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

[Klimax]

Also, while the idea of a double reveal for Isaac and Skull Kid seems cool because of the Sun & Moon theme, I think that this is a bad move at the end of the day. The two deserve the full spotlight, Skull Kid because he's iconic and because Zelda's fans are waiting since Melee to have something else that the triforce trio. And Isaac needs to shine a bit because he's becoming more and more obscure and his fanbase is waiting since 10+ years.

EDIT: I'm posting way too much here so, feel free to add me to the supporters' list.

 

[AnOkayDM]

They can do two reveal trailers without overshadowing either character, like they did in the August Direct. It's just if they have to share a trailer that it gets unfair, I feel. If they start with a character and end with a character, that'll be okay.

 

[Klimax]

They can do two reveal trailers without overshadowing either character, like they did in the August Direct. It's just if they have to share a trailer that it gets unfair, I feel. If they start with a character and end with a character, that'll be okay.

Yeah that's what I wanted to say, sorry i wasn't clear enough.

 

[Nazyrus]

I mean a trailer of both together CAN work as long as none of them are seeming to lose and it ends on a cliffhanger clash or whatever. But yeah i prefer two separate reveals, so they can have even cooler stuff on their own going on. (also more deaths… jk jk lol)

 

[AnOkayDM]

We just got a music update, which is strange because usually they're on Wednesdays.

I wonder what number it was.

 

[AugustusB]

EDIT: I'm posting way too much here so, feel free to add me to the supporters' list.

Yeah Klimax! Supporting both myself :D

Also, I haven't been on a long while. Anything exciting as of late? Hype starting to build back up?

 

[AnOkayDM]

Speaking of deaths, any theories on who will perish in Skull Kid's trailer?

 

[Majora's Visage]

Speaking of deaths, any theories on who will perish in Skull Kid's trailer?

Young Link, Took Link, Ness, Lucas, or Villager

 

[AugustusB]

Speaking of deaths, any theories on who will perish in Skull Kid's trailer?

Its hard to say? I think there should be an attempt, but Young Link could appear to show his Final Smash and save the day.

 

[AnOkayDM]

Young Link, Took Link, Ness, Lucas, or Villager

Heh, because they're children? That could be! I don't think it'll be Young Link, because up until now it's been characters unrelated to the newcomer. Mario and Mega Man for Ridley, Luigi for Simon, King Dedede for King K. Rool. I was thinking Bayonetta might feature, because of the moon connection, but I dunno if they'll kill her off.

EDIT: Seriously, why does the color on any post I quote disappear? Do I need to do something different?

 

[Majora's Visage]

Heh, because they're children? That could be! I don't think it'll be Young Link, because up until now it's been characters unrelated to the newcomer. Mario and Mega Man for Ridley, Luigi for Simon, King Dedede for King K. Rool. I was thinking Bayonetta might feature, because of the moon connection, but I dunno if they'll kill her off.

True. I think Ness, Lucas or Villager then. I can imagine them being lost children in the woods and get killed by Skull Kid, or maybe turned Into Deku Scrubs

 

[NintenRob]

I predict everyone will die in Skull Kids trailer


That moons coming down

 

[UserKev]

True. I think Ness, Lucas or Villager then. I can imagine them being lost children in the woods and get killed by Skull Kid, or maybe turned Into Deku Scrubs

You can't get more accurate than this. With them I'd also add Wii Fit Trainer because she'd be like their sitter, already similar to town folk. It can't just be the dudes that die in the trailers. Haha

 

[CaptainAmerica]

True. I think Ness, Lucas or Villager then. I can imagine them being lost children in the woods and get killed by Skull Kid, or maybe turned Into Deku Scrubs

My trailer idea turned all of the princesses into deku scrubs. I did manage not to kill anyone though - that was for my other trailers

 

[Majora's Visage]

My trailer idea turned all of the princesses into deku scrubs. I did manage not to kill anyone though - that was for my other trailers

Your write-up was fantastic and I honestly see something similar happening

 

[Kensho]

I honestly don't see Skull Kid straight up going after people like a horror movie monster. He is a trickster, he enjoys mocking his victims. I vote for the children theory, but not being all predator and hidden like in captainamerica example, but just making fun of them and avoiding all of their attacks with weird tricks while laughing and turning them one by one into scrubs or whatever, having Young Link in the end appear with his final smash as people already said. I need that skull kid patting his butt taunt... Hahaha

 

[Nazyrus]

Good video by our boi papagenos

 

[papagenos]

Good video by our boi papagenos

Thanks! Hope you like it!

