any Persona, he would of course smash a tarot card in his hand and loudly proclaim the name of the Persona.

Grounded Attacks

For most of his grounded moves, Yu would use his signature Katana.
Jab – A quick stab forward and then an upward swing to launch away. This would deal a total of 11%.
Forward Tilt – An overhead swing downward. This resembles his in-game attack animation. This would deal 14%. While it would be a bit slow to start up, it would have little end lag.
Up Tilt – An overhead swing with good horizontal and vertical reach. This would deal 11% with a sweet spot behind Yu dealing 17%. This move launches upwards.
Down Tilt – A slide functionally identical to Jokers.
Dash Attack – Yu does a quick lunge and stabs forwards. This deals 15% at the start of the move and 10% after the initial hit.

Aerial Moves

Neutral Air – Yu swings his katana around himself. It has very good range and speed, comparable to smash 4 cloud neutral air. This deals 10% at the very beginning of the move and 8% for the rest of the swing.
Forward Air – Yu stabs his katana outward. This is very similar to Sephiroth’s forward air, but with less reach. It deals 15% at the tip of the katana, 10% in the middle, and 13% at the hilt.
Back Air – Yu does a backwards swing downward with his katana. It has a fair bit of start up lag, but it hits like a truck and spikes at the start of the move. It deals 18% with the spikes hit box and 14% for the rest of the move.
Up Air – Yu swings his katana above himself with good vertical and horizontal reach. This deals 12%.
Down Air – Yu does a double kick downwards. It does 13% in total and the launcher send opponents at a straight horizontal angle.

Smash Attacks

Forward Smash – Yu summons Izanagi, who goes forward and does a quick swiping strike. This move is pretty large and has a good amount of knockback. Fully charges, it deals 25%. Izanagi’s swipe also has very good range, covering the front of Yu entirely.
Up Smash – Yu summons Izanagi once again, who does a large stab upwards. This launches opponents straight up and deals 22% fully charged.
Down Smash – Izanagi is summoned above Yu. Izanagi plunges downwards in front of Yu. This deals 23% fully charged. It also has a nasty spiking hitbox if timed correctly on recovering opponents.

Specials

Neutral Special – Zio/Ziodyne
Yu summons Izanagi. Quickly tapping the special button fires a quick jolt of electricity forwards. This small jolt deals 6% with just okay range. If the button is held for about a second, Yu can charge Ziodyne. While the move needs to be fully charged in one go, the charge can be saved. Ziodyne strikes lighting all around Yu for a, quite frankly, massive attack. It deals 18% and has good kill power.
Side Special – Bike Ride
Yu straps on his helmet rushes forward on his scooter. The initial hitbox does 19% with decent kill power, while the rest of the move does 14% with okay knockback. While the move can’t be turned around, Yu can jump off of the bike at anytime. It also has decent horizontal movement while in the air, making it a recovery tool. Should Yu jump off of it on the ground, the scooter continues to drive forward, dealing 10% to anyone hit by it. If Yu jump off of it in the air, it begins to plummet downwards, acting as a spiking projectile. This move does have some cool down as well. Yu can’t use this move for about 5 seconds until the bike has been off-screen for about 5 seconds.
Up Special – TV Teleport
A TV appears beneath Yu. We see Teddie’s arm pull in Yu by his leg. The TV then appears somewhere else and Yu gracefully does a spinning jump out of it. Yu jumping out has a weak hit box that deals about 5%. The second TV also falls downwards, similarly to Sonic’s spring. The player can also control where the second TV appears in any direction, however, Yu will always jump straight up out of the TV.
Down Special – Persona Switch
For this move, Yu can use one of four other Personas, those being Jack Frost, Pixie, Hell Biker, and Alice. Each Persona all change something about Yu’s moveset, often changing one of his moves to something completely different. Persona’s are selected through a wheel, like Shulk’s monado arts. Each Persona is represented by a Tarot card showing their picture. Once a Persona performs its action, it would not be able to be summoned for 20 seconds OR until all other Personas had been used. If the latter were to occur, the very last Persona selected would not recharge, as to not allow the player to use the same one twice in a row. It should also be noted that another Persona could not be selected until the currently selected performs its action. Of course, moves that use Izanagi could still be used. While not canonically accurate, taking away Yu’s smash attacks might be a bad idea.
Jack Frost – Jack Frost changes Yu’s neutral special from Zio/Ziodyne to Bufu/Bufudyne. It works similarly to Zio/Ziodyne as well, tap the button for Bufu or hold it to charge Bufudyne, and then charge can be stored. Simply tapping the special button has Jack Frost lob forward a small ball of ice for Bufu. This ice ball does 8% and is affected by gravity. While it doesn’t deal much knockback, it will freeze opponents over 70%. The charged variant, or Bufudyne, will cause a large explosion of ice around Yu. This has similar knockback and kill power to Lucas’s PK Freeze, however, it is NOT considered a projectile.
Pixie – Pixie is simple, yet effective. This changes all of Yu’s taunts to summoning Pixie, who will heal Yu for 11%.
Hell Biker – Hell Biker changes Yu’s side special. Instead of Yu riding his bike, he launches forward the Hell Biker instead. The Hell Biker is fast and strong. It deals the same damage as Yu’s own bike, however, it is slightly faster and, of course, doesn’t require that Yu goes anywhere. Despite acting a projectile, the Hell Biker can not be reflected. The Hell Biker has a very large hitbox as well. It doesn’t deal much shield damage at all though.
Alice – You ever have opponents at insanely high damage but just can’t seem to kill them? Well, Alice is here to help with her signature move Die For Me!. Alice changes all of Yu’s throws into summoning Alice. If the opponent is above 150%, Alice will instantly K.O. them. However, if they are below 150% and Yu tries to use Alice, she will fail to kill them, resulting in a large window that will most certainly have Yu getting punished for trying it. Yu already has a lot of decent kill moves, so Alice is basically a last resort.

Final Smash – All-Out Attack

Yu does a large slice with his Katana. If it connects, it switches to a cutscene with Yu and all his friends standing around the foe, who is downed. Yosuke would say “Let’s get ‘em, partner!”. It would then show the usual cut outs of all of them, only to include all of the party members. Then, they’d all rush the opponent. Should the opponent end up over 100%, the cloud of smoke would have a skull, signifying an instant K.O.. Should the opponent be on their last life, Yu would have a special victory screen, like Joker. After a quick celebration with Yu’s friends, it would show the Persona 4 Golden victory screen, showing the amount of gold the player attained (the in-game smash bros currency). One of Yu’s friends will proclaim that they leveled up or something of the sort.

Grab and Throws

Yu’s grab is nothing fancy, just a decent ranged grab of the opponent. Upon grabbing them, Yu summons Izanagi. His pummel is quick knee kick. This deals 1.2%.
Forward Throw – Izanagi swipes forward, launching the opponent forward. This deals 11%.
Back Throw – Yu throws the opponent back, and then Izanagi stabs forward, causing the opponent to fly backwards. This deals 13% and has good kill power.
Down Throw – Izanagi stabs downwards. This deals 10% and has okay horizontal knockback.
Up Throw – A tv appears behind the opponent and Teddie pulls them in. Shortly after, we see Teddie throw them out of TV straight up. This deals 11%.

Taunts

Taunt 1 – For this taunt, a display of Rise appears at the top left corner of the screen. She will say one of a couple of things. If Yu has over 100%, she’ll say “Watch your health, Senpai!”. If Yu had just killed an opponent in the last 5 seconds, she’ll say “Way to go, senpai! You really get me going!”. If Yu is fighting Joker, she’ll say “Is that a persona? Be careful! I don’t know who we’re dealing with!”. If none of these conditions are met, she’ll simply say “This one’s strong, watch yourself!”
Taunt 2 – Yu does a short snippet from the specialist dance.
Taunt 3 – Yu throws a stick in the air, does a spin, and catches it, proclaiming “I am the king!”. This is reference to the King’s Game scene from the anime.

Alternate Costumes

It should be noted that if Yu is on the Mementos stage, he will be wearing his glasses. Otherwise he will not.
Default Costume – Yu his Yasogami High outfit.
Alt 2 – Yu has his shirt buttoned up and is wearing a white undershirt with a red collar, and white shoes, a reference to Yosuke’s outfit.
Alt 3 – Yu with Chie’s green jacket as opposed to his usual shirt.
Alt 4 – Yu’s school jacket is red with a black undershirt, a reference to Yukiko’s outfit.
Alt 5 – Yu maintains his Yasogami High jacket, however, he wears a purple shirt with a skull on it, as well a bright white belt, a reference Kanji’s outfit.
Alt 6 – Yu’s school shirt is buttoned up, his shoes are blue, and he’s wearing Naoto’s signature hat.
Alt 7 – Yu wears a white shirt with a rose on it and black pants, a reference to human Teddie’s outfit.
Alt 8 – Yu wears black pants, a brown belt, and a grey shirt with a red tie, a reference to Dojima’s outfit.
(Rise wasn’t included due to her presence in Yu’s taunts, as well her main outfit being difficult to translate color-wise to Yu’s.)

DLC Mii Costumes

Adachi Hair and Outfit – Gunner
Kanji Hair and Outfit – Brawler
Naoto Hat and Outfit – Gunner
Chie Hair and Outfit – Brawler

Stage – Junes

Junes would be a large flat platform, with two jump through platforms at different elevations in the forms of two large flat umbrellas. While there would be a bottom blast zone, looking down with camera would simply reveal that you’re on the second floor of Junes. The main platform would take place in the food court. In the background, multiple different things may occur. Yosuke may be seen working a stall selling food. Chie and Yukiko may be seen to the side shopping. Occasionally, a large group of fans may chase Rise in the background. Naoto could be seen sitting at a table by herself reading something. Kanji can be seen picking a fight with someone, with Yosuke going over to calm him down. Teddie may also be handing out balloons to kids. If Yu wasn’t in battle, he could be seen playing with Nanako while Dojima sits nearby and watches. If Yu is fighting, Dojima will play with Nanako instead.

Music

(all of these would also be playable on Mementos as well, and all songs from Mementos would be playable on Junes)
Junes Theme (Remix)
Shadow World
Signs of Love
Specialist (reincarnation)
Ark (Remix)
Take Over
Whims of Fate
Iwotodai Dorm (Remix)
Burn My Dread
Want To Be Close

Honestly, choosing a favorite super is so hard because there are so many good ones but for the sake of simplicity, I'll choose a couple.
1:) Dark as Night (Injustice) (Nightwing): Nightwing shocks you with his batons before jumping on his motorbike to deliver a million electrified haymakers to the face. To top it off, he jumps off and stabs you in the chest with his staff. I don't know why I like this one. It's just very flashy and screams Nightwing.
2:) Parasoul's Silent Scope (Skullgirls): Most supers involve a hitconfirm and then a cinematic where the character goes super saiyan and proceeds to beat the crap out of you. Silent Scope is so epic because it does none of that. The move is just Parasoul calling a sniper off screen and your character crumples after a reticle appears on them for a split second. There is no cinematic, no hitconfirm to start the move, no dramatic shot of the bullet or sniper. It's just so subtly badass as Parasoul turns her back, barks an order through her walkie talkie, and to see your opponent go down. A very creative super that doesn't rely on crazy effects to produce tension. It also makes sense since Parasoul is basically a military commander ordering her troops.
3:) All Out Attack (Smash Bros): This gets props for two reasons. First, it looks amazing with the striking use of silhouettes, bold red and black, and the epic screen freeze as Joker poses at the screen. Second, it looks exactly the way it does in Persona, yet feels natural in Smash. I’m honestly amazed it got in at all with the implied blood and all. The viciousness of the move in an E10 game like Smash really helps it stand out.
4:) Great Aether and Omnislah (Smash Bros): These moves are simple yet fun. Both Great Aether and Omnislash are just a bunch of flashy sword slashes after Cloud or Ike launches their opponent in the air. It just looks super powerful and devastating. Sometimes, a less elaborate super is the better one.
5:) Any Super that Involves Chucking a Huge Projectile: I guess this is vague but projectile supers feel very natural in any game I’ve used them. I’m not talking about projectiles that transition into a cinematic, just large damaging ones like Shindu Hadouken. I enjoy supers that feel like extensions of my moveset. Lobbing an XL sized projectile when using a zoner feels natural and doesn’t disconnect me from the match like a long cinematic might. It just feels like an EX move on steroids. Plus, you gotta love those full screen punishes!
So what about you? What’s your favorite super(s)?

I know that I'm gonna be downvoted to hell, but I do not give enough of a shit. I want Jonesy to join Smash. I believe he has potential to be one of, if not, the most unique fighters. He could use a variety of weapons in his moveset, plus his building. I tend to see a lot of bullshit people try to come up with as to why Jonesy won't shouldn't be in the game.
One thing I hear a lot is "Steve already has a building gimmick, so Jonesy's gonna be a Steve clone." First off, the building in Minecraft looks NOTHING like the building in Fortnite. There's no confusing the two. Even if they looked remotely similar, a character does not reserve a specific gimmick. Terry has the shoto gimmick that Ryu and Ken have, so does that make Terry a clone? No, he has a completely different moveset from Ryu and Ken. Also, are there any guns in Minecraft, let alone in Steve's moveset? No, so Jonesy can't be a Steve clone.
Another thing I hear is "no guns." I'd say that would be a valid point if Snake and Bayonetta weren't in the game and if Joker didn't have a gun in his moveset. I also hear, "Joker's gun is a BB Gun," "Bayonetta shoots magic bullets," and, "Snake uses explosives, not guns." First off, the move is literally called "Gun," and even if it was a BB gun, it's still reminiscent of a real pistol. Second, it doesn't matter if they shoot "magic" bullets or not. Gun is gun. Finally, RPGs are considered arms (Fancy word for "gun), so, yes, Snake uses guns in his moveset.
I also see "Joker has a gun, so Jonesy's gonna be a Joker clone." Once again, a character doesn't reserve a single gimmick/characteristic. Also, Joker uses a BB Gun, Jonesy uses Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Submachine Guns, etc. Also, does Fortnite have Personas? No, it doesn't.
Also, there's "He's gonna be a campy character, so be careful what you wish for." I find this hypocritical because the people who say this are the same people who asked for Banjo, and we all know how that turned out. I don't have anything against people who asked for Banjo. I'm just pointing out their hypocrisy.
I've also seen "Goichi Suda said 'No comment' to Travis Touchdown being in Smash, and Travis Touchdown became a Mii costume, and Donald Mustard said 'No comment' to Fortnite being in Smash, so Jonesy's gonna be a Mii costume." That means nothing. The whole reason Mustard said "No comment" was to get everyone talking about the possibility Fortnite in Smash. The fact that Goichi Suda said "No comment" and Travis became a Mii costume doesn't prove anything in terms of other fighters.
I guess I just don't understand why everyone gets so toxic when it comes to Fortnite, and the hypocrisy in that is that they're the same people call the Fortnite community "toxic". People really go so far to prove why Jonesy won't and shouldn't be in Smash. I knew that there were some people who were happy for Byleth or even Min Min joining the roster, so, while I was disappointed that both of them joined the roster, I was still happy for the people who wanted Byleth and an Arms rep. I'll respect anyone's thoughts on who should join the roster, as long as they won't bring others down for wanting a character they don't want.

