So there are three Smash Bros. games now, with two more in the works, with a highly likely chance of there being more Smash Bros. games in the further with whatever next console Nintendo makes. Because there are now that many games in the series, I feel like it's safe to say that there are certain characters who are bound to appear in the series no matter what (and when I say characters, I specifically mean playable characters; I won't be getting into boss characters that much, though you're free to discuss that if you like). I'm going to list a bunch of characters who I personally think are going to be playable in every Smash Bros. game, including the Wii U, 3DS, and beyond, and give my reasoning for what that will be. Feel free to discuss an debate who you would think is/will be a "mainstay", even adding to my list.
BTW, any character with a (D) next to it means that I find their "mainstay" status debatable.
Mario: The first of the so-called "Original 8" and the most obvious choice on this list. Star of his own series of games, which is Nintendo's first major flagship franchise and one of the most popular, best-selling, and outright iconic franchises in video game history, the very idea of a Smash Bros. game without him is ludicrous. It'll be like a Marvel vs. Capcom game or a Street Fighter game without Ryu in it...
...Okay, bad example, but you get what I mean.
Donkey Kong: Another member of the "Original 8", and another obvious choice. While his games haven't been AS popular or AS much of a best-seller as the Mario series, his roots are directly tied with that of Mario, not to mention his name alone is iconic, even if some people only know him from the classic arcade game. Not to mention, his games are still quite popular, with the recent revival of the Donkey Kong Country series showing that, so I'd say he's not going anywhere.
Link: Yet another member of the "Original 8", and I think you'll start to see a pattern here. The "Original 8", for those of you who don't know, are the original 8 starter characters for the first Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 64 (sometimes extended to the "Original 12" to include the unlockable characters, who we'll get to momentarily). The "Original 8" were all highly recognizable characters from Nintendo's most popular franchises. Link, being the hero of The Legend of Zelda series, a series which includes several classic and popular games, including one often referred to as the greatest video game of all time, is pretty much guaranteed to be a playable character no matter what... but WHICH Link, now that' sup for debate (the first to Smash Bros. games featured the Link from Ocarina of Time, while Brawl is based on the Link from Twilight Princess. The Wii U and 3DS games seem to go more for a general look, though it appears to be a mix of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword).
Samus: Another one of the "Original 8" and a rather unusual member at that. I say this because, while many consider Metroid to be a flagship franchise along with Mario and The Legend of Zelda, when the original Smash Bros. came out, only 3 games existed at the time, and there was no Metroid game for the Nintendo 64 (supposedly, the first Metroid Prime was going to be for the N64, but I'm not entirely sure about that). There were two games for the Game Boy Advance that were pretty popular, and the Prime series rose Metroid's popularity to new heights... in the West. In Japan, however, because of the general disinterest in first-person shooters, the Prime series never sold all that well. I think Other M was created as a kind of dare to fill that void but that's for another topic. Point is, the Metroid series is consistently popular enough to make sue Samus will continue to be a playable character in the Smash Bros. series... whether or not we'll get any other playable characters from that series, though, remains to be seen.
Yoshi: A member of the "Original 8", and a unique one, in that Yoshi actually originates fro the Mario series but then spun-off into his own series, while still being a regular character in the Mario series... sort of. I feel like his popularity has waned greatly since his introduction , not helped by the fact that he was revealed almost a year after Brawl's announcement and STILL hasn't been revealed to be in the Wii U and 3DS games, despite there being a perfect opportunity to reveal him with the release of Yoshi's New Island... But I digress. the fact that they ARE making new games for Yoshi shows that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about him and that Yoshi will continue to be playable in Smash Bros.
Kirby: A member of the "Original 8". While I'm not sure how popular his series actually is, Kirby's games actually sell surprisingly well. Not that any of that matters , seeing as Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Smash Bros., also created Kirby, and thus it's highly unlikely he'd leave his baby hanging like that. So yeah, Kirby, you'll never get rid of that little guy.
Fox: A member of the "Original 8". Fox is probably the strangest example of the "Original 8", in that while he's in the all of the Smash Bros. games so far, his games a re far and few between. Hell, there hasn't been a new game in the Star Fox series in almost 8 years, and no, Star Fox 64 3D doesn't count because it's it's a remake! Hell, even the new Smash Bros. doesn't seem to acknowledge it, since Fox's appearance is still based most on his look in Star Fox Command then anything. Regardless, the fact that he's consistently in ever Smash Bros. so far shows that Nintendo and Sakurai haven't forgotten him and it's highly likely he'll keep showing up from here on out.
