- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
First off, I did take this name of the series of videos from the YouTube channel Thorgi's Arcade. In fact, forget this stupid thread, go check his stuff out first before reading, Especially his series, Build the Roster, where he takes a hypothetical fighting game and builds his dream roster.
But here's the twist, unlike other hypothetical rosters, IE people who say "PUT MASTER CHIEF IN SMASH!" or something, he tries to be realistic.
For example, bit of a spoiler, but on his TMNT Tournament Fighters 2 video, he mentioned people on Twitter requested he put Daredevil as a guest fighter, and while it makes sense (look at the history of the Turtles' creation) it's unrealistic Disney would say yes to a character they own in appearing as the guest in a fighting game about a Paramount owned franchise.
What does this have to do with Zelda, you might ask? Well, since he hasn't made a roster for Zelda yet, though he admits he'll probably do Fire Emblem, I decided "sure... I'll try..."
Now before I give you guys my list of characters, how they fight and so forth, I have to establish some level of realism. Namely... how would a Zelda fighting game play? You might first think of Smash... but Link has appeared in another fighting game series... SoulCalibur.
In fact, because of how weapons based that series is, and Nintendo collaborated with Bandai Namco before, I say this hypothetical game would be developed by them. It'd probably play similarly to SoulCalibur, or Tekken, but maybe we can add a bit of customization. For example, let's give each character at least two types of weapons that affect things like make the character faster but weaker or slower but stronger.
Next up, the bigger question... how many fighters? Again, let's look at SoulCalibur over Smash.
VI launched with 21 characters, it had 8 DLC fighters but I'm only focusing on the base roster. V launched with 28. Those are the two most recent games. So, between 21 and 28, we get 24.5, so I'm going to make it 25... sort of. Y'see, I'm going to use 24 Zelda character and, since Bandai Namco is developing the game, I'm going to make number 25 a guest fighter from a franchise they own. So, our roster is down to 24 characters.
But wait! There's at least a few rules I went through before making this roster, because, like Thorgi, I wanted to challenge myself.
1) These characters have to be wholly owned by Nintendo. You might think "Duh, it's Zelda", but remember that Capcom and Koei Tecmo co-developed games, despite that one of those game not canon in any way shape or form, but had their own characters. So, I'm not sure if Nintendo fully owns them so to play it safe, I won't be using them for the base roster.
2) In order to make sure I get as much of the franchise as I can, excluding legacy characters, ie characters who had different appearances in unconnected games, I'm only sticking to up to three per game/era. Meaning, I'm not necessarily using 3 characters from, say, Twilight Princess... but three is the limit. This way, we get a whole lot of representation of the entire series and not just one specific era.
You might be thinking... which era or timeline does this take place in? Simple... none. Like Hyrule Warriors, the idea is that it's its own universe with its own take on these characters. Maybe we can throw in elements of how the world in the Wild Era is, but it is wholly its own world.
So... *cracks knuckles* this is gonna be a long one so... it's time build... this... roster!
(BADLY HUMS THE OPENING OF ZELDA ON NES TO SOUND DRAMATIC)
1, 2, and 3: Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganondorf
Yeah, I woulda just named them one at a time... but let's be honest here... you knew these three would be here. It's a Zelda spin-off so they'd have to show up. Now, since this isn't Smash, they won't play the exact same, so we will need to go over their playstyles.
First off, Link. Obviously he'll use swords as his primary weapon. If possible, we can make the second weapon something like a claymore or spear, something with greater strength but slows him slight or has greater range but is weaker. As the hero of the series, let's make him the all arounder character. Not the fastest but faster enough, not to high on the jumps, has decent enough stats, you get the drill. Now, for a long range move, I say we make it a boomerang. He'll still has his shield for blocking. We can also give him hookshot as a sort of move to get in close to the opponent.
Second is Princess Zelda herself. Since she's a sage and uses magic, I say make her the zoner. We can give her the rapier she wielded in Hyrule Warriors and fires a bolt of magic for long rage, or swap with a bow and arrow which has weak short range attacks but would dominate from a greater distance. Let's also make her the fastest of the three, compensating the weaker physical attacks. We can also throw in magic attacks, maybe a counter akin to the Rewind in Tears of the Kingdom, and perhaps a barrier to reflect certain projectile attacks.
(Speaking of Tears of the Kingdom, while I know the Wild Era is Nintendo's new focus, I figure the characters here would look like how they're normally depicted in media; Link is in the green tunic with hat, Zelda is in a dress that's either pink or blue, and Ganondorf will be in his black armor, but we can add their Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom appearances as alternate costumes, especially the former two with blue tunics, hero of the wild set, both white dresses, soldier armor, etc. We can even give them Sky Link, Sky Zelda and Demise as costumes, along with their Twilight Princess looks, costumes inspired by their Wind Waker looks, Ocarina of Time outfits, and maybe clothes based on how they looked in the cart- ... hmm... no, forget what I was about to say on the last part, I'd rather never reference that)
Last but not least, Ganondorf. Now, with someone as tough and intimidating as Ganondorf, we'd have to give him his big ol' sword that'd look bigger than those claymores I suggested, maybe even a trident as a secondary weapon. Now, when I think of Ganondorf in a non-Smash fighting game, I think characters like Shao Kahn, a wall of destruction. We would give him a projectile attack, his iconic/infamous Dead Man's Volley, but I see him as being much more unga bunga, being aggressive and in your face. Give him grab moves to add a little grappler in there, but the trade off is that he's the slowest of the three.