We'll be beginning with Mario representatives. I know Mario already has lots of characters of his domain is Smash, but there needs to be more. There are many wonderful Mario sub-franchises (pretty sure I just made up the term "sub-franchise") that have no rep in Smash. Sakurai adds new characters to Smash all the time but many of them are quite simply bad choices. He adds them in simply because he likes their game.
Sakurai, if you're a big fanboy of lots of cool games, more power to you, but you shouldn't add them to Smash just because you like them. Smash has a ginormous fanbase and should therefore only get characters that the fanbase wants. I mean, who wanted Joker or Terry besides you? Persona and Fatal Fury (the games Joker and Terry came from) are cool games, but if the fans don't want them in Smash, they shouldn't be there.

Builder Mario

The Super Mario Maker franchise is a huge part of Nintendo and really needs a Smash representative. I know builder Mario exists as a costume for Mario, but he really should be his own fighter, considering Smash's need for an SMM rep, and his very large moveset potential. His final smash could easily be the giant cat-paw cursor coming down from the sky.

Paper Mario

Paper Mario is a large and meaningful franchise that has played a big role over the years, especially recently with Paper Mario: The Origami King. All I can say is that Paper Mario really deserves a spot in the roster. There's lots of moveset potential, too.

Baby Mario and Luigi

Okay, I know, a little too much Mario. But to be honest, there are three Links, and the Mario franchise is both much larger and much more important/iconic than The Legend of Zelda, where Link comes from (no offense towards The Legend of Zelda, it's an amazing franchise). The difference is mostly that Mario is split into a million different franchises (Mario and Luigi, Paper Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc.), whereas Zelda is just a straightforward franchise for the most part. It may have a couple of spinoff franchises but mostly the games are all one straightforward line of games.
Yoshi's Island is a spinoff series that certainly deserves a Smash rep. You might be thinking Yoshi, but he's not really a rep for this franchise in particular; he appears in a lot of other Mario-related games. The real representative of Yoshi's Island would be Baby Mario and Luigi. They were very successful characters who appeared in many more games like Mario Kart after Yoshi's Island. They're also demonstrated to have lots of special abilities, so they wouldn't just be a Mario clone if added to Super Smash Bros.

Fawful

Now, Fawful isn't all that well-known, but he would really make a perfect Smash fighter. He comes from the Mario and Luigi franchise, which is a wonderful series of RPG games that deserve more recognition. Fawful is a classic villain from the series, he is full of character and would make a great addition to the Smash roster. To me, it'd be a sign that Nintendo still cares about the Mario and Luigi series.
Now for the non-Mario characters:

Professor Layton

Professor Layton comes from a third-party franchise of puzzle/RPGs that were only released on the DS and 3DS (the original trilogy was ported to mobile, but I don't think that counts). He's an English gentleman who solves mysteries with his apprentice, Luke Triton, and sometimes with Emmy Altava, his assistant. He sometimes has to sword-fight with villains and goes on many unbelievable adventures. The games have an absolutely wonderful charm not shared by any other game. The stories of the series are outrageously intriguing and interesting. I might want him in Smash out of bias, but in my opinion, he would fit pretty well in a game like Smash.

Rillaboom

Rillaboom is the final evolution of Grookey, a gen 8 starter Pokemon. Pokemon Sword and Shield, the eighth generation of Pokemon, desperately needs a rep in Smash. There are reps of many other Pokemon gens, including Incineroar, who is the final evolution of a starter from gen 7, which was the latest Pokemon gen when SSBU was released. Why I chose Rillaboom instead of Cinderace or Intelleon is for consistency; we already have a fire-type and a water-type. We have no grass type.

Galacta Knight

Galacta Knight is a Kirby character similar to Meta Knight in appearance. He is the final boss of Kirby Super Star Ultra and is said to be one of the greatest warriors who ever lived. I feel like he should be in Smash as a separate fighter and not as a Meta Knight skin. I am not actually sure if he has enough moveset potential to be different than Meta Knight, but I feel like one more Kirby rep in Smash would be a good thing, and Galacta Knight seems like the perfect one for the job.
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Well, if you've read to the end of this, that means you're incredibly awesome, so thank you very much Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments as long as it isn't just a lot of rage/hate.

I really like posting these sorta mini concepts, so here's another. Someone already did a video about if EVERY series had a new fighter, so I'll just go over the third party franchises. As always, some of my picks may be a bit silly.
Metal Gear Solid - Either Raiden or Big Boss. Big Boss would PROBABLY just be an echo, but with the Fulton Recovery System as his up special. Raiden would be a more interesting choice. There could be an alternate costume of his pre-cyborg appearance.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Tails, obviously! You can't have Mario without Luigi, and you can't have Sonic without Tails. Eggman would also be a good second Sonic rep, since he's been around as long as the hedgehog.
Megaman - X, Mega Man's successor, or Proto Man, his predecessor.
PAC-MAN - Inky, Blinky, Pinky & Clyde as a tag team.
Street Fighter - Almost any fighter would work, honestly. I personally want Akuma. He would play similarly to Ryu and Ken, but his attacks would feel like Ganondorf's. Slow, but powerful and painful. His Final Smash, of course, would be the Raging Demon.
Final Fantasy - There are two characters who I feel represent the franchise the most, because they've been around the longest: The Black Mage and Bahamut. Black Mage would probably have an MP system similar to Hero, but Bahamut is a more interesting idea. He's a summon, meaning in he only appears in the FF games for one attack. That would probably translate into Smash as his attacks all having a lot of start lag.
Bayonetta - Jeanne
Castlevania - Alucard, or another Belmont. Or maybe Dracula himself.
Persona - Yu Narukami or Minato Arusami. They'd activate their Personas differently from Joker, however. Minato, for instance, could probably just activate it without having to take a lot of damage, just requiring one powerful attack.
Dragon Quest - Slime. After playing Piranha Plant, the idea of having cannon fodder as playable characters in a fighting game has fascinated me.
Banjo-Kazooie - Gruntilda or Mumbo Jumbo
Fatal Fury - ADD👏SHIRANUI👏YOU👏COWARDS👏
Minecraft - Jesse? Nah, that's too dumb even for me. The Illager, his moveset encompassing abilities from every type of Illager.

uhh disclaimer i guess: i really dont care about who gets in anymore... i got all my hopefuls already so i have nothing to say at this point... so if some of these dont sound quite right thats probably why.
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mario: my mario knowledge is lacking but i feel like more minions/enemies would be fun so ill go with a koopa troopa but if you want somthing more solid id say o'chunks!
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donkey kong: this is gonna sound rediculous but what if the 64 dk crew came along? say a pokemon trainer style moveset with tiny chunky and lanky coming out of a swap barrel called by cranky.. of course its stupid so im just gonna say klump to give k rool a minion so the series is even between heros and villans plus he could bring some extra junk like orange grenades or barrel cannons
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zelda: this is a hard one.. theres alot of different characters i can use... knowing smash is most likely gonna take from the newest game i would say one of the champions. personally id pick daruk out of personal preference but id say urbosa would be the most likely as shes the easiest to make a moveset for. but if im running outside the algorithim ill say the skull kid!
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yoshi: yeah i got nothing for this one i didnt even know yoshi was his own series until i started doing this but after doing some reaseach i found kamek was the main bad guy... thatll do i guess
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kirby: good grief this is a tricky one kirbys just.. weird... ill go with the dark matter swordsman
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starfox: yeah i really dont care about this series so im just gonna throw panther into the ring so theres 2 starwolfs and 2 starfoxes
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pokemon: i have 4 ideas for this. some say that a future dlc should be a gen 8 pokemon so im gonna fill that role with my favorite gen 8 pokemon drednaw. others say that if theres gonna be another pokemon rep it should be a grass starter so theres 2 of each for that im gonna say grovyle cause why the hell not. then theres a party saying that there should be another pokemon trainer so for that im gonna pull somthing out of my ass and say "pokemon champion" there team would be 3 psudeo legendaries or somthing i dunno. and for the last im just gonna say fuck it and deploy my favorite pokemon golurk!
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earthbound: i dont know shit about this series outside of whats already in smash and i dont really wanna bother poking around in a series that im never gonna touch again so... im gonna go with porky cause hes the only character i know and i guess the things he pulled in his brawl boss fight could make a neat moveset
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f zero: same issue as earthbound but i remember seeing a moveset video for someone from there called black shadow and i liked it so yeah lets go with him
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ice climbers: ..is there really any other characters to use? theres only a bear and pterodactyl... whelp i guess we can put them togethor? could be intresting i guess
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fire emblem: im gonna get yelled at no matter what i say here so im just gonna say hector to complete the weapon triangle
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game n watch: what the hell do i do with this? theres nothing to use here.. i guess if you really wanna stretch some game and watches with mixed with mario so game n watch mario could work i guess
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kid icarus: hades all the way baby!
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wario: i dont know shit wario ware and i dont know what to do accordingly.. ive heard good things about ashley so screw it shes in
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metal gear: im gonna be dumb and drop an acutal metal gear in with the pirahna plant treatment having it use moves from a bunch of different gears
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pikmin: i have 2 ideas. i could drop in louie and brittany to match olimars style the main difference is that they use rock pikmin instead of the usual purple. on the other hand i coud delve into the fauna with the plasm wraith wich i think could have a pretty neat moveset especially if you mix it in with the other 2 wraiths
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sonic: yeah you know what im gonna say. egghead tails knuckles or shadow.. so im gonna throw a curveball and say vector cause frick it
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rob: what do i do with this?? rob is a toy theres nothing else here... if im really stretching i could say the ancient minister...
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animal crossing: mr resetti cause new horizon did him dirty!
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megaman: i dont know who the other popular suggestions like proto and zero are so im just gonna drop my favorite robot master guts man
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wii fit: theres nothing here... but if i were to stretch and say "fit" is a series then i guess i can throw the ring fit player in
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punch out: theres alot i could use here but im gonna go with aran ryan cause his glove on a rope thing and general cheatery i think could make a pretty cool moveset
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smash original: using the slot the mii fighters take for some original smash stuff i would like to see a playable version of one of the bosses like tabuu or galleom but what would really be cool is a primid
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pacman: i could say ms pacman but considering there apparently legal issues with her im gonna go with spooky! obsure choice go brr i guess
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xenoblade: i dont know shit about this game so im gonna go with rex cause i know pepeole want that
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street fighter: gonna with with blanka cause hes my personal favorite
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final fanstasy: you can kinda drop anyone here and it would be cool really but my personal pick would be cait sith or lulu if nothing else to see there funny weapons in action
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bayonetta: uh... rodins assist trophy is cool i guess
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splatoon: lets go with octavio! a shrunk down verson of his original mech and mix that in with some of the other bosses and you got a neat moveset right there
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castlevania: uhhhhhhhhhhh popular alucard choice go brrrr
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persona: i dont know anything about this series but i guess morgana could fit since he sticks with joker
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dragon quest: for lack of a better idea lets go with slimes
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banjo kazooie: the only other worthwhile characters are mumbo and gruntilda... id go with the lesser cause hes more fun
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fatal fury: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Anser_anser_1_%28Piotr_Kuczynski%29.jpg
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arms: i dont care about this anyone you drop here would work just like min min but when everyone was still thnking about who it was gonna be i was pulling for master mummy so lets go with that

We'll be beginning with Mario representatives. I know Mario already has lots of characters of his domain is Smash, but there needs to be more. There are many wonderful Mario sub-franchises (pretty sure I just made up the term "sub-franchise") that have no rep in Smash. Sakurai adds new characters to Smash all the time but many of them are quite simply bad choices. He adds them in simply because he likes their game.
Sakurai, if you're a big fanboy of lots of cool games, more power to you, but you shouldn't add them to Smash just because you like them. Smash has a ginormous fanbase and should therefore only get characters that the fanbase wants. I mean, who wanted Joker or Terry besides you? Persona and Fatal Fury (the games Joker and Terry came from) are cool games, but if the fans don't want them in Smash, they shouldn't be there.

Builder Mario

The Super Mario Maker franchise is a huge part of Nintendo and really needs a Smash representative. I know builder Mario exists as a costume for Mario, but he really should be his own fighter, considering Smash's need for an SMM rep, and his very large moveset potential. His final smash could easily be the giant cat-paw cursor coming down from the sky.

Paper Mario

Paper Mario is a large and meaningful franchise that has played a big role over the years, especially recently with Paper Mario: The Origami King. All I can say is that Paper Mario really deserves a spot in the roster. There's lots of moveset potential, too.

Baby Mario and Luigi

Okay, I know, a little too much Mario. But to be honest, there are three Links, and the Mario franchise is both much larger and much more important/iconic than The Legend of Zelda, where Link comes from (no offense towards The Legend of Zelda, it's an amazing franchise). The difference is mostly that Mario is split into a million different franchises (Mario and Luigi, Paper Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc.), whereas Zelda is just a straightforward franchise for the most part. It may have a couple of spinoff franchises but mostly the games are all one straightforward line of games.
Yoshi's Island is a spinoff series that certainly deserves a Smash rep. You might be thinking Yoshi, but he's not really a rep for this franchise in particular; he appears in a lot of other Mario-related games. The real representative of Yoshi's Island would be Baby Mario and Luigi. They were very successful characters who appeared in many more games like Mario Kart after Yoshi's Island. They're also demonstrated to have lots of special abilities, so they wouldn't just be a Mario clone if added to Super Smash Bros.

Fawful

Now, Fawful isn't all that well-known, but he would really make a perfect Smash fighter. He comes from the Mario and Luigi franchise, which is a wonderful series of RPG games that deserve more recognition. Fawful is a classic villain from the series, he is full of character and would make a great addition to the Smash roster. To me, it'd be a sign that Nintendo still cares about the Mario and Luigi series.
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Now for the non-Mario characters:

Professor Layton

Professor Layton comes from a third-party franchise of puzzle/RPGs that were only released on the DS and 3DS (the original trilogy was ported to mobile, but I don't think that counts). He's an English gentleman who solves mysteries with his apprentice, Luke Triton, and sometimes with Emmy Altava, his assistant. He sometimes has to sword-fight with villains and goes on many unbelievable adventures. The games have an absolutely wonderful charm not shared by any other game. The stories of the series are outrageously intriguing and interesting. I might want him in Smash out of bias, but in my opinion, he would fit pretty well in a game like Smash.

Rillaboom

Rillaboom is the final evolution of Grookey, a gen 8 starter Pokemon. Pokemon Sword and Shield, the eighth generation of Pokemon, desperately needs a rep in Smash. There are reps of many other Pokemon gens, including Incineroar, who is the final evolution of a starter from gen 7, which was the latest Pokemon gen when SSBU was released. Why I chose Rillaboom instead of Cinderace or Intelleon is for consistency; we already have a fire-type and a water-type. We have no grass type.

Galacta Knight

Galacta Knight is a Kirby character similar to Meta Knight in appearance. He is the final boss of Kirby Super Star Ultra and is said to be one of the greatest warriors who ever lived. I feel like he should be in Smash as a separate fighter and not as a Meta Knight skin. I am not actually sure if he has enough moveset potential to be different than Meta Knight, but I feel like one more Kirby rep in Smash would be a good thing, and Galacta Knight seems like the perfect one for the job.
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Well, if you've read to the end of this, that means you're incredibly awesome, so thank you very much Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments as long as it isn't just a lot of rage/hate.