Pikachu: The final and "youngest" member of the "Original 8". Pokémon, quite frankly, is a juggernaut of a franchise; it started out as a big-time hit and full-blown phenomenon and continues to be popular to this day. And as the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu will continue to be in Super Smash Bros., probably until they just plain stop making Pokémon games... which, I assume, is when Nintendo stops making games in general.
Luigi: One of the unlockable characters in the first three games, and part of one would call the "Original 12". Despite There being plenty of Mario games in which Luigi was not featured at all, it's hard to imagine a game like Smash Bros., having Mario and then NOT having Luigi. After all, they ARE the Mario BROTHERS. His relevance has only increased as time goes on, and he's evolved from a Mario look-alike into a completely unique character in his own right. Because of that, so long as Mario continues to be a character in Smash Bros., so will Luigi.
Captain Falcon: An unlockable character in the first and third games, a starter in the second, and part of the "Original 12". I was almost considering making him debatable, but when you think about it, you could almost say Captain Falcon synonymous with the Smash Bros. series by this point. What I mean by that is that the F-Zero series, while loved by those who've played it, hasn't gotten that much love. There hasn't been a new game in years and Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't seem to be really interested in making another. That being said, I think it's safe to say that a lot of people know about Captain Falcon through Smash Bros., and that would make sense, seeing as a lot of people are introduced to new games and series's through this series. But the even more interesting thing at play here is that Captain Falcon's moveset was created completely from scratch, seeing as he's from a racing game and thus rarely if ever seen out of his racing machine. Adding to this is the fact that his moveset was based on a leftover moveset back when Super Smash Bros. was originally known as Dragon King: The Fighting Game, and thus, what you get is a character who pretty much embodies Smash Bros., down to it's core! ...Perhaps I'm over-exaggerating, but hopefully, you get what I mean, and agree that Captain Falcon has always been a major part of the Smash Bros. series and thus will continue to be so... But seriously Nintendo, get on that new F-Zero game. And new Star Fox, while you're at it!
Ness(D): Like Captain Falcon, he's unlockable in the first and third game, a starter in the second, and he's the last member of the "Original 12" line-up. Ness is in an interesting position, in that he's been playable in every Smash Bros., but it originally wasn't always going to be that way. Back when Mother 3 was in the works, Ness was all set on being replaced with the protagonist of that game, Lucas. However, when Mother 3 got delayed (and into development limbo for a time), Ness stayed in Melee. When Brawl came around, everyone assumed Lucas would replace Ness... until Ness was confirmed. At this point it's really hard to say if Ness will continue to stick around. It seems unlikely that there will be any new official installments in the EarthBound/Mother series, and since EarthBound, aka Mother 2, is the most well-known game in the series, plus it's notoriety has increased with it's release on the Wii U's Virtual Console, not just in America but also in Europe (for the first time, even), it feels like Ness will return for the Wii U and 3DS game. As for future installments? Well, only time will tell.
Bowser: Fun fact, Bowser was originally meant to be in the first Super Smash Bros. but was cut due to lack of development time, as said here (in Japanese). Because of his status as the main antagonist and major villain of the Mario franchise, which as we've established is pretty much always going to have some kind of representation in these games, it's safe to say Bowser will continue to be playable in future installments.
Princess Peach: There were similar rumors of Princess Peach being intended for the original Smash Bros., but unlike Bowser, there's not definite proof of that. Regardless, I feel like if you're going to have Mario, Luigi, AND Bowser, you might as well include Peach. I mean, she's pretty much the most important character of the franchise aside from Mario and Bowser, in that she's the reason why Mario goes on a journey to defeat Bowser most of the time. So yeah, Peach, likely here to stay.
Princess Zelda: So yeah, I feel like Zelda is a given for being playable in future installments in the Smash Bros. series. After all, her name IS in the title of one of Nintendo's major flagship franchises. Part of me feels like the jury is out on Sheik, though, despite always being part of her "character" in the series so far. To me, it feel like Sheik's relevance has decreased after Ocarina of Time... in that that was Sheik's only game. Then again, she WAS planned to be in Twilight Princess, AND there's the recent Ocarina of Time remake, so who knows. Zelda herself, though, I feel confident in her status as a mainstay.