So, to be clear, all the playstyles we've come up with here reflecting their sections of the Triforce. We got the brave all arounder who isn't the fastest or strongest but easy to use and most adaptable, the wise zoner who fights from a distances and tries to outthink or counter the opponent, and the powerful aggressive big body tank with a bit of grappler. Technically, not that different from Smash, but the weapon playstyle will add more flavor.
So far, these playstyles are going to be what you'd expect from the three because we've seen them in other games outside their home series. The next characters, however, are going to be more... though out.
4. Impa
Our first non-Triforce wielding legacy character. Impa is Zelda's bodyguard and caretaker, at least in some versions, and she's a member of the Sheikah, a race of ninjas. And she's already been playable in the two Hyrule Warriors games. In fact, both Wild games show the Sheikah got themselves some excellent katana swords and naginatas... so let's make them her choice of weapons. One one is weaker, one is powerful, one has shorter range and while the other has mid range, you get the drill. Impa would be the big rushdown character, using her speed to her advantage. The downside is she'd be the glass cannon, she'd have very poor defense and the two weapons would emphasize either speed or power more so it'd force the player to be more creative of which weapon they go to battle with. As for her default, I would say make her an older looking version of her Age of Calamity appearance, which is admitted a retool of her granddaughter Paya, while also giving her SS and Ocarina of Time designs as alternate costumes.
5. Darunia
Our first game specific character, Darunia is the first sage we're featuring... and the only one from Ocarina of Time since Impa's not that specific version. Sorry... Anyway... He'd be another big character like Ganondorf but emphasized more on the grappler playstyle, while rolling is still a move, maybe he'll also roll after grabbing the opponent. He'll probably roll into them like one of Sonic's moves in Smash. As for his weapon, it's obviously his Megaton Hammer, but we can also throw in the Boulder Breaker from the Wild games. One emphasizes strength, the other emphasizes range, you get the drill. Now, Darunia also provides us with a unique idea. Since he also appeared in one game, let's go the Injustice route and just make his costumes alternate skins. Characters like Darbus and especially Daruk would take his place.
6. Skull Kid
For those who might not have fully understood what I said before on the 3 character limit, in this case it's characters from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, since that's the same Link. One important character from those games was the Skull Kid. This mischievous little guy would wield his flute as one weapon and a powered down version of Majora's Mask for another. You might ask how are these weapons. Simple, one summons the puppets from Twilight Princess, which that version would also be an alternate costume, the other would summon darker versions of the puppets that are slower but more powerful. Namely, Skull Kid is going to be a puppet fighter, using his literal puppets to fight from a distance.
7. Sidon
Time for a Zora and, since the Wild games are the new hotness, we may as well add one of the big faces of that game. Prince Sidon will come to use his sage of water magic, wielding either a Lightscale Trident or a Silver Longsword (again, one is stronger, one is faster... yada yada yada) and these would make him the big zoner outside of Zelda. Speaking of big... yeah... he might be the Ridley of this game. So, to even things out, we might need to shrink him slightly for gameplay. Now, unlike Darunia, we can't give Sidon skins to make him look like other Zoras, but we can still use their general appearances for palette swaps. We can give him one with his father's color scheme, one for his fiancée, one for Prince Ralis from Twilight Princess, one to match the appearance of the Zora from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask... etc.
8. Riju
We may as well get another Wild character out of the way. At first I considered Urbosa as she looked to be one of the more popular characters... but then Tears of the Kingdom made me gravitate towards Riju. For starters, I like her haircut more (though we'd use her BOTW design as an alternate costume and maybe one based on Urbosa and other for maybe Nabooru) but more importantly is her use of lightning. Personally, I liked Urbosa's use more, but since this is a fighting game, we can give that power to Riju as it's not canon anyway. Riju would either be a dual wielding fighter like in Tears, or she'd use Urbosa's sword and shield combo to parry and counterattack. She'd be the game's big mix up character, combining speed, lightning based attacks and slashed.
(BTW, I may as well get this out of the way right now... yes, we will have voice acting so all the actors from the recent games would reprise their roles. Matt Mercer for sure. Maybe Patricia as Zelda... although, maybe we can get the actress who did Zelda's one line in World of Light since this isn't necessarily the same Zelda? I bring this up because I'm going to go over our last Wild character, who only spoke in Age of Calamity)
9. Master Kohga
Another mix up fighter, and the game's joke fighter, Kohga would be Ganondorf's main ally who fights with Yiga weapons, like the sickles and maybe uses the same swords as Impa. Now I'm sure someone's gonna question how Kohga is here since... well, let's just say he MIGHT appear in the future given what happens in Tears. But remember, this not canon, so we can just assume this is a different Kohga but for simplicity's sake, let's say it's the same one. Kohga would also summon his Yiga ninjas as summon attacks, both foot soldiers and blademasters, along with his "ultimate move" of that giant spike ball and we see it actually working. Kohga also wouldn't really have much for alternate costumes, which sucks for me because I really like alternate costumes more than palette swaps, but maybe we can give him one of traditional Sheikah blue and white.