Before I start with this I just wanted to mention that this is all just for fun. I am not saying Rean Schwarzer is the most likely smash bros rep or anything if we got a Falcom rep in smash. I just want to share my own take on the potential moveset Rean could have if he was added in Super smash bros cause I actually think he has a lot of potential for a fun moveset that not much people have discussed online. Also this post is gonna contain spoilers of all the Cold steel games except Hajimari No Kiseki cause that’s the only Trails game I haven’t played yet. And all the spoilers would be related to abilities or techniques that Rean Schwarzer does as a character in the series to make his moveset. I might mention a few specific scenes or actions he has done in the games for specific moves in his moveset as well. If you haven’t played the series until Trails of cold steel 4 at the very least than I don’t recommend reading this post, you been warned. But anyway here is my take on his moveset:
Gimmicks: I would go into detail of all the gimmicks later on this post but I wanted to mention from the beginning that I plan to include Rean’s Ogre form, Valimar, Arts from his Arcus and one other thing which it’s hard to explain but I get into that later.
Normal moves:
Jab: Rean does two slashes with his Tachi, his first slash moves diagonally and the next one goes downward from above. This is based on the two slashes he does on the Overworld map before getting an advantage on an enemy. Just like in the game this two slashes also have a fire effect and properties like in Cold steel 3 and 4.
Side tilt: This one ain’t exactly based on anything in the games themselves but is something that still fits Rean as a character. The director of the smash series Sakurai also tends to take creative liberties with the way he designs characters like with Joker where half of his moves where not seen in Persona 5 but still are things that make sense for Joker to do. But anyway this move is just him unsheathing his sword very fast, so fast in fact that you almost can’t see him do it so it looks instead like a slashing effect appears in front of him. The animation looks like he unsheathes his blade fast and puts his blade back into the sheath of the blade and than the slashing effect appears. I know this sounds like a lot but it’s actually a very fast animation. Mostly based on the type of attacks shown in a lot of fictional media like in anime with characters that use a Tachi or a Samurai sword. I think it is called the Iaido sword style if I am not mistaking.
Down tilt: Rean while crouching hits with the back of the sheath of his sword. Since Rean ain’t hitting with the blade itself and instead it’s just the sheath of the sword this move it’s pretty weak but it is a very spammable move with basically 0 lag. And you can hit multiple times with it and possibly canceled into other moves if your opponent it’s very close to its hitbox.
Up tilt: For his up tilt Rean uses the fifth form of the eight leaves one blade style. It’s the one that it’s shown in his s-craft breaking dawn in Cold steel 4 in the part where he does a back flip or jumps upwards into a rising slash. Of course in smash this move wouldn’t have the slow down effect like in his s-craft and instead it would look faster so it feels more like a normal move.
Smash attacks:
Side smash: This would be the craft Crescent slash. Just like in the games he does a powerful side ways slash that actually has two hitboxes, the first hitbox stunts them in the animation of the slash and the second launches them after a second slash animation appears just like the animation in the games.
Down smash: This would be the Craft Flame Dragon from Cold steel 2. If you hold the down smash there is actually an active hitbox on this move because just like in the games Rean is holding his sword upwards while the flame dragon is at the top of his sword. Kind of like the active hitbox Ness has in his Yo-yo smash attacks but instead of a downward active hitbox is upwards. So while your holding this move if someone jumps on top of you they would be burned by the flame dragon. When you let go of the button Rean would strike the dragon to the ground creating two explosions, one in front of you and one behind you.
Up smash: Rean’s up smash would be his Helix Craft. I know what your probably thinking. Ain’t Helix a move that happens in front of Rean instead of upwards, well yes and no in this case. I would modify this move slightly so it makes more sense in the context of an up smash. As you would know if you played Trails of cold steel 3 or 4 this move starts with Rean doing two slashes and than a third one that creates like a small flaming tornado that rises a bit upwards. Well the first thing I would modify of this move is that his first slash instead of being in front of him would move upwards but the first slash would come from behind Rean than above him until in front of him. The whole first animation of the first slash of this move drags opponents that are above you in front of you, so it basically places anyone that is above you in front of you. Than immediately after getting your opponent dragged in front you Rean would do his second strike and than he would hit the opponent with the final strike that creates a flaming tornado that actually drags them upwards while the tornado rises upwards as well and than it explodes a bit after dragging them a bit to the top of flaming tornado animation of helix.
Aerial moves:
Neutral air: Rean’s neutral air would represent the seventh form of the eight leaves one blade style. Just like it was shown his Breaking dawn S-Craft he would do a spinning slash. Just imagine that same animation he does on the S-Craft but in the air.
Forward air: He would do a bunch of slashes forward in an extremely fast way. Again this is using the Iaido sword type of techniques you see in a lot of media. This move would be a multi hitting move where Rean again unsheathes his blade very fast and you would see in front of you a bunch of slashing animations like if he slashed with his sword at the speed of light. Actually not that strong of a move but it is fast, has a good hitbox and does a good amount of damage even if it doesn’t have that much knock back.
Back air: Similar to his forward air instead that he does it backwards while looking back and it’s only one strong slash instead of multiple of them. Has great knockback but not that much damage. Basically the opposite of his forward air.
Down air: Rean holds his Tachi which his two hands than turns around with his hands downward similar to how Joker moves in the air with his down air but Rean does a slash in the opposite direction instead of like how Joker does it where he slashes downward to forward, Rean does it from downward into his back. This move would spike, has good range too but it’s a bit laggy if you miss the move or when hitting the floor.
Up air: Rean while his sword is still in his sheath points it upward and does a fast slash by unsheathing it. Very fast move, not much knockback until your opponent is at a high percentage but it’s good for combos.
Dash attack: His dash attack would be the True Autumn Leaf cutter craft from Trails of cold steel 1 and 2. He would dash forward and his slash would paralyze your opponent for a sec before them getting knocked back when Rean puts his blade back on his sheath. Unlike other dash attacks this dash attack actually makes Rean move forward as long as half of a final destination stage, this would make it the farthest reaching dash attack in the game. The move has quite a bit of end lag if you miss it tho.
Grab and throws.
Rean grabs with his right hand.
Pummel: Rean hits the opponent with the Sheath of the sword.
Down throw: Rean throws the opponent into the ground and than he does three slices to the opponent while holding them down with one of his feet. The animation of this move looks basically the same as when Rean was uncontrollably attacking the final boss dragon of Cold steel 3 before killing it. The attack ends with Rean stabbing the character harshly like the final stab that Rean did that started the Great Twilight.
Up throw: I unfortunately forgot the exact name of this move in the original games but I think it was called the Unarmed technique or something. This references the technique he used inside Valimar where without a sword he does an upward palm attack. This attack actually would have a small gimmick. If your opponent is holding an item or weapon and get hit by Rean’s up throw they would drop that item they where holding to reference when Rean uses this technique to unarmed or take away the weapon of someone.
Forward throw: Rean does a bunch of fast slashes that look similar to his forward air but in the ground in this case and than ends the attack on a strong slashing move forward.
Back throw: He dashes into the back of his opponent very fast and than hits them with the back of the Sheath of the blade with a lot of force behind it. Think of the dash animation like how when he uses Arcane Gale but in this case he just dashes in the back of the opponent without the slashing part of the move.
Special moves:
Neutral special: Rean uses Crimson Slash. Unlike other projectile moves from other characters in smash this move actually has quite the bit of start up. Just like in the animation of his games Rean concentrates the energy of his blade for a bit and than is when he throws the projectile. For the bit of time that it takes for this move to activate the move would actually do a pretty good amount of damage and Knockback. Also this move would have an impede effect just like in his games. In the case of smash this would neutralize the charging of any move. For example even if Samus charged her charged shot neutral special to completion if she got hit by Crimson slash her whole charge time would be negated and she would have to start to charge the move again. Same thing with moves like Robin’s Thunder neutral special projectile etc. This could be a bit OP in some small situations, for example if Joker got Arsene you could take away Arsene from Joker immediately with just one hit. The only problem is that because of the move having such a slow start up it is pretty predictable so any decent Joker player in this case could counter it easily. You can cancel the neutral special animation with the shield button before crimson slash activates tho if you think you won’t be able to throw the attack before getting hit. And so the move has a somewhat bigger chance to hit, you would be able to make some mind games with it because if you hold the neutral special button Rean would stay in his concentration animation and you can decide when you want to release the attack by letting go of the button.
Side special: You know how Estelle in cold steel 4 has one of her first S-Crafts in the series modified into a normal craft? Well I am modifying one of Rean’s first S-Crafts into a normal attack for smash, specifically his Termination slash dawn S-Craft. First he does a long dash forward, if he touches someone after his dash than he automatically trap his opponent into 5 flaming slashes from all directions, than he puts his blade into his sheath and the slashes that your opponent is trap on explode. This move can also be used in the air and is good for horizontal recovery.
Up special: Rean uses Arcane Gale. Unlike other recovery moves this one works quite a bit differently. If you only press Up special than Rean would simply dash upwards, the slash itself damages all the way into its destination since Rean is slashing this time through the dash. Now if you hold up special on the other hand Rean would show a circle expanding little by little. This circle looks like when you choose the position you want a craft attack to hit an enemy in the games. If the circle that expands touches an opponent and you let go of the button than Rean teleports to the position of the opponent and hits them with the Arcane Gale Craft. The circle animation can expand until most of a battlefield stage but since it moves quite slowly is very unlikely your opponent would let you get that much range for your Arcane Gale. And free for all battles this move could be quite fun tho since you would have more opportunities for arcane Gale combo’s with more opponents.
Down special: Rean would activate his Arcus and than you would see multiple arts on the portray of his character on the bottom of the screen. And trust me this ain’t gonna be another RNG base move like Hero’s and this would work quite differently as well. Rean would have all of his arts available to him all the time and won’t be randomized like Hero’s command spell which pulls of different spells every time you press the move. First of all, you would have 12 Arts available on the Arts menu on the bottom of the screens this Arts would also be divided between offensive arts and support arts, 7 of them would be offensive and 5 of them would be for support. Those arts are Venom Flame , Crystal Edge, Aerial dust, Silver Thorn, Soul Blur, Megalith Fall, Cross Crusade and for the support arts they would be Holy Breath, Athelas, Seraphic ring, Crescent mirror and Adamantine shield.
Before I explain what each art would do on the context of smash I want to explain a small gimmick that is related to the arts. First of all, Rean above his character portray would have an EP bar similar to Hero. Unlike Hero tho, Rean doesn’t replenish his art supply by getting hit by attacks. He would only replenish his EP points when he hits someone else with his normal attacks or specials, not counting the arts themselves of course. Also unlike Hero which can activate any of his spells immediately in the press of a button, Rean instead has to charge for a moment depending on how powerful the art is. This represents how in the games you have to wait for your turn again for an Art to activate. Moving forward I would also mention how much time you have to wait for the activation of an art. Also Rean’s EP bar has a total of 200 EP at the beginning of a match unlike Hero’s 100 percent EP and that is because since a lot of Rean’s Arts are more deadly than Hero’s spells and take time to activate they would also take a bit more of EP than Hero’s spells.
Explanation of Art attacks:
Venom Flame: It takes two seconds for venom flame to activate and it takes only 10 EP. When Venom flame gets activated it would leave some dark flames on a certain part of the stage depending on where your standing it would activate a bit in front of you. This move would be good for stage control cause the flames would stay on that location for a good 8 seconds. You can’t activate another venom flame while this one is activate on stage. This move also has a poison effect if your opponent touches this flames.
Crystal Edge: Three seconds to activate and 40 EP needed to activate this move. This move throws some big edges of Ice forward that move quite fast and far. This move does a decent amount of damage but it also automatically freezes the opponent no matter in what percentage your opponent is. This would be the strongest ice related move in all of smash but of course it takes quite a bit of EP and the three second wait is already a lot in a fast paced game like smash where your opponent probably won’t let you activate. So this would balance this move out.
Aerial dust: This move takes 5 seconds to activate and takes 60 EP. This move creates a big tornado a few inches in front of you that drags opponents close to it into the tornado and does a good amount of damage, after the tornado disappears it launches your opponent’s upwards similar to those Tornado’s you see on the Nintendo 64 Zelda stage.
Silver Thorn: This move would take 25 percentage of EP and takes 4 seconds to activate. When silver thorn is activated a bunch of blades would fall through the sky and if they hit an opponent the swords would trap them in a light explosion. This move has a high chance on inflicting confusion. In smash this would make your opponent get his controls reversed like the mushroom item in smash that you can hold and that does the same thing.
Soul blur: This move takes 35 percentage EP and it takes 2 seconds to activate. This move throws some dark projectiles that have a homing effect on the closest opponent. It doesn’t do that much damage but it has a high chance of inflicting the sleeping effect on your opponent if the move hits your opponent while he is on the ground.
Megalith fall: This move takes 80 EP and it takes 8 seconds to activate. It takes this long cause the move is gonna be huge and powerful. When this move is activated a giant rock falls from the sky into the ground, this attack being used on any of the small stages basically guarantees hitting your opponent and the move does massive damage and can even spike if the move someone is activated close to the ledge. For as powerful as this move is, it’s extremely unlikely you would be seeing this move on competitive play cause no one in their right mind would give you 8 free seconds without they attacking you.
Cross crusade: 60 EP and takes 6 seconds to activate. This move summons a cross on the middle of the stage that increases in sides little by little. This move can become quite big if your opponent doesn’t hit you with a strong move which would deactivate the animation of this move. The move also does a lot of damage but it doesn’t do much Knockback after the move ends.
Holy breath: 30 EP takes 5 seconds to activate. This move would heal 30 percentage of your health, but not only you. It also heals all your teammates if your playing on team battles. Rean could be amazing on team battles if your teammates now how to defend you well until you get to use some of this spells.
Athelas: 40 EP, takes 5 seconds to activate as well. This move would unfortunately be useless on 1 on 1 battles cause this move is made to revived people in the games. So in smash this move would be able to revive a dead teammate and revived them with half of their damage healed as well. So this move would only be used in team battles.
Seraphic ring: 90 EP, takes 9 seconds to activate. This would heal you all of your damage taken and your teammates if playing in team battles and give you and your teammates a whole free extra stock. A very OP ability if you someone get to pull it up on a real match but is unlikely you would be able to pull this of in most matches.
Crescent mirror: 20 EP, 3 seconds to activate. This Art would give Rean a magical shield that reflects any projectile your opponent throws at you. Unlike Hero’s bounce ability Rean’s Crescent mirror works completely different tho. When you reflect a projectile with this ability the damage of that certain projectile that hit you would automatically be inflicted into your opponent. Unlike Hero’s Bounce spell your opponent won’t be taking any Knockback but they would flinch for a moment and take the damage of the move they threw at you immediately. You only are able to reflect one move with Crescent mirror tho but it’s still a very usable ability to make your opponent automatically receive damage if they hit you with a projectile.
Adamantine shield: 20 Ep, 3 seconds to activate just like Crescent mirror. This would basically be the opposite of crescent mirror but for physical attacks. When this Art is activated Rean would receive an Adamantine shield that lets you take one physical attack without getting damaged. It doesn’t matter if it is a strong attack like a smash attack or anything, with this Art you can receive one attack without getting damaged.
Gimmick 2: Rean has a second Gimmick which would be his Ogre Form. Just like with his EP bar Rean actually has a Craft bar as well on top of the EP bar but this bar is only used for two things, one of those things being for his Ogre form and the other one I explain a bit later. You can activate Rean’s Ogre form if you at the very least have 100 Craft points saved. You can obtain Craft points by hitting your opponent just like they way you obtain more EP points for his Arts. Unlike the EP points tho, the Craft points reduce by a little bit if your opponent hits you with a strong attack or Combo’s you in some way. This means that if your fighting a very good opponent that it might be though to use Rean’s Ogre ability. To activate Rean’s Ogre form you can press the shield button and than while holding the shield button hold the b button as well and you would see an animation of Rean absorbing cursed energy and in two seconds he would transform in his Ogre form. This is similar to how Inkling regenerates ink while holding the shield button and the b button or how Steve summons a crafting table with the same button combination. In Rean’s Ogre form he would improve all of his stats. He would move even faster, jump higher, be stronger, have more defense like being like a heavy weight and some of your moves would become improved versions like Arcane Gale having an extra attack after its animation where he throws a powerful curse energy from his sword for the opponents he targeted. Rean also can’t be affected by status effects while in his Ogre form. For example Hero’s snooze, Piranha plants poison effect etc can’t affect Rean. This transformation would only last for 20 seconds but that might be enough to beat your opponent with all those stats increased. Rean’s Ogre form does have two potential weaknesses tho. After Rean’s Ogre form runs out of time there is a 50/50 chance that Rean would become tired and Rean would end up stuck in the floor with him catching his breath. This would mean that if you didn’t got to defeat your opponent or if he end up with still another stock and survived than he can probably hit you with a fully charged smash attack. There is also a small chance that instead of getting tired Rean would lose control of his Ogre form and you get stuck in that form in more time, but if this happens Rean would end up in a berserk state, in this state you can’t use any of your special moves or Arts. You also can’t catch items or taunt or do anything like that. So if this happens you would end up stuck in this position with a limited moveset, and this means you can’t recover either. So as you can see you have to know when it’s the right time to activate his Ogre form if you don’t want to suffer this potential problems.
Gimmick 3: If you have 200 Craft points you can also call on Valimar. To call on Valimar you have to go to the bottom of your Arts menu and you would see an input to call on Valimar. It takes like three seconds to call on Valimar since Rean has to do the animation of pulling his hand up and saying: Hear my call, Valimar the Ashen Knight! While he does this animation he can get interrupted if he gets hit tho so watch out with that. But anyway after this Valimar would appear on stage and Rean would teleport inside of Valimar to fight. I wanted to make Valimar feel like your controlling a boss character basically. Most of his moves would be a bit sluggish to give a chance to your opponent to be able to dodge your attacks but if any of your attacks hit your opponent you can basically say good bye to them cause Valimar hits like a truck. His moves are even stronger than Rean’s Ogre form but you won’t be receiving bonuses like extra speed and jump height, in fact you actually move somewhat slower inside Valimar but not like he needs to move faster since his moves are huge and take a big part of the stage. Controlling Valimar also takes like 20 seconds until Rean gets out of Valimar. Inside Valimar your moveset also is slightly more limited cause some of the animations of Rean’s normal moves don’t fit Valimar like the moves where he just uses the sheath of his sword. And a move like Arcane Gale would just be replaced with flying in the air with Valimar’s boosters on his back. You might only really need to use this on big stages or if your somehow jump out of the stage by accident. Which by the way you can’t die inside of Valimar unless you somehow fall of the stage.
Gimmick 3: This is gonna be his final gimmick. You know how in all the Trails games there is on the left side of the screen in battles bonuses you get each turn, well for Rean I actually planned to include this on his moveset. Basically on the left side of Rean’s portrait you would see some small circles that would keep moving up and disappearing everyone you hit an attack, this would represent like passing a turn basically. To balance this out I actually made it so most of the time the circles would actually be blank and they won’t really show anything. That way you don’t really have to be worrying about this gimmick much or your opponent. But sometimes you would see some bonuses that would appear in those circles which you can take advantage of. To not make this as complicated as it already is I didn’t include every single bonus effect of the series and only picked a few of them. The bonuses that might appear would be, Critical, Guard Break, Zero arts, Status attack, Death blow. CP loss and CP up 200.
Critical: This would basically just be Hero’s critical effects on his smash attacks except that for Rean it can be any move if you hit someone while you have the critical AT bonus shown on the bottom of the screen. Also remember that if you miss an attack while an AT bonus is shown you automatically miss the chance to get that bonus for a while until it appears again.
Guard break: With Guard break if you hit the shield of someone you would automatically break their shield no matter how weak the attack you used is. Also if your opponent uses a counter like Marth’s down special for example your move would automatically go through them and they won’t be able to counter you.
Zero arts: To not make this art as OP as it could be I won’t make it so you can activate an Art immediately like in his games where you didn’t have to wait any turns if you had this AT bonus. Cause if this was the case is obvious people would abuse this and only use seraphic ring for free or Megalith fall. But this AT bonus makes it so you don’t have to waste any EP when using one of your Arts and makes all your arts to get 2 seconds less for activation instead of being immediately like in the games.
Status attack: With this AT bonus it just makes it so your next move if it hits it gives your opponent a random effect like confusion, sleep, poison or any of the other potential status effects in smash.
Death blow: To not make it as OP as potentially killing immediately if the move hits, I made it somewhat more interesting and not as broken. If you hit someone with this status effect it is gonna put a small timer on top of the head of your opponent. The timer counts 10 seconds. If the timer runs out of time your opponent would die immediately with a similar effect of when Hero hits someone with the wack or Thwack spell. You would also hear the same sound effect when you get a death blow in Trails to the enemies. Your opponent can stop the timer if he gets to hit you with a strong move stronger than 20 percentage, or if they combo you with two attacks at least or if they take one of your stocks. So your opponent does have a chance to survive this but it does put quite the pressure on your opponent.
CP UP 200: If you hit someone while you have this AT Bonus you automatically gain 200 CP.
CP Loss: Your CP would be reduced to 0 if your opponent gets to hit you while you have this AT Bonus. You can stop this from happening if you hit your opponent first tho.
Final smash: His final smash would be a cinematic of his Breaking Dawn S-Craft if you have at least 100 Craft points or more. If you have less than 100 Craft points tho than his final smash would be Ashen Crimson Leaves instead. And if your opponent is at 100 percentage after the end of this final smash they would be destroyed immediately. I just wanted to include both of this S-Crafts since they are his most recent S-Crafts in Cold steel 3 and 4. Furthermore, If you activate a final smash in Rean’s Ogre form you would also get the variations of this S-crafts with the dark looking effects and everything and it would be a bit stronger. And as unlikely as this might be to see in most matches, you can actually activate a final smash inside of Valimar which would activate one of his finishing moves inside of Valimar as a cinematic. Valimar kills immediately with a final smash if it hits as well no matter the percentage your opponent is in.
Up Taunt: He does the animation in Trails of cold steel 1 and 2 where he yells: Alright, Let’s do this! This is in reference to the Motivation Craft and this actually does give you a bit more strength, and by a bit more strength I mean it makes your next move do one percent more damage. You also can’t stack this effect by repeating the Taunt. The effect does work in team battles as well to give your opponents slightly more power. I made it to only do one more percent of damage so this Taunt didn’t become OP of course, it would be pretty broken if this taunt actually have a significant amount of extra damage power.
Side Taunt: He does one of his animations when he wins in a battle where he saids: That’s the power of the eight leaves and puts his blade back to his sheath for a sec.
Down Taunt: He crouches and starts to pet Celine’s head, Celine would be looking a bit annoyed like she always does when she gets pet to much.
In conclusion: Rean would be a character that can work in any situation and has abilities that can create a lot of interesting gameplay situations. But he is also a character with a high learning curve and that can be punished very easily if the player using Rean doesn’t know what he is doing. Even with all the gimmicks that Rean has he is actually pretty good just with his normal moves by itself tho. I didn’t want him to be relying on his Arts like how Hero relies on his spells just to be even close to a high tier or top tier.
This was actually my first moveset ever written for a smash character. This also took me quite a bit time to write completely but I am personally very happy with this concept for Rean’s moveset and how it turn out to be. I do accept criticism of my moveset concept in the comments tho. If you would change the way a move works I mentioned or if you think a certain thing could be balanced out better I would gladly hear you out. But anyway thanks for reading my moveset concept.

