| aDomingo said: While it's good to see the sheer amount of characters, there better not be any damn clone whatsoever, none. There simply is no excuse for it in 2014. |
I actually disagree a lot with this argument.
Clones like Lucina (who has been confirmed to be pretty much a literal Marth clone - same moveset, mostly the same base animations, just some adjustments to power/speed/size) are quick and easy to make, and if every character got such a clone, it would double the number of characters in the game.
In fact, for quite a few characters, I can think of perfect clones that could just have a few minor tweaks along the way. Dr Mario, Mr L, Daisy, and Bowser Jr would all fit well for the four main Mario characters. Lucas could easily be a Ness clone, opening the potential for another full Mother character. Tails could easily be a clone of Sonic (or use Shadow, if the added flying and tail stuff is difficult). Rayman and Barbara could both be in the game as clones of each other. They could include a second Mega Man. And some characters between franchises would sit well as clones of this sort. I'd love to see Shulk and Sora as clones of each other. Charizard could easily have a clone in the form of Ridley, if Sakurai wanted it to happen. Bayonetta could neatly be made a clone of Zero Suit Samus.
There are more, when you think about it. Sheik could get an Impa clone. Captain Falcon could get a clone in the form of another racer from the F-Zero franchise (or they could have Samurai Goroh as a clone of Takamaru, if Takamaru makes it in). Ganondorf could get a moveset more like that of Ghirahim, and the two could both be in the game. If Snake returns, they could have a clone in the form of a character from Battalion Wars. Wario could get a Waluigi clone. Ice Climbers could get a clone in the form of Mario & Luigi (from the eponymous subfranchise). Dixie Kong could easily be a Diddy Kong clone (as with the idea of Tails, it would just add the extra stuff for her flying with her hair). Paper Mario could be a clone of Mr Game & Watch. They could even get a bit playful, and do something like Tingle + Starfy as a clone of Rosalina + Luma - yes, Tingle and Starfy aren't from the same franchise, that's the "playful" part. They could include Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright as clones.
The potential for dramatically growing the lineup without having to do a dramatic amount of extra work is there, if only clones are seen as a positive (which they are, so long as the number of characters isn't pre-set prior to creation of clones).
EDIT: and if anybody looks at examples I gave and thinks "I'd hate that" for any particular example, just remember that I was coming up with clonings very quickly, and while I really like some of the possible clonings, the main point with the list is to demonstrate the potential, and not to say those clonings should happen.
