Are You O.K. with that?
The announcement thatSNK’s Terry Bogard is coming toSmashwas met with polarized responses. Fans ofHimbo‘s and theKing of Fightersseries were overjoyed, while fans of not-those-things were somewhat irritated, decrying Terry as just “Ken in a hat.” We saw similar split reactions when Banjo Kazooie andDragon Quest‘s Hero were revealed to beSmashDLC.
If you love Banjo, you see him as a classic icon of the golden days of 3D platforming. If you don’t, then he’s just a generic cereal box mascot who abuses a bird. If you loveDragon Quest, then Hero represents one of the most storied and influential RPGs of all time. If you’ve never playedDragon Quest, he’s just another sword character “…who looks sort of like Goku I guess.”
Between all the joy and bellyaching came the appearance ofSans fromUndertaleas a Mii costume. This is on top of Shovel Knight and Bomberman being Assist Trophies, Shantae and Risky Boots being Spirits, and Dracula being one of the game’s bosses.
Smashis no longer a celebration of Nintendo’s history where one or two rivals from a competing publisher may be allowed in as a sign of respect. That’s what it felt like when Sonic and Snake were first announced forBrawl. It was a mind-exploding moment that took the franchise to the next level, but that was over ten years ago.Smashhas been beyond that level for a while now.
InUltimate, there are multiple potential line ups for an eight-player game ofSmashwere there are zero Nintendo characters present in the fight. In one-on-one matches, you can have Capcom, Konami, Sega/Atlus, or Square-Enix characters face off without the need for mirror matches. There are twice as many 3rd party characters in the game than there are reps fromMetroidorStar Fox.
Smashis no longer about Nintendo. It’s about all video games, which means it could be about any video game. The next character in the season pass could be Doom guy, someone fromOverwatch, Minecraft‘s Steve, or even Cadence fromCrypt of the Necrodancer. Cuphead could get in there at some point, as could Pitfall Harry, Isaac fromBinding of Isaac, or Purple Tentacle fromManiac Mansion.It doesn’t matter if they have a viable move set, or if their games are currently popular, or if there is already someone on theSmashroster who is similar. This is a game where there are two fighters named Roy, two separate slots for Mario and Dr. Mario, and at least one character whose only appearance outside ofSmashwas in a 2006 GBA game that never left Japan. And they all made a return forSmash Ultimate,a game that is getting close to hitting the 100 fighters mark (if you include bosses) with more still on the way.
With that kind of expanding roster, it’s no longer realistic — or even interesting — for Nintendo to only allow characters who are “right” forSmashinto the game. Now it’s about defying expectations and winning fans over despite their skepticism. I can use myself as an example. I think King K. Rool is one of the least interesting or original character designs of all time. He is literally just a fat crocodile wearing a crown. Yet, when I first played him inSmash Ultimate,I couldn’t put him down. The amount of depth that was packed into his move set and energy infused in his animations made me a believer.
And this was weeks before they released the Piranha Plant DLC, which proved that Smash can take a simple death trap with one animation and transform it into a versatile, unique fighter that had personality to spare while staying 100% true to its “roots.” In 2019,Smashisn’t about seeing all your favorite characters in one game. It’s about Sakurai and his team proving that they can make literally anyone or anything into a fighter. It’s not about them being a cover band who’s playing Nintendo’s greatest hits, it’s about them being able to take literally any song, no matter how much you think it sucks, and make it sound amazing.
Of course, that may not be what you all want to hear. As I’ve learned many times over the years, there are plenty of people in theSmashcommunity who love to hate being inclusive. They thrive off the idea that they know better than anyone else, even Sakurai, howSmashshould play, what characters should and shouldn’t be inSmash,and even who should playSmash. For them, seeing Terry inSmashmight seem like a failure for Nintendo.
[Art byThedge]
If you’re one of those people, let me tell you that life is a lot more fun when you go into it with curiosity and optimism. If you look into Terry’s history, you may like what you see. His debut was in 1991, the same year thatStreet Fighter IIwas released. Flash forward 28 years and 50 games later, and this orphan Gamer Dad is still one of the most recognized fighting game characters in the world, especially in international markets. He was also a major player in the creation of the crossover fighting game genre. According to Sakurai,Smashwouldn’t be the same withoutKing of Fighters, andKing of Fighterswould have never happened without Terry.
On the other hand, you could shut your ears to all that and be unhappy. One common complaint I’ve seen already is, alongside Ken and Ryu, Terry is the 3rd fighting game character inUltimate. Some think that’s too many, despite the fact thatSmashis a fighting game too, and therefore, every character inSmashis a… fighting game character? I don’t know, man. Maybe that’s poppycock. Maybe there is an important, valid reason to be mad online aboutSmash Bros., but I can speak for myself that every time I’ve ever gotten mad about a video game, publicly or privately, it only worked to bum me out in the end. I’d like to see you avoid similar bummers, but hey, I’m not your Gamer Dad. That’s Terry’s job.