10. Ghirahim
And now we move onto a character who might not be dead... I say that because Demise's sword just disappears so we don't get clarification if Ghirahim is alive or not. Anyway... Ghirahim's weapons would be either his usual sword or that big one he uses in his final boss battle. He'd be another rushdown fighter and his shooting those... diamonds?... would be his long range move but we'd make them weak, emphasizing his greatest strength is getting up close. For alternate costumes, I'd say make his true form one, maybe a blue one to reference Fi, maybe at least 2 based on his concept art. As for his role in the story, I'd say make him a sort of third faction, someone who opposes the heroes and villains in his attempt to once again go back in time to aid his master and he enters this tournament or whatever because he found the means to do so.
11. Groose
Ah yeah! The Groose is loose! This is the OTHER character I noticed people wanted in Smash, along with being in the original Hyrule Warriors. So... what's his weapon? You'd think the Groosenator... but I had another idea. In the game, you'll notice he had a punching bag with Link's face on it. So... let's make an original weapon in the form of boxing gloves, with the digging mitts as the alternate weapon. One is stronger, the other fast... but Groose would be the game's boxer because that's a fighting game trope we don't really have right now. As for his role in the story, maybe he can be a friendly rival to Link while having an unreciprocated crush on this Zelda too. As for costumes... yeah, we're out of luck here. So, we'll have to rely on palette swaps...
12. Midna
And here's the character I'm sure you were expecting... but I had a hard time deciding if I should use her imp form or her normal form. Well, since Hyrule Warriors gave another reason for her imp form, I decided to go with that, but she'll probably turn into that form as part of a super move. As for her move set, I'd say we give her a wolf to ride on who isn't Link like with Warriors. As for weapons, I would say we get creative and give her weapons that reference that game. For example, she can use her hair hand to use the Spinner, or maybe she uses the gale boomerang. I'll be honest, Midna was the hardest to come up with for a move set but I know she'd be a character people want in this game. The next one though... not so much.
13. Zant
Halfway done with the base roster and we need to add one of Ganondorf's more notable pawns. Zant's primary weapons would be his dual scimitars, and maybe the second will be a pair of gloves that causes his hands to burn with the magic firebolts he fired in his boss battle. Regardless, Zant's sanity, or lack thereof, gave me an idea of the kind of moveset we can give him. Let's make him a rekka style fighter, using his weapons in combo attacks while also teleporting around the stage. As for alternate costumes, maybe one can just be his Phantom Zant. His super move could be him summoning the copies of his helmet or growing giant sized.
14. Tingle
Here's the one I'm sure you were wondering about. Tingle is... odd... but he is an iconic character in the franchise. He's also a legacy character so his moves can make references to his appearances in other games. And we already have three potential alternate costumes for him, make him look like his "brothers". And because he has his own games, we can references to those two. His moveset? I say we make him another joke character and his weapons be something like balloons and bombs, one doing more damage and the other has good knockback. And thanks to his back balloons, let's make him the best jumper.
15. Malon
Another legacy character, having appeared in the Oracle games, Four Swords Adventures and Minish Cap. We'll use her adult look for this one. As for how she plays Well, I'm not too sure on her playstyle but I know she won't have projectile attacks. However, I saw we make her weapons... farming tools like in the Wild games. One can be a broom that helps knock opponents down, the other is the pitchfork that has great power and reach. And maybe she summons Epona as an attack for a super move.
16. Twinrova
Now, I was going to make them Ocarina of Time reps... but then I remembered they had other world counterparts in Majora's Mask. The Oracle games... might be the same ones from Ocarina of Time... MIGHT. There's also... well, I won't spoil it for those who still haven't played it yet. ANYWAY, their weapons? Simple, magic rods for short range, magic staffs for long range. Make them a zoner... and have them cast a spell to swap who is the one in control, making them a sort of stance fighter. Their fused form can be their super form. Heck, haven't them be the center of the plot, they help arrange this tournament to betray their people and revive Ganondorf and seize this mystery power.
17. Dark Link
HERE'S the character on the villains' side you were waiting for. Dark Link's move set is simple... just make it a more aggressive version of Link's. Emphasize power over speed, making him a slower character to use. Maybe we can add a costume that gives him a reddish/pinkish tint to make it seem like he was made from Malice/Gloom. And maybe make him a creation of Twinrova... I'm a little short on this one but this is literally a clone of another fighter. Moving on...
18. Phantom Ganon
Another legacy villain, Phantom Ganon would be another mix up fighter, making him one part zoner, one part rushdown. As for his appearance, I'd make him a hybrid of his Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker depictions, maybe Wind Waker with the Ocarina of Time mask. We can add his appearance in those two and Tears as alternate costumes. I'd say make him float when he moves, making it hard to sweep him off his feet unless he stands still. We could give him the same kind of weapons as his namesake.
19. Hero's Spirit
Time to throw a curveball. Here, we have the Hero's Spirit as our third Twilight Princess rep. Now, if you know who he is, you can guess his move set... but to even things out, we'll make him slower and heavier, give him the best defense in the game too. Maybe we can give him a move to turn him into his golden wolf form to keep up with his opponent. We can give him different attacks to make him clearly different from Link, namely a lack of projectile attacks. As for alternate costumes... since he's a stalfos, maybe outfits to reference them? Like Ocarina of Time inspired outfits. As for weapons... he's got a sword and shield but maybe a hammer as a replacement?
