I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Super Smash Bros. series is one of the greatest fighting game franchises of all time. Featuring wacky yet fun characters, a beautiful color palette, tight gameplay, and intuitive mechanics, there is so much depth to this series that people keep coming back to it. Any time a new Smash Bros. game is announced, Nintendo always saves it for E3 because they know the crowd will go crazy. Can you blame them?
Part of what makes Super Smash Bros. such an amazing game is just how massive the roster is. There is no shortage of characters to choose and, as the franchise grows, there are many more options for players of all different fighting styles. Do you like to play to the ground and hit hard? Then pick Little Mac. Would you rather keep the fighting up in the air? Jigglypuff or Kirby are the way to go. The possibilities are endless with this game due to how many characters have been included.
That being said, with so many video game all-stars being put in the game, there are bound to be some decisions that don't make a lot of sense. As a matter of fact, there are numerous characters in Super Smash Bros that haven't done a lot to earn their spot in the game (especially when compared to other characters that have yet to appear in the series).
These are 15 Super Smash Bros. fighters who don't deserve a spot on the roster.
15 Jigglypuff
I'm going to start with getting the hate out of the way. I know that many people love Jigglypuff, and so do I. Her air mobility and powerful Rest attack are both so useful that she's a pure joy to play. However, we shouldn't confuse a solid fighter with a reason for them to be in Super Smash Bros.
When you really think about it, what has Jigglypuff done among other Pokémon to deserve a spot on the roster? Pikachu makes sense because it's the Pokémon mascot. Charizard and Greninja are fan favorites. Lucario had his own movie. Mewtwo was the OG legendary Pokémon. Taking this into consideration, there isn't a lot of good reason to put Jigglypuff in the game. That being said, I'm quite thankful that she made it in, as she is quite different in her play style and is downright fun to use.
14 Peach
Here's another time where I have to explain myself a bit. While Princess Peach is a huge mainstay in the Super Mario Bros. universe, she always manages to get herself captured. Every. Single. Game. Sure, she's playable in Mario Party and Mario Kart, but that alone doesn't mean she should be in Super Smash Bros.
Granted, she is one of the first females in video game history, but she's little more than a damsel in distress. In this day and age where people are trying to defy stereotypes, perhaps it would make more sense to give her spot to some other Mario character who would fit the vibe of Super Smash Bros. more (yes I know that putting characters in the game isn't quite as simple as that). At the end of the day, Peach just hasn't done much to deserve a place in the game as a playable fighter.
13 Corrin
One of the most brilliant moves Nintendo made with Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS was introducing DLC. At its best, the DLC allowed for fan favorite characters to return to the series as well as to bring in some new third parties that mean something to gamers. At its worst, we get choices that don't make a lot of sense, and among those was Corrin.
It's clear what Sakurai was trying to do by putting Corrin into the game. Because Fire Emblem Fates was going to come out in a few months, placing Corrin on the roster would give some promotion for the title, like when Marth and Roy were included in Melee. While it's understandable that they would try something like that with those two to increase awareness for Fire Emblem, there was no need for them to do it again, leaving Corrin undeserving of his place.
12 Dark Pit
Yeah, you probably saw this one coming. The Super Smash Bros. series has become infamous for including clone characters who aren't much more than reskins of existing fighters that just have some different aesthetics and stats. One of these clone characters is the villain known as Dark Pit.
After Sakurai revived the Kid Icarus series with Kid Icarus: Uprising, it made sense that there would be more characters from the franchise in Smash Bros Wii U/3DS. However, he could've stopped at Palutena and the roster would've remained largely the same. Still, we ended up getting Dark Pit. To rub more salt in this, Dark Pit was originally intended to be an alternate costume for Pit, but Sakurai decided that he was different enough to be his own character altogether. I'm all for more Smash Bros characters, but it doesn't seem like Dark Pit was the way to go.
