While the vague release date of 2014 may make it seem like we've got an awfully long time to wait until Super Smash Bros. makes its debut on Wii U and 3DS next year, frankly, we've been counting down the days since it was announced last year. Thankfully though, news about the upcoming brawler, which throws characters from all kinds of franchises together to duke it out, is coming thick and fast. We've already had confirmation that Sega's blue blur Sonic the Hedgehog will be included, as well as Capcom's legendary Mega Man and even the Wii Fit trainer. Today though, fans of Nintendo's long running Fire Emblem series will be glad to hear the news that Marth, one of the classic characters from the series, will be joining the mash-up smash-up too.
Fire Emblem has been around for ages in Japan, and has gained plenty of fans in the West too. This year's Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS was a fantastic example of a turn-based strategy game that can be both accessible and incredibly deep, and it's perhaps not too surprising that a character from the series would once again make an appearance in the next Smash Bros. (Marth was a playable fighter in the GameCube instalment Melee too, as well as on Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, alongside fellow Fire Emblem favourite Ike). Swapping the considered, tactical battles of his own series for a more, let's say, direct approach, Marth brings sword-based attacks to Smash Bros, fitting in nicely with the likes of Link from the Legend of Zelda and Kid Icarus' Pit.
Have that, Olimar! I shall slice your puny Pikmin's petals with my sword.
While it's nice to have confirmation that Marth will be returning, it's arguably not as exciting as the news of the Wii Fit Trainer or Animal Crossing Villager being included. Those characters should at least offer some brand new moves and abilities, whereas Marth (we expect) will probably handle similarly to previous Smash Bros. titles - like a poor man's Ike. If nothing else though, if Marth's made the list, hope still springs eternal that Everybody Plays favourite Ike may make the grade too - the Smash Bros equivalent of a tank, Ike may have been slow, but he hit like a truck, with a single hit being all it took to send your opponent flying off the stage, and earn you a point.
With frequent character roster updates like this, as well as the weekly release of creator Masahiro Sakurai's batches of screenshots, it's hard to see how the hype for the first HD and portable games in the series (on Wii U and 3DS respectively) will do anything but build to boiling point as we head towards their 2014 release. In the mean time, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for some more surprising character announcements - after all, with monochrome man Mr Game & Watch and '80's NES accessory R.O.B the Robot joining the fray as playable characters in previous games, who knows what oddities could be announced. Mr. Resetti? Toad? Beedle? For now though, perhaps we'll just have another quick practice game of Brawl… purely for research of course.
