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

[BirthNote]

This is so interesting. I remember as a kid being absolutely in love with all the systems I had. I was mesmerized by Super Mario World, DKC and Yoshi's Island on the SNES and would play those with my brother and friends. We took turns constantly, since the games were so hard and there was a certain magic to them.

When I played solo, I'd jump to Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Rayman on PlayStation. If you met me IRL I'd NEVER shut up about Crash. Super Mario 64 made me very comfortable with 3D Open World Platformers, so Spyro, Banjo and Mario were great takes on the genre. When friends came over or I played with family, we'd jump to the N64 and play multiplayer games. Mario Kart, Party, Diddy Kong Racing. I was very well immersed in PlayStation and N64, playing Rayman 2 for a couple hours then jumping to Jet Force Gemini, or Crash 3 and then DK64. Far as anyone in my family cared there were outstanding games on any system.

Then the next gen of consoles came out. My brothers weren't interested in Luigi's Mansion, so I had the GameCube to myself while they played GTA3 and Halo on the PS2 and Xbox, respectively. When Melee came out we all hopped on the GameCube, but we started developing our own tastes in games. We'd still play Conker from time to time and other N64/PSX games, but our interests changed, which was fine since we had those systems plus the Dreamcast to jump around on. Ratchet & Clank came out not long after Melee, so I'd hop on the PS2 and play that while my siblings played another system. We'd all be swapping between systems to play whatever we felt like at the time, whether it was Halos, Sly Coopers, GTAs, Mega Man Xs, Melee, Mario Sunshine, Metroid Primes, Sonic Adventures, Ratchet & Clanks, Jak & Daxters, Devil May Cries, Shinobis, Ninja Gaidens, Oddworld Strangers Wrath, Zeldas, Pac-Man Worlds, Tron Bonne, Psychonauts, Onimusha, and whatever else. We were always a multiplatform household and we loved all our systems, but to be fair PS2 did pump out more games; Xbox seemed to only have Halo with a sprinkle of other stuff and Nintendo was starting to feel...."un-cool" unless you were talking about Melee. Still, I had unforgettable memories on each system from so many different games.

Then the Wii, 360 and PS3 came out. Wii was the cheapest so we got that 1st. The MONTHS of fun we had with Wii Sports was amazing! I swear, everyone in my household was trying it; family members who'd only watch us play games in the past now actively wanted to play. I'd get sucked into Twilight Princess from time to time, and we got the 360 in 2007, which meant we got to experience Halo 3 at its peak. While waiting for Mario Galaxy I'd play Halo 3, and afterwards Metroid Prime 3 when I needed a break from Halo and Galaxy. When BRAWL came out, it was a done deal. My friends and siblings would play it nonstop, always making time for atleast 5 matches even though our lives were diverging. The fun never stopped; my brother would play GTA4 and CoD while I'd play Galaxy, MP3, and we'd play Brawl and Halo 3 together. We certainly couldn't pick a side in any console wars cuz we had them all, sure we had preferences but we still liked what was on other systems, and the story's not even done yet.

I bought a PS3 in December 2009, the very 1st system I payed for myself (I was 17) for the latest Ratchet & Clank. Absolutely loved it, and the fun didn't end there. I got my hands on LittleBigPlanet and InFamous not long after and was so engulfed by those games. The memories of LBP alone could be its own Mountain of Text, but I'll keep the history broad and not deep. I was hooked on my PS3, but I didn't neglect my Wii or 360. Jungle Beat got ported over and I was enthralled by it; DK was never that badass before, and Punch Out Wii was such a satisfying experience. Left 4 Dead dropped on the 360 and that game....that GAME RIGHT THERE, FINALLY helped me overcone my crippling fear of zombies. I couldn't dare play a Resident Evil due to that phobia; I was terrified of Halo because the Flood came out of nowhere. I couldn't even handle the zombie section in Conker because of that crippling fear. L4D was finally the end of that anxiety, and I'd play it with friends for nearly a year. Each system had a game or 2 that I could spend whole weekends playing, either with good friends or making new ones, but since that gen went on longer than usual, this still isn't over.

In 2010 my main games were Mario Galaxy 2, which was alright, and Mass Effect 2 on the 360, one of the greatest games of my entire life. God damn I could make a whole essay about that alone, but all I'll say is I've NEVER felt so invested in a fictional work before. It was too real. The LittleBigPlanet 2 came out in 2011 and again I was hooked for the rest of the PS3's lifespan. DKC Returns had come out not long after and I was so proud of Retro; Rayman Origins was the revival he needed, and as far as I care, LBP2, DKCR and RO are the best sidescrollers I owned fron that gen. Then Portal 2 blew my mind, with Uncharted 2 making me see that even without Crash or Jak, Naughty Dog still made excellent games. I also enjoyed Halo 4, so overall I was hopping between systems like always and getting blown away by each offering. I can't leave out InFamous 2, Borderlands 2 and Dragon Age 2 either. Lots of 2's in this section lol.

