SonicMario
Star Spirit
Before Brawl's development it was always a bit of a pipe dream that characters outside of Nintendo could make it into Smash. Though there were actually attempts to implement them even as far back as Melee. When Banjo could be found in the Character Polls, Kojima tried to get Snake in but was too late, and there were talks from a higher-up from Sega that they considered pitching Sonic for Melee as well but it never even came to that.
So the franchise went a whole 7 years without any hint of the series ever adding any 3rd Parties and thus created this aura about Smash that it was going to stay Nintendo and only Nintendo. So any characters not made by Nintendo were considered impossibilities.
But then the whole gaming world shattered when Solid Snake from Konami's Metal Gear Solid series was revealed as a Newcomer in E3 2006. Sparking controversy and sudden new possibilities for the future of Smash. Suddenly speculation wasn't specific to just Nintendo-owned characters. Those with big dreams for their favorite characters that were thought impossible because of a seemingly invincible rule that it must be Nintendo-only. Something that for some have gone so deep into their minds that their are still people out there with heavy opinions that the series should of kept 3rd Parties out.
But soon we'd have another addition. And probably the most popular 3rd Party addition yet to the franchise in Sonic the Hedgehog. Where even if you weren't a Sonic fan, many wanted him just to have him get the chance to go toe-to-toe with Mario in memory of perhaps the most well-known Video Game rivalry of the 90s. Sonic Vs. Mario was a fight that only lived in the dreams of young gamers everywhere. But now it became a reality in Smash Bros. a game that's already full of fights you can only dream about elsewhere.
That would be it for 3rd Party additions for Brawl as Sakurai stiffened any further 3rd Party additions in Brawl after Sonic. Heck Sonic nearly didn't happen at all and Solid Snake could of been the only 3rd Party. But it was thanks to huge demand that arguably no character in Smash has ever equaled with Sonic's inclusion. And then the new status quo became that as long as the character had a good history with Nintendo (Snake and Sonic both shared this, though Snake was at a lesser extent considerably). They're good for Smash. And upon Smash 4's annoucement, there was no better way to start off speculation with a bang then with Mega Man. Which in terms of both history of Nintendo and Iconic 3rd Party in general is no question the most deserving 3rd Party to be in Smash in the entire franchise.
After Mega Man though, came perhaps the first character that could be seen as less Nintendo involved with Pac-Man. Yes, Pac-Man has had Nintendo games for a long while. But Pac-Man was known more for his arcade game that gave birth to the idea of Video Game Mascots then everything else. Pac-Man may literally have single-handedly helped the creation of a majority of the cast (Besides Mr. Game and Watch) in Smash by just being an icon that helped the entire industry gain alot of success through the arcades. Snake and Megaman all started out on Nintendo Consoles, and Sonic was created in order to compete with Mario. All previous 3rd Parties before Pac-Man were influenced in some way under Nintendo. Pac-Man's the vice versa, he may have inspired Nintendo to create their own mascots and/or soon-to-be iconic characters. Smash 4 at the base game would be done with 3rd Parties. While it was missing Snake from the previous game, no one could deny having essentially THE Mount Rushmore of Gaming (Pac-Man, Mario, Mega Man, and Sonic) in this was completely awesome. Only those who were huge Snake/Metal Gear fans were disappointed in our 3rd Party line-up for Smash.
But then DLC came in! Though there were of course the initial doubts of a 3rd Party character being added through this. Because especially if they were from a different company then those already represented. The box of the game won't have them credited (As silly as that sounds now that obviously they'll just add it in-game, Cloud's inclusion will probably have this). In fact when we got out first 3rd Party DLC it would be another representative from a company already with a rep with Ryu who is one of the most iconic Fighting Game characters. Suddenly 3rd Party rules have changed once again, companies could have more then one rep if the team behind feel they're also worthy of inclusion. This however disturbed anyone who at least tolerated the fact that 3rd Parties were restricted to one representative as now new lines were drawn. At least Ryu still boasted a good history with Nintendo in the past and some of the other characters have moves that are even based on some of Ryu's old moves.
