A New Nintendo Console - 6 Keys to Victory

There has been a faint rumble recently about Nintendo already working on a new console. This is like the humming sound before the earthquake, so before more news and speculations start to pop up on the net, let's see what are the keys to victory of such a console.

1) An inspiring name
This was the worst defect that the Wii U had to live with, as most Wii owners thought it was just another version of the same console instead of an entirely new one. This time they need to let go of the family oriented "good guys" approach and focus on making their new console to be seen as something badass. Back when the Wii was still a work in progress, it was pretty popular with its working title that was "Nintendo Revolution". People liked that name a lot, some of them were already calling it "Revo" and other abbreviated versions of the name. Sadly there was a huge sigh of disappointment when Nintendo finally showcased their console and called it Wii, losing part of what made it look like something serious to the public.

2) An equally inspiring merchandising effort
We have to admit that Nintendo is already changing the tone of their marketing campaign right now with the Wii U. They don't look like goobers anymore as they are changing and little by little catering more and more to the hardcore crowds (The Reggie vs Iwata fight video is proof of this). Nintendo is finally realizing who their fans are and how these fans feel and react about their games and decisions. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will keep improving their style when promoting their new console.

3) Powerful hardware / bigger console design
It has been said that the Wii U processing power was capped at some point because it made the console to overheat, meaning that they would had to put a bigger and louder cooling system (fans) which was contradictory to the console's overall design. This time around they should drop the small console approach and make it bigger so it can have a cooling system that can handle a bigger amount of power. I am not implying that the new Nintendo console should be as big as an old VCR player, but they should at least try to find the best of both worlds because they need to give Sony and Microsoft a run for their money in terms of power.  

4) A definitive game at launch
Coming with a console in the middle of a console generation can be the equivalent of trying to stop a running train by stepping in the tracks and extending your arm, but if Nintendo can give the right impression from the beginning they not only re-introduce themselves in the console race, but also could be able to take down at least one of the giants. One way of re-entering the console war with a bang would be to have a definitive title from the very start. Assuming that the console has enough power, we could have a new entry in the Metroid Prime saga that can blow us away with its visuals, story and even more so if it has VR headset support. They could also join the fray with an RPG from the Xenoblade series or even a big surprise like a Mega Man game (thing that could make Nintendo to take the look of a hero in the eyes of millions of players worldwide). This time around bringing a Super Mario Bros game from the start will not work, if they want to succeed they need to beat the other companies at their game.

5) Keep up the cooperative efforts
Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2 are examples of how well cooperative works are for Nintendo. If they can keep that up with the new console, we can expect tons of exclusives that won't be so expensive to make, but can still become instant hits. It is true that sales figures are not off the charts for the two examples I mentioned, but if these games would had been released at launch, the story would had been very different. This type of cooperative endeavor can do many things from reviving dead franchises to making cool spin off games and interesting crossovers. It is a fresh way of making business that can serve Nintendo well if they know how to use it.

6) Open to a worldwide market
This one is very important as it is one of those things that is already limiting the potential of the Wii U. First, the concept of region blocked games has to be ditched in order for the new console to be a good product on an open market. Censorship has no place in gaming as it only serves as a limitation to gamers and as a hindrance to profit. Another thing Nintendo has to improve is the way they deal with Japanese games. They should stop limiting so many of them to Japanese audiences only and start to bring more of those games to the west. Fatal Frame IV and the new Fatal Frame (which is on Wii U) are big examples of this problem, which is a self-defeating posture that must be changed before the new console is released.

Wrapping it up
Nintendo once again has a good chance here, but it will take a lot of effort to actually make it right. Any mistake will prevent them from turning skeptics into believers so they must be careful, but effective. It's all about precision up to this point, so the big N has to take everything they learned with the Wii U and use it in order to become a real competitor once again.