Then the Wii U, XB1 and PS4 came out. Got the Wii U 1st, because Ubisoft made me more excited to get it than Nintendo did. Tropical Freeze and Rayman Legends were all I needed to be hyped for, and they raised the bar for me. Mario Kart 8 was the best Mario Kart I'd played, after the disappointing Wii entry which wasn't as fun as Double Dash, and Smash 4 was such a vast improvement over Brawl it wasn't even a question. Mega Man, Bowser Jr AND Little Mac?! Say no more I'm on it LMAO. Wind Waker looked gorgeous as well, but as we all know there wasn't much to play beyond those and a few others. Then, I got the XB1. There should be more games coming right? Well, other than Ori, Halo 5 and some excellent multiplats like Wolf Among Us and Tales From The Borderlands, there wasn't much I cared about. So, in 2015 I got the PS4. Really liked InFamous Second Son, Uncharted 4 was outstanding and Ratchet & Clank 2016 was really well made. I started noticing Sony was pumping out consistent hits along with great 3rd Party games. Horizon Zero Dawn was freaking phenomenal and breathtaking and I adored that game immensely. Then I got a Switch 5 months later and all I needed from that system was Breath of The Wild. That game is an industry standard for a mother***g reason like holy *. HZD and BoTW were my 2017 tagteam, but THEN, Mario Odyssey jumped in the mix and we had 3 very distinct open world games setting trends and lighting the industry ablaze. Man, I love all 3 of them. Sony and Nintendo were killing it that year. 2018 gave me God of War, Spider-Man and Smash Ultimate and once again Sony and Nintendo were dominating it, Xbox wasn't even a thought to me it was just insane how they kept up their momentum.

Since I don't have the Series or the PS5 I'll wrap it up with my current state. Right now, the PS4 is my favorite system. I play Cuphead with my brother on Switch along with Ultimate, and sometimes we alternate to Sackboy: A Big Adventure on the PS4. Spider-Miles and Sackboy are my 2 favorite PS4 games from 2020, though I will get my hands on Ghost of Tsushima eventually. I still like my Switch a lot but PS4 has most of my attention; I literally loved each system of each gen from SNES to PS3; I liked my Wii U and PS4 immensely, but my disappointment in the XB1 means I didn't like each system from that gen. That one felt like I wasted my money. Basically, what I'm saying is that as a guy who grew up on the mainstream systems, there's so many games from different companies that I immensely enjoyed playing, and I'm glad to have such a variety.

Oh and Dixie for Smash!

 

[RetrogamerMax]

But yeah, I had some of my most fond memorable gaming experiences on the GameCube as there are so many titles I love to death from that treasure box that I grew up with. The GameCube will always have a special place in my heart.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

On the "N64 Classic", I'm glad it seemed to have not happened to be honest, just because of the number of Rare games that would be difficult or unfeasible to get for licensing reasons. It was hard enough that SNES Classic was missing things like DKC2 and 3; I didn't want to see or imagine how many 64 games would predictably be missing from a re-release. Wouldn't surprise me too if Nintendo saw the 64 as a failure like they did the Gamecube. I mean it was vastly outsold by its competition at the time too. Forgot to bring up the point about the new DVD technology being a major contributor to the PS2's success and many getting it just to have a cheaper DVD player, but there was that too, to be fair to the GC's sales.

On Goldeneye, the cancelled 2007 remaster did get leaked online recently (funny enough), with a rumor that it could get released sometime this year. Taking with a grain of salt obviously, but the improved visuals that were made for the 360 still look pretty good. According to an interview I saw when I did some digging, said remaster was going to be on the Wii too, but Bond IP holders kept it from happening for both MS and Nintendo... I remember console war gossip led people to believing for awhile that it got cancelled because of Nintendo, but they don't own Bond anymore than like Microsoft. It's a licensing hell between Activision and MSM/EON, etc.


Was not expecting that, but wow, great console history there BirthNote. A lot of it's similar to my own, what with Left 4 Dead, Halo, InFamous, etc, etc. One thing I often don't see listed for XB1 is the Killer Instinct reboot, but it was great too.

Would have to disagree on the Smash 4 part though. Brawl definitely had the better newcomer lineup. SSB4 had some worthwhile additions too, but from what I've seen of the opinion consensus, it's a tossup between Brawl and Ultimate as to which Smash has the best set of newcomers. For Ult, none of the 3rd party DLC's that might disinterest can really take away from the goodwill of all the hype additions that came with the base roster, and Dixie being added would give Ultimate another edge against any of the previous Smashes, though we already know how we feel on that likelihood, but still.

 

[ChunkySlugger72]

I think there are several reasons the Nintendo 64 Mini never came to pass.

1. No feasible options for technology that could emulate the games at the quality expected of a Nintendo product while still being affordable to mass-produce. Something like the Raspberry Pi, which the NES and SNES Classics run on, could run N64 games, but it would require a lot of sacrifices to be made to emulation accuracy, and some games do worse than others. Something more powerful, plus custom code to run specific games optimally like they did on the Wii, would make a much better product, but would be much more expensive and time-consuming.

2. They'd have to make new N64-style controllers, which I feel like they wouldn't want to do on account of Mario Party blisters. Plus the extra plastic and analog stick probably makes them more expensive to produce. They could do a modified design, but since these things are geared towards nostalgia, they may feel that kind of change cheapens the experience.

3. Licensing issues. Quite a few of the N64's most memorable games were the result of Rare. Honestly I feel like this is the least likely reason for there not being an N64 Mini since Microsoft seems pretty cooperative, but maybe they have a different attitude when it comes to mini consoles. In any case, Goldeneye is licensing hell regardless, and that's a big part of the N64's legacy.

Part of me always feared that in the back of my head, ,But can see why the N64 hasn't come out yet because of cost as well, I have kind of a hard time Nintendo keeping the cost of it under $100 (Including licensing cost to Microsoft/Rare) which is seen as the sweetspot for classic mini consoles and the N64 isn't as cheap and practical to run games easily compared to the NES and SNES and have simple cost efficient controllers especially bundling at least 2 with the N64 console cane get pricey especially for 4 player mode games.

But I still believe sooner or later Nintendo is gonna have to move on past their bias towards the NES and SNES in time, While the NES is iconic and timeless, That generation is only gonna get older in time and eventually they'll have to break out of their 8/16 bit bubble and gonna have to start catering more towards the generation that grew up with the N64/Gamecube.