 

[Blade of Evil's Bane]

Keen-eyed fans have noticed that each blog update is numbered within the code. Thursday's update — Pokémon: Alolan Exeggutor — is blog update number 133. Meanwhile, Bowser is apparently labeled as the 142nd update. Finally, Toon Link's update is blog update 138 (while his memory in the Japanese version of the site is 139).

This means that updates 134, 135, 136, 137, 140, and 141 were outright skipped. Outside of this, blog updates 120 and 121 are the only other numbered entries that were skipped previously.

https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2018...ct-based-skipped-numbered-updates-smash-blog/

Some speculation about the mysterious 6 missing entries in the smash blog:

If we take the 8.8 Direct as a reference, there were 7 blog entries on August 8th + 5 more (direcltly related to the direct) during the following week or so: Richter, a song (Gang-plank Galleon for K. Rool) and a stage (Dracula's Castle). Chrom and Dark Samus were added respectively on the 15th and 16th so about a week later. If the pattern is the same for the delayed Direct (posting entries late about new echo fighters) this would mean we can exclude echoes from specualtion about the 6 missing blog entries (check out the blog entries from the last Direct for reference: https://www.smashbros.com/en_US/blog/index.html?pageCount=3)

Yeah I thought I heard that a character takes up 3 entries so that would be 2 characters

Please don't hype yourself up for 3 or even 2 newcomers. Blog posts also include music, trailers, and memories, and notices for updates. It's likely going to be one newcomer and one echo at the most.

I think you guys pointed out the 2 most likely outcomes (btw, still speculating here):
- 1 newcomer (1. Reveal trailer, 2. Character video 3. the Direct itself, 4. and 5. stage/song 6. 'website has been updated' entry)
- 2 newcomers (1-2. Reveal trailers, 2-3. Char. videos 4. the Direct itself 5. one stage or song 6. 'website has been updated' entry)

''Optimistic'' speculation:
There is still other, less likely (imo) possibilities i can think of: an update that would include 1 reveal trailer for 2 unique characters, no blogpost for the direct itself (considering it's a general direct not a smash direct), no new song(s) or no new stage(s). That would leave room for a third unique newcomer...

''Pessimistic'' speculation:
Other less likely but still possible outcome: the new solo mode is introduced and takes all the missing blog posts or takes about 3 blog posts and the rest is new stages and songs...

Personally i think the 1 unique newcomer (+1 or 2 echoes) theory is the most plausible. We know of 6 blogposts probably related to the delayed direct and it's been about 5 days since the original date sooooo proportionally speaking it's fair to assume we'll get way less content than in the last Direct (6 known posts vs 12 total posts for 8.8). Keep in mind this is only speculation... i could be wrong about anything and everything just wanted to point out some possibilities

To make amends for my seriousness, here's some silliness :

Spoiler: Silliness

 

[PhantomShab]

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/234547-super-smash-bros-ultimate/76989690

Holy **** some of the people in this topic lmao.

 

[Dr Bones]

Im still only holding out for one character, anything additional is just a nice suprise

 

[NintenRob]

Some speculation about the mysterious 6 missing entries in the smash blog:

If we take the 8.8 Direct as a reference, there were 7 blog entries on August 8th + 5 more (direcltly related to the direct) during the following week or so: Richter, a song (Gang-plank Galleon for K. Rool) and a stage (Dracula's Castle). Chrom and Dark Samus were added respectively on the 15th and 16th so about a week later. If the pattern is the same for the delayed Direct (posting entries late about new echo fighters) this would mean we can exclude echoes from specualtion about the 6 missing blog entries (check out the blog entries from the last Direct for reference: https://www.smashbros.com/en_US/blog/index.html?pageCount=3)




I think you guys pointed out the 2 most likely outcomes (btw, still speculating here):
- 1 newcomer (1. Reveal trailer, 2. Character video 3. the Direct itself, 4. and 5. stage/song 6. 'website has been updated' entry)
- 2 newcomers (1-2. Reveal trailers, 2-3. Char. videos 4. the Direct itself 5. one stage or song 6. 'website has been updated' entry)

''Optimistic'' speculation:
There is still other, less likely (imo) possibilities i can think of: an update that would include 1 reveal trailer for 2 unique characters, no blogpost for the direct itself (considering it's a general direct not a smash direct), no new song(s) or no new stage(s). That would leave room for a third unique newcomer...

