Unused Characters

An Unused Character is a character that was planned to be in a game but taken out due to certain reasons. Usually, the intended characters get put in later instalments of the game, but some characters are not.

Super Smash Bros.

• Considered:
  • Marth
  • Clefairy
• Scrapped:
  • Bowser
  • King Dedede
  • Mewtwo

Bowser was a highly requested character, with Shigeru Miyamoto claiming in an interview that he was in the game.

King Dedede was playable at one point but was scrapped due to lack of development time. He appears flying in the background on the Dream Land stage, however.

Marth was considered to join the original roster as a different type of sword-wielding character, but because of the limited development time he wasn't added in.

Mewtwo was originally planned to be playable but was scrapped due to lack of development time.

Clefairy was considered to take the role as a clone of Kirby, but it was scrapped in favor of Jigglypuff

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Considered:
  • Takamaru
  • Mach Rider
  • Ayumi Tachibana
  • Balloon Fighter
  • Urban Champion
  • Bubbles
  • Excitebiker
• Planned:
  • Solid Snake
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Lucas
  • Wario

Masahiro Sakurai was asked by a fan what character he would like to see in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Mach Rider was the response he gave. He was most likely joking though, as he said he ‘wanted to include him based on his funny name’. In an earlier response, he does say that his generation turns to Mach Rider or Takamaru. However, it’s unknown how much consideration was actually given into these characters as he outright stated that Takamaru’s chances of appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee were low.

Ayumi Tachibana, one of the main characters in Famicom Detective Club, was confirmed to have been considered for Super Smash Bros. Melee during a recent NicoNico interview. Masahiro Sakurai decided not to include her in the final roster plan, as she lacked familiarity abroad. In the Super Smash Bros. Melee emails, Masahiro Sakurai stated fans should wait for a sequel. Famicom Detective Club would finally receive a worlwide release on Nintendo Switch via its remake many years later.

In an email response asking about including a character from Rare, Masahiro Sakurai stated that it was difficult to include a character from Rare for various reasons. While some may see Banjo & Kazooie and James Bond’s inclusion as natural, they couldn’t make it in due to ‘adult circumstances’, most likely copyright issues as Rare was bought by Microsoft prior to Super Smash Bros. Melee's release. For James Bond from the GoldenEye universe, Masahiro Sakurai couldn't include him into Super Smash Bros. Melee, due to licensing issues with his actor Pierce Brosnan's likeness and his realistic weaponry, the film rights, and the Nintendo 64 game rights make his inclusion even more unlikely. Banjo & Kazooie would later be confirmed in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the Fighters Pass Volume 1 DLC, released in September 2019.

When the Ice Climbers got their Japanese Super Smash Bros. Melee character page, Masahiro Sakurai included other characters that were considered for the Ice Climbers spot. These include a Balloon Fighter, the Urban Champion, Bubbles from Clu Clu Land, and an Excitebiker.

Hideo Kojima asked Masahiro Sakurai if Solid Snake could be in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the game was too far in development and he didn't make it. One of the reasons why Hideo Kojima asked Masahiro Sakurai is because his son wanted to see Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. Later in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Masahiro Sakurai asked Hideo Kojima if Solid Snake could join the battle.

In an Australian magazine, Yuji Naka stated that Sonic the Hedgehog was planned to be in the game. It was very close to happening, but because of time constraints, it was impossible. However, it “left the door open for future collaborations”. Later, Sonic joined Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Wario was planned for Super Smash Bros. Melee. Masahiro Sakurai has mentioned that he was concerned with over-representation of certain series, so some characters that were planned got dropped. Wario was the third most famous character to join the game according to the poll after Bowser and Peach. Masahiro Sakurai stated that he could've add Wario if he had more time to develop the game. Wario got his chance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Lucas was set to be used in Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, due to Mother 3 (then called EarthBound 64 by many)'s cancellation for the Nintendo 64DD, Ness ended up being retrieved. This is outright confirmed on Ness’ Japanese character page for Super Smash Bros. Melee and in a reply by Masahiro Sakurai. Lucas was then saved for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Considered:
  • Villager
  • Nintendog
  • Blastoise (Pokémon Trainer)
  • Krystal
  • Ridley
  • Pac-Man
  • Miis
  • Geno
• Scrapped:
  • "The Forbidden Seven"
    • Dr. Mario
    • Mewtwo
    • Roy
    • Toon Zelda
    • Toon Sheik (Speculated by some to be Tetra)
    • pra_mai (Speculated by many to be Plusle and Minun from Pokemon)
    • Dixie Kong (Confirmed)

The characters that had unused data in Brawl are known as "The Forbidden Seven".

