Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[Rie Sonomura]

Wait how Old is Young Link?

Think he’s like 10 at the oldest

 

[JCKirbs]

Metroid representation used to suck too before Ultimate, so there's some hope for Kirby.

Admittedly, though, not a lot of hope: I personally feel the reason we lack stuff from Kirby might have something to do with Sakurai himself, for whatever reason, not feeling comfortable using Kirby content he himself is not familiar with, but hey, who knows.

I think Ultimate just flipped the usual flow of Smash production on its head, so who knows what would've happened otherwise.
The Smash Ballot finally got characters like Ridley and K. Rool on the map, but now it's up to Nintendo and if they want anything to do with Kirby at the moment.

pic.twitter.com/XRZsc3NGZ9

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 8, 2020

wow, TL is shorter than YL... despite TL technically being older, at age 13 i think

It must be from all of that milk he drank, since Toon Link on the other hand only seems to have water at hand...

 

[TheBeastHimself]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

 

[Guynamednelson]

pic.twitter.com/XRZsc3NGZ9

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 8, 2020

wow, TL is shorter than YL... despite TL technically being older, at age 13 i think

Well yeah, Young Link isn't confined to chibi proportions.

 

[MBRedboy31]

Admittedly, though, not a lot of hope: I personally feel the reason we lack stuff from Kirby might have something to do with Sakurai himself, for whatever reason, not feeling comfortable using Kirby content he himself is not familiar with, but hey, who knows.

If we assume that is the case, the thing about this that gets me is that Kuzumaki is pretty much the opposite of that. It doesn’t matter which of the previous Kirby directors made it: Kuzumaki will throwback to whatever long forgotten character he wants, he’ll make up lore about them in order to make them fit his currently relevant plots, he’ll make up new subvariants if he wants to keep them fresh, ect.

 

[JCKirbs]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

Honestly, I think that it's perfectly fine for EarthBound to get such a treatment.
Since the series isn't getting any more entries, it's nice to see that it's still treated with respect by the Smash Team.

In fact, I think that because Earthbound only has a set amount of entries, it makes it easier for the development team to simply build on its already existent representation in Smash as the years go by.

At this point though, I think people just want to see Porky because they believe that the series needs its core villain playable, which is pretty fair.

 

[SharkLord]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

• Lucas was actually going to replace Ness, but his game got delayed. I suppose Sakurai just wanted to give him another chance.
• It seems to be a case of "Bring back as much as possible!," which is why we got all four EarthBound stages.
• Guess the composers really like EarthBound.
• Jeff was the original Assist Trophy; Starman seems to have been added due to convenience with Smash Run and was ported over to Ultimate
• They probably wanted to give each series as much Spirits as possible
• Plain luck, I suppose. That, and they have some pretty useful properties

EarthBound got pretty lucky.

 

[The Rhythm Theif]

• Lucas was actually going to replace Ness, but his game got delayed. I suppose Sakurai just wanted to give him another chance.
• It seems to be a case of "Bring back as much as possible!," which is why we got all four EarthBound stages.
• Guess the composers really like EarthBound.
• Jeff was the original Assist Trophy; Starman seems to have been added due to convenience with Smash Run and was ported over to Ultimate
• They probably wanted to give each series as much Spirits as possible
• Plain luck, I suppose. That, and they have some pretty useful properties

EarthBound got pretty lucky.

Wait... Lucas was planned to replace Ness?! I didn't know that! You learn something new everyday, I suppose.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

I think there's 2 reason why Earthbound have that much love in Smash:

1. Hal laboratory (Smash 64 and Melee developpers) are the Earthbound developpers
2. While he haven't officially said it (as far as I'm aware) I'm sure Sakurai is a huge fan of the franchise. It's obvious he's a big fan of JRPG in general. He's a huge fan of Fire emblem and Xenoblade and he seems to be a fan of Dragon quest (he treat the franchise with a lot of respect).

And for the second question... Well people either want Ninten for having all 3 games represent or they want Porky because he's just a cool vilain.