''Pessimistic'' speculation:
Other less likely but still possible outcome: the new solo mode is introduced and takes all the missing blog posts or takes about 3 blog posts and the rest is new stages and songs...

Personally i think the 1 unique newcomer (+1 or 2 echoes) theory is the most plausible. We know of 6 blogposts probably related to the delayed direct and it's been about 5 days since the original date sooooo proportionally speaking it's fair to assume we'll get way less content than in the last Direct (6 known posts vs 12 total posts for 8.8). Keep in mind this is only speculation... i could be wrong about anything and everything just wanted to point out some possibilities

To make amends for my seriousness, here's some silliness :

Spoiler: Silliness

Thank you for those beautiful comics. I especially like that last one.

 

[SkulltulaKid]

Good video by our boi papagenos

This video rocks! Subscribed!

 

[AnOkayDM]

Okay, so, today's Pikmin music was number 146. That means we're actually missing nine updates, not six. Alolan Exeggutor was 133, then we're missing 134, 135, 136, and 137. Then Toon Link takes up 138 and 139. Then it skips 140 and 141, then we have Bowser at 142. Then 143, 144, and 145 have been skipped, landing us at 146.

 

[0007]

Okay, so, today's Pikmin music was number 146. That means we're actually missing nine updates, not six. Alolan Exeggutor was 133, then we're missing 134, 135, 136, and 137. Then Toon Link takes up 138 and 139. Then it skips 140 and 141, then we have Bowser at 142. Then 143, 144, and 145 have been skipped, landing us at 146.

I think that's because they had to pull the Pikmin song from "later on" and posted it earlier to serve as the music track for this week, which was almost certainly going to be a newcomer's music track. One thing to note, though, is that Zelda already has a music track on the site and every franchise has only gotten one song each on the site, so... hope that Skull Kid doesn't get new music or that Sakurai breaks a trend.

Also, I'd rather have 1 newcomer and a new stage to go with it than 1 newcomer and 1 echo because that will confirm that 103 stages won't be the final count.

 

[NintenRob]

I don't think one per franchise song thing will stick. It's not like every franchise will get new remixes, Final Fantasy and Bayonetta both have the same number of songs as last time, and of course of the retros, only Duck Hunt seems to have anything new.


And Zelda being among the first to have music on the site, and just being very well known for music, I could see it having two songs on the site

 

[0007]

I don't think one per franchise song thing will stick. It's not like every franchise will get new remixes, Final Fantasy and Bayonetta both have the same number of songs as last time, and of course of the retros, only Duck Hunt seems to have anything new.


And Zelda being among the first to have music on the site, and just being very well known for music, I could see it having two songs on the site

That's possible, but we do know that there's a new Termina Field remix from Young Link's video clip, they could use that for Skull Kid's trailer... however, I doubt that they'll use it for Skull Kid's video clip, so they may end up having to make new music. (Do 2 clips share the same song?) Whether THAT new song gets posted to the website is debatable.

 

[NintenRob]

That's possible, but we do know that there's a new Termina Field remix from Young Link's video clip, they could use that for Skull Kid's trailer... however, I doubt that they'll use it for Skull Kid's video clip, so they may end up having to make new music. (Do 2 clips share the same song?) Whether THAT new song gets posted to the website is debatable.

The closest we have to two characters sharing the same song is Robin and Chrom, both use ID Purpose, but one uses a remix and the other doesn't.


I'm not sure Skull Kid would get a remix, they could just use an original version, or past remix (unlikely though since there were no MM remixes in the past, but they could surprise us with an Oot song that was in MM, see Song of Storms)

 

[AnOkayDM]

Thanks! Hope you like it!

It was a very good video! I think you're right in that he's always been popular, and would've had a far more vocal fanbase had he been given the opportunity. One other thing you didn't mention was that VG Tribune poll from 2012, which Skull Kid won, beating out characters like Mega Man. It certainly lends credence to the idea that he's always been a popular choice. It might even be part of why he was disconfirmed so early in Smash 4's reveal cycle.

