Super Smash Bros. All-Time Merit Ranking (Finale in Issue 194!)

I beat Fire Emblem: Awakening in 2017 so it's been a while but Chrom was one of my favorite characters in it. Even though he's the prince character he's not a massive show-off, just a normal guy trying to maintain protection of his country while being a loyal friend to everyone else on his team. It's just refreshing that the most down-to-earth character in the game is the prince.
 
1. Sonic
2. Wario
3. Mario
4. Snake
5. Diddy Kong

I'm not sure if I can change the last vote, so the only vote I've changed is the 2nd one.
 
PEPSI MAN(TECHNO MIX) said:
I'm not sure if I can change the last vote, so the only vote I've changed is the 2nd one.
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Just for clarification. You can change all of your votes even if one or all 5 characters have been locked in. It's just if there's a character that surpasses the vote count for the 5th place character, they cannot be lifted into a position of being covered in the set of 5 unless they're voted higher then the 4th character in the standings (Same for the 3rd after the 4th one's been locked in). It'll just carry over into the next voting session after the November issue is released.
 
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CHROM
800px-Chrom_SSBU.png

Fighter Number: 25e
Fighter Group: Ultimate Newcomers/Echo Fighters
Franchise: Fire Emblem
Game of Origin: Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo 3DS, 2012 (JP,)/2013 (NA, EU)​



Ahhhhh Chrom, Chrom, Chrom

This is an interesting way to start this off, since for the most part Chrom was one of the few times in Smash Bros. reveal history where people were generally ok with a new Fire Emblem character. Granted there's a lot of context involved when it comes to why there was less complaints about Chrom joining the fray, especially compared to both Corrin and Byleth. But let's start with some history.

Chrom was once thought to be inevitable back in the speculation days for Smash 4. Fire Emblem Awakening was this super mega hit that saved the franchise from the brink of going extinct. He was the blue-haired lord of the game just like Marth and Ike were. Sure there was an Avatar character in Robin that would have potential for a more interesting play style, or there was Lucina who herself was a popular character. But with her being Chrom's daughter, there's no way she makes it BEFORE her father… right… right? RIGHT?!

Chrom even was named in what was called the Gematsu leak. That was correct about Wii Fit Trainer, Pac-Man, and Miis just to name a few. When many fighters from said leak were confirmed, it added to the Chrom is inevitable talk.

But then it all came crashing down when the Smash 4 site announced a new Smash trailer would be popping up on the website to watch live. Most were expecting the announcement to be Shulk (Who would still come later, but nonetheless it didn't help that Monolith Soft retweeted the direct). And when the trailer started BOOM there was… Chrom… laying on the ground having obviously been no match for Captain Falcon. Is Chrom going to get back up and put the beatdown on his opponent? Was he finally being confirmed for Smash?

Suddenly NOPE, we start with "Lucina Wakes Her Blade!", but perhaps Lucina is here to get her father back up. And either they confirm both are individual fighters, or even a father-daughter tag team fighter of some kind. But no, we get "Robin brings the Thunder!". With Chrom only saying "Perhaps, I'll get my chance another day". Which for a while made Chrom a pretty big meme in the Smash community. And many felt that maybe this was a deconfirmation of the Gematsu leak.

Though as it would turn out, the only discrepancies (Aside from characters making it that weren't named such as Greninja) in the Gematsu leak was Chrom as the Fire Emblem rep, and the Chorus Men being present (Which sadly for Rhythm Heaven fans, I guess they didn't even find a way to do them correctly for Ultimate either.) I think it became obvious that the Gematsu leak was not wrong per se, but outdated. Based on a list that Sakurai had early on, but things changed during development.

But either way, the seemingly inevitable Chrom suddenly became a laughing stock in the speculation community. Probably to a point where it got too far, and people actually felt bad for not just the character that he had been done dirty by having his own daughter and his best friend (And/or wife if you prefer the female robin) get in before him. But also for the fans of the character that were legitimately excited to play as him. Sometimes meme culture can be cruel, as it can often come at the expense of others misery. And anyone who actually legit wanted Chrom probably wasn't having a good time once the Robin and Lucina trailer dropped.

