ShinyRegice
Smash Lord
King K. Rool chances: abstain
I have no idea about King K. Rool's chances at this point. The costume makes me worried that Sakurai for whatever reason didn't want him as a fully-fledged DLC character, but at the same time it may be a sign that he's actually coming... at least it proves that Sakurai has an opinion on the character and that he's not indifferent about him.
Sure, King K. Rool is very popular as a pick for Smash, but that doesn't mean Sakurai has to add him if for whatever reason he doesn't want to. Maybe he has trouble imagining a satisfying moveset for him (for example if he thinks a multi-persona based moveset wouldn't feel right), or any potential design issues (considering for example that Donkey Kong is one of the biggest characters in the game and making King K. Rool imposing compared to him could potentially make him too big?), or maybe he has some bias against the character and sees him as disposable for Smash? Maybe he prefers Dixie Kong for another DK representative, or by extension, other characters regardless of their origin? (I'm not hating on Dixie and other competitors btw, I'm just theorizing about why K. Rool could potentially have been excluded.) Maybe he would fear that he has less selling power than other characters? The hurdles K. Rool actually has to face aren't a obvious as for the likes of Ridley or Tetrimino (except for the lack of MUH RELEVANCE RECENCY!!!!1!1!! which I think is fan made-up bs to an extent), but we shouldn't exclude the possibility that Sakurai doesn't see K. Rool as a priority.
Though the costume isn't a full deconfirmation, and it'd only be the case if Sakurai sees the costume as a consolation prize because let's be honest, Isabelle, Lloyd, Zero, Chrom, Dunban and co ain't gonna become playable, and I don't expect Inklings either due to them most likely being a technical nightmare if Sakurai wants to do them justice especially because of the 3DS. But at the same time it's pretty much guaranteed that him and Nintendo are aware of his popularity as a Smash pick, so if K. Rool gets excluded altogether when support for SSB4 DLC stops, I think it's kind of likely that we would have heard of Sakurai talking about him at that point. But what if the costume is some sort of marketing thing and hype builder for the real King K. Rool, to give people something else to talk about him and make people want him even more? The fact the model had to be fully recreated whereas most Mii costumes based on video game characters are easier model rips from either characters, trophies or other games (even Flying Man who most likely came from assets for the planned 3D model on Magicant which was scrapped so that work didn't go to waste) seems rather suspicious, though that's not a definitive proof.
Overall I'd say this costume could be either the biggest slap in the face a fanbase had gotten since Ridley's shadow, or the biggest hint since the Pseudo-Palutena troll in the Direct, though as a supporter of the king I'm prepared for the former. But which scenario is the most likely I honestly have no idea, and it could be possible that we Sakurai could still continue to ignore fan reactions to the costume even if he doesn't make it in, even though I'd be surprised if it was what happened.
King K. Rool want: 100%
Of course I want him! And as a fully-fledged playable character, not as a Mii cosplayer, and for this reason I was upset after clicking on a link telling "KING K. ROOL CONFIRMED FOR SMASH 4" redirecting me to SmashBrosJP's twitter; I was rather amazed when I saw the top of his head, only to see this potential hype come to waste when I scrolled down:
Inspired from this: http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140911211647/ssb/images/3/37/Dr_Mario_not_Mewtwo.jpg
When I saw this Mii I couldn't believe it, I thought it was some cruel joke (no pun intended) from a fake account for about half a minute, and it made me really worried that Sakurai could really have put such a strong contender down to the same level as no-hopers like Chrom or Dunban.
Besides, Donkey Kong had been a very influential series in my gamer life, and King K. Rool really felt like a memorable villain to the same extent as Ganondorf, especially with those funny cutscenes in Donkey Kong 64. And besides maybe Dr. Lobe (lol) I think he was the first character I ever thought of when I tried to imagine who else could join the roster after unlocking everyone in Brawl, though my lack or emotional involvement with the Smash roster and the fact I feared he would potentially be another generic heavyweight (I've only beaten DKC3 and DK64 for a long time) prevented me to support him besides passively thinking "He could be cool" until late 2014. I've actively been wanting him ever since my fears of "yet another generic heavyweight" wore off, especially thanks to the amazingly well written OP of his support thread.
This isn't going to be the end of the world if K. Rool doesn't make it in, though it would still be kind of a letdown, but he's getting my full support considering the only character I want more has very little shot and is taken as a joke by the majority. I wouldn't mind Dixie Kong either, I feel that she's deserving as well, but I've considered K. Rool for Smash since much longer and thus he became my personal preference for a new DK character.
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Non-playable representation for ballot runner-ups prediction: 53.53%
I wanted to say it sooner but @ Delzethin stole my words: this rating will be pretty much the opposite of today's one.
Mrs. Pac-Man alternate costume prediction: 6.02%
Slightly higher than the Ken alt for Ryu I suppose?
Nominating:
Returning stage: Meta Crystal x3
(Rerate) Returning fighters: Squirtle and Ivysaur x2
I'm asking for a Squirtle and Ivysaur rerate because I can't stand seeing them above the concept of multiple DLC characters from the same series in chances, which literally kills any credibility this game has (did people forget Mewtwo was a thing?), and I have more faith in seeing them decrease than to see that concept increase.
Besides, may I nominate them collectively? Because you know, it would make no sense to not rate them during the same day... If I can only nominate them separately, then count this as x1 each of Ivysaur and Squirtle.
