I HAVE A STAFF. IM UNIQUE.
Chance: 1%
Krystal has lost almost all of her benefits. While heavily popular in Brawl's days and early Smash 4 days, she was always at Wolf's shadow, and this was more apparent as soon as Wolf was cut.
Gonna quote
Chronobound on this:
Krystal had actually held on to much more of her support than Geno, Midna, and Lyn did after Brawl's release (Geno did not start to rebound as a character request until his Mii costume was unveiled). Even up until the end of the ballot, I would say she was still within the Top 15 most wanted characters within the Western side to the Smash fanbase.
Krystal's depreciation of requests was due to three factors primarily:
1. Krystal's last appearance in her own series being in 2006. This limits new exposure of the character, and also gives a perception that the character is "irrelevant". It is usually an uphill battle to argue for character inclusion when a character has been gone from their own series for a very long time (simply one of the things that made Dark Samus's inclusion so miraculous, especially considering she was never a mega star in terms of requests at any point).
2. Star Fox basically falling in prominence after the mid-2000's. The only three major things done with Star Fox during the 2010's was the release of Star Fox 64 3D, the release of Star Fox Zero (a game with a mixed reception that was released on the failing Wii U), and the official release of Star Fox 2. All three of these notable developments for the series lacked an appearance for Krystal as well.
3. The "we need more females" bandwagon finding other female characters to gravitate towards. During pre-Brawl, she might have been the most prominent female Nintendo character (outside of Dixie Kong and Daisy) that was not a one-shot, not yet part of the roster. As more female characters were added to the roster during Smash 4, and the roster gradually opened up to more and more third-parties, the unique attribute that Krystal had (being a non-one shot female Nintendo character) started to look less special, especially on the back of the Star Fox series losing prominence.
I actually consider the inclusion of her as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate an impressive victory for the character. Ultimate in general had very few non-echo newcomers for its base roster in general, and among those few they did choose, they were the best of the best (Inkling and Isabelle being perhaps the two biggest Nintendo characters created during the 2010's, Ridley and K. Rool both being among the most highly requested characters in general for over a decade, and Castlevania being a legendary franchise in general with deep roots with Nintendo consoles, and Incineroar was included as part of a placeholder Sakurai is mandated to do in regards to Pokemon for every Smash title since at least Brawl).
She likely did quite well on the ballot to be able to even get that consolation prize. A lot of this is credit to Shorts who did an admirable job of holding the Krystal fanbase together after Brawl's release. Going into the ballot, she was in the best position she could hope for given her circumstances (Wolf being cut siphoned demand for her among Star Fox fan ballot voters that could have gone to her, and missing out on Star Fox Zero). The only higher consolation prize there is for Smash is the Mii costume, and for that there was no fighter type that Krystal could easily be made into a Mii costume for. As it stands, she is among the most dynamic Assist Trophies presently in Ultimate.
Going further on the tangent relating to Shorts, I do think it is possible that without the work of Shorts, Krystal might never have even been an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. A lot of character support in general is driven by organization (just look at BKupa's work in regards to the K. Rool and the Kremling Kutthroats), and I think he did well in that regard. His polling work also provided an interesting snap shot into the past in regards to character requests during the pre-Smash 4 period. I might someday write something on the last poll he put out back in October 2014 (he passed away in November 2014), since I think it in particular offers a very stark contrast to the dominant character requests in the present and would offer a fascinating history lesson to those who have an interest in character speculation backstory.
However, for requests, Krystal held on as best as she could given her circumstances. I think, should the character ever have a major role in a Star Fox title ever again, she will have a resurgence in support and will at least be within the Top 20 most wanted characters overall.
TL;DR Krystal's appeal (a unique newcomer, female, beign relevant) slowly dissapeared with time. We got more females and so the idea of adding a girl just because it's a girl became less of an excuse. And Wolf stomped her in every way, he appears in more games (both old and new) had seniority in his side, was far more popular in japanese circles (he was actually among the top 5 most wanted characters for Smash 4 DLC) and so on. Her AT was the best she got. Of she ever came back to Star Fox i do think she would stand a chance. I mean if she got in as an Despite beign basically forgotten, then i think appearing in a new SF might just be enough to give her a boost.
