The Half Genie Protector of Scuttle Town, Shantae for SSB4 (WayForward wants her in Smash)

[TheRickyWill]

As I mentioned a page or so ago, Shantae is definitely in that odd position. She's not fully Nintendo... yet at the same time, she doesn't feel fully indie. She's stuck straddling the fence basically.

On one side of the fence, she has her history with Nintendo, and is often very loyal to them.. (With her games releasing for Nintendo consoles FIRST for crying out loud.. Plus theres the fact she originated on the Gameboy color.) Due to this, you have one half that consider her a Nintendo lost all-star... (and in a way, she really is.)

Then on the other side, due to being developed by a small independent company, she is often considered an indie.. or at least, picked up the term when she resurfaced in 2010. On this side, the fact that her roots rest with Nintendo is non-existent, and everyone just sees her as yet another misfit in the indie world, trying to get big, and get noticed...

On the Nintendo side of the fence, despite her loyalty, she has often proved to be ignored by Nintendo, despite being a big flagship in their new "Nindie" force.

On the indie side, she gets stuck in the shadow of more recent, and more up front indies... like Shovel Knight for example.


All in all, she's in this weird position. One that was caused by her having her debut in the wrong place, at the wrong time... Really, what is Shantae? A lost Nintendo cult classic? A struggling/rising indie star?... As much as we would like to see her get big in both paths, I have a feeling she won't find her fame in both. They'll have to choose a side eventually... I just hope it's the right side.

Shantae, to me, is the first "Nindie", and is certainly the one with the most interesting backstory, developer-wise.

If you didn't read what I posted last night, Shantae went through a lot to be released, mainly because of the character herself. In the somewhat early days of gaming, long before titles like Tomb Raider released and became popular, Wayforward wanted to create a game with the incredibly blunt fact that Shantae's a female protagonist, and isn't afraid to hide it. Yet, they were constantly turned down, they were asked to make changes, such as have Shantae be an unlockable side character. But WF refused, and wanted the game to be released as they saw fit.

In a time where women in gaming, and diversity in general, is more encouraged than ever before, with Nintendo encouraging it themselves with putting the spotlight on the female inklings in Splatoon, and adding homosexual relationships to FE fates, I think Nintendo would want to promote those actions through adding a character like Shantae, as Nintendo has been using Smash Bros to not only celebrate Nintendo, but gaming history in general.

(To be honest, you'd think people nowadays would be rooting for a new Female Protagonist to be in Smash. Samus has been the only one since the franchise's debut in 99'!)

 

[Mikegamer0608]

@WayForward @MrBozon Finally we back work on Shantae and this time she have hard challange..find Amiibo! pic.twitter.com/w5meHoZPpn

— Zenox (Luigi) (@Zenox1987) August 30, 2015

I don't know if you guys have notice, but there's been a big push lately for Shantae to get a amiibo. Even I believe Matt Bozon is teasing us for a amiibo.

I'm getting the impression that some of you want a Shantae Amiibo!

— Matt Bozon (@MrBozon) August 28, 2015

Also with the whole Runbow situation you got to remember that Nintendo was the ones that gathered up all these different indie companies for this game because 13AM said they would have loved Shantae to be in the game, but it didn't happen and you got to stop and wonder did Nintendo really not want Wayforward in this game or could they possibly be planning something more for Wayforward.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

@WayForward @MrBozon Finally we back work on Shantae and this time she have hard challange..find Amiibo! pic.twitter.com/w5meHoZPpn

— Zenox (Luigi) (@Zenox1987) August 30, 2015

I don't know if you guys have notice, but there's been a big push lately for Shantae to get a amiibo. Even I believe Matt Bozon is teasing us for a amiibo.

I'm getting the impression that some of you want a Shantae Amiibo!

— Matt Bozon (@MrBozon) August 28, 2015

Also with the whole Runbow situation you got to remember that Nintendo was the ones that gathered up all these different indie companies for this game because 13AM said they would have loved Shantae to be in the game, but it didn't happen and you got to stop and wonder did Nintendo really not want Wayforward in this game or could they possibly be planning something more for Wayforwad.

That comic is awesome! It looks great!

