I love you all to death (Just so I can smash bros with you) (SSBWiiU/3DS)

[Kriven]

Just comparing the primary characters for both franchises:

F-Zero:

Captain Falcon, Blood Falcon, Samurai Goroh, Pico, Rick Wheeler, Dr. Stewart, Deathborn, Black Shadow, *Possibly Jody Summer*, *Possibly Octoman (he's crossed over before)*

Total Number of Significant Characters: 8
Total Number of Potential Significant Characters: 10

Mother:

Ninten, Lloyd, Teddy, Ana, Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, Lucas, Flint, Boney, Duster, Salsa, Kumatora, Porky, Claus, Giygas

Number of Protagonist and Antagonist Characters: 17

To make things fair, I didn't even include other important characters like King or Pippi. Earthbound still far outstrips F-Zero any day of the week.