I definitely agree that Mario is a big enough IP and that is why there are so many characters. I knew that was the reason for it, though most of the Smash Bros players are hardcore gamers and many of them are Nintendo fans. Smash Bros is NOT a casual friendly game. I've tried to get casuals or even core gamers who never played the game before and it is a very cringe worthy sight. This is why a lot of people feel that Nintendo's broader IP's need to be explored. Ray from Custom Robo used to be a widely requested fighter back before Brawl came out.

I think the roaster needs to be vast and unique as well as decent in size. If we didn't get Lucina, we would have likely gotten another character in her slot. It is true that she based her fighting style off of Marth and impersonated her so it was easier to make her character and modify Marths move set to suit her. Chrom on the other hand would have his own move set. He would likely be a little closer to Ike than Marth while being distinct from the two. I love Lucina as a character but I feel like it was a short cut. A lot of people were expecting Chrom and honestly he may have been a better choice since he would be more unique.

Robin will likely be only a one time gig for this game. I think a new Fire Emblem character will replace Robin in the future. I love Robin in Awakening but I'm not really feeling him/her in Smash Bros. It doesn't help that I've noticed that Robin doesn't see much play either. Marth will likely always be a staple as he dates back to the origins of the games. The rest will likely be the more recent entries of the series when the next Smash finally comes out. Ike is iffy but he is popular and played enough that he will likely return.

Nope, unless it was another clone, otherwise the game would either have have released later than it did or there wouldn't be anyone in Lucina's spot since original characters take more time and effort to make. 

sad to see that they didnt list mother fuckin kratos.

Yeah I kind have figured. At the same time the development was already really long and I'm sure they could have snuck a fair few other characters in since they didn't make an adventure mode or anything like it. The new Smash bros feels smaller than Brawl or Melee. Not that I am complaining because the game is awesome and has a great roaster.

Also I am very well aware at how much work goes into each character. Fighting games are a pain in the ass when it comes to modeling and animating the fighters. Other games get it easy compared to fighting games.

Nope see Mewtwo!

Also lol at this game being smaller than Melee, and Brawl may aswell not had online.

Was Mewtwo not an after thought though? In theory Mewtwo should have been an easier character to make. The assets can be somewhat reused from Melee but with a new character model. Could they not just reuse the same rigs? The biggest issue here would be balancing the character. Unless the move set is totally different then the animation could be modified to the new character model. I do assume his move set is changed a bit like all the returning characters were to an extent. So changes to rigging the animation would be required.

Lmao Brawl online was a joke. Yes I would still say the new Smash is smaller than both Brawl and Melee in content. I unlocked all the characters in just over an hour in the new smash bros.  The arcade mode is much shorter and there is no adventure mode. The events seem to be on the same level and we get a co-op version of it as well. Crazy and Master orders are random generated battles and if you think the board game is a replacement for Subspace Emisarry or Melee's adventure mode then you must be high.

A larger roaster ≠ more content

The new Smash Bros focuses more on competitive play than solo play. I actually prefer it this way but I would still like something like Subspace Emissary as well. I do feel for Sakurai, I read his interview about how Melee and Brawl drained him to the point of exhaustion. This may very will be his last Smash Bros game and he lightened down on the content for a good reason. During Melee he barely slept, we can't exactly blame the guy. He may look 27 but he's really 44 XD

I voted for Shovel Knight!
Just because he would fit in Super Smash Bros. very well.

Will this chosen character also get it's own Amiibo?

No I really don't think they went, "oh wait we forgot to add mewtwo!" lol.

More content = more content. Melee n Brawl simply does not have as many characters, stages, items, modes, etc. I really should not have to explain that further as a simply glance at the games would tell as much. You may not like some of the content, but that doesn't change the fact that it's content. Personally outside of cutscenes and unlocking everyone's trophys, I didn't care for Melee n Brawl's adventure mode and never played them again after completion. Atleast Smash Tour only took 30 minutes before I could be done with it forever. It is true that classic mode lacks variety events in break the targets, board the platforms, race to the finish, etc., but eh.

Well no but we can't prove it either way. I think some may have been saved and others a bit of an after thought. Lucas would have been one of the easiest ports ever. If Lucas has a new move set, then ok. If not then a small team could remodel Lucas, copy Ness's move set and animate his model in a day or two. Three tops and I'm not even kidding. I've done modeling, animating, and rigging. There is no way in hell that it takes that long to do a clone character like that. If it was some one completely new with an unique move set like "Shovel Knight" then yes that would take a bit longer since it would need to start from scratch and there would need to be balancing and Q&A testing and many other factors to take in. Lucas would require some of this as well but not to the same extent.

It is true content is content but you know exactly what I mean. The scale of subspace was quite huge in comparison. The time to complete all the single player stuff in Brawl and Melee took a lot longer than in the New Smash bros. Plus doing everything with each character. Sure you can do all star mode and arcade with each character but not the other modes. There may be more characters but less to do. Hey I'm not complaining, I've done that stuff so many times I'm totally cool with just playing online now. The online is so good that I'm not even compelled to do the other stuff in the game.

Also part of the fun in the other Smash Bros was figuring out on your own how to unlock all the characters. I played online for a while and then tried offline and literally after every single match "A New Challenger Approaches". Really? It's based on games played and not meeting conditions? I understand they wanted them to be easy for competitive play, and well I am okay with that. I have talked to quite a few people who were not ok with that change.

Fox and Roy where all I wanted.