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

[Dixie Kong]

This isn’t bad news for her, we shouldn’t be expecting her to be an echo anymore anyway after Isabelle.

 

[BirthNote]

thirsty-pocket is the newest member of the Barrel! Welcome inside!

 

[BronzeGreekGod]

They're saying there is only 2 more newcomers left cause there's only 2 spots left on the boxart.

I think it's just a placeholder image though.

you guys realize the side of this box only has space for 36 characters right? how many are we at now in total?

 

[BravadoMan_13]

The most likely echo from the DKC series is Funky IMO. Dixie would stand out better as a semi-clone rather than a echo.

 

[TheMasterDS]

If the box art rumor is true my guess would be Dixie and Funky are both saved for DLC. Also I'm guessing DLC will come in bundles of a Full and an Echo.

 

[Ultinarok]

It's likely a placeholder. I wouldn't put much stock into it. Nintendo aren't stupid enough to hint at how many newcomers remain.

Spot on man. Everyone in the Ultimate Discussion thread is literally throwing in the towel because Vergeben can't be wrong anymore and the box seals the fate of the roster.

"Its Incineroar and Ken everyone, time to go home".

I'm staying off there for awhile. Its actually ridiculous. The box means literally...

NOTHING. Its a placeholder design that serves as a model. And Vergeben is correct only in theory and assumption.

This isn't denial. Its reason. Rationality. Logic. Everyone is losing their wits over nothing.

Long live the Dixie thread.

 

[Maxoxpower]

Spot on man. Everyone in the Ultimate Discussion thread is literally throwing in the towel because Vergeben can't be wrong anymore and the box seals the fate of the roster.

"Its Incineroar and Ken everyone, time to go home".

I'm staying off there for awhile. Its actually ridiculous. The box means literally...

NOTHING. Its a placeholder design that serves as a model. And Vergeben is correct only in theory and assumption.

This isn't denial. Its reason. Rationality. Logic. Everyone is losing their wits over nothing.

Long live the Dixie thread.

thks for that i was losing hope

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

thks for that i was losing hope

Ugh same though I wasn't upset but it would be underwhelming with so little more at the end.

 

[Ultinarok]

If the Boxart can't he changed after this direct, then the Smash Ultimate mural artwork can't be edited after E3. It's as simple as that. Isabelle and the missing "two newcomers" aren't even on that art, 100% confirming that its NOT the final design. The whole layout could change by the final release, with just the theme of the current design remaining (Cover art on front, fighters on the sides, splash art and description on the back.)

I'm not going to deny that only a few more newcomers could be all we get from here. But the boxart is not a death sentence for that.

 

[Cabbagehead]

Spot on man. Everyone in the Ultimate Discussion thread is literally throwing in the towel because Vergeben can't be wrong anymore and the box seals the fate of the roster.

"Its Incineroar and Ken everyone, time to go home".

I'm staying off there for awhile. Its actually ridiculous. The box means literally...

NOTHING. Its a placeholder design that serves as a model. And Vergeben is correct only in theory and assumption.

This isn't denial. Its reason. Rationality. Logic. Everyone is losing their wits over nothing.

Long live the Dixie thread.

Didn't Vergeben also say there would be a second Square rep? Perhaps I'm not up-to-date on all the hip new leaks, but I could've sworn he mentioned a Square rep.

So even if you believe Vergeben, that's a minimum of three newcomers. Uh oh. That doesn't fit on the box. Something's gotta give here, haha.

 

[TheMasterDS]

Didn't Vergeben also say there would be a second Square rep? Perhaps I'm not up-to-date on all the hip new leaks, but I could've sworn he mentioned a Square rep.

So even if you believe Vergeben, that's a minimum of three newcomers. Uh oh. That doesn't fit on the box. Something's gotta give here, haha.

There’s some convincing points elsewhere that the Box Theory is bunk and that the box temp art guy doesn’t know the full roster, hence no Isabelle, and that it’ll be changed when it’s no longer big enough like everything else.

