Why Ike Didn't Surprise Me

When Ike was shown, a lot of people were surprised.  They thought that for sure that Ike was cut. GameXplain was also surprised as they thought that Ike was clearly not returning.  It's clear a lot of people, when discussing Smash, come up with faulty assumptions and don't do their homework.  It was clear not a lot of characters would be cut when Sonic and Toon Link were shown.  Out of the Brawl cast, these two were some of the easiest to do away with.  Toon Link is, to a lot of people, just a small Link.  He doesn't have a unique moveset like many of the characters do (though he does play differently than Link).  Sonic is a guest characters.. Normally, it's not easy to add in guest character with all the legal work and expenses.  It's rare for special guest characters to return in the sequel.  Not to mention we already have Megaman.  But Sonic is back too.  So with these two characters, and even other cut favorite Lucario, in the game, it's clear that many, if not all, the characters from Brawl were returning.  And why not Ike.  Fire Emblem characters are always well liked and Ike was a fan favorite (you see that guy all the time online).

This assumption that there will be cuts stems from the misconceptions people had with the transition to Brawl's roster.  It was assumed that some characters were cut for newer versions.  Roy was clearly cut for Ike.  Mewtwo was clearly cut for Lucario.  However, for those who know a bit about Brawl, you'd know that within the game's files there are files for Dr. Mario, Roy and Mewtwo.  Yes, it was intended for these characters to return early on in development.  Mewtwo even had files for effects and sounds suggesting the decision to remove him was made later on.  You can learn more about the cut elements from Brawl here.  Also, Brawl was not a simple endevor.  Nintendo made a new office in Tokyo and hired a smaller studio, Game Arts, to assist.  The staff for Brawl was built up over time.  Not to mention that Brawl included the Subspace Emissary which took up a lot of disc space (and likely resources).  On the other hand, Namco Bandia has their own office fully staffed with (likely) very competent employees including the Tekken team.  It should also be noted that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 included 60 characters. So it shouldn't be hard to bring back the 35 Brawl characters.

In closing, there are a lot of silly assumptions regarding Smash, and cuts are chief among them.  After seeing Toon Link, Sonic, and Lucario, you'd think people wouldn't have been surprised with Ike's inclusion.