Okay... Yes... Yes... Fine... I definitely recognize that the Grinch turned half the Smash fanbase into doomers but somedays it's over the top. "We'll be lucky if we get one popular character out of the 6." I mean, ****, I've worked with homeless people with more hope than people like this. People
missing most of their teeth and had limbs literally rotting underneath bandages and layers of covering who weren't this goddamn dumpy all the time. NintenDOOMED wears thin easily but this whole idea that Ultimate is going to end on totally tepid "wow, who cares" additions is especially grating.
I wasn't talking about the Grinch Leak. Rather, I was referring to the sobering realization that came with that day: that the characters a lot of people wanted simply weren't likely to happen.
You see, when Ultimate was formally revealed back during E3 2018, there was this immense sense of optimism that permeated discussion. After the bombshell of not only every character coming back, but that fan favorite Ridley (and Daisy to a lesser extent) was also joining the fight, it felt like damn near everyone was possible. From first party darlings like Dixie Kong and Bandana Waddle Dee, to third party hopefuls like Heihachi and Shantae, to even former Assist Trophy characters like Ashley and Isaac.
Of course, everyone knew that not every character people wanted would make it in. Sakurai told us not to expect too many new fighters for a reason, and it's wholly unrealistic to expect 20+ new fighters in a game that worked hard to bring back the 60+ characters from the prior games. But for the time being, they were able to convince themselves that
their most wanted character was somehow different from the rest, that somehow
their most wanted character was more likely to get in. "
My character is more popular with the fans!" "Well
my character has a greater legacy!" "But
my character is more relevant to gaming as a whole!" No matter the reasoning, the sentiment is the same: My most wanted character is more likely than your character, and when push comes to shove, they'll be the ones to join the battle.
But when November 1st came and went, and when the final two base game characters were revealed, the sobering reality of the situation finally kicked in for everyone. Their character didn't make it, and while there's still DLC coming down the line, there's only five slots, so the likelihood of one of those characters being the ones they want is pretty damn low. It also didn't help that the last two characters revealed (Incineroar and Piranha Plant) left a very bitter taste in many a fan's mouths for various reasons, leaving many to realize that Sakurai/Nintendo are perfectly willing to include characters that aren't what the fans really want.
At this point, they could no longer delude themselves into believing that their character still had a chance, because to do so would only make things worse for them. So in response, they shut down and slinked away into the safety of indifference. No more hoping, no more wishing, no more arguing for the characters they want. They convinced themselves that, if Nintendo is choosing the DLC, there's
no way they'll choose characters based off of fan demand. So they began to argue for what they saw as "safe picks", characters who fit a lot of the same criteria as the likes of Incineroar:
- They're from a popular/successful franchise.
- They have a new game/port under their belt.
- They are revelant to the current gaming landscape as a whole.
- They're from a franchise that is widely considered over-represented in Smash already.
- They're not as highly requested by core Smash fans.
- Their inclusion would be very disappointing for a large portion of the fanbase.
Such characters include Dante (1, 2, 3, 5), Sora (1, 2, 3), Steve before Banjo was revealed (1, 3, 5), Rex & Pyra/Mythra (1, 2, 3), a Gen VIII Pokemon (1, 2, 4, 5, 6), Phoenix Wright and/or Professor Layton (1, 2, 3), another Fire Emblem Character (1, 2, 4, 5, 6), or any protagonist from a brand new Nintendo franchise (2, 5 if we're being honest.).
Because most characters you see being predicted nowadays tends to fall under at least half of these criteria on average, people believe that they're the most likely newcomers for DLC. Conversely, because characters like Lloyd (1), Waluigi (1, 2?, 4) and Geno (1, 4) don't fit most of this criteria, people will react poorly to their names being brought up, and people who are particularly confident in their chances for whatever reasons will be shouted down as delusional.
It's just miserably ironic to me that /v/ will call Geno unknown and unwanted and then with negative self awareness tout a character that's even more obscure that like 70% of them probably can't correctly pronounce the name of or choose someone that has glaring issues like being a Japanese exclusive, would make the ESRB have a stroke, or has virtually no demand at all. Sure man, y'all dunk on BWD fans but then parade a character that's largely popular because of hentai. Makes sense.
You mean Reimu?
Boy howdy, how many times does this have to be said? It's like when I was in the Newcomer Speculation Thread the other week and someone made the argument that the only reason they were so aggressively critical was because of their autism and I couldn't muster a response.
Hmm, interesting. Can you DM me that comment?