But now of course, not too long ago... a huge bombshell was dropped that would further "limit break" 3rd Parties with Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy 7. A game that has never been released on a Nintendo console (Yet at least, the remake could make it's way onto NX) and a character who only had a few cameos here and there in the games he did appear on Nintendo consoles in. Now the rules majorly changed again, it's now the franchise that matters most. Not the character. Final Fantasy was huge for Nintendo back in the day but Cloud's debut was when Square and Nintendo had a falling out as FF7 became PS1 Exclusive. Unfortunately for Nintendo, that resulted in having a new powerful rival in the Console business that still goes on to this day. Sony proving to be a console rival far more consistent and better then Sega. And Sony's console itself having one heck of a killer app for it with FF7, as well as the closest the Final Fantasy series has to a household name which regardless or not if there's this growing movement about the game being overrated as many other games that came out in the Late 90s have been going through none of the characters that came from previous "better" final fantasies from those games reached that on the level of Cloud Strife. But Sakurai doesn't seem to care if the character is actually that relevent to Nintendo anymore, it certainly helps but it's no longer seen as a requirement.
Now even with shake-ups like this I doubt there will be a time they add a character where they literally had no appearance whatsoever on a Nintendo console before their appearence in Smash. As even though Cloud's part was only small cameos, it still counts as an appearance on Nintendo systems no matter how you look at it. There's still rules in place for 3rd Parties, but it's noticeably getting smaller and smaller. And it's starting to look like Nintendo is expanding Smash beyond it's Nintendo borders. As now it's expected for new 3rd parties to make their way in. Smash 4 is the only game in the world not counting flash games and/or MUGEN where you can have Mario, Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ryu, and Cloud not only in the same game together but fight eachother on-screen all at once. While the series will remain with the vast majority of Nintendo, it's getting to the point where no matter who directs Smash 5 whether it's Sakurai again or someone new. 3rd Parties are likely bound to expand again, there are still unwritten rules to be broken. Like a 3rd Party franchise having another rep or two from the same franchise, which I'd heavily suspect the Sonic franchise would be the first to receive this. (I do really believe it's possible in the next Smash we could see Tails and Knuckles both get in)
Those who preferred when it was Nintendo-specific likely will be appalled at the steadily increasing amount of 3rd Party reps. But the truth is certain, the majority love it when a really well-known non-nintendo character makes it through and Nintendo & Sakurai knows it. We've gone from two to 5 between Brawl, Smash 4, and Smash 4 DLC. Is there still yet more to come or has Cloud topped off the 3rd Parties in Smash? We don't know yet, but I think by now we know for certain that 3rd Parties in Smash aren't going anytime soon. It has become a staple of Smash Bros. to include legendary non-nintendo characters to the point it wouldn't be surprising if it became just as if not more of a priority for Nintendo then adding newer 1st Party characters.
So this thread here is to ask these questions: How do you feel about the impact 3rd Parties have had in Smash? Which 3rd Party character(/s) are your favorite (Poll up above)? Is the current 3rd Party roster perfect as is or is there more characters you feel would make it feel more complete? What would it take for you to consider Nintendo taking things too far/crossing a line with 3rd Parties?
(Note: If any more 3rd Parties are added through DLC I will reboot the poll to add them. There's also the chance Snake makes a surprise return in Smash 4 as DLC [Considering we got Cloud of all things I really wouldn't put it past this point that Snake could come back regardless of how shitty Konami has been lately] just to give us the punchline of "Kept you waiting, huh?". Though as of now I don't know if that will happen. But it's definitely smart to keep an eye out for more 3rd Party additions in the future. The addition of Cloud has truly showed that additions like Ryu weren't just a fluke or a special case, there could very well be more in the works. I'm currently expecting there not to be anymore but if I'm wrong then as long as it's a reasonable character I'll accept it. Every 3rd Party addition has been reasonable IMO though so I don't think they'll add anyone that I won't like as a choice)
So the franchise went a whole 7 years without any hint of the series ever adding any 3rd Parties and thus created this aura about Smash that it was going to stay Nintendo and only Nintendo. So any characters not made by Nintendo were considered impossibilities.
