Cloud is a girl... Wow! Better his parents are shocked.

I am most distressed

I see what you did there....

*snugs my favorite otter*

looks like someone was paid a lot of money

Okay, he's incredibly obviously not the poll result DLC. But yeah, Christ, Nintendo, how much did Square suck you off for this? Might as well add fuckin' Goku by this point.

Maybe throw in some One Piece characters, Zorro uses three swords even!

I knew this "Player's Choice" would be nothing more than a scam to hype and promote.

why even hold a poll then, especially if you're just gonna throw in yet another male character...I guess they want to stick with the bro's thing ...

Because Cloud's extremely obviously not the big end-of-poll reveal.

well okay then?

uhhhhh so im guesseing where gonna have to wait till the next smash game for krystal fox then <_<

Am.. am I the only one looking forward to this?

The fact that I hated FF7 aside, he has no place in smash. He has, so far as I know, never been in a nintendo game, he adds no interesting aesthetic elements looking like just another xenosaga/fire eblem character, he adds no gameplay ingenuity because he's just another character with a sword. And if the internet was to be believed, he was not even on the radar in the unofficial ballot polls.

Also of all the Final Fantasy characters they could have gone with, they decided to add another male to the game's already male heavy roster.

He basically perfectly fits everything I did not want in a new character.

Firstly, I want to say I'm really happy to meet another smash fan, especially one so passionate. I actually don't like Final Fantasy VII myself if I'm to be honest with you, I feel it's one of those highly overrated games, but for it's time I'm sure it was phenomenal. The 7'th game marked a huge shift in gaming history as well, jumping ship from Nintendo over to PlayStation, strengthening your argument to disclude him even more so.

That said, I have to respectfully disagree with some of your key points. I believe he does add lots of aesthetic appeal. While sure he's yet another sword fighter, it'd be like saying Ryu is just another brawler using his fists. It's too easy to generalize a playstyle like that. Cloud looks be focused quick hard strikes while looking sluggish and his offstage game looks to be subpar compared to most fighters if his recovery is anything to look at. Looks almost as bad as Dr. Mario. This is where his Limit Break system comes in, that is the key thing I'm looking at that makes him unique amongst the cast. We both Know Sakurai doesn't seem like adding characters for the sake of it unless something of a fun gimmick can be worked out for said characters. In Cloud's case, the Limit break system seem to be just that. Cloud is also one of the original grand daddy's of spiky hair dudes of gaming, so for the sake of nostalgia I look past that.

As for your argument about the gender cast, I really don't believe it matters how tipped the scale is from one gender or the other. Sakurai has done a great job including female and male variants when it comes to switching genders within the cast and for me the bottom line is who's the most famous and important characters get in regardless of what sex they are.

If your argument is to include more female representatives, I can dig it, I'd still love to see Krystal with a mix of her staff and hi-tech weaponry from the StarFox universe. I don't really care for Shantae and my favorite video game female protagonist is already in the game, that being Samus Aran. What would your suggestions be bringing the female cast along? I'm very eager to hear your thoughts.

Krystal would have to be my top choice, but there are many others I would be happy to see as well

Midna (riding a wolf who may or may not be wolf link) would also be high on the list.

I wasn't aware of Shantae prior to the suggestion to be included in smash but looking her up I would be happy to have her.

Bayonetta I have mixed feelings on, she fills a lot of the criteria I set out in what I'd like in a new character but I've never really been a fan of her hyper sexualized style and I'm not entirely sure it belongs in Smash

Ammaterasu would be very high on the list for me as well

And as long as we can draw from franchises as disconnected from Nintendo as Final Fantasy, I'm also going to go with Kerrigan from Starcraft. Because why the hell not?

Hell yeah for Krystal.. i'm sad though, with StarFox Zero being yet another reboot of sorts, it looks like they're trying to rid her for unknown reasons. Midna would be amazing, but she's already found as an assist trophy. Bayonetta would be great and for me fills much criteria as well. However, my problem with her isn't her hyper sexuality because she's more able being stylish than anything else. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to figure out sassy moves for her. My only gripe would be that she's too recent. All the third party characters have to be iconic in a sense to be able to join.

Ammaterasu.. I know what I just said about characters being too recent to join in, but god damn it I want her so badly in the game. Her mix up between sword, shield and whip would be amazing in Smash. Her and Viewtiful Joe.

Star Fox Zero is not a reboot nor an attempt to get rid of her, it's an inbetween game taking place before she even joined the team.

So yeah! How about that female representation, eh? I love it! (referring to latest Smash direct)

Cloud crossdresses...

In my opinion, one of the most overrated characters from the most overrated game series of all time.

However, he is a character with a rabid fanbase, who I would have predicted would get quite high for that reason alone.

Very odd move, Nintendo.

Cloud of all people? Damn i don't play smash or even own a nintendo console (Well i have a N64 locked away in my closet but i didn't use it in years) or even particularly care about Krystal due to ditching consoles years before she even was concieved in someones head.
But... wow. Cloud.
Next gen i'm expecting Geralt of motherintercoursing Rivia.
Why?
Because he has TWO swords.

Anyway did Cloud even took part in any game on a nintendo console? I know he's from FF7 and i think FF7 didn't appear on N64 nor did it get any re-releases on GC and later.

I don't even know what to say... Cloud of all people! He is not interesting or original and I highly doubt he actually won the poll. /facepalm

They never once claimed he was the poll winner. You don't actually think they had him done in less than a month, do you?

And he WAS interesting before Advent Children rewrote him as a brooding emo who's never smiled or cracked a damn joke in his life.

Ah, ok. I didn't know that he had already been added to the game (I don't have it). Some of the people's responses above made it sound like he had been declared the winner of the poll.