It's been a while since I wrote one of these Smash Wishlist posts (the last one being my Classic Characters post over a week ago), and I've been thinking about how I wanted to handle it. I'm starting to narrow down the franchises here, and what I found was that some of the remaining franchises didn't have enough notable characters to warrant their own posts. Somehow, these franchises have even less Smashworthy characters than F-Zero! This hasn't been easy, I tell you, but it's been rewarding. Today I'm going to cover Pikmin, Star Fox, and Metroid, as well as a pair of series which haven't seen any Smashtime yet, but probably should. So let's take a look at which rising stars are hiding out there... among the stars (the actual flaming gas giant kind).
5. Ridley
Let's get this out of the way; you all knew from the second you saw the word "Metroid" that Ridley was going to be on this list. Other than Samus, the draconian leader of the Space Pirates is the only Smashable character in the franchise (at least he was, up until the introduction of some marines in Other M). Personally, I actually kind of want Anthony Higgs to show up in some way, but I'd want Ridley to show up more. He rivals Ganondorf as Nintendo's most vile villain, and his sheer unwillingness to die is remarkable. The last of his species, Ridley is a misunderstood creature who seems to act on instinct, but is really a cool, calculating individual. He actually showed up as a boss in Brawl, albeit as a Master Hand clone, and now it's time he got an opportunity to hash it out with the rest of the Nintencrew.
4. Mike Jones
Not really a space hero in the traditional sense, Mike Jones has saved the world from the threat of alien invasion on at least two occasions utilizing little more than his blistering baseball pitches and a yo-yo. He might seem like an aloof show boater, but that's only because he is. This hero from StarTropics actually shares a lot with fellow Nintendo All-Star Ness (and his predecessor [and Jones' contemporary] Ninten). While Nintendo seems to plug a pair of bananas in the ears when fans start blabbing about this young hero's exploits, there's no denying the quality of the games he's led us through, and the size of his fan base simply can't be ignored.
3. Charlie
Charlie hasn't quite proven himself in the eyes of the market, and it might have made more sense to some for Alph to have taken this place on the list, but I think Charlie is a better candidate for the role. The new Captain in Pikmin 3, Charlie leads his two crewmates to the Distant Planet to recover food for their starving world. It's important to note that I'm not advocating replacing Olimar, which is precisely why I chose Charlie over Alph (also, Alph looks dumb). Charlie's frame lends itself to a heavier Pikmin-Player, which would compliment Olimar's speedy play style. Additionally, Charlie would not utilize the five known Pikmin species. In their place, he would take advantage of the Winged and Rock Pikmin introduced in Pikmin 3, individuals which can be used in new and exciting ways, as well as any other new Pikmin species introduced in the upcoming title. He could also take advantage of the Bulbmin which were regrettably neglected from Olimar's team in Brawl.
2. Krystal
Krystal is Fox McCloud's main squeeze, and she really should have been in Brawl. Her rise to stardom came about during the GameCube era with important roles in both Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox: Assault. Though she later appeared as a major player in Star Fox Command, she didn't quite carry the same weight as in previous roles. Regardless, Krystal provides the key opportunity to introduce a truly unique Star Fox character, if not a simply unique character in general. Her blend of staff-wielding mysticism and modern weapons mastery (she's been shown to be a particular fan of grenades and Gatling guns) makes her a force to be reckoned with, and an interesting character with a lot of variety and potential. There's no reason to let this foxxy lady sit out yet another round of Nintendo's Finest.
1. Space Demon
It's time for another episode of "Character You Don't Know", starring your favorite host and mine: Nathan DiYorio! Today's topic: Space Demon--a beast so powerful and so obscure that Nintendo doesn't even have official art for him. All that exists of this unknown arcade villain is a logo and a 4-bit sprite in a game with such low distribution that you're likely never to see a copy. Ever. It's kind of interesting to me that Nintendo has not rereleased their pre-Mario arcade titles on the various Virtual Console incarnations, but regardless, I feel the Space Demon could provide Smash with a pretty neat character. There's a lot of room to work with here, as his abilities aren't very well defined. Really, all we now about this guy is that he's a demon from space. Oh, and he's pretty bad news. This one guy's got the galactic fleet up in arms, and I think having the game named after himself catapults the cretin right to the top of Nintendo's Most Wanted. After all, when was the last time you played Bowser for the NES?
