Dixie Kong's Barrel Of Support Spirits. Farewell Everyone, Thank You ALL For Making This Thread An Excellent Place For DK Fans!

[ZeroJanitor]

i think something that might get more people clamoring for dixie is if another dk character made it in first. i think by that point people might start to think "wait, we have four donkey kong characters now and none of them are dixie? what the hell"

of course this would also backfire really easily because other people would just go "well we already have four donkey kong characters, dixie would just be overkill"

 

[Sabertooth]

^I've thought about that too. Seeing DK, Diddy, K Rool and Funky on that CSS without Dixie would be really weird, and I think even Sakurai might notice that. I still want Funky though...

 

[TheYungLink]

All 3 of the current DKC characters are from the first game. Even though DK's recovery references Dixie, Diddy's moveset references DK 64, and K. Rool represents all of his appearances, we don't have anyone who debuted in something other than DKC1.

Yet another reason Dixie would be great: she'd represent the point at which the DKC series came into its own, since the first game was merely a fairly typical platformer with great-for-the-time graphics.

 

[Sabertooth]

I've recently realized just how similar Dixie Kong and Shantae are. They're both small female characters with fun personalities who use their hair to fight and can transform into an elephant. Shantae has one big advantage over Dixie though, and that's sex appeal. If Shantae gets in, could Sakurai look at Dixie and think "nah, we already have a character like that but with boobs"?

 

[TheYungLink]

Serious answer: I doubt Banjo-Kazooie would theoretically be left out because Duck Hunt Duo is already in the game, to use a similar situation.

Joke answer: Shantae has sex appeal but Dixie has money from her success across 3 different DKC games, she'll just buy her way in.

 

[Parallel_Falchion]

I've recently realized just how similar Dixie Kong and Shantae are. They're both small female characters with fun personalities who use their hair to fight and can transform into an elephant. Shantae has one big advantage over Dixie though, and that's sex appeal. If Shantae gets in, could Sakurai look at Dixie and think "nah, we already have a character like that but with boobs"?

Well, Bayonetta is pretty close and already in. She's a tall female character with a *fun* personality who uses her hair to fight and can transform into animals.

I'm not sure if this post was meant as a joke or serious, but my serious answer is: I think Dixie and Shantae would be different enough that Sakurai wouldn't think of only going for one or the other.

 

[StormC]

All 3 of the current DKC characters are from the first game. Even though DK's recovery references Dixie, Diddy's moveset references DK 64, and K. Rool represents all of his appearances, we don't have anyone who debuted in something other than DKC1.

Yet another reason Dixie would be great: she'd represent the point at which the DKC series came into its own, since the first game was merely a fairly typical platformer with great-for-the-time graphics.

Unless I'm mistaken, Dixie would be the first Smash character to originate from a game released in 1995.

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

Imagine Dixie Kong sweeping the porch with her hair, using it like a broom. The same hair she uses to type.

 

[Sabertooth]

Can I say I disagree with the title of this thread?

I actually kind of agree. Even though I'd be perfectly content with just Dixie Kong, I do think that Slippy and some form of Toad (preferably the Captain) are incredibly deserving and iconic characters who deserve a playable spot. I assume you're talking about Ashley though?

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

Political slogans aren't doctoral theses. They don't have to account for every little thing. Keep the name!

Also, you will have to get through me and the thousands of other people that Jordan Sweeto would activate with a tweet if you want to put Slippy in before Krystal.

 

[SeashoreWar]

That wasn't really meant to be related to Dkc originally but Shigeru Miyamoto suggested to RareWare to make Diddy the main character early on during development.

I do remember hearing that now. Interesting that they didn't add her though since she's the girlfriend and I would assume would be pretty easy to add.

 

[Sabertooth]

So I've been making some posts on the Dixie Twitter that I think have been pretty good. I've tried to keep it positive and as non-complainy as possible. I could still use more followers, so I guess I'm shamelessly plugging it here once again. Since it serves our interests I don't really feel bad about reminding the good people of this thread to follow, as it might seem trivial, but after seeing what Kremling Kampaigner did it really might make a difference in the long run. Anyway, please go follow!

