Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

And that becomes ironic when you consider the Switch's reputation as the indie machine. Oh, how the turn tables.

It's just as ironic as Microsoft publishing games on Nintendo consoles 20 years after bluntly telling them their hardware sucks.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

What's the source of that image?

 

[PeridotGX]

I've been critical of BrawlFan1's movesets in the past (specificly Eevee and Steve). When I saw he made a Maxwell moveset, I was worried...

but I watched it and it was actually really, really good! Literally everything I want in a Maxwell moveset is here, and more. I thought my Maxwell was good, but I might as well delete it.

 

[Ivander]

Wow, Black Shadow actually made it to the frontrunners. Color me impressed

Well as mentioned, some people want Black Shadow to "de-clone" Ganondorf. That said, some other people probably genuinely want Black Shadow for a number of reasons. Maybe wanting more F-Zero content, him being a villain and Captain Falcon's Arch-nemesis, maybe they did enjoy him in the games or the anime, maybe they want to re-enact the Falcon Punch scene, etc.

But that being said, Black Shadow during Brawl and Smash 4 speculation has always been looked at frequently. Is he a popular pick? Probably not, but in regards to Nintendo villain speculation, he is one who pops up commonly.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I've been critical of BrawlFan1's movesets in the past (specificly Eevee and Steve). When I saw he made a Maxwell moveset, I was worried...

but I watched it and it was actually really, really good! Literally everything I want in a Maxwell moveset is here, and more. I thought my Maxwell was good, but I might as well delete it.

Gotta give the guy credit, he actually does his research for these videos.

 

[SharkLord]

For some reason, Rick doesn't strike me as a frontrunner. Did he have some following I wasn't aware of back then, or is he creator bias?

You know, in hindsight a number of these characters don't seem all that plausible. But this still makes me nostalgic for simpler, less hype-centric inclusions.

1. He's a hamster
2. He is hamster
3. He is a hamster
4. Refer to Point 1
5. He hamster

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I've been critical of BrawlFan1's movesets in the past (specificly Eevee and Steve). When I saw he made a Maxwell moveset, I was worried...

but I watched it and it was actually really, really good! Literally everything I want in a Maxwell moveset is here, and more. I thought my Maxwell was good, but I might as well delete it.

He did say that Scribblenauts as a game has so much potential for moveset that each person can have something different when it comes to making a moveset for Maxwell, so I think you don't need to delete yours.

 

[PeridotGX]

Gotta give the guy credit, he actually does his research for these videos.

he really does. my problem is that he usually goes way too far with the refrences, creating unnecicarily complex movesets. His Steve moveset literally has him do a run of minecraft, including a mob farm.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

he really does. my problem is that he usually goes way too far with the refrences, creating unnecicarily complex movesets. His Steve moveset literally has him do a run of minecraft, including a mob farm.

Starting to regret suggesting Nightmare as a moveset idea now...

But being fair, whenever I come up with movesets on my free time, I go through a similar process; try to cram as many ideas and references as possible, then start trimming down until it starts to be cohesive, then I try to find a playstyle that matches what I came up with while staying true to the character's source material and change things further if required. Not an easy process, but it's how I do it.

Maybe I could start posting some ideas I have?

 

[ahemtoday]

My thought process with character movesets is that I tend to start by nailing down a playstyle, a few traits I want to convey, and/or a few specific moves I want them to have. Then, I fill in the rest from there.

 

[SharkLord]

Copypasting from RTC, this might be my best yet.

In Defense of the Dee

I was going to sit this one out, but there was a brief discussion regarding Kirby on a Discord server I'm on that rekindled my passion and I've decided to go a bit more in-depth with the little guy. He's got the odds stacked against him, but I think he's got just a little more going for him that I gave credit for.

History of the Dee
This little guy needs no introduction, but %$#@ you, I'm giving one anyways. Bandana Waddle Dee, often just shortened to Bandana Dee or abbreviated to BWD, is a rising star in the Kirby series. As name suggests, he is a Waddle Dee, the most recurring enemy of the Kirby series. Most Dees are are carefree and peaceful, casually walking back and forth on their platforms. Due to their cute design and perfect track record, they've become secondary mascots of the series, showing up in quite a few artworks and side materials.

Bandana Dee first appeared in Kirby Super Star in the Megaton Punch minigame, where he was just some Dee with a splash of blue. He was... kind of a joke, honestly. Barely made a dent in the planet (Though the fact that he could make a dent in the planet itself says a lot about Kirby power scaling). He came back with a slightly expanded role in Kirby Super Star Ultra, being King Dedede's closest consort and replacing the Waddle Dee "boss" in The Arena. While he was still kind of a joke, he began showing some hints of his future characterization here; Loyally staying with his king to the bitter end and facing Kirby after he blazed through Dedede's troops, even after Dedede told him he didn't have to fight.

Bandana Waddle Dee's true debut was in Kirby's Return to Dream Land as the fourth playable character, teaming up with series mainstays meta Knight, King Dedede, and Kirby himself. No longer a wimp like before, he now brandished a spear and used it quite well, effectively being a moveset clone of the Spear Copy Ability. He reappeared in Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot, taking a more passive role by tossing Kirby healing items as he passed by. He also harvested the Gem Apples and gave hints in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and it's updated variant, Super Kirby Clash, playing a similarly supportive role.

