With Super Smash Bros. for Switch being showcased at E3 soon, many rumors and “leaks” are going to appear. Recently, a Reddit user named DasVergeben made some statements regarding the new Smash Bros. This is the same user with the information about “Star Fox Grand Prix.” According to his Reddit post, his source was also the first one to tell him about Metroid Prime 4 being developed by Bandai Namco. (This has yet to be confirmed by Nintendo.) Everything that is about to be said about Smash Bros. is a rumor, so it’s important not to get your hopes up, but rather analyze what’s being said.
According to DasVergeben’s Metroid Prime 4 source, Ridley will be a playable fighter. The game will be a sequel (in other words, not an enhanced port like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), but there will be reused assets. From another source, DasVergeben claims a few intriguing things, including the return of the Ice Climbers, the arrival of Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series, and the return of all fighters from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
DasVergeben:"…there will be the return of Ice Climbers and a new Konami rep…. Simon Belmont. They say that they know that Ridley will be revealed at E3. I was even told by them that everyone is coming back from Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS. That includes all of the guests. But it otherwise will be a new game…"
This is interesting to think about. The Ice Climbers are certainly expected to come back. They appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. The duo did not appear in the current Smash Bros., however. According to Esuteru, Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai said to Famitsu that he did not implement the Ice Climbers because the 3DS lacked the power to accommodate them. The Switch shouldn’t have this problem. Meanwhile, Simon Belmont isn’t totally unexpected. The first Castlevania was featured on the NES Classic Edition, and Super Castlevania IV was featured on the SNES Classic. Interestingly, Konami has history with Smash Bros.; Solid Snake was featured in Brawl.
The thing that is suspect is Ridley. In an interview with IGN, Sakurai explained why Ridley wasn’t playable in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Sakurai: “I definitely know that Ridley’s a much-anticipated name for fans, but if we made Ridley as a fighter, it wouldn’t be Ridley any longer,” “It’d have to be shrunk down, or its wings reduced in size, or be unable to fly around freely.”
With those statements, Sakurai seems adamant about not having Ridley as a playable fighter. His comments aren’t unreasonable. Ridley is physically larger than the entire cast, and it goes beyond the bigger characters like Bowser and King Dedede. Ridley was featured as a stage hazard in Smash Bros. for Wii U, demonstrating the improbability of him appearing as a newcomer. Of course, to say that it’s impossible for Ridley to appear in the upcoming game is an untrue statement. The “leak” could be correct, but Sakurai’s prior statements hurt the likelihood of it being true.
Finally, the idea of all playable fighters from the current Smash Bros. returning is something to consider. There are 58 characters in Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, counting DLC. Assuming there are quite a few newcomers in the upcoming game, this will make the character roster incredibly large. Smash Bros. will be featured at Nintendo’s E3 presentation next month. If all this information is correct, we certainly have some notable things to look forward to.
