As the fall releases of the two new Super Smash Bros. titles draws nearer, fans are continuing to ask one big question: who's on the playable character roster? A few weeks ago, alleged photos of the character screen were leaked on 4Chan, suggesting that certain "question mark" characters like Wario and Ganondorf would be reprising their roles from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and making their way to the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game. The leaked photos also showed potential newcomers to the roster, including Bowser Jr., Shulk, the Duck Hunt Dog, and Dark Pit.
Now, it looks like most of those rumors have been confirmed, though there are still a few question marks left to think about as the October and December releases of Super Smash Bros. approach. The lineup confirmations came thanks to a live stream of the 3DS version of the game, which was aired on Twitch by user Hayama. Nintendo's "official" 3DS Twitch live stream will still begin on Friday, September 12, as previously scheduled.
Still, the Hayama stream has already revealed a lot of the things that people wanted to know about the new version of Super Smash Bros. For one thing, it's confirmed that Duck Hunt Dog (from Duck Hunt) and Dark Pit (from Kid Icarus: Uprising) will both be on the playable roster. The rumored returning characters from Brawl have also been confirmed, including Ganondorf, Mr. Game and Watch, Falco, Ness, Dr. Mario, R.O.B., Wario, and Jigglypuff. Shulk had already been confirmed.
With other recently confirmed characters like Captain Falcon, Robin, and Lucina, it certainly feels like the line-up for the new Super Smash Bros. games is completely on the table now. However, there are still a few questions left to be asked. For one, where's Bowser Jr.? Unlike the other new characters revealed by the 4Chan leak, he wasn't confirmed by Hayama's Twitch stream.
For another, what's the story on Brawl characters like Wolf, Snake, and Squirtle? As IGN notes, trophies have been spotted for Wolf and Squirtle, so both characters could still turn up. Since both are characters from the Nintendo universe, it wouldn't be unthinkable for them to slip onto the Super Smash Bros. roster without anyone knowing beforehand.
The writing appears to be on the wall for Snake though, who, as a character from Konami's Metal Gear Solid franchise, was already one of the most surprising roster inclusions in the history of the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Fans of the Smash Bros. series noticed on the Hayama stream that no Konami information appears in the game credits, which more or less puts a nail in the coffin of the hopes for Snake's return.
Earlier rumors, that Snake would be an "add-on" character available through downloadable content, could still prove to be true. However, those rumors seem doubtful at this point. Perhaps we'll just have to bid a sad farewell to Snake's grenades, land mines, and rocket launchers. RIP.
As for Pokemon's MewTwo, well… we're still just crossing our fingers that he (or "it," rather) somehow shows up as super secret unlockable character.
Super Smash Bros. will be released for the Nintendo 3DS on October 3, 2014. A Wii U version of the game will follow sometime this holiday season.