Aside from his helper roles, he also had some time in the spotlight with two spinoffs, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Kirby Battle Royale. In the former, he helped out Kirby while Meta Knight and Dedede were nowhere to be found. He took the role of Player 2 (And three and four, for that matter), playing just like his appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land while Kirby was stuck in ball form. In the latter, he was Kirby's partner throughout the tournament, helping him out in team matches and holding his own against the clone Kirbys offscreen. He also played a pivotal role in the final battle, tossing Kirby a cannon that was the only way to damage the Dededestroyer Z. Interestingly, Bandana Dee used a parasol in this game, rather than his trademark spear.

Bandana Dee made a return to playable status in a mainline game in Kirby Star Allies as a Dream Friend, using his trusty spear once more. While he didn't have a boss fight like with Meta Knight and Dedede, he instead had the honor of being the first Dream Friend available, being summonable as soon as you gain access to the Dream Palace. He also appeared in Kirby Fighters 2, being the only buddy (Re: Non-Kirby character) available by default. Since the Story Mode requires you to use a buddy until you clear Chapter 3, he's also likely to be the buddy you use on the first playthrough if you go straight to that; Indeed, the reveal trailer uses Bandana Dee as Kirby's buddy when explaining the mode.

Bandana Dee has come a long way since his debut. Over time, he has grown into a capable fighter in his own right, and has displayed a cheerful demeanor in the majority of his appearances. He's been shown to be quite close to the main trio; Aside from his aiding of Kirby and Dedede listed above, he's also been shown fanboying over Meta Knight in Kirby Battle Royale. And, par the course for a Kirby character, he's displayed an interest in food - The little guy pulled an all-nighter walking to the Cake Royale just for the titular cake prize.

Despite his overall joyful personality, he's been shown to have a bit of an inferiority complex and a desire to grow stronger. In Battle Royale, he worries that he's been holding him back during the tournament, and in the Team Kirby Clash expansions, he's expressed a slight twinge of envy, wishing to be rewarded for his actions like Team Kirby. This is spelt out in his personal theme from the Kirby Memorial Arrangement CD, The Apple Juice Song, which details his desire to become strong, mature, and popular like his friends. You can listen to it here. Also, the lyrics.

Does he stand a chance?
While I love the little guy, I must admit that the odds are kinda stacked against him. Mainly, it's the DLC thus far (Sans Piranha Plant, who was a bonus and is on different standards). To wit:


Out of these, only three out of eight represent already-represented series. Of those three, two are first-party and only one hails from a game with playable representation - And that was for Final Fantasy VII, the most infamously underrepresented game in Smash. Kirby's representation has some gaps to fill, but it's certainly got more than the vast majority of the DLC series. Both Fighter's Passes have been consistently about new content beyond just the fighters, and Kirby might be deemed good enough on it's own.

So what's going for him? Well...

• Popularity - Bandana Dee is a pretty darn popular request, all things considered. He easily scores the highest of any Kirby character, and is among the highest rankers for first-parties in general. He placed 7th on this consolidation poll for the Smash 4 ballot and even now managed to get 9th place on Source Gaming's megapoll, above even the likes of Rex, Isaac, and Waluigi. Notably, he was also the only first-party to reach the top ten. Probably not that exact number specifically, but it still shows that there's strong demand for him.
• Recent Relevancy - Bandana Dee has been a pretty recent addition, meaning he doesn't have to worry about being old and only popular in the Smash fanbase. It should also be noted that he's had a truly stellar track record; From Mass Attack to Star Allies, the only games he's missed are Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe, and Kirby's Blowout Blast. If we're going back to Super Star Ultra and counting only the mainline games, he's actually had more appearances than King Dedede and Meta Knight!
• Modern Kirby Rep - Going off of the above point, the modern era of Kirby is fairly lacking. It's got some Spirits and songs, but there isn't really that much. No stages, no Assists, heck, it doesn't even have the famous themes of Masked Dedede and Galacta Knight. While Nintendo could decide Kirby's fine the way it is, as I've mentioned above, in the scenario that they do go with Kirby there's definitely enough to supply a pack. Plus, Bandana Dee's presence in the modern era of Kirby means that he's got a pretty solid link to whatever modern content gets added in.
• Waddle Dee Rep - Bandana Dee's closest competitor is arguably Waddle Dees as a whole. As I noted in his introduction, Waddle Dees are secondary mascots of the Kirby series, being cute, recurring, and recognizable. Heck, they're even listed as the fourth major character at the Kirby Portal! So why is this a pro and not a con? Why not plop down a normal Waddle Dee? Simple: Bandana Dee exists to rep the Dees.

(Source)
As shown in this interview, Bandana Dee was brought into Kirby's Return to Dream Land to act as a representative of Waddle Dees. He was even going to get a unique name, Bundy Bandee, but was kept as just Waddle Dee to better represent the species. This gives me confidence that Bandana Dee would most definitely be chosen over some average Dee, because he was added specifically to represent Dees as a whole. Besides, he's already become a popular and defined character in his own right (Well, as defined as you can get with Kirby's way storytelling). On the topic of that interview...

Had it not been for the big anniversary aspect of Star Allies, we would've gotten an Extra Mode for Bandana Dee, to go with Dededetour and the various iterations of Meta Knightmare. This, I feel, solidifies Bandana Dee's status as the fourth main character of the Kirby series.