Edit: Actually, I just remember that Sakurai did say that he's a Earthbound fan in a recent tweet https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1270679769491705856

 

[Mushroomguy12]

pic.twitter.com/XRZsc3NGZ9

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 8, 2020

wow, TL is shorter than YL... despite TL technically being older, at age 13 i think

It must be from all of that milk he drank, since Toon Link on the other hand only seems to have water at hand...

Nintendo promoting a healthy calcium rich diet, which will tie into the new Zelda character we're getting for FP7.

 

[SneakyLink]

I completely forgot about it, but the Star Fox team was briefly considered for Star Fox's alts in Smash 64. Thanks to MondoMega on ResetEra for reminding me!https://t.co/xQKPh5cT9S

The table and the article were updated to include this information:https://t.co/0XT2m5niIi

— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) August 8, 2020

Assuming this happened back in Smash 64, how would this have affected Star Fox characters in future Smash games?

 

[SharkLord]

I completely forgot about it, but the Star Fox team was briefly considered for Star Fox's alts in Smash 64. Thanks to MondoMega on ResetEra for reminding me!https://t.co/xQKPh5cT9S

The table and the article were updated to include this information:https://t.co/0XT2m5niIi

— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) August 8, 2020

Assuming this happened back in Smash 64, how would this have affected Star Fox characters in future Smash games?

The only requests-And, most likely, other fighters-Would be Krystal and maybe Wolf, assuming nobody spiraled off into their own thing. In addition, this would probably lead to characters from Fire Emblem or EarthBound being merged into a single slot.

 

[skylanders fan]

Wonder if we would have gotten them as separate characters for melee it if they would have kept them to one slot

 

[Wunderwaft]

I completely forgot about it, but the Star Fox team was briefly considered for Star Fox's alts in Smash 64. Thanks to MondoMega on ResetEra for reminding me!https://t.co/xQKPh5cT9S

The table and the article were updated to include this information:https://t.co/0XT2m5niIi

— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) August 8, 2020

Assuming this happened back in Smash 64, how would this have affected Star Fox characters in future Smash games?

Thank god it didn't happen because Falco is one of the sickest characters in the roster with his moveset, he's more fun than Fox and Wolf for me due to his ridiculously good combo game. Now all what they need to do is give him back his Brawl lasers and he's perfect.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

(unless you count Meta Knight's Final Smash as being from Kirby Star Allies rather than being based on nothing, but I think that's a stretch).

EDIT: Also, since I have brought up Meta Knight's Final Smash, I am contractually obligated to point out how lame it is in comparison to Galaxia Darkness. Why on Earth did they change it?

I think it's based on the same move as Shuttle Loop, only taken to an extreme with a typical Raganrok style super move. The fact Meta Knight suddenly gets an extra pair of wings tells me Sakurai wanted something more flashy, which is good, Galaxia Darkness has fantastic buildup but not being able to see Meta Knight actually deal the final blow kinda sucks.

 

[SuperSceptile15]

He's a huge fan of Xenoblade

And yet it got barely anything new in Ultimate. No new characters, no new stages, no new remixes, just some spirits and a couple of Mii costumes.

 

[JCKirbs]

And yet it got barely anything new in Ultimate. No new characters, no new stages, no new remixes, just some spirits and a couple of Mii costumes.

Then we should hope that Nintendo falls back on Xenoblade 2 the same way they fell back on ARMS.
Personally, I think it would be quite the disservice to leave Xenoblade wallowing in the dirt after everything it has been through.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

And yet it got barely anything new in Ultimate. No new characters, no new stages, no new remixes, just some spirits and a couple of Mii costumes.

I think people often exaggerate Sakurai's fondness of specific games. The man ****ing adores gaming as a medium and plays countless titles every year, he's bound to have something he highly enjoys. It's really telling to me that despite he and the Smash team blatantly being huge fans of SNK, we never got SNK until Nintendo was in charge of the DLC with the 50 music tracks being an unexpected bonus due to SNK handling that differently than most companies. Same goes for CastleVania, he's said he loves it in a Famitsu column which people assumed was why we got CastleVania, he's even been on record on not including more Kirby characters out of fear of being biased until people were vocal on wanting Dedede and Meta Knight.


