Nintendo Exec Names Rayman as Playable Character For Smash Bros

Just a couple weeks ago, Sakurai’s “Pic of the Day” on Miiverse featured a surprisingly detailed trophy of Ubisoft’s iconic character, Rayman. This was the day that Sakurai promised to reveal a new character, so many put two and two together—and were tricked by Sakurai, who confirmed Robin, Lucina, and Captain Falcon instead. Talk about Rayman as a playable character has died down since, but a recent remark by a Nintendo of Canada executive suggests that now might be the time to reopen that discussion.

In the above video, right around 2:10, the Communications, Marketing, and Partnerships Director of Nintendo of Canada, Matt Ryan, mentioned Rayman after Pac-Man when he mentions newcomers. While this is by no means a confirmation of the character, between Sakurai’s Miiverse tease and this mention, the idea of the limbless character joining the ranks of Smash Bros. is seeming less and less out of the question. For those who would like to see what Sakurai said when he posted the image, the original quote is below:

“Pic of the day. In order to make Rayman’s trophy, we asked Ubisoft to share their references. We were expecting to receive 2D drawing references for Rayman, but to our surprise, they sent us data of a brand new 3D model that they rendered for this game!! And that was how this trophy was created. It takes a lot of work creating each model, so it’s wonderful that the creators contributed their own efforts!!” — Masahiro Sakurai

With this new information, it now appears that Sakurai might have purposely stuck to his trademarked inconclusive language, as there is absolutely nothing in the quote regarding Rayman as a character or the use of other Ubisoft properties in the game. Judging by his comment about “2D drawing references”, perhaps we should be on the lookout for a 2D fighter akin to Mr. Game & Watch.

Would you like to see Rayman added to the quickly growing character roster of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U? Or would you rather Sakurai had chosen a different third-party character to add to the mix? Would Rayman hold his own without arms, legs, or a neck with which to fight? Share your thoughts with us.