20. Rebonack
Those of you not familiar with older games are probably thinking..."who?" Rebonack was one of the bosses of Zelda II. See? Told you I'd try to cover as much of the franchise. He's be another heavy character and likely one of the heroes, since he wasn't evil in the game but a test to see if Link was worthy. Since he's an Iron Knuckle, though he's more of a Darknut, we'll give him weapons to reference both, namely the giant ax and a big ol' sword. Heck, we can give him Iron Knuckle and Darknut armors as atlernate costumes.
21. Prince Richard
Our next curveball is Prince Richard from Link's Awakening. And I know what you're thinking... but Richard was a product of the Wind Fish's dream! He can't be here! True... but we're not using THAT Richard. If you didn't know... and really, how could you not? We live in an era where development on older games is more well known and look at what website you're on... Richard was a character from a game known in English, as it was never released outside Japan, as For the Frog the Bell Tolls, where he was the rival to the main character over the affections of the princess. He also developed the power to turn into a frog if he needed to. I'd say base this Richard on that Richard, he's a visiting royal who tries to enter this tournament solely because he's seeking to woo the Princess Zelda (not for the same reasons as Hans from Frozen in case you were wondering) and finds himself competing with Link for being close to her. So, if Link is our Ryu, Richard is our Ken... wait, this is Bandai Namco. Uh... Link's our Jin and Richard's our Hworang... never mind, that's a worse example. So, for Richard's move set would be similar to Link's but lacking projectile attacks or a hookshot move, replacing it with froggy magic. And in case anyone wonders if we can use him, his game was made by Nintendo and its engine was used to make the original Link's Awakening. Plus, he's in the Switch version, he's probably more well known for being in a Zelda game than his own home game, so I don't think Nintendo would take issue.
22. Linebeck
Almost done but I noticed I never picked anyone of the Adult timeline. So, let's go with everyone's favorite pirate, Linebeck. Just so you know, I'm not trying to come up with voice actor ideas... but we can get a Jack Sparrow impression here. I'd say we use a pirate sword with a cartoonish gun as his weapons for one set, but a proper sword and shield for the other. One focuses on long range attacks, the other short range. We can add "Bellumbeck" as a costume.
23. Scervo
Our final SS representative. I know you might have expected Fi... but darn it... one of these characters has to be someone just for me and Scervo fits an important enough choice when constructing a roster. The WEIRD pick. The out of nowhere pick that just gets people going "huh?" and Scervo, a boss in SS, just fits that. Have him be a rival to Linebeck, the lone survivor of his race as he enters solely for the sake of treasure. We can also give him his electric sword and hook for one moveset and maybe the option for dual wielding. We can also make Dreadfuse an alternate skin.
And this brings us to the final character and I wanted it to be another curveball. Someone I think a lot of people would still enjoy. So... our final roster spot goes to...
24. Aryll
That's right, Link's little sister is joining the roster. But wait! I'm sure you're all saying the same thing. She wasn't a fighter! That's true... which is why we're technically not using that version. I know you're quick to point out that there's only one Aryll. And you're right... sort of. See... concept art for Breath of the Wild shows art of Link with a man, presumably his father, and a little girl. Since the man is his father, it's presumed the girl is his little sister. I know you're all going to point out "but we don't know if that's Aryll, her name could be different." True, but I'm still counting her as Aryll. We can make both her WW outfits and the look in the concept art as alternate costumes, but her base is something made up. She's going to get a blue colored version of the Wind Waker tunic as a reference to her being from that game. As for move set, I say make her like Young Link was to regular Link in Smash Melee, effectively an echo fighter who is smaller and lighter, along with similar weaponry. You might question why am I making a new version of Aryll for this game when she's only been in one game. Well, that didn't stop Hyrule Warriors for making a new Sheik. And yes I know Sheik was big enough to be in Smash, but I didn't just want to repeat that, which is why Sheik isn't here. Plus, not gonna lie, I kind of find Aryll adorable and wish she DID make it into BOTW. Again, I know that probably wasn't gonna be her name, but I'm still counting it.
And that's your starting roster for... uh... Zelda Fighers? HyruleCalibur? No, those are stupid...
Aryll, Dark Link, Darunia, Ganondorf, Ghirahim, Groose, Hero's Spirit, Impa, Linebeck, Link, Kohga, Malon, Midna, Phantom Ganon, Rebonack, Richard, Riju, Scervo, Sidon, Skull Kid, Tingle, Twinrova, Zant, and Zelda.
But wait! I'm sure someone recalls "didn't you mention a guest from Bandai Namco?"
Right... so, let's make the guest character...
It's obviously Nightmare from SoulCalibur. He's the face of that series. Heck, have the story center around him, he's been banished to the realm of Hyrule and his presence is causing a disturbance in their universe, explaining why all these characters from other eras and timelines are here. Make SoulEdge the supposed prize of the tournament and have him be the final boss.
But I'm not done... we still have... DLC.
But first, I'm open to hear what you guys think about this so far.
But here's the twist, unlike other hypothetical rosters, IE people who say "PUT MASTER CHIEF IN SMASH!" or something, he tries to be realistic.