TLDR Sakurai loves all sorts of video games and bias rarely ever gets to be a factor

 

[Thewafflemaker2000]

The announcement of Pikmin 3 makes me doubt nintendo making a direct within the next 3 months

 

[Perkilator]

I feel like now’s as good a time as ever to bring back this old quote:

Sakurai clearly hates every single character who doesn't make it into Smash Bros., and he clearly doesn't care about what the real fans want.

Until they make it into Smash in a later game - then he changed his mind and doesn't hate them any more, because he clearly cares about what the fans want.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

Part of it is just that Earthbound is one of the first franchises to join Smash so it gets special treatment alongside the other original franchises.

...Though that doesn't Explain why F Zero has only 1 character. (Falcons clone should be a proper alt skin woth a name and everything like Alph, this always bugs me.)

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

Part of it is just that Earthbound is one of the first franchises to join Smash so it gets special treatment alongside the other original franchises.

...Though that doesn't Explain why F Zero has only 1 character. (Falcons clone should be a proper alt skin woth a name and everything like Alph, this always bugs me.)

Honestly not sure if they would add an F-Zero character at this point since a lot of the clone/echo newcomer trailers used only in-game footage or were packaged with unique newcomers, but it'd be neat to see Samurai Goroh as an amalgamation of Ultimate Ganondorf and Brawl/4 Ganondorf.
I know people keep saying Black Shadow is more deserving, but my OCD-riddled mind would rather see all the major characters in the Melee intro be playable.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Assuming this happened back in Smash 64, how would this have affected Star Fox characters in future Smash games?

It'd be very weird:

• Slippy and Peppy are a became a bit heftier than Fox and Falco, so the characters would be stuck using their old designs.
• Wolf would very likely not be added as a separate character, or if he was, he would come with the other members of Star Wolf.
  • You are now cursed with the idea of Pigma and Wolf having the same proportions.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3Ds/Wii U, the jump to 8 costumes per character would likely have added more characters to the slot.
  • Said characters would likely include Crystal and Wolf. Whether the other two would come from Star Wolf, or the new members of Star Fox in Star Fox Assault is anyone's guess.

Honestly, I'm glad this never happened. What we have is much better.

I think it's based on the same move as Shuttle Loop, only taken to an extreme with a typical Raganrok style super move. The fact Meta Knight suddenly gets an extra pair of wings tells me Sakurai wanted something more flashy, which is good, Galaxia Darkness has fantastic buildup but not being able to see Meta Knight actually deal the final blow kinda sucks.

How on Earth do you go from a loop-de-loop to diet Ragnarok? I'd argue it isn't even flashier than Galaxia Darkness since nothing interesting happens and the final hit doesn't even have much impact. If you had a problem with not being able to see Meta Knight preform the end slash of Galaxia Darkness then having each slash illuminate him so you could see him preforming them (kind of like how the Raging Demon is typically animated) would have been infinitely better than giving him the same Final Smash as 5 other characters (and the least interesting version of it to boot imo).

...but it'd be neat to see Samurai Goroh as an amalgamation of Ultimate Ganondorf and Brawl/4 Ganondorf.

That...would be odd. Samurai Goroh doesn't exactly exude power, and his sword is a butter knife compared to Ganondorf's. Also, I'm sure many people would take issue with a character with the title of samurai not using their sword for most of their attacks.

Personally, I don't think Samurai Goroh would fit with anyone's moveset. It'd have to be original, which would be quite interesting to see since there isn't even any source material to work with.

 

[N3ON]

Part of it is just that Earthbound is one of the first franchises to join Smash so it gets special treatment alongside the other original franchises.

...Though that doesn't Explain why F Zero has only 1 character. (Falcons clone should be a proper alt skin woth a name and everything like Alph, this always bugs me.)