 

[Mariomaniac45213]

Ridley_Prime Yeah Smash 4's roster to me was extremely underwhelming. It felt like too many promotional picks than characters that had a good longstanding legacy. The only characters I cared about (at the time) were Bowser Jr., Villager, Rosalina, and Little Mac. Smash 4 (plus the DLC) was also where it really went full Videogame Characters: The Fighter instead of Nintendo All-Stars duking it out and hasnt looked back since which Im not a huge fan of. Also Brawl and Ultimate felt more much balanced between classic characters as well as new characters which I like.

Brawl had Wario, Diddy Kong, Wolf, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Olimar, and Zero Suit Samus.

Ultimate had King K.Rool, Dark Samus, Ridley, Daisy, Min-Min, Inklings, Chrom, Isabelle, and Byleth for me.

 

[ChunkySlugger72]

On the "N64 Classic", I'm glad it seemed to have not happened to be honest, just because of the number of Rare games that would be difficult or unfeasible to get for licensing reasons. It was hard enough that SNES Classic was missing things like DKC2 and 3; I didn't want to see or imagine how many 64 games would predictably be missing from a re-release.

While it sucks not getting DKC 2/3 and Killer Instinct on the SNES Classic and not getting Rareware games on the N64 Classic, I would rather still get an "Neutered" N64 Classic than nothing at all because at least there are "Other" means of getting them on there somehow.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Fair enough.

Aside from Rare though, LucasArts (and by extension Factor 5 and such) was another major partner Nintendo had from the SNES to the 64 to the GC, with all the Star Wars exclusives. Like Rare on the 64, Shadows of the Empire and Rogue Squadron (the sequels of which were on the GC) meant a lot to me too, but Nintendo would have to try to deal to Disney now to get those games back for a N64 re-release of some kind. The SNES action platformer games for the original Star Wars trilogy were surprisingly on the Wii virtual console from what I remember, but I guess that was pre-Disney.

But yeah, between that and Rare, is just too much deals Nintendo would have to make for an N64 Classic to be realistically worth it for me.

Dixie for Smash!

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

On paper I'm more impressed more by Brawl's newcomers, but I enjoyed playing as 4's newcomers more overall. Something about the mechanics of a lot of Brawl's characters outside Meta Knight and Snake never did much for me, though some like Dedede have grown on me circa Ultimate. Even Diddy to this day feels okay, but never really a blast to play most of the time.

 

[SeashoreWar]

Finally back with the next update to Donkey Kong Racing! This time it's the guest characters. Tooty is the only one that didn't get a completely new drawing although she also got some changes as well. Berri got redesigned again, Yooka got a new outfit and Panther King added some flair to his robe.

Comparison shot between the old and the new.

Spoiler: Comparison

 

[BirthNote]

On the "N64 Classic", I'm glad it seemed to have not happened to be honest, just because of the number of Rare games that would be difficult or unfeasible to get for licensing reasons. It was hard enough that SNES Classic was missing things like DKC2 and 3; I didn't want to see or imagine how many 64 games would predictably be missing from a re-release. Wouldn't surprise me too if Nintendo saw the 64 as a failure like they did the Gamecube. I mean it was vastly outsold by its competition at the time too. Forgot to bring up the point about the new DVD technology being a major contributor to the PS2's success and many getting it just to have a cheaper DVD player, but there was that too, to be fair to the GC's sales.

On Goldeneye, the cancelled 2007 remaster did get leaked online recently (funny enough), with a rumor that it could get released sometime this year. Taking with a grain of salt obviously, but the improved visuals that were made for the 360 still look pretty good. According to an interview I saw when I did some digging, said remaster was going to be on the Wii too, but Bond IP holders kept it from happening for both MS and Nintendo... I remember console war gossip led people to believing for awhile that it got cancelled because of Nintendo, but they don't own Bond anymore than like Microsoft. It's a licensing hell between Activision and MSM/EON, etc.


Was not expecting that, but wow, great console history there BirthNote. A lot of it's similar to my own, what with Left 4 Dead, Halo, InFamous, etc, etc. One thing I often don't see listed for XB1 is the Killer Instinct reboot, but it was great too.

Would have to disagree on the Smash 4 part though. Brawl definitely had the better newcomer lineup. SSB4 had some worthwhile additions too, but from what I've seen of the opinion consensus, it's a tossup between Brawl and Ultimate as to which Smash has the best set of newcomers. For Ult, none of the 3rd party DLC's that might disinterest can really take away from the goodwill of all the hype additions that came with the base roster, and Dixie being added would give Ultimate another edge against any of the previous Smashes, though we already know how we feel on that likelihood, but still.

Thanks! Glad another L4D fan is around here too. The teamwork you could pull off in that game with good players is incredible. I've actually never played the new Killer Instinct but I can't deny it was really good from what I saw. I think seeing Rash and Arbiter was what really blew my mind.

With Brawl to Smash 4, I liked the gameplay a lot better in the latter most of all. Sure tripping was gone, but the fighters felt more combo-oriented than before, and playing as the characters felt more satisfying and I could comfortably use more. Getting Mega Man, Bowser Jr, Rosalina, Little Mac, Duck Hunt, Ryu, Greninja, Cloud and Shulk started opening up my mind towards movesets, as that game started making their sets stand out from the crowd. Villager's grabbing items and projectiles from midair, Rosalina's fighting with a luma in a fusion between Pokemon Trainer and Ice Climbers, Little Mac is massively lopsided for ground combat, Mega Man is basically all Specials mapped to different button inputs, Duck Hunt is 3 fighters in 1, and Ryu is literally his Street Fighter moveset transplanted into Smash. Brawl had some massive names jump in but Smash 4 is where a lot of movesets took a mechanically unusual turn.

