Geno (♥♪!?): Return of the Starsend Savior

[RedMachine123]

Decisions to promote games would’ve been made long before the games were out, since the pass lineup was definitely finalized before we knew about it, so it’s kinda silly to assume that they looked at Luigi’s Mansion 3 in July and said “Oh yeah this game is gonna sell more than the franchise ever has, so no need to promote it.”

Wait, do we actually know when FP2 lineup was decided?

 

[MattX20]

Wait, do we actually know when FP2 lineup was decided?

The last of the DLC for the second Fighter Pass was finalized conceptually in January, so we know that they've been working on it since the summer at least

 

[Hot_N_Tasty]

I casually combed through those old Mario RPG renders. I forgot how badly some of them have aged, especially the reptilian enemies/bosses. Also they printed Yoshi a lot for his role in the game to be so small. I wonder if they ever wanted to do more with him.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Wait, do we actually know when FP2 lineup was decided?

It was likely greenlit around E3 2019 because Sakurai basically said that during Banjo's presentation (which was recorded in early August at the latest) work had already started on Season 2. Sakurai then confirmed shortly after Byleth's presentation that all of Season 2's had already been decided so it was pointless to hop on Twitter and beg him for certain additions:

https://www.shacknews.com/article/1...s-on-super-smash-bros-ultimate-fighter-pass-2

Based on what's been heard, this lines up that Season 2 was fully decided by the end of December. Here's the receipt of me hearing about Season 2 being 6 characters shortly after Christmas:

https://smashboards.com/threads/geno-♥♪-return-of-the-starsend-savior.446378/page-2134#post-23756937

 

[Polarthief]

The last of the DLC for the second Fighter Pass was finalized conceptually in January

Do you have a source on that? I can't help but feel like that doesn't sound fully accurate. It took them over 7 months to have the concepts?

Based on what's been heard, this lines up that Season 2 was fully decided by the end of December. Here's the receipt of me hearing about Season 2 being 6 characters shortly after Christmas:

https://smashboards.com/threads/geno-♪-return-of-the-starsend-savior.446378/page-2134#post-23756937

I wouldn't be surprised if it was sooner though, TBH.

 

[Loliko YnT]

It¨s Nintendo that does the paperwork (aka, works out the deal with said studios). Not Sakurai.

Yes but you still get what I mean ; The power Smash has on the industry is insane , and Sakurai/Nintendo/Sora/Bamco or the Smash Team in general could pretty much get the vast majority of video game characters.

If they managed to get so much DQ content despise how much of a mess the legal rights were , then I think they could get Geno. I mean SE could say no , but... people kind of don't realize that Nintendo has the power for a smash character , so if SE say no for the character Nintendo want , well the deal wouldn't work and we wouldn't get a SE character. At this rate , SE gain a lot of money from Smash DLC , so it would be petty for them to be like "No , I want this character , not that character" when they get proposed a second DLC slot.

 

[Firox]

Well , they had 3D renders made back when BK released. Unless you're refering to the litteral 3D models in game , they had pre-existing renders to use.
I also find it a bit ironic , since the SMRPG renders are even more outdated , like , look at my man Booster lol
View attachment 271172View attachment 271173

Dude, those chompers on Booster are epic. You gotta respect a guy that makes his dentures from PVP pipe.

 

[Lyncario]

The last of the DLC for the second Fighter Pass was finalized conceptually in January, so we know that they've been working on it since the summer at least

Actualy November, Sakurai recorded Byleth's presentation back then.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Actualy November, Sakurai recorded Byleth's presentation back then.

Which is honestly probably true because the talks were that the final character was successfully negotiated somewhere between late December and mid January. 11 was probably picked in November and, based on Sakurai's past statements, they all but knew that they would successfully snag the rights with little issue. This is also part of my theory that 11 belongs to a company that Nintendo has already worked with and why I personally side with Microsoft and Master Chief.

 

[AdamBel731]

It is definitely a drag that Nintendo has been so tight-lipped about upcoming games (even before the whole pandemic).

However, at least for us Smash fans, we're in a decent position right now. Since DLC is easier to develop than making a full-fledged game, Sakurai confirming that the DLC isn't too delayed at the moment makes sense! But I am a little worried about 3rd party DLC that isn't fully negotiated (since Sakurai did confirm that a meeting was put off I'm pretty sure). Hopefully we learn about the next character after the ARMS character.