Not from a gameplay perspective, although that is pretty bad, too, but more of his character.
I played P5 after Joker's release. I had heard a lot about the game, I liked him in Smash ( day 1 release btw ), and thought I'd give it a try. P5 was literally love at first site.
P5/R, and overall the entire Persona series, are some really great games, and I'd def recommend it to any JRPG fan, but the transition from P5 to SSBU was absolutely horrendous. He is NOTHING like he is in his origin series. They took this great, overflowing with personality character, a crazy concept of a st- I mean persona, and shat on it, threw it in the bin, and made him the most bland and boring character for me. And main Byleth, THE bland and boring character.
Joker in P5 is this arrogant, charming, constantly smirking, sly, smug badass that gets away with the craziest shit, like dating his teacher, banding a group of 6 other people and LITERALLY KILLING A GOD. TWICE IF YOU COUNT ROYAL. Then they brought it to Smash. And failed miserably.
If you wouldn't mind, lets look over his taunts. He turns his back and flings his coat. He pulls his glove with a smirk. He grabs his gun and knife and pose.
Thats it. Thats all. In P5, he is handled way differently. He is this constantly confident, badass, balls to the walls, will kill you and you'd say sorry type of guy, who gestures his foes to coms at him, as if he knows he'll win, an attempt at making them angry. But in SSBU, he is this edgy, boring, Lucina levels of bland, teenager.
And his moveset? Yikes. They could've done so much with the concept of personas, like his Down-B could have him switch between a few separate personas, like Arséné, Jack Frost, and some other persona, like maybe his final persona for his Final Smash, but no, they gave the PARTY MEMBERS more personality than him. The same ones who appear only in one stage, and only 2 actually say anything during his FS, and say a one liner at the end of a round if he wins. Thats it.
I really don't like how they handled Joker, especially after sinking 200+ hours into P5/R, and growing to love the character, not as a blank slate, or a host that I controll, but an actual character.
What do you think about him?

so basically we live in a society
Obtainable via idk, Velvet Room? maybe just finding a mask lying around during the Dark Hour or inside a TV with a 50% chance of obtaining Arsene?
Design
Passive A - SP Bar : The user's GUI will come with a light blue bar, representing how much “SP” the user has, which is 335 SP total. Moves that require the use of a Persona's special abilities to attack will drain the user's SP. The user can regenerate SP from successfully landing specific melee attacks(I know this isn't how it works in the games, but it's better than having people run while spamming SP regeneration items like every JRPG protagonist)
Passive B - Critical Hit : There is a 5% chance for the user's attack to crit, showing a little cut-in of the user's face before knocking down the foe off their feet and pulling up a menu for the user. While this menu is pulled up, the foe will remained stunned until the user chooses an option. Pressing LMB again will initiate the All Out Attack while pressing X will allow the user to simply cancel it, leaving the foe stunned for 10 seconds or until they're hit again. This passive can also be used against the user, allowing other players to crit the user and pull out an All Out Attack themselves. and yes, the foe and the user cannot be harmed while the menu is pulled up, so you can't just smack someone with a critical hit and leave them permanently stunned while your goons beat them up on top of the 10 seconds to use the menu before the foe gets back up, main difference with this is that Arsene users get to hold the stunned enemy at gunpoint too
Passive C - All Out Attack : If the player or foe chooses to use an All Out Attack, the person who performed the original crit will rush at the foe and perform Persona 5’s classic All Out Attack in a series of flurries directed at the foe before the user jumps away and does Joker's signature pose, dealing 45dmg or instantly killing if the victim is under 30% hp.
Passive D - Persona Mastery : you know what CD does with that “attack to automatically summon stand”? just that, but the funny mask just burns away

Stats :

Power - B+
Speed - C
Durability - B
HP : 285

Stats :

Q - “I am thou. Thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts of thine own justice.” : Joker's mask will appear on the user's face before the user rips it right off, summoning Arsene.
LMB - “Swing your blade!” : The user will slash their dagger, dealing 15dmg and regenerating 15 SP. Cooldown : 4 seconds
E - Trickster's Combo : Arsene will perform a basic three jab combo, dealing 10dmg in each jab with an additional “curse” afterburn that deals 3dmg per second for about 5 seconds from the last punch. Cooldown : 6 seconds
R - Brave Blade : Arsene will swing their leg down onto the floor, slashing the foe ahead of them and dealing 35dmg with weak knockback. There's a cool downwards sword swinging effect that comes along with the attack. Cooldown : 8 seconds
T - “For his neutral special, he wields a gun.” : The user will strike a pose as they hold out their pistol, holding the camera in an over shoulder angle basically like a third person shooter. Pressing LMB will allow the user to fire the pistol in their current direction, dealing 15dmg in each shot. Pressing T again will cancel the move. Cooldown : 5 seconds
V + T(cursor on target) - Down Shot : The user will roll to the side before performing a leap as they fire at the target relentlessly in style, dealing no damage but stunning the target and applying Passive B. This move can be completely nullified if used on players who are blocking or performing unique attacks(ie VTW’s Roadroller or TA4's nail shot), rendering the user immobile and unable to attack for 3 seconds. This move can only be used 5 times per life. Cooldown : 20 seconds shares cooldown with default T
Y - Eiha : Arsene will jab their arm into the ground before a burst of dark energy bursts from the ground in front of them, dealing 25dmg + 5 additional curse damage to any foe caught within the 10 stud radius blast zone. This move eats up 40 SP. Cooldown : 10 seconds
F - Showtime : The user leaps upwards as Arsene does the same downwards jab motion in the air, causing a burst of red energy to burst underneath the user in a 45 stud radius, dealing 65dmg and great knockback. This move consumes 150 SP. Cooldown : 35 seconds
G - Cognitive Outlook : Basically, kneel down as blue flames engulf your entire body, giving you a free Joker cosplay. Press G again to go back to normal clothes. Cooldown : 10 seconds
J - Chains of Society : For some unexplained reason, chains will begin to surround the user before they grab it and lash it forwards, smacking the foe and dealing 25dmg with weak knockback. Cooldown : 15 seconds
J(if foe is killed) - Sinful Shell : Spoilers for Persona 5’s EndingThe chains that surround the user will begin to start breaking apart, summoning Satanael who will appear from the skies and fire a single shot at the target. [insert Persona 5 Final Boss defeat] A bullet made from the Seven Deadly Sins that can pierce even a god. imagine being a TWOH user on a building and seeing some giant demon lord point a gun at you
Z(cursor on target) - Grappling Hook : Just like Persona 5 Royal and Smash Bros, the user will fire a hook from their hands onto their cursor's location, pulling themselves towards their cursor if it hits anywhere within a 100 stud distance of the user. Cooldown : 12 seconds
Q + Z - Wings of Rebellion : Much like the Smash Bros Moveset for Joker, Arsene will flap their wings and propel the user upwards, creating great vertical distance with little horizontal distance. Cooldown : 16 seconds
X - Rebel's Guard : you know, the Smash move where Joker just holds his face and soaks damage, but it lasts for 7 seconds and you only get half the amount of SP out of every attack done to you(ie attack that does 50dmg will only give you 25 SP, 8dmg attack gives 4 SP, etc. decimals will automatically round up to next number for sake of long decimals breaking GUI). Cooldown : 10 seconds
C - Dash : The user will dash ahead. Cooldown : 5 seconds
Pose
Pose Theme
Stand(?)’s idle pose

Quotes :

same thing, couldn't pick between English or Japanese

English Dub

“Now that's comedy!”
“It's showtime.”
“I'll reveal your true form!”

