The result of one of the best decisions Nintendo ever made appeared online after the April 1 Nintendo Direct. The company opened the floor to fans so that people can suggest new fighters for Super Smash Bros . The ensuing Smash Bros . Fighter Ballot was a brilliant idea and falls in line with the company’s recent attempts to keep certain games relevant for as long as possible ( See Mario Kart 8 ).
Naturally, that means people decided that it was the perfect opportunity to gum up the works. Search for the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot on Twitter and you’ll see hundreds of images of votes cast for characters. Some are quite reasonable. Most, well, aren’t.
Which I can understand. Sometimes, you love an obscure character and want to see if he or she has a chance. Or, it might be funny to cast a false ballot with something ridiculous, like Bubsy the Bobcat, for giggles. The thing is, while funny, being outrageous really isn’t helping.
Some characters make a lot of sense. Goku from Dragon Ball Z is a great Smash Bros . Fighter Ballot suggestion, since Bandai Namco handles the Dragon Ball Z video games. Getting the licensing rights shouldn’t prove too difficult. Plus, he’s an oft-requested character. Calling for the return of Snake works too, since he’s already appeared on a past character roster. Even a Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts cameo would make sense, since Nintendo and Square Enix are on pretty good terms. Since one of the things Nintendo will be looking at is likely how often a request appears, it’s smart to help back such characters.
Voting for characters that we already have been told wouldn’t work within Super Smash Bros. isn’t so smart. For example, we know technical limitations kept Ridley out of the running. He’s a “boss” in a stage, so we should be happy he’s there in some form. The same goes for the Ice Climbers. I love Popo and Nana, it’d be great to see them back, but we know they wouldn’t work on the 3DS version of the game. They couldn’t be a possibility, because they want to keep parity between the 3DS and Wii U versions.
Then, there are the ridiculous suggestions. No, Sailor Moon wouldn’t be a viable choice. Think of the licensing issues, people. Crash Bandicoot, sad as it may be, isn’t going to come back from the dead for Super Smash Bros . Real people aren’t a good idea, either. I don’t care if he is Nintendo of America’s COO, Reggie isn’t going to be picked as the next contender.
I suppose I’m calling for a little order. We had our fun with the joke ballots. Let’s start using the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot the way it was intended. Organize with friends. Find a realistic character to get behind. Cast votes. Work together. We have a fantastic opportunity here, and we should take this seriously.