But then the whole gaming world shattered when Solid Snake from Konami's Metal Gear Solid series was revealed as a Newcomer in E3 2006. Sparking controversy and sudden new possibilities for the future of Smash. Suddenly speculation wasn't specific to just Nintendo-owned characters. Those with big dreams for their favorite characters that were thought impossible because of a seemingly invincible rule that it must be Nintendo-only. Something that for some have gone so deep into their minds that their are still people out there with heavy opinions that the series should of kept 3rd Parties out.
But soon we'd have another addition. And probably the most popular 3rd Party addition yet to the franchise in Sonic the Hedgehog. Where even if you weren't a Sonic fan, many wanted him just to have him get the chance to go toe-to-toe with Mario in memory of perhaps the most well-known Video Game rivalry of the 90s. Sonic Vs. Mario was a fight that only lived in the dreams of young gamers everywhere. But now it became a reality in Smash Bros. a game that's already full of fights you can only dream about elsewhere.
That would be it for 3rd Party additions for Brawl as Sakurai stiffened any further 3rd Party additions in Brawl after Sonic. Heck Sonic nearly didn't happen at all and Solid Snake could of been the only 3rd Party. But it was thanks to huge demand that arguably no character in Smash has ever equaled with Sonic's inclusion. And then the new status quo became that as long as the character had a good history with Nintendo (Snake and Sonic both shared this, though Snake was at a lesser extent considerably). They're good for Smash. And upon Smash 4's annoucement, there was no better way to start off speculation with a bang then with Mega Man. Which in terms of both history of Nintendo and Iconic 3rd Party in general is no question the most deserving 3rd Party to be in Smash in the entire franchise.
After Mega Man though, came perhaps the first character that could be seen as less Nintendo involved with Pac-Man. Yes, Pac-Man has had Nintendo games for a long while. But Pac-Man was known more for his arcade game that gave birth to the idea of Video Game Mascots then everything else. Pac-Man may literally have single-handedly helped the creation of a majority of the cast (Besides Mr. Game and Watch) in Smash by just being an icon that helped the entire industry gain alot of success through the arcades. Snake and Megaman all started out on Nintendo Consoles, and Sonic was created in order to compete with Mario. All previous 3rd Parties before Pac-Man were influenced in some way under Nintendo. Pac-Man's the vice versa, he may have inspired Nintendo to create their own mascots and/or soon-to-be iconic characters. Smash 4 at the base game would be done with 3rd Parties. While it was missing Snake from the previous game, no one could deny having essentially THE Mount Rushmore of Gaming (Pac-Man, Mario, Mega Man, and Sonic) in this was completely awesome. Only those who were huge Snake/Metal Gear fans were disappointed in our 3rd Party line-up for Smash.
But then DLC came in! Though there were of course the initial doubts of a 3rd Party character being added through this. Because especially if they were from a different company then those already represented. The box of the game won't have them credited (As silly as that sounds now that obviously they'll just add it in-game, Cloud's inclusion will probably have this). In fact when we got out first 3rd Party DLC it would be another representative from a company already with a rep with Ryu who is one of the most iconic Fighting Game characters. Suddenly 3rd Party rules have changed once again, companies could have more then one rep if the team behind feel they're also worthy of inclusion. This however disturbed anyone who at least tolerated the fact that 3rd Parties were restricted to one representative as now new lines were drawn. At least Ryu still boasted a good history with Nintendo in the past and some of the other characters have moves that are even based on some of Ryu's old moves.