And...you do have a point...What could Nintendo be planning?...

 

[TheRickyWill]

@WayForward @MrBozon Finally we back work on Shantae and this time she have hard challange..find Amiibo! pic.twitter.com/w5meHoZPpn

— Zenox (Luigi) (@Zenox1987) August 30, 2015

I don't know if you guys have notice, but there's been a big push lately for Shantae to get a amiibo. Even I believe Matt Bozon is teasing us for a amiibo.

I'm getting the impression that some of you want a Shantae Amiibo!

— Matt Bozon (@MrBozon) August 28, 2015

Also with the whole Runbow situation you got to remember that Nintendo was the ones that gathered up all these different indie companies for this game because 13AM said they would have loved Shantae to be in the game, but it didn't happen and you got to stop and wonder did Nintendo really not want Wayforward in this game or could they possibly be planning something more for Wayforwad.

OMG I LOVE THAT COMIC

Zenox is a pretty cool dude.

 

[DoctorSanity]

Let's hope Nintendo is planning anything at all lol

 

[Shadowknight1]

You know...despite no one saying that WayForward and Nintendo have talked about Shantae in Smash, I always get the impression that Bozon knows more than he lets on.

 

[dangeraaron10]

You know...despite no one saying that WayForward and Nintendo have talked about Shantae in Smash, I always get the impression that Bozon knows more than he lets on.

He certainly likes to toy around with Fan emotions. Let's hope he plans to deliver.

 

[TheRickyWill]

You know...despite no one saying that WayForward and Nintendo have talked about Shantae in Smash, I always get the impression that Bozon knows more than he lets on.

Matt Bozon is an awesome and funny dude, but is also a massive troll, and we love him for that.

 

[DoctorSanity]

You know that trope with characters coming over to the USA and getting angry Kirby eyebrows and whatever?

To be honest it feels like Shantae did a reverse that but without leaving the darn place to begin with.

 

[Shadowknight1]

Matt Bozon is an awesome and funny dude, but is also a massive troll, and we love him for that.

I won't love him for it if we don't get Shantae in Smash or an amiibo.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

You know that trope with characters coming over to the USA and getting angry Kirby eyebrows and whatever?

To be honest it feels like Shantae did a reverse that but without leaving the darn place to begin with.

Because 'merica is hardcore.

Idk, but I think it's because America really had a thing of "badass" back in the 90s and just kept it like that for the newer Kirby things I guess.

 

[TheRickyWill]

You know that trope with characters coming over to the USA and getting angry Kirby eyebrows and whatever?

To be honest it feels like Shantae did a reverse that but without leaving the darn place to begin with.

My hands-down favorite example of that is the commercial for Dream Land 2.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

My hands-down favorite example of that is the commercial for Dream Land 2.

...Well...That's a thing...

Seriously, dat Kirby design... even Nightmare isn't that scary looking...

 

[TheRickyWill]

Because 'merica is hardcore.

Idk, but I think it's because America really had a thing of "badass" back in the 90s and just kept it like that for the newer Kirby things I guess.

When Shantae came out, new series like Ratchet & Clank, Metroid Prime, and Sly Cooper were getting popular, and characters made before like Shadow the Hedgehog were gathering more steam.

At a time where characters tried to be more "mature", in a way, Shantae really stood out as a character that was more friendly and lighthearted, but still had quite a lot of sass to her.

 

[Manic Rykker]

See, I'd rather have a Mii Ffighter than nothing. Mainly cause I already made a Mii of her, it just looks crappy cause there are no costumes anything like her lol. I do see where you're coming from though.

Also, Rayman as a Mii Fighter? I'm not even a fan and I'd hate that. He'd have arms and legs...it'd be weird.

Yeah. I can definitely see where you're coming from there. Unfortunately, Mii fighter outfits have their drawbacks, as we might remember from a certain comic from a few pages ago..

 

[Shadowknight1]

Still, I find it funny that 4 days ago Shantae was being said to be coming for sure, she was first in a Reddit poll, then the stuff about Shovel Knight's amiibo hits and he's all people can talk about.