Dreamfall - The Story Starters Guide (No Spoilers)

The first episode of Dreamfall Chapters has been finally released to the joy of adventure game fans world wide. For longtime fans, this game is a real must have, but if you are a newcomer you may find yourself lost in its deep and compelling story if you haven't played the previous installments which were The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Today, as a fan of the series I will try to give you a little insight of what the game is about while doing my best to avoid spoilers, just in case you are curious about this series of games, but have no idea about their story. I am going to try to be as generic as possible so I don't spoil any important details, so you can safely read at your own pace and try the games later if you want.

A) The World of The Longest Journey
The whole environment in The Longest Journey series goes back and forth between 2 worlds. The first one is called Stark which is based on reality, reflecting our world with the existence of real cities and the various occurrences of the human lifestyle with a cyberpunk touch, going from the most mundane of things to the most bizarre. On the other hand we have Arcadia, which is a world based on magic. This world looks and feels like your classic medieval fantasy setting consisting of villages, dungeons, exotic places, townsfolk, warriors, priests, warlocks and even dragons. On this world we also have different types of living beings that populate the realm and are not exactly human.

If we are going to name the notable villains in the first two games, we have a giant mega-corporation called Wati-Corp on Stark and a corrupt religious empire called The Azadi on Arcadia. Both of them will try to stop April and Zoe (See characters) from doing what they need to do in order to restore the balance between both worlds, but they are not connected in any obvious way. Giving any more details would spoil the fun of getting to know these crooks up close and personal, but you will see how each of them have their own beliefs / big scheme and how they put their respective plans in motion to basically enslave their corresponding worlds if they can't destroy them.

B) Characters
The main characters in the series go as follows:

April Ryan: April is the protagonist in the first game (The Longest Journey) and a secondary character in Dreamfall. She starts in the first game as an Art student in that discovers that she has certain powers that enable her to travel into another world. This discovery turns her life upside down as she finds herself in a struggle to save both worlds and ensure that neither of them meets a premature end. She will also discover that she doesn't know herself as well as she thought.



The Draic Kin: The Draic Kin are a race of mystical dragons that have the purpose of protecting the balance between worlds without directly interfering. Most of the time they will give messages and remind April of how important she is to both worlds. In some ways the Draic stand as the benevolent and wise gods of Arcadia and can take a human form at will if it serves their purpose.




Crow: Simply put, he is a magical crow that talks. He becomes April's friend in the first game and follows up to meet Zoe on Dreamfall. He is kind of corny and throws a lot of bad jokes, but he is also very helpful, giving clues to the both girls when they need them the most.





Zoe Castillo: Zoe is the protagonist of the second game (Dreamfall: The Longest Journey). She is a kind of depressed young woman who is living without any purpose in life. When the game begins she is already having it rough after recently dropping out of college and breaking with her boyfriend Reza. Her life takes a very different turn when in another one of her "dull and event-less" days, something happens that makes her share April Ryan's fate although not through the same means.




Reza Temiz: He is Zoe's ex boyfriend and one of the most mysterious characters in Dreamfall. Based on what it is known about him, he is some sort of a journalist that is involved with Wati-Corp in Stark. We also know that he is involved with the company's secret agenda (been the one that sets in motion the whole ordeal that Zoe lives through) and for some reason he vanishes without leaving a trace.




Kian Alvani: Alvani begins a warrior for the Azadi in Arcadia. He is sort of a paladin who fights to defend "The Goddess" which is the main icon of his religion and to destroy a resistance movement that threatens the empire. His faith is admirable, but his iron clad loyalty will become a problem to him as the story progresses and you will see why he is not as great and important as he think he is in the beginning.




The Vagabond: This mysterious being lives in a rift between both worlds and seems to serve as a guide to Zoe. This mystic will make few appearances, but will prove instrumental at giving you information about the grand scale of things. See him as a sage who will reveal what needs to be done and why.



There are many other characters in the story of The Longest Journey series, but these ones are the most significant.

