The Super Smash Bros. series has come a long way from its inception. Even though it’s been over six years since it was released, it’s still amazing to think that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has 86 playable fighters, mostly thanks to its “Everyone Is Here” theme.
Within Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there are a number of characters that were considered and scrapped before they eventually joined up in a later entry. Of course, there are also combatants that never did quite become playable in Super Smash Bros.
Though Animal Crossing’s Villager did eventually join the fray starting in Super Smash Bros. 4, he was actually briefly considered during the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Ultimately, Sakurai decided against him as he wasn’t really “suited for battle” in a game series like Super Smash Bros.
“In fact, there was even a point where in the planning stages of the previous game, ‘Super Smash Bros. Brawl,’ I removed the Villager, the protagonist of Animal Crossing, from consideration because he wasn’t suited for battle.” — Masahiro Sakurai
“I was asked the following questions from many people: ‘I understand Megaman, but why were Villager and Wii Fit Trainer chosen?’ They’re clearly not characters suited for battle,” said Sakurai shortly after the reveal of Mega Man, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer for Super Smash Bros. 4 (translation by Source Gaming).
“In fact, there was even a point where in the planning stages of the previous game, ‘Super Smash Bros. Brawl,’ I removed the Villager, the protagonist of Animal Crossing, from consideration because he wasn’t suited for battle. To be blunt, if I think I can do it then I can envision a concrete embodiment of the character, but if I cannot do that [then] the character cannot be made.”
Essentially, Sakurai couldn’t envision the Villager with fighting moves during Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s development. As the series evolved, Sakurai was able to return to this concept and add Animal Crossing representatives starting with the next game.
However, this actually wasn’t the only time that Sakurai scrapped a concept simply because they weren’t “suited for battle.” This is also a big part of the reason why the Mii didn’t join in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as well.
“The inclusion of Miis was considered for the previous game, ‘Super Smash Bros. Brawl,’ but after thinking about it for about 1 minute, I dismissed that idea immediately.” — Massahiro Sakurai
“The inclusion of Miis was considered for the previous game, ‘Super Smash Bros. Brawl,’ but after thinking about it for about 1 minute, I dismissed that idea immediately,” said Sakurai after the announcement of the Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, and Mii Gunner for Super Smash Bros. 4.
“I didn’t want bullying incidents to occur, and I felt like Miis weren’t suited towards fighting in the first place anyway,” continued Sakurai. “And playing against them I felt would be boring because they don’t have any character. It’s a fighting game, so you’re not the only one who uses characters — you have to think about what it’s like to play against those characters as well.”
In the end, Sakurai decided to add the Mii to Super Smash Bros. 4 for a couple of reasons. For one, they had become iconic by this point due to how often they’re seen when booting up the Wii U and 3DS devices. Additionally, fans kept requesting characters that he perceived as having no chance of ever joining Super Smash Bros. (such as those that didn’t hail from video games), so Sakurai wanted a way to appease those players with the Mii.
There’s one more challenger that Sakurai apparently briefly thought about for Super Smash Bros. Brawl before concluding that they “weren’t suited for battle.” Unlike Villager and Mii, the Nintendog never manifested as a challenger on the roster.
Not much is known about how much of a consideration the Nintendog actually received. Rather than becoming a playable combatant, the Nintendog instead became an Assist Trophy that obscured the screen for all players upon being summoned.
At this point, it’s unlikely that the Nintendog will ever be added to the character select screen since we already have Duck Hunt. Though Duck Hunt primarily works as a trap based fighter with the Trick Shot and Clay Shooting specials, half (or one-third) of the challenger is actually a dog. Doglike behaviors and mannerisms are already included in the design for Duck Hunt.
Therefore, the Nintendog is not only not suited for battle, but also offers nothing unique at this point. Even in terms of melee attacks, the Duck Hunt dog receives assistance from the duck on its back, which is something that wouldn’t really make sense with the Nintendog.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently confirmed that the Switch successor is slated to be revealed sometime between now and March 31, 2025. This is important as the Super Smash Bros. series has always had an entry on every console ever since the Nintendo 64.
Coincidentally, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that he’s been working on a secret game project since April 2022. Whatever this secret game project is, it seems likely that it’s intended for the early portion of the Switch successor’s lifecycle.
Either way, Nintendo is probably going to want a new Super Smash Bros. entry on the Switch successor at some point considering that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has broken records with its 35.14 million units sold. This marks it as the best-selling entry in the Super Smash Bros. series and the third best-selling title on the Nintendo Switch after Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
When the next Super Smash Bros. does get announced, we should expect some new faces to turn up in the roster. Some of these characters could end up being scrapped concepts from previous titles. It’s already happened a number of times before.
Of course, we’re not necessarily expecting Nintendog at this point, but stranger things have happened with the Super Smash Bros. franchise. It’s clear that Sakurai does enjoy surprising fans with unexpected choices such as the Wii Fit Trainer, R.O.B., and Piranha Plant, so it’s difficult to say with absolute certainty that Nintendog won’t ever become playable.
We’ll just have to see how things play out from here with the series going forward.