BirthNote or one of the mods can tell me if this is becoming too spammy.

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

Please!!

 

[Cart Boy]

Adding onto the conversation about Dixie's absence in Diddy Kong Racing, the in-universe explanation was that Diddy snuck off of DK Island secretly while the other Kongs had Timber's parents over as guests. It also nicely tied into the character arc he had back then, wanting to become a full-fledged video game hero.

And I've been enjoying your Twitter so far, Sabertooth .

 

[SuperJumpmon64]

Gave the Twitter account a shoutout

 

[DeltaSceptile]

So does anyone here actually believe Vergeben’s dlc ‘leaks’? Because I feel like Minecraft instead of banjo is a damn big stretch. (There’s also the fact he’s been saying Minecraft and square Enix for months, but the way it sounded in sakurais twitter, they just recently decided). I’d personally rather not live in a world where steve got in before Dixie. How the heck would any corporate clown make that decision?

 

[BirthNote]

So I've been making some posts on the Dixie Twitter that I think have been pretty good. I've tried to keep it positive and as non-complainy as possible. I could still use more followers, so I guess I'm shamelessly plugging it here once again. Since it serves our interests I don't really feel bad about reminding the good people of this thread to follow, as it might seem trivial, but after seeing what Kremling Kampaigner did it really might make a difference in the long run. Anyway, please go follow!

BirthNote or one of the mods can tell me if this is becoming too spammy.

I think it's perfectly fine. Doesn't come off as annoying and the twitter could always use more followers. I'm gonna plug it occasionally as well.

 

[ChronoBound]

For myself, I am still waiting on the release of the game to know whether Dixie Kong has a shot at being DLC. There are two things to consider:

1. Whether Bandanna Dee, Elma, and Pirahna Plant have spirits. The former two seem like likely contenders for DLC, while the last one is the first DLC fighter. Right now there is a debate whether characters that are spirits can also become playable characters down the line. If those three also become spirits (all of them), then it is clear that spirit status is not a marker of deconfirmation.

2. If there is more Tropical Freeze music in Ultimate than Smash 4 (particularly any remixes). One of the markers for this game's DLC is that each DLC character will come with a stage and music. If Dixie Kong were to be a DLC character, she would most likely come with a Tropical Freeze stage and some music. If there is a lot more Tropical Freeze music in Ultimate (and a few remixes of it), then she probably is not going to happen either.

Dixie Kong's day of judgment has been postponed a month. In four weeks the picture will become a lot clearer about whether Dixie Kong is even a contender for DLC or not.

 

[VeemonTamer]

https://smashboards.com/threads/dlc-poll-pick-5-choices-for-5-characters.463450/#post-22691824

Fun poll to partake in if you haven't done so already. Dixie seems to be doing well.

 

[Parallel_Falchion]

So does anyone here actually believe Vergeben’s dlc ‘leaks’? Because I feel like Minecraft instead of banjo is a damn big stretch. (There’s also the fact he’s been saying Minecraft and square Enix for months, but the way it sounded in sakurais twitter, they just recently decided). I’d personally rather not live in a world where steve got in before Dixie. How the heck would any corporate clown make that decision?

He hasn't been wrong yet, so yeah, I believe him. Banjo may be big in Smash fandom, but Minecraft is 1000x more well-known otherwise and one of the biggest gaming phenomenons in history, so that really shouldn't come as a surprise. I didn't interpret Sakurai's statement to imply any time at which these decisions were made, just that they were. Even if he did mean the decisions were recently made, it could just be referring to the last 1 or 2 DLC characters, while the first few may have been decided long ago.

 

[cybersai]

Just think of how different things for Dixie might have been if:

- She was playable in Diddy Kong Racing
- She was in DK64 instead of Tiny
- She appeared in the Mario Kart/sports/party games along with Diddy
- She was in the first DKCR in 2010 and not just Diddy

Dixie really did go an absence in the 2000's....only appearing in King of Swing and Jungle Climber but not until you finish the main story as a later unlockable character. And a lot of people for some reason ignore those games even if they can be considered mainline games. Same reason K. Rool's presence in those games is overlooked.