C) The Story (Synopsis)
In The Longest Journey, the story start as an art student called April Ryan visits Arcadia by mistake and meets the White Dragon (See Draic Kin) who tells her that she is the heroine that will bring balance to both worlds. Just after that, she gets attacked by some dark force called "chaos vortex" and that's when she gets back. That surreal experience turns her world upside down as she discovers that she is a "shifter" (person who can travel between worlds) and begins her quest in her own world (Stark) even when nobody believes what she says. Soon, she starts turning skeptics into believers (mostly her closest friends) and as she gets used to crossing between worlds and begins solving problems on both of them, she becomes a threat to the dark forces that want to destroy the balance between worlds, so they will do whatever is needed to stop her. Her journey will take her to the deepest parts of Stark and Arcadia as she tries to solve the riddle of how she can save the so called "balance", involving her friends, new found allies, the Draic Kin and a magical crow that helps her through her journey.

Next in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, the story shifts to the life of a girl called Zoe Castillo. In the beginning Zoe's life has no purpose or direction as she dropped out of college and broke up with her boyfriend. Living in this predicament leaves Zoe with all the free time she could want, so as her dad leaves to a business meeting in another country she plans to make a party in her house with some of her friends. All seemed well, but while she was organizing the event her ex boyfriend Reza Tamiz appears and asks her to look for an important package in his apartment. Seen that they are still good friends, Zoe agrees, but after getting to his apartment she becomes involved in a big conspiracy that will lead her all the way to Arcadia where she meets an older April Ryan that has become somewhat of a leader in the fight against the Azadi.

Now Zoe who has become her own kind of "shifter", becomes an even more important piece of the puzzle as she struggles against both the Azadi and Wati Corp in the fight that will decide the fate of both worlds.

D) The Connection With Dreamfall Chapters
This part of the starters guide has big spoilers so if you really want to read it, click the show button, otherwise play the games first.

In the end of Dreamfall, Zoe Castillo is left in a coma by her own mother (she connected Zoe to a device called a "Dream Machine" that keeps her permanently connected to the dream world) because she did not wanted Zoe to reveal her newly discovered secrets. Now on Dreamfall Chapters Zoe begins in a comatose state while April Ryan appears to be dead and Kian Alvani is trapped in the Azadi prison at Marcuria, waiting to be executed. The story goes on, once again stressing the importance of Zoe to the balance between both worlds as The Vagabond sends her back to the real life so she could fulfill her duties. Up until the point where Zoe comes out of the coma, she had been living in some sort of limbo where she had developed special powers and used them by helping others when they had a nightmare while using a Dream Machine.

Wrapping it up
I hope that this little story guide helps to spark your curiosity even more so you can give a chance to this great series of adventure games. I wouldn't suggest you to skip the previous games and just start on the new one, but I'd be glad if this little insight into the story of The Longest Journey series of games gets you on the right track so you can understand what you will be seen and experiencing in Dreamfall Chapters.

The Evil Within - How Mikami Got it Right

Some time ago when Resident Evil's original creator, Shinji Mikami said he was going to take survival horror back to its roots we were hopeful, but kind of felt like "whoa it will be a lot of time until that happens". Well, that "far away" day finally arrived and it turned out really well. The Evil Within has a perfect mix of different game play mechanics and details that make the game to be the return of the old school survival horror we had been waiting for.

First of all, be aware that if there ever were a golden rule for survival horror games that rule would be:

A survival horror game must never be perfect. 

This is because if a game claims to be a survival horror title it must have its share of intentional "defects" so it gives the correct atmosphere or else it will feel too clean and sanitized. The Evil Within has a lot of those "defects" as effects like a grainy image, awkward camera angles, controls that seem to break at some times and even non nonsensical happenings that seem to be glitches at first just to realize a few moments later that it was part of the scene itself. These are the kind of game play elements that made legendary horror games like the old school Resident Evil games or the Silent Hill series and fortunately for us, The Evil Within follows this to the letter.

Will that lump in the end stand up or not? That is the question...