(...can you imagine how horrible it'd be if Ultimate was being made fully during this period? Like not DLC but the actual full development. Hoo boy the delays would've been unbearable. ...probably not as bad as I heard the Brawl delays were though.)

 

[MattX20]

Which is honestly probably true because the talks were that the final character was successfully negotiated somewhere between late December and mid January. 11 was probably picked in November and, based on Sakurai's past statements, they all but knew that they would successfully snag the rights with little issue. This is also part of my theory that 11 belongs to a company that Nintendo has already worked with and why I personally side with Microsoft and Master Chief.

That, and if we go by the theory of a character tying into a game that releases this year, MC fits the bill thanks to Infinite

 

[axel_]

>Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4 have been "TDA" for almost 3 years
>SMT V isn't even on there anymore

 

[MattX20]

>Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4 have been "TDA" for almost 3 years
>SMT V isn't even on there anymore
View attachment 271188

RPGs take time to make, more than most games

 

[Fatmanonice]

It is definitely a drag that Nintendo has been so tight-lipped about upcoming games (even before the whole pandemic).

However, at least for us Smash fans, we're in a decent position right now. Since DLC is easier to develop than making a full-fledged game, Sakurai confirming that the DLC isn't too delayed at the moment makes sense! But I am a little worried about 3rd party DLC that isn't fully negotiated (since Sakurai did confirm that a meeting was put off I'm pretty sure). Hopefully we learn about the next character after the ARMS character.

(...can you imagine how horrible it'd be if Ultimate was being made fully during this period? Like not DLC but the actual full development. Hoo boy the delays would've been unbearable. ...probably not as bad as I heard the Brawl delays were though.)
View attachment 271184

>Nintendo starts cracking down on leakers in November.

>Nintendo doubles down even more starting in February.

>Corona makes people paranoid about losing work by March.

>Biggest asset leak in Nintendo history happens April.

Yeah... The environment just keeps getting worse for insider info which is just as well given how increasingly hostile the Nintendo fanbase is to, well, everything. It's very quickly turned into this scenario where Nintendo will likely curb stomp anyone that isn't a platform like IGN or GameXplain if stuff gets out.

 

[MattX20]

>Nintendo starts cracking down on leakers in November.

>Nintendo doubles down even more starting in February.

>Corona makes people paranoid about losing work by March.

>Biggest asset leak in Nintendo history happens April.

Yeah... The environment just keeps getting worse for insider info which is just as well given how increasingly hostile the Nintendo fanbase is to, well, everything. It's very quickly turned into this scenario where Nintendo will likely curb stomp anyone that isn't a platform like IGN or GameXplain if stuff gets out.

This year has been like a rickety rollercoaster that needs maintenance

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

It's very quickly turned into this scenario where Nintendo will likely curb stomp anyone that isn't a platform like IGN or GameXplain if stuff gets out.

Isnt that a good thing?

 

[Vector Victor]

This year has been like a rickety rollercoaster that needs maintenance

Nope. Not needed. A planetary decree was passed that we all just get out of this year as fast and as painless as possible and pop champagne bottles on December 31st 11:59:59PM celebrating the death of 2020. We are also barred under penalty of being launched into the sun from ever discussing this year, being nostalgic for it and acting as if anything came into being this year.

Geno is revealed next month? Nope, he was revealed December 31, 2019.

Your new child born in summer 2020? Nope, their birthday is January 1, 2021.

Played 500 hours of Smash in 2020? Nope, you somehow time travel did that last year.

You flip your Dec 2019 calendar and see Jan 2020 on the next page? Nope, it reads Jan 2021.

Also, these words are banished from reality, never to be said ever again: virus, social, distancing, in these times (or any variant of it), masks, vid, wash, gloves, stay, home, essential, lock, down, 19, cancel, quarantine, flu.


In short, next year, we ALL on this universe agree:

2020 NEVER HAPPENED. BURY IT AND NEVER LET IT COME BACK.

 

[CommanderZaktan]

SOME GENO MOTIVATION:
-No Mii Costume yet
-Copyrighted songs like Sans & Banjo
-Pattern of 2 songs per Square character
-Also 2 songs that fit perfectly for Geno. Forest Maze for him & Armed Boss for battles.
-“Back to the roots” scenario. Explained well in Terminal Montage video.
-First party being on topic (Geno is kind of a mix: being the ONLY Third Party coming from a First Party world)
-Costumes, Spirits or Assist don’t deconfirm
-More than 2 decades of fan demand
-Acknowledged by Sakurai himself
-Perfect moveset (timed hits)
-Perfect design to have more cartoonish characters
-“Not just recognizable; Fun to play”
-“We will be keep pleasing fans”
-Inkling, Chrom, KKR & Isabelle were from being costumes in Sm4sh to playables in Ultimate. Only missing Geno
-The “Big” are already here: Ridley, KKR and Banjo. Only missing Geno again. (You can add Isaac if you want).