For example, bit of a spoiler, but on his TMNT Tournament Fighters 2 video, he mentioned people on Twitter requested he put Daredevil as a guest fighter, and while it makes sense (look at the history of the Turtles' creation) it's unrealistic Disney would say yes to a character they own in appearing as the guest in a fighting game about a Paramount owned franchise.
What does this have to do with Zelda, you might ask? Well, since he hasn't made a roster for Zelda yet, though he admits he'll probably do Fire Emblem, I decided "sure... I'll try..."
Now before I give you guys my list of characters, how they fight and so forth, I have to establish some level of realism. Namely... how would a Zelda fighting game play? You might first think of Smash... but Link has appeared in another fighting game series... SoulCalibur.
In fact, because of how weapons based that series is, and Nintendo collaborated with Bandai Namco before, I say this hypothetical game would be developed by them. It'd probably play similarly to SoulCalibur, or Tekken, but maybe we can add a bit of customization. For example, let's give each character at least two types of weapons that affect things like make the character faster but weaker or slower but stronger.
Next up, the bigger question... how many fighters? Again, let's look at SoulCalibur over Smash.
VI launched with 21 characters, it had 8 DLC fighters but I'm only focusing on the base roster. V launched with 28. Those are the two most recent games. So, between 21 and 28, we get 24.5, so I'm going to make it 25... sort of. Y'see, I'm going to use 24 Zelda character and, since Bandai Namco is developing the game, I'm going to make number 25 a guest fighter from a franchise they own. So, our roster is down to 24 characters.
But wait! There's at least a few rules I went through before making this roster, because, like Thorgi, I wanted to challenge myself.
1) These characters have to be wholly owned by Nintendo. You might think "Duh, it's Zelda", but remember that Capcom and Koei Tecmo co-developed games, despite that one of those game not canon in any way shape or form, but had their own characters. So, I'm not sure if Nintendo fully owns them so to play it safe, I won't be using them for the base roster.
2) In order to make sure I get as much of the franchise as I can, excluding legacy characters, ie characters who had different appearances in unconnected games, I'm only sticking to up to three per game/era. Meaning, I'm not necessarily using 3 characters from, say, Twilight Princess... but three is the limit. This way, we get a whole lot of representation of the entire series and not just one specific era.
You might be thinking... which era or timeline does this take place in? Simple... none. Like Hyrule Warriors, the idea is that it's its own universe with its own take on these characters. Maybe we can throw in elements of how the world in the Wild Era is, but it is wholly its own world.
So... *cracks knuckles* this is gonna be a long one so... it's time build... this... roster!
(BADLY HUMS THE OPENING OF ZELDA ON NES TO SOUND DRAMATIC)
1, 2, and 3: Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganondorf
Yeah, I woulda just named them one at a time... but let's be honest here... you knew these three would be here. It's a Zelda spin-off so they'd have to show up. Now, since this isn't Smash, they won't play the exact same, so we will need to go over their playstyles.
First off, Link. Obviously he'll use swords as his primary weapon. If possible, we can make the second weapon something like a claymore or spear, something with greater strength but slows him slight or has greater range but is weaker. As the hero of the series, let's make him the all arounder character. Not the fastest but faster enough, not to high on the jumps, has decent enough stats, you get the drill. Now, for a long range move, I say we make it a boomerang. He'll still has his shield for blocking. We can also give him hookshot as a sort of move to get in close to the opponent.
Second is Princess Zelda herself. Since she's a sage and uses magic, I say make her the zoner. We can give her the rapier she wielded in Hyrule Warriors and fires a bolt of magic for long rage, or swap with a bow and arrow which has weak short range attacks but would dominate from a greater distance. Let's also make her the fastest of the three, compensating the weaker physical attacks. We can also throw in magic attacks, maybe a counter akin to the Rewind in Tears of the Kingdom, and perhaps a barrier to reflect certain projectile attacks.
(Speaking of Tears of the Kingdom, while I know the Wild Era is Nintendo's new focus, I figure the characters here would look like how they're normally depicted in media; Link is in the green tunic with hat, Zelda is in a dress that's either pink or blue, and Ganondorf will be in his black armor, but we can add their Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom appearances as alternate costumes, especially the former two with blue tunics, hero of the wild set, both white dresses, soldier armor, etc. We can even give them Sky Link, Sky Zelda and Demise as costumes, along with their Twilight Princess looks, costumes inspired by their Wind Waker looks, Ocarina of Time outfits, and maybe clothes based on how they looked in the cart- ... hmm... no, forget what I was about to say on the last part, I'd rather never reference that)
Last but not least, Ganondorf. Now, with someone as tough and intimidating as Ganondorf, we'd have to give him his big ol' sword that'd look bigger than those claymores I suggested, maybe even a trident as a secondary weapon. Now, when I think of Ganondorf in a non-Smash fighting game, I think characters like Shao Kahn, a wall of destruction. We would give him a projectile attack, his iconic/infamous Dead Man's Volley, but I see him as being much more unga bunga, being aggressive and in your face. Give him grab moves to add a little grappler in there, but the trade off is that he's the slowest of the three.
