TheSuper Smash Brosfranchise began in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, quickly becoming one of Nintendo’s most popular series. The fighting game series, developed by Masahiro Sakurai, stars a band of iconic Nintendo characters, and a handful of third-party mascots, in a fighting game that remains one of the most active in the competitive scene.
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Although the most recentSuper Smash Brostitle,Super Smash Bros Ultimatefor Nintendo Switch, contains a total of 89 characters, there are some figures who fans are surprised never made it into the game. Mostly thanks to rumors that didn’t come true, these characters were widely believed by many fans to be on their way to a pastSmashtitle.
8Toad
It’s surprising that, out ofall the representatives from theSuper Mariofranchise, that Toad is not among them. The character has been playable in the franchise sinceSuper Mario Bros 2on NES, recently re-appearing as a playable character inSuper Mario 3D World. Captain Toad has also found success in his own spin-off series,Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
Nonetheless, Toad was the subject of a widely-spread hoax during the days ofSuper Smash Bros Meleefor GameCube. Similarly to a leak involving Sonic and Tails, it was believed that Toad was unlockable in the title by meeting certain difficult criteria. It was unfortunately debunked at the time, but over 20 years later Toad still hasn’t debuted as a fighter yet.
7Chorus Kids
Back in the days prior to the release ofSuper Smash Bros for 3DS & Wii U, there were many widely-reported rumors about the game’s potential roster. One of the more notable ones was the Gematsu leak, which quickly gained credibility after predicting the inclusion of characters like Little Mac, Palutena, and Shulk fromXenoblade Chronicles.
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Although the Gematsu leak was disprovenby Chrom’s lack of inclusion, it also meant the Chorus Kids fromRhythm Heavendidn’t make the cut. Fans were sure of the characters' inclusion when aRhythm Heavenenemy was confirmed to be appearing in the mini-gameSmash Run, but as ofSuper Smash Bros Ultimate,the series remains unrepresented.
6Takamaru
The Mysterious Murasame Castleis an oft-forgotten Famicom game from 1986 that never saw a western release. Nevertheless, its samurai protagonist Takamaru was the subject of an early rumor forSuper Smash Bros 4. According to the rumor, Takamaru was included on the roster in an East vs West pairing with thePunch-Outcharacter Little Mac.
Unfortunately, Takamaru’s appearance inSuper Smash Bros 4turned out to be misinformation, although the character does appear as an Assist Trophy. The rumor potentially took off among fans due to a mini-game based on the title inthe Wii U launch titleNintendo Land, which possibly led credence to Nintendo’s coming revival of the series.
5Dillon
In the same rumor as Takamaru, Dillon fromDillon’s Rolling Westernwas another rumored character forSuper Smash Bros 4.Dillon’s Rolling Westernwas a 3DS eShop titlefirst released in 2012, starring the titular cowboy armadillo. It would have been solid representation for Nintendo’s 3DS library, although like Takamaru the rumor turned out to be a hoax.
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However, Dillon was also included as an Assist Trophy, as were other names in the rumors like Ghirahim fromSkyward Sword. It’s possible the rumor had mistaken these Assist Trophy inclusions as potential fighters, although given that they also alleged that King K. Rool and Ridley would appear in the game, that didn’t come to pass untilUltimate.
4Geno
After many fan-favorite wish fulfillments in the DLC packs forSuper Smash Bros Ultimate, there remains one significant character who has been desired by fans for ages. That would be Geno, a character who appeared inSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Starsfor the SNES, which was originally released in 1996, predating the very firstSmashtitle.
Rumors of Geno’s inclusion inSmashbegan in the days ofSuper Smash Bros Brawl, continuing even toSuper Smash Bros Ultimate’s DLC release window. To date, the character only appears as a Mii Fighter costume in bothSuper Smash Bros 4andSuper Smash Bros Ultimate, with not even the Fighter Ballot helping its chances of getting in.
3Ryu Hayabusa
Some legitimate leakers fly too close to the sun, tarnishing their hard-earned credit after making correct predictions. That’s certainly the case with one YouTuber, IAmShifty, who correctly leaked the inclusion of characters like Incineroar, Isabelle, and Piranha Plant inSuper Smash Bros Ultimateprior to its release in 2018.
In 2019, IAmShifty returned with new predictions about the upcoming Fighters Pass DLC packs, alleging thatRyu from theNinja Gaidenserieswould be a playable character. This leak was even corroborated by other legitimate leakers, which raised fans' expectations, although Ryu’s inclusion ultimately never came to pass by the final DLC pack in 2021.
2Doom Slayer
Another character who was a popular suspect for the DLC ofSuper Smash Bros Ultimatewas Doom Slayer, the protagonist of the iconic first-person shooter seriesDoom. Rumors about the character’s inclusion first sprouted up in 2019, when a 4chan hoax showcased Mii Fighters costumes for bothDoomandSuper Mario RPGside characters.
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Nevertheless, the inclusion of Banjo and Kazooie, who are both owned by Microsoft, added to fan speculation that Doom Slayer, another Microsoft-owned character, could feasibly appear inSmash. While this particular fan speculation turned out to be wrong, a Doom Slayer Mii Fighter costume was revealed alongside Sora’s inclusion in 2021.
1Master Chief
In a similar vein to the belief that Doom Slayer would be added toSuper Smash Bros Ultimate,Master Chief was another popular fan-favorite addition. TheHaloprotagonist would make for quite the unlikely inclusion in the family-friendly series, though there was a credible rumor bill behind the character’s widely-suspected addition as a DLC Fighter.
The leaker Vergeben on GameFAQs had a long history of accurately leaking game information, includingSuper Smash Bros Ultimate. In 2018, Vergeben accurately predicted the additions of Ridley, Simon Belmont, and Steve fromMinecraft. However, Vergeben was finally proven wrong when his prediction of Master Chief being included was not true.
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