Of the characters with leftover data, Mewtwo and Roy arguably had the most work done on them. Roy has a unique victory fanfare and a graphics effect file (ef_roy.pac) while Mewtwo had a unique victory fanfare, a graphics effect file (ef_mewtwo.pac) and a Wii remote sound. It's been spectated that both characters were almost in Super Smash Bros. Brawl but were cut due to time constraints. They both later returned in Super Smash Bros. 4, both as DLCs.

After the release of Super Smash Bros. 4, it was discovered that several of Dr. Mario's data files are named "mariod". This name matches a set of files found in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's data; they mostly contain either duplicates of Mario's data or blank space and were originally assumed to be a debug version of Mario. Along with the fact Dr. Mario's moveset is cloned from Mario in all his playable appearances, this suggests that Mario's data was replicated to recreate Dr. Mario early in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's development, but no differentiation was done at all.

Toon Zelda/Toon Sheik are obvious from their filenames. However, it’s unknown whether Toon Sheik was actually Tetra or not. It is highly likely that this is the case, as Toon Link’s design was inspired from The Wind Waker and Tetra was made to be The Wind Waker’s Sheik. Despite this, it is not 100% confirmed as Masahiro Sakurai has never talked about this character.

Files were discovered that were titled "pra_mai", which led people to believe Plusle & Minun were planned in the game, due to the fact "pra" was the first syllable of Plusle's Japanese name, and "mai" was the first syllable of Minun's Japanese name. It is unknown if these truly are the characters found in the file, as the files are empty placeholders.

Dixie Kong had a working prototype at one point, as she was originally envisioned to have a tag team mechanic, just like in Donkey Kong Country 2. However, due to complications in programming, she was dropped and Diddy Kong was made into a full character by himself.

Villager , Nintendog , and Miis were considered for Super Smash Bros. Brawl but Masahiro Sakurai thought that they were not meant to be a fighting character. Another reason why Miis were not in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was because of online bullying. Both Miis and Villager debuted in Super Smash Bros. 4, but Nintendog remained as an assist trophy.

Pac-Man was suggested by Shigeru Miyamoto, but Masahiro Sakurai thinking of Pac-Man's iconic "pizza-shaped" design, went against it because it was "a little too farfetched". He was later saved for Super Smash Bros. 4.

Blastoise was considered to be a part of the Pokemon Trainer's team; however, the team decided to use Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard to represent the three evolution stages of Pokemon. .

Krystal from Star Fox was considered as a playable character, but she was ultimately rejected due to development time concerns, as little of the pre-existing knowledge involving Fox and Falco's models could be applied to her new, theoretical model. Wolf was ultimately included over Krystal, as his own model could rely more on Fox and Falco's models. Krystal would eventually be included as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, patterned after her debut appearance in Star Fox Adventures.

Ridley was considered to be playable, but Masahiro Sakurai thought that he would be too hard to adapt to Super Smash Bros. Ridley was then considered to be an assist trophy, but the team ultimately decided to just make him a boss in The Subspace Emissary. Eventually in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ridley became a playable character.

Geno was also considered to be playable due to his popularity, with Masahiro Sakurai thinking that his arm cannon would make him a unique character. Geno wasn't included presumably due to rights issues involving Square Enix, who own the rights of Geno.

Super Smash Bros. 4

• Considered:
  • Takamaru
  • Heihachi
  • Geno
  • Ridley
  • Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Satoru Iwata
  • Other Final Fantasy characters that weren’t Cloud
  • Steve
• Planned:
  • Chrom
  • Pokémon Trainer
    • Squirtle
    • Ivysaur
• Scrapped:
  • Ice Climbers
  • Alph (Rock Pikmins were found in the game files which suggests that Alph was considered to be a clone character of Olimar instead of an alternative costume.)
  • A Rhythm Heaven character (speculated due to leftover data found in the game.)

The Ice Climbers were originally planned to return as characters. While reportedly functioning well on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Nintendo 3DS' hardware limitations made it difficult to properly incorporate the two into Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, as well as other characters with multiple models such as Olimar. Masahiro Sakurai stated in his Famitsu collection, Thoughts About Making the Video Games 2, that they even went as far as disabling effects such as gravity and removing joints in attempt to get the Ice Climbers working. Since Masahiro Sakurai didn't want Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to have an exclusive character, the Ice Climbers were ultimately cut, but still appear in-game as a trophy and returned in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Pokemon Trainer was cut due to, yet again, the hardware limitations of the Nintendo 3DS' processing power which caused only Charizard to return as a playable character, while Squirtle and Ivysaur were fully cut. However, Red (under the name "Pokemon Trainer"), Squirtle, and Ivysaur make cameos as collectible trophies.

Chrom was briefly considered to be playable and Masahiro Sakurai even planned a moveset for him, but Robin was chosen instead because Chrom, offered nothing unique over Marth and Ike. He would eventually appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as Roy's Echo Fighter. .