I would have thought her return in Tropical Freeze plus her classic Nintendo status would get her in Smash, but I guess not for now. It really is a shame. Had she had a more visible presence after 1996...she might have been in. If you count mainline games Dixie went from 1996-2014 without a appearance...and I think that's where the problem lied. Her character became a bit obscure to fans in that long almost 20 year gap.

 

[Sabertooth]

Yeah, I agree. Rare kinda did her dirty back in the day. It's like right after the release of Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, her very own headlining title, you'd expect her to really take off in popularity. But instead she completely dropped off, and there's really no one to blame but Rare considering both PAON and Namco used her in their spin-off games. Sometimes even our favorite companies can mishandle things.

Anyway, what kinds of posts would you guys like to see on the Dixie twitter? I'm probably gonna go through all of her appearances and briefly describe them like I did with Diddy Kong Racing DS. I'll definitely get around to the peg-swinging games, the Mario Baseballs, and Barrel Blast.

 

[Mariomaniac45213]

Yeah, I agree. Rare kinda did her dirty back in the day. It's like right after the release of Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, her very own headlining title, you'd expect her to really take off in popularity. But instead she completely dropped off, and there's really no one to blame but Rare considering both PAON and Namco used her in their spin-off games. Sometimes even our favorite companies can mishandle things.

Anyway, what kinds of posts would you guys like to see on the Dixie twitter? I'm probably gonna go through all of her appearances and briefly describe them like I did with Diddy Kong Racing DS. I'll definitely get around to the peg-swinging games, the Mario Baseballs, and Barrel Blast.

Don't forget to bring up Mario Hoops 3 on 3.

 

[Graf von Tirol]

Hey guys, just dropping in to show my support for the DLC bid. Hopefully she'll make it. Perhaps the stage that her DLC would come with would be Gangplank Galleon and draw quite a bit from DKC2 for its soundtrack, maybe even a few from DKC3.

 

[ZeroJanitor]

im really torn on what kind of stage dixie should come with because i think she could pull from dkc2, dkc3, or tropical freeze, and frankly i would like stages from all of those games

 

[cybersai]

It would almost certainly be a Tropical Freeze stage, if we're lucky the DKCR stage from Wii-U would be brought back too as a bonus or have it be one of those changing stages that visits different areas.

 

[Ghostwolf35]

im really torn on what kind of stage dixie should come with because i think she could pull from dkc2, dkc3, or tropical freeze, and frankly i would like stages from all of those games

If she was to appear in smash, it'd most likely be with a Tropical Freeze stage. However, If I had to pick, I would like to see a stage based around the bayou levels from DKC:2. The dirty water could do some damage, and the lilypads could be side platforms that could only support weight for a limited amount of time. And the cattails could act similarly to how they did in DKC2 where you could climb up them(They'd basically just be like ladders in other stages.).

 

[SuperJumpmon64]

I always thought that if Dixie were to come as DLC, she would come with Gangplank Galleon with a remix of Jib Jig like this, or with this one. Or they could go with the Smashified remix.

Though, if she were to get one from tropical freeze, I think it would probably be Mangrove Cove, Windmill Hills, or Grassland Groove.

 

[Cart Boy]

Sabertooth I think you have the right idea with the Dixie Twitter, talking about her game appearances and how she could play in Smash.

To spitball some other ideas, you can also delve into her appearances in other media, like merchandise or that godawful cartoon. You could even cover more obscure bits of trivia and anecdotes about Dixie, like how "Diddiane" was one of her working names or how Loveday claimed she missed Donkey Kong 64 so she could focus on her singing career.

Also, if we're talking about stages, I'd be happy with anything from Country 2, Country 3, or Tropical Freeze that isn't a jungle.

