Characters have always been one of the biggest things in Super Smash Bros, and with the Wii U version coming right around the corner, I figured it was time to look back at all of the characters we’ve seen in this series, more specifically, the newcomers of each game. What qualifies as a newcomer is a new character whose been added to the series roster whether as a hidden character or the starting roster. Since this is about newcomers, this list won’t include the first 8 original Smash characters(Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox and Pikachu.), but I will count the secret characters in Smash 64, and most of the characters here are there for their impact, whether it be for Smash or for Nintendo in general. Now, without further ado

5) Mr Game and Watch

There’s a really irresistible charm about Mr Game&Watch, whether it be his bizarre fighting style or his general goofiness. But in all Mr Game and Watch was the character that started a trend of weird characters appearing within each game(otherwise known as WTF characters in the Smash Bros fandom), with other characters like ROB, Wii Fit Trainer, and Duck Hunt Dog joining Mr. G&W. While some may argue that Ness was the first WTF character to his obscurity, but Mr. G&W was the true leader in weirdness….speaking of Ness…

4) Ness and Lucas(Earthbound and Mother 3)

Included both Ness and Lucas since they’re both here for pretty much the same reason. To put it simply, Ness and Lucas’s appearances in Super Smash Bros is one of the biggest contributors to the Mother series’ popularity in the US. Before SSB64, hardly anyone knew what the Mother series or Earthbound was, come Ness’s appearance in Super Smash Bros and BAM, everyone is suddenly interested, with the series exploding in internet popularity, prices of the game skyrocketing, fan translations of the first and 3^rd games, and constant petitioning of Nintendo to bring the series to America.

3) Pit(Kid Icarus)

Even before Super Smash Bros, Kid Icarus was a pretty popular game(with a solid sequel on the Game Boy) among the Nintendo fanbase, and a game that fans pretty much begged a sequel too. Seeing his inclusion in Brawl brought a lot of happiness to KI fans, even with his design being drastically different from past appearances(cartoon angel to anime pretty boy), and his inclusion must’ve been really well received, as Nintendo finally released another sequel on the 3DS, Kid Icarus Uprising, which was led by Sakurai himself, with Pit sporting a new look. Thankfully the game was well received and sold well, which helped build its popularity(even if Sakurai shows disturbing bias for the series in Smash 4)

2) Snake(Metal Gear Solid)

This list could consist mostly of the 3^rd party characters since they’re well… 3^rd party characters, but if you asked me which one was the best, surprising, most important 3^rd party character in Smash, my vote would go to Snake, and no that’s not my MGS fanboyism kicking in. Here’s a brief history lesson: Hideo Kojima and his son Kojima Jr. are playing Smash 64 on a nice day, Kojima Jr asks why isn’t his character in it, and since Kojima is an awesome dad, he goes to Sakurai(whom he’s friends with btw) and asks his if he can put Snake in Melee, Sakurai says ok, realizes that Melee is too far into development, so he says “meh, I’ll put him in the next game” and the rest is history. Whatever your opinion on his inclusion is, you can’t deny that his inclusion had a huge impact on the series. We probably would have never gotten Sonic, Megaman, or Pacman without Snake, and I'm personally happy for it...even if it means we'll now have to deal with Sonic fanboys begging for the entire Sonic roster

1)Marth and Roy(Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem Sword of Seals)

Taking the number one spots are two characters that were originally intended as Japan exclusive characters(which I’m glad didn’t happen since Japan exclusivity sucks balls). Marth and Roy were main characters in one of Nintendo’s older franchises and formerly Japan-exclusive, Fire Emblem, specifically the first game and Sword of Seals respectively. No one knew who either of these characters were, but their appearances were insanely well received in America, that Nintendo decided to release Fire Emblem Blazing Swords, the first Fire Emblem to reach America. The game sold very well and received critical acclaim. Every Fire Emblem game since then has been released internationally and continues to do well, and I’m very glad for that. I’d hate to think of a world where Fire Emblem Awakening was only released in Japan, since that’s probably one of the best games I’ve played in a long time.

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I'll probably make a top 5 worst newcomers list sometime in the future depending on my mood, though I'm less inclined to make one since no.1 is probably going to be Dark Pit