Masked Marauders - Skull Kid For Smash! Night of the Last Day.

[JoyStar]

7AM PT.

Thanks! Now I'll know what time to post that Dawn of the Final Day pic regardless if Skull Kid gets in the next day or not.

View attachment 173664

I find that funny because I was just watching Titanic the other day.

 

[BluePikmin11]

If Skull Kid is not in the base game, I will be shocked.

I kinda expect him to be in this direct.

 

[Mysteltainn]

40 freakin' minutes of Direct from Sakurai!? This is it guys and gals; the loadout we've all been so hungry for! The end to the pain and suffering!

I honestly can't wait for this round of speculation to be over... Things have been so tense around here lately that it hasn't even been fun anymore, lol.

 

[Kensho]

If Skull Kid is not in the base game, I will be shocked.

I kinda expect him to be in this direct.

It's the last chance for base game after all... I'm a bit scared that it's all back to Incineroar Ken and Geno, since only one direct won't be enough to confirm the banner I don't think...

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I wish Skull Kid a good fate on Thursday.

 

[loz18]

Which way are you leaning: ya or nah?

 

[PhantomShab]

Now or never I guess. Fingers crossed.

 

[AnOkayDM]

Which way are you leaning: ya or nah?

Really? You again?

 

[loz18]

Really? You again?

What?

 

[AnOkayDM]

What?

Just surprised to see you back, that's all. Whatcha thinking about the leak? And Skull Kid's chances?

 

[loz18]

Just surprised to see you back, that's all. Whatcha thinking about the leak? And Skull Kid's chances?

I really don’t know. I just logged in because I just saw the announcement for the Direct. I haven’t had a chance to be up to date on the leaks. I did see some Snapchat stuff but haven’t dug into it.

 

[AnOkayDM]

I really don’t know. I just logged in because I just saw the announcement for the Direct. I haven’t had a chance to be up to date on the leaks. I did see some Snapchat stuff but haven’t dug into it.

That's fair! Well, personally I'm still hopeful he'll be in, but not really expecting it. We'll know in a couple days though!

 

[Fatmanonice]

Good luck on Thursday. You all deserve credit as the only Zelda character fanbase to not totally jump ship and you all have been at it to some degree since Brawl. Also, don't worry about the Grinch. The August Direct had 5 characters in 25 minutes, this one is 60% longer so they could hypothetically comfortably fit all seven plus more if it comes to that. Still, best of luck.

 

[Kensho]

Good luck on Thursday. You all deserve credit as the only Zelda character fanbase to not totally jump ship and you all have been at it to some degree since Brawl. Also, don't worry about the Grinch. The August Direct had 5 characters in 25 minutes, this one is 60% longer so they could hypothetically comfortably fit all seven plus more if it comes to that. Still, best of luck.

While I wish you were right, in this one they also have to talk Online, Story, Unlocking characters, amiibo, collectibles... 7 still seems a bit too good to be true.

 

[icoNick]

Sakurai's "this is the end" tweet MIGHT be a hint towards Skull Kid and the end of the world theme in Majora's Mask. Probably too much of a stretch, but his "red eye" tweet did seem to correlate with K Rool and the Belmonts.

 

[AnOkayDM]

Sakurai's "this is the end" tweet MIGHT be a hint towards Skull Kid and the end of the world theme in Majora's Mask. Probably too much of a stretch, but his "red eye" tweet did seem to correlate with K Rool and the Belmonts.

I think he would've said something like "less than three days!" if he was hinting at Skull Kid, but it's a possibility.

 

[Dr Bones]

really temper your expectations guys. If he's in great, if not the most important thing is to not give up and fight for DLC. do not go quietly into that final night.

 

[Nintendo64isking]

Im just gonna enjoy myself :D have fun guys!