Marth: I think Marth's reveal for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS (coupled with Pit's inclusion) is what inspired me to make a list like this. Sure, it's easy to say everyone who's appeared in every game since the original will always be in Smash Bros., but what about everyone else? It was interesting to pick and guess who would return from Melee in addition to who'd be a newcomer, but now that we've reached the fourth (and technically fifth) installment in the series, I feel like it's time to start evaluating the characters in-between now and the N64 game. In Marth's case, I think the fact that he was not only popular enough to be included in the game worldwide (originally he and Roy were going to be cut from the game, since the Fire Emblem was, at the time, a Japan exclusive series), but their popularity IN said game was enough to convince Nintendo to start releasing Fire Emblem games worldwide after that (except for the remake of "Mystery of the Fire Emblem" for the DS; I'm guessing it's because Shadow Dragon wasn't that successful). Since Marth is the most iconic character of the franchise, starring in the first and third games, their respective remakes, and having... something of a role in Fire Emblem: Awakening, not to mention most people associate Marth with Smash Bros., because to many people in the West, THAT'S where they know him from, I feel like Marth has been promoted to mainstay, along with the "Original 8/12", and I can see him being a staple in future Smash Bros. games.
Mr. Game & Watch(D): So I put a (D) next to this guy, but honestly, I feel like Mr. Game & Watch isn't all that debatable. What I mean by that is, well... Check out this thread on Smash Boards/Smash World Forums:
http://smashboards.com/threads/rate-their-chances-returns-day-183-panther-and-dillon.338473/
It's a topic about users ranking how much they want a character/stage/concept/etc. to be in the new Smash Bros., as well as their realistic chances. As far as Veteran fighters go, Mr. Game & Watch has 90.51% wanting him back, and a predicted 99.50% chance of his return. And really, why not? Mr. Game & Watch represents an entire section of Nintendo's history, as well as being a nice homage to the Game & Watch's creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who behind a lot of important features of Nintendo, included the Game Boy, and was credited on games like Metroid and Kid Icarus. Plus he's just a really unique character in general, and fun to use besides! That being said, I DO remember that one rumor back before Brawl was released about how Young Link, Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch were removed and replaced by "Wind Waker" Link, Bowser Jr., and Ridley... And while one third of that rumor turned out to be true, I think it's safe to assume that some people don't find characters like Mr. Game & Watch and the Ice Climbers all that appealing. Despite that, I honestly think it would be word to suddenly not include Mr. Game & Watch now after bring in Melee and Brawl, and, you know, being so unique. That's why I'm sticking with my gut in saying he's a mainstay... and I fully intend to regrettably eat my own words should Mr. Game & watch not return in the Wii U and 3DS game...
Ganondorf: Pretty much take my Bowser argument and apply it here (save for the whole "planned to be in the original" part, since as far as I can tell, despite having a lot of planned characters for that game, Ganondorf was not one of them... that I've heard). Ganondorf, the human version of Ganon, or rather the human that eventually becomes Ganon, is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda franchise, and much like Zelda and Link, he's one of the most important characters in the series. He's also number 2 on that rankings list I posted earlier. The only question for me is how will he look in this game, since
Will he look mostly like his Twilight Princess incarnation, like Link and Zelda? ...Probably, though I'd like to see a mix between that look, his Ocarina of Time look, and maybe a bit of his Wind Waker look somehow... I'm sure they could make it happen.
Wario: So far, he's only been in Brawl, but I think that since Ashley is an Assist Trophy in the new game, he's going to be a given for this game as well. That aside, I always felt that Wario was practically made for this series, to the point where I wondered why they waited until Brawl to include him... of course that doesn't compare to a certain someone else further down on this list, but still, doesn't Wario feel like he fits in perfectly with Super Smash Bros.? He's one of the major Mario characters, to the point of having TWO spin-off franchises, he's a brawler by nature, and... well, I guess I just really like him a lot. Yeah, I'm biased, Wario was probably number 2 on my most-wanted characters for Smash Bros. after Melee was released. And despite having his thunder stolen by Meta Knight, Pit, and Snake in the original Brawl trailer (enough to make Sakurai consider if he was as popular as he had assumed to begin with), he was DEFINITELY the one I was most excited to see. ...I would have preferred it if his overalls outfit was his default look, and that Brawl didn't focus so much on WarioWare while barely touching on the Wario Land series, but oh well. Point is, Wario rules, and I'd be sorely disappointed if he doesn't continue to be in Smash Bros.