There was not even a hope for DLC, given they placed Chrom in Robin's final smash. He even got dunked on in the Palutena's Guidance by Viridi. And he got a Mii costume. Amusingly portrayed in this vid with audio from ProZD


But fast forward to Ultimate. Came the concept of Echo Fighters. Fighters based on other fighters that don't take long at all to make because for the most part they play exactly the same as their counterpart. Luciina and Dark Pit were made retroactive echo fighters. Daisy was our first new echo fighter revealed at E3, but then came an August Smash direct. And who was the first of the two Echo Fighters revealed? BOOM, it was Chrom. He had finally gotten his chance, and in a way that wouldn't actually make people who didn't want him that mad since he would turn out to be Roy's echo fighter. Though he did at least have something of a difference with his Up+B being closer to Ike's. That said after all the torture Chrom fans must of had to go through with the nasty memes trash talking their character, it had to have been a huge relief.

Though what's funny, is despite being an Echo Fighter. I believe he is the only one that actually has more merit then the original fighter he's based on. Roy's game never made it out of Japan, and he's not that popular in the general Fire Emblem fanbase. Most fans of Roy are actually just fans of him through his rather cool looking fire sword moves in Melee. But Chrom on the other hand was a popular major character in Awakening, he is the good dad, and a generally likable character. He was part of the game that saved Fire Emblem from Nintendo burying the franchise. And now Fire Emblem is almost Pokemon levels when it comes to representation in Smash (To the chagrin of many an Anime swordsman hater)

He just became the one Fire Emblem character that even non-FE fans could root for. No character should feel done dirty as he did just appearing in a trailer defeated and having 2 characters confirmed from his game instead of him. Perhaps, one day… Spring Man will follow in Chrom's footsteps. As he was probably done the most dirty out of any Smash Ultimate trailer (He even had the letter in his hands for a short time), even if understandably if Spring Man is upgraded from Assist. Then you would've kinda had to do Waluigi at that point.

Nonetheless though, I like Chrom. I'm not a Fire Emblem fan by any means. But I'm happy he did get his chance. He's not the most unique of course, he was basically the fourth character that's derived from Marth's moveset after all. But I was happier for him then either of the more unique Fire Emblem characters revealed as DLC fighters.

Anything can indeed change… (Albeit it's funny that it's possible to have Chrom attack himself through Robin's final smash. Since they didn't bother changing it to a different character. That'll always be sort of amusing.)

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He's the only character so far. So for a time, Chrom will be top of the leaderboard!… with the caveat that likely isn't going to last there TOO long anyhow. Chrom's probably just leaving that throne nice and warm for whoever surpasses him. He is a pretty good guy, after all.

1. Chrom
 
LESS THAN 24-HOUR ALERT! If nothing changes by noon EST tomorrow, Steve will be the next character locked in, because of SGoW's change of vote. Steve is tied with Dr. Mario. But more people have voted for Steve then for Dr. Mario (3 for Steve, 2 for Dr. Mario). So he takes priority currently. The already locked in keep their spot in case you're wondering why Dr. Mario is below Chrom. Also don't forget, the Top 3 will be officially decided on Halloween!

Piranha Plant 30
Banjo & Kazooie 22
Sonic 20
Steve 18
Chrom 16
Dr. Mario 18
King K. Rool 12
Wii Fit Trainer 10
Mario 10
Mythra 10
Duck Hunt 10
Pit 10
Rosalina & Luma 10
Wario 10
Link 10
Luigi 8
Simon Belmont 8
Byleth 8
Ice Climbers 8
Olimar 8
Fox 8
Shulk 8
Snake 8
Ness 8
Bowser 6
Captain Falcon 6
Inkling 6
Mario 6
Jigglypuff 6
Mewtwo 6
Little Mac 6
Ike 4
Ganondorf 4
Min Min 4
Dark Pit 4
Mii Fighters 4
Cloud 4
Diddy 2
Ridley 2
Zero Suit Samus 2
Young Link 2
Wolf 2
Lucas 2
 
1. Steve
2. Toon Link
3. Min Min
4. Ridley
5. Ness
 
I think you meant "Curse that pesky hedgehog!!!!"
 