AND NOW NUMBERS REASONS:
-Character #77 is the next, fits Geno.
-Square would repeat their character slot being the second of each Fighter Pass. Hero was the second and Geno will be the second here.

AND DONT FORGET:
-Geno is the second person to join your party in Mario RPG
-Geno gives you the Second Star
-That Star is green, like a Forest, fits Geno’s background image color.
-He is from MARIO WORLD, just imagine him reunited with his old friends + Mallow in some form (I hope a premium costume or part of his Final Smash), and we are done.
-To crossover it more, you can mix Geno with Kirby or Rosalina elements.

It all strengthens Geno’s chances to be playable in Smash. Just wait and see!

ALSO
ONLY 7 DAYS LEFT FOR GENO’s OFFICIAL 24° BIRTHDAY in USA! Hope to see some official news/tweets, SMRPG to the NSO and most important, Geno joining the SMASH PARTY soon! For me he is happening, I have believe and love in Geno since I had my SuperMarioRPG in 1996 and always root for him! He is happening now.

View attachment 271148(Credits to the photo to Rapwned on YouTube).

Thanks

And also this year is Super Mario 35th anniversary.

 

[Polarthief]

And also this year is Super Mario 35th anniversary.

With a grand total of 0 new/rerelease/remade/remastered Mario games, both announced/released, after 33% of the year has flown by. But at least we got a (really mediocre and overpriced) LEGO set and some (also overpriced and mediocre) clothes I guess?

FTR: I do think June will give us some Mario-related game announcements, but man what an awful first third (probably gonna be half) for Mario's 35th.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Isnt that a good thing?

I personally don't like it being monopolized by a handful of news outlets but that's just me. Obviously I have mixed feelings based on my whole experience and there's plenty of ****ty people on both sides of the fence. I'm a bit of an idealist and, as I've regularly complained about, video game news/rumors are so weirdly serious and it's unfortunate because it honestly would be a better environment if there were efforts to be more cooperative and less Machiavellian.

 

[MattX20]

On one hand, not having everything spoiled keeps things interesting, on the other you kinda want to know who will be after the ARMS rep. A double edged sword

 

[Loliko YnT]

If we didn't had to wait 6 months for a semi-reveal , It would be kind of better , ngl... It would have been better to announce it during byleth , that way we would have gotten a reveal sooner in a way.

I understand that there is a pandemic going on , I just feel like FP2 should have been announced later.
Here's hoping we get someone announced at the end of the Sakurai present live video , even if it doesn't usually happen.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Crazy how we're likely only a month off from the next Smash dump. I do hope that it's like E3 2015 and there's a separate Smash presentation, especially in the light that the E3 Direct is dead in the water and it's corpse will probably be divided over a three month period.

 

[MattX20]

Crazy how we're likely only a month off from the next Smash dump. I do hope that it's like E3 2015 and there's a separate Smash presentation, especially in the light that the E3 Direct is dead in the water and it's corpse will probably be divided over a three month period.

I really hope so. I don't think we can afford to wait too much longer before we end up in a repeat of the speculation cycle up until E3 last year

 

[Firox]

E3 Direct is dead in the water and it's corpse will probably be divided over a three month period.

The imagery here makes me think of Mario and friends standing over a dead body with a pie server and paper plates at the ready.

 

[Powerman293]

>Nintendo starts cracking down on leakers in November.

>Nintendo doubles down even more starting in February.

>Corona makes people paranoid about losing work by March.

>Biggest asset leak in Nintendo history happens April.

Yeah... The environment just keeps getting worse for insider info which is just as well given how increasingly hostile the Nintendo fanbase is to, well, everything. It's very quickly turned into this scenario where Nintendo will likely curb stomp anyone that isn't a platform like IGN or GameXplain if stuff gets out.

