Crash
Crash seemed like a shoo-in after video game darlings like Sonic, Pac-Man and Mega Man joined the fray. As one of the PlayStation’s most recognizable characters, his inclusion seemed a foregone conclusion. Yet when Sora, instead, popped out in the final Smash reveal trailer, Crash fans were left wondering what went wrong with Naughty Dog’s zany hero. Perhaps the studio’s soured relationship with the IP’s original owner, Universal Interactive, complicated matters, or maybe Crash’s absence is simply a testament to the video game industry’s ballooning roster of iconic characters.