Anyway if Box Theory IS true my gut feeling is that both Vergeben’s other leaks are DLC. Think about it. Why wouldn’t someone know working on the game know what Pokémon they made? Easy, it’s in the planning stage. Same question Square Enix. Same answer, planning stage. Maybe negotiation. They know they’re doing one but unsure if Geno or FF.

 

[Johnknight1]

The fact Isabelle is a semi-clone/barely a clone is super great for Dixie Kong.

That's the role Dixie Kong belongs in. While that means (likely) Dixie Kong's chances of being an on release character is much lower, she still has a really good shot as a DLC character. There's absolutely no reason we shouldn't expect a load of demand for Dixie Kong, considering all the K. Rool hype is transferring over.

But really this Isabelle announcement is a Godsend for us. Dixie Kong as an Echo Fighter would have been an utter disaster IMO, and I don't think that is something the dev team would want. Really hopeful for the future of Dixie Kong in Smash Ultimate!

 

[Turnips and Daisies.]

Isabelle is completely unique. She only shares like 3 moves and even that’s kinda debatable. Her frame data, unlike most clones, is completely different. Two of her specials fall into new archetypes. All of her animations look different - even the really unnoticeable ones. She’s not a semi clone. Not even a Luigi clone.

Isabelle also has a different body shape and proportions from Villager - no one will mistake the two at all. Dixie and Diddy are established to have mostly the same abilites.

 

[grizby2]

Isabelle is completely unique. She only shares like 3 moves and even that’s kinda debatable. Her frame data, unlike most clones, is completely different. Two of her specials fall into new archetypes. All of her animations look different - even the really unnoticeable ones. She’s not a semi clone. Not even a Luigi clone.

Isabelle also has a different body shape and proportions from Villager - no one will mistake the two at all. Dixie and Diddy are established to have mostly the same abilites.

its clear that they have SOME moves in common. and while we do only see about 3 moves that we can compare to villager's moveset, we haven't seen ALL of HER moves yet. for all we know the rest of her kit is the same. or it could just as well be those 3 moves and we'll have a new classification of "isabelle-afied" to add to the list of character archetypes. anyways, we'll only know for sure once we get to see some real gameplay footage (like with K.Rool's first match with snake)

 

[Turnips and Daisies.]

its clear that they have SOME moves in common. and while we do only see about 3 moves that we can compare to villager's moveset, we haven't seen ALL of HER moves yet. for all we know the rest of her kit is the same. or it could just as well be those 3 moves and we'll have a new classification of "isabelle-afied" to add to the list of character archetypes. anyways, we'll only know for sure once we get to see some real gameplay footage (like with K.Rool's first match with snake)

The grabs look the same but that’s like arguing ZSS’s grabs are the same as Samus’s. We don’t know their properties.

Neutral B is likely a Charge Shot situation.

Dash Attack might even just be a different attack in properties too.

Two of her specials fall into completely new usage scenarios and functions.

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

Isabelle is completely unique. She only shares like 3 moves and even that’s kinda debatable. Her frame data, unlike most clones, is completely different. Two of her specials fall into new archetypes. All of her animations look different - even the really unnoticeable ones. She’s not a semi clone. Not even a Luigi clone.

Isabelle also has a different body shape and proportions from Villager - no one will mistake the two at all. Dixie and Diddy are established to have mostly the same abilites.

Incorrect about Dixie, she relies upon her ponytail much than Diddy's acrobatics, she doesn't do cartwheels and grab things with her hands she usually holds things with her ponytail and use twirls for attacks. To make Dixie mostly in character she would have to be a least a semi clone, echo would be kinda underwhelming since we know they could do better than that.

Also Isabelle still has Villager's final smash so I feel she's kinda the Wolf version of Villager.

 

[Turnips and Daisies.]

Incorrect about Dixie, she relies upon her ponytail much than Diddy's acrobatics, she doesn't do cartwheels and grab things with her hands she usually holds things with her ponytail and use twirls for attacks. To make Dixie mostly in character she would have to be a least a semi clone, echo would be kinda underwhelming since we know they could do better than that.

