Lucario Super Smash Bros Wii U 3DS Screenshot

In the wake of a storm of Nintendo announcements, a returning character has been revealed for the highly anticipated Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Lucario, often thought by fans to be a candidate for removal in the forthcoming games, has been confirmed to return in a playable capacity in the Wii U and 3DS titles.

For those who are unfamiliar with the origins of Lucario, he originates from the Pokemon franchise. The character had a brief spike in popularity around the time of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's release thanks to an animated movie, which resulted in the Pocket Monster's inclusion in the franchise as a playable character. According to a MiiVerse post from franchise creator Masahiro Sakurai however, Lucario nearly didn't make the cut into Smash Bros. and fans have the production staff to thank for his inclusion.

"Lucario joined the battle for the first time in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was released six years ago. The production staff of Brawl worked really hard to expand the character roster--without their efforts, Lucario probably never would have joined the battle."

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With all that in mind, not much appears to have changed about the combatant's move set — at least based on initial screenshots. Sakurai did confirm that the brawler's 'Aura' ability from the previous game will be making a return, although this time it'll be quite a bit more powerful.

"The heroic Aura Pokémon, Lucario, joins the battle!! We've increased the influence of Aura this time, so a damaged Lucario is truly a force to be reckoned with."

Lucario topped our list of 5 characters we didn't expect to see returning in Super Smash Bros., so the fighter's confirmation (along with Toon Link's) has proven just how poor we are at trying to predict Smash combatants.

With development of the games coming into the home stretch, thanks to a planned release later this year, characters will have to be revealed at a quicker pace in order to be known in time for launch — assuming there are still plenty left to unveil. Just what else Nintendo still has left to reveal will remain a mystery for the time being.

What do you think of Lucario's return? Which veteran's confirmation are you still waiting on?

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You can follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.

Source: MiiVerse