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

Oh wow, good job! More sparkly eyes! I liked the green clothes you gave Yooka before, but I do think the blue fits his color scheme better. Definitely looks better than naked Yooka.

I noticed that some Berri fans didn't like that you made her silver haired, but I think it actually made some sense. She looks better to me with the silver hair, but the blonde hair works too. Overall, you definitely improved Berri from your first design and from her original in-game design. Berri is a weird one because I think the point was to make her less human so she wouldn't stand out next to Conker. But like I said in the message, when you just shrink her down and keep the same look, she has the look of a certain infamous child beauty pageant star. I think you either had to just go with the original tall human look, or do what you did here, make her look like basically a potentially mischievous cartoon squirrel without too many human gendered and sexualized traits.

I'll post it on Monday since I have a little bit of a tight schedule right now. BUT I'll GET TO IT!

Edit:
Cartoon *Chipmunk. I forgot the lore. Sorry, Conker fans.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Ridley_Prime Yeah Smash 4's roster to me was extremely underwhelming. It felt like too many promotional picks than characters that had a good longstanding legacy. The only characters I cared about (at the time) were Bowser Jr., Villager, Rosalina, and Little Mac. Smash 4 (plus the DLC) was also where it really went full Videogame Characters: The Fighter instead of Nintendo All-Stars duking it out and hasnt looked back since which Im not a huge fan of. Also Brawl and Ultimate felt more much balanced between classic characters as well as new characters which I like.

Brawl had Wario, Diddy Kong, Wolf, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Olimar, and Zero Suit Samus.

Ultimate had King K.Rool, Dark Samus, Ridley, Daisy, Min-Min, Inklings, Chrom, Isabelle, and Byleth for me.

I swear, Brawl probably had the most balanced and best newcomer roster out of every Smash as we got characters like:

















Everybody here for maybe except R.O.B. was all big hyped All Stars names. Truly, Brawl had the best newcomer roster out of any Smash title.

 

[Justin Little]

It might be petty, but Smash 4 lacking a new DK character makes it easily the worse. I love/like other Nintendo franchises so seeing characters like Shulk, Little Mac, Rosalina, and Duck Hunt were cool, and third parties like Megaman and Pacman were an absolute must have, but I'm a Donkey Kong fan first and foremost. If the King wasn't going to happen due to "irrelevancy," then Dixie should've been there to promote Tropical Freeze.

At no fault of Fire Emblem or it's fans, it does suck how convenient it is for that franchise to get representation whereas franchises like DK, Metroid, and now Xenoblade get the shortened of the stick. I know Retro is on the other side of the world from Japan so getting info across is difficult, but a new DK character was one of the most desired choices for 4 regardless of TF. While the King was the most wanted, I remember many of us pulling for the kroc would've settled for Dixie in the meantime. Not that we treated Dixie like a side dish, goodness no. I know I can't speak for everyone, but it didn't matter to me who got in at the time, as long as we got someone from DK, even if the King was my most wanted.

With the exception of Duck Hunt, being relevant did seem like a trend Smash 4 was going for which is why the roster was bit of a disappointment to me, and I guess Dixie was seen just as irrelevant as K. Rool was when they decided the roster. Still, somebody had to know in Japan Tropical Freeze was in development. Did no one tell Sakurai? Did he just not think it was worth his time? Asking these questions can lead to a dark path so I don't think I want the answers, but it is something I think about every now and then.

As of now, I'm pretty satisfied with Metroid. Ridley, much like K. Rool, was one of my most wanted from 4. As much as I would like to see Dark Samus as unique, I didn't expect to see her at all so it was a nice surprise. It surprises me Xenoblade doesn't have Rex or Elma since Sakurai is a fan of the series. And DK, well, it will never be complete without Dixie. Hell, the whole roster just doesn't feel complete without her.

 

[Dinoman96]

Isn't it wild that we only get a new DK/Rare character every other Smash game

Smash 64:
Melee: nope
Brawl:
Smash 4: nope
Ultimate:

Guess we're waiting until Smash 7 for Dixie then

 

[Justin Little]

At least Melee has a better excuse because of the RARE buyout. Diddy probably would've been playable if it wasn't for that. Banjo too.

 

[JOJONumber691]

Dixie please! You should be here and you were SOOOOOOOOOO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dixie is perfect for DLC, and I'm hoping the Anniversary gets her some Priority.

 

[SeashoreWar]

Oh wow, good job! More sparkly eyes! I liked the green clothes you gave Yooka before, but I do think the blue fits his color scheme better. Definitely looks better than naked Yooka.

I noticed that some Berri fans didn't like that you made her silver haired, but I think it actually made some sense. She looks better to me with the silver hair, but the blonde hair works too. Overall, you definitely improved Berri from your first design and from her original in-game design. Berri is a weird one because I think the point was to make her less human so she wouldn't stand out next to Conker. But like I said in the message, when you just shrink her down and keep the same look, she has the look of a certain infamous child beauty pageant star. I think you either had to just go with the original tall human look, or do what you did here, make her look like basically a potentially mischievous cartoon squirrel without too many human gendered and sexualized traits.

I'll post it on Monday since I have a little bit of a tight schedule right now. BUT I'll GET TO IT!

Edit:
Cartoon *Chipmunk. I forgot the lore. Sorry, Conker fans.

Thanks! I actually liked the silver hair too honestly, but since the Berri fans came out in full effect I figured I try the blonde lol. Berri is definitely a tough one. I think she's fine in her game, but with all of the other characters I think she'd look out of place.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

It might be petty, but Smash 4 lacking a new DK character makes it easily the worse. I love/like other Nintendo franchises so seeing characters like Shulk, Little Mac, Rosalina, and Duck Hunt were cool, and third parties like Megaman and Pacman were an absolute must have, but I'm a Donkey Kong fan first and foremost. If the King wasn't going to happen due to "irrelevancy," then Dixie should've been there to promote Tropical Freeze.