1. Piranha Plant
2. Wii Fit Trainer
3. Ness
4. Bayonetta
5. Snake
 
1. Wii Fit Trainer
2. Mario
3. Mythra
4. Steve
5. Ike
 
DR. MARIO IS LOCKED IN!

Steve 42
Piranha Plant 40
Wii Fit Trainer 28
Dr. Mario 26
Chrom 16

Now we are just one week from deciding not just the last non-Shroom section character for this batch, but the Top 2 heading into the Shroom!
 
Does it work the other way too for being locked in? As in, if Chrom and Dr. Mario actually end up getting more votes than Steve, Piranha Plant, or Wii Fit Trainer, would they not be allowed to get a higher place than them?
 
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Gray Discord said:
Does it work the other way too for being locked in? As in, if Chrom and Dr. Mario actually end up getting more votes than Steve, Piranha Plant, or Wii Fit Trainer, would they not be allowed to get a higher place than them?
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Once they're locked in. No more votes will be counted for them. Those who voted for Chrom and Dr. Mario are free to change their vote to someone else (Removing their vote also doesn't remove the score they were locked in at), though unless it's to boost the score (Or if their vote boosts someone into the Top 3 anyway) of any of the Top 3 right now. It won't likely matter until we're voting for the next batch of 5.

And oh yeah, I should mention that while I don't need an expert for Dr. Mario in anyway given I am a Mario fan. You can all say something for Dr. Mario now just like anyone can (And still can even after I already did my thing for him) for Chrom
 
Sunday will make the Top 3 official! Both characters heading into the Shroom section (Currently Steve and Plant) and the final non-shroom (Currently Wii Fit Traine)r character decided on Sunday noon.

HALF-WEEK STANDINGS

Steve 42
Piranha Plant 40
Wii Fit Trainer 28
Dr. Mario 26
Chrom 16
Banjo & Kazooie 22
Ness 16
Mythra 16
Mario 14
King K. Rool 12
Sonic 10
Mario 10
Duck Hunt 10
Pit 10
Rosalina & Luma 10
Link 10
Min Min 10
Snake 10
Luigi 8
Simon Belmont 8
Byleth 8
Ice Climbers 8
Olimar 8
Fox 8
Shulk 8
Toon Link 8
Captain Falcon 6
Inkling 6
Jigglypuff 6
Mewtwo 6
Little Mac 6
Bowser 6
Ridley 6
Ike 6
Cloud 4
Ganondorf 4
Dark Pit 4
Mii Fighters 4
Bayonetta 4
Lucas 2
Diddy 2
Zero Suit Samus 2
Young Link 2
Wolf 2
Wario 2
 
DR. MARIO
DrMario_SSBU.png

Fighter Number: 18
Fighter Group: Melee Veteran
Franchise: Mario
Game of Origin: Dr. Mario (NES, 1990 (US/JP)/1991 (EU)​


Mario but he got a PHD as a separate character I'll admit I have been… harsh on in the past. Maybe a little too harsh even. Though it is true that before Smash 4, Dr. Mario was the original sin for "Why are they here?", heck even Brawl asked the same thing and kept Dr. Mario out in the transition from Melee to Brawl. I will still say that Dr. Mario is the one of the least merited inclusions and if you only consider the rosters of the first three games. Dr. Mario is the least merited inclusion… until Smash 4 and Ultimate each had their own *that one* character. Ultimate's "that one" character even breaking to me a point that I've softened on Dr. Mario since. If you've seen my merit threads before, you should know who I'm referring to. But if somehow not, let's just say it's looking like I'll be covering them real soon judging by the current voting results.

