Rex Drives into Battle! (...As Pyra's Final Smash!!)

[fogbadge]

im still hoping for dlc, costume looks cool

 

[KiyoXDragon]

Well a Mii costume is still not a hard deconfirmation unlike an AT, so I feel we could still be in the running for DLC (Mewtwo was a trophy for example in the 3DS version)

I agree there, it wasn't a hard de-confirmation. I feel like an assist trophy would have been a hard de-confirmation, like Spring Man, he's an assist and that seems to be a hard de-confirmation.

 

[Olekidsf]

They better have something in store for DLC because the track list they showed in the direct is pathetic. Only 3 songs from XC2, and no Drifting Soul or Mor Ardain?!

 

[Oracle_Summon]

I agree there, it wasn't a hard de-confirmation. I feel like an assist trophy would have been a hard de-confirmation, like Spring Man, he's an assist and that seems to be a hard de-confirmation.

If you feel that about Rex then I hope he pulls through for you.

 

[Deleted member]

Man Elma is my only most wanted who's still alive if Rex is dead

 

[PSIGuy]

Xenoblade literally had a section of the Direct dedicated to it.
...And all it showed was 3 ripped XB2 songs, a costume and stickers of XB2 characters. Stickers are the consolation prize. It didn't even register as a Xenoblade section because of the content matter.

 

[KiyoXDragon]

If you feel that about Rex then I hope he pulls through for you.

Thank you, that means a lot. /c

Crunchii admitted he didn't know anything and was just leading everyone on. It's a false lead.

The fact he got the reading for the kanji in the song wrong should've been the first hint, but oh well. **** move imho.

Apparently Crunchii was correct, The song that the code refers to is Those Who Stand Against Our Path, as found out on Twitter by someone, is actually shown in the direct!

 

[Seanp12]

I don't know. The way he talked about the costume seemed to simultaneously imply that this was the best Rex would get and that the only reason he wasn't in the base roster was the timing. Both of those would imply opposite chances of Rex DLC.

 

[Oniric Spriter]

Let's analyze what Sakurai said about Rex, this is his first ever mention of Xenoblade 2 in smash. I feel like there's a lot of people misinterpreting him saying Rex is disconfirmed.

1) It's confirmed that there will be DLC for Ultimate and that it'll start as soon as they finish working in the main game. We don't exaclty know how many DLC characters there will be in total though.


2) He reveals everyone who buys the season pass will receive a purchase bonus



And out of all the characters he could've picked from, he chose Rex, while it doesn't really mean anything, he introduced this particular costume after announcing the DLC instead of being for a brief period of time like all the others. How come? Maybe he recognizes his popularity? His bias towards him?. His sentence later is even more interesting:



He's already giving us an excuse (or apology) for being physically impossible to add -some characters- for obvious reasons unrelated to Rex himself. Sakurai not having enough time to add him in the main game doesn't mean he won't have for DLC.

3) He basically has even less competition than before the direct



After all these disconfirmations from assist trophies in the direct done a few hours ago, who is there left within the realm of possibility to add in the game? With Xenoblade X astonishingly missing, therefore Elma's absence (while it not being a disconfirmation either) and the "obvious" choices because of popularity "juggernauts" like Geno, Sahdow or Banjo not even making it into the main roster when Sakurai obviously took the ballot into heavy consideration. Like Sakurai mentioned in the picture above "we weren't able to add characters from some games which were announced after planning had started", all of this being said for a good few minutes as we see Rex's doppelganger fight, furthermore basically no major titles being announced after the project plan like Xenoblade 2 happened to be. The only strong contenders were Mario Odyssey, BotW, ARMS, Splatoon 2, etc. some of them being disconfirmed in some way, already represented or being too wacky, X being released before Ultimate's development had begun.

Who is there worth enough to mention besides Rex? I lowkey need some help with this statement since I don't fully know

4) Mii costumes mean absolutely nothing

Yes, that's right. I've said it since the very beginning people started pointing it out. Mii costumes don't mean anything, yes, some characters like Chrom or K. Rool were both made playable (so in some way we can't rule out Rex either) and others like Dumban, Tails, Protoman, Viridi are nowhere to be seen. All in all, this was never a valid argument.


I don't want to discourage or encourage anyone in this thread, I just want to clarify some stuff people may have not noticed or are simply looking for ways to downplay other people's favourite characters.

For me, this phrasing, the timing and him having a "special" treatment just means that he truly wanted to add him to the game but couldn't because he lacked enough knowledge, resources and time to represent him as best as he could therefore he gave us a mii costume as some sort of placeholder. Listen, if people truly believe characters that are already assist trophies can become playable in the same game this holds up even better. I just want Rex to be in because he truly deserves it, that's all.

 

[Seanp12]

I would say a costume "might" mean something if we're taking about the character being added to the same game that the costume is in. Sakurai's comment about "I hope it helps you feel like you're playing as Rex" seems unnecessary if he's already planning to put him in as DLC.

 

[Quetzal77]

Rex being hyped up as a Mii costume was actually insulting. Xenoblade, just like FE, is the biggest first party success story in the past few years, and there's nothing to show for that in this Smash game. If he and Pyra aren't one of the 5 planned DLC characters then I have no clue what the team's priorities are. There really should've been a new stage at the very least, that and an Elma AT. I would've loved having both Elma and Rex playable and it honestly should've happened, but at this point we have to debate whether we're even getting Rex and that's completely nuts.