At no fault of Fire Emblem or it's fans, it does suck how convenient it is for that franchise to get representation whereas franchises like DK, Metroid, and now Xenoblade get the shortened of the stick. I know Retro is on the other side of the world from Japan so getting info across is difficult, but a new DK character was one of the most desired choices for 4 regardless of TF. While the King was the most wanted, I remember many of us pulling for the kroc would've settled for Dixie in the meantime. Not that we treated Dixie like a side dish, goodness no. I know I can't speak for everyone, but it didn't matter to me who got in at the time, as long as we got someone from DK, even if the King was my most wanted.

With the exception of Duck Hunt, being relevant did seem like a trend Smash 4 was going for which is why the roster was bit of a disappointment to me, and I guess Dixie was seen just as irrelevant as K. Rool was when they decided the roster. Still, somebody had to know in Japan Tropical Freeze was in development. Did no one tell Sakurai? Did he just not think it was worth his time? Asking these questions can lead to a dark path so I don't think I want the answers, but it is something I think about every now and then.

As of now, I'm pretty satisfied with Metroid. Ridley, much like K. Rool, was one of my most wanted from 4. As much as I would like to see Dark Samus as unique, I didn't expect to see her at all so it was a nice surprise. It surprises me Xenoblade doesn't have Rex or Elma since Sakurai is a fan of the series. And DK, well, it will never be complete without Dixie. Hell, the whole roster just doesn't feel complete without her.

This. I don't know why Dixie wasn't in Smash 4 when she was still relevant unlike K. Rool, appearing in a main role in Tropical Freeze and had a notable size fanbase supporting her. I just don't get that as Dixie in Smash 4 would have made more sense than K. Rool in Smash 4 even though that didn't happen either until Ultimate.

I have a theory that some of the Echos like Daisy, Dark Samus, Chrom, Richter and possibly Ken were all chosen because of the Smash Ballot like Ridley, K. Rool, Banjo & Kazooie and Simon was. You might think "But the Echos weren't as popular as Ridley, K. Rool and Banjo & Kazooie." Which is true. But the Smash Ballot was a suggestion box and not a election as the Japanese website said this data would be used for future games. Sakurai confirmed in a Famitsu interview that Castlevania got chosen for a slot due to the Smash Ballot and that Alucard was more popular than Simon and Richter but went with Simon because of him being the protagonist and face of the franchise. Richter because of him being more popular in Japan than Simon which is why we got him as a Echo. But my theory is that most people that voted for Dark Samus in the Smash Ballot were just Metroid fans that wanted any Metroid rep to get in and after they saw Ridley as a stage hazard in Pyrosphere in the 50-Fact Extravaganza Direct they thought he was deconfirmed and when the Smash Ballot came around they voted for Dark Samus instead since she would be the next best Metroid rep after Ridley they would go after. And you would think if this is true why wasn't Dixie added since she would have had just as many voted or more than the other Echos? Because Sakurai thought more highly of her and wanted to make her into a unique fighter whenever since he didn't make her into a Diddy Echo. I think he couldn't added unique Dixie into Ultimate's base game or the DLC lineup because he didn't see her as a top priority right now or Nintendo just didn't either which is why she might not get chosen for this game sadly. But it isn't over until Sakurai sings so maybe Dixie is their top priority right now and we just don't know

 

[DeniroSerafim]

Can't believe Joe Biden hasn't signed an executive order to add Dixie to Smash Bros. yet, this world truly is cruel.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Can't believe Joe Biden hasn't signed an executive order to add Dixie to Smash Bros. yet, this world truly is cruel.

Even our president doesn't give a **** about Dixie Kong. What a dark and cold world we live in.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Wolf had just become recent/relevant again at the time with Star Fox Zero and yet he wasn't added as SSB4 DLC. It's fine if they just wanted to save him for Ultimate, but Dixie had similar reasoning for having ought to have appeared in Smash by SSB4 at least and yet she wasn't and still is not here... I don't know. Seems she'll have to play the long game to get in regardless, and I don't really plan to stick around for speculation in future Smashes simply for her sake, even though I'll still be hoping for her on the side along with the return of most characters.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Wolf had just become recent/relevant again at the time with Star Fox Zero and yet he wasn't added as SSB4 DLC. It's fine if they just wanted to save him for Ultimate, but Dixie had similar reasoning for having ought to have appeared in Smash by SSB4 at least and yet she wasn't and still is not here... I don't know. Seems she'll have to play the long game to get in regardless, and I don't really plan to stick around for speculation in future Smashes simply for her sake, even though I'll still be hoping for her on the side along with the return of most characters.

Same here. I've been playing the speculation game since the Smash 4 days on the Smash Sub-Reddit so I've been through 2 speculation cycles. I really want Goemon, Krystal and Dixie, but I don't know if I have it in me to go another round after Ultimate. I think this game will be my last rodeo speculation wise.

 

[Justin Little]

After Dixie and Rayman, I'm done speculating. I need my hair twirling heroes.

Can't believe Joe Biden hasn't signed an executive order to add Dixie to Smash Bros. yet, this world truly is cruel.

She would've been in Smash if Bernie was president.

"It's time to make our developers work for all of the Kongs, and not just the 1% blue haired swordsmen!"

 

[RetrogamerMax]

After Dixie and Rayman, I'm done speculating. I need my hair twirling heroes.


She would've been in Smash if Bernie was president.

"It's time to make our developers work for all of the Kongs, and not just the 1% blue haired swordsmen!"

