Even worse is waiting 6-7 years for a new Smash game to see Dixie rejected again.
While yes that does suck and Dixie should've been added in Brawl. I must say Im a much bigger DKC fan than Smash fan. So yeah I want Dixie in Smash but I want the next big mainline DK game much more. Ultimate was hype to me mostly because of K.Rool. Cause K.Rool unlike Dixie IMO NEEDED to be added to Smash to save the character from falling into "irrelevancy" and "obscurity". K.Rool coming into Smash was much of a bigger deal to me because it wasn't just "I can finally play this character I've been wanting in since Melee." and more like "K.Rool in Ultimate is his last shot of him being in Smash or any games period! By him being added to Smash will make him a "gaming All-Star" and much harder to not include in the next DK game". Dixie at least had the privilige of being in Tropical Freeze in 2014. One of the best 2D platformers of all time and one of the better games on Wii U. Hell while both Dixie and K.Rool both appeared in Super Sluggers in 08 only to go on hiatus for awhile, Dixie still had the privilige of being playable in Konga 2, Konga 3, Mario Hoops, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Diddy Kong Racing DS all games K.Rool wasn't in. So yeah while it does suck Smash doesnt have Dixie yet Im still happy we as a community brought back K.Rool and the DK franchise got some representation this time around at all unlike Smash 4.
The DK series have unnecessary long gaps in between games ever since RARE left. It's become more annoying than anything. The series needs a dedicated studio behind like Fire Emblem has Intelligent Systems and Kirby has Hal Laboratory. As much as I love Retro Studios, they don't seem that kind of studio that wants to dedicate its life behind one series. It seems they were working on an entirely different game, perhaps a new IP, before things fell through and are now working on Metroid Prime 4. I hope whatever they were working on hasn't been cancelled, but it doesn't look good.
At this point I dont think Retro Studios wants to dedicate themselves to making games anymore at all. Lol Yes I know they're restarting Prime 4 development. But seriously what the hell have they been working on since Tropical Freeze finished development in late 2013 (other than the quick thrown together quick cash grab Switch port)? We're half way through 2019. It's been 6 YEARS! Im sorry no game takes THAT long to develop unless their project has a massive budget and scope (like a BOTW or Xenoblade) and I just dont see it based on their past projects and just willing to guess what Nintendo would allow/be willing to fund. So my theories are either A. Retro was working on a new IP it bombed creatively or was too ambitious and over budget so they had to scrap it (which Retro has a history of) or B. Retro was making nothing for 6 years and was just being used as like a "helper" development team on projects and doing the BBQ catering for NOA events in between.
I seriously dont know which studio is slower at making games Retro or Rocksteady? At least in Rocksteady's defense their games are at much bigger scope and scale than Retros. I love Returns and Tropical Freeze as much as the next guy but come on you honestly cant tell me they have the ambition, budget, scope, and time put into them as a Arkham City or Knight (even though I enjoy Tropical Freeze more than those games).
But anyway to close out this long rambling post. The DK series deserves better treatment. It SHOULD be one of Nintendo's pillar franchises like it was in the 90's (and even the 80's to a lesser extent). Losing a development studio like Rare shouldn't have slowed the series down for as long as it did/has. DK sells millions of copies it is Nintendo's 5th best selling franchise for christ sake! Unlike the series
R
RetrogamerMax
listed above (bar Banjo), DK is actually a well known property and sells millions of copies each release so it has no excuse to be getting as little games as it does. No offense to those games/franchises he listed but come on..those series arent well known million selling franchises like DK. Imagine when the whole Infinity Ward thing happened with Activision/COD or Bungie thing with Microsoft/Halo they didnt go "well the creatives for our games/franchises have moved on so I guess we cant make these games as much anymore. 1 new Halo/COD game every 7 years from now on! With a couple crappy spin-offs and cameos in other franchises in between from now on!"
I mean seriously Nintendo needs to get it together with DK as a franchise. Even if you dont have a "dedicated studio" to develop games in the franchise anymore their are PLENTY of possible candidates out there that Im sure would love to work with the franchise in fact I think I will name a few:
Camelot- The president said in an interview they would love to make a DK64 sequel. So instead of having them make Mario Tennis #805 have them make a new 3D DK game.
Ubisoft- Ubisoft and Nintendo have become real good chums as of late Mario x Rabbids is a major Switch hit with most audience and critics adoring it. The DK Adventure DLC was a good start to what could become and then of course Starlink/StarFox crossover. While yes Starlink bombed on all platforms it still performed the best on Switch due to the Star Fox content. It even performd well enough on Switch to get a dedicated Star Fox DLC pack. So my suggestion is team up with the Rayman Legends development team and make a new 2D DK game using the Ubiart engine if Retro cant do it.
EAD Tokyo - While yes they are usually always busy working on the next 3D Mario game. We've seen they can branch out and do somethinf a bit smaller scale in between (Captain Toad) so I'm saying instead of making us wait years for a new DK game make a DKJB2 or something else unique with the DK IP.
Monster Games - They co-developed Tropical Freeze and did the 3DS port of Returns with a few new levels to boot. So obviously they been in the kitchen during the development of the series. Why not have them helm the 3rd entry in "Retro's trilogy" and just bring in a small Retro team in to help guide Monster Games through it. They also developed the highly overlooked and underrated racing Wii titles "Excite Truck" and "Excitebots: Trick Racing" so if they dont want them to make the next main DKC game at least let them develop a Diddy Kong Racing 2 or another DK racer of some sort whether that be Barrel Blast 2 (but done better this time) or reviving the animal buddy racer concept of the cancelled "Donkey Kong Racing".
Good Feel - Besides Retro Studios. Good Feel has made the best 2D platformers Nintendo has had in YEARS. Epic Yarn, Wario Land Shake-It, Wooly World, and Crafted World are all really good - great IMO. So why not let them take a stab at the old DK IP.
Playtonic games - Yes Yooka-Laylee was a disappointment to most. But the Impossible Lair is looking to be a much better and more focused game. Its taking a lot of inspiration from Tropical Freeze. Depending on how the game is recieved, if I were Nintendo I would go to them and be like "Look Retro is busy making Prime 4, how would you guys like to work on the next DKC game for old times sake?" Get the original Rare DKC crew back on the franchise?
Finally my last choice...
Next Level Games - This could work. I think they could make a really fun DK game. I have enjoyed everything they have done with Nintendo (ex. Federation Force). I more or less just want them to make the next DK game just for their animation skills alone. Punch-Out!!, Luigi's Mansion 3, and the Strikers series are all extremely well animated. They are like 3D animated cartoons that I think could fit a DK game really well. Imagine K.Rool and Funky Kong in a NLG developed title. They would basically be leaping out the screen due to animated over the top goodness. That being said as much as I think NLG could make a good DK game I think they have too many balls to juggle at the moment. I dont want to take them away from developing a new Strikers or sequel to Punch-Out!! after they finish Luigi's Mansion 3.