I want to explain the anxiety around Dixie Kong in particular.
She is an old character, debuting in 1995. As a result, she has been a big part of the Donkey Kong Country games for a long time. From the very beginning, Dixie Kong was openly feminine, but just as capable as Diddy Kong and even had some exclusive abilities like hovering.
For a Nintendo character, this was a big deal, because the most prominent female Nintendo characters at the time were either relegated to being a feminine damsel in distress (or being playable as a hero only a single time like Peach was) or wore a suit to disguise their looks. She was designed to counteract that: not only was she girly, but s capable hero, just as good at rescuing DK as Diddy Kong was. At the time, Dixie Kong was a very standout character due to this. Though she co-starred in DKC2, she graduated to main character in DKC3, though that entry is overlooked.
She even made appearances in all those odd Paon games like DK Jungle Climber and DK Barrel Blast. The quality of those games are debatable, but her appearances in them emphasize that she was considered a core part of the series even in that awkward period in the series' life.
Anyway, Dixie took two (maybe three) big hits to her memorability.
- First: she was not in Donkey Kong 64. This was the big new DK game for the system, and the opening DK Rap has since become more iconic than the game itself.
- Second, though perhaps not as significant, is that, along with many other elements Rare introduced, Dixie did not make it into Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. It was the big new DK game for the GameCube, but the only familiar face was Donkey Kong, and the game was overlooked due to its unusual control scheme.
- Third, she was not in Donkey Kong Country Returns. It was the huge comeback of Donkey Kong Country as a series of platformers, but much of the focus was on paying tribute to the very first Donkey Kong Country, which, of course, hadn't introduced Dixie yet.
For a lot of kids, like myself, who grew up with the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii, Dixie was a non entity. I did not form my attachment to her until my curiosity led me to play the older DKC games through Virtual Console, and again when Tropical Freeze came out.
As a result, Dixie is in a unique situation: she, as a character, probably isn't going to be "phased out" of the DKC series after Tropical Freeze brought her back and re-cemented her significance in the series. But Dixie's status has changed: she's gone from "series staple" to "old face that has been brought back". DKC Returns didn't have Dixie Kong, but, 4 years later, DKC Tropical Freeze did. However, that was in 2014. We got a re-release on the Nintendo Switch in 2018, where it sold a lot more, but it still wasn't a new game. Dixie Kong hasn't appeared in any spin-offs ever since her one brand-new appearance in 2014, meaning her status as a "series staple" hasn't had a chance since then to truly re-establish itself.
This means all Dixie Kong has on her side, regarding merits for a Smash inclusion, is history. King K. Rool was in a similar boat, and in much more dire straits due to his and the Kremlings' absence in modern DKC games. However, King K. Rool had sheer fan demand on his side, due to a combination of being a part of two very well-loved boss fights (DKC1 / DKC2) and Smash fans' desire for more villains and bad guys in Smash. So K. Rool had both history and fan demand, while Dixie only has the former. Neither character had the "series staple" advantage that Diddy Kong always had, but aside from that, as history ended up demonstrating, K. Rool was at an advantage.
And now, Dixie fans are at a standstill. Dixie Kong being playable in Smash seems like it would happen in a future entry, depending on if DKC gets another game in time. But we don't know how future Smash games will be like. Considering Sakurai's comments that future Smash games will almost definitely be getting cuts, it would be very bittersweet to have an old Nintendo character from the mid-90s join, but only in a game where Everyone Is Not Here After All.
And now comes the sad part: seemingly, the only character DLC on the horizon is bundles with a character, a stage, music, and spirits. While a Tropical Freeze stage with TF (and DKC3) music would be wonderful, the problem is how Nintendo is marketing the DLC: they are aiming for as many different audiences as possible. And Dixie Kong is, more or less, part of the "Nintendo game playing audience" that Smash already markets to by default.
All of this means that, while Dixie Kong was considered a "safe" inclusion in both Smash 4 and Ultimate, she ended up in neither and may not make it into Ultimate's DLC at all. I'm willing to bet that, if Dixie Kong was a standalone character with no stage or spirits (heck, even no music), plenty of people would buy her, presumably due to a reduced price to account for the lack of bells and whistles ($4.99, $1 less than a Challenger Pack). But, so far, the only character like this is Piranha Plant, and it looks like it may stay that way.
In other words,
the safest option for Dixie Kong's inclusion literally may not be an option. Bummer.
So, I hope that explains why so many Dixie Kong fans are on edge. We in her support thread are trying to keep our heads held high, however. We're not giving up until the bitter end.
(Another note: every single game Dixie has ever appeared in, she has been playable. Just one exception: the Smash series. Hmmm.)