Another aspect in which the vision behind the game was right on the money is the fact that it mixes various type of situations into a horror environment that feels solid. You can find yourself ambushed, racing against the clock, running from an enemy who can kill you with just one hit or just find the occasional enemy while exploring the place, avoiding traps and solving puzzles. You see, this is the kind of environment that comes from the result of good game design. Instead of coming up with a bland "shoot your way through" approach, the people behind this game gave us a game world that is balanced between linearity and dynamic game play. Yes, the game moves through the story line in linear fashion, but the way to survival is entirely up to you by choosing how to explore, engage the enemy and develop your character.

This picture makes it look complex, but it is not.

Speaking of character development, this gaming element as used in survival horror games has become a modern trend that has enhanced the overall experience and The Evil Within implements this very well. As a hardcore survival horror fan you may be thinking that strengthening your character will make the game easy and dull, but that is not the case if such system is made in a balanced way. For example, in this game you can make your character to be stronger in some aspects, but the points required to do it are scarce, so you will never be able to create an invincible warrior. Instead, you will have to carefully upgrade the things you use the most in order to create your own style of playing, like upgrading weapons if you want to use more firepower or enhancing your abilities and item stock if you feel like clever and risky tactics are your thing.

The past design look a little more chaotic, but it felt a lot more real.

The only element in this game that may leave some hardcore horror fans wishing it were different is the game flow. The Evil Within flows in chapters like many other modern horror games and this may be seen as an artificial approach to the exploration aspect of the game. Sure, the chapters are long and the maps are diverse and well designed, but some of us may still be missing the backtracking that characterized the survival horror games of old. An example of this been Mikami's own creation, the old Resident Evil series. Anybody who played those games can remember how one could basically go from the last parts of the game all the way to be beginning without any intermissions or at least been able to roam around the whole place before some turn of events made the place to be destroyed or forced you to escape. The lack of this whole backtracking element is not a deal breaker here, but it poses as a nice thing to have in Mikami's next game.

Puzzles are pretty straight forward in this game, but some are just awesome.

Wrapping it up:
In summary, The Evil Within mixes the best of the old and new to create an excellent survival horror game that lives up to the hype and to all the faith that survival horror fans have on Resident Evil's original creator. The team behind the game did a hell of a job and judging by the nice reception that the game had with the gaming community, it is to be expected to see a lot more from what that came from. If you are a survival horror fan this is a must buy and even if you are not, just give it a chance, you will not be dissapointed.

Terra Battle Is A Very Surprising Experience

I have always stated that legendary developers of the past should not go into the mobile "simple game" market because it would seem like a lot of wasted potential, considering their past masterpieces. This is why I got curious about Terra Battle when I read that it was made by the people at Mistwalker (especially Hironobu Sakaguchi) who are the creators of great JRPG games like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and The Last Story. Out of curiosity I tried the game and while I must say that I stand firm in my stance that they should make more AAA Japanese RPG games, I really like this one even though it is not what most of us would expect from Mistwalker.

The game itself has the inner workings of your "run of the mill" mobile rpg, but it feels a lot more fresh and fun. On this game, you are the leader of a group of mercenaries, some kind of adventurer that goes around the world looking for "The Maker" so it becomes necessary to recruit warriors to help you in your travels. This is the part where the game plays like many others because you can get new warriors (at random) to join you by using coins for common and some "magical" currency for rare ones (sort of like cards or creatures featured in other similar games).

You also have to play through chapters consisting of stages where you have to win several fights in order to clear them (all of these spending "stamina" in order to play them). The story on each of these stages and chapters is simple and to the point as it gives you a little background of what is happening and why you are heading into that place, but at the same time, these little bits of storyline feel rather clever and interesting, like reading a synopsis from or a book's chapter and just filling all the details by using your imagination. 

Now, all the similarities to other games end when you actually play the stages. The fights are not simulated and not even turn based. In Terra Battle, you fight enemies by placing your warriors all around a board, sort of like a strategy game. The stage presents you with a grid where there will be monsters, traps and power-ups and you must think strategically to place your units in a way where they can attack while receiving the less damage possible. In order to attack you have to surround an enemy on 2 sides or have it against a corner.