But on the doctor himself, what is there really to say? He's just Mario in a doctor costume. I know they make it so he's slightly heavier and slower then Mario. And in both Smash 4 and Ultimate he's sort of just the choice for Mario players who do not like FLUDD being Mario's down special. But I think it's still fair to ask "Why isn't this just an alt costume?", we now have outright character swaps of Olimar and Alph plus Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings (The latter of which have different sizes plus no relation to the Shadow Mario final smash). And you mean to tell me that Dr. Mario shooting fireballs is out of the question?!

Now on a slight tangent, I actually like the Dr. Mario games themselves and I've played it as a time waster many a time (Ironically I think the most I've played of Dr. Mario is Dr. Wario on the 3DS ambassador version of WarioWare GBA. It's not really anything different then Dr. Mario. It just has Wario as the character on screen and that's it). Though none of the appeal of the games is really part of Dr. Mario's moveset as he plays generally the same that Mario does. Not that I have any ideas about how to pull a puzzle game into a platform fighter, but it could also be somewhat considered wasted potential that the only character from a puzzle game in Smash does not have any puzzle game aspects. Though even if they did try to go all-original with Dr. Mario, it'd still be fairly a better idea to go with say… Lip who's the main character of the Panel De Pon games. Or if they still have cold feet about Lip, the 3rd party options include Arle for Puyo Puyo… and I guess a Tetris block? (Or I guess Puyo Puyo Tetris gave Tetris some possible humanoid characters to give a tetris moveset to. But Arle would have to come first I'd feel)

While I understand there are some differences, especially in Ultimate (Like Dr. Mario has a stomping down air attack rather then Mario's spin) that depending on the play style of the person may have some preferring to play as Dr. Mario over Mario. But just from my perspective, if I'm going to play as Mario. I'm actually going to play the actual Mario. Not him in a doctor suit. They kinda had to add those differences in Ultimate because otherwise it becomes a question of why isn't Dr. Mario a retroactive Echo fighter just like Dark Pit and Lucina. I'd even say most of the Echo fighters outrank Dr. Mario in merit even as is. Still, while I get they kind of have to have him for the Everyone is Here tagline. He\s considered a unique fighter with his own number despite say…. Toad still having yet to make it individually in Smash. We got Mario in a doctor costume, before we got an iconic Mario character that's seen playable appearances both as far in the past as SMB2 and as recent as Mario Maker 2 and even a Puzzle game of their own in Captain Toad. As seriously, all the Mario representation needs is a playable Toad and then it's just perfect. Waluigi's actually demanded to be in so I'd understand why Waluigi would come first, but Toad is one of those characters that has a whole ton of merit to be in Smash but just has never been chosen for one reason or another.

I'm not saying it was ever a choice between whether Dr. Mario or Toad got in Smash, as Dr. Mario was obviously just roster filler. It's just the really weird kind of Roster filler that's not even something someone would really want. Dr. Mario's inclusion is more on line with the strange additions to Mario Kart 8 like Pink Gold Peach and Baby Rosalina, though Kart games have the excuse that just about everyone plays the same aside from weight differences so you can get away with some wilder or even copycat characters. I don't think many people are actually that interested in playing as "Mario but he's wearing the Tanooki suit" in Smash. If we ever get another Mario in Smash, I hope it's the 2D paper kind of Mario then anything else. Cause having another Mr. Game and Watch-esque character would at least make him stand out. Even if like Dr. Mario, he largely plays the same as regular Mario. (Though it'd be a huge bummer if there wasn't at least a hammer attack, or an action command gimmick)

But yeah, Dr. Mario is still not an inclusion I'm a fan of. and judging by the Dr. Mario mobile game. It doesn't seem very hard for a PHD to be received in the Mushroom Kingdom. When you have a stack of goombas and even babies becoming doctors. So Mario can't even boast his doctorate is even that impressive. His doctorate itself has questionable merit. It should be no surprise he's low merit wise on his inclusion on Smash too. (Don't feel too bad for Mario though, as naturally he as just himself is going to be high)

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To end off with the ranking, Chrom gets to keep the Top spot for at least another week.