11 Dr. Mario
Might as well get the other clone character out of the way. Perhaps the only fighter that's more confusing than Dark Pit is Dr. Mario. Introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee (the game that was very well-known for its clone characters), Dr. Mario was Mario except he shot pills and was dressed like a doctor. Plain and simple. Because of how poorly he was received, he was cut from Super Smash Bros. Brawl altogether.
That said, Sakurai wasn't done with the character. Like Dark Pit and Lucina, Dr. Mario was going to be another skin for Mario. However, Sakurai felt that he deserved his own spot on the roster as well, giving us Dr. Mario once more. This is extremely confusing considering that Dr. Mario has had only a few game and, even if that made him deserving of a spot, Mario is already in the game.
10 Lucas
The Earthbound series is fairly obscure, but it is one of the most beloved (and least used) franchises of Nintendo. Naturally, that crossed over into Smash Bros. with Ness. Eventually, another character was brought into the fold from Mother 3: Lucas.
While there are a lot of people who love to play as Lucas (myself included), there is a huge problem with his inclusion in the roster. The game where he came from has yet to come to the West. Now, you could argue that Marth and Roy were added in under the same circumstances, but their appearances brought Fire Emblem to North America. We still haven't seen a proper regionalized version of Mother 3 and we probably never will. Because of this, there isn't a real point to include Lucas in the game. Why should he be there over other characters like Starfy or Captain Rainbow?
9 Wii Fit Trainer
Remember the good old days of the Wii when Nintendo encouraged everyone to get out and exercise? One of the most popular titles in this regard was Wii Fit. With the balance board included, Wii Fit was a way of exercising without ever having to go to the gym, and it was pretty fun at times.
Remember the trainer that would talk to you and encourage you throughout your playtime? What if I told you that it would become a fighter in Smash Bros.? You'd probably look at me and laugh. Well, start getting your diaphragm ready, because the Wii Fit Trainer is a playable fighter in the latest entry in the series. While it's certainly comical to see such a character on the battlefield (and makes for a lot of fun times), the Wii Fit Trainer doesn't deserve that spot. It helped you work out in an exercise simulator. That doesn't sound Smash Bros. worthy to me.
8 Sheik
Here's another entry that might get me some hate. Sheik is one of the more popular characters of the series as well as one of the best in the metagame, but the more I think about it, the more I don't really understand why she was included.
Let's break it down a bit. Sheik is an alternate form of Zelda that was introduced in Ocarina of Time. Apart from using her trusty harp, Sheik didn't do much to help Link from a combat perspective. Since then, that's the only game that the character has appeared in (no, Hyrule Warriors doesn't count). At first, it did make sense to include her as a transformation for Zelda. However, the two characters were split up in Smash Wii U/3DS, which makes her inclusion seem a bit more confusing now more than ever.
7 Toon Link
My favorite Zelda game of all time is Breath of the Wild The Wind Waker. Sailing the high seas in a cel-shaded art style is simply one of the most beautiful and engrossing things to experience in a game. The main character of that tale is Link, albeit in a different visual style. You could imagine my surprise when he replaced Young Link in Smash Bros. Brawl.
What makes this inclusion confusing for me is that Toon Link is just Link as a boy with a different visual aesthetic. There isn't anything about him other than that separates him from the adult Link. What would've made more sense is if Sakurai kept Young Link and gave him the abilities of the different masks (Fierce Deity final smash, anyone?). That would've justified having two Links. Toon Link is fun to play as, but he isn't very different. He even has the same final smash as Link.
6 Rosalina And Luma
I'm not sure what it is about Super Mario Galaxy that motivates Nintendo to put Rosalina in every single Mario game after she appeared. I suppose when considering that, it's not very shocking that she made it into Smash Bros. The problem with this is that she didn't earn the spot.
Apart from Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, Rosalina has not played a part in any Mario game since then. She is no more special than Geno, Nabbit, or Captain Toad (and I'm not seeing Nintendo rushing to put them in Mario Kart or Smash Bros.). There are plenty of other Mario characters who have meant more to the series as a whole that could be included in Smash Bros. Yet, for the fiftieth time, Rosalina is an extra playable character. At the very least, she's a really good fighter though.