Japanese Dub

“You need proper punishment.”
“It's showtime!”
“It's useless.”
Remember that feature I mentioned in the last two posts? Here it is again: When the user decides to just start smacking people or gets smacked, Life Will Change plays. Once the user hits 30%, it just kinda cuts to Last Surprise, which will start playing.
Sinful Shell sounds like a pain to code, but it'll look cool to pull out against that one guy with Doppio KC for absolutely no reason
oh, and I guess you can start running in circles after you beat someone to death

I know this is doomed to downvote hell by defensive people worried somehow a post on reddit will magically make Sakurai and Nintendo about face, delete Steve and and put in another Fire Emblem character, but Steve represents a massive flaw.
I'm gonna preface with I love Minecraft, I've been playing since some of the earliest builds, I wasted my early high school years in it. I followed Notch on over from when he was working on Wurm Online (You want a janky game, go play that lol).
Even so...I am disappointed by what this inclusion represents.
Every prior fighter added has some reasonable association to Nintendo historically, with regards to the third party fighters. For example Snake, Cloud, Mega Man and Joker are all from franchises who started and built up their reputations on Nintendo systems. Metal Gear was one of the NES's most popular titles, Final Fantasy for 1/3rd of the main franchise was on Nintendo, SMT started and continues its legacy on Nintendo (Persona is part of SMT, even if that spin-off line isn't on Nintendo systems directly, its still SMT). Mega Man's franchise got big and continues to this day on Nintendo systems.
With the arcade characters like Ryu, Ken, Terry, Pac-Man, all their first and most memorable ports from the arcades were on Nintendo systems. The one true outlier of the whole roster is Sonic, and he has the special case of the historically massive rivalry between Sega and Nintendo. Never have there been a brand rivalry like that in gaming, where they literally ran adverts dissing each others systems, "Genesis Does what Nintendon't" was a legitimate advertisement, which they needed to do cause in that era Nintendo had 90% market share of the video game sales.
But Minecraft and "Steve" don't have anything like that. No long history with Nintendo, no linking franchise. Its claim to fame is "been super popular" and "been sold for an insane amount of money to Microsoft". That's all the justification I've been seeing in comments for why this franchise "deserves" to be in Smash. Cause it's popular. Another post revealed Mojang and Microsoft have been pushing for a Minecraft representative for 5 years. Keep in mind Microsoft bought out Mojang 2014. That's almost half as long as the damn games existed. No other character has been added under such circumstances.
A character been added just cause it's popular in gaming in general...is bad. Look at some of the characters we have. Ice Climbers, Pit, Mr Game&Watch, Marth, Ness. None of the games these characters game from were "popular", even by their own time frames standard. The first fire emblem to this day has sold just 329,087 units, which in by 1990, Japan only standards wasn't a flop but compared to Super Mario World's 20million, Dr. Mario 5.4 million, "F1 Race" 3.41 million its still a "Niche" title.
Yet all these characters are in the game not cause they're popular but because the development team and Sakurai thought they would make cool movesets, or they were personally nostalgic for, or were just key parts of Nintendo's history.
Minecraft getting in marks a character getting in cause its marketable. Not in the same way they shove in the latest Fire Emblem or Pokemon character in order to advertise those games, but in fact for the opposite reason. Using a popular character to drive Smash sales. I'm sure there has been dozens of indie game studios requesting to be in Smash and the most they get is a trophy, or a sticker, or an assist trophy. But Minecraft has "popularity" and Microsofts marketing team behind it to push push push.
How many years have Shantae's developers and fans been asking for her. But hey they're not the most popular game and owned by Microsoft so they get to be a PNG image.
This inclusion, of literally a default skin (but my qualms about "Steve" itself are a separate issue) marks a poor turn where the chances of random, completely fucking niche tiny games from Nintendo's history, or games that aren't really that relevant anymore get shafted cause "the more marketable options" take priority.
Now I already know what few replies I'm gonna say I'm been overly dramatic, look they added Pirahana plant and Banjo, they added niche characters! (Btw if someone comments Terry or Hero are niche I will reach through the monitor and slap you, world doesn't revolve around America). My reply to that is "yeah great...2. One from Nintendo's biggest franchise, and the other one of the highest scoring requests from the Smash 4 ballot, and one of the N64's best selling games (tho still third wheel to a lot of other franchises on there)"
There are classic characters people have been asking for, for far longer than Minecrafts even fucking existed, who people have always held had a "decent chance" of getting in, whose chance now went to "fuck all chance". Characters who I know some child would asinine comment "who?" and then rant about why does this niche character with games with sub 1 million sales get in over "The Fortnite Guy" or "Master Chief", but those niche outta fucking nowhere characters are what made the first few Smash Brothers so neat and special. So many people have discovered new characters they never heard of, and hell the Fire Emblem franchise went from niche Japan only title to one of Nintendo's mainstay franchises thanks in part to Smash.
But not a single person playing smash is gonna discover something new from Steve been included. It's the equivalent of fucking Skyrim been ported to every new console. Its a marketable option, pushed probably by a marketing department from one company to the marketing department from another company, and it working shows more big companies marketing departments "Hey we can push out big franchises into this big franchise as well"
It was neat when every now and then, a third party representative got into Smash, it felt special. Now we'll maybe get 1 old Nintendo character from say Golden Sun or something in the next Smash Brothers entirely, with the rest been whatever is fucking "marketable". Also if you're gonna comment "But you should be happy they're in as assist trophies/mii costumes" just don't, that's a cop out. Not representation.

Adachi in Smash Bros
I tried adapting Adachi’s P4AU moveset the best I can into the restrictive moveset of Smash Bros. He’s still command-grab central with broken zoning tools but has a restriction to his moves. Also no Magatsu Mandala buffs this time around. Sorry.
http://www.dustloop.com/wiki/index.php/P4AU/Tohru_Adachi
For reference.
Adachi has 10 Persona Cards at his disposal, which counts the number of times he can use Magatsu Izanagi in his attacks. While M.Izanagi is called off, the Persona Cards replenish gradually over time (at the rate of 1 Card per 5 seconds), while summoning M.Izanagi will stop the regeneration.
Conceptually, I made Adachi be a more grappler-like Robin. Not moveset-wise, of course, but just their gimmick. I feel like Robin would’ve been more interesting if a weaker variation of the moves could have been available (like the Bronze Sword) instead of removing the option entirely, as well as being able to freely choose which to use. As of now, playing Robin just feels like you’re on a time limit. So that’s what I decided to do with Adachi. Keep reading.
Annotation and stuffs

• # (Number of Persona Cards used in an attack)
• T (Tandem)(In tandem or slightly delayed with Adachi’s base move.)
• V (Variation)(Slightly changes Adachi’s base move.)
• D (Different)(Completely changes Adachi’s base move.)
• S (Separate)(Magatsu Izanagi moves separately to Adachi.)

Adachi

Normals

Jab
(A backhand, then repeated back and forth pistol whips followed by a single powerful pistol thrust)
His 5B autocombo in P4AU. A little remade to work better as a rapid jab.
Dash attack
(Slams his pistol diagonally downward, followed by a brutal upward angled kick)
His “Get Lost!” (B+D) in P4AU. Not much has changed here.
Forward tilt
(A downward pistol whip, then a horizontal pistol whip, finished off with a low stomp at the opponent’s foot. The final optional hit trips.)
The first two pistol whips are done with one button, and the final tripping kick is done with a second input. His 5A autocombo in P4AU.
Up Tilt
(An awkwardly angled up kick. Similar to Wolf’s up tilt.)
2B in P4AU. Kinda reminded me of some similar moves that are already in Smash, like Wolf and Snake.
Down Tilt
(Whips his pistol upward while crouched.)
2A in P4AU. Again, just kinda works like it did in the OG game.
Forward Smash
(Leaps forward while performing a brutal overhead pistol whip. )
The initiating hit for his AOA in P4AU. Obviously with no followup, since that would be more fitting for a special move in Smash.
Up Smash
(An overhead backhand with his free arm, followed by a directly upward pistol shot.)
Original. I kinda debated whether to make him actually shoot his gun or not, but decided that shooting directly upward at an airborne enemy is badass.
Down Smash
(A sweeping low kick, similar to Dark Samus’ down smash.)
His 2A+B in P4AU.

Throws

Grab
(Reaches in with one hand. Pummels by hitting with the butt of his pistol)
No reference here, really. Just a grab.
Forward Throw
(Rears back, then hits with a brutal overhead pistol whip.)
Original. Imagine Mii Gunner’s fthrow, then throw some of that Adachi-style brutality in there.
Up Throw
(Pistol whips upward in an uppercut-like motion.)
Again, original. Adachi wasn’t usually the one doing the throwing in P4AU now that I think of it.
Back Throw
(Trips the opponent with the leg facing away from the screen, then catches them in the gut with a roundhouse kick performed with the opposite leg. )
Original, yet again. Tried to capture the brutal and dickish demeanour of Adachi.
Down Throw
(Trips the opponent with a kick, then laughs at them while they’re down. Works similarly to Snake’s Dthrow.)
His infamous grounded throw in P4AU. I fuckin love this move man, so much character.

Aerials

Nair
(A diagonally downward pistol jab. A similar application to the FGC characters’ nairs.)
His jump A in P4AU. I think we need more nairs other than braindead multi-hits.
Fair
(A straight kick. Similar to Lucario’s fair in animation, but hits out in front instead of in an arc, and serves more as a kill move than a combo move.)
His jump B in P4AU. I like how this move looks personally.
Uair
(An upward kick, which is almost a backflip but not quite.)
Original. Just Adachi being incompetent, like his facade self.
Bair
(Turns around while performing a backhand pistol whip.)
Original. I get the feeling that this guy likes hitting people with the gun a lot, so why not.
Dair
(A single foot stomp, accompanied by a gunshot.)
Original. Then again, the gun is literally for shooting people so...

Specials

Neutral B
Scared?
(A diagonally downward gunshot aimed at the opponent’s feet. Will trip the opponent with higher recovery time than a normal trip. In addition, the trip effect will go through shields. Directly hitting with the bullet does more damage and knockback.)
214A in P4AU. Works a little differently to the base move. Also, I just realized how annoying a trip move that goes through shields is going to be, but it’s in character for Adachi so I’m keeping it in.
Side B
Pain in the Ass!
(Slowly walks forward with his hands wide open, completely invincible. If he receives an attack, he will rush forward. If inputted forward during the rush, Adachi will perform a tackle attack. If inputted backward during the rush, Adachi will grab the opponent and swing them backwards.)
His Jojo-walk 236A in P4AU. Probably useless if your opponent sees it coming.
Up B
High Jump
(Adachi will jump up high with no hitbox or invulnerability. Same animation as aerial Heat Riser without M.Izanagi.)
Original. I know it sounds dumb but he needed a way to recover without Magatsu Izanagi so....
Down B
Persona Summon/Persona Withdraw
(Adachi will put his hands to his head, then rear back while summoning M.Izanagi. If M.Izanagi was already summoned, then Adachi will strike a relaxed pose while calling off M.Izanagi. Only has lag if performed by itself, and will not have an animation attached to it if performed during a move. Allows M.Izanagi to be summoned in and out mid-combo.)
Just kinda what he does in P4 in general. Works a little similarly to Min Min’s ARMS Switch down B, I think?

Magatsu Izanagi

Normals

Dash Attack #T
(M.Izanagi follows up Adachi’s kick with a brutal heel stomp, which meteor smashes opponents.)
Original. Curb stomping is kinda Magatsu’s speciality.
Forward Tilt #T
(M.Izanagi appears while stabbing forward with its blade. Similar to Ridley’s ftilt.)
The first hit of his 5C in P4AU.
Up Tilt #T
(M.Izanagi appears, then emanates electricity from its palm. Similar to Arsene’s utilt.)
Yeah, it’s literally just Arsene up tilt. Move’s badass.
Down Tilt #D
(Adachi and M.Izanagi perform a slide in tandem in a similar fashion to down tilts like Cloud, Joker, and Min Min.)
Remember Yu’s 214C AKA Ziocar? Yeah, that.
Forward Smash #D
Vorpal Blade
(Adachi hunches over in a pose, while M.Izanagi slashes a horizontal arc in front of the duo.)
Kinda just Meta Knight’s Fsmash but Adachified.
Up Smash ##V
Power Slash
(Although Adachi still performs the backhand pistol whip, he does not follow up with a gunshot. Instead, M.Izanagi will thrust its blade upward in a similar fashion to up smashes like Marth, Roy, and Hero.)
Name and move’s original.
Down Smash ##D
Atom Smasher
(Adachi holds his head and laughs, while M.Izanagi slices apart the area around them. Acts as an extremely disjointed multi-hit similar to Magic Burst but much smaller and weaker.)
His double quarter-circle C. I considered making it a full screen attack with a restriction, but like… come on.

Throws

The Magatsu variations of Adachi’s grabs are activated with Smash inputs.
Forward Throw #D
(Adachi hands things over to M.Izanagi, where it will first stab the opponent, hold them up while still stabbed, then drop them down on the floor and stomp on them.)
His 5C, in full this time.
Up Throw #D
Megidola
(Adachi holds the opponent in place, then M.Izanagi appears above them to deliver a blast of dark red energy.)
Tada, Megidola. His 214C. Again, love this move. Adachi is such a dick.
Back Throw #V
(Same animation as Bthrow, but the second kick is performed by M.Izanagi instead of Adachi.)
Original, yet again.
Down Throw #D
Ghastly Wail
(M.Izanagi claw slashes the opponent to the ground, then brutally stabs them over and over again.)
Double back quarter-circle C. Isn’t that a mouthful. I love just how absolutely insane the two look during this.

Aerials

Nair #D
(M.Izanagi will perform a claw slash that hits a diagonally downward arc around the duo.)
His j.C. This move kinda reminds me of something Wolf would do.
Fair ##S
(M.Izanagi reaches forward and grabs anything in its way. After doing so, it will rush downward and slam the opponent into the ground, burying them. If there was no ground for M.Izanagi to fall onto, then it will act like a Ganoncide and kill both the opponent and M.Izanagi, depleting 3 Persona Cards instead of 2.)
His 2C (or air 2C, if you want to be pretentious). I think the concept of a projectile Ganoncide is absolutely horrifying, which is why I decided to make Fair exactly that.
Uair #T
(M.Izanagi performs a kick similar to Adachi’s, but will completely do a backflip.)
Just an Arsene move. Same kick, but Magatsu goes the extra mile.
Bair #T
(M.Izanagi claw slashes backwards with the same animation as Adachi.)
Kinda like a j.C backwards? That was my intention, anyway.
Dair ##S
(M.Izanagi appears directly above the nearest opponent and then rushes down with a stab. The stab will affect opponents with an untechable meteor smash. If there was no ground for M.Izanagi to fall onto, then it will act like a Chromcide and kill both the opponent and M.Izanagi, depleting 2 Persona Cards instead of 1.)
His 2D (or air 2D, if you want to be pretentious). I think the concept of a homing Chromcide is absolutely horrifying, which is why I decided to make Dair exactly that. And yes, I copy pasted this explanation from Fair.

Specials

Neutral B #D
Evil Smile
(M.Izanagi releases a wispy smiling ghast while Adachi spins his pistol. The ghast acts as a weak projectile that moves in a zigzag pattern and stays active for a very long time. Any opponent hit by the ghasts will receive the debuff Fear, which increases the knockback and damage they take by 10% for up to 8 seconds. The further into the ghast’s trajectory, the shorter the debuff lasts.)
His quarter-circle C. I kinda had a hard time figuring out how to implement Fear into Smash, and I ultimately decided that I...won’t. It’s just a defence debuff now.
Side B #/##/###D
Zio/Zionga/Maziodyne
(M.Izanagi charges up a swirling beam of dark red electricity while Adachi points his pistol up with one hand while covering his ear with the other. Once B is let go, M.Izanagi will release a Throron-like beam that covers infinite distance and gets stronger the longer the move is charged.