Disproving arguments against him

• He needs a gimmick! - Not really? Byleth didn't have one, and neither did Banjo (No, Wonderwing doesn't count). Sure, FP2 gave use some of the craziest gimmicks in the series with Min Min and Steve, but Sephiroth wasn't that gimmicky; Heck, he doesn't even have a meter on his HUD.
• He just has a spear! - Personal preference when it comes to this; I feel that the simplicity of it would be rather refreshing. Besides, it's not just a spear; As shown in Battle Royale, he can work with a parasol as well. And if we still need to spruce things up that badly, we can give him various gear from the various Waddle Dee variants throughout the series - For instance, the axe of the lumberjack Dees from Triple Deluxe, or the bows of the archers from Epic Yarn. After all, he is a representative of Dees as a whole.
• Sakurai Bias! - While he does seem to favor his creations, I don't think he outright hates the newer Kirby games. It's just that Kirby stumbled upon a bit of bad luck in Smash 4 that made him centralized around the older games; The planned Epic Yarn stage was turned into the Yoshi's Wooly World stage, and Dream Land GB was originally going to be a Super Mario Land stage. Marx is among the most recognizable Kirby bosses and easily translatable into Smash, and Kawasaki was added to preserve Kirby's Final Smash.
  Besides, it's not like Kirby's centralized representation is an exclusive problem; Donkey Kong has a distinct lack of recent content, and even third-parties like Mega Man and Street Fighter neglect anything beyond the early installments. And either way, Nintendo's choosing the characters, nit Sakurai. If they asked him to add content for the modern Kirby games, I don't think he'd say no.
• Why not someone else?- They're just not on the same level or relevance and popularity. To go into more detail:
  • Marx has the legacy of having later final bosses reusing his attacks, but he himself has only showed up a handful of times throughout the series. Besides, he's already a boss; While we do have Giga Bowser and Ganon, they're separate versions of their basis and have different names. Marx's most iconic form is his boss form, and he's already there, so...
  • Gooey was Kirby's number two - Keyword being was. The guy took an extended break after Kirby's Dreamland 3 and only came back recently with Star Allies. He did get to be one of the buddies in Kirby Fighters 2 - And one of the earliest obtained, to boot - But he's still got a ways to go to reestablish his place in the series.
  • Adeleine is decently popular and appeared more than once or twice, but like Gooey, she took an extended break after two appearances and only came back for Star Allies, which brought pretty much everyone back. And unlike Gooey, she didn't get a spot in Kirby Fighters 2. Again, still hasn't reestablished herself.
  • Daroach has the honor of having the most amount of dialogue in the entire series, plus having shown up more than once before Star Allies, but much like everyone else on the list, he petered off until Star Allies brought everyone back.
  • The Animal Friends were Kirby's biggest allies back in the Dark Matter Trilogy, but they didn't have a major appearance after that until Star Allies (Seeing a pattern?). They did get a fair bit of cameos throughout the series, but overall those cameos don't really amount to much, especially seeing as the majority of them weren't in-person.
  • Dark Matter, like Marx, has a lot of legacy when it comes to final bosses, but hasn't made many in-person appearances as of late. There's been many bosses that are implied to be connected to them, but the only time we've had Dark Matter themselves appear in-person since the Dark Matter Trilogy are a minigame in Mass Attack and a bonus boss in Planet Robobot, and the latter isn't even the final boss of the Extra Mode.
  • Galacta Knight actually has made a fair bit of recent appearances... but none of them are actually canon. They're all locked behind Extra Modes and The True Arena, with the one time he's a boss in the main campaign being an AU spinoff.
  • Magalor is the closest competitor to Bandana Dee's fourth main character status beyond Waddle Dees in general (And we've already gone over how that actually helps him). He's popped up fairly often after Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but not quite to the same extent as Bandana Dee. His appearances have been relegated to spinoffs for the most part, like Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. He actually didn't have any major appearances after his debut until Star Allies. He did show up again in Kirby Fighters 2, but he just can't match Bandana Dee's stellar track record.

And lastly, the infamous Hat Goomba argument. Honestly, that's kinda inaccurate. "Hat Goomba" implies some random mook with a hat, like this

Bandana Dee has a weapon and a personality. He'd be closer to this:

An established character with a weapon (Though not necessarily a firearm) who just happens to be the same species as a regularly appearing mook. Besides, Waddle Dees are a hundred times more huggable than a Goomba (Granted, Waddle Dees are a hundred times more huggable than anything that isn't Kirby himself, so that isn't saying much).

And yes, I indeed photoshopped Goombario with a gun just for this. You're welcome.

Conclusion
The formula of SSBU's DLC might be working against him, but he's got a lot going for him. He could be a real darkhorse for Smash. Of course, by definition a darkhorse is an unlikely victor, but maybe we should keep a closer eye on him.

Y'know, when I first started looking into Smash speculation, I had two wants: Bandana Dee and Shadow (Or some other Sonic rep). The former stuck with me for the majority of 2019, though Klonoa gave him some competition. By now, he's surpassed him, actually. I'm not as focused on Kirby as I was before; There hasn't been many major releases to keep my hype going, and 2020 had me grabbed by the throat and down the Touhou rabbit hole, followed by Ys synching up with me extremely well, but I still love the little guy. Reimu, Adol, and Klonoa make up my top three, but Bandana Dee is still a close fourth. If my recently renewed hype for Kirby keeps up, he might even regain his throne.

Originally, I just wanted another Kirby character, and Bandana Dee looked like the best bet. But over time, he grew on me. I liked his underdog status, and I started developing my own interpretation of him based on that. Keep going, little guy. You'll get to prove yourself soon enough.