I definitely think Sakurai knows he's a popular, important, and iconic piece of Zelda history; certainly it seems that Nintendo has finally realized that Majora's Mask is extremely popular. Hopefully that leads to something good.

Regarding music, I think Majora's Mask is gonna (finally) get some new music in this game, so they'll probably use that for Skull Kid's video. I can see it not getting posted to the site though, at least not immediately. If we do get two reveals, and the other one is Isaac as I suspect, it'll be more important to post one of his songs.

0007 I agree, I'd like to see a newcomer from a new franchise so we know for sure if 103 is the final stage count. I was pretty confident it was, but I'm not thoroughly convinced now that I'm considering Isaac and Banjo-Kazooie more likely; I can't imagine at least B-K wouldn't get a new stage. I did see the idea that Isaac's home stage would be Midgar just so they can add some other good JRPG music to the stage, but I don't really think that's likely.

 

[0007]

I just came up with a depressing realization: If Skull Kid is not revealed on Thursday, his chances will be severely hurt. I don't think he's big enough to be the final reveal (it will be a crazy 3rd party or Geno, or less likely, Isaac) and if the chair theory is true that means Skull Kid has to be the next fighter revealed after K. Rool.

Additionally, I completely rescind my wish for there to be a new stage revealed on Thursday, because I really doubt Skull Kid will get his own stage when Great Bay already exists.

Again, I'm feeling like the worst case scenario is eerily becoming the most likely--he may become a boss. I'm really frustrated because Sakurai would think he's pleasing fans (he thinks Skull Kid is semi popular) when in reality boss Skull Kid will piss a lot of people off. Skull Kid has had a very strong, if not vocal or organized, fanbase since Brawl as a Zelda newcomer, but the Assist Trophy and the assumption that the Ballot was for Smash 4 only really cut into his ballot results. Being a boss would doom his chances for DLC for this game, and honestly I don't know how far Smash 6 will be from now. It almost certainly won't have every character in it, and Skull Kid might end up fighting in a lonelier game, if at all. (Who even knows if Skull Kid will be relevant 7-8 years from now?)

Feeling sort of doubtful right now...

 

[chronomantic]

I just came up with a depressing realization: If Skull Kid is not revealed on Thursday, his chances will be severely hurt. I don't think he's big enough to be the final reveal (it will be a crazy 3rd party or Geno, or less likely, Isaac) and if the chair theory is true that means Skull Kid has to be the next fighter revealed after K. Rool.

Additionally, I completely rescind my wish for there to be a new stage revealed on Thursday, because I really doubt Skull Kid will get his own stage when Great Bay already exists.

Again, I'm feeling like the worst case scenario is eerily becoming the most likely--he may become a boss. I'm really frustrated because Sakurai would think he's pleasing fans (he thinks Skull Kid is semi popular) when in reality boss Skull Kid will piss a lot of people off. Skull Kid has had a very strong, if not vocal or organized, fanbase since Brawl as a Zelda newcomer, but the Assist Trophy and the assumption that the Ballot was for Smash 4 only really cut into his ballot results. Being a boss would doom his chances for DLC for this game, and honestly I don't know how far Smash 6 will be from now. It almost certainly won't have every character in it, and Skull Kid might end up fighting in a lonelier game, if at all. (Who even knows if Skull Kid will be relevant 7-8 years from now?)

Feeling sort of doubtful right now...

I don't think it'll hurt his chances if he's not revealed by thursday but let's be real he's bigger than Geno and Isaac, by far.

 

[NintenRob]

I don't think not getting revealed next has any impact. The last characters revealed for Smash Wii U was Shulk in a Japanese only direct with Bowser Jr and Duck Hunt being kept hidden.

Also past stages get spots on the blog too. Kongo Falls got a spot on the blog


Furniture was also always a bull**** theory.



And being a boss would still be dumb. It doesn't make sense and I'm confident he won't be a boss regardless of if he's playable or not

 

[0007]

I don't think it'll hurt his chances if he's not revealed by thursday but let's be real he's bigger than Geno

Let's be actually real. You're delusional if you think Skull Kid is bigger than Geno in the Smash community.

I don't think not getting revealed next has any impact. The last characters revealed for Smash Wii U was Shulk in a Japanese only direct with Bowser Jr and Duck Hunt being kept hidden.