So, to be clear, all the playstyles we've come up with here reflecting their sections of the Triforce. We got the brave all arounder who isn't the fastest or strongest but easy to use and most adaptable, the wise zoner who fights from a distances and tries to outthink or counter the opponent, and the powerful aggressive big body tank with a bit of grappler. Technically, not that different from Smash, but the weapon playstyle will add more flavor.
So far, these playstyles are going to be what you'd expect from the three because we've seen them in other games outside their home series. The next characters, however, are going to be more... though out.
4. Impa
Our first non-Triforce wielding legacy character. Impa is Zelda's bodyguard and caretaker, at least in some versions, and she's a member of the Sheikah, a race of ninjas. And she's already been playable in the two Hyrule Warriors games. In fact, both Wild games show the Sheikah got themselves some excellent katana swords and naginatas... so let's make them her choice of weapons. One one is weaker, one is powerful, one has shorter range and while the other has mid range, you get the drill. Impa would be the big rushdown character, using her speed to her advantage. The downside is she'd be the glass cannon, she'd have very poor defense and the two weapons would emphasize either speed or power more so it'd force the player to be more creative of which weapon they go to battle with. As for her default, I would say make her an older looking version of her Age of Calamity appearance, which is admitted a retool of her granddaughter Paya, while also giving her SS and Ocarina of Time designs as alternate costumes.
5. Darunia
Our first game specific character, Darunia is the first sage we're featuring... and the only one from Ocarina of Time since Impa's not that specific version. Sorry... Anyway... He'd be another big character like Ganondorf but emphasized more on the grappler playstyle, while rolling is still a move, maybe he'll also roll after grabbing the opponent. He'll probably roll into them like one of Sonic's moves in Smash. As for his weapon, it's obviously his Megaton Hammer, but we can also throw in the Boulder Breaker from the Wild games. One emphasizes strength, the other emphasizes range, you get the drill. Now, Darunia also provides us with a unique idea. Since he also appeared in one game, let's go the Injustice route and just make his costumes alternate skins. Characters like Darbus and especially Daruk would take his place.
6. Skull Kid
For those who might not have fully understood what I said before on the 3 character limit, in this case it's characters from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, since that's the same Link. One important character from those games was the Skull Kid. This mischievous little guy would wield his flute as one weapon and a powered down version of Majora's Mask for another. You might ask how are these weapons. Simple, one summons the puppets from Twilight Princess, which that version would also be an alternate costume, the other would summon darker versions of the puppets that are slower but more powerful. Namely, Skull Kid is going to be a puppet fighter, using his literal puppets to fight from a distance.
7. Sidon
Time for a Zora and, since the Wild games are the new hotness, we may as well add one of the big faces of that game. Prince Sidon will come to use his sage of water magic, wielding either a Lightscale Trident or a Silver Longsword (again, one is stronger, one is faster... yada yada yada) and these would make him the big zoner outside of Zelda. Speaking of big... yeah... he might be the Ridley of this game. So, to even things out, we might need to shrink him slightly for gameplay. Now, unlike Darunia, we can't give Sidon skins to make him look like other Zoras, but we can still use their general appearances for palette swaps. We can give him one with his father's color scheme, one for his fiancée, one for Prince Ralis from Twilight Princess, one to match the appearance of the Zora from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask... etc.
8. Riju
We may as well get another Wild character out of the way. At first I considered Urbosa as she looked to be one of the more popular characters... but then Tears of the Kingdom made me gravitate towards Riju. For starters, I like her haircut more (though we'd use her BOTW design as an alternate costume and maybe one based on Urbosa and other for maybe Nabooru) but more importantly is her use of lightning. Personally, I liked Urbosa's use more, but since this is a fighting game, we can give that power to Riju as it's not canon anyway. Riju would either be a dual wielding fighter like in Tears, or she'd use Urbosa's sword and shield combo to parry and counterattack. She'd be the game's big mix up character, combining speed, lightning based attacks and slashed.
(BTW, I may as well get this out of the way right now... yes, we will have voice acting so all the actors from the recent games would reprise their roles. Matt Mercer for sure. Maybe Patricia as Zelda... although, maybe we can get the actress who did Zelda's one line in World of Light since this isn't necessarily the same Zelda? I bring this up because I'm going to go over our last Wild character, who only spoke in Age of Calamity)
9. Master Kohga
Another mix up fighter, and the game's joke fighter, Kohga would be Ganondorf's main ally who fights with Yiga weapons, like the sickles and maybe uses the same swords as Impa. Now I'm sure someone's gonna question how Kohga is here since... well, let's just say he MIGHT appear in the future given what happens in Tears. But remember, this not canon, so we can just assume this is a different Kohga but for simplicity's sake, let's say it's the same one. Kohga would also summon his Yiga ninjas as summon attacks, both foot soldiers and blademasters, along with his "ultimate move" of that giant spike ball and we see it actually working. Kohga also wouldn't really have much for alternate costumes, which sucks for me because I really like alternate costumes more than palette swaps, but maybe we can give him one of traditional Sheikah blue and white.