Dee End
Thank you for reading

 

[kylexv]

Chronobound did a write up about his work in the Krystal Thread. There was a lot of mourning on the Social Thread at the time when he passed away.

Wait, he passed away? This is the first I'm hearing of this.
Man, 2020 sucked ass.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Wait, he passed away? This is the first I'm hearing of this.
Man, 2020 sucked ass.

He passed away in 2014.

 

[kylexv]

That poll and this image here is a funny little insight into a pre-Cloud world.

As you can see, the mindset was that the frontrunners for newcomers were mostly Nintendo characters and Nintendo-associated third parties, like Shovel Knight and Shantae and what not.

Cloud, for better or worse depending on your viewpoint on this sort of thing, pretty much changed the game. That's kinda when people began going crazy over all these other big third party characters like Master Chief, Dantae, Crash, Doomguy, etc. And unfortunately a lot of the first parties got lost in the fold. Chronobound did a great write up about this in the Dixie thread: https://smashboards.com/threads/dix...-out-dkc3-today.446464/page-303#post-24213384

I was on these boards when this image was created, so I can add a little bit of insight.
Keep in mind that at this point only were in the game (can't remember if was revealed yet, but I remember he tilted a lot of heads). Compared to the 16+ third party characters we have in Ultimate, this seems so miniscule in retrospect. Because third party characters were much rarer back in the day, many people thought that Nintendo would only go through the hassle of getting the rights to use a character they do not own a few times. Most people thought Konami reps such as as an impossibility because skipped out on Smash 4 and Konami was in a whole lot of hot water at the time.

A couple asides here as well:

• Plok is here because of a fake 4chan rumor saying that he was getting a reboot and with it an inclusion in Smash
• Of all characters, why is Wart so high. Even keeping in mind the mindset I and other had on these boards five years ago, it still doesn't make sense.

 

[Will]

He passed away in 2014.

I hope this isn't coming off as rude but who exactly is taking his place with these new posts then?

 

[kylexv]

He passed away in 2014.

My bad, I thought you meant Chronobound, not Shorts.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

I hope this isn't coming off as rude but who exactly is taking his place with these new posts then?

I’m talking about Shorts. Chronobound is alive and well.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

He passed away in 2014.

Doesn't change the fact that 2020 sucked ass.

 

[Will]

I’m talking about Shorts. Chronobound is alive and well.

Yeah you really got me confused with the words, my bad.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Doesn't change the fact that 2020 sucked ass.

He's got a point. Heck, I just found out the reason most of the GameXplain crew left was because they were overworked and underpaid ($1-2 an hour, WHAT), so 2021 isn't off to a good start...

Wait, this is a Smash thread, um... Jibanyan for Smash?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

He's got a point. Heck, I just found out the reason most of the GameXplain crew left was because they were overworked and underpaid ($1-2 an hour, WHAT), so 2021 isn't off to a good start...

Wait what? Where is that?

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Doesn't change the fact that 2020 sucked ass.

Well, of course not, it just didn’t suck for that reason specifically. Obviously there were many other reasons though that are way too long to list here.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Wait what? Where is that?

to not get off topic ill dm you about it

 

[SpectreJordan]

I'm surprised Lanky managed to even get that high when his competition was K. Rool, Dixie, Cranky, Funky, a bunch of other more popular Nintendo characters, and 3rd party characters. Lanky scored much higher than I expected in this fan poll.

It’s because that pic was made during the height of the Lanky Kong meme. HE was definitely a meme pick.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

Copypasting from RTC, this might be my best yet.

In Defense of the Dee

I was going to sit this one out, but there was a brief discussion regarding Kirby on a Discord server I'm on that rekindled my passion and I've decided to go a bit more in-depth with the little guy. He's got the odds stacked against him, but I think he's got just a little more going for him that I gave credit for.

History of the Dee
This little guy needs no introduction, but %$#@ you, I'm giving one anyways. Bandana Waddle Dee, often just shortened to Bandana Dee or abbreviated to BWD, is a rising star in the Kirby series. As name suggests, he is a Waddle Dee, the most recurring enemy of the Kirby series. Most Dees are are carefree and peaceful, casually walking back and forth on their platforms. Due to their cute design and perfect track record, they've become secondary mascots of the series, showing up in quite a few artworks and side materials.

Bandana Dee first appeared in Kirby Super Star in the Megaton Punch minigame, where he was just some Dee with a splash of blue. He was... kind of a joke, honestly. Barely made a dent in the planet (Though the fact that he could make a dent in the planet itself says a lot about Kirby power scaling). He came back with a slightly expanded role in Kirby Super Star Ultra, being King Dedede's closest consort and replacing the Waddle Dee "boss" in The Arena. While he was still kind of a joke, he began showing some hints of his future characterization here; Loyally staying with his king to the bitter end and facing Kirby after he blazed through Dedede's troops, even after Dedede told him he didn't have to fight.

Bandana Waddle Dee's true debut was in Kirby's Return to Dream Land as the fourth playable character, teaming up with series mainstays meta Knight, King Dedede, and Kirby himself. No longer a wimp like before, he now brandished a spear and used it quite well, effectively being a moveset clone of the Spear Copy Ability. He reappeared in Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot, taking a more passive role by tossing Kirby healing items as he passed by. He also harvested the Gem Apples and gave hints in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and it's updated variant, Super Kirby Clash, playing a similarly supportive role.