Meta Knight: I'll just be up front and say it: I find Meta Knight INCREDIBLY overrated. I remember when the Brawl trailer came out, and everyone was super excited to see him and think he was awesome, and whenever I or anyone else would bring up King Dedede, people would go "why do you want him?" or "he's better suited as a boss". Again, can't help but see that hypocritical "Smash Bros. is serious business!" mentality at play with this, not to mention... well, I'll get more on King Dedede in a moment. Point is, while I do like Meta Knight and think he's cool, I feel like he was over-hyped and overblown, to the point of getting so much more attention in the original Kirby series, one game even prominently featuring him while King Dedede, who has been in EVERY SINGLE KIRBY GAME up to that point, was strangely absent from it! It's weird, because before the anime (Kirby: Right Back at Ya!), Meta Knight felt like a fairly obscure villain, appearing in only a few games... granted, two of those games, Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star, were made by Masahiro Sakurai himself and were one of the more popular games of the series, but in most Kirby games these days, it feels like you can't have a single Kirby game without Meta Knight anymore. He's gotten to be like how Batman's becoming right now, increasingly overrated to the point where you can't take it anymore! ...That being said, I do feel like something is missing from the Smash Bros. line-up without him, especially alongside Kirby and King Dedede. He helps balance things out... ironic, given that he's insanely broken in Brawl. So yeah, as long as the Smash Bros. series continues to feature characters from the Kirby series, I feel like Meta Knight will always be there as well... hopefully nerfed.
Pit: Like I said with Marth, Pit was one of the main reasons I decided to do something like this, especially Pit was unveiled alongside most of the "Original 8" plus Bowser when the Wii U and 3DS games got their first trailer. Kid Icarus is an interesting series, in that the original NES game came out, Pit got a bunch of cameos in several games, and even was one of the main characters in the TV show, Captain N: The Game Master, he got a sequel for the Game Bo called Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (which was exclusive to America... which explains why it wasn't mentioned on Pit's trophy in Brawl, much to my annoyance), and then... never heard from again. SUPPOSEDLY he was considered for the original Smash Bros., and there was even a rumor that Jigglypuff took his place, but there's no proof of this anywhere that I know of. Then he got a trophy in Melee, and again, just like with Little Mac, I find it weird that Sakurai and Nintendo never considered him to represent the NES era. However, by popular request, Pit got into Brawl, and fans were so outspoken about Pit and Kid Icarus that we finally got a long-awaited third installment in the series in the form of Kid Icarus: Uprising... headed none other then the creator of Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai himself! Because of because of such an outspoken fanbase for this cult classic, and because I feel like Sakurai might just have a soft-spot for Pit and Kid Icarus after working on Uprising, I feel like Pit is going to be one of those characters you'll expect to see in ever Smash Bros. from here on out. At the very least, I don't see why he WOULDN'T be that way...
King Dedede: Yeah, one of the primary antagonists of the Kirby series (thought not always such a bad guy), appears in almost every game of said series (except Kirby & the Amazing Mirror), was originally supposed to be in the first Smash Bros. along with Bowser (and apparently Mewtwo), is in Brawl and has been confirmed for the Wii U and 3DS games, is voiced by Sakurai himself, AND he's an incredibly powerful character who happens to be heavyweight and has an excellent recovery? ...Yeah, not going anywhere. And I'm totally biased about this, since he was my number one choice for Brawl AND is my main in that game.
Little Mac: Yeah, I feel that Little Mac will be a mainstay in the Smash Bros. series, despite being a newcomer in two games that havent' been released yet, and I don't feel that it's all that debatable... Mostly because, and this is totally biased here, I'm one of those people who kept thinking "why they Hell didn't they include Little Mac before now?!" I mean, remember all that I said about the Ice climbers and wanting a game to represent the NES era? HELLO, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! anyone?! Or did that not count because there were two arcade games before it and a Super Nintendo game after it? Or maybe Punch-Out!! isn't all that popular in Japan? Apparently not, since Little Mac was in Brawl... as an Assist Trophy. Also in the Japanese exclusive game Captain Rainbow... as an out-of-shape has-been. You know, maybe it's a good thing they waited until now, because we have the Wii Punch-Out!! game, which game Little Mac an updated look AND a transformation into a hulking monster that just screamed "This will be Little Mac's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros.!" Yeah, I think Punch-Out!! for the Wii was just what Little Mac need to finally get boosted into the playable roster, and really, with so many people wanting him as a playable character for so long, plus he seems to have an interesting moveset, I really don't see him going anywhere anytime soon... Or rather, he BETTER not go anywhere!
Whoa... did not expect this post to be this long... No wonder I have the reputation that I do. So anyway, those are my choices for "mainstays" of the Smash Bros. franchise... and to answer your question, if I didn't include a particular character, it's because I didn't consider him that "relevant" or that vital to Smash Bros... Or more accurately, I just couldn't think up that many good reasons to see them stay, or I just didn't care that much of they stayed or went. I also removed some characters from the list because this post was so freaking long as it is! As such, if YOU think they'd be a mainstay, by all means, reply to this and give your own arguments for why that is! I'd really love to hear it!