Also Isabelle still has Villager's final smash so I feel she's kinda the Wolf version of Villager.

Isabelle’s Final Smash is a different building and has different hitboxes. It’s not the same.

In Tropical Freeze Dixie is like a Diddy clone, but with a better recovery, slightly worse ground mobility and a few different animations.

Unlike Isabelle and Villager, Dixie also shares similar/the same body frame and shape.

With how Isabelle was designed I doubt she was ever going to be an echo.

 

[NintenRob]

I protest that Dixie Kong is the last Nintendo all-star.

She certainly is one but to say she's the last is insulting to other characters

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

Isabelle’s Final Smash is a different building and has different hitboxes. It’s not the same.

In Tropical Freeze Dixie is like a Diddy clone, but with a better recovery, slightly worse ground mobility and a few different animations.

Unlike Isabelle and Villager, Dixie also shares similar/the same body frame and shape.

With how Isabelle was designed I doubt she was ever going to be an echo.

Still similar final smash to me and Isabelle still has a few similarities to Villager visually in a small amount of her attacks(like Wolf from Fox) and the whole argument that Dixie having the same body shape doesn't work, her ponytail is the most important aspect of her she plays which is why she wouldn't work be fleshed out as a character with only being an echo. She's fully capable of doing things Diddy can't do in battle.

Also mods of the previous installment has Isabelle for Villager so she actually could had work as an echo but the devs decided to go beyond that(which is why there's no excuse that Dixie can't be more unique than an echo) also every character in Animal Crossing can do the same thing they all have just different skins from another.

 

[Luigi player]

Gonna believe in the boxart theory for now..
Of course they could still change stuff but it looks reasonable enough to me, together with vergeben and "not too many chars".
If it turns out we'll still get more - great.

But for now I'm hoping she won't be an AT or with Diddys Final Smash so she can come as DLC.

 

[Spatman]

This is the darkest hour of all smash history for me

The only thing that could make it even worse would be the confirm she won't be dlc either (now I'm really AFRAID of see diddy's final smash)

But come on, now we know for sure that Sakurai doesn't see her. She never had possibilities to be in no matter what, so in every case she won't be either considered as a possible dlc.

I'm disgusted

 

[NapoleonDos]

Toad is a Nintendo All Star.
Inkling, and only she, is on the box twice.
Dixie was already going to make it in with proper hair mechanics.

I love this calm me feeling this hypw cycle. More hype just hope.

 

[ChronoBound]

This is the darkest hour of all smash history for me

The only thing that could make it even worse would be the confirm she won't be dlc either (now I'm really AFRAID of see diddy's final smash)

"Darkest hour of all Smash history"? You have not been around long then.

Melee had only three hidden unique newcomers, one of which (Marth) was from a (at the time) Japan-only series and the other a retro character (Mr. Game & Watch). The rest of the hidden newcomers were all clones, and Ganondorf, the most wanted newcomer after Bowser, was a Captain Falcon clone. People saw alterego clones like Dr. Mario and Young Link as pointless to add. Roy (like Marth) again was another unknown for people. Only Mewtwo and Falco seemed unanimous as being "cool choices", and the for the latter, a lot of people were expecting Wolf over Falco due his appearance in the E3 2001 Melee trailer (same with Ridley and Samurai Goroh).

Brawl's final roster unveil also brought a lot of meltdowns. Toon Link (although just as competitive with Midna for a Zelda newcomer spot) was seen as yet another alterego clone. ROB was seen as an abomination and waste of a slot. Krystal fans cried murder that Wolf got in over her (even though Wolf had just as many supporters, if not more, than her). Many people were upset about Mewtwo and Roy being cut too. Ridley, Mega Man, and K. Rool (the Top 3 most wanted newcomers after Sonic's confirmation) did not make it in either. People howled with Brawl's roster just like they did with Melee's initially.