Want: 30%
Im happy that i got Wolf back in Smash, he was the only Star Fox character i wanted. But i would be okay with Krystal now if im honest. Im not into the Staff Moveset as much as everybody else and didn't found it as SUPER MEGA UNIQUE's as Wolf detractors always said ( i don't think they ever touched the A button)
It's a cool Nintendo character from an important series that could have nice playstyle, based on that alone i think im okay with her inclusi-ASLKDN
AKLDNSALKDSANZXCCñ
I'VE COME TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS.........
the biggest wasted opportunity in Smash Ultimate.
Chance: 1%
If i did this in the base game, i would have given Shadow THE highest chance i could have ever given a character. Shadow goes way back to Brawl. He was one of the first Third Party Assist Trophies in the game (alonsgide Grey Fox) Despite Tails beign seen as Sonic's second banana and Eggman as Sonic's nemesis, it was the edgy black Hedgehog that got what was agruably the best treatment outside of Sonic himself when it came to characters. This was because in the 2000's, Shadow was still heavily featured in Sonic games as much as the blue blur himself. Shadow was a very popular Sonic character, and to this day he still is (agruably only next to Sonic and Eggman themselves) he's just polarizing because they decided to revive him and while that gave him a cahnce to get new fans, he was flanderized beyond belief. Come Smash 4, and some support for Shadow started to pop up. If the "ONE CHARACTER PER COMPANY" fanrule didn't existed back then, i can guarantee he would be in a similar place to Waluigi, a very popular AND polarizing choice as a character choice for Smash. He came back as an Assist Trophy again, so it's clear the developers still cared about him.
Come Smash Ultimate, and after Daisy and the Echo Fighter idea was confirmed, Shadow was one of the earliest ideas that people had. Shadow's entire character is supposed to be a parallel of Sonic, hell his original names was TERIOS (which means reflection) and his gameplay style was pretty much the same as Sonic, same goes for most platformers where Sonic and Shadow are playable. Both are fast, both can spin, yet both have very disninct color schemes and personalities that differ them. His Assist Trophy, at the time, was missing which only fueled speculation.
In the August Direct of Smash, Shadow's chances SKYROCKETED among the eyes of the community because:
1-Richter Belmont: He disproved the idea that clones had to be first party, beign the very first third party clone (and by extention, making Castlevania the very first franchise with multiple reps, a first for the Smash series) this only meant Shadow was now fully plausible.
2-Chrom: He showed that Echoes COULD have different moves and attributes (he lacks Roy's tipper and Flame effects, and his Up Special is like Ike's) so Shadow could mostly copy's Sonic's moves AND have 1 or 2 unique attacks like Teleporting as an Up Special.
3-Dark Samus: Dark Samus was completely absent until her reveal inthe August Direct, which means yes, ATs missing could actually mean something bigger was in the works. She also had her own unique animations despite having the same practical moveset, which means NO, Shadow doesn't need to be a full-on copy and paste of Sonic's expressions.
By this time, Shadow was seen as damn likely choice and for good reason. The only thing he really lacked was fan demand from the old days. I mean yes, Shadow was popular in the Sonic frachise and will likely always be, but his demand in Smash circles was lacking until Smash Ult's reveal when Echoes became a thing. In this scenario, what was seen as Shadow's biggest weakness ("he would only be a clone of Sonic") became his biggest ticket to fame. It's hard to think so, but you couldn't have a base roster talk WITHOUT someone mentioning Shadow as an Echo idea. Hell he was probably the most popular echo choice out of all if im honest. Even Ken wasn't as mentioned, mostly because the Sonic's fabase interest in Smash is far larger than SF's. I remember in the early Twenty-Tens whenever Shadow was mentioned, he was always automatically vetoed because "NOOOOOOO HE SUCKS HE WOULD BE A CLONE OF SONIC" and now people were like "NOOOOO SHADOW IS TOO UNIQUE HE CAN'T BE AN ECHO". Look, just because Shadow sometimes uses chaos powers in 1 or 2 games doesn't change the fact that he still parallels Sonic's moveset in many other regards.
Then, during the Hype of the Grinch Hoax, Shadow was featured among the rumored roster alongside Ken. It's funny to think people think Shadow can't be an echo and yet Ken is, despite the fact that Ken is so different from Ryu in Ultimate that he is basically a Semi-Clone while Dr. Mario, a "non-echo", is still a clone of Mario. If you were to play SFV or 4 and think that Ken is the same as Ryu you would be laughed out of the tournament.
So comes Nov 1st, Ken is confirmed, and he was basically barely even an echo. He had similar moves to its parent fighter, yet had its own spin on it. You would think with all of these echoes that showcase he was fully capable of beign one, he would be the next in line...................he was shown as an Assist Trophy.........................
and with that, the dream died.