 

[JoyStar]

Hey guys, got a question! Remember how a while back I was talking about how I could see Majora as being like a dark space goddess given the Marajoara culture in real life (which was very much like the Mayans) saw the moon as associated with the female gender (and the Mayans have a Moon goddess as well, come to think of it). Well because I'm in a Majora-hype mood and I fell in love with Chrono Trigger the Musical's cover of Primitive Mountain, I started making my own Majora's Mask-based lyrics to that tune, as if the Marajoara culture had a Termina equivalent that was like a mix of the real one and the Mayan culture (I adore the Mayan culture), as if they were a tribe that worshipped Majora as a space/moon goddess (after all Hyrule has the benevolent goddess of time so it would be interesting for Termina to have a malevolent goddess of space) and the Feirce Deity was a contrasting sun god or something.

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone would like to hear/see it because I'm in Majora hype mode no matter if Skull Kid gets in or not, lol.

 

[cybersai]

I just hope he isn't a boss. If he is he won't be DLC either.

 

[Cap’nKazam]

I just hope he isn't a boss. If he is he won't be DLC either.

We shouldn’t assume this until Sakurai says so. Apparently Waluigi fans are still trying to get him in for DLC, and Sakurai hasn’t said no, so why should we give up so easy?

 

[JoyStar]

We shouldn’t assume this until Sakurai says so. Apparently Waluigi fans are still trying to get him in for DLC, and Sakurai hasn’t said no, so why should we give up so easy?

Well, Waluigi is an Assist and not a Boss, so I assume that he could be changed from an Assist to playable. Not so sure about bosses to DLC though, but I doubt Skull Kid is a boss. If he was they would have shown his Assist Trophy.

 

[WorDtheOnE]

Well, Waluigi is an Assist and not a Boss, so I assume that he could be changed from an Assist to playable. Not so sure about bosses to DLC though, but I doubt Skull Kid is a boss. If he was they would have shown his Assist Trophy.

Well, Rathalos is an Boss and an AT. If it's possible for an AT to become playable so probably it's possible for an Boss to become playable too.

 

[Cap’nKazam]

Well, Waluigi is an Assist and not a Boss, so I assume that he could be changed from an Assist to playable. Not so sure about bosses to DLC though, but I doubt Skull Kid is a boss. If he was they would have shown his Assist Trophy.

People keep saying this, but I’m not completely convinced we haven’t seen a Skull Kid assist trophy yet. I originally held back from talking about this because I wanted to keep Skull Kid hype at its absolute strongest, but I’m genuinely worried now an SK boss reveal might seriously demoralise this incredible coalition we’ve got going. So in the interest of tempering expectations, I posted this on the Tetra board a little while ago.

Should this leak prove true, it definitely changes things. For one, for a variety of reasons, I'm pretty sure Skull Kid will end up being a boss. I doubt Sakurai would leave him out of the game entirely after all the acclaim he's had, and if Sakurai knew Breath of the Wild was on the horizon, he may have just decided to deal with potential Zelda representation for whenever that game had come out, and go with whatever fresh new character had the most support at the time. Also, if you'll notice in the Youtube video where the moon assist trophy is first revealed, the clip opens with a glimmer of sparks on the left side of the screen that fizzle out just as the moon is summoned, which look to be about the size of Skull Kid. While the sparks didn't appear close enough to be ascribed as an attack by one of the players judging by their positions, it could easily have been an assist disappearing from view. If Skull Kid is a boss, my guess is that Skull Kid's small stature would play to his advantage in a fight, with your character attempting to inflict enough damage on his elusive self before a moon (approaching the screen at a slower pace) destroys you. Pure speculation here, but it would also align with LeakyPandy's tips, and seems like something Sakurai would do. Sakurai's most creative efforts have not been directed at Zelda very often, with half of its entire cast borrowing movesets from other characters, suggesting it is not one of his favored franchises. Skull Kid is a character that would take some work to bring to life, and it looks to me like most of Sakurai's creative energy went in other directions, like Mach Rider or Ridley, especially given the tight schedule his crew was working within. While its clear Sakurai had Skull Kid on his radar, his poor performance in polls likely influenced his promotion to boss assist trophy rather than full-fledged fighter.

