I’d be able to live with losing Omen, ARIA, Eagle, Kilgore, and Hisako/Shinsako.
(Not counting the guest characters who will probably get axed by default, at least at launch)
I picked these characters because IMO they could either fit in well as NPCs in the KI-verse, or easily reappear as playable in a new form. It’ll be hard letting anyone go, because everyone in KI is so cool. 
That command grab…I’ve seen it SO many times, though. 
In all seriousness, I don’t think I can ever be impressed by someone that hits so hard by default, I’d rather watch Cinder struggle and scrape through by the skin of his firey teeth stretching his last pixel of remaining health to it’s maximum potential, than watch Thunder curb stomp someone into the pavement. I’m a sucker for the under dog, I guess.
I just feel like seeing certain characters in action, your main for example, is way more impressive than watching Thunder stomp around slicing ankles. Seeing Hisako low profile under something at the last second with Shadow Influence, that’s real thrills. Maybe you’re desensitised from it by maining her for too long. 
I get what you’re saying about the mix of humanoid vs monster characters, too, but as I said before, there was no Shago, nor Omen for me to pick (I don’t like edgy “dark” versions of heroic characters particularly as it’s a very tired and over-used trope) so I axed who I found to be the least interesting characters in the human cast, rather than the monsters whom I have a lot of love for in terms of their design and legacy.
It’s subjective, I’m not saying “don’t have human characters in KI” necessarily, it’s more, I’m not particularly interested in some of the humans we have right now. 
Fair enough 
Nota bene though: shadow influence doesn’t low profile anything. It’s just zero after the freeze, so if a move hasn’t already hit before she crawls and the screen stops, you’re getting grabbed.
It gives the impression it does, though, must be the screen freeze that does it, either way, it looks neat. 
How would this effect the game’s ability to continue?
Honestly though, how do you expect a game to grow sequel after sequel if it just has the same roster over and over again? That’s a recipe for stagnation, and it’s doomed more than a few fighters out there.
I didn’t post this poll because I want anyone’s main to go away. Hell, I know what people think of Sadira (my main) and I posted this anyways, knowing full well that she could end up as high on the list as she did. But I wanted to see what people thought of the characters.
Also, just because we like or dislike a character, that doesn’t mean MS or IG would look at that and say “well, we had big plans for Eagle in the next game, but now we have to scrap that entirely because 25 out of 50 people on our message board don’t think he should return.”
Realistically, we don’t know why people picked Eagle or any other character. That’s part of the point of posting the poll; to generate some discussion on who you feel is the most expendable and why. Same goes for the other poll on who people want returning. I think it’s a discussion worth having, but if you don’t, no problem. 
FWIW, neither do I.
If it were my choice, I’d ask for another season. Maybe even two more seasons. I love this game and I want to continue to see it grow in several facets. I just thought I’d post this poll (and the corresponding poll about who people want returning) to see where people were at with the characters IF we needed to actually look ahead, but also in general, I suppose.
I thought it’d be an interesting conversation to see who people wouldn’t bring back at this time and why, or who they want to see return and why.
So looking at the results so far, it appears, for the most part, that the original characters are the most loved, and the new characters are the most forgettable.
This game could’ve just been an HD remake with the new engine.
Like I said in previous posts the perfect way to do a sequel would be this. The next game takes places years later most characters are old or retired. So most of the original cast are gone and it gives a real reason to add a whole new cast of people. You could have an old man jago as the tutorial monk training people. Maybe aria is still around and went good and now her and jago work to train earths heroes for the next time and invasion will Happen.
I guess you didn’t see the “Characters you want returning” vote. Hisako, Aganos, and Kan Ra, are top 5.
I’m surprised at the amount of people suggesting that the classic characters be tossed out, and am going to have to respectfully disagree! In my eyes, mechanics and characters are two of the main things that help fighting games stand out form one another. Just as it would be weird to imagine a Street Fighter game without Ryu and Ken, or a Mortal Kombat game without Scorpion or Sub-zero, I would seriously scratch my head if they tried to ship a KI without Jago, Fulgore, Orchid, Sabrewulf, or Glacius. Core characters are iconic, recognizable, and celebrated–and for a reason. Plus, I’ve always been of the mindset that you should keep developing good characters once you have them; if you continuously scrap them and start over then they’re going to see no real growth mechanic or narrative-wise, and become much more flat and stale than they should be. What’s the point of getting attached or spending time making a character in-depth if they’re just going to be tossed out for a new shiny? It’s just such a weird mindset to me.