• No charge (An electric beam that acts most similarly to Thoron. Just 4 fast hits, with decent knockback and no combo potential unless Adachi’s really close. Only uses up one Persona Card.)
• Half charge (Takes a little less than a second to charge. Has a slight delay before letting loose, allowing Adachi to act before the beam actually fires. Otherwise identical to the no charge variant. Uses up two Persona Cards.)
• Full charge (Takes a second and a half to charge. Has the delay of the half charge variant, and has 10 long hits that allow Adachi to safely shield pressure, combo, and edgeguard. Extremely powerful knockback-wise too. Uses up three Persona Cards, only just losing to Magatsu Mandala in terms of Card usage.)

Wow, this move looks more bullshit that I intended it to be. It’s both his D and j.D, and it’s infamous in BBTAG where it basically does whatever the hell you need it to.
Up B ###D
Heat Riser
(If performed on the ground, M.Izanagi will slash upward while a wave of fire moves forward. If performed in the air, both Adachi and M.Izanagi will rise upward with a fiery slash, albeit without the wave of fire afterwards. This variation acts like Lucina’s Dolphin Slash. Hitting the initial slash of either variation will grant Adachi a 5 second buff. This buffs Adachi’s knockback, damage output, air and groundspeed, knockback endurance, and shield durability by 10%. Unlike Shulk’s Monado Art buffs, the Heat Riser buff can be reapplied on-demand as long as Adachi has two Persona Cards available.)
Monado Arts + Power Wave. It’s his double quarter-circle A, and I think I did a decent job at implementing this into Smash.
Down B #####D
Magatsu Mandala
(A swirling dark red vortex of energy that rises upward. Any opponent hit by the vortex at any point will take high vertical knockback, extreme hitstun, and be unable to act until hitting the ground. Magatsu Mandala grants Adachi unlimited access to his usually restricted Persona moves for 8 seconds. The buff will be cancelled once Adachi uses Magatsu Mandala again.)
His double back quarter-circle C. Yes, this move is broken. Yes, I made it that way. That’s why you can only use it twice before having to wait another 25 seconds for it to recharge.
Final Smash
Yomi Drop
(“Adachi summons Magatsu Izanagi as he clutches his head in pain, while Magatsu Izanagi attempts to grab the opponent from the ground. If the grab is successful, Adachi's IK illustration will appear as Magatsu Izanagi drags the opponent down to what appears to be Magatsu Inaba. Magatsu Izanagi strikes the opponent with a devastating blow from his sword and the attack will end. The screen will then cut back to Adachi as he and Magatsu Izanagi disappear in a blanket of red fog.”)
...is what it says on the wiki. However, that’s only the case if the move finished the match in Smash. Yomi Drop will instantly KO if the victim’s at or over 100%, but otherwise will just send out like a normal cutscene FS, without all the static and jazz.
​
So, interesting thought experiment or bullshit and dumb? Feedback’s appreciated because quarantine sucks and I have nothing better to do.

So far we have 8 dlc fighters, with 4 more to go (8 cause I'm including Piranha Plant). Here are my thoughts on the dlc. Keep in mind that these are MY opinion and you will definitely see some biases in this list.

1. Piranha Plant: A great way to start the DLC, especially since he's not a part of the fighter pass. When I heard he was in Smash, I was actually excited. Having an unexpected pick for DLC was the right choice. As for moveset, he does play really well. He even has more references to his series than Mario does. His final smash is a great throwback to the first boss in Brawl, but really isn't that good of a final smash. Since he's not part of the fighters pass, getting him won't give you a new stage or music. Overall, a pretty good DLC choice.
   
2. Joker: A great way to start the fighters pass. His specials are pretty basic for DLC, even when you get to use your Persona (forgot his name cause I don't play Persona). The final smash is sort of like Shulk's in which a bunch of other characters team up to fight the target. Except this time, the style of it fits the character with and, if I'm correct, Persona. And for some reason, Joker's the only character with a unique victory animation. Surprised how they didn't do that with the other characters. As for the stage, it's alright. The most unique aspect of the stage is how the color changes to the music. Overall, great DLC.
   
3. Hero: A good addition to the fighters pass. He has the most unique moveset in game with him being able to use a variety of moves instead of just up b, side b, and b. His most risky move is hatchet man, since you have to charge up and if you get hit, you basically stop charging it. It's a risk vs reward move with the reward being a super strong strike. Kamikaze is his most useless. It kills you, obviously, but you lose if you use it on one stock. What if instead of your opponent automatically winning if you use Kamikaze, if you kill your opponent with it, you win. Otherwise, they win. Final smash is a great callback to years of Dragon's Quest, like Mega Man's. The stage he comes with is okay. It's another moving stage but it has less interesting things going on than with other moving stages. He's still worth the fighters pass.
   
4. Banjo & Kazooie: The iconic duo is back for a brand new adventure! I like the moveset, especially how Banjo uses Kazooie for most of them. It makes it look like they're both different entities like with Duck Hunt. They're final smash is ultimately the best one to look at. The only problem I have is how hard it is to hit it. The stage is definitely perfect for the duo, with how it rotates and allows you to see the background, even allowing you to walk on the bridge. Another great fighter and deserving of the fighters pass.
   
5. Terry: An iconic fighting game rep for Smash. Moveset wise, he represents fighting games more than Ryu and Ken, with his specials having more distinct features depending on the way you use them. You can perform the power geyser and buster wolf when at 100% or more. They're hard to land, but rewarding when you do land them. Final smash is just a combination of power geyser, down special, and buster wolf, which is similar to how players would combo in traditional fighting games. The stage suits fighting games well, with it being flat, and having two invincible borders that you must break through in order to knock out your opponent. The best part is also how the people in the background react to when you get a kill. A great DLC fighter and one I would recommend.
   
6. Byleth: The first fighter that I will bash on. They (since both male and female) are the least interesting DLC characters in Smash. Yeah they have more weapons that's not just a sword, but compared to all the other fighters, they're just uninteresting. What makes their inclusion worse is them being another FE character and their announcement releasing basically when their game released, making them feel like they're just there to advertise FE: Three Houses. Moveset is not bad though. They do have some good moves such as the bow and arrow. Their down smash would've worked if they didn't have to restart everytime they get hit. They're final smash is okay. It's nothing special or unique, just Byleth unleashing a powerful wave against opponents using their whip. Stage is, however, good. It basically takes you to the different part of the Monastery. My main complaint is that it's another flat stage. It even takes you to the bridge which is just a flat stage. Overall, okay fighter, terrible inclusion and end to the fighters pass, especially with more deserving characters.
   
7. Min Min: A mediocre start to the second fighters pass. Not a bad character, but their announcement. An ARMS character was inevitable, but with how the game did, it was certainly lackluster. Now for the character herself, she's great. She's the only one with her specials being similar to her normal moves. Her final smash is a great one with all the ARMS characters punching the opponent with Min Min finishing them off. Stage is a fun one. Although its only gimmick is that there are pads that launch players upwards. Although it's cool, I really only use it half the time. She's a great fighter, but not a very good start to the second fighters pass.
   
8. Steve: The most excited I've been for a Smash character in my whole life. Steve had the most unique moveset of all the fighters in Smash and the most complex, literally. Being able to build blocks has got to be the most unique move in Smash. Final smash is extremely creative with this time it being a deathtrap. It makes it looks like Steve actually built this. It even makes me want a House of Boom in Minecraft. My main gripe with his moveset is the recovery. Not the gliding, but building. Limiting the area you can build is definitely important to make the game work, but it ultimately ruins the recovery. Overall, a great addition to the fighters pass, and the best one at that.
   

Now, for my ranking of the characters, it'll have to go like:

1. Byleth
   
2. Hero
   
3. Min Min
   
4. Piranha Plant
   
5. Joker
   
6. Banjo & Kazooie
   
7. Terry
   
8. Steve
   

I saw how many people complained about the over-representation of some series and the under-representation of others, so I took some time to compile what I think would be the ideal moveset, except for something I'll mention soon. However, before I list the roster, there will be some I'll exclude.

1. One-trick ponies. Franchises like Animal Crossing, Duck Hunt, or Wii Fit Trainer. There aren't really any characters to use, other than the arguable Ms. Pac-Man, so they'll be excluded. However, there will be 2 categories for these characters to make up for it.
2. Pikmin, because do you really want more of the most annoying character?
3. Punch-Out, because Little Mac is already the only bad character in Ultimate, so I wouldn't want to add more useless characters.
4. Splatoon/F-Zero, because there aren't any real reps that wouldn't be echoes or clones.

Alright, with that out of the way, here are the guidelines I followed for this roster.

1. Each franchise gets 3 characters, with the only exceptions being the ones above and Mario, who gets six characters with Wario and Yoshi included under that moniker. I'll mention another in rule 4.
2. As few clones as possible. The characters that are already clones or semi-clones in Ultimate or other games will be changed to accommodate this.
3. Accurate to the source material. Mentions will be shown when a character is reworked or changed in a special way.
4. 2 3rd parties per group, with some being company-based and some being series-based.

The roster will begin below.

• Mario Series - Mario, Luigi (Based on Paper Mario and the Mario&Luigi series), Peach, Bowser, Wario (Based on his appearances in Wario Land and Mario Land), and Yoshi
• DK Series - Donkey Kong, Diddy/Dixie (They'll switch with Down B, replacing the annoying banana. Dixie will be a semi-clone of Diddy with a float using her hair), and King K Rool
• Zelda Series - Link (4 different Links being alts, these being Classic Link, Hyrule Warriors Link, BOTW Link, and BOTW with the green tunic used in Ultimate.), Zelda/Sheik (They'll be on one slot again, but Sheik's Side-B will be her current Down B. They'll have only Classic and Hyrule Warriors alts.), and Ganondorf (He will have a large amount of changes. First, his Neutral B will be the cape and hover from Project M. Next, Up-B will only be the punches with no grab. His side smash will be Warlock Punch. Also, his up smash, down smash, up air, down air, up tilt, and down tilt will all use swords. His side tilt can be angled like in Project M. Lastly, his alts will be Ocarina Ganondorf, Oracle Ganondorf [Based on the concept art], Demise, and Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf). The final smashes will be changed to accommodate, with Demise just growing in size and the others transforming.)
• Metroid Series - Samus (Her Side B changes to the morph ball, which you can use to move around and climb walls, and pressing attack places the bomb. Pressing B will cancel the move. To prevent camping, you can't climb a wall if a platform is above it or if nothing is below it, such as below FD or Battlefield. Her neutral B also changes so that holding the button rapid fires it and pressing it once starts charging like normal. Her new Down B will be removing her suit and changing into Zero Suit Samus, with her side B changing to a less vertical down B and the removal of her tether grab.), Sylux (IDK much about him, but he'd be here.), and Ridley
• Kirby Series - Kirby (His Down Tilt is now the slide), Meta Knight, and King Dedede
• Star Fox Series - Fox, Falco, Wolf
• Pokemon Series (There were a lot to choose from, so I'll explain my reasoning in this one) - Pikachu (The Mascot), Mewtwo (The First Legendary), and Pokemon Trainer (Showcases the starter types, evolution, and the fact you fight in teams in the Pokemon games. He'll consist of Tododile [Plays similar to Squirtle, but his Side B is now Tackle instead of Withdraw and his Down Smash is now similar to Wolf's], Grovyle, and Charizard.)
• Mother - Ness, Lucas, and Porky
• Fire Emblem Series - The Lord (Similar to the Hero, it's Marth used as a base moveset with alts of Lucina, Chrom, and Alm, each with their own names and announcer calls. His boring Counter Down B is now a method to change between tipper, base, and spread, and holding it gives you the Binding Shield as a quick power-up.), Byleth, and Anna
• Kid Icarus Series - Pit, Dark Pit (Uses all the weapons pit doesn't, such as arms, staffs, and clubs.), and Palutena
• Xenoblade Chronicles - Shulk, Elma, Rex
• Metal Gear Series - Solid Snake and Raiden
• Sonic Series - Sonic and Eggman (Eggman will play like Bowser Jr in Ultimate with a few aesthetic tweaks here and there.)
• Mega Man Franchise - Mega Man and Zero
• Street Fighter - Ryu (Ken will be an alternate costume, being basically how he was in Street Fighter 2) and Chun-Li
• Final Fantasy VII - Cloud and Sephiroth
• Bayonetta Series - Bayonetta and Balder
• Castlevania - Belmont (Simon, Richter, Trevor, Juste) and Alucard (Alternates between his SOTN appearance and his Dracula's Curse appearance)
• Persona - Joker and Yu Narukami
• Dragon Quest - Hero (Personal preference being Five instead of Solo, and all four having unique names and calls) and Slime
• Namco - Klonoa and Pac-Man
• Rareware - Banjo and the Battletoads (Or Conker if allowed)
• SNK - Terry Bogard and Haohmaru
• NES Classics - Ice Climber, Duck Hunt, Little Mac
• GameCube Classics - Villager, Captain Falcon, Olimar
• Modern Classics - Inkling, Min Min (Or another Arms character.), and Akira Howard from Astral Chain
• Real Life Characters - R.O.B, Game&Watch, Wii Fit Trainer
• Miis - Swordfighter, Gunner, Brawler

That's it. Hope you enjoyed it. If you were wondering, that's 75, the same number of characters in base Ultimate + Pirahna Plant.

Yesterday we learned that Min Min is the ARMS character. Since she is a spirit, that means that spirits don't deconfirm a character (at least base game ones don't). That, and 2 Mii costumes (Heihachi and Vault Boy), change my view of who will get in. These are in no particular order.
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1. Geno (Super Mario) - Probably the most requested character right now, Geno is among the fan dream characters. Ridley, King K. Rool, and Banjo and Kazooie were the others, but they are in now, so he is the only one remaining. Not only do fans want him included, Sakurai himself has said that he wants to see Geno in smash. He had a Mii costume in smash 4 and it has not returned yet, plus, his costume was the only one to have a splash screen. This year is Mario's 35th anniversary, so getting him would celebrate that more. Super Mario RPG is missing from the SNES online service, so adding that could be added alongside Geno's announcement or release. Also, Min Min confirms that base game spirits are 100% possible.
2. Shantae (Shantae) - Shantae is one of the biggest indie games out there. While there are other indies that could get in (Quote/Cave Story, The Knight/Hollow Knight, or Reimu/Touhou to name a few), Shantae is the most likely to be a fighter (Quote and The Knight could be Mii costumes and Touhou could have a whole spirit event, as Nakoruru's Mii costume looks to similar to Reimu). Shantae's debut game was on the Game Boy Color in 2002, and has had 4 entries since, all releasing on Nintendo consoles, so she has a big history with Nintendo. Base game spirits don't deconfirm, so I think she a good chance.
3. Lloyd (Tales of) - It feels weird that, despite working on the game, Bandai Namco only has one character, Pac Man. They deserve another one, and since Heihachi was the only other likely candidate, Lloyd just makes sense. Tales of is also one of the biggest JRPGs of all time, with only Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest beating it (and we all saw what happened there).
4. Monokuma (Danganronpa) - This has very similar circumstances to how Joker got in (Sakurai is friends with the creator, the company is a switch partner, and that Sakurai is a fan of the series). The only difference is that Persona was on the 3DS with Persona Q, while Danganronpa has never been on Nintendo. But the Vault Boy mii costume means that doesn't matter, as Fallout has never been on Nintendo either. Plus, that give us a visual novel character, which we don't have yet. While we could get a protagonist from the series (like Makoto or Hajime), I think that Monokuma has the most potential as a fighter (Pikachu got in before the trainer, so it's possible)
5. Steve (Minecraft) - Minecraft is the best selling game of all time, so Nintendo would definitely want to benefit from it. Minecraft is owned by Microsoft, who many thought would be impossible to get a character from in smash, but now Banjo and Kazooie are in, so getting another isn't too far fetched. Steve also has so much moveset potential, anything would feel right.