Let the discussion begin!
BTW, any character with a (D) next to it means that I find their "mainstay" status debatable.
Mario: The first of the so-called "Original 8" and the most obvious choice on this list. Star of his own series of games, which is Nintendo's first major flagship franchise and one of the most popular, best-selling, and outright iconic franchises in video game history, the very idea of a Smash Bros. game without him is ludicrous. It'll be like a Marvel vs. Capcom game or a Street Fighter game without Ryu in it...
...Okay, bad example, but you get what I mean.
Donkey Kong: Another member of the "Original 8", and another obvious choice. While his games haven't been AS popular or AS much of a best-seller as the Mario series, his roots are directly tied with that of Mario, not to mention his name alone is iconic, even if some people only know him from the classic arcade game. Not to mention, his games are still quite popular, with the recent revival of the Donkey Kong Country series showing that, so I'd say he's not going anywhere.
Link: Yet another member of the "Original 8", and I think you'll start to see a pattern here. The "Original 8", for those of you who don't know, are the original 8 starter characters for the first Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 64 (sometimes extended to the "Original 12" to include the unlockable characters, who we'll get to momentarily). The "Original 8" were all highly recognizable characters from Nintendo's most popular franchises. Link, being the hero of The Legend of Zelda series, a series which includes several classic and popular games, including one often referred to as the greatest video game of all time, is pretty much guaranteed to be a playable character no matter what... but WHICH Link, now that' sup for debate (the first to Smash Bros. games featured the Link from Ocarina of Time, while Brawl is based on the Link from Twilight Princess. The Wii U and 3DS games seem to go more for a general look, though it appears to be a mix of Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword).
Samus: Another one of the "Original 8" and a rather unusual member at that. I say this because, while many consider Metroid to be a flagship franchise along with Mario and The Legend of Zelda, when the original Smash Bros. came out, only 3 games existed at the time, and there was no Metroid game for the Nintendo 64 (supposedly, the first Metroid Prime was going to be for the N64, but I'm not entirely sure about that). There were two games for the Game Boy Advance that were pretty popular, and the Prime series rose Metroid's popularity to new heights... in the West. In Japan, however, because of the general disinterest in first-person shooters, the Prime series never sold all that well. I think Other M was created as a kind of dare to fill that void but that's for another topic. Point is, the Metroid series is consistently popular enough to make sue Samus will continue to be a playable character in the Smash Bros. series... whether or not we'll get any other playable characters from that series, though, remains to be seen.
Yoshi: A member of the "Original 8", and a unique one, in that Yoshi actually originates fro the Mario series but then spun-off into his own series, while still being a regular character in the Mario series... sort of. I feel like his popularity has waned greatly since his introduction , not helped by the fact that he was revealed almost a year after Brawl's announcement and STILL hasn't been revealed to be in the Wii U and 3DS games, despite there being a perfect opportunity to reveal him with the release of Yoshi's New Island... But I digress. the fact that they ARE making new games for Yoshi shows that Nintendo hasn't forgotten about him and that Yoshi will continue to be playable in Smash Bros.
Kirby: A member of the "Original 8". While I'm not sure how popular his series actually is, Kirby's games actually sell surprisingly well. Not that any of that matters , seeing as Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Smash Bros., also created Kirby, and thus it's highly unlikely he'd leave his baby hanging like that. So yeah, Kirby, you'll never get rid of that little guy.
Fox: A member of the "Original 8". Fox is probably the strangest example of the "Original 8", in that while he's in the all of the Smash Bros. games so far, his games a re far and few between. Hell, there hasn't been a new game in the Star Fox series in almost 8 years, and no, Star Fox 64 3D doesn't count because it's it's a remake! Hell, even the new Smash Bros. doesn't seem to acknowledge it, since Fox's appearance is still based most on his look in Star Fox Command then anything. Regardless, the fact that he's consistently in ever Smash Bros. so far shows that Nintendo and Sakurai haven't forgotten him and it's highly likely he'll keep showing up from here on out.
Pikachu: The final and "youngest" member of the "Original 8". Pokémon, quite frankly, is a juggernaut of a franchise; it started out as a big-time hit and full-blown phenomenon and continues to be popular to this day. And as the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu will continue to be in Super Smash Bros., probably until they just plain stop making Pokémon games... which, I assume, is when Nintendo stops making games in general.
Luigi: One of the unlockable characters in the first three games, and part of one would call the "Original 12". Despite There being plenty of Mario games in which Luigi was not featured at all, it's hard to imagine a game like Smash Bros., having Mario and then NOT having Luigi. After all, they ARE the Mario BROTHERS. His relevance has only increased as time goes on, and he's evolved from a Mario look-alike into a completely unique character in his own right. Because of that, so long as Mario continues to be a character in Smash Bros., so will Luigi.
