Like the Pokémon games, the Super Smash Bros. series has had many releases, adding a few bells and whistles as well as a handful of new characters every console generation or so. Also like the Pokémon games, the new releases have a solid enough base that they're still almost always worth checking out. And also also like the Pokémon games, the Super Smash Bros. series has Pokémon in it.

March 31 is the deadline for player's chance to download Mewtwo as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii-U. Mewtwo will become the first downloadable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, Nintendo's mascot fighting game. In order to obtain the character, players must join Club Nintendo and register copies of both the 3DS and Wii-U versions of the game. Despite the deadline of the end of the month, the actual character will not be available until a later, still unspecified date sometime this spring.

There are currently no plans for further downloadable characters; though it is entirely within the realm of possibility, Club Nintendo's discontinuation makes it an unlikely possibility. Blue vixen fans will just have to wait (and hope) for the next console.

Update (April 1): Mewtwo will be available April 28, and further downloadable characters have been verified (though, once again, not Krystal). [Sonious]
Update 2 (April 2): There is now a system in place for voting on characters; I forgot who I picked. It is available until October, so don't expect a quick turnaround. Also, the March 31 deadline was only for a free Mewtwo; Mewtwo will be available for $3.99 for one game or $4.99 in bulk.

Three years ago, Nintendo announced Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS, the latest in Nintendo's series of fighting games featuring various Nintendo characters. As the game's Japanese version launched this Saturday, the full roster for the game is now known (though it had actually been leaked back in August). The starting roster can be found here. The furry part of the complete roster will be covered after the break, so don't click on Read More if you're worried about spoilers.

The game will be hitting stores everywhere else October 3, with the exception of Germany, which gets it a day early due to a national holiday. Lucky them.

Surprising no one, Nintendo announced at this year’s E3 that it will release a new Super Smash Bros. for its forthcoming Wii U console. The fighting series includes furry Nintendo characters such as Fox McCloud and Lucario, plus guest character Sonic the Hedgehog.

Series creator Masahiro Sakurai has not ruled out the possibility of a release on the 3DS, which would be the first installment of the series on a handheld video game system.

The game or games, though definitely coming to at least the Wii U, are not yet in production. Sakurai’s studio, Sora, is currently working on the 3DS game Kid Icarus: Uprising, and may defer Super Smash Bros. until its completion, giving furry gamers plenty of time to petition for inclusion of their favorite characters.