Takamaru was considered to be playable again after he was previously considered for Super Smash Bros. Melee, but Masahiro Sakurai excluded him due to the fact that not many people would recognize him again and added him as an assist trophy instead.

According to Masahiro Sakurai, he stated that Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Satoru Iwata were briefly considered to be playable characters in Super Smash Bros. 4, but this was decided against because Masahiro Sakurai felt that the three game developers would not appeal to a wide audience. He also stated that it takes a lot of work and effort to add a character to the game and it was a decision not to be taken lightly.

Heihachi Mishima from Tekken was briefly considered to be a playable character, but he was scrapped not because he was in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Sony's own version of Super Smash Bros. featuring various PlayStation characters, released on both the PS3 and the PS Vita), but because of troubles to implement his moves into Super Smash Bros. He eventually makes it in as a Mii costume though.

Ridley, who was previously considered for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was once again briefly considered to be playable, but was decided against because Masahiro Sakurai felt that getting Ridley to fly was difficult during development. Ridley was later added as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

A Rhythm Heaven character was supposed to be in the game according to leftover data related to an unused franchise emblem. It is unknown why they were cut from the game. According to Sal Romano of Gematsu, it would have been the Chorus Kids, though this is never confirmed.

Alph was next in line to get his own roster spot as a clone, and would use Rock Pikmin. He was scrapped possibly due to time constraints and instead, became an alternate costume for Olimar.

Geno, who was also previously considered for a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, was once again considered as a playable character, but was not added for unknown reasons, likely the same reason as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Geno has been considered three times since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Masahiro Sakurai has stated that he could have included Final Fantasy characters (Onion Knight from Final Fantasy III, Fusoya from Final Fantasy IV, Bartz Klauser from Final Fantasy V, or Terra Branford and/or Strago from Final Fantasy VI) in the game, but it was difficult to think of a Final Fantasy character to include in the game that was not Cloud.

After Steve was announced as DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, former Minecraft production director Daniel Kaplan revealed that negotiations between Nintendo and Mojang for Steve to appear in Super Smash Bros. had been going on "at least" since 2015, suggesting the possibility of him being planned for Super Smash Bros. 4 and the base game for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at one point.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• Considered:
  • Steve (base game)
  • Alucard
  • Decidueye
  • Characters from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and ARMS (base game)
  • Slime
  • More Dragon Quest Heroes as Hero's Alternate costumes
  • Ninjara
  • Rex
  • Heihachi Mishima

Alucard was considered to be playable, due to many players having been familiar with him thanks to Symphony of the Night, but Masahiro Sakurai chose Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont instead because they want a Belmont as a playable character, resulting in Alucard becoming an assist trophy.

Decidueye was suggested to be playable in the game but was removed in favor of Incineroar because the latter had a more unique moveset than the former, as well as the concept of wrestling, which Masahiro Sakurai has never done before.

Characters from both Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and ARMS were going to appear in the base game, but were cut due to time constraints, resulting them being turned into Mii costumes and spirits (with Spring Man becoming an assist trophy). Min Min and Pyra/Mythra did eventually debut as DLC.

In a recent Dragon Quest XI S livestream interview, Masahiro Sakurai said that Slime would have been a perfectly fine playable character if Square Enix didn't allow him to use the Hero. Speaking of which, in the same interview he wanted other Dragon Quest heroes to be alts, but due to time constraints, he uses four previous ones to have recolors instead.

Masahiro Sakurai mentioned in the June 2020 Mr. Sakurai Presents video that he considered either Ninjara or Min Min as a fighter for DLC, but Min Min was ultimately chosen due to the request from ARMS' producer, Kosuke Yabuki.

At one point in development, Rex was going to fight alongside Pyra/Mythra similar to the Ice Climbers, but he was ultimately excluded due to technical issues with the implementation of the idea, like getting both characters to move at the same time which was impossible to do. Masahiro Sakurai also stated that it was difficult to dub Rex as the main fighter with Pyra/Mythra behind him. Rex ended up being delegated to a supporting character, appearing in Pyra/Mythra's up taunt, Final Smash, and victory poses.

In Mr. Sakurai Presents "Kazuya", Masahiro Sakurai revealed that Heihachi Mishima, who was previously considered to be playable in Super Smash Bros. 4, was considered to be the Tekken fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Instead, he chose Kazuya Mishima, as he thought that because Kazuya Mishima had the Devil Gene, there was a better potential moveset for Kazuya rather than Heihachi Mishima. Masahiro Sakurai would be or not be lying about Nintendo's choice, but knowing of 'he chose', would be from him.

External Links

The Definitive Unused Fighters List in Smash - Source Gaming