With Smash 4, when the ESRB leak happened. People could not believe there were only four more newcomer fighters left (one of which was just another clone, Dark Pit). Moreover, they were really bitter that both Ridley and K. Rool both did not make it in (despite being the two most wanted newcomers after Mega Man), and that Mewtwo and Roy did not return (yet the less popular Dr. Mario did). The cuts for Smash 4 were probably what were the worst of all for many. Snake, Wolf, and Ice Climbers were all popular veterans that did not return.

Sakurai has already give us two warning about there only being a few newcomers this time. I am keeping my expectations low and only expecting two more fighters (whom are rumored to be Incineroar and Ken) for the base roster.

As for Dixie Kong, I said before he fate is one of these:
1. She is a an echo fighter (Isabelle being a semi-clone makes this one less likely than it was originally since it shows semi-clones can still be a thing).
2. She is an unique fighter or semi-clone.
3. She is an Assist Trophy.
4. She is part of Diddy Kong's new Final Smash.
5. She has no important role at all in Ultimate.

It will be interesting to see what happens. For the last one, if she has no important role in Ultimate, she could at least be a candidate for DLC. There are less than three months until the game's release, and probably only two months until the final pre-release Ultimate direct. There is not much of a wait left for learning of the rest of the roster.

 

[MoonlitIllusion]

The grabs look the same but that’s like arguing ZSS’s grabs are the same as Samus’s. We don’t know their properties.

Neutral B is likely a Charge Shot situation.

Dash Attack might even just be a different attack in properties too.

Two of her specials fall into completely new usage scenarios and functions.

Things that are cloned:
- Pocket
- Final smash
- Dash attack
- Grab and throws
- Up special (differently animated)
- Down special (the usage is different but it's cobbled together from different villager assets)
- Down smash? looks to be borrowed from inklings
- Nair? looks to be borrowed from peach or icies

Things that are unique:
- F-Smash
- U-Smash
- Side special
- U-Tilt
- F-tilt

Things we don't know about:
- Jab
- D-Tilt
- F-air
- B-air
- D-air
- U-air

She's pretty much a Wolf and Lucas esque clone, with entirely unique/borrowed from other character normals and derivative specials.

 

[TheAnvil]

I had a strong feeling after we saw Isabelle that Dixie would not be an echo, I think we could very easily see her as DLC now.

 

[paperosbronzo90]

I don't think Dixie is part of Diddy's final smash. I mean, Dixie is a popular character and Sakurai started to deconfirm popular characters since the E3 direct (Waluigi etc..), so why he didn't show Diddy's new final smash if Dixie is a part of it? He even showed Paula, Jeff, Kumatora and Poo in Ness and Lucas' new final smashes. Also, the lack of Tropical Freeze contents make no sense to me.
At this point I think she's not in at all...

 

[BirthNote]

Isabelle is completely unique. She only shares like 3 moves and even that’s kinda debatable. Her frame data, unlike most clones, is completely different. Two of her specials fall into new archetypes. All of her animations look different - even the really unnoticeable ones. She’s not a semi clone. Not even a Luigi clone.

Isabelle also has a different body shape and proportions from Villager - no one will mistake the two at all. Dixie and Diddy are established to have mostly the same abilites.

Have you ever played as Lucas or Wolf? She's in the same category as them. Her Up Special, Neutral Special, Dash Attack and Up Tilt are remarkably similar to Villager's but with a twist. She's certainly not completely unique and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Name those abilities that both Diddy and Dixie have. Groundpound? All the Kongs groundpound, and each of them vastly differ. DK and Funky use their hands, Diddy stomps, Cranky uses his cane and Dixie uses her hair. Dash Attack? Again, all Kongs have one; DK, Funky and Cranky all roll while Diddy cartwheels and Dixie Pirouettes. Projectile? DK and Funky are the only ones who don't have one. People seem to ignore that Diddy, Dixie and Cranky have projectiles that function exactly the same. You should know the differences they provide while airborne, which stands out greatly among eachother. Hover, Double Jump and High Bounce, and they all play differently underwater. Cranky attacks, Diddy has Jet Propulsion and Dixie gives us Rayman Origins/Legends style swimming to help us push past currents. None of the Kongs can make up for the other, especially not underwater.