 

[ChronoBound]

Just think of how different things for Dixie might have been if:

- She was playable in Diddy Kong Racing
- She was in DK64 instead of Tiny
- She appeared in the Mario Kart/sports/party games along with Diddy
- She was in the first DKCR in 2010 and not just Diddy

Dixie really did go an absence in the 2000's....only appearing in King of Swing and Jungle Climber but not until you finish the main story as a later unlockable character. And a lot of people for some reason ignore those games even if they can be considered mainline games. Same reason K. Rool's presence in those games is overlooked.

I would have thought her return in Tropical Freeze plus her classic Nintendo status would get her in Smash, but I guess not for now. It really is a shame. Had she had a more visible presence after 1996...she might have been in. If you count mainline games Dixie went from 1996-2014 without a appearance...and I think that's where the problem lied. Her character became a bit obscure to fans in that long almost 20 year gap.

The biggest absences Dixie Kong had were Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64. People who only grew up with the 64 as their first console were thus not exposed to Dixie Kong as a result. Dixie Kong actually did have quite a few appearances on the GameCube, GBA, DS, and Wii.

GCN:
Donkey Konga 2
Donkey Konga 3 (this was only in Japan)
Mario Superstars Baseball

GBA:
DK King of Swing
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3

DS:
Diddy Kong Racing DS
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
DK Jungle Climber

Wii:
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Mario Super Sluggers

What has hurt Dixie Kong was making no appearance at all on the N64 (which in North America was nearly as successful as the SNES), and making now appearances from Mario Super Sluggers (2008) to Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze (2014). That six year absence really hurt Dixie Kong as much as the missing the 64 did.

It is really bizarre what has happened with Dixie Kong. She was even going to be playable in Brawl had Sakurai's original idea for the Diddy & Dixie tagteam worked out. Yet Sakurai never revisited her despite Tropical Freeze having made her relevant again.

Even more disconcerting is the fact that Dixie Kong is the only major character that had a major number of requests that has no notable NPC role at all in Ultimate. Toad has an expanded role as part of Peach and Daisy's moveset, and a Mii costume. Krystal is an Assist Trophy. Skull Kid has an Assist Trophy and a Mii costume. Nearly all minor Nintendo franchises are represented through either a stage (like Nintendogs, Pilotwings, Balloon Fight, Wrecking Crew), an Assist Trophy (many of them got this role), or a Mii Costume (Lip, Chibi Robo, Ray MKIII, Saki from Sin & Punishment).

However, with Dixie Kong there is both something and nothing. She has been acknowledged with a spirit, but considering the sheer number of them that is barely a consolation prize for a character like Dixie Kong.

The only two other notable characters from veteran franchises without any sort of major NPC role in Ultimate are Bandanna Dee and Elma, and it might be that they are without spirits due to the possibility that they are being withheld to become DLC (assuming that their spirits will not be in Ultimate at all).

Bandana Dee having a spirit or not (as well as Elma), will hold Dixie Kong's fate as DLC in the balance.

On paper, Dixie Kong is among the prime candidates for a DLC slot, however, she has been a prime candidate to be a newcomer since Brawl. With Smash 4, she supposedly benefited from popularity, Sakurai having already done some work on her, as well as her appearance in Tropical Freeze, yet nothing happened. With Ultimate, Dixie Kong has no notable role in the game either.

The idea that "Dixie Kong is inevitable" is incredibly foolish. She has had the most incredible stroke of bad luck getting into Smash Bros. next to Toad and Isaac, and at least with those two those characters have some form of acknowledgement in the game (aside from spirits).

Its a shame K. Rool's strong performance on the ballot did not have coat-tails for the DK franchise as a whole. The only other new content the series received in Ultimate was an Assist Trophy of Klap Trap (an enemy that already appears as a hazard for two DK stages). Compare that to the Metroid series, which gained another playable character after Ridley (Dark Samus), has two Assist Trophies (Mother Brain and Metroid), and a stage focused on its most iconic enemy/boss after Ridley, Dark Samus, Metroid, and Mother Brain (Kraid).

Personally, I am absolutely thrilled with what Ultimate has done, and its given me things I never thought would ever happen in Smash Bros. just earlier this year (Ridley becoming playable, every veteran returning, Castlevania getting in). I am extremely grateful for the content that we got in Ultimate.

