Opinion: Krystal in SSB4
Lovely image, isn't it? I've been waiting a long time to show it off. Almost immediately after the final Brawl character was revealed to be Wolf O'Donnell, I decided to put a lot of effort into making sure the same thing didn't happen again. I commissioned Sig-nal to create this artwork in preparation for a campaign to convence Mr. Masahiro Sakurai to put Krystal in the next Super Smash Bros. There was to be a dedicated website linking to an online petition where Krystal fans could sign up to request Krystal be included. As I continued to advance in my DigiPen studies of video game programming, I even considered writing up the character design document that would detail movesets, animations, costume changes, physics, art specifics, and all the other nitty gritty details that comes with creating a character for a character-focused game like a fighter. I planned all of that in an effort to entice Mr. Sakurai to include our lovely blue vixen.
Then I got busy with finishing school and finding a job. Plans are much easier to think about than act on. I kept the site up to date (mostly), but special projects like making a campaign for Krystal in SSB4 kept getting delayed in favor of other things. Before you know it, Nintendo launches their next console and promises a new Smash game coming soon. I realized then that it was probably too late. Now that an official trailer has been show, it is almost certainly too late.
During that time, I also gained an appreciation for just how the game industry works. Up until last month, I've been working for EA for a little over 2 years. I learned that while there is a lot of fun and magic to be had in making games, it is decidedly less magical than I expected going in. You can't just decide that a character should be in a game. There are licensing issues, technical challenges, and the character's impact on the game as a whole that must be considered. Mr. Sakurai could get it done if he wanted to, but he has correctly decided to place overall gameplay concerns over getting the most popular characters in the game. That's not to say he isn't listening. Megaman was the most requested guest character, but Mr. Sakurai was very careful to choose the classic NES-style Megaman simply brought into the land of 3D. If Krystal isn't a good fighting choice and not popular enough, there's little to no hope that she will be in any Smash game.
Sounds pretty negative, I know, but I'm just being realistic. Barring some kind of executive decision by Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, or Mr. Sakurai himself, all of the characters that will appear in the game have been decided on long ago. The only way she will likely appear is if she was already chosen. What are the chances of that? Not terribly bad, actually. Let's look at the reasons.
1. Staff-Based Fighter
Krystal's Staff is the primary weapon used throughout Star Fox Adventures. We only got to see Krystal wield it briefly in that game, but Fox showed that it has many, many capabilities. This opens up numerous possibilities. While Link, Ike, Marth, and Roy used swords as part of their fighting style, there has yet to be a character in Smash games to use a staff. Unlike a sword, which generally only allows for attacks in one direction at a time, a staff can be used to attack in both directions or one direction depending on how it is used. This would be useful for mid-power attacks. Krystal's Staff features upgrades that allow for elemental attacks based on fire, ice, earth, and plain-old energy shots. In Star Fox Adventures, Krystal's Staff was intended to be a universal tool and weapon. Krystal can use her Staff in Smash the same way.
2. A New Female Character
If I recall correctly, Mr. Sakurai expressed interest in including more female characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The result? Zero Suit Samus was included as an alternate form for the normally suited Samus. This time around, we're doing a little better. We get the Wii Fit Female Trainer as one of the newly revealed characters. Why have only one when we can have two (or more)? Adding Krystal would increase the number of playable female characters without resorting to alternate forms.
3. Krystal, the Unusual Star Fox Character
The development of Star Fox Adventures led to Krystal having attributes not shared by any other characters in the Star Fox series. Namely, she's a telepath. In the games, she displays strong empathic abilities and possibly a small amount of future-sight. While all other Star Fox characters can (and do) use mostly physical attacks and laser weapons when fighting outside their vehicles, Krystal presents the opportunity to have a Star Fox character with a more psychically focused moveset. It could be implemented as distance psychic attacks like Ness's, or as close-up disorientation type attacks like Mewtwo. Krystal also displays a connection with the various Saurian dinosaur characters she encounters. She might also be able to call in helper dinos like Captain Olimar calls in Pikmin.
4. No More Landmaster!
It doesn't need to be this way! Krystal can call on one of the CloudRunner dinosaurs, or a whole pack of them. Or she can do some kind of crazy psychic limit break. I don't care. Point is, Krystal presents much more opportunity for a unique Final Smash.
5. In Uniqueness, Familiarity
While Krystal has a lot of unique abilities and a diverse set of options available, she remains a member of the Star Fox team. She can pilot an Arwing, use firearms, talk on comms, and do all the other things most Star Fox characters can do. If Mr. Sakurai wants to keep part of her moveset familiar, Krystal is fully capable of using kicks, punches, and laser pistols.
Bonus: Popularity
While Krystal is not without her share of controversy, she remains a very popular character. Indeed, when Mr. Sakurai polled people for characters to include in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Krystal was requested multiple times and was the most-requested female character among those listed in the poll results. I've even heard that Sakurai expressed surprise at the numerous requests for her in Brawl, though I was unable to find the source.
Not a bad list of reasons. Even Krystal herself believes she should be in the game. She's certainly just as interesting as most other characters in the series. Fox is going to be in the Super Smash Bros. 4, but Falco and Wolf are easily up in the air considering their clon-y movesets.