Aside from his helper roles, he also had some time in the spotlight with two spinoffs, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Kirby Battle Royale. In the former, he helped out Kirby while Meta Knight and Dedede were nowhere to be found. He took the role of Player 2 (And three and four, for that matter), playing just like his appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land while Kirby was stuck in ball form. In the latter, he was Kirby's partner throughout the tournament, helping him out in team matches and holding his own against the clone Kirbys offscreen. He also played a pivotal role in the final battle, tossing Kirby a cannon that was the only way to damage the Dededestroyer Z. Interestingly, Bandana Dee used a parasol in this game, rather than his trademark spear.

Bandana Dee made a return to playable status in a mainline game in Kirby Star Allies as a Dream Friend, using his trusty spear once more. While he didn't have a boss fight like with Meta Knight and Dedede, he instead had the honor of being the first Dream Friend available, being summonable as soon as you gain access to the Dream Palace. He also appeared in Kirby Fighters 2, being the only buddy (Re: Non-Kirby character) available by default. Since the Story Mode requires you to use a buddy until you clear Chapter 3, he's also likely to be the buddy you use on the first playthrough if you go straight to that; Indeed, the reveal trailer uses Bandana Dee as Kirby's buddy when explaining the mode.

Bandana Dee has come a long way since his debut. Over time, he has grown into a capable fighter in his own right, and has displayed a cheerful demeanor in the majority of his appearances. He's been shown to be quite close to the main trio; Aside from his aiding of Kirby and Dedede listed above, he's also been shown fanboying over Meta Knight in Kirby Battle Royale. And, par the course for a Kirby character, he's displayed an interest in food - The little guy pulled an all-nighter walking to the Cake Royale just for the titular cake prize.

Despite his overall joyful personality, he's been shown to have a bit of an inferiority complex and a desire to grow stronger. In Battle Royale, he worries that he's been holding him back during the tournament, and in the Team Kirby Clash expansions, he's expressed a slight twinge of envy, wishing to be rewarded for his actions like Team Kirby. This is spelt out in his personal theme from the Kirby Memorial Arrangement CD, The Apple Juice Song, which details his desire to become strong, mature, and popular like his friends. You can listen to it here. Also, the lyrics.

Does he stand a chance?
While I love the little guy, I must admit that the odds are kinda stacked against him. Mainly, it's the DLC thus far (Sans Piranha Plant, who was a bonus and is on different standards). To wit:


Out of these, only three out of eight represent already-represented series. Of those three, two are first-party and only one hails from a game with playable representation - And that was for Final Fantasy VII, the most infamously underrepresented game in Smash. Kirby's representation has some gaps to fill, but it's certainly got more than the vast majority of the DLC series. Both Fighter's Passes have been consistently about new content beyond just the fighters, and Kirby might be deemed good enough on it's own.

So what's going for him? Well...

• Popularity - Bandana Dee is a pretty darn popular request, all things considered. He easily scores the highest of any Kirby character, and is among the highest rankers for first-parties in general. He placed 7th on this consolidation poll for the Smash 4 ballot and even now managed to get 9th place on Source Gaming's megapoll, above even the likes of Rex, Isaac, and Waluigi. Notably, he was also the only first-party to reach the top ten. Probably not that exact number specifically, but it still shows that there's strong demand for him.
• Recent Relevancy - Bandana Dee has been a pretty recent addition, meaning he doesn't have to worry about being old and only popular in the Smash fanbase. It should also be noted that he's had a truly stellar track record; From Mass Attack to Star Allies, the only games he's missed are Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe, and Kirby's Blowout Blast. If we're going back to Super Star Ultra and counting only the mainline games, he's actually had more appearances than King Dedede and Meta Knight!
• Modern Kirby Rep - Going off of the above point, the modern era of Kirby is fairly lacking. It's got some Spirits and songs, but there isn't really that much. No stages, no Assists, heck, it doesn't even have the famous themes of Masked Dedede and Galacta Knight. While Nintendo could decide Kirby's fine the way it is, as I've mentioned above, in the scenario that they do go with Kirby there's definitely enough to supply a pack. Plus, Bandana Dee's presence in the modern era of Kirby means that he's got a pretty solid link to whatever modern content gets added in.
• Waddle Dee Rep - Bandana Dee's closest competitor is arguably Waddle Dees as a whole. As I noted in his introduction, Waddle Dees are secondary mascots of the Kirby series, being cute, recurring, and recognizable. Heck, they're even listed as the fourth major character at the Kirby Portal! So why is this a pro and not a con? Why not plop down a normal Waddle Dee? Simple: Bandana Dee exists to rep the Dees.

(Source)
As shown in this interview, Bandana Dee was brought into Kirby's Return to Dream Land to act as a representative of Waddle Dees. He was even going to get a unique name, Bundy Bandee, but was kept as just Waddle Dee to better represent the species. This gives me confidence that Bandana Dee would most definitely be chosen over some average Dee, because he was added specifically to represent Dees as a whole. Besides, he's already become a popular and defined character in his own right (Well, as defined as you can get with Kirby's way storytelling). On the topic of that interview...

Had it not been for the big anniversary aspect of Star Allies, we would've gotten an Extra Mode for Bandana Dee, to go with Dededetour and the various iterations of Meta Knightmare. This, I feel, solidifies Bandana Dee's status as the fourth main character of the Kirby series.