Now, the idea of Echoes beign DLC is seen as a borderline-impossible idea. Not because it's hard, but becuase...........why? The idea of Echo Fighters was that they could cram out extra figthers using existing ones as bases in order to pad out the roster, since the Roster of Ultimate was over 85% Veterans and barely any newcomers. Now with DLC, they can roll out new characters without having to worry about veterans and all that other content in Smash's base game. As such, the idea of more echo fighters, inlcuding Shadow, is dead.
and i don't expect him or any other new echoes for the next game, since i firmly believe the roster is getting Thanos'd by the next entry and will focus on non-character based content instead.
Want: 100%.........but only for Ultimate. 0% for any other game. If im honest im not interesed in any Sonic char in Smash outside of him in this game.
Ever heard of that trope? They wasted a perfectly good character? This is Shadow's trope now. You have a character, who has been in the series since Brawl in a midly notable form, usually seen as second-to-playable in the eyes of many fans. he managed to return to Smash 4, something the likes of Isaac can't even claim. He's one of the most popular characters in the Sonic series, still appears regulary in Sonic-related Media (yes, he hasn't been playable in recent Sonic games, but neither have Knuckles and Tails outside of Sonic Mania, and in Spin Offs Shadow is still a mainstay) i don't see Sega saying no to Shadow beign playable. and the argument of Shadow not beign echo-fit is dumb. This is the same franchise that gave us Captain Falcon, Falcondorf, Pissed Off Mario, OC Bowser's Final Form, etc. Having Shadow do an Akward kick is not gonna be the end of the World for Sega, Shadow or anyone. No, Wolf is not a good comparison since he's the exception to the norm when it comes to clones an echoes, the norm beign almost ALL of the other clones and semi-clones in Smash are far more similar to their counterparts than Wolf.
The only Real reason i could imagine Shadow not making it is his non-visible fan demand prior to Ultimate's Reveal at E3 2018 There are many characters that are popular and could be very well recieved for Smash, but their fanbase is silent because there's no real reason to support them in their eyes. Banjo was heavily demanded for Smash 4 DLC, but his demand was far too late to affect that game, but perfect for Ultimate.
But even then, i don't see as this big of a reason for Shadow's exclusion. Almost NOBODY specifically requested Richter for Smash and yet he got in as an Echo. You could say because he's popular in his own series, but that also applies to Shadow too. Yes, Sakurai stated Simon and Richter were requested for the Ballot, but Simon and Richter were barely discussed for Smash despite this, so how come the same can't happen for Shadow?
I don't want Shadow as an unique character. I love his chaos powers, but that ins't the reason i play Smash for. I play Smash because i love playing as Nintendo characters and some guest characters that i see as bonuses. not the main appeal. Shadow fits that perfectly. Among the 3rd party franchises, Sonic is the one i see the most potential (before Bayo's reveal, NOBODY talked about potential Sega Reps outside of another Sonic Char) and while i love Tails, Eggman & Knuckles, i have a soft spot for Edgy boy over here. Yeah, i usually hate the edgy rivals (Iori and Sasuke come to mind) but Shadow is an exception. I guess i have a guilty pleasure thing for him in general.
I usually don't care if a character is super likely. I see Phoenix Wright as likely but i will not shed a tear if he's out. But Shadow, i love Shadow. I don't need Shadow in Smash, but the circumstances to add him were perfect for me to accept him. He was the only echo i wanted in Smash, and still is. Unlike the majority of planet earth, i don't have a mental breakdown when talking about Sonic's moveset in Smash. Yeah he could USE a redesign, but im the guy who mains Simon without guilt or remorse (and loves him as is) so using a similar moveset for Shadow would be okay with me. Just give him a Teleport UP Special and maybe one or two different moves to reference his chaos powers, and give him more appropiate animations for tauns and idles obviously, and he's good to go. But i guess doing that was too much huh?
For as much i would love Shadow to become an Echo in this game, that chance has long sailed, and having him in the next entries would miss the point.
This could have been one of the most hype fighting game clones, but as always, Smash finds a way to dissapoint me. God.
Sayonara Shadow.............
Well.................that was sad, who's next?
......oh.......
MASS DESTRUCTION ACROSS THE LAND.