To pretend they function the same is dishonest at best.

The grabs look the same but that’s like arguing ZSS’s grabs are the same as Samus’s. We don’t know their properties.

Neutral B is likely a Charge Shot situation.

Dash Attack might even just be a different attack in properties too.

Two of her specials fall into completely new usage scenarios and functions.

That's the magic of Wolf and Lucas-level clones. All their Specials have new functions if they're not simply creative spins on established templates.

I rewatched both vids and there's no indication of her Neutral being a charged shot. Further, Dash Attack is still someone running with a breakable object and using it like a projectile. The ONLY other character to do this is Villager. They're both even using pots LMAO! Which, brings me to your next quote:

Isabelle’s Final Smash is a different building and has different hitboxes. It’s not the same.

In Tropical Freeze Dixie is like a Diddy clone, but with a better recovery, slightly worse ground mobility and a few different animations.

Unlike Isabelle and Villager, Dixie also shares similar/the same body frame and shape.

With how Isabelle was designed I doubt she was ever going to be an echo.

Different buildings? Really? That's like saying "Dr. Mario doesn't use fireballs; Falco's and Wolf's airstrikes are in different formations; Lucas's starstorm doesn't have the same arc!" You're splitting hairs in the wrong direction to say that Isabelle's completely Unique, when she's not and that's not a bad thing. No matter how many mental hoops someone wants to jump through, Villager's and Isabelle's Final Smash concept is the same: have the Nooks trap a victim in a structure and rapidly build it around them, then blow it up. It doesn't matter if it's a house or public structure, the idea is the same.

Incorrect about Tropical Freeze. Since it's fine for you to use different pots and buildings to justify your assertions, we have free reign to do the same and more (thanks!). Dixie's idle, running, victory, free fall, bounce, Kong Roll, vine slide, entrance, death, cutscene, and boss beatdown animations are all different from Diddy's just like all playable Kongs. Her groundpound, like all the Kongs yield the same result but are animated QUITE differently; in fact, Diddy's the only one who combines his projectile with his groundpound. Dixie uses her hair to swim through water currents, which no other Kong can and pirouettes as a Dash Attack while the other Kongs roll or cartwheel. That's far from a few different animations; in fact, I have Tropical Freeze on RIGHT NOW to compare and contrast the Kongs. The only animations Dixie and Diddy share are their item grab, swim, shoulder kicking and swim/vine movement and attack; though all the Kongs have the same version of those attacks.

And with your hairsplitting you overlook the fact that Isabelle is as much a blank slate moveset wise as Villager. SSB is the only game we've seen them attack others. We have at least 3 games worth of canonical material to back up and justify Dixie's attacks. To imply Isabelle isn't a well-made and creative Semi-Clone in addition to writing Dixie off as not different from Diddy is more than dishonest. It's outright incorrect, at best.

 

[SenSx]

Why all this pessimism and blind belief in leakers ?

Sure I think Vergeben is right, and we are getting Ken, Gen 7 Pokemon, and probably Geno or an other Square character.
But no leaker knows everything, Vergeben did not have a clue about, K.Rool, Richter, Chrom and Dark Samus.
That's a lot.
I'm still confident with Dixie, seing how the K.Rool trailer ends, and the Isabelle treatment.
I also still believe in the Skull Kid hint during the Smash direct (people missed the K.Rool hint during E3).
Skull Kid reveal in October for Haloween would make sense after all.
Shadow is likely too imo.

The box thing is probably just a place holder, Sakurai hates leak, they must be much more vigilant this time.

 

[Vez]

Don't bother responding to Turnips and Daisies. I'm pretty sure that's memoryman.

 

[Arymle Roseanne]

Don't bother responding to Turnips and Daisies. I'm pretty sure that's memoryman.

