Olimar and Pikmin join new Smash Bros. cast

Today the Super Smash Bros. website confirmed new additions to the roster for 3DS and Wii U: previous contenders Olimar and the Pikmin.

It's good to see the captain and his loyal space critters return since game designer Masahiro Sakurai already announced that some past favorites wouldn't make the cut. With new fighters like Mega Man and his dog Rush and the Villager from Animal Crossing, the developers had to choose wisely which characters to include as they only have so much room to work with. However, last month Nintendo also introduced the Wii Fight Trainer as a new character, which is a bit of a goofy selection.

Those are the three new challengers so far, but we also know that Fox McCloud, Samus Aran, Pikachu, Bowser, Pit, Kirby, Link, Donkey Kong, and Mario are also returning.

I'm not surprised that Olimar and the Pikmin made the list, though. Nintendo said in May that the upcoming Pikmin 3 (due August 4 on Wii U) would have three new protagonists, who would replace the captain.

At this time, the official website only shows screenshots of Olimar and his gang from the Wii U version of the game.

Source: Nintendo World Report