5 Shulk
I'm really feeling it! (couldn't resist).
When people began speculating as to who would make the roster for Smash Wii U/3DS, Shulk was a name that continually popped up on many lists. For those of us who aren't Japanese, we didn't really know who Shulk was.
As it turns out, he was the main character in an RPG crafted by Monolith Soft known as Xenoblade Chronicles. Other than that, he hasn't appeared in a single game. Yet, Sakurai felt that was enough to put the character in Smash Bros. While Shulk is fun to play as, he is a second-party character who has only been in one game. Why would that allow him a spot on the roster? I'm being a bit negative, though. Shulk's inclusion helped Monolithsoft create Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U and also motivated them to support the Nintendo Switch with Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
4 Duck Hunt
There are some video game characters who go down in fame. There are others who go down in infamy. Guess which legacy the Duck Hunt Dog had? This annoying little bugger appeared in Duck Hunt as a dog who would either collect the ducks you shot or laugh at your face when you missed.
There are many reasons why this character didn't deserve to be in Smash Bros. The first is that he is so despised by gamers. While this is largely a joke, you have to admit that not many people liked him to begin with. The second is that Duck Hunt was his only appearance. He collected ducks and laughed at you. HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING ELSE. Sakurai, as a matter of fact, had to create his model and moveset all from scratch in order to put him in the game. If there were ever a character that didn't deserve a spot on the roster, Duck Hunt would be it.
3 Ryu
Part of what made the DLC so successful for Smash Wii U/3DS was the third-party characters. Nintendo made some great deals with Platinum Games, Capcom, Square Enix, and Namco to get some excellent characters into Smash. One of these characters was Ryu from Street Fighter.
While it's definitely exciting to have such a character in the game, you have to wonder if he really deserves the spot (something that other third-party characters have to deal with as well). All of the big Street Fighter games have gone to Sony and Microsoft. Yes, there were some entries on the Nintendo 3DS, but, other than that, there hasn't been a big Street Fighter release since the SNES. As of the time he was released, Ryu doesn't really deserve the spot. However, we're glad that Nintendo and Capcom are playing nice and that Ryu was included.
2 Cloud Strife
Oh, man. Here comes the negativity. Cloud Strife is THE Final Fantasy character. In terms of popularity, it doesn't get any better than him. That's why when Square Enix worked with Nintendo to bring a Final Fantasy character in Smash, it was always going to be Cloud.
However, Cloud is on this list for many of the same reasons that Ryu is. What makes Cloud's situation a bit more sketchy is the fact that Final Fantasy VII was going to come out on the Nintendo 64, but the cartridges couldn't hold all of the data, so it was moved to the PlayStation. Spin-offs of the Final Fantasy series have come to Nintendo consoles (the 3DS in particular), but Cloud hasn't been featured on a Nintendo console ever. In that sense, he doesn't deserve a spot. However, his iconicity makes his inclusion a bit more justifiable. Besides, he's a great character to play as.
1 Bayonetta
Where to begin with this one. Bayonetta doesn't deserve to be in Smash Bros. Period. Yes, Bayonetta 2 was released exclusively on the Wii U, but that alone doesn't mean she gets to be in Smash Bros. Shovel Knight first came out on Nintendo consoles, but he's not in the game now, is he?
There are many other reasons why Bayonetta doesn't deserve the spot. Firstly, she's much too risque to fit in with the style of the game. While Sakurai did censor her quite a bit, there are still many aspects of her design that are still suggestive. Secondly, she was apparently the fighter that people most voted for (among reasonable characters), which I find hard to believe. As the final DLC fighter in Smash Bros, Bayonetta was a let-down among many fans who felt that more deserving characters like Banjo and Kazooie or the Inklings from Splatoon should get in. There's no denying that out of all of the characters, Bayonetta seems the most out of place.