Having other characters near the battle is also useful as they cause damage bonuses and extra effects like healing or any sort of skill that gives extra damage. The first time I saw this battle system I thought it was some sort of puzzle game, but as I got the game and actually played it I realized how wrong I was. In fact, while I moved my characters around and made my own strategies, my imagination started to wonder and I kind of visualized the battle happening in my mind, tying it well with the small bits of storyline that happen before and after.

That is what I mostly appreciate about this game. Somehow they managed to compress part of the feeling of their AAA games into a mobile one, all while been fun and not making you feel like you are indeed playing what some people call a "time waster" game. As an extra I must also mention that most the nice music included in the game is composed by Nobuo Uematsu featuring all sorts of melodies that will surely take you back to the Final Fantasy games of the 90's, coupled with beautiful game art like places, warriors and enemies that is very similar to the ones found in Final Fantasy Tactics. All of this points out that as far as details go, Mistwalker really delivered with this one. 

Wrapping it up

Like I said before, I still think that Mistwalker should give another try to the AAA Japanese RPG market, but this little game called Terra Battle is something that really deserves a chance. It is very light to play, fun and somewhat addicting, giving off this strange old school vibe in it that makes it a good game to play every now and then. If you like strategy, the Mistwalker style of making games or you just appreciate good video game art, try out Terra Battle and see how it goes. Who knows? Maybe supporting Mistwalker with small games like this will bring us one step closer to Lost Odyssey 2... Yeah I know that is some hardcore wishful thinking, but hey... It could happen.

The Moment That Sega Perfected Sonic, Then Blew it afterwards.

After seen a couple of videos about Sonic Boom (which is not bad, but not great either) I was left to wonder as an all time Sonic fan, what was the time when Sega managed to evolve their famous mascot into its best form. Many say that Sonic stopped been cool after the original Sega Genesis games, but if I had to choose one of the forms in which Sega has chosen to portray their blue hedgehog, it would be the Sega Dreamcast era that included the 2 Sonic Adventure games. Why was this the closest that Sega has ever been to perfecting Sonic? Just continue to find out.

This is where it all started.

We all remember the classic sonic games on the Genesis. At a time when all we knew was Super Mario Brothers, Sonic came as a radical and cooler alternative. The games were fast, stages were interesting and the story was simple but appealing. Sonic itself not only looked different than everything we had seen at the time, but he looked cool and hip, sort of rebellious if you ask me. This gave the blue hedgehog an edge over the Italian plumber that lasted a while and helped Sega to establish themselves as a gaming powerhouse at the time.

The game that could had saved the Saturn.

After that, Sega went through a heavy streak of mistakes and one of those was abandoning Sonic. This caused their next big console which was the Sega Saturn, to lack a definitive Sonic title and all we got was Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R which were kind of O.K, but not what we were hoping for. After that came project Katana which turned into the Sega Dreamcast and at that time we saw their mascot making a comeback in the form of Sonic Adventure which at the time was the most awesome thing around.

This iconic image from the game made many people to become early Dreamcast adopters.

Not only had Sonic jumped into the 3D graphics era, but the game looked great, the action was fast and the story was once again simple and appealing, just like they did with the classic Sonic games. This time you also had a little more freedom, as you could explore some stages at will, find secrets, do speed runs and find different ways to survive until the end. Sonic itself was not lacking any attitude either. He was know accompanied by some nice alternative rock music (played by Crush 40) and had a cool voice to express himself. He was cocky, confident and easy going even in the worse of situations so most fans fell in love with this version of the Sega mascot as soon as we saw it.

Multi characters for high replay value. Something brilliant at the time.

He was also accompanied by other characters that you could play as such as Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big the Cat and E-102 Gamma (which was made by Dr. Robotnik). Everybody had something different for the player with Sonic handling the fast paced stages, Tails focusing on his gadgets, Knuckles floating around looking for pieces of the master esmerald, Amy going through alternative versions of Sonic stages using her hammer for a more action oriented approach, Big the cat with his fishing stages and E-102 Gamma with his story about how he escaped from Dr. Robotnik and became one of the good guys. The really cool thing about them is that each of them had their own angle on the main story, so it this wasn't about repeating the same stages with different characters.