The Fire Emblem characters are fascist supremacist lol!

 

[Planet Cool]

On paper I'm more impressed more by Brawl's newcomers, but I enjoyed playing as 4's newcomers more overall. Something about the mechanics of a lot of Brawl's characters outside Meta Knight and Snake never did much for me, though some like Dedede have grown on me circa Ultimate. Even Diddy to this day feels okay, but never really a blast to play most of the time.

If I had to divide each game's newcomers into very broad categories of "Hype" and "Not Hype," here's how I'd do it. (I'm leaving out Smash 64, since no one had preexisting expectations back then.)

Bear in mind that this is based on how excited I was to see the character in Smash, not how much I like them overall.

Hype (Melee):

Not Hype (Melee):

Hype (Brawl):

Not Hype (Brawl):

Hype (3DS/Wii U):

Not Hype (3DS/Wii U):

Hype (Ultimate):

Not Hype (Ultimate):

I probably missed a couple, but there ya go. Conclusion: it's possible for a game to have a greater number of "Hype" characters compared to other games, but still have a poorer ratio of "Hype" to "Not Hype." Why is this meaningful? It isn't.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I think for me its a case of dividing fighters into four categories with the acknowledgement that some are the borders in terms of placement:

1. Invested in the fighter, love how they play
2. Invested in the fighter, don't like how they play
3. Not Invested in the fighter, love how they play
4. Not invested in the fighter, don't like how they play

I think with Brawl there were a lot of characters that ended up in category 2 where I was excited to get them in, but something about them in matches just didn't do much for me, not helped by how slow and floaty SSBB felt. Even as a rapid fan of the Sonic franchise, he still falls into that department somewhat, with him just lacking the satisfaction of a Banjo-Kazooie or Snake.

Smash 4 was one where the combination of fighters from categories 1 and 3 was enough to make me enjoy the experience despite coming from franchises I was indifferent about. Honestly even as much as I'm meh on FE and am tempted to roll my eyes at their quantity of fighters, I'd be lying if i said about 3/4 of them (Marth/Roy/Ike/Corrin/Chrom/Byleth) weren't fairly enjoyable to play as.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Lots of snow in my area these days.

And you think your morning commute in the snow is bad! pic.twitter.com/XyE1X38N1J

— DK Vine (@dkvine) February 1, 2021

 

[CannonStreak]

Lots of snow in my area these days.

And you think your morning commute in the snow is bad! pic.twitter.com/XyE1X38N1J

— DK Vine (@dkvine) February 1, 2021

You know, it was snowing today here, too. When it snows, I think of this.

And when the clouds clear, I think of this.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

I swear, Brawl probably had the most balanced and best newcomer roster out of every Smash as we got characters like:

















Everybody here for maybe except R.O.B. was all big hyped All Stars names. Truly, Brawl had the best newcomer roster out of any Smash title.

Probably this is what set me and perhaps many others to such huge expectations during Sm4sh. Brawl really felt filling in tons of missing "blanks" on various picks - something that Smash 4 and Ultimate (to lesser degree post-K.Rool reveals, IMO), ended dropping slowly, while shifting more towards gimmicky or uniquely playing picks and slew of many 3rd Parties as time went on. It's made me feel like that I've generally been left with short end of a stick with plenty of these picks - and due Ultimate leaning more on various 3rd Parties post-K.Rool, I might have to content with Banjo and Richter for this huge peak of a game. It feels like a completely different series at times with this sort of adjustment from Brawl generally sticking on Nintendo-requests.

This is not to diminish the Nintendo-picks we've had between 4 and Ultimate especially however - but I kinda do feel the series branched off in more (if successfully most part), experimental direction while doing more promotional or big-name picks over time. I guess that just ended up gutting most of possible "fan-favorite" names from Nintendo's side until Ballot came along to give some of them reasonably strong chance to squeeze their way to the game via fan demands.

In an odd retrospect, it does kinda werid me me out how certain characters I thought were reasonably "OK" to see in Ultimate or even 4 - Dixie Kong, Takamaru and Captain Toad - all ended still not around. Around Smash 4-days I remember trying to go for most of the lesser-known Nintendo-favorites over them due wanting to pull in some awareness and support, but over time dropped supporting those characters due how they were generally "locked" on being Assists or other NPC-fied roles in a consistent manner, along noticing how them being in Smash in such minimal role has diminished their general presence among Smash-fanbase and beyond.

Kinda weird how things have changed since - but something tells me I would have even been little OK hopping off from Smash-series post-Brawl (as that and Project M especially, ended fulfilling more personal wishes than Smash 4 and Ultimate combined. Not that I say 4 and Ultimate did badly themselves, but I think I feel the series has moved on too fast and the picks or portrayals of it's characters have only grown larger and larger in magnitude - some of them making me even drop some characters out of despising how Smash-series ended giving them certain kinds of labels or portrayals that usually undermines their true character or dignity. ()

Brawl didn't do as much to me, if at all - the only character I might have been disappointed was Wario, yet gladly Project M helped on that department big time.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I do admit that in hindsight Smash 4 really was the time to have the likes Bandana Dee and Dixie in. If those two had gotten in then, even my own mixed feelings on the third party emphasis in Ultimate would have been greatly lightened up, if just because a pair of my favorite franchises would have truly felt complete.

But of course one person's complete is another one's unfinished when it comes to representation.

