The original Super Smash Bros. roster of 12 was small even for the era, but it was hard not to love the mere concept of Nintendo’s most iconic characters duking it out. Even with a cast of 12, Super Smash Bros. felt like a full, comprehensive game on the Nintendo 64. Which made it all the more surprising when Super Smash Bros. Melee improved upon its predecessor in every way imaginable. 

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Super Smash Bros. Melee is the uber-sequel, improving everything that needs to be improved while redefining how the game is played completely. Any good fighting game is defined by their roster. Melee not only brings back the core 12, but rounds them out with even more of Nintendo’s most legendary characters. Along with plenty of mechanical fixes, Melee really is the perfect sequel. Super Smash Bros. Melee has one of the tightest rosters in a fighting game, but it could’ve been even better by including cut characters. 

7 Balloon Fighter & Urban Champion Protagonist 

Heading into Super Smash Bros. Melee's development, Sakurai and his team new they wanted to represented the NES/Famicom era of games specifically. While the vast majority of Nintendo's most familiar characters originated in said era, there were just as many series & characters that weren't able to secure a legacy. This character slot would be a means of honoring a lost piece of Nintendo history.

While the team would eventually settle on the Ice Climbers as their NES/Famicom representative, they did bounce five notable characters. Of the five, Balloon Fighter makes the most sense to include over the Ice Climbers, as Balloon Fighter the game was one of the NES' more popular and memorable titles. The unnamed protagonist of Urban Champion was also considered to represent the era, likely in reference to Urban Champion serving as one of the earliest fighting games on the NES.

6 Bubbles & Excitebiker

Where Balloon Fighter referenced the arcade-like quality of most NES games while the Urban Champion protagonist was a node to the game's early presence in the fighting genre, Clu Clu Land's Bubbles likely would have represented the puzzle-centric games that littered the NES. While they were arcade-like in scope as well, a game like Clu Clu Land prioritized wit over reflexes like in Balloon Fighter.

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Perhaps the most interesting cut character of the Famicom Five is the Excitebiker. Excitebike has always been one of Nintendo's most underrated franchises despite how often the studio tried to push the series. An Excitebiker would not only have honored an important series in Nintendo's catalogue, but referenced Nintendo's early, pre-Mario Kart racing games.

5 Ayumi Tachibana

Of the Famicom Five, Ayumi Tachibana would have been the most bizarre choice– something Sakurai seems to have recognized as the cited reason for her exclusion was ultimately her lack of presence with international audiences (something worth considering when taking into account the fact Marth and Roy were almost cut from the international release for this very reason.)

Ayumi Tachibana is one of the central characters in Famicom Detective Club, an early NES visual novel that never made it stateside. One has to wonder what kind of move set Ayumi Tachibana would have, but that's a problem all of the Famicom Five have. When it comes down to it, it's clear why the Ice Climbers were chosen. They simply offer more gameplay variety.

4 Lucas

games we want localized

Lucas made his formal Super Smash Bros. debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii, but he was actually considered for Super Smash Bros. Melee's roster. Not only was Lucas considered, he would have replaced Ness in the process instead of serving as a clone. At the time, Mother 3 wasn't being developed for the Game Boy Advance, but instead the Nintendo 64.

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Infamously, however, Mother 3's development cycle on the Nintendo 64 was tumultuous and ultimately led to the game's cancellation. While Mother 3 would eventually be revived and completed on the GBA (arguably even better as a result,) this cancellation did result in Lucas being cut from the game and Ness securing his spot. Interestingly, had Mother 3 not been cancelled, Super Smash Bros. Melee would have served as an advertisement for two Japanese exclusive games– Mother 3 and Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.

3 Solid Snake

snake remaster

Hideo Kojima and Masahiro Sakurai are notably good friends, so it's no surprise in hindsight that Solid Snake eventually joined the series. When his debut trailer dropped for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, however, it was pure hype. Just the mere thought of Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. was jarring, but he ended up being one of Brawl's best characters– both in terms of competency and game feel.

Interestingly, Hideo Kojima actually approached Sakurai during Super Smash Bros. Melee's development to have Solid Snake included in the game. Unfortunately, Kojima's request came too late as the development team was already too deep to add anymore characters. That said, this likely explains why Solid Snake was one of the first characters revealed for Brawl.

2 Sonic The Hedgehog 

The rumors that circled Super Smash Bros. Melee regarding Sonic the Hedgehog are honestly legendary. Whether they stem from playground rumors or April Fool's jokes, everyone had some idea of how to unlock Sonic the Hedgehog during Melee's heyday. Ultimately, there was no Sonic to unlock (and certainly no Tails,) which makes the fact Sonic was almost included all the more surprising.

Sonic's reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl was far more impactful than Snake's was, but that's only because he missed out his chance to be in Melee (a fate coincidentally shared with Snake.) Yuji Naka actually stated in an interview with EDGE that Sonic was considered for the roster at some point, but time constraints ultimately led to his exclusion.

1 Wario

Sakurai really seems to like Wario as evidenced by how much love & care he gave the character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wario has become a franchise staple since, but Sakurai actually intended for Wario to debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Not just that, Sakurai clarified on Smabura-Ken (essentially Super Smash Bros. Melee's Smash Dojo) that he would have added Wario if Melee had more development time.

That said, if Wario were included in Super Smash Bros. Melee, he naturally wouldn't have access to his WarioWare mannerism and abilities. This would have naturally led to a Wario with moves based exclusively on his Wario Land self, likely playing off Wario's ability to transform.

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