 

[Manic Rykker]

Still, I find it funny that 4 days ago Shantae was being said to be coming for sure, she was first in a Reddit poll, then the stuff about Shovel Knight's amiibo hits and he's all people can talk about.

Thats people's main mistake: Thinking a character is a shoe-in.

People are taking all of these rumors, and all of these theories WAAAAY to seriously, and blowing them well out of proportion...

Unless you get something like the evidence found from the Roy/Ryu datamine, ALL "leaks" have to be taken with a grain of salt...

Too bad most fans tend to use the entire dang salt shaker XD


All in all, expect nothing. Hope for the best. All we really can do in these campaigns is spread the campaign as far as we can, vote frequently (and GENUINELY PEOPLE >_>... Spamming the ballot only makes the character look bad, and makes it just seem like they're a troll character.).. and that's about it. There is no way to know for sure if a certain character will be in or not, until their actual reveal trailer is staring us all in the face.. (too bad many people don't seem to realize that.)

Edit: On an semi-unrelated note.. wouldn't it be funny if Nintendo trolled us at the end of the ballot, and made it seem like Cat Mario won? (The example that was originally shown when the ballot was announced) To troll everyone? XD

Then of course, later on, they come back all like "By the way... Cat Mario was pre-ballot. Here are the "REAL" Ballot winners!..." It seems like something they would to, especially Trollkurai.. lol

 

[DoctorSanity]

Unless they datamine something from the update on Monday~

Which... they might actually manage to be honest.

 

[Manic Rykker]

Unless they datamine something from the update on Monday~

Which... they might actually manage to be honest.

You know... I still find that Roy/Ryu thing very suspicious. I still question why Nintendo/Sakurai would allow information to be hidden in the files "BEFORE" the characters are actually released in the first place... It just feels too odd to be "a goof" on their part.. I mean it's not like they wouldn't expect fans to be waiting for stuff like this, and inspect EVERY SINGLE THING they say, do, and put into the game...

If anything, the Roy/Ryu datamine was their own fault... unless it was planned for some odd... Nintendo reason. lol

 

[Children0fTheStars]

Unless they datamine something from the update on Monday~

Which... they might actually manage to be honest.

If for some reason there's no news, but there is something to be found in the new patch files, I'm just hoping people let the real dataminers do their work and Tamaki will keep his mouth shut. Because judging from what I've seen, he might try to spread more rumors to take advantage of the situation.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

You know... I still find that Roy/Ryu thing very suspicious. I still question why Nintendo/Sakurai would allow information to be hidden in the files "BEFORE" the characters are actually released in the first place... It just feels too odd to be "a goof" on their part.. I mean it's not like they wouldn't expect fans to be waiting for stuff like this, and inspect EVERY SINGLE THING they say, do, and put into the game...

If anything, the Roy/Ryu datamine was their own fault... unless it was planned for some odd... Nintendo reason. lol

Because they didn't think people to actually datamine the game. Because the WiiU was made a bit less hackable then previous consoles. They even "fixed" that from happening for their latest patch a month ago with the Mii costumes , as previous techniques to mine the game didn't work anymore. So they learned their lesson.

 

[DoctorSanity]

I thought it was in the 3ds files as well? Or was it really just Wii U?

 

[Shadowknight1]

You know... I still find that Roy/Ryu thing very suspicious. I still question why Nintendo/Sakurai would allow information to be hidden in the files "BEFORE" the characters are actually released in the first place... It just feels too odd to be "a goof" on their part.. I mean it's not like they wouldn't expect fans to be waiting for stuff like this, and inspect EVERY SINGLE THING they say, do, and put into the game...

If anything, the Roy/Ryu datamine was their own fault... unless it was planned for some odd... Nintendo reason. lol

Not suspicious at all really. They wanted to prep the game for the characters before hand, that way the actual downloads for Ryu and Roy wouldn't take as long. Gotta patch in upcoming content ahead of time to make sure nothing breaks.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

I thought it was in the 3ds files as well? Or was it really just Wii U?

It was the 3DS version at first for the Royu files. But since that recent update, old techniques to mine the game wasn't as easy as before.

