Inkling Shouldn't be in Smash

[Captain Norris]

I think Squid Sisters would be better as Assist Trophies honestly.

 

[MissingNumbers]

I think Squid Sisters would be better as Assist Trophies honestly.

I'd imagine they would change the background music and boost the morale of the one who summoned them.

 

[DarkGold777]

Yeah, I'm part of the disagreeing camp here. Not only do we have the Villager, who is MUCH more customizable in the AC games, we also can't forget how the female orange Inkling and male blue Inkling of Splatoon are very popular themselves, despite only appearing in promotional art, the cover, and amiibos. We don't really see those two specific Inklings as "avatars", just separate characters, while we see ourselves in the Splatoon game itself.

I don't have a problem with avatars being fighters anyways; I can't really see what's wrong with it.

 

[SalsaSavant]

Villager
Robin
Link
Toon Link
Ness
Lucas
Pokemon Trainer
Miis

And given that we also have non-characters Wii Fit Trainer and Game and Watch, I don't think we can put any sort of rules about how much characterization they need.

 

[DonkaFjord]

This reminds me of Smash 4 speculation with an Animal Crossing rep. I swore up and down the player character would make it in because most characters in smash are the main characters or most important/recognizable character from their respective series. Everyone was like no, no it /has/ to be Tom Nook because the [Animal Crossing Villager] has no personality/name/etc.

 

[Luka]

I recall mention that one of the biggest factors in a new character being added is whether or not that character can be represented as faithfully to their source material as possible. As stated before, Villager is a customizable player avatar, and he/she got a faithful fighting game moveset despite coming from one of the most peaceful game series ever. If the character can be represented faithfully, anything's possible.

 

[Right Whale]

I hope they add them, they would be very unique. There alternate costumes could be different looking Inklings with different gear.

 

[Elecmaw]

I'm allmost saying that they're guaranteed to come in the next smash or as DLC, this game has been massively popular so far and it'll be like that for a while now. I don't think that inklings being customizable characters will really affect that decision, seeing as villager got in too.

 

[kinetik07]

They're far from representing the player imo
-the game is in 3rd person perspective. If they wanted to immerse the player and really make it feel like they're the ones in the game, the devs would have made it an FPS.
-Nintendo stated that we can't change the inklings' hair or face so that they're more easily recognizable(don't have source on this atm)
-Game doesn't ask what your gender, skin tone or eye color is at the start. It just says "Choose an inkling"(Oak, on the other hand, asks you directly)
-A large majority of players are g.i.r.l.s


Miis represent the player, don't count as characters, but they're still in Smash.

Also, they do have their own personality

You can see this in the inklings in the plaza when they're sitting down, making facial expressions, pretend throwing a ball, or

 

[DarkGold777]

They're far from representing the player imo
-the game is in 3rd person perspective. If they wanted to immerse the player and really make it feel like they're the ones in the game, the devs would have made it an FPS.
-Nintendo stated that we can't change the inklings' hair or face so that they're more easily recognizable(don't have source on this atm)
-Game doesn't ask what your gender, skin tone or eye color is at the start. It just says "Choose an inkling"(Oak, on the other hand, asks you directly)
-A large majority of players are g.i.r.l.s


Miis represent the player, don't count as characters, but they're still in Smash.

Also, they do have their own personality

You can see this in the inklings in the plaza when they're sitting down, making facial expressions, pretend throwing a ball, or

To be fair, they weren't given multiple hairstyles because they were newcomers. Also, I do think Inklings are supposed to be avatars because when we enter matches and appear in the plaza, our names show up over our heads, and we choose what we want to wear. Those amiibo are separate characters from us, too. Not like being an avatar base should matter when it comes to qualifying for Smash. I don't see the guy walking around Inkopolis as someone else; I see him as me, forced with a different hairstyle for IP identity establishing reasons.

 

[DonkaFjord]

To be fair, they weren't given multiple hairstyles because they were newcomers. Also, I do think Inklings are supposed to be avatars because when we enter matches and appear in the plaza, our names show up over our heads, and we choose what we want to wear. Those amiibo are separate characters from us, too. Not like being an avatar base should matter when it comes to qualifying for Smash. I don't see the guy walking around Inkopolis as someone else; I see him as me, forced with a different hairstyle for IP identity establishing reasons.

I think that is what they meant- the hair and eyes were generalized since they are newcomers and they wanted to establish a design. That's also very interesting- I know some people see themselves as mario/link/samus/etc. when they play their games, but even for this game, Animal crossing, or even Mii-driven games, I see them as their own character separate from my identity I don't name them after me either- it feels weird and wrong to me. It is interesting how different people project themselves in games and in their playable characters.

 

[Glass Eater]

I'm totally fine with having Marie and Callie be the Smash characters, but your entire argument is countered by the Villager in Smash bros OP. He's an Avatar and not a character, and Inklings being added would be no different.

 

[dapperlace]

Avatars are a little more broad than that:

an icon or figure representing a particular person in computer games, Internet forums, etc

.
In that sense, they're a representation of the player, however, that doesn't mean it's all they are. Technically, Mario is the representation of the player's actions as well.Yes, he's very recognizable, but his personality isn't really that deep. He's a recognizable character because he's existed for so long.