Captain Falcon: An unlockable character in the first and third games, a starter in the second, and part of the "Original 12". I was almost considering making him debatable, but when you think about it, you could almost say Captain Falcon synonymous with the Smash Bros. series by this point. What I mean by that is that the F-Zero series, while loved by those who've played it, hasn't gotten that much love. There hasn't been a new game in years and Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't seem to be really interested in making another. That being said, I think it's safe to say that a lot of people know about Captain Falcon through Smash Bros., and that would make sense, seeing as a lot of people are introduced to new games and series's through this series. But the even more interesting thing at play here is that Captain Falcon's moveset was created completely from scratch, seeing as he's from a racing game and thus rarely if ever seen out of his racing machine. Adding to this is the fact that his moveset was based on a leftover moveset back when Super Smash Bros. was originally known as Dragon King: The Fighting Game, and thus, what you get is a character who pretty much embodies Smash Bros., down to it's core! ...Perhaps I'm over-exaggerating, but hopefully, you get what I mean, and agree that Captain Falcon has always been a major part of the Smash Bros. series and thus will continue to be so... But seriously Nintendo, get on that new F-Zero game. And new Star Fox, while you're at it!
Ness(D): Like Captain Falcon, he's unlockable in the first and third game, a starter in the second, and he's the last member of the "Original 12" line-up. Ness is in an interesting position, in that he's been playable in every Smash Bros., but it originally wasn't always going to be that way. Back when Mother 3 was in the works, Ness was all set on being replaced with the protagonist of that game, Lucas. However, when Mother 3 got delayed (and into development limbo for a time), Ness stayed in Melee. When Brawl came around, everyone assumed Lucas would replace Ness... until Ness was confirmed. At this point it's really hard to say if Ness will continue to stick around. It seems unlikely that there will be any new official installments in the EarthBound/Mother series, and since EarthBound, aka Mother 2, is the most well-known game in the series, plus it's notoriety has increased with it's release on the Wii U's Virtual Console, not just in America but also in Europe (for the first time, even), it feels like Ness will return for the Wii U and 3DS game. As for future installments? Well, only time will tell.
Bowser: Fun fact, Bowser was originally meant to be in the first Super Smash Bros. but was cut due to lack of development time, as said here (in Japanese). Because of his status as the main antagonist and major villain of the Mario franchise, which as we've established is pretty much always going to have some kind of representation in these games, it's safe to say Bowser will continue to be playable in future installments.
Princess Peach: There were similar rumors of Princess Peach being intended for the original Smash Bros., but unlike Bowser, there's not definite proof of that. Regardless, I feel like if you're going to have Mario, Luigi, AND Bowser, you might as well include Peach. I mean, she's pretty much the most important character of the franchise aside from Mario and Bowser, in that she's the reason why Mario goes on a journey to defeat Bowser most of the time. So yeah, Peach, likely here to stay.
Princess Zelda: So yeah, I feel like Zelda is a given for being playable in future installments in the Smash Bros. series. After all, her name IS in the title of one of Nintendo's major flagship franchises. Part of me feels like the jury is out on Sheik, though, despite always being part of her "character" in the series so far. To me, it feel like Sheik's relevance has decreased after Ocarina of Time... in that that was Sheik's only game. Then again, she WAS planned to be in Twilight Princess, AND there's the recent Ocarina of Time remake, so who knows. Zelda herself, though, I feel confident in her status as a mainstay.
Marth: I think Marth's reveal for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS (coupled with Pit's inclusion) is what inspired me to make a list like this. Sure, it's easy to say everyone who's appeared in every game since the original will always be in Smash Bros., but what about everyone else? It was interesting to pick and guess who would return from Melee in addition to who'd be a newcomer, but now that we've reached the fourth (and technically fifth) installment in the series, I feel like it's time to start evaluating the characters in-between now and the N64 game. In Marth's case, I think the fact that he was not only popular enough to be included in the game worldwide (originally he and Roy were going to be cut from the game, since the Fire Emblem was, at the time, a Japan exclusive series), but their popularity IN said game was enough to convince Nintendo to start releasing Fire Emblem games worldwide after that (except for the remake of "Mystery of the Fire Emblem" for the DS; I'm guessing it's because Shadow Dragon wasn't that successful). Since Marth is the most iconic character of the franchise, starring in the first and third games, their respective remakes, and having... something of a role in Fire Emblem: Awakening, not to mention most people associate Marth with Smash Bros., because to many people in the West, THAT'S where they know him from, I feel like Marth has been promoted to mainstay, along with the "Original 8/12", and I can see him being a staple in future Smash Bros. games.