Is Krystal the logical choice? What other reasons should she be in Smash? Are there good reasons to keep her out? What do you think?
Comments
I do like the realism you’ve put in this it seems to be what I miss in others posts, not to say optimism isn’t a bad thing but keeping to reasoning is a strong suit as well.
I do hope we get to see some of the best come out of Krystal with what in my opinion could be just about unlimited potential, both in and around seirise.
Realistically, Krystal had a better shot of being playable in Brawl than she does in the new Smash Bros. Star Fox Command for the DS was released during the time that Brawl was in development, and Krystal played a large role in that game. However, she now hasn’t been in a game in 7 years…and her relevance has greatly dwindled since the time that Brawl was released.
If you think about, there has been 4 smash bros games and each one has had a member or multiple number of characters from the Star Fox series, but theres a pattern, for example smash bros 1: Fox, Melee Fox and Falco, brawl: Fox, Falco and Wolf. Currently for every smash bros game nintendo has introduced 1 more Star Fox character to each game, so you have to wonder the 4th smash bros game the possibility of there being 4 Star Fox characters is definitely there.
Very good list! However, i think her smash is a bit complex. A lot of people (especially on miiverse) think her smash would be summoning Krazoa Spirits to attack. Also, there is a HUGE contributer to the Krystal campaign on Miiverse. User Jeremy*VAL has INCREDIBLY AWESOME drawing skills. He has five, yes five, hugely popular drawings of Krystal. They are really awesome and each has over 200 yeah’s, meaning they are all in popular. A lot of people see his work.
@Aaron
You could say the same thing for every Star Fox character, and everyone from the F-Zero series, and Ice Climbers, and everyone from Earthbound…
@DarkFox64
Falco was included in Melee as a secret character, where other series didn’t all get a secondary character. Wolf was added in Brawl in a similar way that lots of enemy characters were added in Brawl (King Dedede, Wario, Meta Knight (sorta)). Sakurai was very clear that there will be fewer total characters this time.
@Kevin
I’ll have to find all of them and make a post about it.
“Kassb4_Full” – I count at least three hidden phrases in there; clever.
It doesn’t matter if they were hidden or secret characters they were still included in the games
I like the way how you think about the way how Krystal should be implemented into the roster(hopefully) for SSB4. It’s just the way how I would think about it in her being a unique character from the series itself and one who can use a staff in such intricate ways that it would be easy to come up with a moveset.
Besides, even at this moment, she is still a popular character and a popular candidate since Brawl to make it in. In fact, I have noticed that there is a pattern to these characters who show up in the roster in each Smash Bros. game. For instance take a look at characters like Dedede, Snake and Sonic. Sakurai was originally going to place them in the roster in Melee but these 3 didn’t make the cut. When Brawl came around, those 3 finally made it in. During Brawl, when you mentioned in your post there on Sakurai was impressed with the high number of requests of Krystal to be playable in the roster, I remember hearing something that he also wanted to place her in the roster to be playable. Unfortunately she didn’t make the cut as we all know. Who’s to say that she’ll be able to make it in this time around and he has been considering it this time for SSB4. Even as of now of what we think, I think that she has a really good chance to make it in for SSB4. Not to mention that this would be an opportunity for him to add more female characters as he wanted to since Brawl to the roster to join Zelda, Samus, Peach(these 3 being the most prominent in their own respective franchises and Krystal is no different since she is part of it as well) and recently the Wii Fit Trainer. Hopefully this will become a reality at long last for us Krystal fans.
I completely agree with you on this whole thing. Like, why not have another female character in the the new super smash bros.? Krystal has many different techniques to show off. I would love to play as Krystal, if she ever appears in the new super smash bros. People would love to play as her. Her staff can add a whole new chapter of weaponry. Like you said, link, Marth, Roy and Ike, have their swords, what’s the difference on having a staff in the mix? I say that Nintendo should put Krystal in the game, because, she’s just like any other female character who needs a spot to shine. But, she’s pretty rare. But it would be nice for a change to have more girls in the game. (Like, Why is peach Fighting?! Krystal is more into a good battle than peach ever was!) XD
I think, to be as realistic as possible, she’s probably not going to get in the game. I’d love it if she did, I know we all would, but unless they publish a new Star Fox game that puts emphasis on Krystal over say Falco or Wolf, I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s been years since Nintendo’s given us what we want. I wonder if Fox is really down?
I will love for krystal to be in the next super smash bros.
I bet she will be an awesome person to be.
I hope she is going to be in the next super smash bros♥
I see really no reasons as to why Krystal shouldn’t be included in a new SSB. It would add a new variety of fighting, and it would cause more fans like us to buy the game. Which is positive sales, always a good thing in the gaming industry.
I think Krystal has a good chance of making it. Wolf was not a favorite of the general public and even Nintendo wasn’t completely comfortable with their character. Krystal on the other end is more logical choice. She has a huge and loyal (Me since 2008) fan base, (Prove is right here) she would make for a great set of moves and, come on: Do you really say no to her?
I believe she’d make it and yeah I completely agree with the unique moveset you’ve laid out for her.