Some unlikely picks, but deserving.
#20 Stumpy
Who’s Stumpy? Stumpy is an often forgotten Nintendo mascot that has only made game appearances in online flash games. That’s because Stumpy is the official mascot for the now defunct Camp Hyrule events that Nintendo used to run yearly as part of The Loud House and later NSider official online communities.
Stumpy was actually never intended to be a real mascot, but was a stubby looking horse in the background of some chat room art during a Camp Hyrule event. Campers named him Stumpy and he then later became an official mascot.
Nintendo Online communities were very special to me, and I’m the only known person to attend every Camp Hyrule event that took place. I’d love for this strange corner of Nintendo History to be honored with Stumpy as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but even I understand how unlikely that is.
#19 Urban Champion
The combatants from the first fighting game on NES should be given the honor of joining Nintendo’s most popular fighting game series. Sure, Urban Champion as a game doesn’t hold up, but that doesn't stop Nintendo from constantly reminding fans of its existence.
#18 Black Shadow
Since the start of the Super Smash Bros. series Captain Falcon has been a fan favorite. But it’s time that the F-Zero legend gets a rival to go up against and who’s better to fill that role than Black Shadow? You may be wondering what kind of moves Black Shadow would have, but I’d leave that up to Sakurai himself. I mean, he did give a crazy one to Captain Falcon.
#17 King Hippo
You’ll probably start to notice a common theme with my list, and that is antagonists. Little Mac needs a Super Smash Bros. foe and King Hippo fills that role better than almost anyone. Despite only appearing in two different Punch-Out!! games, and never being the final boss, King Hippo has remained one of the most memorable World Video Boxing Association villains. Maybe his appearance in the old Captain N TV series helped cement his legacy. Regardless, send this man from Hippo Island a Smash invite.
#16 Mike Jones
Mike Jones is the hero from the Star Tropics series of games on the NES. While this character might not be well remembered, I think he deserves to be added to Smash. One reason I feel this way is because even though both Star Tropics games were developed internally by Nintendo, they were never released in Japan. I’m sure many Japanese gamers would just be confused about this character, and that’s what I want. A small amount of revenge for when Melee released with Fire Emblem characters and at the time not one game in the series had come to the west.