F-Zero died before it got the chance for more. In Melee and Brawl there were bigger fish to fry. Had it kept getting games, we'd probably have another character by now.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Regarding Bandanna Waddle Dee, I feel like a lot of the hesitance around him is really due to the fact that he's not a "cool" character. He's cutesy and kind of a dork. He's got a different appeal going on and I feel that a lot of Smash speculation centers around what's "cool." Just look at who Smash communities usually support. It's rarely the cute or silly kinds of characters and the ones that are massively supported usually have memes or other aspects that attract them. Heck, look at Isabelle, indisputably one of the most popular characters Nintendo has made in the recent decade. While non Smash communities reacted to her reveal with excitement, the smash communities just kinda sighed and quietly accepted her. Lots of accusations of "expected but not wanted," and "nobody wanted this" were common, but if you just looked around, there was a lot of hype surrounding her in different spheres.. I kind of remember similar hesitance around Dedede in Brawl. Lot's of "he'd be boring, I'm so glad they went for Meta Knight instead, he's so much cooler" in the communities I was in. Twas funny when we got both.

While I'm not sure Bandana Waddle Dee will get in this DLC cycle, I feel the hesitance is purely because of personal taste as opposed to his resume. Like Isabelle, he's very much an "eventually" character.

 

[Diddy Kong]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

First question; APE was also involved heavily in the first Smash, I believe. And Mother as a whole has been a franchise in Smash in the first game. Can't think of anything else.

Second question; not sure. But I imagine because it's the only way the franchise is ever gonna get.. anything?

Also Lucas got in Smash before it was decided that MOTHER 3 was gonna be region locked, I believe. Kind of ironic how in Brawl, we have Lucas speaking English, but Marth speaks Japanese despite Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon launching world wide (shamefully the superior FE12 never got released outside Japan </3).

 

[Curious Villager]

Wait how Old is Young Link?

I believe it was stated at an Iwata's ask's that Young Link was 9.
Toon Link, at least according to Brawl and a couple other places, was stated to be 12.
BotW Link is 16 (or 116...) if I recall, I think one of the conversations with the Gerudo's hinted at that...

 

[ZelDan]

Regarding Bandanna Waddle Dee, I feel like a lot of the hesitance around him is really due to the fact that he's not a "cool" character. He's cutesy and kind of a dork. He's got a different appeal going on and I feel that a lot of Smash speculation centers around what's "cool." Just look at who Smash communities usually support. It's rarely the cute or silly kinds of characters and the ones that are massively supported usually have memes or other aspects that attract them. Heck, look at Isabelle, indisputably one of the most popular characters Nintendo has made in the recent decade. While non Smash communities reacted to her reveal with excitement, the smash communities just kinda sighed and quietly accepted her. Lots of accusations of "expected but not wanted," and "nobody wanted this" were common, but if you just looked around, there was a lot of hype surrounding her in different spheres.. I kind of remember similar hesitance around Dedede in Brawl. Lot's of "he'd be boring, I'm so glad they went for Meta Knight instead, he's so much cooler" in the communities I was in. Twas funny when we got both.

While I'm not sure Bandana Waddle Dee will get in this DLC cycle, I feel the hesitance is purely because of personal taste as opposed to his resume. Like Isabelle, he's very much an "eventually" character.

Yup. I for one only support cool characters. Throw a pair of shades on Bandana Waddle Dee and he'll become one of my most wanteds.

In all seriousness though I'm neutral on the guy. Not a character I would feel excitement for but am not opposed to at all. Honestly, if BWD made it into Smash I'd probably be more excited at more modern Kirby content getting into Smash than with BWD himself.