Really ugh I really wish I can escape his presence..(yes I had to deal with his bs on game FAQ's which is a place I'm not returning to, too much negativity)

I'm also still a little puzzled on the red herring with they've shown with Diddy(the three hit jab is debatable though possibly debunked on the other hand and his Dixie color not being seen)
In regards of this whole box leak, I don't really feel the need to worry about it cause I don't feel like they would let a resource like this spoil the whole roster.

Nevertheless I should still hope for the best.

 

[Spatman]

"Darkest hour of all Smash history"? You have not been around long then.

I explicitly said for me

my darkest smash-relate hour? does it sound better?

anyway, it was several hours ago! right now I have a bit more hope... in dlcs! the theory box corroborates the assumption that 103 is the final number of stages if we make the assumption that Vergeben has been a real leaker all this time (and it seems to me the most likely thing, I mean, he guessed right we can say all until now, and the remaining things he said fit perfectly with the box theory * )

but it's very interesting, because so it's likely they placed the stages in that weird order (the last line totally decentred) because they already know they will make dlcs that fulfill the "blank spaces" in that row

* = the only thing he said that doesn't fit with the box theory is just the supposed presence of a SE character (and Minecraft content and Microsoft support in some extent). BUT, if we suppose the team already know they will make dlcs as I have just done (imo, of course, in a reasonable way) it's likely they already know all or at least some of the dlcs character. And so it's very likely that the SE character and the microsoft/minecraft contents are dlcs


rationally speaking, again we have ALL reasons to believe that Dixie is a very likely candidate for dlcs

 

[BirthNote]

Toad is a Nintendo All Star.
Inkling, and only she, is on the box twice.
Dixie was already going to make it in with proper hair mechanics.

I love this calm me feeling this hypw cycle. More hype just hope.

Peach, Marth, Inklings, Ice Climbers, Pit, Toon Link, Wolf, Ness and Villager repeat from the front of the box and show up on the side.

 

[Spatman]

Peach, Marth, Inklings, Ice Climbers, Pit, Toon Link, Wolf, Ness and Villager repeat from the front of the box and show up on the side.

and since it's obvious that in the not visible side there are the other characters, all the characters pictured in the frontal face are in the box twice

 

[Dixie Kong]

So if the box theory is correct, there is a possiblity she could still be playable, although its a stretch. What if during Diddy's final smash, he claps out Dixie, or opens a DK barrel, and then Dixie replaces him? That would make sense as to why we haven't seen Diddy's Dixie costume, and his final smash.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

Might as well copypaste this from the Isaac-thread...

Couldn't be more uneasier to wake up on this "box theory"-thing today. The way it's making all these fans and supporters now call quits on speculation is kind of disheartening.

In my strong opinion, I feel that Sakurai, and/or Nintendo's marketing team even moreso, wouldn't be that careless to let bundle box-art like this be allowed, as now it seems to be damaging the hyped momentum and marketing power Smash Ultimate has carried on so far.

On that note, what makes this theory feel bogus is how the box art doesn't even have Isabelle included next to K.Rool. If she was, we'd be probably believing there's just one character left - since that box-art has also Echoes on it.

The best I can take from that "theory" is that if following what Vergeben's been getting right again, it'd allow us to pin-down reveals on Ken's and Gen 7 PKMN's favour - so I'm now looking out for those two. Until, it a placeholder image at best for me.

Again, see how this theory's ruining speculation around these forums and is spreading on further scale on the internet? Sakurai's not gonna be that daft and destructive on Ultimate's current powerful momentum, during this considerably long point of time before it's release.

 

[Maxoxpower]

So if the box theory is correct, there is a possiblity she could still be playable, although its a stretch. What if during Diddy's final smash, he claps out Dixie, or opens a DK barrel, and then Dixie replaces him? That would make sense as to why we haven't seen Diddy's Dixie costume, and his final smash.

nope . Dixie must be her own character.
they removed zero suit from samus because its not fun to rely on smash ball..i dont use that either...

it's Dixie echo // Unique or semi clone ONLY.