Then again, Sakurai may have also left the character out entirely in anticipation that fans may want to give him a second chance for playable status when he'd have more time to work on him. He would certainly bring in the moneybags as DLC! I want to clarify that SK is my most wanted character for Smash right now (I mean, check out my avatar!), and I plan to participate in any campaign to make him playable (maybe even if he gets boss status).

I don’t think it is a smart thing to abandon this cause even if Skull Kid is announced as a boss on Thursday. Let’s fight to the end and beyond people! No imagined Sakurai rule should be the end of more than a decade of hard work and excitement. As far as I’m concerned, I’m fighting for Skull Kid until Sakurai outright says he won’t make him. And I think his silence towards Waluigi fans’ DLC campaign, and perhaps a new approach to bosses (if he makes a smaller class of them, like for Marx or Black Knight) should be more than enough of a reason to keep hope, and give this our all. This is the time to be loud.

 

[OptimisticStrifer]

We should be just as stubborn as Ashley fans, even if he IS just a boss. We can break "rules" if we show enough support.

 

[JoyStar]

Plus if he's a boss this game (though again, I feel like we would have seen his trophy if that's the case), we can rally for him to playable next game.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Plus if he's a boss this game (though again, I feel like we would have seen his trophy if that's the case), we can rally for him to playable next game.

Why not try to for DLC if he isn't shown at all? Start rallying the Masked Marauders to start supporting Skull Kid DLC before Sakurai officially announces it? It will give you guys the jump on the competition.

 

[JoyStar]

Why not try to for DLC if he isn't shown at all? Start rallying the Masked Marauders to start supporting Skull Kid DLC before Sakurai officially announces it? It will give you guys the jump on the competition.

If that happens, that's my plan.

 

[cybersai]

He's either playable or he wasn't planned to be, There's no real inbetween. His Assist is gone and would not be "hidden" all this time if it was still there, and besides that he could have been part of the moon assist.

He's either playable or some kind of background boss where he attacks with puppets, who knows. We'll see in 2 days.

The fact that so many insiders claim the mural is now fake at least puts to rest all the speculation of Skull Kid being in it...because it doesn't matter now.

 

[Nazyrus]

Just surprised to see you back, that's all. Whatcha thinking about the leak? And Skull Kid's chances?

I personally wouldn't ask him about that lol we know how that turned out last time…

 

[Cap’nKazam]

He's either playable or he wasn't planned to be, There's no real inbetween. His Assist is gone and would not be "hidden" all this time if it was still there, and besides that he could have been part of the moon assist.

How do we know this?

Honestly, I think this entire situation boils down to Sakurai not having as much personal investment in the Zelda games, changing Ultimate's reps to reflect their looks from the particular Zelda games he liked best, bringing back Young Link, and using Zelda fans' lack of unity in polls - and thus the poor performance of any Zelda candidate - as reason to be able to divert his energies elsewhere where he'd have more fun. If Sakurai knew how invested his fanbase was with Zelda (and especially considering its popularity bump recently in Japan), he may be open to reevaluating a character like Skull Kid, especially considering he hasn't devoted much creative work to a new Zelda character in over 17 years. We lose nothing keeping this campaign going strong. I think - if indeed there are no new Zelda newcomers - Sakurai made one of his very few mistakes - as such, it's our job to remind him of how much more potential Zelda has to offer Smash. Instead of arguing Skull Kid's probability of making Smash's roster, I think it would be wise if we started instead to shift our focus back to WHY we want Skull Kid in the first place, and join as many voices together as possible. Not just because he's a new Zelda rep - but because our lovable little imp really IS worthy of Smash - not a bandwagon. He is one of the most complex, iconic, recognizable, artistically inspired, and resonating characters Nintendo has ever made. The fact that he's been a fan favorite for every game since at least Brawl - long after his introduction in Majora's Mask - is proof of how much momentum we really have.

DLC happens expressly for the purpose of letting fans be heard. If the mural leak does end up being real - and thus a lot of fan favorite characters out of the running against Skull Kid - we're going to have a host of new people who'll have Skull Kid freshly bumped up to be their No.1 most wanted. We are the last of the SmashBoards' favorite trio: the sun, moon and stars. Let's finally bring down the moon!