Disproving arguments against him

• He needs a gimmick! - Not really? Byleth didn't have one, and neither did Banjo (No, Wonderwing doesn't count). Sure, FP2 gave use some of the craziest gimmicks in the series with Min Min and Steve, but Sephiroth wasn't that gimmicky; Heck, he doesn't even have a meter on his HUD.
• He just has a spear! - Personal preference when it comes to this; I feel that the simplicity of it would be rather refreshing. Besides, it's not just a spear; As shown in Battle Royale, he can work with a parasol as well. And if we still need to spruce things up that badly, we can give him various gear from the various Waddle Dee variants throughout the series - For instance, the axe of the lumberjack Dees from Triple Deluxe, or the bows of the archers from Epic Yarn. After all, he is a representative of Dees as a whole.
• Sakurai Bias! - While he does seem to favor his creations, I don't think he outright hates the newer Kirby games. It's just that Kirby stumbled upon a bit of bad luck in Smash 4 that made him centralized around the older games; The planned Epic Yarn stage was turned into the Yoshi's Wooly World stage, and Dream Land GB was originally going to be a Super Mario Land stage. Marx is among the most recognizable Kirby bosses and easily translatable into Smash, and Kawasaki was added to preserve Kirby's Final Smash.
  Besides, it's not like Kirby's centralized representation is an exclusive problem; Donkey Kong has a distinct lack of recent content, and even third-parties like Mega Man and Street Fighter neglect anything beyond the early installments. And either way, Nintendo's choosing the characters, nit Sakurai. If they asked him to add content for the modern Kirby games, I don't think he'd say no.
• Why not someone else?- They're just not on the same level or relevance and popularity. To go into more detail:
  • Marx has the legacy of having later final bosses reusing his attacks, but he himself has only showed up a handful of times throughout the series. Besides, he's already a boss; While we do have Giga Bowser and Ganon, they're separate versions of their basis and have different names. Marx's most iconic form is his boss form, and he's already there, so...
  • Gooey was Kirby's number two - Keyword being was. The guy took an extended break after Kirby's Dreamland 3 and only came back recently with Star Allies. He did get to be one of the buddies in Kirby Fighters 2 - And one of the earliest obtained, to boot - But he's still got a ways to go to reestablish his place in the series.
  • Adeleine is decently popular and appeared more than once or twice, but like Gooey, she took an extended break after two appearances and only came back for Star Allies, which brought pretty much everyone back. And unlike Gooey, she didn't get a spot in Kirby Fighters 2. Again, still hasn't reestablished herself.
  • Daroach has the honor of having the most amount of dialogue in the entire series, plus having shown up more than once before Star Allies, but much like everyone else on the list, he petered off until Star Allies brought everyone back.
  • The Animal Friends were Kirby's biggest allies back in the Dark Matter Trilogy, but they didn't have a major appearance after that until Star Allies (Seeing a pattern?). They did get a fair bit of cameos throughout the series, but overall those cameos don't really amount to much, especially seeing as the majority of them weren't in-person.
  • Dark Matter, like Marx, has a lot of legacy when it comes to final bosses, but hasn't made many in-person appearances as of late. There's been many bosses that are implied to be connected to them, but the only time we've had Dark Matter themselves appear in-person since the Dark Matter Trilogy are a minigame in Mass Attack and a bonus boss in Planet Robobot, and the latter isn't even the final boss of the Extra Mode.
  • Galacta Knight actually has made a fair bit of recent appearances... but none of them are actually canon. They're all locked behind Extra Modes and The True Arena, with the one time he's a boss in the main campaign being an AU spinoff.
  • Magalor is the closest competitor to Bandana Dee's fourth main character status beyond Waddle Dees in general (And we've already gone over how that actually helps him). He's popped up fairly often after Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but not quite to the same extent as Bandana Dee. His appearances have been relegated to spinoffs for the most part, like Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. He actually didn't have any major appearances after his debut until Star Allies. He did show up again in Kirby Fighters 2, but he just can't match Bandana Dee's stellar track record.

And lastly, the infamous Hat Goomba argument. Honestly, that's kinda inaccurate. "Hat Goomba" implies some random mook with a hat, like this

Bandana Dee has a weapon and a personality. He'd be closer to this:

An established character with a weapon (Though not necessarily a firearm) who just happens to be the same species as a regularly appearing mook. Besides, Waddle Dees are a hundred times more huggable than a Goomba (Granted, Waddle Dees are a hundred times more huggable than anything that isn't Kirby himself, so that isn't saying much).

And yes, I indeed photoshopped Goombario with a gun just for this. You're welcome.

Conclusion
The formula of SSBU's DLC might be working against him, but he's got a lot going for him. He could be a real darkhorse for Smash. Of course, by definition a darkhorse is an unlikely victor, but maybe we should keep a closer eye on him.

Y'know, when I first started looking into Smash speculation, I had two wants: Bandana Dee and Shadow (Or some other Sonic rep). The former stuck with me for the majority of 2019, though Klonoa gave him some competition. By now, he's surpassed him, actually. I'm not as focused on Kirby as I was before; There hasn't been many major releases to keep my hype going, and 2020 had me grabbed by the throat and down the Touhou rabbit hole, followed by Ys synching up with me extremely well, but I still love the little guy. Reimu, Adol, and Klonoa make up my top three, but Bandana Dee is still a close fourth. If my recently renewed hype for Kirby keeps up, he might even regain his throne.