1. Chrom
2. Dr. Mario
 
Even as someone who likes Chrom more than Dr. Mario, why is Chrom higher than Dr. Mario if Dr. Mario has more points?
 
FINAL 24-HOUR WARNING! A reminder that tomorrow the Top 3 will be officially locked in. Wii Fit Trainer is currently still set to be the last non-Shroom section, and Steve and Piranha Plant are our current 2 heading into the Shroom. If you're all content with that, keep things as they are until the next batch once the November Shroom issue drops

Steve 42
Piranha Plant 40
Wii Fit Trainer 28
Dr. Mario 26
Chrom 16
Banjo & Kazooie 22
Ness 16
Mythra 16
Mario 14
King K. Rool 12
Sonic 10
Mario 10
Duck Hunt 10
Pit 10
Rosalina & Luma 10
Link 10
Min Min 10
Snake 10
Luigi 8
Simon Belmont 8
Byleth 8
Ice Climbers 8
Olimar 8
Fox 8
Shulk 8
Toon Link 8
Captain Falcon 6
Inkling 6
Jigglypuff 6
Mewtwo 6
Little Mac 6
Bowser 6
Ridley 6
Ike 6
Cloud 4
Ganondorf 4
Dark Pit 4
Mii Fighters 4
Bayonetta 4
Lucas 2
Diddy 2
Zero Suit Samus 2
Young Link 2
Wolf 2
Wario 2
 
Steve 42
Piranha Plant 40
Wii Fit Trainer 28
Dr. Mario 26
Chrom 16

ALL CHARACTERS LOCKED IN! Just so you all know, you can still vote if you want ahead of the next batch of 5. Just of course, keep in mind it won't matter too much until after the November Shroom issue is out.

This will be mostly a time for people who want to give a comment on Chrom, Dr. Mario, Wii Fit Trainer, Piranha Plant, and Steve. Even if it's a non-shroom section character I may highlight your thoughts on the character if I feel it's noteworthy. Wii Fit Trainer will probably be covered like Chrom and Dr. Mario were pretty soon too
 
@SonicMario What is "the next batch of 5"? Shouldn't Steve, Piranha Plant, Wii Fit Trainer, Dr. Mario, and Chrom be the definitive top five? Or is the next set 6th to 10th place?
 
Gray Discord said:
@SonicMario What is "the next batch of 5"? Shouldn't Steve, Piranha Plant, Wii Fit Trainer, Dr. Mario, and Chrom be the definitive top five? Or is the next set 6th to 10th place?
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The next batch of 5 referring to when it's time for the next 5 characters. Also again, the votes don't determine the overall merit ranking. If a character from the next batch of 5 I feel has higher merit then all 5 of this group and others are higher then some but lower then others then in the list they're put in the middle. Gradually, an all-time merit ranking is being placed. It's just it'll be around 5 characters a month (With 34 of them in the shroom)
 
WII FIT TRAINER
WiiFitTrainer_SSBU.png

Fighter Number: 47
Fighter Group: Smash 4 3DS/Wii U Veteran
Franchise: Wii Fit/Wii Series
Game of Origin: Wii Fit (Nintendo Wii, 2007 (JP), 2008 (NA/EU)​

Smash 4 certainly started with a bang when we got the first ever trailer for the game in the 2013 E3 direct. The Villager from Animal Crossing was our first newcomer (And also perhaps the beginning of many trailers containing a Smash invitation) and then we had the big one that we assumed would be the closer that Megaman was But later that day, a 3rd character just sort of dropped out of nowhere on everyone. Some even thought it was just a clever prank Nintendo had at first. But no, it was true… the trainer from Wii Fit was going to be a playable character in the new Smash Bros.