Dixie Kong is basically the only request left I have. However, even if in a month's time we find out that Bandanna Dee and Elma (and Pirahna Plant) are lacking spirits, and thus ruling out that Dixie Kong has any hope of being DLC for Ultimate (since its likely that important Nintendo characters that are lacking spirits are being planned to become DLC), I am not going to stick around for another round of Smash Bros. speculation.

Ultimate has given me 95% of the things I dreamed about for Smash Bros. All the spirit fiasco is going to mean is whether I stick around for the DLC period of speculation for Ultimate or not. If Bandana Dee, Elma, and Pirahna Plant also show up as spirits, then I will ride one more time for character support (since it will mean that characters with spirits do have a shot at becoming DLC). If not, then I guess December will be my last month doing character support for Smash Bros.

I feel Dixie Kong is not just the last rodeo for myself, but for many of the people posting in this topic. The designation of being the "Last Nintendo All-Star" carries with it a very heavy connotation not just in relation in terms of Dixie Kong's prestige as a character, but also among the veterans of the Smash Bros. community. She is among the final integral characters from games we grew up with and cherished not yet in alongside all the other characters we grew up with and cherished.

Regardless of what happens, I am thrilled with what we got with Ultimate. Ridley got in. All veterans came back. Castlevania was brought in. K. Rool and Dark Samus were resurrected. Absolutely phenomenal. Dixie Kong would merely be the cherry on top, or if looking at Dixie Kong's hair, the banana, to the opulent sundae that is Ultimate.

 

[Sabertooth]

^ I like that post, ChronoBound . Some very well-said things in that post.
There's also the fact that Tropical Freeze has been her only appearance since Mario Sluggers. True it released twice and the second release got a lot of positive press, but it's still only one appearance in ten years. That's kind of worrisome.

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

She will get a boost when a new DK game releases, too. I hope that's soon.

Also, I think Dixie's popularity has gotten a boost. I think it will take some more time for it to rise, though. I don't think even K. Rool skyrocketed after Diddy's reveal. K. Rool really made it big closer to when Smash 4 was announced.

 

[Mariomaniac45213]

She will get a boost when a new DK game releases, too. I hope that's soon.

Yeah I hope Retro is working on another DK game of some sort. Whether 2D, 3D, or a spin-off. I'd prefer a final game to their 2 DKC games (with Kremlings, more varied bonus rooms, and more animal buddies). Though I know if Retro comes out next year with yet another DKC game the internet will probably have a bigger meltdown than when Tropical Freeze was announced. Just wish Retro didn't take 4-5 years in between releases. I know Retro's DKC games are much more advanced than Rare's DKC games so I don't expect a new game every year like Rare did but come on, they have the engine built it shouldn't take 4-5 years in between DKC games especially when Retro could crank out Metroid Prime titles within 3 years time and they were big 3D world games.

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

I had this thought as I was doing laundry.

But you know how King K Rool's breastplate has gameplay functionality in Smash Bros Ultimate even though it didn't really have any functionality in the DKC games? I think that reiterates how form/visuals communicating gameplay is such an important thing for the developers. And that made me think of the echo arguments for Dixie and how wrong they are. Dixie's ponytail screams gameplay differences and unlike K. Rool's breastplate, actually resulted in gameplay differences in her own game.

So basically, if K. Rool's breastplate of all things was given gameplay functionality, I am positive that Dixie's huge hair, her defining feature, would scream gameplay functionality for the developers. She would not be an echo.

 

[TheTreasonousSnowmad]

She will get a boost when a new DK game releases, too. I hope that's soon.

Also, I think Dixie's popularity has gotten a boost. I think it will take some more time for it to rise, though. I don't think even K. Rool skyrocketed after Diddy's reveal. K. Rool really made it big closer to when Smash 4 was announced.

I think that was because Diddy was the obvious second DK rep and we couldn't even focus on K. Rool at that point, though most of us have wanted him since Melee, I'm sure.