Shadow was a nice surprise back then, he is still awesome.

After that came Sonic Adventure 2. This game introduced a couple of villains like Shadow the hedgehog and Rouge the bat with the inclusion of Dr. Robotnik as a playable character. This time the whole thing was to be able to play as both the good side and the bad side as the story progressed. The game looked even better than the original and featured very imaginative stages following a storyline that was both cool and heartwarming at the same time. The greatest thing about both Sonic Adventure games was that their storylines included a little bit or everything from adventurous, funny and cute moments, to confrontations, peril and even tragedy. This may have to do with the fact that the anime series called Sonic X was been transmitted at the time and as we all know, anime can pack quite a punch in story telling terms.

The "Shadow with a gun" thing was kind of weird.

These two great Sonic games came and went, and after the Dreamcast met its demise and Sega became a third party company, the almost perfect Sonic the hedgehog we enjoyed on Sega's last machine was replaced with a couple of experiments that went from so-so to mediocre. At first they made Sonic heroes which was nice and kind of a throwback to the old games with the inclusion of the 3 hero party mechanic that served to solve puzzles and get through the stages in a more strategical way. Other game was Shadow the Hedgehog in which they tried to mix up both speed and action with Shadow using guns and everything.

Pound for pound the weirdest Sonic moment ever.

Then after the next generation in line was about to start (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii), somebody had the "brilliant" idea to bring Sonic as closest to reality as possible and this is where it got ugly. When the Sonic the Hedgehog "next gen" game came to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, what we found was an adulterated version of what we used to love. Not only the game had technical issues like very long loading times, it tried so hard to be a "realistic epic" that it failed miserably at what mattered the most and that was gameplay. Sure, the free roaming aspect was still there, but it felt bland and generic with stages that tried to give that Sonic Adventure vibe, but ended been a lot slower and tedious.

Slow and clunky werewolf.

After that, a whole number of Sonic games began to enter the market, having the blue hedgehog in many different situations that weren't that good. On one of them he could turn into a slow werewolf (Sonic Unleashed), on other he was sort of a knight (Sonic and the Black Knight) and there even was a Wii version of Sonic called Sonic and the Secret Rings which was just an "on rails" game that was kind of fun at first, but after a couple of stages it felt like a hassle. On all of these games the storyline aspect was severely degraded, lacking the passion that the Sonic Adventures games had. Couple that with bad gameplay experiments and then you will know why Sonic isn't as popular on this day and age.

It doesn't look that bad except for Knuckles, I will never get over that.

Wrapping it up:
Sonic Boom is not a bad angle to the blue hedgehog's universe (except for what they did with knuckles which was horrible), but the last Sonic games that were made with real passion and imagination lie on those fateful years after 9/9/99. At that time like the title implies, Sega managed to get Sonic to a near perfect state only to dump it all later when they began making uninspired games just for the sake of making them. I wonder if anybody in Sega has ever found him/herself on a meeting saying, "hey, let's go back to the Sonic Adventure style" only to be ignored or something like it.

5 Retro Characters That Could Had Been In The New Smash Bros Game.

The new Super Smash Bros is already out there (3DS version) and it has proven to be another great addition to the series. This franchise is basically the most famous one that Nintendo has and it causes quite a stir when we talk about what characters should be in it. Nintendo has always stated that characters that appear on Smash Bros have to be ones that have appeared in a Nintendo platform at any point in time so the list is endless. We all know that from the nostalgic point of view retro characters have precedence over current ones, so today we are going to see 5 retro characters that would had been cool to have on this new Smash Bros game.

