Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and its character select screen consisting of 86 characters is evidence of just how far the series has come. The roster and the movesets associated with its fighters might’ve looked a lot differently had Masahiro Sakurai made alternative decisions with past games due to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s “Everyone Is Here” theme.
Development of Super Smash Bros. Melee ended with a roster of 25 characters (26 if you count Zelda and Sheik separately). According to Sakurai himself, if he just had a little bit more development time, he could’ve added one more character.
“If there was time to include one more person, it would have been Wario,” said Sakurai about Super Smash Bros. Melee.
“If there was time to include one more person, it would have been Wario…” — Masahiro Sakurai
After Super Smash Bros. 64, Sakurai held a poll that aimed to gauge fans on which characters they’d want to see in the sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee. A sequel for the platform brawler had not yet been announced by this point.
Bowser ultimately won the poll with a whopping 169 votes. Peach ended up coming in second place with 66 votes. She only just barely beat Wario who took third with 65 votes.
Due to this, Bowser and Peach were able to join Super Smash Bros. Melee, but Wario wouldn’t make it in until Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Characters like Mewtwo and Marth, who both performed significantly worse than Wario on the poll, were added instead.
Ultimately, Sakurai could’ve elected to cut either Mewtwo or Marth (and Roy) to add Wario instead. However, Sakurai decided that he didn’t want to overrepresent the Mario series within Super Smash Bros. Melee, opting for the Pokémon and Fire Emblem reps instead.
“I would have needed to get rid of both Marth and Roy or Mewtwo in order for Wario to get in.” — Masahiro Sakurai
“I would have needed to get rid of both Marth and Roy or Mewtwo in order for Wario to get in,” said Sakurai on the matter.
Sakurai has also stated that, with just a little bit more development time, Wario was likely to join the Super Smash Bros. Melee roster. That’s a big statement from Sakurai considering that he landed himself in the hospital due to his self-imposed hectic work schedule back then.
“If I could add one or two more characters, then [Wario] could have gotten in,” said Sakurai according to Source Gaming. “Of all the characters I discarded, [he’s] ranked near the top.”
Wario would later make his debut Smash appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He has since returned for every entry in the Super Smash Bros. series. His moveset and persona are mostly based on his appearance in WarioWare series.
“If I could add one or two more characters, then [Wario] could have gotten in. Of all the characters I discarded, [he’s] ranked near the top.” — Masahiro Sakurai
Considering that Super Smash Bros. Melee was released in 2001 and WarioWare became available in 2003, Wario would’ve functioned as a wildly different character than what we now have.
In other words, Wario’s playstyle probably would’ve mostly been based on his appearance in the Wario Land series rather than WarioWare. This would’ve translated to Wario functioning like this all the way through Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as well.
Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Wario has been granted a number of bizarre attacks that has him riding his motorcycle, biting, and even flatulating. The Wario Land series take on the character might’ve instead focused on the brute force aspect.
While there are many fans that really do enjoy how Wario plays in Super Smash Bros. as he is now, there are others that would’ve preferred Wario to behave more like a bruiser or grappler. Had Wario been added before Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we’d probably have that version of the character instead.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was recently revealed. As of right now, we only know that the ninth entry to the Mario Kart franchise will be present within the hybrid console’s library, but there’s a high likelihood that we’ll see a new Super Smash Bros. iteration on the device at some point.
Incidentally, we know that Masahiro Sakurai has been working on a secret game project since April 2022. Based on the timing of everything, it seems like this mysterious project is intended for the Switch 2.
Throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, there have been a few times in which characters received reworks to their movesets. Could this sort of thing happen for Wario? There are plenty of fans that would prefer Wario to reference more of the Wario Land and Wario World games.
Considering that the character is mostly just associated with the WarioWare franchise these days, it doesn’t seem particularly likely. Still, it’s hard to accurately predict what Sakurai might have in store for the next Super Smash Bros., whenever that comes about.
Source: Event Hubs