I have no idea about King K. Rool's chances at this point. The costume makes me worried that Sakurai for whatever reason didn't want him as a fully-fledged DLC character, but at the same time it may be a sign that he's actually coming... at least it proves that Sakurai has an opinion on the character and that he's not indifferent about him.
Sure, King K. Rool is very popular as a pick for Smash, but that doesn't mean Sakurai has to add him if for whatever reason he doesn't want to. Maybe he has trouble imagining a satisfying moveset for him (for example if he thinks a multi-persona based moveset wouldn't feel right), or any potential design issues (considering for example that Donkey Kong is one of the biggest characters in the game and making King K. Rool imposing compared to him could potentially make him too big?), or maybe he has some bias against the character and sees him as disposable for Smash? Maybe he prefers Dixie Kong for another DK representative, or by extension, other characters regardless of their origin? (I'm not hating on Dixie and other competitors btw, I'm just theorizing about why K. Rool could potentially have been excluded.) Maybe he would fear that he has less selling power than other characters? The hurdles K. Rool actually has to face aren't a obvious as for the likes of Ridley or Tetrimino (except for the lack of MUH RELEVANCE RECENCY!!!!1!1!! which I think is fan made-up bs to an extent), but we shouldn't exclude the possibility that Sakurai doesn't see K. Rool as a priority.
Though the costume isn't a full deconfirmation, and it'd only be the case if Sakurai sees the costume as a consolation prize because let's be honest, Isabelle, Lloyd, Zero, Chrom, Dunban and co ain't gonna become playable, and I don't expect Inklings either due to them most likely being a technical nightmare if Sakurai wants to do them justice especially because of the 3DS. But at the same time it's pretty much guaranteed that him and Nintendo are aware of his popularity as a Smash pick, so if K. Rool gets excluded altogether when support for SSB4 DLC stops, I think it's kind of likely that we would have heard of Sakurai talking about him at that point. But what if the costume is some sort of marketing thing and hype builder for the real King K. Rool, to give people something else to talk about him and make people want him even more? The fact the model had to be fully recreated whereas most Mii costumes based on video game characters are easier model rips from either characters, trophies or other games (even Flying Man who most likely came from assets for the planned 3D model on Magicant which was scrapped so that work didn't go to waste) seems rather suspicious, though that's not a definitive proof.
Overall I'd say this costume could be either the biggest slap in the face a fanbase had gotten since Ridley's shadow, or the biggest hint since the Pseudo-Palutena troll in the Direct, though as a supporter of the king I'm prepared for the former. But which scenario is the most likely I honestly have no idea, and it could be possible that we Sakurai could still continue to ignore fan reactions to the costume even if he doesn't make it in, even though I'd be surprised if it was what happened.
King K. Rool want: 100%
Of course I want him! And as a fully-fledged playable character, not as a Mii cosplayer, and for this reason I was upset after clicking on a link telling "KING K. ROOL CONFIRMED FOR SMASH 4" redirecting me to SmashBrosJP's twitter; I was rather amazed when I saw the top of his head, only to see this potential hype come to waste when I scrolled down:
Inspired from this: http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140911211647/ssb/images/3/37/Dr_Mario_not_Mewtwo.jpg
When I saw this Mii I couldn't believe it, I thought it was some cruel joke (no pun intended) from a fake account for about half a minute, and it made me really worried that Sakurai could really have put such a strong contender down to the same level as no-hopers like Chrom or Dunban.
Besides, Donkey Kong had been a very influential series in my gamer life, and King K. Rool really felt like a memorable villain to the same extent as Ganondorf, especially with those funny cutscenes in Donkey Kong 64. And besides maybe Dr. Lobe (lol) I think he was the first character I ever thought of when I tried to imagine who else could join the roster after unlocking everyone in Brawl, though my lack or emotional involvement with the Smash roster and the fact I feared he would potentially be another generic heavyweight (I've only beaten DKC3 and DK64 for a long time) prevented me to support him besides passively thinking "He could be cool" until late 2014. I've actively been wanting him ever since my fears of "yet another generic heavyweight" wore off, especially thanks to the amazingly well written OP of his support thread.
This isn't going to be the end of the world if K. Rool doesn't make it in, though it would still be kind of a letdown, but he's getting my full support considering the only character I want more has very little shot and is taken as a joke by the majority. I wouldn't mind Dixie Kong either, I feel that she's deserving as well, but I've considered K. Rool for Smash since much longer and thus he became my personal preference for a new DK character.
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Non-playable representation for ballot runner-ups prediction: 53.53%
I wanted to say it sooner but @ Delzethin stole my words: this rating will be pretty much the opposite of today's one.
Mrs. Pac-Man alternate costume prediction: 6.02%
Slightly higher than the Ken alt for Ryu I suppose?
Nominating:
Returning stage: Meta Crystal x3
(Rerate) Returning fighters: Squirtle and Ivysaur x2
I'm asking for a Squirtle and Ivysaur rerate because I can't stand seeing them above the concept of multiple DLC characters from the same series in chances, which literally kills any credibility this game has (did people forget Mewtwo was a thing?), and I have more faith in seeing them decrease than to see that concept increase.
Besides, may I nominate them collectively? Because you know, it would make no sense to not rate them during the same day... If I can only nominate them separately, then count this as x1 each of Ivysaur and Squirtle.
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