Especially if we got music like this:

Plus more

 

[Cutie Gwen]

How on Earth do you go from a loop-de-loop to diet Ragnarok? I'd argue it isn't even flashier than Galaxia Darkness since nothing interesting happens and the final hit doesn't even have much impact. If you had a problem with not being able to see Meta Knight preform the end slash of Galaxia Darkness then having each slash illuminate him so you could see him preforming them (kind of like how the Raging Demon is typically animated) would have been infinitely better than giving him the same Final Smash as 5 other characters (and the least interesting version of it to boot imo)

Shuttle Loop's likely based on the move where Meta Knight dashes from one side of the screen to the other, which his new final smash keeps repeating for the Ragnarok stuff.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Shuttle Loop's likely based on the move where Meta Knight dashes from one side of the screen to the other, which his new final smash keeps repeating for the Ragnarok stuff.

Isn't Shuttle Loop based on the move from Wing Ability?

I mean, it's also called Shuttle Loop and does pretty much the same thing.

 

[Sabrewulf238]

• It seems to be a case of "Bring back as much as possible!," which is why we got all four EarthBound stages.

Yeah, I think in terms of stages. Onett and Magicant were already in the previous game, so it was just a case of porting it over and I think we got New Pork City because it was one of the few massive stages in the series. (also because it's the only stage that represents Mother 3)

and I think we likely got Fourside because they wanted to bring back more melee stages (and older stages in general) + I think Fourside was a popular/fondly remembered melee stage.

So I think there are other explanations for the series having four stages other than it just being because it's Earthbound and it's a cult darling.

 

[ROBnWatch]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

Just a few corrections, EarthBound has 26 Spirits in Smash (28 counting Ness’ and Lucas’ Fighter Spirits) and 3 items; Franklin Badge, Mr. Saturn, and Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom.

As for the questions, they’ve pretty much already been answered but here’s my guess.

1. I think it’s a special case with Ultimate in that the game’s entire schtik is “as much as possible” from all previous Smash games. Had this not been the case, I could easily see us only ending up with 1 character (Ness, though maybe Lucas would stay too) and 2 stages at most (Onett + whichever one you want, though if Lucas stayed it would probably be New Pork City). Spirits might be around the same though, most of the ones that are there are kinda important to the series/Smash (the only reason the Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom has a Spirit is probably because of its status as an item in Smash).

2. Fans probably want more because outside of Smash, the series really only has rereleases and/or remakes to look forward to. And since nobody really knows if either of those are ever gonna happen (officially that is, there are fan remakes in the works which may get taken down), Smash is the only way the series can get a spotlight in the current day and age. Also, probably the current 2 most suggested characters for the franchise are Ninten, to round out the trilogy’s main heroes, and Porky, to give the series a playable villain (because Giygas probably wouldn’t work, Giegue might. And though Masked Man could be fun, Porky is a more prominent villain).

And a bit of a personal reason, the fact that the only new music tracks the series got in this game (while good) were 2 remixes of songs that were already in the game. There are some dang good iconic music pieces from the series that still aren’t in Smash, and a new character would obviously bring some more music to Smash.

Disclaimer: I’m still very happy/content with what the series does already have in Smash.

 

[PSIGuy]

I'm a pretty big Mother fan (hence the username which I've used for over a decade) and I'm perfectly content with EB never getting another game or piece of Smash content. It's not a dead franchise - it's a retired franchise. That's a luxury few franchises ever get. And even then it's still getting new official merchandise as of this year. EB fans have had it good for a while now. I'd much rather see resources put towards giving some love to underappreciated or underrepresented or actively-ongoing franchises.

 

[Iko MattOrr]

Adelaide (and I know I'm gonna step on some toes here) was never important at all. She was a supporting character for one game. A relatively popular supporting character, but her role never extended beyond that.

(I know that I probably fell in the trap, but still...)

Offcourse, you stepped on a few Kirby developers' toes.

Adeleine & Ribbon to join free update wave 2, coming July 27th!

Hello and bonjam!

This is Yuki Endo from HAL Laboratory, the level design director for the Kirby™ Star Allies game.

In addition to Daroach and Dark Meta Knight making their entrance with the second free update, there is, in fact, another Dream Friend duo ready to enter the spotlight: a pair whose presence has long been missed. It's Adeleine & Ribbon from the Kirby 64™: The Crystal Shards game!