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Honorable Mentions - Characters who I also think are possible, but not as likely as these 5 are
Rex (Xenoblade 2)
Travis (No More Heroes)
Lara (Tomb Raider)
Rayman (Rayman)
Crash (Crash Bandicoot)
Dr. Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Arle (Puyo Puyo)
Dante (Devil May Cry)
Phoenix (Ace Attourney)
Gen 8 Pokemon
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Sorry for the long post. Who do you think is in as DLC? Comment below, I'm curious.

So I’m gonna be honest, I really wasn’t into this game on launch, but it’s gotten good. Like, hella good. I’m loving every second of it. It really feels like a Smash-level celebration of anime fighting games, and while it struggles in certain aspects, as someone who only got it to play as Yang in a fighting game, I’m very impressed. If this game never received another update, I’d die happy. However, hypothetically, if they decided on an update 3.0, what would I do? Well, personally, I’d give just one more character to RWBY, as well as add six more characters coming from two new fates, rounding out the roster to an even 60 and the fates to an even 10.
For the final RWBY rep, it’s a tossup between two characters: Adam and Cinder. Personally, I think they’re both really cool, and could both have some interesting chemistry with other fighters. Seeing Adam interact with Adachi and Cinder with Eliza would be awesome. However, what’s really important is their song, because I’d make it “When it Falls” from RWBY volume 3. It’s a really metal and somber track, and it’s perfect for how either of them would fight.
For the ninth fate, I’d choose two characters from what may not even be a new fate at all, depending on how you look at it. They’d both need brand new movesets, but seeing Joker and Crow from Persona 5 join the fight would be awesome. Considering that Atlus has given Persona 5 a Warriors game, and BBTAG feels like a Swan Song to Team Blue, this feels like the last chance to see characters like Yu and Joker interact in a fighting game setting. Joker would of course use Arsene, and since none of the other Phantom Thieves would be joining the fight, he could use All-Out Attack for his Astral Finish. And, of course, Rivers in the Desert is basically a necessity for his theme. The color associated with these characters would be pitch black, since RWBY stoke red, and they’d either go in the P4A category or the etc. category.
For the final fate, there’s plenty of excellent anime fighting games to pull from, but in my personal opinion, the best choice is Blade Strangers. It’s another crossover anime fighting game that released in 2018, and features a variety of indie characters from many different worlds. For the four characters I’ve allowed it, Blade Strangers would have Helen and Lina, the game’s main characters, as well as Quote from Cave Story and Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt. Helen would have fun interactions with Hakumen, Lina would have some interesting takes on the variety of robot girls, Quote would get along with Noel for some... odd reason, and Gunvolt would have an amazing friendship/rivalry with Akatsuki. They’d be represented by a neon green, and would take up their own row on the character select screen. The options row would change from neon green to purple or something, it doesn’t matter.
For other content, I’d add three new stages to represent each fate: Cinder would bring the location of the Spring Maiden’s Relic, from RWBY vol. 5, Joker and Crow would bring Mementos, from Persona 5 Royal, and the Blade Strangers Crew would bring the launchpad stage, from Cave Story+. I wouldn’t really worry about any new story content, I’d just want the new characters and stages for maybe about $15.
So that’s that. That’s my ideal BBTAG update 3.0. What did y’all think? Tell me why Melty Blood would be way better than Blade Strangers in the comments. Thanks for reading!

I'm bored. Here's a list of trivia about and around Super Smash Bros. You can thank the Smash Wiki for pointing a lot of these out.
EDIT: And thank you to everyone who points out the inconsistencies or adds more trivia.

Real-World Appearances

Mr. Game & Watch is the oldest fighter represented in Super Smash Bros., debuting in the game Ball April 28, 1980.

• Pac-Man is a close second, debuting a month later, May 22, 1980, in Japan. Pac-Man is also the oldest third-party character.

Hero is the newest fighter represented in Super Smash Bros., debuting in Dragon Quest XI, which released in Japan on July 28, 2017. His alternate costumes, however, debuted much earlier.

• Incineroar previously held the title, debuting in Pokemon Sun & Moon worldwide November 18, 2016.

Color TV-Game is the oldest universe / franchise represented in Super Smash Bros., with the Color TV-Game 6 releasing June 1, 1977. It is Nintendo's first computer game console, predating the Famicom / NES.

• This franchise, along with Galaxian and Sheriff, are the only properties in Super Smash Bros. to have released prior to the 1980s. This also makes Galaxian the oldest third-party property and Namco's oldest.

ARMS is the newest universe / franchise represented in Super Smash Bros., with the first entry releasing June 16, 2017.

• Shovel Knight is the newest third-party property. It is also the first indie property to have major representation (i.e having an Assist Trophy, Fighter, or Stage) in Smash Bros.

Lucas and Dark Pit have yet to appear outside of their debut game, not including Super Smash Bros.
Wii Fit Trainer, Palutena, the Duck Hunt Dog, Ridley, Dark Samus, and Piranha Plant have yet to be playable outside of Smash Bros.

• In some versions of Duck Hunt, the Duck Hunt Duck can be controlled by a second player.
  
• In Super Mario Odyssey, the Fire and Poison Piranha Plant enemies can be controlled by the player under certain instances. Petey Piranha has been playable in many Mario spin-off titles. In Mario Tennis Aces, the Fire Piranha Plant has been added as a DLC character, and resembles the Piranha Plant in Smash Bros.
  

Roy debuted in Super Smash Bros. Melee before his debut title (Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade).
Because Snake did not appear in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS*, Sonic is the series' first third-party veteran.
Until 2019, four years after his inclusion in For Wii U & 3DS, Cloud was the only third-party fighter whose debut game, Final Fantasy VII, did not see release on a Nintendo console.

• The title is given to Joker, whose debut game, Persona 5, has not left Playstation consoles.
  
• Mega Man, Simon, and Banjo & Kazooie all debuted on Nintendo consoles.
  
• While Final Fantasy saw its first title on the NES, Cloud debuted on a Sony console.
  
• Sonic is the only third-party fighter to debut on a SEGA console.
  
• Snake is the only third-party fighter to debut on a home computer.
  
• Bayonetta is the only third-party fighter to debut on a Microsoft console. (u/aurapaladin)
  

Cloud, Richter, Joker, and all the costumes of Hero are the only third-party fighters that did not debut in the first title of their series.
Ryu, Joker, Snake (u/KrispyBaconator), and Ken are the only fighters to explicitly come from a real-world location (Japan and United States, respectively). (u/aurapaladin)

• Pokemon Trainer's region of origin, Kanto, is loosely based on the real-life region in Japan.

Dark Pit and Incineroar have yet to make an appearance on a home console game outside of Smash Bros. (u/aurapaladin)
If the Nintendo Switch isn't counted as a handheld, then Wii Fit Trainer, Bayonetta, Inkling, and Dark Samus have yet to make an appearance on a handheld game outside of Smash Bros.

Content

Pokémon has the largest number of fighters represented in Smash Bros. at 10 (Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar).

• Super Mario Bros. is a close second with 9 fighters (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Dr. Mario, Rosalina & Luma, Bowser Jr., Daisy, Piranha Plant).
  
• If Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, Diddy Kong, and King K. Rool were considered Mario fighters, the franchise would have 14 fighters. If the Koopalings (Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy (Koopa), Lemmy, Ludwig) were considered separate from Bowser Jr., the series would have a whopping 21 fighters.
  

Castlevania and Street Fighter are tied for having the most fighters for a third-party franchise with 2 each (Simon, Richter; Ryu, Ken).
Super Mario Bros. has the most stages in *Super Smash Bros.* with a whopping twenty (too many to list!).
Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man are tied for having the most stages for a third-party franchise at 2 (Green Hill Zone, Windy Hill Zone; Pac-Maze, Pac-Land). Sonic the Hedgehog is the only third-party franchise with more than one stage in a single game (both stages appear in Ultimate).
Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda are tied for having introduced the most fighters in a single game at four (Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Lucario in Brawl; Sheik, Zelda, Ganondorf, Young Link in Melee).
Yoshi and F-Zero are the only franchises from the original Super Smash Bros. to never have more than one fighter.
Pokemon has the largest number of Spirits for a franchise represented by fighters, with 152.
Final Fantasy has the lowest number of Spirits for a franchise represented by fighters, with 2.

• Final Fantasy is only represented through its Fighter Spirits, and the only franchise represented by a fighter without any other Spirits or type of Spirit.
  
• Cloud's Fighter Spirits are artwork of his portraits from Ultimate, along with Robin and Pokemon Trainer.
  

ROB is the only franchise with a fighter to not have a stage.
In Melee, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Kirby are the only franchises with fighters with more than two stages. Game and Watch and Ice Climbers both have only one stage. Fire Emblem is the only franchise with no stages. Finally, The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox do not have unlockable stages.
Animal Crossing is the only major franchise to have a stage (Smashville in Brawl) before a fighter (Villager in For Wii U & 3DS). (u/Scdsco)
Every main series 3D Legend of Zelda title have been represented by a stage (Gerudo Valley [Ocarina of Time], Great Bay [Majora's Mask], Pirate Ship [Wind Waker], Bridge of Eldin [Twilight Princess], Skyloft [Skyward Sword], Great Plateau Tower [Breath of the Wild]). (u/Scdsco)
15 stages do not return for Ultimate (Planet Zebes, Sector Z [64], Icicle Mountain, Mute City, Mushroom Kingdom I, Poke Floats [Melee], Rumble Falls, PictoChat [Brawl], Rainbow Road, Pac-Maze [For 3DS], Miiverse, Woolly World, Orbital Gate Assault, Jungle Hijinks, Pyrosphere [For Wii U]).
Little Mac, Dark Samus, and Isabelle are the only Assist Trophies in the series to become playable characters in later installments. (u/rookdorf)

Development

Lucas was intended to be introduced in Melee, replacing Ness as the Mother / Earthbound representative. However, due to time constraints and the cancellation of Earthbound 64, the original Mother 3, Ness remained on the roster.
Greninja was a lock-in for For Wii U & 3DS well before the release of Pokemon X & Y. The only reference material the developers had was concept art.
Ditto was meant to be a Poke Ball Pokemon as early as Melee. Its data is still in the game and can be summoned through the debug menu; however, it only shouts "Mon-mon!" before disappearing shortly after. Oddly enough, it does 7-8% damage with small knockback if you touch it.

Demographics

Gender

There are 54 male fighters (Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Bowser, Popo, Dr. Mario, Falco, Marth, Young Link, Ganondorf, Roy, Chrom, Mr. Game & Watch, Meta Knight, Pit, Dark Pit, Wario, Snake, Ike, Pokemon Trainer, Diddy Kong, Lucas, Sonic, King Dedede, Olimar, ROB, Lucario, Toon Link, Wolf, Villager, Mega Man, Little Mac, Greninja, Pac-Man, Robin, Shulk, Bowser Jr., Ryu, Ken, Cloud, Corrin, Ridley, Simon, Richter, King K. Rool, Joker, Hero, Banjo).

• If we include alternate costumes, then the total is 65 (Wii Fit Trainer, Larry, Morton, Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, Ludwig, Inkling, the other three Heroes). The Mii Brawler and Mii Swordfighter are male by default, so that's 67.
  
• Mr. Game & Watch doesn't have any real gender or characteristics, but he's a Mr. so whatever.
  
• Pikachus have a distinction between male (spiky tail) and female (heart-shaped tail); every costume except the seventh and the eighth (Pikachu Libre) have a spiky tail, which indicates that these Pikachu are male.
  
• Pokemon Trainer is by default male, however, the gender of his Pokemon are left unstated.
  
• ROB is a robot and has no clear gender but is referred to as "he" by the tips.
  
• Greninjas have no obvious distinction between male and female; however, the Greninja in Smash Bros. is confirmed to be Ash Ketchum's Greninja in the Pokemon anime, who is male. Additionally, the event Greninja from Pokemon Sun & Moon's special demo is also male.
  

There are 16 female fighters (Samus, Dark Samus, Peach, Daisy, Nana, Sheik, Zelda, Lucina, Pichu, Zero Suit Samus, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina, Palutena, Bayonetta, Inkling, Isabelle, Kazooie).

• If we include alternate costumes and partners, the total is 23 (Pikachu / Pikachu Libre, Pichu, Pokemon Trainer, Villager, Robin, Wendy Corrin). Additionally, the Mii Gunner is by default female, making the total 24.
  
• Lumas have no defined gender, although one of Rosalina's Lumas, the brown Luma Polari, is male.
  
• While Pichus have no clear distinction between genders, Pichu's sixth costume, the Spiky-eared Pichu, is an established character who is female.
  

There are 7 fighters with no gender or no clearly defined gender (Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Lucario, Duck Hunt, Incineroar, Piranha Plant).

• Jigglypuffs, Pichus, Mewtwo, Duck Hunt, Incineroars, Piranha Plants do not have clearly defined distinctions between male and female. The Duck Hunt Duck has the appearance of a male mallard
  
• Lucario is referred to as male in Brawl; however, in Ultimate it is referred to as "it", which implies the developers do not want its gender to be defined.
  

Ridley is the only Metroid fighter who is not female, presented as female, or a variant of Samus.

Weapons

16 fighters (Link, Marth, Lucina, Young Link Ganondorf, Roy, Chrom, Meta Knight, Ike, Toon Link, Robin, Shulk, Cloud, Corrin, Mii Swordfighter, Hero) use swords.

• Until For Wii U & 3DS, Ganondorf's sword, which was featured in his taunts, were never part of his moveset. For Wii U & 3DS introduces custom moves, and made a variant of Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, the Warlock Blade, use a sword. In Ultimate, his sword became a regular part of his moveset.
  
• Mega Man's forward aerial uses the Flame Sword from Mega Man 8, but that's it. Similarly, Kirby's Final Smash from For Wii U & 3DS onward features the Ultra Sword from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Greninja's forward smash has him produce a pair of water kunai.
  
• Joker uses knives, which are only kind of like swords.
  

15 fighters (Samus, Dark Samus, Fox, Falco, Dark Pit, Snake, Diddy Kong, Wolf, Mega Man, Bowser Jr., Bayonetta, King K. Rool, Mii Gunner, Joker) use guns or artillery like cannons.

• Captain Falcon has a gun in his model but never uses it.

21 fighters (Samus, Dark Samus, Fox, Pikachu, Ness, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Falco, Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, Meta Knight, Dark Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Lucas, Olimar, ROB, Wolf, Mega Man, Robin, Mii Gunner, Joker) use electric attacks or effects.

• Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Marth, and Lucina had custom moves that give them electric attacks.
  
• Zelda's moveset in Melee and Brawl were rife with electric effects that were all removed and replaced with the magic effect in For Wii U & 3DS and Ultimate. Similarly, Captain Falcon's Knee Smash, Wario's Corkscrew, Sheik's Chain Tip had an electric effect until Ultimate.
  

Age

6 fighters (Kirby, Ness, Young Link, Pokemon Trainer, Toon Link, Bowser Jr.) are or resemble young children.