1) The Boy (from A Boy and his Blob on NES and Wii)

The original "A Boy and his Blob" game is considered a great classic and its main character duo would had made for a very versatile fighter in Smash Bros. This is because the boy can use his blob for pretty much anything, making him a more interesting character than Rosalina who has her Luma as her sidekick. Think about it for a second, using the blob to attack, guard and do special moves by morphing it into various objects is something that would had made this character to be very fun to use. Many things come to mind when we think of potential moves. For example if you were to be falling down, you turn the blob into a ladder and climb back to safety or if you needed a quick weapon then you could turn the blob into a sword, shield or projectile. Possibilities are endless with this one.

Speed: Med - Defense: Low - Power: High

Final Smash: Turning the blob into a giant bowling ball, rolling it in the direction he is facing and decimating anything it touches.

2) Billy Lee (Double Dragon)

We already have a hand to hand specialist in the form of Little Mac, but it wouldn't had hurt to have the most famous of the Lee brothers joining the fight. This one would had been similar to Little Mac, but a lot more controllable as Little Mac tends to fall out of the stage a lot if you get carried away with the special moves. Billy Lee would not only be able to use his martial art moves, but also have special moves that include the use of various weapons that appear on the original game like the nunchaku, whip or bat. Billy trademark grapple would had to make an appearance too as many players loved using it in the original game. It would also be very cool if Billy had his whirlwind kick as a risky move to clear the area (sort of like Kirby's block attack). 

Speed: Low - Defense: Med - Power: Med

Final Smash: Two big Abobo enemies appear on stage, following enemies and punching them into oblivion.

3) Ryu Hayabusa (from the classic NES games)

One of the coolest things about the classic Ninja Gaiden games were the anime cutscenes they featured which was something that wasn't common in games at the time. In Smash Bros, we could have the anime styled Ryu Hayabusa that appeared on those cutscenes using the whole assortment of powers and weapons that he had in the classic games, but with a little less speed than Greninja. Other than the moves and weapons, one cool feature that Ryu could have is to be able to climb the wall if he's falling and somehow can get to it in time, the downside been that you could be knocked down if hit while climbing and haven't gotten to the ledge yet.

Speed: Med - Defense: Low - Power: High

Final Smash: The Jaquio appears and starts throwing big lighting spheres across the stage, severely damaging your enemies.

4) Bill Rizer (Contra)

By seen Bill Rizer in the list you may be thinking that it would be kind of unfair to have a character that has a machine gun all time, but it is not. Bill would be a slower but more powerful version of Snake (Super Smash Brothers Brawl), only using his equipment at some occasions and with a limited range. He would also be able to change his weapon into some of the special ones he finds in the original games and use small grenades like Snake does. He would also be able to double jump and prone (shoot while lying on the ground) to compensate for his lack of speed. His gun attacks will also had to be be very strong to keep up in the fight against faster opponents.  

Speed: Low - Defense: Med - Power: High

Final Smash: Bill makes a call and in a second, a flurry of big missiles (like the ones on stage 4 in Contra III: The Alien Wars) blowing away any opponent they touch.

5) Simon Belmont (Castlevania)

Almost everybody agrees that Simon Belmont should be in Smash Bros and it is not a hard thing to justify considering that the franchise made its console debut with the NES and also that Super Castlevania IV is considered by many to be the best of the classic series. Simon would be a very interesting character to play with, as the whip gives him a good mid range attack and his assortment of sub-weapons can make for pretty good strategies to use against opponents. He would have limited jumping skills but would be able to cling and make an extra jump by whipping the edge of a wall or platform at the right time.

Speed: Med - Defense: Low - Power: Med

Final Smash: The Belmont's super attack of choice, the Grand Cross.

Wrapping it up:

It was once stated by Nintendo that Super Smash Bros would never become a fan service fest, but considering how the franchise roster has been evolving since Brawl we can see that the purist notion that they had is slowly vanishing and that we may see a lot of interesting character appearances in the future. Let's just hope that they keep up the good work of bringing some of our childhood video game heroes back to life. Who knows? Maybe the Wii U version has some nice surprises in store for us.