I would love for you to prove that.
I was exaggerating on that regard, however, since I didn't work on the game, I will never be able to prove anything with a 100% certainty. But we can make educated guesses based on what the devs have told us so far to approximate us to the truth.
Source:
https://sourcegaming.info/2015/08/01/smash-clones/
Someone mentioned this before, but there was this quote from Sakurai about the clones from Melee:
“
If I could add one or two more characters, then [Wario] could have gotten in. Of all the characters I discarded, [he’s] ranked near the top.
However, even if I didn’t work on several clone characters he wouldn’t have gotten in.
Even if I deleted characters from before (Jigglypuff, Luigi) he wouldn’t have gotten in.
You might think it’s impossible that even if we delete one character in development that it couldn’t be replaced with another character….
I would have needed to get rid of both Marth and Roy or Mewtwo in order for Wario to get in"
While it is true that clones don't take zero effort, it is silly to say that getting rid of them may net us more unique newcomers. In a lot of cases, it's unlikely that the alternative of adding a clone may result in a completely new character.
Sakurai does talk about the work they take though:
“
When adding a clone character, I skip some of the animation, but work on balancing is not decreased at all. Break the Targets, Trophies and more still need to be made.”
“
For the move’s properties, I don’t directly establish the characterization or the effect.
Marth’s Shield Breaker and Roy’s Flare Blade’s difference is largely established through data.
As for programming, even though it’s only one move, increasing the character data by even one part in itself creates a lot of labor.”
And finally, he sees clones as potential fan service, while also emphasizing that their deletion wouldn't bring more newcomers:
“
Clone characters are for the fans, through and through (literally, “clones are free/ service”).
Even if we delete one clone, the amount of new characters wouldn’t increase by one.”[6]
“
Warning: Deleting a clone character to increase the amount of newcomers is simply not the case.
It’s interesting to see people have different understandings.
I made them thinking that people would be happy to see them.
…it’s futile to change my mind, so stop.“
This kind of information has been floating around for years. Despite of that, it's surprising to see that this community is prone to have the same misconceptions about clone characters.
It's an excuse. Don't sugar coat it. Echoes are a perfect idea but clearly we're not talking about them. We're talking about the fact that over half a dozen fighters in this game have very similar movesets and playstyles as ones we already have but they still take up space.
Roy should be an echo of Marth Chrom should then be an echo of Ike, and Lucina an echo of Corrin. Who cares if their movesets are different, their playstyles aren't.
Luigi and Dr. Mario should get their movesets revamped to not just be Mario clones or they become echoes.
Pichu should be a Pikachu echo
Young Link should be a Toon Link echo. Or Tink is a Link echo. They're all the same.
Isabelle should be a Villager echo
I clearly explained in this and in previous posts why that isn't true. They don't take space the same way other characters do. It's not an excuse, it's the truth. No amount of downplaying will make it less than it is.
And echoes is more or less the same as clones. You are seriously not thinking that because they gave it a fancy name is now suddenly an entirely different thing? The term itself is little ambiguous on what qualifies as one.
MK Leo and Ryo would laugh in your face if you told them that Marth and Roy have the same playstyles from Smash 4 onwards; while Luigi stopped being a clone since Melee and his current status in Smash fits him because in most Mario games he is head swap of Mario with different jumping height and traction (which happens to be reflected in Smash).
I have trouble understanding the rest of your post though, a lot of it seems like convoluted nonsense like you were undecided on what to say. Are you against clones and pro echoes despite fundamentally being the same thing? And I thought you people advocated unique movesets, but now you rather Isabelle be an echo Villager? The Smash fanbase can be hilariously contradictory.
Completely inaccurate portrayal of Bowser, and why they cant spend the minuscule amount of effort it would take to make Alph an echo.
Let's see... looks like Bowser, fights like Bowser, sounds like Bowser. I think your comment is the only inaccurate thing here.
To stay on topic, what I don't understand about Smash is the so-called Bowser fans who project so much of their agenda into the character that they go stretches to say that the character is inaccurately portrayed despite having received a lot of care over the years.