• Kirby is said to either be a child (like in the anime) or is portrayed as having the mindset of a child.
  
• Ness is listed as 12 by a Japanese guide to Mother 2 and 13 by the EarthBound Player's Guide.
  
• Pokemon Trainers begin their journey at 10. While there are some Trainers who are older, the Pokemon Trainers in Smash Bros. are based on Red and "Leaf", who are 11.
  
• Young Link is the child form of Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, who is estimated to be around 10 - 12. Toon Link is the same age, as the green garbs he wears was given to him when he became of age, the same age Young Link was when he started his journey.
  
• Bowser Jr. is never given an age, but he acts and looks like a child.
  

16 fighters (Link, Sheik, Zelda, Marth, Lucina, Roy, Chrom, Lucas, Sonic, Mega Man, Little Mac, Robin, Shulk, Corrin, Inkling, Joker, Hero) are teenagers or young adults.

• Many games put "Adult Link" around the age of 17 - 18. Link in Breath of the Wild is close to the same age as the game's Zelda (give or take 100 years), who is said to be 17.
  
• Sheik is Zelda, so they're the same age. In Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and many other titles, Link and Zelda are the same age.
  
• Fire Emblem protagonists are rarely over 18. The one exception is Ike, who is 17 in Path of Radiance and 20 in Radiant Dawn.
  
• Sonic has been and will always be 15.
  
• Mega Man has the appearance of a teenager but can't age, and as treated as a teen by his creator when he's not fighting. Has possibly lived from the early 2000s to the next century, assuming "200X" and "20XX" aren't actually their own years.
  
• Little Mac is 17, the usual minimum age required to join professional boxing leagues.
  
• Shulk is definitively 18.
  
• The Inklings are 14 in the first Splatoon.
  
• Joker is 15 - 16, as he is a second-year high school student*.
  

38 fighters (Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, Yoshi, Fox, Luigi, Captain Falcon, Peach, Daisy, Bowser, Dr. Mario, Falco, Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, Pit, Dark Pit, Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, Snake, Ike, King Dedede, Olimar, Wolf, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina, Palutena, Pac-Man, Ryu, Ken, Cloud, Bayonetta, Ridley, Simon, Richter, King K. Rool, Isabelle) are adults, look like adults, or have the autonomy of adults.

• Mario and Luigi switch through jobs on the regular, including being doctors. In a 2005 interview, Miyamoto marked Mario as 24 years old and Luigi is his fraternal twin brother.
  
• The ages of Donkey Kong, Meta Knight, and King K. Rool haven't been stated, but they otherwise maintain the behaviors of adults.
  
• Samus is a professional bounty hunter and was often employed by the Galactic Federation.
  
• Fox, Falco, Wolf, and Captain Falcon are professional mercenaries.
  
• Peach and Daisy are princesses to the kingdom and are treated as Mario and Luigi's contemporaries.
  
• Ganondorf was the king of his people and in a few times lived for upwards of hundreds of years. His appearance in Brawl and For Wii U & 3DS, based on his appearance in Twilight Princess, looked distinctively haggard and old.
  
• Mr. Game & Watch, again, has Mr. in his name.
  
• Pit looks like a teen, though in actuality he is at least over 25 as that's how many years have passed from Kid Icarus to Kid Icarus Uprising. Dark Pit looks identical but was "born" that way.
  
• Wario is an entrepreneur with his own gaming company and several castles.
  
• Snake is a veteran soldier and mercenary.
  
• Ike is 20 by the start of Radiant Dawn and takes over his father's mercenary group.
  
• King Dedede at least thinks he's king of a country, and regularly bosses around his servants.
  
• Olimar is a family man who works for a company.
  
• Despite looking like a child, (a) Villager is old enough to own a home, be a mayor of a town, and get into massive amounts of debt. Isabelle is the aide to the mayor.
  
• Rosalina and Palutena are immortal and have lived for an uncountable amount of time.
  
• Pac-Man was depicted as having a wife (Ms. Pac-Man) and child. In Pac-Man World 3, he had his 25th birthday.
  
• Ryu and Ken trained under the same master and left his tutelage at the ages of 23.
  
• Cloud is 21 by the time of Final Fantasy VII.
  
• At 607 years old, Bayonetta is the oldest fighter in the roster.
  
• Ridley is old enough to terrorize Samus as a child and lead a band of Space Pirates for years.
  
• Simon is 22 in Castlevania and 29 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (u/wrathmont). Richter is in his late teens in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and in his adulthood in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  

The age of the Ice Climbers is ambiguous;
All Pokemon are born fully-grown from their eggs. However, some species of Pokemon, like Genesect, existed as far back as the prehistoric era. Mewtwo is said to have been created shortly before the events of Pokemon Red & Blue.

Console Origin

7 fighters debuted on arcades (Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Mr. Game & Watch, Little Mac, Pac-Man, Ryu).
17 fighters debuted on the Famicom / NES (Link, Samus, Peach, Bowser, Zelda, Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, Marth, Meta Knight, Pit, ROB, Duck Hunt, Palutena, Mega Man, Ridley, Simon, Piranha Plant).
11 fighters debuted on the Game Boy (Color) (Kirby, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Daisy, Pichu, Mewtwo, Wario, King Dedede, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard).
7 fighters debuted on the Super Famicom / SNES (Yoshi, Fox, Ness, Captain Falcon, Falco, Diddy Kong, King K. Rool).
6 fighters debuted on the Nintendo 64 (Sheik, Ganondorf, Young Link, Wolf, Villager, Banjo & Kazooie).
Lucas and Zero Suit Samus debuted on the Game Boy Advance.
6 fighters debuted on the Nintendo Gamecube (Roy, Ike, Olimar, Toon Link, Bowser Jr., Dark Samus).

• Roy's first title was on the Game Boy Advance; however he himself debuted in Melee, which released before Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
  
• All seven Koopalings debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES.
  

Lucario is the only fighter to debut on the Nintendo DS.
6 fighters debuted on the Nintendo Wii (Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Shulk, Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, Mii Gunner).

• Although the Mii Fighters are original to Smash Bros., Miis first appeared on the Wii.

9 fighters debuted on the Nintendo 3DS (Dark Pit, Greninja, Robin, Lucina, Corrin, Chrom, Isabelle, Incineroar, and Hero).

• The default costume of Hero is based on the Luminary, whose debut title Dragon Quest XI first released on the 3DS and PS4. The fourth costume is based on the protagonist of Dragon Quest VIII, which first released on the PS2. However, the second and third costumes are based on the protagonists of Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest IV, which both released on the NES.

Inkling is the only fighter to debut on the Nintendo Wii U.
Snake, Sonic, Cloud, Bayonetta, Richter, and Joker all debuted outside of a Nintendo console.

• With the exception of Joker, every one of these fighters' debut games have been released on a Nintendo console.

Pokemon

There are 86 Poke Ball Pokemon in Smash Bros. (Abomasnow, Abra, Arceus, Articuno, Beedrill, Bellossom, Bewear, Blastoise, Bonsly, Celebi, Chansey, Charizard, Chespin, Chikorita, Clefairy, Cyndaquil, Darkrai, Dedenne, Deoxys, Ditto, Eevee, Electrode, Entei, Exeggutor, Fennekin, Fletchling, Gardevoir, Genesect, Giratina, Gogoat, Goldeen, Groudon, Gulpin, Hitmonlee, Ho-Oh, Inkay, Jirachi, Keldeo, Koffing, Kyogre, Kyurem, Latias, Latios, Lugia, Lunala, Manaphy, Maril, Marshadow, Meloetta, Meowth, Metagross, Mew, Mimikyu, Moltres, Munchlax, Onix, Oshawott, Palkia, Piplup, Porygon2, Pyukumuku, Raichu, Raikou, Scizor, Snivy, Snorlax, Solgaleo, Spewpa, Starmie, Staryu, Suicune, Swirlix, Tapu Koko, Togedemaru, Togepi, Torchic, Unown, Venusaur, Victini, Vulpix, Weavile, Weezing, Wobuffet, Xerneas, Zapdos, Zoroark).

• 15 Pokemon are Legendary Pokemon (Entei, Giratina, Groudon, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Kyurem, Latias, Latios, Lunala, Palkia, Raikou, Solgaleo, Suicune, Tapu Koko, Zapdos) and 12 Pokemon are Mythical Pokemon (Arceus, Celebi, Darkrai Deoxys, Genesect, Jirachi, Keldeo, Manaphy, Marshadow, Meloetta, Mew, Victini)
  
• Charizard is the only Pokeball Pokemon to become a fighter. Venusaur, Blastoise, and Raichu, however, are the final evolution in Ivysaur, Squirtle, Pichu and Pikachu's lines, respectively. Mewtwo is a clone of Mew.
  
• Latias and Latios appear from the same Poke Ball.
  

The third (Ruby and Sapphire) and fifth (Black and White) generations of Pokemon are the only ones that are not represented by a fighter Pokemon.
The Ice, Bug, Rock, Ground, Ghost, and Dragon Pokemon Types are the only ones not represented by a fighter Pokemon.

• In For Wii U & 3DS, Charizard's Final Smash transforms it into Mega Charizard X, which is a Dragon type.

Axew, Azelf, Blaziken, Butterfree, Clawitzer, Cresselia, Cubone, Dialga, Dragonite, Drifloon, Dugtrio, Electivire, Emolga, Fearow, Garchomp, Helioptile, Honeedge, Hydregion, Klinklang, Magnezone, Mespirit, Moltres, Pidgey, Pyroar, Reshiram, **Shaymin, Skarmory, Snorunt, Snover, Steelix, Tepig, Uxie, Wailord, Whimsicott, Yveltal, and Zekrom appear in Pokemon stages but are not Poke Ball Pokemon or fighters.

Not-the-Most Ambitious Crossover

Snake fought Simon and Richter in DreamMix TV World Fighters and fought with Bomberman in Super Bomberman R. Rathalos and other Monster Hunter monsters appeared in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, although the Snake present in that title was Big Boss, while the Snake in Smash Bros. is Solid Snake.
Sonic regularly goes to the Olympics with the Mario cast in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. He cameoed along with Pac-Man, Ken, Ryu, and Bowser in Wreck-It Ralph. He teamed up with Mega Man in the comic Worlds Unite and its sequel Worlds Collide, along with many other SEGA and Capcom characters, including Ryu and Ken. Finally, a DLC costume for Sonic Forces was based on Joker, while in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Morgana had a DLC costume based on Sonic.
Dragon Quest regularly crosses over with Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy in the Itadaki Street (also known as Fortune Street in the US and Boom Street in EU) virtual board game series. (u/-TuskAct4-) Ironically, none of the playable Heroes have been playable in Itadaki Street, though some of the Heroes that appear in their Final Smash are.
Banjo and Kazooie once raced with Diddy Kong in Diddy Kong Racing and Sonic in the Xbox 360 version of Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing.

Companies

Nintendo (obviously) has the most fighters represented in Super Smash Bros.
SEGA, Capcom, and Konami are tied for being the third-party company with the most fighters.

• Out of the three, none of SEGA's fighters (Sonic, Bayonetta, Joker) are Echo Fighters, and each fighter comes from a separate franchise (Sonic the Hedgehog, Bayonetta, Persona). Additionally, each character and their franchises were created by a different company (Sonic Team, PlatinumGames, Atlus). Only PlatinumGames is fully independent from SEGA.

The British developer Rare Ltd. is the only western-based company represented by a fighter in Super Smash Bros. They created Banjo-Kazooie, as well as Diddy Kong and King K. Rool.

• While the American-based Retro Studios is represented through Dark Samus, Retro Studios is a subsidiary of Nintendo.

And Other Useless Trivia

Voice Acting

Chrom shares the same voice actors in both English (Matthew Mercer) and Japanese (Tomokazu Sugita) as Yusuke Kitagawa from Persona 5, which is referenced in Yusuke's Spirit being represented by Chrom.
Joker shares the same English voice (Xander Mobus) as the Announcer, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand.

• Joker also shares the same Japanese voice as Roy (Jun Fukuyama).

Xander Mobus is the first English voice for the Announcer, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand to voice more than one game (For Wii U & 3DS, Ultimate).
4 fighters (Pokémon Trainer, Sonic, Lucario, Wii Fit Trainer) are dubbed in Italian. (u/abcPIPPO)

• If we count the Female Pokémon Trainer and male Wii Fit Trainer, the count goes up to 6.
  
• Sonic didn't have an Italian voice actor in Brawl, but got one (Renato Novera) in For Wii U & 3DS.
  
• Every fighter with a female voice actress has a variant with a male one. That means there is no fighter that has only a female Italian voice actress.
  
• Wii Fit Trainer is the only fighter that always had an Italian voice actor in every game they appeared outside of the Smash Bros. franchise.
  

Localization

In PAL versions of For Wii U & 3DS, certain fighters have different titles than in the US release. However, in Ultimate, they are all given the US titles.
15 fighters (Dark Samus, Young Link, Dark Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Pokémon Trainer, Toon Link, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, Mii Gunner, Robin, Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Isabelle, Piranha Plant, Hero) have a different name in Italian from the English localization. (u/abcPIPPO)

• Dr. Mario is spelled similarly in English, but "Dr." in Italian stands for Dottore (Dottor, in this case), and pronounced differently.
  
• Both Rosalina and Luma have a different name in Italian localization: Rosalinda & Sfavillotto.
  
• In many non-English localizations, included the Italian one, Robin's default name is Daraen in both Fire Emblem Awakening and Super Smash Bros.
  
• Duck Hunt is named the same in PAL regions (Duck Hunt Duo) but in a different order (Duo Duck Hunt). This is because in Italian language adjectives (and nouns that are used with the function of an adjective) generally go after the nouns they refer to.
  
• Bowser Jr.'s name in Italian localization doesn't use the contraction (Bowser Junior).
  
• Pokémon Trainer is the only character that has the same name in English between its male and female variant, but change in the Italian localization (Allenatore di Pokémon/Allenatrice di Pokémon).
  

Others

Zelda, despite being the default fighter in Melee and Brawl and placed before Sheik in for 3DS and Wii U, is #17 while Sheik is #16 according to Ultimate. This is possibly because Sheik was revealed as a fighter for Melee before Zelda.
Because every one of his alternate costumes is a separate character and model, Bowser Jr. is the only character with no alternate colors.
ROB is the only fighter who is "real"; the Robotic Operating Buddy is a peripheral for the Famicom / NES.
Down special is the motion for counters / absorption / reflecting moves for the majority of fighters with the notable exceptions of Peach, Daisy, and Zelda (in which they are neutral special) and Mario, Dr. Mario, and Mewtwo (u/NeoSamus) (their side specials).

• Ness and Lucas' forward smashes, and Pit, Dark Pit, and ROB's side specials (u/NeoSamus) can reflect projectiles.

Robin is the only Fire Emblem fighter without a counter.
Bayonetta, Simon, Snake, and Joker have all appeared in M-rated titles.
Lucas is the only fighter to be a starter fighter (Brawl), downloadable (For Wii U & 3DS), and unlockable (Ultimate).
Kirby is the only fighter to never have to be unlocked, being a starter fighter in every game, including Ultimate's Adventure Mode where he is the only fighter available in a new game.
Battlefield and Final Destination had to be unlocked in Melee. Additionally, Battlefield, and only Battlefield, was not represented by the symbol for Smash Bros. but this symbol instead.
Every single Piranha Plant mentioned by Viridi in Piranha Plant's Guidance is real. Look it up.