I don’t get this whole “I’m surprised/mad Leon didn’t make it” attitude some people have on here. It was obvious he wasn’t going to be in the base roster. Leon might’ve had an interesting move set but that’s literally about it. Besides that, there’s nothing that makes him stand out that puts him on Team Ninja’s radar.
Well, those are two separate things. I'm not surprised, but I am annoyed, yes. And it's not really a great mystery why.
AFAIC, FG characters are a composite of three things: moveset, visuals, personality/story. His moveset/gameplan was genuinely one of
the most unique in the entire game. Surprisingly, literally no one else had the ability to redirect launched opponents into stage hazards, a hallmark of DOA's identity. That is huge, and set him apart in a way bigger way than most characters. His visuals don't involve breasts so obviously he won't be all that popular, but he still has a completely unique face sculpt, a plethora of original animations that aren't all awkwardly choppy (more than a surprising number of characters), and his outfit meets the bare minimum for being identifiable (a low bar that, once again, many characters don't meet). His personality/story isn't all that spectacular, but whose is at this point?
Leon deserves a spot through all three criteria far more than a huge chunk of the characters that we get. But TN decided to dictate their roster based on their "story" and thus wrote in a bunch of boring fucks to justify their inclusion. But they didn't do so for Leon because
no good fucking reason. So yes, I am miffed, and I have a perfectly good reason to be.
I see, not a fan of Marie.
Actually, I like Marie just fine. Her uninspired wig clones are the ones who struggle to justify their existence.