Mr. Game & Watch(D): So I put a (D) next to this guy, but honestly, I feel like Mr. Game & Watch isn't all that debatable. What I mean by that is, well... Check out this thread on Smash Boards/Smash World Forums:
http://smashboards.com/threads/rate-their-chances-returns-day-183-panther-and-dillon.338473/
It's a topic about users ranking how much they want a character/stage/concept/etc. to be in the new Smash Bros., as well as their realistic chances. As far as Veteran fighters go, Mr. Game & Watch has 90.51% wanting him back, and a predicted 99.50% chance of his return. And really, why not? Mr. Game & Watch represents an entire section of Nintendo's history, as well as being a nice homage to the Game & Watch's creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who behind a lot of important features of Nintendo, included the Game Boy, and was credited on games like Metroid and Kid Icarus. Plus he's just a really unique character in general, and fun to use besides! That being said, I DO remember that one rumor back before Brawl was released about how Young Link, Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch were removed and replaced by "Wind Waker" Link, Bowser Jr., and Ridley... And while one third of that rumor turned out to be true, I think it's safe to assume that some people don't find characters like Mr. Game & Watch and the Ice Climbers all that appealing. Despite that, I honestly think it would be word to suddenly not include Mr. Game & Watch now after bring in Melee and Brawl, and, you know, being so unique. That's why I'm sticking with my gut in saying he's a mainstay... and I fully intend to regrettably eat my own words should Mr. Game & watch not return in the Wii U and 3DS game...
Ganondorf: Pretty much take my Bowser argument and apply it here (save for the whole "planned to be in the original" part, since as far as I can tell, despite having a lot of planned characters for that game, Ganondorf was not one of them... that I've heard). Ganondorf, the human version of Ganon, or rather the human that eventually becomes Ganon, is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda franchise, and much like Zelda and Link, he's one of the most important characters in the series. He's also number 2 on that rankings list I posted earlier. The only question for me is how will he look in this game, since
he technically wasn't in Skyward Sword, even though Demise is apparently his original incarnation and Ganondorf is actually Demise's hatred for Link and Zelda continuously reincarnated again and again... I find that rather silly, as it kind of removes Ganondorf's original personality and roles from the other Zelda games, but whatever.
Wario: So far, he's only been in Brawl, but I think that since Ashley is an Assist Trophy in the new game, he's going to be a given for this game as well. That aside, I always felt that Wario was practically made for this series, to the point where I wondered why they waited until Brawl to include him... of course that doesn't compare to a certain someone else further down on this list, but still, doesn't Wario feel like he fits in perfectly with Super Smash Bros.? He's one of the major Mario characters, to the point of having TWO spin-off franchises, he's a brawler by nature, and... well, I guess I just really like him a lot. Yeah, I'm biased, Wario was probably number 2 on my most-wanted characters for Smash Bros. after Melee was released. And despite having his thunder stolen by Meta Knight, Pit, and Snake in the original Brawl trailer (enough to make Sakurai consider if he was as popular as he had assumed to begin with), he was DEFINITELY the one I was most excited to see. ...I would have preferred it if his overalls outfit was his default look, and that Brawl didn't focus so much on WarioWare while barely touching on the Wario Land series, but oh well. Point is, Wario rules, and I'd be sorely disappointed if he doesn't continue to be in Smash Bros.
Meta Knight: I'll just be up front and say it: I find Meta Knight INCREDIBLY overrated. I remember when the Brawl trailer came out, and everyone was super excited to see him and think he was awesome, and whenever I or anyone else would bring up King Dedede, people would go "why do you want him?" or "he's better suited as a boss". Again, can't help but see that hypocritical "Smash Bros. is serious business!" mentality at play with this, not to mention... well, I'll get more on King Dedede in a moment. Point is, while I do like Meta Knight and think he's cool, I feel like he was over-hyped and overblown, to the point of getting so much more attention in the original Kirby series, one game even prominently featuring him while King Dedede, who has been in EVERY SINGLE KIRBY GAME up to that point, was strangely absent from it! It's weird, because before the anime (Kirby: Right Back at Ya!), Meta Knight felt like a fairly obscure villain, appearing in only a few games... granted, two of those games, Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star, were made by Masahiro Sakurai himself and were one of the more popular games of the series, but in most Kirby games these days, it feels like you can't have a single Kirby game without Meta Knight anymore. He's gotten to be like how Batman's becoming right now, increasingly overrated to the point where you can't take it anymore! ...That being said, I do feel like something is missing from the Smash Bros. line-up without him, especially alongside Kirby and King Dedede. He helps balance things out... ironic, given that he's insanely broken in Brawl. So yeah, as long as the Smash Bros. series continues to feature characters from the Kirby series, I feel like Meta Knight will always be there as well... hopefully nerfed.