Chance: 5%
Out of all the AT promotions not named WA, i actually see him as probably the most likely one. Doesn't mean much but look. Bomberman is a very iconic franchise, while it was dead at the time of Smash Ult's development starting, he came back thanks to Super R. While not a super mega succuess, it's actually one of the best selling Bomberman games of recent memory (not saying much i know) and at least this means the series is back unto the picture. It helps that Bomberman's AT is not even that much of an issue, since the idea of multiple Bombermans in his games is a thing, so they could just change the color of the Bomberman AT if the White Bomberman (or Bombermen of any other color) is on screen.
But outside of that.........yeah will likely will wait for next game. I do see him having a good chance assuming his franchise doesn't go to hibernation again.
Fun Fact: Bomberman used to be the most popular Third Party choice next to Mega Man for Brawl. This was because Bomberman was very active as a franchise in the 2000's and Hudson Soft was still a thing. It was only in Smash 4's time when he fell off due to HS beign defunct and its assets beign purchased by Konami, and the whole "ONE CHARACTER PER COMPANY" fanrule was in full swing, and Snake himself was already on thin ice so Bomberman was barely talked about. However, he was actually very talked about in the days of Smash Switch Speculation in 17 and 18 (before E3 Obviously) due to Super Bomberman R bringing him back from the dead, in fact Simon was barely talked about.
Want: 100%
This is the Toad of Third Parties, a character that for all intents and purposes SHOULD be in Smash by now, but is not because life is ****ing mentally deficent.
I've talked about "History With Nintendo" beign a preference for me, and this guys has it in SPADES. NES, Game Boy, Super Game Boy, Super Nintendo (5 ****ing games in fact), GBC, N64, Gamcube, Wii, DS. He basically appears in every Nintendo system excet the Wii U (which isn't a big deal seeing how barely any third party support was in that ****ing console) and 3DS (and he was going to have a game for that System, but it was cancelled) HE EVEN HAD A GAME ON THE VIRUTAL BOY! THERE'S BARELY ANY CHARACTER THAT CAN PROCLAIM THAT. NOT EVEN Samus and Link!
and because of this, it irritates me to no ****ing end that a character that has become a Nintendo mainstay for so many years is nothing but an Assist Trophy, while characters like Snake, Cloud and Joker are in, any excuses be ****ing damned.
As for movesets. I actually like him having one gimmick, Bombs. Just plain-ass, normal, everyday, no question about it,
no RNG, no Damage Imputs, not using K.O Meter, not having Invincible Stand Knock Offs, not Belly Shield, no having a mecha as vehicle, no customizable, no left and right arm controls, luma stand-wannabe, limited tome ussage, simple, ordinary, unembellished, unmistakable, crystal clear, as frank as Frankenstein, as blunt as an atom bomb, one compound word, it's mother ****ing, God damned, sons-of-*****ing, ****-****-****ing BOMBS!
.....well you could have some fun with the bombs since they come in many ways, and many ways to be implemented in Smash too.
Remember when Smash didn't need Passive Abilities for every single character? God characters with simple mechanics are becoming more of a minority in each newcomer pool and it's horrible in my eyes.
Give Bomberman the spot he gladly deserves. and this is coming from the guy who heavily wanted Simon in Smash.
Im not even that much of a Bomberman fan. I mean yeah i loved the Super Ninetndo games, but i haven't played all of them which is a shame since this franchise is damn massive (albeit i don't think i need to play them since they are very samey in a way) he was already in my top 10 back in the early speculation days. He's cute and cartoony, he's very recognizable, he's well known, he has a style of gamplaye that can be easily translated to Smash, he has basically as much of a Nintendo presence as Mega Man (hell, even more i would say) he should have been inlcuded since 4 if im honest. Way better than most 3rd parties we have in Smash like Terry, Snake, Bayo, Joker and the inevitable third party character that is coming in Figher Pass 2 that im not going to like.
aaaand im upset again. God damn i made a mess. But it's my opinion and i don't care about how unpopular it is.
.....actually let me make it more unpopular: HOMURA DID EVERYTHING WRONG, PINAPPLE BELONGS ON PIZZA, GAMES ARE NOT ART, CASTLEVANIA NETFLIX ****ING SUCKS, SAMURAI JACK'S FINALE WASN'T TERRIBL-
(This user has been deleted for having wrong opinions)
Noms:
Figher Pass 2 gets Delayed X5
. If Nintendo removed her from her own franchise in the first place, there's no realistic situation in which I see them willingly choosing her to be in Smash. Nintendo knows they’re asking for money for these characters, so they’re likely going to avoid anyone like her.