10. Ghirahim
And now we move onto a character who might not be dead... I say that because Demise's sword just disappears so we don't get clarification if Ghirahim is alive or not. Anyway... Ghirahim's weapons would be either his usual sword or that big one he uses in his final boss battle. He'd be another rushdown fighter and his shooting those... diamonds?... would be his long range move but we'd make them weak, emphasizing his greatest strength is getting up close. For alternate costumes, I'd say make his true form one, maybe a blue one to reference Fi, maybe at least 2 based on his concept art. As for his role in the story, I'd say make him a sort of third faction, someone who opposes the heroes and villains in his attempt to once again go back in time to aid his master and he enters this tournament or whatever because he found the means to do so.
11. Groose
Ah yeah! The Groose is loose! This is the OTHER character I noticed people wanted in Smash, along with being in the original Hyrule Warriors. So... what's his weapon? You'd think the Groosenator... but I had another idea. In the game, you'll notice he had a punching bag with Link's face on it. So... let's make an original weapon in the form of boxing gloves, with the digging mitts as the alternate weapon. One is stronger, the other fast... but Groose would be the game's boxer because that's a fighting game trope we don't really have right now. As for his role in the story, maybe he can be a friendly rival to Link while having an unreciprocated crush on this Zelda too. As for costumes... yeah, we're out of luck here. So, we'll have to rely on palette swaps...
12. Midna
And here's the character I'm sure you were expecting... but I had a hard time deciding if I should use her imp form or her normal form. Well, since Hyrule Warriors gave another reason for her imp form, I decided to go with that, but she'll probably turn into that form as part of a super move. As for her move set, I'd say we give her a wolf to ride on who isn't Link like with Warriors. As for weapons, I would say we get creative and give her weapons that reference that game. For example, she can use her hair hand to use the Spinner, or maybe she uses the gale boomerang. I'll be honest, Midna was the hardest to come up with for a move set but I know she'd be a character people want in this game. The next one though... not so much.
13. Zant
Halfway done with the base roster and we need to add one of Ganondorf's more notable pawns. Zant's primary weapons would be his dual scimitars, and maybe the second will be a pair of gloves that causes his hands to burn with the magic firebolts he fired in his boss battle. Regardless, Zant's sanity, or lack thereof, gave me an idea of the kind of moveset we can give him. Let's make him a rekka style fighter, using his weapons in combo attacks while also teleporting around the stage. As for alternate costumes, maybe one can just be his Phantom Zant. His super move could be him summoning the copies of his helmet or growing giant sized.
14. Tingle
Here's the one I'm sure you were wondering about. Tingle is... odd... but he is an iconic character in the franchise. He's also a legacy character so his moves can make references to his appearances in other games. And we already have three potential alternate costumes for him, make him look like his "brothers". And because he has his own games, we can references to those two. His moveset? I say we make him another joke character and his weapons be something like balloons and bombs, one doing more damage and the other has good knockback. And thanks to his back balloons, let's make him the best jumper.
15. Malon
Another legacy character, having appeared in the Oracle games, Four Swords Adventures and Minish Cap. We'll use her adult look for this one. As for how she plays Well, I'm not too sure on her playstyle but I know she won't have projectile attacks. However, I saw we make her weapons... farming tools like in the Wild games. One can be a broom that helps knock opponents down, the other is the pitchfork that has great power and reach. And maybe she summons Epona as an attack for a super move.
16. Twinrova
Now, I was going to make them Ocarina of Time reps... but then I remembered they had other world counterparts in Majora's Mask. The Oracle games... might be the same ones from Ocarina of Time... MIGHT. There's also... well, I won't spoil it for those who still haven't played it yet. ANYWAY, their weapons? Simple, magic rods for short range, magic staffs for long range. Make them a zoner... and have them cast a spell to swap who is the one in control, making them a sort of stance fighter. Their fused form can be their super form. Heck, haven't them be the center of the plot, they help arrange this tournament to betray their people and revive Ganondorf and seize this mystery power.
17. Dark Link
HERE'S the character on the villains' side you were waiting for. Dark Link's move set is simple... just make it a more aggressive version of Link's. Emphasize power over speed, making him a slower character to use. Maybe we can add a costume that gives him a reddish/pinkish tint to make it seem like he was made from Malice/Gloom. And maybe make him a creation of Twinrova... I'm a little short on this one but this is literally a clone of another fighter. Moving on...
18. Phantom Ganon
Another legacy villain, Phantom Ganon would be another mix up fighter, making him one part zoner, one part rushdown. As for his appearance, I'd make him a hybrid of his Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker depictions, maybe Wind Waker with the Ocarina of Time mask. We can add his appearance in those two and Tears as alternate costumes. I'd say make him float when he moves, making it hard to sweep him off his feet unless he stands still. We could give him the same kind of weapons as his namesake.
19. Hero's Spirit
Time to throw a curveball. Here, we have the Hero's Spirit as our third Twilight Princess rep. Now, if you know who he is, you can guess his move set... but to even things out, we'll make him slower and heavier, give him the best defense in the game too. Maybe we can give him a move to turn him into his golden wolf form to keep up with his opponent. We can give him different attacks to make him clearly different from Link, namely a lack of projectile attacks. As for alternate costumes... since he's a stalfos, maybe outfits to reference them? Like Ocarina of Time inspired outfits. As for weapons... he's got a sword and shield but maybe a hammer as a replacement?