 

[Dinoman96]

Bandana Dee wasn't even in Smash 4 in any shape or form lmao

Not even a trophy.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Probably this is what set me and perhaps many others to such huge expectations during Sm4sh. Brawl really felt filling in tons of missing "blanks" on various picks - something that Smash 4 and Ultimate (to lesser degree post-K.Rool reveals, IMO), ended dropping slowly, while shifting more towards gimmicky or uniquely playing picks and slew of many 3rd Parties as time went on. It's made me feel like that I've generally been left with short end of a stick with plenty of these picks - and due Ultimate leaning more on various 3rd Parties post-K.Rool, I might have to content with Banjo and Richter for this huge peak of a game. It feels like a completely different series at times with this sort of adjustment from Brawl generally sticking on Nintendo-requests.

This is not to diminish the Nintendo-picks we've had between 4 and Ultimate especially however - but I kinda do feel the series branched off in more (if successfully most part), experimental direction while doing more promotional or big-name picks over time. I guess that just ended up gutting most of possible "fan-favorite" names from Nintendo's side until Ballot came along to give some of them reasonably strong chance to squeeze their way to the game via fan demands.

In an odd retrospect, it does kinda werid me me out how certain characters I thought were reasonably "OK" to see in Ultimate or even 4 - Dixie Kong, Takamaru and Captain Toad - all ended still not around. Around Smash 4-days I remember trying to go for most of the lesser-known Nintendo-favorites over them due wanting to pull in some awareness and support, but over time dropped supporting those characters due how they were generally "locked" on being Assists or other NPC-fied roles in a consistent manner, along noticing how them being in Smash in such minimal role has diminished their general presence among Smash-fanbase and beyond.

Kinda weird how things have changed since - but something tells me I would have even been little OK hopping off from Smash-series post-Brawl (as that and Project M especially, ended fulfilling more personal wishes than Smash 4 and Ultimate combined. Not that I say 4 and Ultimate did badly themselves, but I think I feel the series has moved on too fast and the picks or portrayals of it's characters have only grown larger and larger in magnitude - some of them making me even drop some characters out of despising how Smash-series ended giving them certain kinds of labels or portrayals that usually undermines their true character or dignity. ()

Brawl didn't do as much to me, if at all - the only character I might have been disappointed was Wario, yet gladly Project M helped on that department big time.

Yeah. In retrospect, sometimes Brawl feels like the last Smash game since it was the last one to mainly almost 100% focus on just Nintendo characters and it was the last time we had all the main Smash Bros. modes in the game like Classic Mode, Adventure Mode/Subspace Emissary, Classic Break the Targets, Event Matches, ect. Brawl had the best balance of everything outside it's roster. Brawl had amazing roster for it's time, but it's roster still isn't as great as Ultimate's.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Another Poll

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I do admit that in hindsight Smash 4 really was the time to have the likes Bandana Dee and Dixie in. If those two had gotten in then, even my own mixed feelings on the third party emphasis in Ultimate would have been greatly lightened up, if just because a pair of my favorite franchises would have truly felt complete.

But of course one person's complete is another one's unfinished when it comes to representation.

It's annoying because it will always feel like Smash will have notable blanks in the roster like:

Mario: Toad and Waluigi

Zelda: Pig Ganon, Impa, Skull Kid

Pokemon: Meowth, Team Rocket, Gen 3 Pokemon, Gen 5 Pokemon.

DKC: Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Funky Kong.

Metroid: Sylux.

Star Fox: Krystal.

Kirby: Bandana Dee.

Yoshi: Kamek

Mother: Porky and Ninten.

F-Zero: Black Shadow, Samurai Goroh, Blood Falcon.

Fire Emblem: Lyn.

Metal Gear: Big Boss.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tails, Dr. Eggman, Knuckles, Shadow, Amy, Metal Sonic.

Kid Icarus: Medusa, Hades, Viridi.

Mega Man: Zero, Proto Man, Roll, Dr. Wily, Sigma, Vile, Tron Bonne.

Animal Crossing: Tom Nook.

Xenoblade: Elma and Rex & Pyra.

Street Fighter: Chun-Li, M. Bison, Gile, Akuma, ect, ect.

Final Fantasy: Tifa, Kafka, Black Mage, ect.

Castlevania: Dracula and Alucard.

Banjo-Kazooie: Gruntilda and Mumbo.

Fatal Fury/King of Fighters: Mai, ect.

Arms: Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Twintelle, ect.

It's annoying, but Smash will always have blanks. But the Nintendo blanks are the most noticeable to me as I feel like Toad, Dixie Kong, Bandana Dee, Waluigi, Pig Ganon and Impa are the last big Nintendo All-Stars/missing characters missing from the roster.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Yeah. In retrospect, sometimes Brawl feels like the last Smash game since it was the last one to mainly almost 100% focus on just Nintendo characters and it was the last time we had all the main Smash Bros. modes in the game like Classic Mode, Adventure Mode/Subspace Emissary, Classic Break the Targets, Event Matches, ect. Brawl had the best balance of everything outside it's roster. Brawl had amazing roster for it's time, but it's roster still isn't as great as Ultimate's.

I mean World of Light was basically event matches and adventure combined together. I know it got repetitive, but the mode is really underrated. The freedom of being able to use whoever you wanted whenever once you unlocked them was a nice change of pace from Subspace, and moments like unlocking Ridley at Dracula’s castle (even if I already unlocked him and everybody before I did WoL) and beating the area with him I’ll always fondly remember, just as others have those kind of memories with Subspace. Also appreciated all the classic gaming map locations that WoL gave as a bonus; Street Fighter world map, the aforementioned Castlevania locations, the first world map of DKC1, etc.

Subspace’s overall design was heavily criticized when it came out and still is by anyone that isn’t a Brawl superfan (the generic locations, lack of dialogue/voice acting, etc). Is remembered for the cutscenes since WoL was lacking in those, but even then some of them feel as bad as they did back then if not worse retroactively, like Bowser being there trying to steal DK’s banana horde instead of K Rool... Subspace had some things to like, but what people often forget is once you’ve beaten it and unlocked everyone, there was no reason or incentive to play through it again. It was another one and done type mode, not dissimilar to WoL. Definitely felt like a good concept ahead of its time.