 

[Manic Rykker]

Because they didn't think people to actually datamine the game. Because the WiiU was made a bit less hackable then previous consoles. They even "fixed" that from happening for their latest patch a month ago with the Mii costumes , as previous techniques to mine the game didn't work anymore. So they learned their lesson.

Well, that would be their problem for underestimating hackers.... which a majority of the gaming industry seem to do, on a regular basis XD

Not suspicious at all really. They wanted to prep the game for the characters before hand, that way the actual downloads for Ryu and Roy wouldn't take as long. Gotta patch in upcoming content ahead of time to make sure nothing breaks.

Well, whatever the case, that little case of underestimation, and being careless when you have an active community that is DYING for new information, and will go to any lengths to get new information costed them a lot actually, when you think about it.....


Because of that mistake, it costed them the hype and surprise that would have been felt when Roy and Ryu were actually announced... and who knows. Maybe they might have gotten more attention if they had been just a "bit" more careful... who knows. The point is, it was a big mistake, and it's probably costing them.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Thats people's main mistake: Thinking a character is a shoe-in.

People are taking all of these rumors, and all of these theories WAAAAY to seriously, and blowing them well out of proportion...

Unless you get something like the evidence found from the Roy/Ryu datamine, ALL "leaks" have to be taken with a grain of salt...

Too bad most fans tend to use the entire dang salt shaker XD


All in all, expect nothing. Hope for the best. All we really can do in these campaigns is spread the campaign as far as we can, vote frequently (and GENUINELY PEOPLE >_>... Spamming the ballot only makes the character look bad, and makes it just seem like they're a troll character.).. and that's about it. There is no way to know for sure if a certain character will be in or not, until their actual reveal trailer is staring us all in the face.. (too bad many people don't seem to realize that.)

Edit: On an semi-unrelated note.. wouldn't it be funny if Nintendo trolled us at the end of the ballot, and made it seem like Cat Mario won? (The example that was originally shown when the ballot was announced) To troll everyone? XD

Then of course, later on, they come back all like "By the way... Cat Mario was pre-ballot. Here are the "REAL" Ballot winners!..." It seems like something they would to, especially Trollkurai.. lol

I wonder if anyone was crazy enough to actually vote for Cat Mario in the ballot.

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

I wonder if anyone was crazy enough to actually vote for Cat Mario in the ballot.

I'm sure 90% of people that did did it as a joke, while 10% was serious.

 

[Manic Rykker]

I'm sure 90% of people that did did it as a joke, while 10% was serious.

I'd say the vote would stretch out even further between...

50% trolls, 25% fans of anime cat people 24% crazy cat ladies... and 1% serious. lol

 

[TheRickyWill]

I'd say the vote would stretch out even further between...

50% trolls, 25% fans of anime cat people 24% crazy cat ladies... and 1% serious. lol

Metal Dr. Cat Baby Mario for MK8 dlc.

 

[DiagonalSpy07]

Metal Dr. Cat Baby Mario for MK8 dlc.

Don't forget with pink gold fur

 

[Guybrush20X6]

If a Shantae amiibo existed what would you want it to do?

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

If a Shantae amiibo existed what would you want it to do?

Allow me to play her in Smash.

I wouldn't even care what it could do, I would have it just to collect because ADORABLE SHANTAE STATUE FOR ME.

 

[conTAgi0n]

So, realistically, how much of a chance does Shantae have?

The real answer is that we have no idea. Nobody knows anything about the selection process at all. It's totally conceivable that she has a really really good chance, and it's also totally conceivable that she has no chance at all. We don't know. We can, however, speculate.

Now that I've established that all this is speculation, let's get to it. If Shovel Knight DOES NOT get announced/leaked before the ballot ends, then I'd say that Shantae has a very good chance. There are plenty of compelling reasons for Nintendo to add her, and she has rocketed up to become one of the most requested characters in the West, judging by online polls, conversations, etc. While all this speculation has revived Shovel Knight's popularity, I suspect he will fade again before the ballot ends, though maybe not as dramatically as before. If she gets to be at least moderately popular in Japan, then she will have an amazingly good chance.

