The Super Smash Bros. series became one of the biggest crossover series in video games. Countless games release every year, there’s no doubt the high bar that developer Sora Ltd. has to top with each new entry. Having to find a way to make each newcomer work with a unique moveset presents a serious challenge.
Who sits the best of the best of the 12 guest characters (Plus echo variants!) that have made their way to Nintendo’s platforming brawler? Each brings a significant legacy and makes the impossible be possible. Oh, but poor Mario! It seems like each fighter has no shortage of punches and kicks in store for the plumber. How many of these newcomers can he take on? Here are the 12 most surprising Super Smash Bros. guest characters, so far.
12 Terry
Smash’s second fighting game franchise rep may not stand out as strong. While Fatal Fury’s main dominance was the arcades, its legacy is not forgotten. Terry is far more than “The Pokémon Trainer but older.” These days, Terry is likely recognizable from SNK’s King of Fighters series.
Much like Ryu, his moveset works with newcomers and fighting game enthusiasts. SNK highlights their heritage with a trove of music tracks and guest appearances. The King of Fighters stage is the only Smash stage that adheres to traditional 2D fighter rules.
11 Pac-Man
One of the more inevitable inclusions to Smash Bros. The only problem is, how does one incorporate Pac-Man as a fighter? The original Pac-Man game doesn’t lend much to the moveset. Plus there are many designs that transformed the arcade giant into a biped dot muncher.
Pac-Man stuck to a design that holds as close to his classic motif. All while sticking to Pac-Man’s roots in the platformer genre. The fire hydrant from Pac-Land provides amazing offense and defensive plays. Don’t forget about his taunts that are full of classic Namco references.
10 Bayonetta
Bayonetta received her biggest break after Bayonetta 2 became exclusives for Nintendo. SEGA and Platinum’s gorgeous star made her way in with her combat focused abilities in-tact. Bayonetta can keep the pressure on with relentless attacks. Keeping her moves intact from the ‘mature’ rated beat-em-up series had to come with a few cutbacks. But her attitude is still true to her nature.
Players may still be waiting for the arrival of Dante. But with Bayonetta in the roster, is that truly necessary? Her inclusion comes from Nintendo’s public fan vote of a character to include for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. A fantastic choice, indeed.
9 Hero
It was a matter of time before any kind of Akira Toriyama representation arrived in Smash. In this case, in the form of Japan’s biggest RPG franchise. The ‘Hero’ is actually four heroes from Dragon Quest 3, 4, 8 and 11 rolled into one character. All this ties with the release of a Switch conversion of 11, Echoes of an Elusive Age. While there are several JRPG protagonists in Smash, this is as literal as a fighter could get.
Three special moves that can be charged up to cast different spells. The Hero can also issue a random selection from the list of magic abilities with the Command Menu. Snooze forces enemies to sleep. Kamikazee deals high damage while sacrificing your stock. The Hero comes with plenty of surprises, as long as you manage your MP meter.
8 Joker
The Persona series has to be one of Atlus’ most mainstream successes they’ve received. The series’ origins were garnered as a well regarded line of RPG games. But none have quite reached the success as Persona. The protagonist of Persona 5, Joker, came out of almost nowhere at The Game Awards. This is as close as Smash will get to Capcom’s fighting game adaptation of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Joker hosts an array of decent moves. But, he becomes even more devastating as his Rebellion Gauge fills up. This gauge then helps summon Arsen, which gives him more powerful moves temporarily. His Final Smash and unique victory screens helps the character stand among the rest.
7 Simon (& Richter)
Castlevania was a highly sought after ‘8-bit’ franchise to make its debut in Smash. Not only did Smash receive two Belmonts, but the last member of Captain N’s N Team has finally arrived. The holy whip, the Vampire Killer, is the Belmont’s signature weapon against Dracula. As the primary method of attack, it’s put to great use. Three support items also round out their arsenal. These options allow for crowd control and limits opponents recovery options. There’s even a crossover of Richter’s moveset from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night.
Some may be disappointed that Richter isn’t replaced by, say Alucard. But the series’ NES heritage the Belmont clan is represented wonderfully. Also, poor Luigi did not deserve what happened to him.
6 Ryu (& Ken)
It’s debatable on whether or not that Smash is a fighting game. But there was no stopping the arrival of the kings of the fighting game genre. Street Fighter’s Ryu debuted as a DLC character for Smash 4 and still stands strong in the massive character roster. Even Ken’s inclusion is remarkable as he fits the role of “Echo fighter” easily.
Players of any skill set can play these fighters with the ease Smash grants fighters. But, fighting game aficionados can take advantage of their more powerful special moves. Quarter circles and zigzags can help execute more powerful moves from their series. Their moves transition well to games with a simplified control scheme. Smash is no exception to this trend.
5 Mega Man
For the premiere trailer of Smash 4, how was the team supposed to top the bar set with Brawl? Well why not one of the biggest 3rd party franchises on the NES and the Famicom? There’s even references to the half-dozen iterations of Mega Man from over the years.
Mega Man does not have the ability to nab powers from others ala Kirby. Instead his Mega Buster is accompanied with each move representing a robot master. His movement closely resembles his limited, stiff appearance from the original NES games. Even his crouch animation adheres to his robotic movement.
4 Banjo & Kazooie
It’s too bad this duo never made it in the original Super Smash Bros. or Super Smash Bros. Melee. After Rare became a Microsoft developer, this seemed impossible. Banjo-Kazooie also marks Smash’s first character from a game developer outside of Japan. If you don’t count Diddy Kong that is.
Their eclectic array of moves were repurposed to work with the flow of Smash. The bird-and-bear duo’s whimsy appears far more animated than before. Considering their discography includes two Nintendo 64 platformers. There’s even hints of their lone Xbox 360 outing, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.
3 Cloud
It’s almost unfair how Cloud ranks so highly over the other guest characters in Smash. At most there’s two music tracks. No other Final Fantasy VII characters appear and outside of the Midgar stage. There’s hardly a whisper of Final Fantasy fan service. Plus he never did accept that invite to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
2 Snake
For some, this may seem strange why Snake would rank so high in Smash. The Metal Gear franchise has been largely absent from Nintendo platforms. In any case, Snake snuck in since Brawl and made his way as the heaviest human character. Instead of firearms, Snake makes use of pyrotechnics and explosives. He can’t hide very well, but that doesn’t stop Snake and his mind games.
But again, why Snake? Snake was the first indicator that Nintendo was accepting guest characters. For a crossover juggernaut this only laid out the potential of who could be next.
1 Sonic
The character that would be next is one of the most anticipated arrivals fans could ever hope for. His reveal trailer didn’t gain the same cinematic touch as most of the other guest characters. But players didn’t care if they were watching that reveal video in 360p quality, it was Sonic the Hedgehog. Now the two video game giants could officially fight each other for the first time.
Sonic’s simple control scheme comes from the classic Mega Drive and Genesis. Their most important trait required only one action button which represents his moveset. A careful eye can also spot moves from Sonic the Fighters as well. He became Smash’s fastest character at the cost of strength. The simplicity made way for one of the most complex fighters in the series. In turn also fulfilled the wish of many fans.
NEXT: Super Smash Bros: 5 Reasons Why Waluigi Needs To Join The Battle Already (& 5 Why He Shouldn’t)