Originally, I just wanted another Kirby character, and Bandana Dee looked like the best bet. But over time, he grew on me. I liked his underdog status, and I started developing my own interpretation of him based on that. Keep going, little guy. You'll get to prove yourself soon enough.

Dee End
Thank you for reading

Hal laboratory did tease some Kirby project for 2021, so maybe it will be a mainline game and Bandana dee could bring more modern Kirby stuff alongisde a Kirby 2021 stages and music kind of like Byleth did.

 

[Technomage]

I've been critical of BrawlFan1's movesets in the past (specificly Eevee and Steve). When I saw he made a Maxwell moveset, I was worried...

but I watched it and it was actually really, really good! Literally everything I want in a Maxwell moveset is here, and more. I thought my Maxwell was good, but I might as well delete it.

Yeah, I liked the movesets he made for Spongbob, Madeline, Freddy Fazbear, and William Afton. :D

 

[chocolatejr9]

Yeah, I liked the movesets he made for Spongbob, Madeline, Freddy Fazbear, and William Afton. :D

You spelt "Springtrap" wrong.

 

[Technomage]

You spelt "Springtrap" wrong.

Hey, I could have done worse and spelled it "Billy Afton" or "Spring Billy," like I normally do. XP

 

[Greyfox22]

Well as mentioned, some people want Black Shadow to "de-clone" Ganondorf. That said, some other people probably genuinely want Black Shadow for a number of reasons. Maybe wanting more F-Zero content, him being a villain and Captain Falcon's Arch-nemesis, maybe they did enjoy him in the games or the anime, maybe they want to re-enact the Falcon Punch scene, etc.

But that being said, Black Shadow during Brawl and Smash 4 speculation has always been looked at frequently. Is he a popular pick? Probably not, but in regards to Nintendo villain speculation, he is one who pops up commonly.

I legit never thought of that. It would genuinely be such a good idea to add Black Shadow, give him Ganondorf's moves and give Ganondorf his own moveset. I wonder if this is still possible now that Ganon has been "de-cloned" a bit already with his sword and everything.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I legit never thought of that. It would genuinely be such a good idea to add Black Shadow, give him Ganondorf's moves and give Ganondorf his own moveset. I wonder if this is still possible now that Ganon has been "de-cloned" a bit already with his sword and everything.

This is why we need to give that moveset to Hades from Kid Icarus.

Just have him use Medusa instead of a sword

 

[SharkLord]

I legit never thought of that. It would genuinely be such a good idea to add Black Shadow, give him Ganondorf's moves and give Ganondorf his own moveset. I wonder if this is still possible now that Ganon has been "de-cloned" a bit already with his sword and everything.

To be fair, Black Shadow doesn't have to be a perfect 1-to-1 replacement of Ganondorf. We could bring back the Smash 4 smash attacks, use a bit of Falcon's moves when they fit better, and throw in some original stuff to spruce it up. Keep the unga bunga heavy Falcon moveset while still making him a distinct character. I think Rie Sonomura is the Black Shadow expert, so she can better explain what he could do.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

To be fair, Black Shadow doesn't have to be a perfect 1-to-1 replacement of Ganondorf. We could bring back the Smash 4 smash attacks, use a bit of Falcon's moves when they fit better, and throw in some original stuff to spruce it up. Keep the unga bunga heavy Falcon moveset while still making him a distinct character. I think Rie Sonomura is the Black Shadow expert, so she can better explain what he could do.

im not really an "expert" per se but he does have electric plasma chains he used in one F-Zero GX cutscene, you could draw from that

i never watched the full anime so im only familiar with the WATASHI WA SHINEN SHINENZUUUUU scene but if he has any unique abilities in the anime you can draw from that too ig

 

[Perkilator]

To be fair, Black Shadow doesn't have to be a perfect 1-to-1 replacement of Ganondorf. We could bring back the Smash 4 smash attacks, use a bit of Falcon's moves when they fit better, and throw in some original stuff to spruce it up. Keep the unga bunga heavy Falcon moveset while still making him a distinct character. I think Rie Sonomura is the Black Shadow expert, so she can better explain what he could do.

Here was my idea:

Spoiler

The movement speed I was thinking was between Ganondorf and Captain Falcon; not blistering fast, but also not agonizingly slow.

Normal Attacks
Jab: Ganondorf's jab
Forward+A: Ganondorf's F-tilt
Down+A: Ganondorf's D-tilt
Up+A: Falcon's U-tilt

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Falcon's F-air
Air Forward+A: Ganondorf's F-air
Air Back + A: Black Shadow does an underhanded karate chop, making it look like he's attacking with his cape
Air Up+A: Falcon and Ganondorf's U-air
Air Down+A: Falcon and Ganondorf's D-air

Dash Attack: Black Shadow brakes himself as he charges into the opponent with his horns
Edge Attack: Ganondorf's edge attack
Get-Up Attacks: Ganondorf's get-up attacks

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: Black Shadow jabs the opponent with his horns
Up+A: Black Shadow thrusts his horns in an upward arc in front of him
Down+A: Captain Falcon's D-Smash

Grab Game
Grab: Black Shadow grabs the opponent in a similar fashion as Ganondorf's grounded Dark Dive
Pummel: Black Shadow chokes the opponent
Forwards+Throw: Ganondorf's F-throw
Down+Throw: Black Shadow bursts dark energy from his fist and drops the opponent straight down, in a similar fashion to Ganondorf's grounded Dark Dive
Back+Throw: Falcon's and Ganondorf's B-throw
Up+Throw: Ganondorf's U-throw

