There are early versions of the game where it did not feature
The source states, "And I mean it when I say "primitive". Early versions of the game didn't even feature Nintendo characters! Yup, the ultimate crossover game didn't even start as a crossover. Originally the game was supposed to be an original IP with the hilariously generic/cheesy title Dragon King: The Fighting Game. This early version of the game only featured generic dummy characters, which made the game kind of confusing — one guy looked the same as the next, so it was easy to lose track of your character. Nintendo would never greenlight this confusing mess! Ah, but then Sakurai had an idea! What if he inserted Nintendo characters into the game? It would be easy to communicate what he wanted the game to be if he had Mario and Donkey Kong in there, and once he'd sold the concept he could go back to original characters later. Or, uh, never"(Birch).
