Captain Olimar
First appeared: Pikmin (2001)
The intrepid (albeit miniature) hero of the Pikmin series is back in action, following his success in Smash Bros. Brawl. He will once again use his Pikmin army to his advantage, with his blue, yellow, red, purple, and white buddies all doing different damaging effects. No sign yet of the rock Pikmin we spotted in Pikmin 3, but here's to hoping.
As much as we love commanding Olimar's Pikmin around the Smash battlefield, we're hoping that he can be a more efficient fighter on his own. We know Pikmin have always been his saving grace, but gee whiz give the guy a chance if he should tragically lose them all in a tight spot! Ok, maybe it happens to us more than others, but still help a captain out!
Mario
Oh hey look Mario is in the Smash Brothers game, also breaking news the sky is blue and water is wet. Seriously though, there's no Nintendo without Mario, so there's no Smash Bros without the plucky plumber either.
As they've done with all their previous Smash Bros reveals, the first trailer started the appropriate way: with Mario as the first characer shown. Mr. Mustache seems to have all the same abilities from the previous games, which will once again make him the average all-around character beginners use to learn the game. Let's face it: most folks playing Smash for the first time are going to choose Mario anyway, so he should be the perfect character for learning the game.
Villager
The Animal Crossing series isn't known for its violence, so previous Smash appearances had been relegated to stages and trophies. No more! Now Villager is joining the fray, and if the internet is to be believed he's a raging, murderous psychopath bent on wanton destruction. Yeah.
Villager comes to Smash packing a vast arsenal of collection and town upkeep tools. Shovels, axes, plant buckets, slingshots, and even his pockets will serve him against the rest of Nintendo's best. We wonder though; will the Animal Crossing part of the roster be limited to him, or is it too much to hope the nefarious, capitalist tyrant Tom Nook will appear as well?
Mega Man
When that helmet appeared and those mega eyes lit up in Mega Man's reveal trailer, the reaction across the Internet can be summarized in one word: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! Mega Man is FINALLY going to brawl against Mario, Link, and the rest of the gang! Happy days!
To be honest we were a little dumbstruck that ol Mega hadn't appeared in Brawl as one of the first ever third party fighters, but we don't need to worry about that anymore. The Blue Bomber is bringing plenty of his most famous moves with him. The Mega Buster, his slide, and a slew of abilities he copied from robot masters he's defeated in his various games, including the iconic Metal Man saw blades. It may have taken one game longer than we thought, but Mega Man is finally here. We can not wait to play as him!
Bowser
It seems Mario's biggest has learned to stand a little taller since his last appearance in Brawl, as his new stance takes him away from the ground and makes him MUCH more intimidating. We don't expect his moveset to change much (and it doesn't look it has, either), but perhaps with a new stance comes some new abilities.
Poor Bowser didn't even get a formal reveal in the first trailer, but rest assured that Bowser is totally playable. The red-haired tyrant will once again try to teach Mario a lesson with fire, sharp claws, and hopefully a Giga Bowser transformation. We'd love to see that giant in full HD.
Kirby
From day one Kirby was a shoo-in for Smash Bros, as he is a creation of Masahiro Sakurai himself. When the idea for Smash Bros came to Mr. Sakurai, he HAD to have been thinking about Mario vs Kirby, so he made sure the pink puffball got in. It's a good thing too, because leaving Kirby out would just be criminal.
We've haven't seen much in the way of moves for Kirby, but we can't imagine his moveset will be drastically different from every other game in the series. Although in the first trailer he turns into a Thwomp, we assume as part of his Down+B Stone attack, so maybe he'll transform into other famous rocks as well. Hopefully be brings some new Copy abilities too; we'd love seeing the Mike attack in a Smash battle.
Pikachu
First appeared: Pokemon Red/Green (1996)
If you thought the international icon of one of Nintendo's most popular franchises would be left out of Smash Bros, you're crazy. Pikachu has been around since the N64, so there's no way he's going anywhere now.
We assume Pikachu will bring the same lightning-quick moveset from the previous games into battle here, including that insane Quick Attack he uses to get across the screen in a hurry. How are we supposed to keep uo with ol' #25 if he keeps zipping around like that? Then he gets a Smash Ball and powers up Volt Tackle, and things just get way worse. Pikachu, you yellow devil, it's good to have you Smashing again, even if you are Pika-cheap.
Link
First appeared: The Legend of Zelda (1987)
In a game of Nintendo icons, nothing outside of a red hat with an M on it is more iconic that the Master Sword, wielded by Link the Hylian. "Hero of Time" almost isn't a powerful enough title for someone as prolific as Link, as he's saved princesses, his world, other dimensions, and the very nature of time. It's no wonder he's back for more Smashing.
Link and his iconic set of weapons are a constant in Smash Bros., though the look has changed throughout the years. This time, Link looks to be taking on his Skyward Sword persona, which explains the more cartoonish look. Maybe he'll bring a Loftwing with him and zip around the battlefield bringing pain from above. We doubt it, but we'd sure like to see it!
Pit
First appeared: Kid Icarus (1986)
In the time between Melee and Brawl, one of the most requested character in Nintendo's stable was Pit, the angelic warrior of the goddess Palutena. Brawl fixed that omission from the jump, and now Pit returns for more action.
We know Pit's moveset has been altered, as he now incorporates the Upper Dash Arm from Kid Icarus: Uprising in his moveset. Sakurai worked on Uprising just before starting his work on this new Smash game, so we won't be surprised if more Uprising abilities make their way into Pit's arsenal. Also, will Dark Pit make an appearance after showing up in Uprising? Will another character represent the series at all?
Samus
First appeared: Metroid (1986)
Samus is one of the biggest badasses in gaming, and was the top space marine years before Master Chief or Marcus Fenix were even created. Her Varia is strong enough on its own, but it's almost unstoppable when fully powered up with bombs and electric whips. She's been blasting fools off screen since the first Smash outing, and will continue to do so on Wii U and 3DS.
Samus's appearance has been given an overhaul, exchanging the bulky-yet-serviceable Power Suit from Super Metroid for the sleeker, more maneuverable Other M version. We can only hope that the Samus under the hood is still the same Super Metroid badass and not the Other M teenager. We're not sure we want to hear that voice again.