If Shovel Knight DOES get announced/leaked before the end of the ballot, then Shantae's chances take a hit. She definitely will still have a chance, but this will make it more of an uphill battle. Here is one reason to be somewhat optimistic though: if Shovel Knight gets in, then our best hope is that Sakurai is planning to surprise us with substantially more DLC fighters than we are expecting. If that is the case, then having 2 of them be indie wouldn't be an issue. Also, I don't think they would have already chosen Shovel Knight and started working on him for Smash unless they were planning all along to do more DLC fighters than everyone expects. If they were only planning to do 3-4 total, I don't think they would have chosen more than 1 or MAYBE 2 from the initial ballot results, and if they did, Shovel Knight is unlikely to have been one of those 1-2.

TL;DR Any estimation of Shantae's chances is purely speculative, but I would speculate that they are good. If Shovel Knight gets confirmed for Smash, her chances will take a hit, but she'll still be solidly in the running.

 

[TheRickyWill]

If a Shantae amiibo existed what would you want it to do?

I'm just happy that, if it happens, we finally have actual official Shantae merchandise

 

[Manic Rykker]

Unless of course, This truly is all about the fanservice, and the company that owns the IP, and things like that aren't even "considered" in the ballot process... We have no way of knowing.

There is still the fact that this stuff is "paid" dlc... which gives big incentive for Nintendo to make characters out of very popular requests... even if those requests aren't owned by them...

The issue is, which will dominate over each other... Will they go by pure fan service, or the sake of providing fan service for the biggest profit?

As, we have to remember, at the same time, people actually have to "buy" this DLC.. this said, at the same time, we don't have to worry about off the wall characters getting in through the ballot. Not many fans would vote for, or buy say... a goomba. So, there is at least some control on what could be possible, and what they won't even consider at all.

 

[Shadowknight1]

I'm just happy that, if it happens, we finally have actual official Shantae merchandise

AMEN.

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

If a Shantae amiibo existed what would you want it to do?

I wouldn't care what it does, just the fact that I would own an official Shantae figure is good enough for me.

 

[BlitzUnleashed]

If a Shantae amiibo existed what would you want it to do?

I think it should be for unlockables when Half-Genie Hero is out. You could use it to unlock some cool stuff maybe.

 

[dangeraaron10]

Unless of course, This truly is all about the fanservice, and the company that owns the IP, and things like that aren't even "considered" in the ballot process... We have no way of knowing.

There is still the fact that this stuff is "paid" dlc... which gives big incentive for Nintendo to make characters out of very popular requests... even if those requests aren't owned by them...

The issue is, which will dominate over each other... Will they go by pure fan service, or the sake of providing fan service for the biggest profit?

As, we have to remember, at the same time, people actually have to "buy" this DLC.. this said, at the same time, we don't have to worry about off the wall characters getting in through the ballot. Not many fans would vote for, or buy say... a goomba. So, there is at least some control on what could be possible, and what they won't even consider at all.

As there are plenty of people who'd tell you otherwise, that this is not a vote but a suggestion box, and that popularity isn't taken into account and it's based purely on Sakurai's desires to see in the game. I think popularity DOES count for something, but ultimately if Sakurai doesn't want it then it won't happen, and Nintendo doesn't strike me as the ones who would force Sakurai to add a character against his will, they respect him far too much to do that, even if they can make their own suggestions based on popularity and who has a better chance to actually sell.

So would SAKURAI want Shantae. That's the only question that matters, for some people at least...

 

[BlitzUnleashed]

As there are plenty of people who'd tell you otherwise, that this is not a vote but a suggestion box, and that popularity isn't taken into account and it's based purely on Sakurai's desires to see in the game. I think popularity DOES count for something, but ultimately if Sakurai doesn't want it then it won't happen, and Nintendo doesn't strike me as the ones who would force Sakurai to add a character against his will, they respect him far too much to do that, even if they can make their own suggestions based on popularity and who has a better chance to actually sell.

So would SAKURAI want Shantae. That's the only question that matters, for some people at least...

I thought I was the only to know that it's not a voting poll. Iwata did say they would look at each character request and would be put in consideration, not by who has the most vote. Even though the more requests for a certain character, the more chances he/she could appear in Smash. And Sakurai is the only person who knows who will be in Smash or not.