At this point it should be clear where Dixie stands. If she was going to be added into Smash, she would have been already. If she truly is "next in line" and "the most likely", then we shouldn't be expecting any DK character after K. Rool PERIOD.
It's painfully obvious that she isn't seen as anything special to Sakurai as she was only ever seriously considered for Smash a grand total of ONCE.....as a partner to
. And when that concept wasn't feasible, did Sakurai just prioritize the two monkeys separately and give Dixie her own moveset like Diddy? Nope. Dixie instead was condemned to the low priority "we'll add her if we got extra time" corner among the likes of
,
, and Toon Zelda/Sheik. Which heavily implies she would have been a derivative of Diddy. And even then....even THEN....despite having been initially planned as a priority when partnered to Diddy, she was outpriortized by Toon Link and Wolf. By goddamn WOLF....who just barely squeaked by.
And then did she get in Smash For? Nope. And not even any inclination she would have been.
But this one I'll give her some leniency since Tropical Freeze wasn't any factor when the roster was picked, so the most recent game to go by was DKC Returns, which only had DK, Diddy, Cranky (who didn't have his Tropical Freeze gameplay either and was just a shopkeeper), and Rambi come back out of the recurring cast. But by DLC, Tropical Freeze was out and put Dixie back in the spotlight....along with the Ballot showing she'd be a wanted fighter even if overshadowed by K. Rool. And yet....in spite of having the popularity, the spotlight, having been in consideration before, AND being an easier addition because she can reuse Diddy's assets, neither Sakurai nor Nintendo seemed to think to include her.
And then we get Ultimate, which is the most egregious showing.
By this point, the Ballot was in full force and Tropical Freeze was still the most recent DKC game (and would still be with the Switch release even if it would not play a factor for the roster since it came later), which the former worked wonders for
in spite of him not having a game outside Smash cameos since Mario Super Sluggers. Dixie had less of the sheer demand, but it was far from non-existent and unlike K. Rool, had a more modern presence. Surely we could get both just like we got both
and
for similar reasons to the croc and chimp duo? And again, having had the Brawl consideration? Nope.
Only K. Rool got in. And you can't try to use the excuse that they just couldn't make someone like Dixie in time since there is absolutely nothing holding Dixie back from being a Diddy Echo here or an
type derivative. She isn't that "unique".
Though with how DLC favored Nintendo characters from releases after Ultimate's design document, I at least can't fault Dixie for not being DLC since Tropical Freeze at the end of the day was a port and brought nothing new that she didn't already have.
And yet....people think that it's only a matter of "time" until she gets in? When she's had silver platters handed to her many times and received nothing?
She couldn't get in on her own standing alongside Diddy.
She couldn't get in as a clone of Diddy.
She couldn't get in as an ECHO of Diddy when popularity and relevancy were at an all time high for her.
How many games are we going to have to go without her being added until people finally wake up and see that she ISN'T such a likely character after all?
It's exactly like Toad if I'm being frank
He's been "next in line" for Mario for how long now? And no matter how much spotlight he and his species gets, he seems to always fall short? Being outpriortized by
, a newer addition to the cast? Outpriortized by
and the Koopalings (which is completely fair at least, but people DID always treat Jr. as second in line to Toad)? Outpriortized by a goddamn
?! And always being seen as nothing more than a shield for Peach (and now Daisy) since Melee?
No, it's clear that for what have you, the likes of Toad and Dixie are just not seen as any sort of priority to Sakurai. He doesn't seem to see anything out of them to be worth including on their own.
So what's really stopping someone like Cranky or Funky, who haven't had any real opportunities to be considered until recent? We know at least one character can bypass her, and he hadn't even been part of the franchise for over a decade nor had been considered in the past unlike her.
And since I know some of you are just itching to pull the "lol and if Dixie can't get in, you think Funky can?" card....yes, I do.
Because unlike Dixie, who has had several opportunities to get in and was merely an afterthought at
best, Funky....has not had such opportunity yet. While popular within the DK fandom and the Mario Kart fandom, his newly found stardom didn't happen until after Ultimate's roster was picked. The next Smash would be his FIRST opportunity to get in and he already has means to stand out with the surfboard and its versatility, something that very well is easy enough for Sakurai to envision something fresh and unique regardless of how some of you personally feel about it.
And if not Funky, then yeah, Cranky has a decent shot too given he never had a shot with Ultimate since he wouldn't come close to Dixie let alone K. Rool on the Ballot, and unlike Dixie, wouldn't be at all feasible as an Echo or Isabelle-tier derivative of either Kong. So the next Smash would be his first real shot AND he has clear means for a unique fighting style for Sakurai to look at.
And being a star in a feature Mario film recently compared to any Kong other than DK himself as well as being around in the modern era since Returns helps a bit.
But no, if they absolutely can't be added before Dixie because....reasons, then DK is simply stuck with no one new after K. Rool since Sakurai doesn't seem to agree about Dixie being any kind of priority.
I will concede however if neither get in next Smash, they're joining Dixie in the "shouldn't bother expecting" box.