Smash Run is also really underrated. It deserved better than being a 3DS exclusive for the replay value it had, which was almost as good as Melee adventure in that respect.

On Break the Targets, can’t really blame them for not having unique target layouts once Smash got so many characters. When you have such an ambitious roster, there’s less room and time for some of the little things. Ultimate at launch was fairly lacking in modes, but addressed most of those criticisms when it added stuff like Stage Builder and Home-Run Contest in later updates. A boss rush mode outside of replaying the end of WoL would be nice though, but not too much else to think of adding.

I understand preferring like trophies to the spirits, but the trophy system got worse and worse with each game, that I don’t really miss it now. Ultimate could still use some fine tuning, mostly with online, but has grown to be my favorite mechanically. Brawl was the worst there with the tripping and other stuff I don’t miss.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Stuff like Break the Targets really should have its own creator mode that you can make for specific characters; if Nintendo/Sakurai can't put the time in for it, let the fans step in. Smash Run was also a blast to play, with a mode that both paid tribute to franchises while having a real novelty to it. That they looked at Smash Tour and concluded it was worthy of being the console version's exclusive will likely be one of the most baffling decisions in the history of the series.

As far as Subspace Emissary, yeah I have to agree. I get people's nostalgia for the story and notability of seeing various Nintendo's characters interact like that. However my dominant memory is at lot platforming levels being a slog, filled with generic backgrounds while I found myself wondering where the actual Nintendo enemies were. The level design itself is some of the most bog standard stuff I've ever seen, basically Kirby stages without any of the creativity, charm, or depth; a basic setup to accommodate characters with vastly different speeds, weights, and moves. The last third basically being the same boss fights but in a maze didn't really help when it came to the pacing either.

Harsh as it sounds Sakurai being upset about the cutscenes being leaked made complete sense, because if you've seen them, quite frankly you've experienced about 80% of the value of SSE itself. World of Light may be repetitive, but it at least plays to Smash strengths as a fighter, and makes facing off against enemies from various different gaming franchises the main course rather than the appetizer.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Stuff like Break the Targets really should have its own creator mode that you can make for specific characters; if Nintendo/Sakurai can't put the time in for it, let the fans step in. Smash Run was also a blast to play, with a mode that both paid tribute to franchises while having a real novelty to it. That they looked at Smash Tour and concluded it was worthy of being the console version's exclusive will likely be one of the most baffling decisions in the history of the series.

As far as Subspace Emissary, yeah I have to agree. I get people's nostalgia for the story and notability of seeing various Nintendo's characters interact like that. However my dominant memory is at lot platforming levels being a slog, filled with generic backgrounds while I found myself wondering where the actual Nintendo enemies were. The level design itself is some of the most bog standard stuff I've ever seen, basically Kirby stages without any of the creativity, charm, or depth; a basic setup to accommodate characters with vastly different speeds, weights, and moves. The last third basically being the same boss fights but in a maze didn't really help when it came to the pacing either.

Harsh as it sounds Sakurai being upset about the cutscenes being leaked made complete sense, because if you've seen them, quite frankly you've experienced about 80% of the value of SSE itself. World of Light may be repetitive, but it at least plays to Smash strengths as a fighter, and makes facing off against enemies from various different gaming franchises the main course rather than the appetizer.

To point out, Smash Run is made with the 3DS in mind. Smash Tour was made with the Wii U in mind.

Smash 3DS specifically has multiple screens for multiplayer, which is the only way Smash Run could work with its particular design. Something similar is Pac-Maze for its gimmick.

I'd return all the modes, though. But yeah, Break The Targets is character specific, Target Smash!! is meant to be generic enough for all characters to work with(and has 5 different levels too), and the last one is Target Blast!! which basically is a unique take on Target Smash!! and designed just to get collectables super easily, much like the original Grab The Trophies was. They're pretty clearly game-specific in a way. No Target mode sucks, even if it's just a Stage Creator thing. Frankly, Target Smash!! was horrid when you needed to do it 5 times per character slot(on the Character Select Screen). Not as bad as the fact you had to use Pokemon Trainer, Zelda/Sheik, and Samus/Zamus per particular character to beat Classic, though. So 39 total times. I think All-Star requires only 37, due to one Final Smash for Pokemon Trainer, but otherwise... That's the only time Trophies were a pain, really. Melee wasn't bad. Smash 4 was slightly bad about it. Brawl, oy.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

The fact that 3DS version got the cool multiplayer mode and the Wii U one ended up with the incomprehensible and bizarrely designed board mode (that even botches the easy concept of Mario Party but with fights)... is oddly fitting for both those consoles respective places in the gaming market.

Apropos of nothing, but Jammin' Sam Miller recently completed his excellent restoration job on the DKC soundtracks (all worth checking out), and has now moved on to a new game that he's working his magic on:

I do have to admit, after the Country titles Super Metroid really was the most worthy title to focused on.

 

[SeashoreWar]

Apropos of nothing, but Jammin' Sam Miller recently completed his excellent restoration job on the DKC soundtracks (all worth checking out), and has now moved on to a new game that he's working his magic on:

I do have to admit, after the Country titles Super Metroid really was the most worthy title to focused on.

I know it was unlikely, but I was really hoping he'd try to recreate the DKC3 GBA soundtrack!

 

[ZeroJanitor]

^Same, the DKC SNES restorations are cool but not strictly necessary since the originals already sounded good. DKC3 GBA has some great compositions that are limited by the GBA hardware and would benefit a lot from some sample interpolation and bassier tones.