Given how much Jon from Gamexplain has been leaking, I wouldn't even be surprised if they went after them.

 

[Enigma735]

The thing I am really happy about regarding Volume 2 speculation is that it seems like so many things are possible, especially with the lack of leaks. Nintendo has been more strict when it comes to leaks recently and I think it will be great to finally not know who they will include. four out of seven DLC characters were leaked or heavily hinted at in some way: Hero has been talked about by every known Smash leaker AND was datamined, Banjo had strange things leading up to the reveal, as well as ResetEra leaking him, and then Terry got leaked by Nintendo themselves, with known leakers backing the incident as truth, and Piranha Plant was only heard about from a select few people, but no one actually took those leaks seriously until the Plant was actually confirmed. The only ones that weren't leaked were Joker and Byleth, but that was mostly because in Joker's case, he probably didn't even start development at the time so it would've been an impossible announcement to leak, and Byleth wasn't even known by people at Nintendo, also making it a difficult character to leak.

For Volume 2, it really seems like Nintendo is cracking down on leaks and is being much more secure and protective of information. I was honestly shocked that we were getting an ARMS rep when it was announced, but not at the same time. It was kinda weird. That means, if this is true, every character in Volume 2 will be surprising and probably unexpected to a lot of people. And if Geno gets announced, their is a damn good chance we will go in to that reveal completely blind without any leaks, and all of us will celebrate the day he gets included. I REALLY hope the characters in Volume 2 don't get leaked because it definitely ruined the surprise, and if Banjo hadn't leaked prior to his reveal, I am pretty sure I would have been way more hype then I was going in to the E3 2019 Direct.

 

[Genokie]

Haven't posted here in a while, not sure if this is allowed, but for all you Animal Crossing players, turnips are selling for 422 on my island this afternoon, you can get the dodo code here: https://turnip.exchange/island/dd7ef0b9

 

[StarLight42]

Given how much Jon from Gamexplain has been leaking, I wouldn't even be surprised if they went after them.

Recently I feel like Jon has been a little more tight lipped. He was not really commenting much on the 26th Direct rumor when people thought it was deconfirmed due to no Twitter announcement the previous day. He probably got a “friendly” email from Nintendo if he’s been a bit too transparent recently. Although I do still hope his hunch about Fighter Pass 2 not caring about spirit deconfirms is still correct.

 

[Megadoomer]

Haven't posted here in a while, not sure if this is allowed, but for all you Animal Crossing players, turnips are selling for 422 on my island this afternoon, you can get the dodo code here: https://turnip.exchange/island/dd7ef0b9

This seems like it would be better suited for the Animal Crossing New Horizons thread or a social thread, for future reference. (I don't have Animal Crossing New Horizons, so I can't comment on whether or not this sort of thing is allowed in general since I'm not sure what it is)

 

[Fatmanonice]

Given how much Jon from Gamexplain has been leaking, I wouldn't even be surprised if they went after them.

Nintendo and GameXplain work fairly close together from what I've been told to the point that it causes problems. Apparently they get treated better than actual Nintendo ambassadors and it's a super sore topic. GameXplain isn't official like what Nintendo Power Magazine was but they're close enough that they might as well be.

 

[Powerman293]

Nintendo and GameXplain work fairly close together from what I've been told to the point that it causes problems. Apparently they get treated better than actual Nintendo ambassadors and it's a super sore topic. GameXplain isn't official like what Nintendo Power Magazine was but they're close enough that they might as well be.

So those people who back during the Grinch Leak that said Gamexplain was not talking about it due to wanting to not draw attention to it or Nintendo would get mad weren't entirely off base. At least about Nintendo and Gamexplain's relationship.

 

[Sigran101]

I'm going to make my full prediction for the fighter pass.

1. Ribbongirl- The more I think about it the more I think she just makes sense if they're not going to upgrade assist trophies. I wish I was more confident in Min Min, but Ribbongirl's cool too.

2. Geno- like I really have to tell you guys why.

3. Rayman- the "western character" if you will. Tons of evidence piling up and it's still weird that we got Ubisoft costumes but no Rayman costume when he's had a presence in the game since smash 4 base game.

4. King Boo- Yes I know you don't agree, but the LM3 dlc came and went and still no spirit event so I'm still predicting him.

5. Lloyd/Heihachi- We are absolutely getting a Bamco character. Heihachi's costume not returning with Terry is just too suspicious. I'm leaning towards Lloyd because he's the longtime fan request, but it could go either way.