Adeleine has the ability to bring anything that she paints to life, and Ribbon the fairy possesses a mysterious power that allows her to fly. These two have a really dedicated, long-time fanbase. Back in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, they played an important role in the story, but you weren't able to control them yourself. Now that they've become Dream Friends, they can finally be player-controlled!

Adeleine and Ribbon fight using their unique powers, occasionally joining forces. Adeleine relies on the power of her paintings to attack. It's far more potent than Kirby's Artist Copy Ability, so expect to see some moves that will really color you impressed. More details on that later!

Then there's Ribbon. She shares her power with Adeleine so they can glide through the air together. Sometimes they even team up to unleash a combined attack!

Just like in the original game, they don't have much in the way of stamina, which can make their adventure particularly tough. Still, they're an interesting duo - all it takes is a few brush strokes to turn the battle around! With the power to create all sorts of paintings and a unique ability that stands apart from the rest, they really are a true "dream" friend.

What's more, if you play with Adeleine & Ribbon as Guest Stars after completing the main story, you'll get to take on brand-new maps! Have fun painting your way through classic Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards stages specially arranged for the Kirby Star Allies game. There's a very memorable map at the end which fans may remember, so look forward to that!

New Dream Friends Daroach, Dark Meta Knight and Adeleine & Ribbon aside, the second free update also introduces plenty of new game elements. The update will be available for download on July 27th - not long at all!

Jambuhbye for now!

Back in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, they played an important role in the story

You can read this post here, or directly on your own Switch on the Kirby Star Allies channel.

Regardless, she also had a role in Kirby's Dream Land 3, and that role was comparable to Metaknight's one in Kirby's Adventure (she was one of the bosses, but the one who got the most focus through the game and also got some cutscenes dedicated to her; you fight her "minions" a couple of times even outside of her boss battle, and the art style of the whole game seems to be based around her).

And it's not even completely correct to say that she was not playable in Kirby 64, she was one of the 4 playable characters in the minigames (she was planned to be playable in the main mode too but the playable characters were scrapped all together in the final game for some reason, those small Dedede sections being the only thing remaining of the whole concept). She also had merchandise in the 64 era (plushies and keychains, probably more), so saying that she was never important is objectively wrong. Remember that she went through a selection process when she was added to Star Allies, and if she really was unimportant they would have put Ribbon alone to represent Kirby 64; you know, the final character is Adeleine & Ribbon, with Adeleine as the main one of the two. She's not Captain Vul, I mean, they went with Marx for representing Superstar because Vul was not important enough, and Kawasaki was already a miniboss/helper in the game.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

I think the most ironic thing is that EarthBound gets way more love than some of Nintendo's well-known flagship series in Smash. EarthBound, despite it's status as a cult classic franchise, is still very niche. It only has three games to its name; nobody cares about the first game, the second game is the most popular, and the third game is infamous for being region locked.

Despite all this, there are:

• 2 Character Reps (with even more character representation on alt skins/final smashes)
• 4 Stages (filled to the brim with details and easter eggs)
• 14 Music Tracks (all being Smash original compositions)
• 2 ATs
• 7 Spirits
• 2 Items (Peach even has a chance of pulling out a Mr. Saturn instead of a turnip)

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

About your second point, I don't think there are a lot of fans that are outright demanding more content, I know there are a handful of people who do, but they're the kind of outliers that fans of every series have. Personally I'm definitely not going to be mad or disappointed if Mother doesn't get any more content in Smash, because as you said it's already been treated extremely well, but as a fan of the series I'd naturally be happy to see it get as much content as possible, and I think discussing or daydreaming about things you'd like to see is pretty harmless by itself.

Isn't Shuttle Loop based on the move from Wing Ability?

I mean, it's also called Shuttle Loop and does pretty much the same thing.

You're right, Sakurai outright said so on the Brawl Dojo:

"This is a move you use to glide. It’s kind of like Kirby’s wing ability."