20. Rebonack
Those of you not familiar with older games are probably thinking..."who?" Rebonack was one of the bosses of Zelda II. See? Told you I'd try to cover as much of the franchise. He's be another heavy character and likely one of the heroes, since he wasn't evil in the game but a test to see if Link was worthy. Since he's an Iron Knuckle, though he's more of a Darknut, we'll give him weapons to reference both, namely the giant ax and a big ol' sword. Heck, we can give him Iron Knuckle and Darknut armors as atlernate costumes.
21. Prince Richard
Our next curveball is Prince Richard from Link's Awakening. And I know what you're thinking... but Richard was a product of the Wind Fish's dream! He can't be here! True... but we're not using THAT Richard. If you didn't know... and really, how could you not? We live in an era where development on older games is more well known and look at what website you're on... Richard was a character from a game known in English, as it was never released outside Japan, as For the Frog the Bell Tolls, where he was the rival to the main character over the affections of the princess. He also developed the power to turn into a frog if he needed to. I'd say base this Richard on that Richard, he's a visiting royal who tries to enter this tournament solely because he's seeking to woo the Princess Zelda (not for the same reasons as Hans from Frozen in case you were wondering) and finds himself competing with Link for being close to her. So, if Link is our Ryu, Richard is our Ken... wait, this is Bandai Namco. Uh... Link's our Jin and Richard's our Hworang... never mind, that's a worse example. So, for Richard's move set would be similar to Link's but lacking projectile attacks or a hookshot move, replacing it with froggy magic. And in case anyone wonders if we can use him, his game was made by Nintendo and its engine was used to make the original Link's Awakening. Plus, he's in the Switch version, he's probably more well known for being in a Zelda game than his own home game, so I don't think Nintendo would take issue.
22. Linebeck
Almost done but I noticed I never picked anyone of the Adult timeline. So, let's go with everyone's favorite pirate, Linebeck. Just so you know, I'm not trying to come up with voice actor ideas... but we can get a Jack Sparrow impression here. I'd say we use a pirate sword with a cartoonish gun as his weapons for one set, but a proper sword and shield for the other. One focuses on long range attacks, the other short range. We can add "Bellumbeck" as a costume.
23. Scervo
Our final SS representative. I know you might have expected Fi... but darn it... one of these characters has to be someone just for me and Scervo fits an important enough choice when constructing a roster. The WEIRD pick. The out of nowhere pick that just gets people going "huh?" and Scervo, a boss in SS, just fits that. Have him be a rival to Linebeck, the lone survivor of his race as he enters solely for the sake of treasure. We can also give him his electric sword and hook for one moveset and maybe the option for dual wielding. We can also make Dreadfuse an alternate skin.
And this brings us to the final character and I wanted it to be another curveball. Someone I think a lot of people would still enjoy. So... our final roster spot goes to...
24. Aryll
That's right, Link's little sister is joining the roster. But wait! I'm sure you're all saying the same thing. She wasn't a fighter! That's true... which is why we're technically not using that version. I know you're quick to point out that there's only one Aryll. And you're right... sort of. See... concept art for Breath of the Wild shows art of Link with a man, presumably his father, and a little girl. Since the man is his father, it's presumed the girl is his little sister. I know you're all going to point out "but we don't know if that's Aryll, her name could be different." True, but I'm still counting her as Aryll. We can make both her WW outfits and the look in the concept art as alternate costumes, but her base is something made up. She's going to get a blue colored version of the Wind Waker tunic as a reference to her being from that game. As for move set, I say make her like Young Link was to regular Link in Smash Melee, effectively an echo fighter who is smaller and lighter, along with similar weaponry. You might question why am I making a new version of Aryll for this game when she's only been in one game. Well, that didn't stop Hyrule Warriors for making a new Sheik. And yes I know Sheik was big enough to be in Smash, but I didn't just want to repeat that, which is why Sheik isn't here. Plus, not gonna lie, I kind of find Aryll adorable and wish she DID make it into BOTW. Again, I know that probably wasn't gonna be her name, but I'm still counting it.
And that's your starting roster for... uh... Zelda Fighers? HyruleCalibur? No, those are stupid...
Aryll, Dark Link, Darunia, Ganondorf, Ghirahim, Groose, Hero's Spirit, Impa, Linebeck, Link, Kohga, Malon, Midna, Phantom Ganon, Rebonack, Richard, Riju, Scervo, Sidon, Skull Kid, Tingle, Twinrova, Zant, and Zelda.
But wait! I'm sure someone recalls "didn't you mention a guest from Bandai Namco?"
Right... so, let's make the guest character...
It's obviously Nightmare from SoulCalibur. He's the face of that series. Heck, have the story center around him, he's been banished to the realm of Hyrule and his presence is causing a disturbance in their universe, explaining why all these characters from other eras and timelines are here. Make SoulEdge the supposed prize of the tournament and have him be the final boss.
But I'm not done... we still have... DLC.
But first, I'm open to hear what you guys think about this so far.
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I already used 1 sorcerer villain and, spoiler, the next one is another so I decided to spice things up. Onox would be the big tank of the rank. Armor on everything, he hits like a truck but he would move slow. Slow walking, slow reacting and, you guessed it, slow attacking with attacks clearly telegraphed. As for his weapons, obviously one would be his giant ball and chain, but we can reference the concept art and make one of them that giant axe he was seen with. His ultimate special move would be him briefly turning into the dragon form at the end of Seasons.