It certainly was an odd choice all things considered, you would of been hard pressed to find ANYONE who actually wanted the trainer to be playable in Smash even among those who really liked her game of origin. Wii Fit was a part of the Wii Series that hoped to help people get active with their exercise by having it be a fun game to sort of motivate you each day. The trainer was there for practicing Yoga and/or Strength training. I respect what Wii Fit was trying to do, though I imagine at some point like many other exercises people got bored of it eventually or just lose the motivation. Maybe there's some people out there that became very active to this day thanks to Wii Fit, though I'm not sure exactly how many would tell you that it took Wii Fit to get them started.

As for Wii Fit Trainer herself in regards to a Smash choice. I never really… hated it per se? I thought it was a strange choice at the time but it was like, we just got Megaman and there was sure to be many, many other characters. Maybe if a nightmare scenario happened where Smash 4 3DS/Wii U didn't return a lot of characters from Brawl maybe the trainer would of set a lot more alarm bells. And while there were indeed cuts from Brawl. Generally most of the heavy hitters returned. Perhaps I would of been at least a little upset if perhaps the trainer made it and Sonic didn't return for whatever reason. But if Sonic wasn't safe then there had to be many other characters that weren't in that hellish scenario.

WiI Fit Trainer is still sort of the "Joke character" there wasn't many people wanted but Sakurai added to provide some flavor. Though in a sense she still made sense to add in Smash when you consider that Wii Fit is one of the best selling Wii games out there. It's the 6th all-time best selling Wii game in fact behind only a few other Wii series games as well as Mario Kart and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Even if it's a character nobody expected, if we're considering that Smash collects many of it's high selling franchises and games into one action-packed fighting video game. Then Wii Fit Trainer makes sense.

Though I will bring up the fact that the Trainer pretty much coattailed off the real reason for the success of the Wii series: the Miis. The simple avatars that people could create of themselves and then play the many Wii series games. The Miis are also the avatar in Wii Fit. So if you ask people who would be playable out of Wii Fit (or at least the Wii series in general), it'd be natural to presume the Miis were the Smash characters. Yet the Trainer, who you could actually choose to ignore entirely if you never went into the yoga/strength training sections of the game was our first Wii series character announced. Though let's be honest, Wii Fit Trainer was basically foreshadowing that Mii fighters were going to happen. It wouldn't have made any sense for the trainer to make it without playable Miis. You could argue that Wii Fit trainer is the 4th character in the general Wii series being represented in Smash. Hell, arguably Villager was also part of that foreshadowing since the Villager was a customizable avatar (Even if he isn't customizable in Smash). When you have an avatar character (Not to be confused with a character from Avatar the Last Airbender heh, go to Nickelodeon All Star Brawl for that) and a character from a Wii series game get announced. It should of basically been gospel that we were going to get Miis in Smash playable in some form. (And I was there for Smash 4 speculation, and let me tell you there were many that tried to deny the possibility. But more on that when ever I get the chance to cover the Mii fighters.)

But back to Wii Fit Trainer, I've been fine with her inclusion even if I understand some of the people who wouldn't. For me, she's just another of the WTF characters that just makes all kinds of sense. Melee had Game and Watch, Brawl had ROB, Smash 4 had Wii Fit Trainer. If you want an example of a bad joke character…. well… I'll just say… tune in to the next Shroom issue. Cause it'll be time to rev up the weed whacker.

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As for the ranking, Wii Fit Trainer is actually higher then Chrom for being a more unique character, franchise, and definitely a much bigger financial success then Awakening. No disrespect meant to Chrom, just Echo fighters do have a bit of a caveat that it's hard to say they have more merit then a good majority of the cast. There will be exceptions of course, but at least for, now Wii Fit Trainer stretches her legs over the rest.

1. Wii Fit Trainer
2. Chrom
3. Dr. Mario
 
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