Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has accomplished some incredible things and managed to create moments that seem like they should be impossible. There aren’t many other games where players can watch Final Fantasy 7‘s Cloud duke it out with Mario, or now that Steve from Minecraft is coming to Smash, see Mewtwo battle Steve. The most recent entry in the franchise took things further by promising every playable character in the history of the franchise to return, yet despite this massive roster, there is not a single Black playable character available across the over 70 options in the game.
It’s worth saying that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has always been focused on collecting popular and iconic characters in one place so players could duke it out with their friends. Even so, if this oddity isn’t reflective of an issue with Smash Bros., it at the very least points out a huge flaw in modern gaming as a whole. There’s a severe lack of representation for people of color in terms of video game characters, and that’s an issue that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is in a position to do something about. There are plenty of great Black characters in gaming that could be added.
Before getting into popular and iconic Black video game characters that would fit great with Smash, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many alternate colors of characters that show more representation. Cycling through the color options on Villager will let the player be both male and female versions of a Black character, and the same holds true for Inkling. Alex has an alternate costume that gives her much darker skin, and a handful of other characters have slightly darker options. Though this is a good gesture, it doesn’t fix the issue, as these are simple, alternate costumes, and there are several legitimate characters who deserve to appear.
Barret would be an interesting addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for a number of reasons. For starters, it’s uncommon for a third party franchise like Final Fantasy to get two DLC characters. However, Final Fantasy 7 is popular enough that it could happen, and Barret isn’t just Cloud’s sidekick. Barret’s heavy emphasis on ranged attacks would make for an interesting character, though it comes with a drawback as well. More likely than not, if Barret were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it would be as a costume for Mii Gunner, as that character’s moveset matches Barret well.
With all this talk of Overwatch in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it’s possible that another popular FPS character could make their way in. Both Lifeline and Bangalore would make great choices, with Lifeline featuring more healing and support abilities when compared to Bangalore’s explosive play style. Lifeline in particular would make an interesting choice, as there aren’t many characters in Smash that would be considered support characters. Regardless, fans of Apex Legends would no doubt love to see either of these characters make the cut for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Zasalamel from the Soul Calibur franchise represents one of the biggest problems when discussing adding a person of color to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Most dark-skinned representatives in video games tend to be side characters rather than leads, and this holds especially true for Soul Calibur. If this franchise were to be represented in Smash Bros., it’s more likely that fans would see Siegfried, as he often acts as the series’ mascot. Zasalamel could certainly bring a lot to the table with his scythe and unique moveset from the original game, but he isn’t high up on the list of popular Soul Calibur characters.
Alyx from the Half-Life franchise is described as being of Afro-Asian descent, and she is featured as the main character of Half-Life: Alyx. Her fighting style would certainly be interesting, as though she specializes in hand to hand combat and ranged weaponry, her most iconic tool is the Gravity Gloves, handheld versions of the classic Gravity Gun used by Gordon Freeman in the other Half-Life games. How exactly these would translate over to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is difficult to say, Alyx herself would be a good fit for the game.
Tyrael was not the main character of Diablo 3, but he was featured prominently in it. What makes this idea especially cool is that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate could allow him to use some of his angelic powers. Whether that takes the form of an Up B attacj similar to Pit’s or simply sweeping great sword attacks, Tyrael would be a unique addition. What’s more, he’s one of the few characters on here that would be most likely to join from their franchise, as there aren’t very many other iconic Diablo characters aside from the custom character that players can create.
What this analysis shows more than anything is the lack of Black characters in gaming as a whole. Often games will give players the option to make their own character Black or include a Black character, but these characters rarely take the spotlight. Instead, Black characters and diversity in gaming in general tend to be relegated to the sideline, and as a result seem more like an afterthought than an intentional action taken by developers.
There are likely other prominent Black video game characters, but it is difficult to find ones that would fit well within Smash Bros. Though the franchise has been lowering its requirements for new additions, there are still some pretty strict rules in place for who can and can’t be featured as a playable character. In any case, hopefully Super Smash Bros. Ultimate works towards creating a more inclusive environment in the future by adding characters to represent all types of players.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on Switch.
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