Min Min from Nintendo’s ARMS series was confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Fighter Pass 2 on Monday. The lanky-armed boxer is the first character from the boxing franchise to make it into the Nintendo Switch’s definitive fighting game, and even though Min Min won't join the fray until June 29, her inclusion breaks one of the Smash Bros. series’ unofficial cardinal rules: If the character exists in the game as an Assist Trophy or Spirit, they won’t become a playable character. Now, all bets are off.
While Nintendo has never confirmed this rule to be true, Smash Bros. fans have long considered it to be a law that will never be broken. But Min Min has been a Spirit in Smash Ultimate since the game’s release in December 2018. Does that mean long-requested characters that are currently Assist Trophies or Spirits could one day make it to the game’s roster?
Technically, yes.
Many leaks and rumors about what fighter could be added to Smash Ultimate next have been shunned by the game’s fans because Nintendo added the character in question as a Spirit or Assist Trophy, but those days might be over.
While Nintendo still has never added a fighter that is already an Assist Trophy into a Smash Bros. title, the addition of Min Min made it clear that the company is willing to create fighters for characters that have already been somewhat included in the game. That means these any of these three long-rumored fighters could be included as part of Fighter Pass 2.
3. Geno
Geno is one of the two original characters from the SNES title Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) and has been in the running as a potential addition to Smash Bros. since Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Nintendo Wii. The possessed doll was only ever featured in the SNES game, which is considered to be one of the best games on the system.
Geno is already Spirit in Smash Ultimate, but so was Min Min until recently. In fact, Smash Bros. Game Director Masahiro Sakurai even attempted to put Geno in Smash Bros. Brawl, but that never came to fruition for unknown reasons.
“Geno was actually a character I wanted to include as a fighter,” Sakurai told Nintendo Dream in 2016. “He has a gun for an arm, and just seems like he’d fit absolutely perfectly into Smash. I was hoping I’d be able to put him in as far back as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but unfortunately, that never ended up materializing.”
Could Smash Ultimate be Geno’s moment in the spotlight?
2. Leon from Resident Evil
There have been rumors Leon would join Smash Bros. since 2015 when Sakurai stated that Nintendo planned to add “one or two” more third-party characters to Smash Bros. for the Wii U and 3DS. That never came to pass, but rumors about a Resident Evil DLC fighter resurfaced in October.
Fans of the survival-horror who had long hoped for Leon to be added to Smash Bros. lost that hope when Nintendo added him as a Spirit in November 2019. Min Min’s announcement has reignited the Leon in Smash dream.
Resident Evil 4 (2005) was a GameCube exclusive that garnered rave reviews and is considered one of the best ever games for the platform. Plus, the original Resident Evil was ported to the Switch, making the addition of Leon at least feasible.
1. Waluigi
Finally, there is a glimmer of hope left for the maniacal, mustachioed Waluigi to be added as a part of Fighter Pass 2. While Nintendo still has not released a playable fighter that is also an Assist Trophy, Min Min’s addition is proof that the company is willing to throw anyone in the roster as long as they’re fun to play.
Sakurai mentioned during Terry Bogard’s Smash Ultimate announcement that as long as the character is enjoyable and unique, Nintendo will look past how well-known they are and potentially even company traditions.
"Whether or not the character is fun to play as is more important than whether the character is new or old, or whether the character is recognizable to everyone,” he said during the presentation.
In other words: Now, more than ever, there’s still hope for Waluigi fans!