But now of course, not too long ago... a huge bombshell was dropped that would further "limit break" 3rd Parties with Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy 7. A game that has never been released on a Nintendo console (Yet at least, the remake could make it's way onto NX) and a character who only had a few cameos here and there in the games he did appear on Nintendo consoles in. Now the rules majorly changed again, it's now the franchise that matters most. Not the character. Final Fantasy was huge for Nintendo back in the day but Cloud's debut was when Square and Nintendo had a falling out as FF7 became PS1 Exclusive. Unfortunately for Nintendo, that resulted in having a new powerful rival in the Console business that still goes on to this day. Sony proving to be a console rival far more consistent and better then Sega. And Sony's console itself having one heck of a killer app for it with FF7, as well as the closest the Final Fantasy series has to a household name which regardless or not if there's this growing movement about the game being overrated as many other games that came out in the Late 90s have been going through none of the characters that came from previous "better" final fantasies from those games reached that on the level of Cloud Strife. But Sakurai doesn't seem to care if the character is actually that relevent to Nintendo anymore, it certainly helps but it's no longer seen as a requirement.
Now even with shake-ups like this I doubt there will be a time they add a character where they literally had no appearance whatsoever on a Nintendo console before their appearence in Smash. As even though Cloud's part was only small cameos, it still counts as an appearance on Nintendo systems no matter how you look at it. There's still rules in place for 3rd Parties, but it's noticeably getting smaller and smaller. And it's starting to look like Nintendo is expanding Smash beyond it's Nintendo borders. As now it's expected for new 3rd parties to make their way in. Smash 4 is the only game in the world not counting flash games and/or MUGEN where you can have Mario, Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ryu, and Cloud not only in the same game together but fight eachother on-screen all at once. While the series will remain with the vast majority of Nintendo, it's getting to the point where no matter who directs Smash 5 whether it's Sakurai again or someone new. 3rd Parties are likely bound to expand again, there are still unwritten rules to be broken. Like a 3rd Party franchise having another rep or two from the same franchise, which I'd heavily suspect the Sonic franchise would be the first to receive this. (I do really believe it's possible in the next Smash we could see Tails and Knuckles both get in)
Those who preferred when it was Nintendo-specific likely will be appalled at the steadily increasing amount of 3rd Party reps. But the truth is certain, the majority love it when a really well-known non-nintendo character makes it through and Nintendo & Sakurai knows it. We've gone from two to 5 between Brawl, Smash 4, and Smash 4 DLC. Is there still yet more to come or has Cloud topped off the 3rd Parties in Smash? We don't know yet, but I think by now we know for certain that 3rd Parties in Smash aren't going anytime soon. It has become a staple of Smash Bros. to include legendary non-nintendo characters to the point it wouldn't be surprising if it became just as if not more of a priority for Nintendo then adding newer 1st Party characters.
So this thread here is to ask these questions: How do you feel about the impact 3rd Parties have had in Smash? Which 3rd Party character(/s) are your favorite (Poll up above)? Is the current 3rd Party roster perfect as is or is there more characters you feel would make it feel more complete? What would it take for you to consider Nintendo taking things too far/crossing a line with 3rd Parties?
(Note: If any more 3rd Parties are added through DLC I will reboot the poll to add them. There's also the chance Snake makes a surprise return in Smash 4 as DLC [Considering we got Cloud of all things I really wouldn't put it past this point that Snake could come back regardless of how shitty Konami has been lately] just to give us the punchline of "Kept you waiting, huh?". Though as of now I don't know if that will happen. But it's definitely smart to keep an eye out for more 3rd Party additions in the future. The addition of Cloud has truly showed that additions like Ryu weren't just a fluke or a special case, there could very well be more in the works. I'm currently expecting there not to be anymore but if I'm wrong then as long as it's a reasonable character I'll accept it. Every 3rd Party addition has been reasonable IMO though so I don't think they'll add anyone that I won't like as a choice)