It wouldn't deconfirm him, but do you really think it will have no impact? Smash 4 is a different beast, since it had hidden unlocks. Ultimate is going to have every character revealed before launch. The last reveal is likely going to be big.

And being a boss would still be dumb. It doesn't make sense

This is Masahiro Sakurai we're talking about. Never underestimate the weird things this man can and will do. Wii Fit Trainer just proves you can never predict what he'll put in Smash. Skull Kid's size means that he won't make for a good traditional Smash boss, that doesn't mean he won't be a boss. He might not be traditional, or he might not be good.

 

[Fane]

I don't think it'll hurt his chances if he's not revealed by thursday but let's be real he's bigger than Geno and Isaac, by far.

I agree.

In terms of general popularity, yes, Skull Kid is far more recognizable and iconic than Isaac or Geno.

In terms of Smash fighter popularity, Geno and Isaac are more popular.

However, that definitely doesn't make Skull Kid any less likely, I believe if we don't get him in Ultimate, we'll eventually see him crawl his way into a roster in the future. He's too iconic and popular to leave out.

 

[Blade of Evil's Bane]

Okay, so, today's Pikmin music was number 146. That means we're actually missing nine updates, not six. Alolan Exeggutor was 133, then we're missing 134, 135, 136, and 137. Then Toon Link takes up 138 and 139. Then it skips 140 and 141, then we have Bowser at 142. Then 143, 144, and 145 have been skipped, landing us at 146.

You are absolutely right. Someone posted a compilation of all the blogposts on the Discussion thread, here: https://pastebin.com/G5fg5dRs

As we can see in this compil. there were some skipped update numbers in the past too, for unknown reasons, food for thought.

Edit: We may have more content than i thought! Maybe

 

[0007]

The Smash Blog just updated again, this time it's talking about the Summit stage. One of those skipped numbers is probably used up by it, but I don't know how to check...

Edit: Source Gaming's twitter confirmed it was #141, so scratch that one off. We have 134-136, 140 (which is probably nothing major), and 143-145.

 

[Dr Bones]

I'm not sure Skull Kid would get a remix, they could just use an original version, or past remix (unlikely though since there were no MM remixes in the past, but they could surprise us with an Oot song that was in MM, see Song of Storms)

I was thinking Sarias song.

Let's be actually real. You're delusional if you think Skull Kid is bigger than Geno in the Smash community.

Geno has way more of a following in the smash community but Skull Kid is more popular in the general public.

 

[Majora's Visage]

Thanks papagenos for the Skull Kid video!! It was fantastic and really went over every point nicely.

Has this video been shared/uploaded to other areas of gaming? Reddit, Gamefaqs, etc? We should probably not all try to share it so people don't get annoyed at us Skull Kid fans, but I think it was very well made and defends a lot of the points we've been trying to defend.

NintenRob would you like to do the honors if it hasn't been done already?

Thanks again PapaGenos for making this video!!

 

[papagenos]

Thanks papagenos for the Skull Kid video!! It was fantastic and really went over every point nicely.

Has this video been shared/uploaded to other areas of gaming? Reddit, Gamefaqs, etc? We should probably not all try to share it so people don't get annoyed at us Skull Kid fans, but I think it was very well made and defends a lot of the points we've been trying to defend.

NintenRob would you like to do the honors if it hasn't been done already?

Thanks again PapaGenos for making this video!!

thank you for enjoying it!

I have not shared it anywhere beyond my own twitter, so feel free!

 

[NintenRob]

Thanks papagenos for the Skull Kid video!! It was fantastic and really went over every point nicely.

Has this video been shared/uploaded to other areas of gaming? Reddit, Gamefaqs, etc? We should probably not all try to share it so people don't get annoyed at us Skull Kid fans, but I think it was very well made and defends a lot of the points we've been trying to defend.

NintenRob would you like to do the honors if it hasn't been done already?

Thanks again PapaGenos for making this video!!

What is it you want me to do? I'm assuming just put it in the first post which I can and will do.


It's nice to have something clarify the difference between ballot and popularity.



Even among Smash fans specifically, there's a LOT of demand for new Zelda characters. Especially after Smash Wii U reused the same designs. People are so sick of just the Triforce Trio and Skull Kid will is perfect for breaking it!