In any case, I'm confident he'll return to the DK series along with Dixie again, but her hopes for Smash aren't as bright, in my opinion. If it took an overwhelming demand via the Smash ballot for the DK series to get any more respect in Smash, then I just don't think it's even on Sakurai's mind. Maybe another DKC game would prompt Nintendo to want her as promotion, but aside from that, I'd keep my expectations low, at least till we see how much more it's gotten in Ultimate.

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

I had this thought as I was doing laundry.

But you know how King K Rool's breastplate has gameplay functionality in Smash Bros Ultimate even though it didn't really have any functionality in the DKC games? I think that reiterates how form/visuals communicating gameplay is such an important thing for the developers. And that made me think of the echo arguments for Dixie and how wrong they are. Dixie's ponytail screams gameplay differences and unlike K. Rool's breastplate, actually resulted in gameplay differences in her own game.

So basically, if K. Rool's breastplate of all things was given gameplay functionality, I am positive that Dixie's huge hair, her defining feature, would scream gameplay functionality for the developers. She would not be an echo.

Exactly, Sakurai and the devs know how to handle these characters which is why this whole echo thing would not happen, they did a great job on Diddy and Rool with their move set being close to Canon and they are improving on Dk from each game so I believe they can do just as good of a job with Dixie as well especially when they always mentioned how important her ponytail is in her trophy descriptions. People should never judge a book by it's cover.

I'm sure some will agree with this post I left on bad ideas for Smash.

 

[Diddy Kong]

So does anyone here actually believe Vergeben’s dlc ‘leaks’? Because I feel like Minecraft instead of banjo is a damn big stretch. (There’s also the fact he’s been saying Minecraft and square Enix for months, but the way it sounded in sakurais twitter, they just recently decided). I’d personally rather not live in a world where steve got in before Dixie. How the heck would any corporate clown make that decision?

We already live in a world where Piranha Plant was considered before Dixie.

Best not too look into this too deeply bro. Just have faith that most newcomers are quality characters, and that the Steves, Piranha Plants and Wii Fit Trainers are the exception, and not the rule. Though it's getting increasingly harder to believe with so many troll additions.

Also I don't really agree that are the only DKC characters only because of DKC1. The movesets of Diddy and King K.Rool especially are inspired much by their DK64 persona, and K.Rool even has the Blunderbuss from DKC2, and the Helipack from DKC3. It might not be that much of a reverence, but they are still there. K.Rool even has a few belly flop attacks which are taken from the Donkey Kong LAND games... Now if that's not digging deep into the lore of DKC, what else is?

The Kong segments of Subspace Emissary where also deeply inspired by DKC2, with Diddy setting out for DK's resque and all. Sakurai also did their personalities reaaaally well in the SSE, so that's why I always said, let that man make a DKC game. He's the only Japanese developer I would 100% trust with the DKC franchise.

 

[Sabertooth]

^Adding on to that, I'm pretty sure K Rool's render references Barrel Blast, of all things.

Check this out.

 

[StormC]

Diddy probably got in because tons of established franchises were getting newcomers in Brawl and he was the most obvious choice for Donkey Kong.

K. Rool got in because of the ballot - not just because of doing well in particular, but doing extremely well, plausibly winning the whole thing.

I think it's very likely that Sakurai would see them and DK as "enough" for the series going forward. I'm not sure what would change for Dixie's future if she isn't DLC this game, especially if there's a reboot. Dixie might as well be Toad to Sakurai, which is unfortunate, because Diddy and K. Rool got fantastic treatment as characters despite his obvious lack of enthusiasm for the IP in general. The K. Rool trailer is one big love letter to the DKC series. We can only hope her fanbase grows over time, but she'll always have a clone stigma. Maybe a new DK game will give her more tools to work with.

^Adding on to that, I'm pretty sure K Rool's render references Barrel Blast, of all things.

Check this out.

Eh... I doubt it, honestly. I mean, it's POSSIBLE, but everything else about K. Rool references the Rare-era stuff. It's a pretty generic pose.

 

[Sabertooth]

Still, it's consistent with his character. When he wins, he points at the audience! I don't know why he does it, but it's consistent!