Special Moves
B: Bull Punch; A move with the animation and power of Falcon Punch, but the super armor of Warlock Punch.
B + Forwards: Bull Charge; On the ground, Black Shadow charges like a bull and tosses the opponent upwards with the horns on his costume, like with the Raptor Boost. In the air, Black Shadow catches the opponent with the horns and drops them onto the ground, similar to Ganondorf’s aerial Flame Choke.
B + Up: Dark Dive; Functions similarly to Falcon Dive, with the knockback of Ganondorf’s version.
B + Down: Bull's Foot; Functions similarly to Wizard's Assault, a custom move Ganondorf had in Smash 4.

Final Smash: Black Bull; Functions identically to the Blue Falcon, but with Black Shadow in his vehicle, the Black Bull.

 

[RoboFist]

For some reason, Rick doesn't strike me as a frontrunner. Did he have some following I wasn't aware of back then, or is he creator bias?

You know, in hindsight a number of these characters don't seem all that plausible. But this still makes me nostalgic for simpler, less hype-centric inclusions.

I don't know how many people laughing at this list were around during the countdown to Brawl, but I remember Pit's reveal being a downright religious experience to every Smash fan I knew. Pit, a character from one NES game with one largely forgotten Gameboy sequel.

But he was back, man. He had an incredible new render and was fighting alongside Mario and Link and oh damn we were beyond hyped for that. Who else are they going to dig up? Little Mac, surely! Oh, maybe Balloon Fighter! Wouldn't that dog from Duck Hunt be hilarious?!

Of course we got hyped about Snake and Sonic, but even then we knew they were the exception and not the norm. We were all just too excited for Nintendo to dig even deeper into their back catalogue. I remember people reacting to Wario and Diddy Kong with the same amount of insane glee as we all did two years ago for Ridley.

Yeah, I think people grossly underappreciate just how much Cloud (and Joker, though quite a bit later) rocked the foundation of Smash. It drastically shifted from being a celebration of Nintendo's history to a celebration of the video game industry, and it happened very quickly.

Remember, before Joker was announced, the names I heard and saw the most were a Three Houses rep, Rex & Pyra, Banjo & Kazooie, Geno, and the Chorus Kids. The speculation scene looks like a completely different game now.

And yes there's plenty to like and even some stuff to dislike about that direction for different people. But I'm looking at that list that a lot of people are laughing at/dismissing and I see a 100% accurate time capsule haha.

 

[Miles of SmashWiki]

I don't know how many people laughing at this list were around during the countdown to Brawl, but I remember Pit's reveal being a downright religious experience to every Smash fan I knew. Pit, a character from one NES game with one largely forgotten Gameboy sequel.

But he was back, man. He had an incredible new render and was fighting alongside Mario and Link and oh damn we were beyond hyped for that. Who else are they going to dig up? Little Mac, surely! Oh, maybe Balloon Fighter! Wouldn't that dog from Duck Hunt be hilarious?!

Of course we got hyped about Snake and Sonic, but even then we knew they were the exception and not the norm. We were all just too excited for Nintendo to dig even deeper into their back catalogue. I remember people reacting to Wario and Diddy Kong with the same amount of insane glee as we all did two years ago for Ridley.

Yeah, I think people grossly underappreciate just how much Cloud (and Joker, though quite a bit later) rocked the foundation of Smash. It drastically shifted from being a celebration of Nintendo's history to a celebration of the video game industry, and it happened very quickly.

Remember, before Joker was announced, the names I heard and saw the most were a Three Houses rep, Rex & Pyra, Banjo & Kazooie, Geno, and the Chorus Kids. The speculation scene looks like a completely different game now.

And yes there's plenty to like and even some stuff to dislike about that direction for different people. But I'm looking at that list that a lot of people are laughing at/dismissing and I see a 100% accurate time capsule haha.

The hard part here is determining where one starts hitting diminishing returns by pursuing Nintendo archival picks. When it comes to me personally, I'd be down for Isaac, Lip, Takamaru, and a host of others from the archives to get their day in the spotlight. But I have to wonder from a game dev angle and from a marketing angle that there is a cutoff where certain characters start to get sufficiently obscure to the general gaming audience that they aren't going to spend their time or budget on them. And I think finding that dividing line is a murky business indeed, especially when there are many big-name 3rd parties on the table competing with them.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

images

OK I don't have context but uh...

"bandana Wadoldi"
"Didede the Great Waddledi Metanite"

Wat? lol

 

[SharkLord]

OK I don't have context but uh...

"bandana Wadoldi"
"Didede the Great Waddledi Metanite"

Wat? lol

Welcome to the world of automatic Google Translate

ISN'T IT WONDERFUL

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Black Shadow eh? EvilWaluigi on DeviantArt did a moveset concept on him.

Spoiler

Rie Sonomura enjoy

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Welcome to the world of automatic Google Translate

ISN'T IT WONDERFUL

I suspected something like that, but I dismissed it because "there was no way it would botch it that much". lol

Ah how naive...

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Black Shadow eh? EvilWaluigi on DeviantArt did a moveset concept on him.

Spoiler

Rie Sonomura enjoy

AAAAAA BLACK SHADOW KIRB

SO MENACING BUT SO ADORABLE I NEED IT