I have a question here which has been recently puzzling me but I've not been able to find an explanation for.
Were Ice Climbers, Peach and Zelda available right off the bat in the Japanese version? I mean, even in test versions made before final release. I know this seems like a strange question but there are several things making me wonder this.
For example I have seen a screenshot on some websites showing what is apparently the character select screen. Now, we know that is not the final screen but was it perhaps the original? I'm a bit unsure of that screen though. While the three (four?) characters I ask about are missing from that but then again, so is Kirby and I have absolutely no doubts about him being available from the start. Perhaps that was an early screen before they realised their mistake? Also, Bowser and Donkey Kong are given the names as they would be in the English language version and most should know the Japanese version has Koopa and D.Kong under their faces on the select screen.
The one which really makes me wonder is this one where the rectangle where Zelda should be actually holds a question mark much like the placeholders for Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch, etc. Now, this one seems more credible than the last as the layout is mostly the same as the final version and Ice Climbers, Bowser and Donkey Kong are correctly labelled (at least for the Japanese version) as Ice Climber, Koopa and D.Kong. and in fact everything apart from Zelda's absence is very much how the training mode should look. So, why is she not there?
Another thing which makes me wonder is part of the official Japanese website for the game. On this page there are character profiles about all the characters. Now, while there is no method written for unlocking these characters much as there is for Luigi onwards, I still do wonder. I mean, these three are right at the end of the originally available characters just before the secret characters and this is how they've also been ordered in the game (although in the game Ice Climbers come between Peach and Zelda - check the trophy list).
Now, I also wonder about this because yes, these characters are at the end of the list of availables but if they were also unlockable, that would leave us with just the original SSB characters (minus, of course, the secret characters Luigi and Jigglypuff) and Bowser and that would be the extent of our lineup. Perhaps the developers intended for Peach, Ice Climbers and Zelda/Sheik to be unlockable characters but then realised the mistake of initially offering just one new character to the lineup before making the others unlockable. I don't know but that is really the only feasible way I can explain these screenshots. The thought of them being fake did cross my mind but then I had to ask why. I mean, they're not akin to the Sonic/Tails/Toad secret character 'screenshots' whereby there is mass discussion about the possibility of other characters appearing nor was there any publicity (of which I'm aware) about the oddities contained within these screenshots. Perhaps someone knows the story behind these.
Were Ice Climbers, Peach and Zelda available right off the bat in the Japanese version? I mean, even in test versions made before final release. I know this seems like a strange question but there are several things making me wonder this.
For example I have seen a screenshot on some websites showing what is apparently the character select screen. Now, we know that is not the final screen but was it perhaps the original? I'm a bit unsure of that screen though. While the three (four?) characters I ask about are missing from that but then again, so is Kirby and I have absolutely no doubts about him being available from the start. Perhaps that was an early screen before they realised their mistake? Also, Bowser and Donkey Kong are given the names as they would be in the English language version and most should know the Japanese version has Koopa and D.Kong under their faces on the select screen.
The one which really makes me wonder is this one where the rectangle where Zelda should be actually holds a question mark much like the placeholders for Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch, etc. Now, this one seems more credible than the last as the layout is mostly the same as the final version and Ice Climbers, Bowser and Donkey Kong are correctly labelled (at least for the Japanese version) as Ice Climber, Koopa and D.Kong. and in fact everything apart from Zelda's absence is very much how the training mode should look. So, why is she not there?
Another thing which makes me wonder is part of the official Japanese website for the game. On this page there are character profiles about all the characters. Now, while there is no method written for unlocking these characters much as there is for Luigi onwards, I still do wonder. I mean, these three are right at the end of the originally available characters just before the secret characters and this is how they've also been ordered in the game (although in the game Ice Climbers come between Peach and Zelda - check the trophy list).
Now, I also wonder about this because yes, these characters are at the end of the list of availables but if they were also unlockable, that would leave us with just the original SSB characters (minus, of course, the secret characters Luigi and Jigglypuff) and Bowser and that would be the extent of our lineup. Perhaps the developers intended for Peach, Ice Climbers and Zelda/Sheik to be unlockable characters but then realised the mistake of initially offering just one new character to the lineup before making the others unlockable. I don't know but that is really the only feasible way I can explain these screenshots. The thought of them being fake did cross my mind but then I had to ask why. I mean, they're not akin to the Sonic/Tails/Toad secret character 'screenshots' whereby there is mass discussion about the possibility of other characters appearing nor was there any publicity (of which I'm aware) about the oddities contained within these screenshots. Perhaps someone knows the story behind these.
