Aside from Ridley (who I am pessimistic on, and really think people would be doubting if not for the various rumors going around now), it is difficult to think of characters that I would personally be excited about if they did make it in. Dixie Kong might be one of those few. She was among my favorite gaming protagonists during the 1990's, and both DKC2 and DKC3 were favorites of mine on the SNES. She is among the few legendary female video game characters, and one of the very few Nintendo all-stars left not playable on the roster. Unlike many other female characters, she has a legitimately strong history in her own series and is among the few faces of it.
Like Ridley, I am pessimistic on Dixie Kong's prospects. Dixie Kong was planned for Brawl, but only as a part of a tag-team with Diddy Kong (who then got re-tooled into a separate fighter), and Sakurai did not bother re-tooling Dixie into a separate fighter as well. Dixie Kong also had an important role in Tropical Freeze, but unfortunately that game was released after Sakurai had decided most of the roster and before it was likely on his radar. There is also the fact that K. Rool has the lionshare of newcomer requests for a DK newcomer, and likely got twice as many ballot requests. Dixie Kong seems to have never have gotten a break despite have a fantastic resume (and no weird issues). The only other character that comes to mind that has had a great starpower (and no weird issues) yet still failed to get in is Toad.
There is the assumption that Dixie Kong will be among the most highly requested newcomers once K. Rool is actually confirmed (there is a precedence for this seeing as how K. Rool was not even in the Top 10 most wanted newcomers for Brawl until Diddy Kong was actually confirmed), however, as it stands right now, I think the best course of action would be for Sakurai to do what he did with Meta Knight and King Dedede back during Brawl, and add in both of them.
However, operating under the assumption that K. Rool's shadow will not be removed until Smash Switch is a few months away from release (if at all), it looks like the Dixie Kong fanbase will be playing by the same rules as it has been for the last ten years, the only people supporting the character being those who actually appreciate and enjoy the character and her primary source material (namely DKC2, DKC3, and now Tropical Freeze). Those who want to see Dixie Kong in Smash Bros. are not operating under the mantras of "I want to be part of the winning team", "think of the moveset potential" (I remember when people bashed Bowser Jr. for being clone material, look how that turned out), "we need more villains/females/xxx".
It is something else I observed in late 2014 and early 2015 in regards to the Roy fanbase. A reminder for those who are unfamiliar. The situation regarding Roy's return in Smash Bros. was absolutely dire at that point in time.
1. There were a lot of popular Brawl veterans that had been cut and viewed as a higher priority for DLC than Roy (Ice Climbers, Wolf, Snake, and Lucas)
2. Fire Emblem already have four slots, which many viewed as more than enough characters.
3. One of those four characters was a Marth clone.
4. There was already a "Roy" (Roy Koopa) on the roster (a lot of Roy detractors would make the joke "durr Roy is already in the game"
Yet despite all of this bad news, support for Roy's return was actually strong. I surmised why this was. It ultimately came down to this. A personal connection to the character, heart. People that wanted to see Roy return wanted to see him return because they had many fond memories with him and his source material (Melee, Project M, and FE6). Playing as Roy and enjoying fond memories through this avatar, allowed a connection to the character that was very strong despite the constant abuse by detractors and various bad news regarding his prospects of returning.
Such resolve is not exclusive to Roy fans. It is probably the reason why Isaac still enjoys a lot of support to this very day despite Golden Sun's heyday being 15 years ago, or why Toad still has a core of loyal dedicated fans after three games of still retaining the same role in Smash Bros.
Generally those who wish to see Dixie Kong in Smash Bros. are those who have strong fond memories of playing as the character in DKC2 and DKC3 (and possibly a new generation in Tropical Freeze). For those who played as Dixie Kong in out childhood, it was nice being able to glide over enemies and and obstacles too difficult to surmount at the tim, as well as how cool it was that she could throw things with her pony tail. She had personality too. Whether it was sitting buy and drinking a soda when leaving the controller for a few seconds, or actually licking the honey in the bee hive levels in DKC2, Dixie Kong had little nuances that showed that although she was on an arduous adventure, she could still stop and enjoy herself a bit. This monkey was pretty human.
I fought over seven years for Roy's return in Smash Bros., and I have been fighting for over 17 years for Ridley's inclusion (which I am doubtful on despite the strong rumors, I do not see how Sakurai could have changed his mind so quickly after Smash 4 ended). I am overall fatigued with the speculation and character support scene, and I actually left it for nearly three years (I basically retired after the Roy and Ryu update in June 2015). I intended for Smash 4 to be the final Smash Bros. game I would follow. It was only for this weird occurrence of Smash Switch being unveiled a mere two years after the end of Smash 4 DLC that I have decided to at least follow the game (I barely make speculation or character support comments anymore).
However, Dixie Kong is definitely a character that needs far more support than she currently gets (the only other character that comes to mind in regards to this is Toad). I am doubtful about her prospects, but she is absolutely fitting on the moniker "Nintendo All-Star" and she is a character that has been long overdue for the roster. However, she even though she will most likely take a backseat to K. Rool (who also deserves a spot on the roster), we must not lose hope, and continue to fight and speak up about our support and endearment about this legend. I am basically retired from the Smash Bros. community, but I still felt the need to put a good word out for this pink beret wearing heroine.
DIXIE KONG FOR SMASH BROS.