One could also argue that an avatar is something many people would really want to see in-game because they feel more connected to something they customized. While it may not look like their version of the customization (see: Default Robins in Smash) it's fun to see these characters represented in a game like Smash. I know a lot of people were happy about Villager, and I think many would be equally happy about the Inkglings. There was a thread with pages upon pages of fanart mere hours after the first trailer had been dropped.

Whether as iconic characters, or as simple game avatars, the Inklings work. They're fresh little hipster kids with a fun personality and distinct look that people can customize, and expand on outside of the game if they feel like it.

I feel like the Squid Sisters would be fun as well, but they strike me more as trophy material.

 

[DarkGold777]

I think that is what they meant- the hair and eyes were generalized since they are newcomers and they wanted to establish a design. That's also very interesting- I know some people see themselves as mario/link/samus/etc. when they play their games, but even for this game, Animal crossing, or even Mii-driven games, I see them as their own character separate from my identity I don't name them after me either- it feels weird and wrong to me. It is interesting how different people project themselves in games and in their playable characters.

When it comes to games like Splatoon, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Fantasy Life, and other games where your avatar lacks much of a pre-determined bio, has much customization of their own identity and things like that, I prefer to play as myself or an original character I make up. On the other hand, for the Zelda series, FE: Awakening, and other games where your "avatar's" personality is pre-established and there's not much you can do with them online if it even exists, I prefer to name Link as he is and make Robin as Robin with his default look, and similarly so for other characters for other games. But that's a conversation for another thread, I guess.

 

[Aerotop]

I don't see a big problem with avatar-style characters as Smash characters, the Villager doesn't even talk a bit in the Animal Crossing series, and Robin is in the game too (although he/she does have an actual written personality, I guess). So, I do get your points, but I think the Inklings would be fine for Smash.
Now, a neat thing is that, if Smash 5 does have the 8 costumes per character rule that Smash 4 has, then I could totally see the six inklings featured here and in other promo material:

Spoiler

and then Callie and Marie as the costumes for the overall Inkling character (although it would leave out the Octolings).

 

[DonkaFjord]

When it comes to games like Splatoon, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Fantasy Life, and other games where your avatar lacks much of a pre-determined bio, has much customization of their own identity and things like that, I prefer to play as myself or an original character I make up. On the other hand, for the Zelda series, FE: Awakening, and other games where your "avatar's" personality is pre-established and there's not much you can do with them online if it even exists, I prefer to name Link as he is and make Robin as Robin with his default look, and similarly so for other characters for other games. But that's a conversation for another thread, I guess.

I do something similar I guess- I name all mii based characters Fjord and keep Ness/Robin/Lucas/Link/etc. as their default names. It just feels better for some reason.

I don't see a big problem with avatar-style characters as Smash characters, the Villager doesn't even talk a bit in the Animal Crossing series, and Robin is in the game too (although he/she does have an actual written personality, I guess). So, I do get your points, but I think the Inklings would be fine for Smash.
Now, a neat thing is that, if Smash 5 does have the 8 costumes per character rule that Smash 4 has, then I could totally see the six inklings featured here and in other promo material:

Spoiler

and then Callie and Marie as the costumes for the overall Inkling character (although it would leave out the Octolings).

That would also leave out the hero costume. Orange and Blue (as well as lime green in squid form) are definitely the ones they market the most and the ones with Amiibos so they are pretty much a lock. Orange female inkling would be the obvious default costume. They could always go the Little Mac route and have a ton of costumes.

 

[MissingNumbers]

That would also leave out the hero costume. Orange and Blue (as well as lime green in squid form) are definitely the ones they market the most and the ones with Amiibos so they are pretty much a lock. Orange female inkling would be the obvious default costume. They could always go the Little Mac route and have a ton of costumes.

I would imagine that each gender would have the same eight costumes and ink colors to choose from, and the Hero costume would probably use neon green like in most single-player levels, or yellow to match the color lock setting.

 

[Pikmin-ism42]

Well, Villager and Miis got in, so this isn't entirely valid. Plus, I'd say that the Inklings aren't mere "souless avatars" because they all have a hip vibe to them.

 

[Zoot]

I disagree wit Wendigo too. Inkling Boy/Girl would be the best Splatoon additions because they're the most iconic mascots. Callie and Marie wouldn't work nearly as well because they're not the "face" of Splatoon (they're not in any adverts, on the box art, the amiibo or anything).

As others have said, the fact that the inkings are customisable in their own game doesn't mean they wouldn't fit in Smash. I don't feel there's anything missing when I'm playing as the other customisable characters mentioned.

 

[Litagano Motscoud]

I'm not sure why the Inklings shouldn't be in Smash because of how their looks are customizable in the source game. By that logic, we wouldn't have Robin, Villager, or the Mii characters.

The Inklings even have a "default" look. It's on the cover of the game. Miis don't even have a default look from a game, but they do have one in Smash.