As large as the Super Smash Bros. roster is, there are some characters who are the only representatives of their franchises. In a reboot, which ones could be cut? If any get the ax, their franchise would disappear from the most prominent collection of Nintendo IPs. Even if the character is kept, how would they be changed? With that said, here we go!
Quick, what's the first word or phrase that pops into your head when you hear the name "Captain Falcon"? Let me guess: at least half of you said something along the lines of "Falcon Punch!" Why did I do this exercise? It was to illustrate how even though Captain Falcon's move set was almost entirely improvised for Smash Bros, these moves are, dare I say it, just as much a part of the character as his car. He would not be the same without Smash Bros, and Smash Bros. would not be the same without him as we know him. As for his stage, I have a hard time thinking of something that has yet to be done or could be done in a noticeably different way, so this is one that I'll leave up in the air.
Captain Falcon would not be the only character to go through a reboot unscathed; Duck Hunt would also be an unchanged character. The reason for this is one that I have discussed before: there have been no updates to the source material, since the character draws inspiration from NES Zapper games, which by their very nature, would not be added to.
As for the stage, perhaps another Zapper game could be drawn from to create a stage. For this stage, a more obscure game would act as the base: To The Earth. You probably have never heard of this game, but you can view gameplay here. Basically, it is an on rails space shooter controlled by the NES Zapper. The stage could involve the game playing out in front of the fighters, albeit slowed down for the ships and bombs to act as viable platforms. Since the stage would be quickly and constantly changing, the fighters would have to adapt as well.
The Miis are characters that many have speculated would be cut, but on the contrary, I would expand upon them. They are icons of the Wii era, and should be kept. People point out that they are not a big part of the Switch, but there is a Mii maker built in, and the ability to suspend software would allow for seamless transitions between the game and the creator. Even if this is on some distant console without a Mii maker, one could just be included in the game, like Tomodachi Island and Miitopia. As for the moves themselves, a big part of them is their customization, and the custom moves would be brought back only for them, though highly expanded upon. Many moves and costumes would be added for more ability to customize the fighters, and they would mostly be unlocked through a new mode.
While the Miis could have a stage based on Miitopia, I would like to spend this time talking about this proposed mode. In this mode, separate from a traditional adventure mode, you would create a Mii Fighter, which then sets out on a quest to prove him or her self to the rest of the Super Smash Bros. The gameplay would work similar to Melee's adventure mode, with your mii running and fighting through iconic locales from the games Smash Bros. draws from. Along the way, secrets can be found which grant their customization items. As the adventure progresses, the character gets more powerful through the items, and the mode ends with a fight against the adventure mode's villain, but a forced loss would show that no one fighter can beat this big bad alone.
Like Duck Hunt, Mr. Game & Watch has had no updates to his source material, so again, there's no reason to update his moves. Another complication for him would be his stage: Smash 4 has a stage that showcases a wide variety of Game & Watch games, so there's not really much left to pull from. If any of you have some ideas, I'm open to them.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a franchise that has grown to relevance in recent years, and a franchise that it still going strong like this deserves to keep its representation. While there are much more recent protagonists in this series, I think Shulk best represents the franchise, being the first of the Chronicles brand, and in a reboot, every slot is precious, so there's not much room for expansion. Regarding the move set, as I have stated multiple times in this article, there has not been any updates to the source material, so there is no reason to update his moves.
Shulk could use a new stage, though. More specifically, Mechonis Field would do a nice job showcasing the other side of the world of Xenoblade Chronicles. The vertical nature of the area would make for a unique stage layout, and who knows, maybe even some Mechon could interfere with the battle.
The last returning franchise to only have one representative would be Animal Crossing. The Villager would be mostly unchanged, but the recovery would likely be changed to something else, like clutching onto a rising balloon present or maybe hitching a ride from a bird villager, since it currently does not draw from his own series.
This character's stage would be a bit different from previous stages based from the series. This stage would be set within a village from the series, and the layout is different every time, akin to how no two people experience the game in the same way. Think about how the Excitebike track from Mario Kart 8 does it, but apply that style to a 2D version of an Animal Crossing village.
While this is pure speculation, we're getting ridiculously close to a reveal of a real Super Smash Bros. game. With this in mind, it's time to get excited. E3 is officially underway, so let's do this!
Read the previous parts:
Part 2 - Mario Adjacent Franchises