6. Rex- Anyone expecting the pass to end with Sora or Master Chief needs a history lesson. Not that they won't get in, but they probably won't be the finale. Rex seems obvious after ARMS, and I honestly believe, regardless of the other choices, that he is absolutely the kind of character they would end on. At least it would be less messy than Byleth!

Overall I think it's a pretty strong pass. No internet breaking reveals, but that doesn't mean it's not solid. It's heavy on 1st parties, but I don't think there's any reason to automatically expect mostly 3rd parties again. It's got two fresh recent Nintendo characters without going into shill territory, two long time request 3rd parties with Lloyd and Rayman, a unique curve ball/legacy Nintendo character with King Boo, and of course, the number one fan favorite Geno to seal the deal.

 

[Fatmanonice]

So those people who back during the Grinch Leak that said Gamexplain was not talking about it due to wanting to not draw attention to it or Nintendo would get mad weren't entirely off base. At least about Nintendo and Gamexplain's relationship.

More or less. It's also why they are often nowadays the ones to break stories and often at the front of the line to get things like review copies. The channel was overwhelmingly about Nintendo stuff to begin with so that's probably what attracted Nintendo to them. For obvious reasons, it's a pretty mutual relationship.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

Someone in discord said that "AJ from Newriver" was in this thread.


If that's true, thanks

 

[Let Geno Smash]

The thing I am really happy about regarding Volume 2 speculation is that it seems like so many things are possible, especially with the lack of leaks. Nintendo has been more strict when it comes to leaks recently and I think it will be great to finally not know who they will include. four out of seven DLC characters were leaked or heavily hinted at in some way: Hero has been talked about by every known Smash leaker AND was datamined, Banjo had strange things leading up to the reveal, as well as ResetEra leaking him, and then Terry got leaked by Nintendo themselves, with known leakers backing the incident as truth, and Piranha Plant was only heard about from a select few people, but no one actually took those leaks seriously until the Plant was actually confirmed. The only ones that weren't leaked were Joker and Byleth, but that was mostly because in Joker's case, he probably didn't even start development at the time so it would've been an impossible announcement to leak, and Byleth wasn't even known by people at Nintendo, also making it a difficult character to leak.

For Volume 2, it really seems like Nintendo is cracking down on leaks and is being much more secure and protective of information. I was honestly shocked that we were getting an ARMS rep when it was announced, but not at the same time. It was kinda weird. That means, if this is true, every character in Volume 2 will be surprising and probably unexpected to a lot of people. And if Geno gets announced, their is a damn good chance we will go in to that reveal completely blind without any leaks, and all of us will celebrate the day he gets included. I REALLY hope the characters in Volume 2 don't get leaked because it definitely ruined the surprise, and if Banjo hadn't leaked prior to his reveal, I am pretty sure I would have been way more hype then I was going in to the E3 2019 Direct.

well, not so much. Zippo had said that his source heard that he was a character that the fifth was not from Nintendo, but very close to them and Sabi said that he (Yes, Sabi is a man) knew that Zippo had his reliable source (I thought of Travis Touchdown upon hearing that) but then asked if Fire Emblem was 100% owned by Nintendo or if it was half Nintendo and half intelligent systems, therefore Zippo knew about Byleth

 

[Genokie]

Someone in discord said that "AJ from Newriver" was in this thread.


If that's true, thanks

Lol that's me. No problem

 

[StarLight42]

well, not so much. Zippo had said that his source heard that he was a character that the fifth was not from Nintendo, but very close to them and Sabi said that he (Yes, Sabi is a man) knew that Zippo had his reliable source (I thought of Travis Touchdown upon hearing that) but then asked if Fire Emblem was 100% owned by Nintendo or if it was half Nintendo and half intelligent systems, therefore Zippo knew about Byleth

actually zippo flat out said in a resetera post that he didn’t know it was byleth after the reveal

not sure if he was just covering up, but yeah

 

[Firox]

1. Ribbongirl- The more I think about it the more I think she just makes sense if they're not going to upgrade assist trophies. I wish I was more confident in Min Min, but Ribbongirl's cool too.

You know, I was talking it over with my brother yesterday, and I'm 99% convinced now that it's going to be Ribbongirl. Why? Some thoughts we had:

1) Ribbongirl is both the co-mascot of the franchise and a mii costume as opposed to an AT like Springman. Mii costumes have had a renaissance of inclusions this time around (winks at Geno) so it seems more probable that she'd get in over Springman.