Also, just because you keep the core characters doesn’t mean they can’t change at all. Just look at how nearly all of the returning character’s appearances have been updated to better to fit the times, and how a lot of them retain some similar-looking moves–but that function in different ways. Some of these characters even play vastly differently from how they used to; heck, their gameplan has even changed not just between games but between seasons, albeit maybe not as drastically. Saying that using a returning character leaves no room for creativity is also strange to me. If anything, I think it’s really cool to be able to look back and see the evolution of a character across the years!
All that being said, IG has done a fantastic job of folding their original characters into the game, and we all know that new characters get people excited (just as the return of a veteran character does). I would love to just say that I want all the characters of this KI plus new ones, but I think a bloated roster could become a problem too; not only does it make the game feel less approachable when you have to learn all these matchups, but it becomes harder to give each character their due in the story when there are so many of them. So it’s definitely a tough issue.
I guess I would say that I would like to see a mix, then! The game should ship with a mixture of returning and brand new, and continue to add a mix as it goes on to appeal to different crowds, just as KI 2013 has done. For the sake of answering the question of the poll, I would say that I would be okay with completely nixing boss characters like Gargos/Eyedol/ARIA (as much as I love what a haughty ass Gargos is), as their defeat paves the ways for new foes and new challenges, and then for the others… I don’t know, maybe someone like TJ Combo or Aganos or Thunder.
I honestly hate suggesting anyone because I want all the characters to endure, though, sappy fan that I am!
Good idea not including Omen, S.Jago and S.Hisako. Not bashing you but those 3 don’t really need to be a thing outside of KI 2013.
Unpopular opinion, I would like to see Kilgore return, the character is hilarious, they would just need need to alter his design and some animations to make him look heavier and more vintage.
You make a good point and certainly bringing back the oldies is good for the games marketing. But I would only like to see the characters return if they are substantially different. I don’t think we need KI 2013 2.0.
If I’m being honest, I think the chances of any sequel being better than this game are slim. But that wasn’t the question in the poll.
Personally I disagree with this. I would prefer any returning characters to be near identical in play to KI3, and let new characters, modes, and aesthetics carry the new game freshness. I HATED the overhaul from KI1 to KI 2, even if it did improve gameplay, and then yet another one for KI3 although that one was more welcome and much needed due to the 17 year gap, but I’d prefer to not have to relearn how to play KI for a 4th time. I think they have made something amazing with KI3s engine, and I don’t feel they need to reinvent the wheel for a 4th time for a sequel.
I fully agree with this. KI is just now getting near perfection in terms of balance. Yes there is still a few tweaks that need to be done, but other than that, its fine. Where KI really needs some work is its Ranked mode of which is lacking in terms of options and a general feeling of progression.
Once you get to Killer there really isn’t much else to do, other than try for Top 32, of which is only possible IF you have the time to do the grind.
I dunno, if we’re talking a full on sequel, I think that part of the fun of a new game is learning what’s new with the old stuff. I’m not saying that I’d strip the returning characters down and start over from scratch in terms of looks, story and moveset, not by any means. But something along the lines of an evolution / aggressive rebalancing would be nice.
Maybe each character’s look as updated or refined for lore reasons or time passing or whatever, perhaps they get a few new striking animations, a few new special moves, their autos look different for the most part, maybe they lose a few things to make room for the new stuff, and some of these changes open up new and unique combo opportunities, while some or even many of the old opportunities remain.
You might say “well yeah, I’m still having completely relearn them” but I’d like there to be a balance of the new and unique along with the familiar and comfortable. To me, that helps keep the whole game appear fresh, and I’d rather have that then depend on say 20% or 30% of the game justifying a full on sequel. But that’s just me.
I can’t argue with you in regard to the great gameplay of the current game. But why make a sequel then? Why not just keep adding new characters to the existing game?
Get Em!!! 
I swear I WILL! then ill open a special off-topic
thread with all my victims exposed plenty T-bagsss…
that will be so funny 
, I almost can see all these peoples asking me for set for tryin to save their honour ahahhahahahahahahahhaha
Me: no run back Bae!
Well one reason I could think of is to be able to build the stuff surrounding the gameplay from the ground up…things like Ultimates, the black cover for them, UI issues…little quality of life issues, as well as new stages that are designed from day 1 to work properly with all moves/animations/angles/finishers they want to add, new duds, stuff like that.