 

[CapitaineCrash]

Regarding Bandanna Waddle Dee, I feel like a lot of the hesitance around him is really due to the fact that he's not a "cool" character. He's cutesy and kind of a dork. He's got a different appeal going on and I feel that a lot of Smash speculation centers around what's "cool." Just look at who Smash communities usually support. It's rarely the cute or silly kinds of characters and the ones that are massively supported usually have memes or other aspects that attract them. Heck, look at Isabelle, indisputably one of the most popular characters Nintendo has made in the recent decade. While non Smash communities reacted to her reveal with excitement, the smash communities just kinda sighed and quietly accepted her. Lots of accusations of "expected but not wanted," and "nobody wanted this" were common, but if you just looked around, there was a lot of hype surrounding her in different spheres.. I kind of remember similar hesitance around Dedede in Brawl. Lot's of "he'd be boring, I'm so glad they went for Meta Knight instead, he's so much cooler" in the communities I was in. Twas funny when we got both.

While I'm not sure Bandana Waddle Dee will get in this DLC cycle, I feel the hesitance is purely because of personal taste as opposed to his resume. Like Isabelle, he's very much an "eventually" character.

I get your point, but part of the reason Isabelle got more mixed reception was the fact that she was a semi clone and we knew that we weren't getting a lot of newcomer. Also Isabelle didn't have the support that Bandana Waddle Dee have (while she's a popular character on her own, I never saw her being on the top 10 of Smash poll). Also despite being cute, the Dee still have a weapon and can fight in his games, which Isabelle don't.

I'm a pretty big Mother fan (hence the username which I've used for over a decade) and I'm perfectly content with EB never getting another game or piece of Smash content. It's not a dead franchise - it's a retired franchise. That's a luxury few franchises ever get. And even then it's still getting new official merchandise as of this year. EB fans have had it good for a while now. I'd much rather see resources put towards giving some love to underappreciated or underrepresented or actively-ongoing franchises.

I agree with you, but the only thing I want with Earthbound is having the 2 first games on Switch. I'm not even asking for remake or remaster, I just want them on the nes and snes app.

 

[PSIGuy]

I agree with you, but the only thing I want with Earthbound is having the 2 first games on Switch. I'm not even asking for remake or remaster, I just want them on the nes and snes app.

OOF, yeah, those are definitely no brainers. It was amazing that they even put Mother 1 on the Wii U VC but then it was baffling it didn't go on the 3DS as well, and now neither are on Switch.

 

[ROBnWatch]

About your second point, I don't think there are a lot of fans that are outright demanding more content, I know there are a handful of people who do, but they're the kind of outliers that fans of every series have. Personally I'm definitely not going to be mad or disappointed if Mother doesn't get any more content in Smash, because as you said it's already been treated extremely well, but as a fan of the series I'd naturally be happy to see it get as much content as possible, and I think discussing or daydreaming about things you'd like to see is pretty harmless by itself.

Pretty much this. Like any series in Smash, people are going to want/will enjoy more content from series they like/are familiar with. I don’t see people outright saying “EarthBound DESERVES more content in Smash and I will hate the game and Sakurai if it doesn’t get more.” (though I’m sure there are people like that for every franchise in Smash). It’s more of a “Hey, I like this series, wouldn’t it be cool if it got more content by way of XXX in Smash? Ya, I like that idea, I’ll see if there’s any support for it, despite how likely/unlikely it is to happen.”

 

[Megadoomer]

I feel like now’s as good a time as ever to bring back this old quote:

If there's one thing that I regret about that quote, it's that I used the word "clearly" too much. I should have tried to use a wider variety of words in that post.

 

[Pinguino21v]

This makes me wonder two things:

1. Why does EarthBound, of all things, get this kind of treatment?
2. Why do EarthBound fans still demand content?

At this point though, I think people just want to see Porky because they believe that the series needs its core villain playable, which is pretty fair.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the main character of the other not more niche RPG that is Golden Sun.