2) The stage. For any of you that played the game/demo, you'd know that ARMS has a pretty boring/bland ensemble of stages. Most of them are just traditional arenas or lack any of the gimmicky moving parts that Sakurai seems to enjoy. In almost all cases, you'd end up with a simple walk-off stage. I mean, seriously, would Sakurai just give us the stairs of Ninjara's stage? Or the parked cars of Twintelle's? Even Min Min's would just be a bowl-shaped walk-off like Sonic's Green Hill Zone but without the ground falling out, etc. That said, the only three stages that seem Smash-worthy to me are Max Brass's Arena, think the Boxing ring but with cliffs, Springman's stage with the trampolines along the rim, or Ribbongirl's stage where the floor randomly rises and falls and you can punch it to knock it back down. As mentioned above, I'm doubting Springman, so that leaves Max Brass and Ribbongirl. Compare the two characters to their stages and it really doesn't make sense to put Max Brass in before Ribbongirl since his popularity (and frankly aesthetic) is vastly inferior to hers. Granted, they could always pair Ribbongirl with a stage that isn't hers, but I highly doubt it.

3) Girl Powah! I'm not going to champion the cause of "Oh, we HAVE to have more female characters!" but for the sake of avoiding samey-ness across both fighter's passes, I honestly think having Ribbongirl just fits and deviates from what would otherwise be a total sausage fest of male characters, especially when people are expecting the likes of Geno, Crash, Rex, Master Chief, etc. Plus, they could make Min Min and/or Twintelle playable via pallette swaps since they are all female and popular ARMS characters. It would also make it easier to share animations and mannerisms.

 

[Sigran101]

You know, I was talking it over with my brother yesterday, and I'm 99% convinced now that it's going to be Ribbongirl. Why? Some thoughts we had:

1) Ribbongirl is both the co-mascot of the franchise and a mii costume as opposed to an AT like Springman. Mii costumes have had a renaissance of inclusions this time around (winks at Geno) so it seems more probable that she'd get in over Springman.

2) The stage. For any of you that played the game/demo, you'd know that ARMS has a pretty boring/bland ensemble of stages. Most of them are just traditional arenas or lack any of the gimmicky moving parts that Sakurai seems to enjoy. In almost all cases, you'd end up with a simple walk-off stage. I mean, seriously, would Sakurai just give us the stairs of Ninjara's stage? Or the parked cars of Twintelle's? Even Min Min's would just be a bowl-shaped walk-off like Sonic's Green Hill Zone but without the ground falling out, etc. That said, the only three stages that seem Smash-worthy to me are Max Brass's Arena, think the Boxing ring but with cliffs, Springman's stage with the trampolines along the rim, or Ribbongirl's stage where the floor randomly rises and falls and you can punch it to knock it back down. As mentioned above, I'm doubting Springman, so that leaves Max Brass and Ribbongirl. Compare the two characters to their stages and it really doesn't make sense to put Max Brass in before Ribbongirl since his popularity (and frankly aesthetic) is vastly inferior to hers. Granted, they could always pair Ribbongirl with a stage that isn't hers, but I highly doubt it.

3) Girl Powah! I'm not going to champion the cause of "Oh, we HAVE to have more female characters!" but for the sake of avoiding samey-ness across both fighter's passes, I honestly think having Ribbongirl just fits and deviates from what would otherwise be a total sausage fest of male characters, especially when people are expecting the likes of Geno, Crash, Rex, Master Chief, etc. Plus, they could make Min Min and/or Twintelle playable via pallette swaps since they are all female and popular ARMS characters. It would also make it easier to share animations and mannerisms.

I agree with all of this. I think Ribbongirl also makes sense to me from a character design perspective. People dunk on Springman for being boring, but just him with only the basic toaster arms would already have a lot going on mechanically. Sakurai said he wants it to really represent ARMS gameplay or something to that extent, so there's a good chance of a mechanic where you can control your arms separately or something to that extent as well. This character is going to be ****ing nuts. Add to that a giant tazer ball on one hand and a fire breathing dragon on the other and it might honestly just be too much going on. I could definitely see Sakurai intentionally going for something more basic just to keep it from getting too crazy, and Ribbon girl has a pretty tame selection of arms.