Pit: Like I said with Marth, Pit was one of the main reasons I decided to do something like this, especially Pit was unveiled alongside most of the "Original 8" plus Bowser when the Wii U and 3DS games got their first trailer. Kid Icarus is an interesting series, in that the original NES game came out, Pit got a bunch of cameos in several games, and even was one of the main characters in the TV show, Captain N: The Game Master, he got a sequel for the Game Bo called Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (which was exclusive to America... which explains why it wasn't mentioned on Pit's trophy in Brawl, much to my annoyance), and then... never heard from again. SUPPOSEDLY he was considered for the original Smash Bros., and there was even a rumor that Jigglypuff took his place, but there's no proof of this anywhere that I know of. Then he got a trophy in Melee, and again, just like with Little Mac, I find it weird that Sakurai and Nintendo never considered him to represent the NES era. However, by popular request, Pit got into Brawl, and fans were so outspoken about Pit and Kid Icarus that we finally got a long-awaited third installment in the series in the form of Kid Icarus: Uprising... headed none other then the creator of Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai himself! Because of because of such an outspoken fanbase for this cult classic, and because I feel like Sakurai might just have a soft-spot for Pit and Kid Icarus after working on Uprising, I feel like Pit is going to be one of those characters you'll expect to see in ever Smash Bros. from here on out. At the very least, I don't see why he WOULDN'T be that way...
King Dedede: Yeah, one of the primary antagonists of the Kirby series (thought not always such a bad guy), appears in almost every game of said series (except Kirby & the Amazing Mirror), was originally supposed to be in the first Smash Bros. along with Bowser (and apparently Mewtwo), is in Brawl and has been confirmed for the Wii U and 3DS games, is voiced by Sakurai himself, AND he's an incredibly powerful character who happens to be heavyweight and has an excellent recovery? ...Yeah, not going anywhere. And I'm totally biased about this, since he was my number one choice for Brawl AND is my main in that game.
Little Mac: Yeah, I feel that Little Mac will be a mainstay in the Smash Bros. series, despite being a newcomer in two games that havent' been released yet, and I don't feel that it's all that debatable... Mostly because, and this is totally biased here, I'm one of those people who kept thinking "why they Hell didn't they include Little Mac before now?!" I mean, remember all that I said about the Ice climbers and wanting a game to represent the NES era? HELLO, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! anyone?! Or did that not count because there were two arcade games before it and a Super Nintendo game after it? Or maybe Punch-Out!! isn't all that popular in Japan? Apparently not, since Little Mac was in Brawl... as an Assist Trophy. Also in the Japanese exclusive game Captain Rainbow... as an out-of-shape has-been. You know, maybe it's a good thing they waited until now, because we have the Wii Punch-Out!! game, which game Little Mac an updated look AND a transformation into a hulking monster that just screamed "This will be Little Mac's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros.!" Yeah, I think Punch-Out!! for the Wii was just what Little Mac need to finally get boosted into the playable roster, and really, with so many people wanting him as a playable character for so long, plus he seems to have an interesting moveset, I really don't see him going anywhere anytime soon... Or rather, he BETTER not go anywhere!
Whoa... did not expect this post to be this long... No wonder I have the reputation that I do. So anyway, those are my choices for "mainstays" of the Smash Bros. franchise... and to answer your question, if I didn't include a particular character, it's because I didn't consider him that "relevant" or that vital to Smash Bros... Or more accurately, I just couldn't think up that many good reasons to see them stay, or I just didn't care that much of they stayed or went. I also removed some characters from the list because this post was so freaking long as it is! As such, if YOU think they'd be a mainstay, by all means, reply to this and give your own arguments for why that is! I'd really love to hear it!
Let the discussion begin!
That being said, I feel like Jigglypuff's relevance has slowly faded with time; while Pikachu continues to be the mascot, and while Jigglypuff was at once point popular, her popularity has decreased as more new Pokémon have been introduced. However, with the introduction of Fairy Pokémon, which Jigglypuff now is, I feel lik eher relevance has been renewed now more then ever. That, coupled with the fact that she's been in every Super Smash Bros. game released so far, suggests to me that she'll likely continue to be a mainstay... for the time being.