Edit : go hell box theory because my hype is now zero..... but but.... chating with all of you guys give me more and more hope. i repeat too much the same thing sometime but...ho well. pray the kong

 

[InASnowBoundLand]

I'm not worried , I think we could still see Dixie in the base game but I think she's also a very good choice for DLC. Tropical Freeze Switch is super recent and who knows what DK games is planned on the horizon. Her popularity has definitely risen since the ballot era, too. And with K. Rool gone, she is definitely the top DK pick.

 

[paperosbronzo90]

The more I read about the box theory, the more I find it silly.
Sakurai reveals 5 characters in august and then just 2 characters in 3 months? A terrible choice.

 

[BirthNote]

Agreed with ~ Valkyrie ~ . I'm gonna quote my impressions of this theory from the previous page:

I SEE....!

One of the problems with the theory is that some characters from the front repeat on the side, and we're currently looking at 34 on the side, and if we subtract the ones who repeat from the front we get... 25.

19 on the front, 25 on the side. Far from 68 known characters (not counting the Echoes, since they're their base's number with an Epsilon), and actually 46. Maybe the other side will have the other 34, but if there's 2 slots left on each side we're looking at 72 characters. 4 more to go (instead of 5 like I hoped. 10 newcomers) which if true, isn't bad.

Since 9 characters repeat instead of 7, I altered the quote in numbers only. There's 34 on the side, not subtracting repeats from the front, and 2 slots missing; if the same trend continues on the reverse side then we're looking at 68 known characters, and 4 newcomers. 72 characters.

Now, continuing to entertain the theory, we have to remember that some of the ones on the side are Echoes. The 68 character count officially doesn't include Echoes. We technically have 74 known characters total: 68 "Uniques" and 6 Echoes, but on the box we have Echoes in there. Because of this, if we keep the repeats but drop the Echoes, we're looking at 31 shown on the side, leaving us with 5 missing slots on one side and potentially 5 on the other. The gist of this breakdown is that when you look at things logically or critically, there's more than 2 slots left.

Further, Sakurai wants complete control over the flow of character speculation. He's taken painstakingly large measures to keep us guessing (cuz he likely gets off on that) and he knows we'll pick apart every single detail. It's one thing for ESRB to leak something by accident, but for Nintendo to leak the remaining characters themselves is very unlikely.

One more thing, let's stop taking every new thing as the doomsday to speculation. Let's examine it thoroughly before we call it quits, and consider as many factors as we can.

 

[Luviant X]

I explicitly said for me

my darkest smash-relate hour? does it sound better?

anyway, it was several hours ago! right now I have a bit more hope... in dlcs! the theory box corroborates the assumption that 103 is the final number of stages if we make the assumption that Vergeben has been a real leaker all this time (and it seems to me the most likely thing, I mean, he guessed right we can say all until now, and the remaining things he said fit perfectly with the box theory * )

but it's very interesting, because so it's likely they placed the stages in that weird order (the last line totally decentred) because they already know they will make dlcs that fulfill the "blank spaces" in that row

* = the only thing he said that doesn't fit with the box theory is just the supposed presence of a SE character (and Minecraft content and Microsoft support in some extent). BUT, if we suppose the team already know they will make dlcs as I have just done (imo, of course, in a reasonable way) it's likely they already know all or at least some of the dlcs character. And so it's very likely that the SE character and the microsoft/minecraft contents are dlcs


rationally speaking, again we have ALL reasons to believe that Dixie is a very likely candidate for dlcs

If Verg is right, the Box Art Theory is wrong.

The Box Art Theory implies there are two more characters. Verg said there are atleast three: 1. SE rep. 2. Pokemon Gen 7 rep. 3. Ken.

Also, Sakurai prefers to work on DLC after the base game is completed. Yes, development on Smash U could be complete right now, but Verg leaked the potential Minecraft content and SE character around June/July. I doubt Sakurai had decided for those things to be DLC back then, which leads me to believe whatever Verg leaked back then to be in the base game.