Side note, can't get this music out of my head. It's amazing!

 

[Kensho]

Got my bingo card ready for the Direct

 

[cybersai]

I think he just has a very strong chance if he's not a boss. He wouldn't be removed from the game entirely.

 

[AnOkayDM]

People keep saying this, but I’m not completely convinced we haven’t seen a Skull Kid assist trophy yet. I originally held back from talking about this because I wanted to keep Skull Kid hype at its absolute strongest, but I’m genuinely worried now an SK boss reveal might seriously demoralise this incredible coalition we’ve got going. So in the interest of tempering expectations, I posted this on the Tetra board a little while ago.



I don’t think it is a smart thing to abandon this cause even if Skull Kid is announced as a boss on Thursday. Let’s fight to the end and beyond people! No imagined Sakurai rule should be the end of more than a decade of hard work and excitement. As far as I’m concerned, I’m fighting for Skull Kid until Sakurai outright says he won’t make him. And I think his silence towards Waluigi fans’ DLC campaign, and perhaps a new approach to bosses (if he makes a smaller class of them, like for Marx or Black Knight) should be more than enough of a reason to keep hope, and give this our all. This is the time to be loud.

Are we sure those sparkles aren't just the Assist Trophy item itself disappearing? Is that a thing?

I do find it really weird they would call it "Moon" and go out of their way to hide Skull Kid if he was involved with the AT. Sakurai isn't really disingenuous like that; he likes to be explicit about what roles characters have in these games.

Not saying it couldn't be the case, but it feels weird!

 

[Cap’nKazam]

Are we sure those sparkles aren't just the Assist Trophy item itself disappearing? Is that a thing?

I do find it really weird they would call it "Moon" and go out of their way to hide Skull Kid if he was involved with the AT. Sakurai isn't really disingenuous like that; he likes to be explicit about what roles characters have in these games.

Not saying it couldn't be the case, but it feels weird!

That...is a really, really good point. I'm going to have to look up video footage from assist summons now... Best I can answer is that he wanted to save Skull Kid for a boss reveal, recognizing how important he was to fans (and let's be honest, if it was between Skull Kid being a boss or him just being an assist trophy - or not in the game at all - a Skull Kid boss would be something to be really happy about). That the assist trophy is called the moon though...that doesn't seem to suggest at all that Skull Kid is involved. Or else it is simply referring to the character who does the actual attacking, and is simply weirdly attributed. Hmm. On to youtube detective work then...

 

[AnOkayDM]

That...is a really, really good point. I'm going to have to look up video footage from assist summons now... Best I can answer is that he wanted to save Skull Kid for a boss reveal, recognizing how important he was to fans (and let's be honest, if it was between Skull Kid being a boss or him just being an assist trophy - or not in the game at all - a Skull Kid boss would be something to be really happy about). That the assist trophy is called the moon though...that doesn't seem to suggest at all that Skull Kid is involved. Hmm. On to youtube detective work then...

And the blog post about the Moon AT doesn't mention him either, obviously. You're right though, if he's saving his reveal, he's either playable or a boss. It's been fairly obvious that he has some role in this game besides AT, or the very slim chance of no role at all, and I think we'll find out on Thursday.

For now though, I await your findings! o7

 

[OptimisticStrifer]

This Grinch Leak is so much more than a win for the fans of the characters. It massively opens up the DLC potential to be crazy as hell; which is why I'm really hoping that #TeamReal is actually... real. Skull Kid would basically be a lock for, if not the TOP of the new Holy Trinity.

 

[cybersai]

If all the hints hold true, he's in. With many insiders claiming the leak is fake (even though some of the characters are still going to make it), it gives Skull Kid even more of a chance.

 

[JoyStar]

I'm honestly just like this:

 

[cybersai]

Funny how people used to say Skull Kid would be the perfect Halloween reveal? Well the direct is Nov. 1st, the day right after Halloween. Kind of ironic.