Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Isabelle Announced

Isabelle was confirmed last night as the newest newcomer to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and this was quite surprising. Well, it wasn't surprising that she's going to be playable this time around, since I've speculated as much in both my assessments about missing Assist Trophies and potential Echo Fighters. But it was still surprising to see her now and to see her as a semi-clone, effectively, getting her own number on the roster.

I've kept saying that she has the potential to be unique and it's good that they didn't go the Echo route with her, because she looks like a lot of fun, especially with the Fishing Rod. Animal Crossing certainly had some potential left in its sleeves for different moves.

But she's still partly based on the Villager and has some of his moves, which does confirm that semi-clones, like Dr. Mario, Young Link or Wolf, really still can happen. So far it seemed like a new character would either be fully unique or squeezed into the Echo role, where we jumped between the two extremes. But it doesn't have to be that way after all, though Isabelle certainly feels quite unique overall and is one of the more advanced semi-clones, so to say.

It leaves me a little bit sad that they didn't go the same route with Dark Samus, but I can still understand the design choice that was made there. Isabelle at least looks quite different from the Villager, but both Samus and Dark Samus have the same shape and therefore can look quite similar, where it makes only sense that they behave similarly as well. It's the same case for Peach and Daisy and this will also probably remain true for Dixie Kong and Shadow, if they are going to be Echo Fighters.

But if Medusa becomes playable, she will certainly become a semi-clone of Palutena now, featuring different Special moves. And for Impa there is also some potential, because she has quite different proportions from Sheik and is a tad larger. So, maybe the could turn her into a semi-clone, if she's really playable...

Skull Kid is still the most likely contender for a Zelda newcomer, however, and the Direct certainly didn't change any of it. He's in pretty much the exact same spot as Isabelle. Both used to have Mii outfits in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, which were seemingly based on popular characters. Both used to have an Assist Trophy in the same game, which is now absent. And both now got a new Assist Trophy from their games, essentially replacing them. So, Skull Kid looks even more likely after Isabelle's addition, since he shares all of her evidence and got even more of his own, like Young Link's secret Final Smash (which is totally Fierce Deity).