 

[Megadoomer]

Rex being hyped up as a Mii costume was actually insulting. Xenoblade, just like FE, is the biggest first party success story in the past few years, and there's nothing to show for that in this Smash game. If he and Pyra aren't one of the 5 planned DLC characters then I have no clue what the team's priorities are. There really should've been a new stage at the very least, that and an Elma AT. I would've loved having both Elma and Rex playable and it honestly should've happened, but at this point we have to debate whether we're even getting Rex and that's completely nuts.

I don't know about insulting - they took a great deal of time to explain why he wasn't included in the plans for the game (more than any assist trophy or Mii costume), and the reasoning made sense. I don't know much about game development, but from the sounds of it, they had the DLC line-up planned out during the game's development, presumably so they'd have time to plan out their moves and whatnot.

 

[Oniric Spriter]

If they were planning the DLC mid-development, Sakurai having played 2 during that time is a very good sign. I hope you're right.

 

[Super Bario]

This is a small detail, but I wanted to point it out.

https://imgur.com/gallery/8KY3nmC

At one point you can see young Samus from Metroid Other M as a spirit character. This makes me wonder if characters who are spirits (like Pyra) could be DLC down the road, kind of like Lucas and Mewtwo on Smash 4.

I'm still hoping for Rex & Pyra, but as of now that all depends on how Sakurai handles DLC for this game.

 

[jahkzheng]

Hope's still alive for XC2 representation... but I wont deny that it felt like Sakurai believes he's patched the void with what we were shown.

Also want to note... spirits kinda reminded me of blades. Chibi Robo even had an ether stream between him and his "driver", lol. And yeah, spirits don't deconfirm characters apparently.

Last... had to double take the Rex Mii Costume but there's a fully rendered Gramps in there! He fully rendered Gramps. I mean, if we can get a Gramps out of this, you'd think we could get even more in terms of truly original content. But maybe Sakurai thinks this Mii costume is cool enough that we're satiated. It's cool... but no Sakurai. More... pls.

 

[Girnee]

I don't think the Mii costume is deconfirmation, after all there were Mii costumes for Link, Samus, Fox and Captain Falcon in Smash 4 (although they were added in later by DLC)

 

[Machete]

I didn’t expect people to be angry at the Mii costume. To me, that’s about as close as a “Rex will be dlc” as it gets. Sakurai basically said the only reason Rex didn’t make it in was timing. Why is the Mii costume a bad thing? Rex&Pyra as DLC, with a XC2 stage, and some new remixes. Seems pretty obvious to me

 

[Kotor]

Mewtwo and Lucas started out are just trophies in Smash 4, and were then added in as DLC fighters. Not to mention Meta Knight's mii outfit was revealed first before Meta Knight himself was revealed to come back in Smash 4.

 

[Megadoomer]

I didn’t expect people to be angry at the Mii costume. To me, that’s about as close as a “Rex will be dlc” as it gets. Sakurai basically said the only reason Rex didn’t make it in was timing. Why is the Mii costume a bad thing? Rex&Pyra as DLC, with a XC2 stage, and some new remixes. Seems pretty obvious to me

Probably because Sakurai said that his game came out too late for him to be considered as part of the plan for the game, and if Smash 4's Mii costumes are any indication, a lot of Mii costumes for characters who aren't in the game are considered consolation prizes because they didn't have time to include the characters for one reason or another. (ex. K. Rool, Inkling)

 

[RawstyleEevee]

Probably because Sakurai said that his game came out too late for him to be considered as part of the plan for the game, and if Smash 4's Mii costumes are any indication, a lot of Mii costumes for characters who aren't in the game are considered consolation prizes because they didn't have time to include the characters for one reason or another. (ex. K. Rool, Inkling)

Well it depends if all DLC is already planned, I feel at this point it could go either way for Rex, because like I said before he didn't get hard deconfirmed as an AT, but I would also not be surprised if the Xeno rep is Elma, because there is no X content in general(although this could also mean they are going to skip that game entirely) and KOS-MOS could be both a Xeno and Namco rep(which imo is seriously underrepped)

 

[Machete]

Probably because Sakurai said that his game came out too late for him to be considered as part of the plan for the game, and if Smash 4's Mii costumes are any indication, a lot of Mii costumes for characters who aren't in the game are considered consolation prizes because they didn't have time to include the characters for one reason or another. (ex. K. Rool, Inkling)

Sure, but he meant it about why he’s not in the game now. He also said DLC hasn’t started development, which means Rex isn’t ruled out, and he’s got the best position for a first party. If he was gonna be fully excluded, he’d be an AT like Spring-Man. When it comes to choosing new characters, surely Sakurai will think of the one character he’s said would be playable if it wasn’t for timing.

Like, I unno. I basically took that as Rex’s soft confirmation, but you never know. I am almost entirely certain Rex&Pyra will be in

 

[UberPyro64]

I wouldn't expect him in the first wave of DLC. I think the best bet is to continue supporting him and being very vocal about it and then he could be in a hypothetical second wave of DLC.

 

[Seanp12]

Sure, but he meant it about why he’s not in the game now. He also said DLC hasn’t started development, which means Rex isn’t ruled out, and he’s got the best position for a first party. If he was gonna be fully excluded, he’d be an AT like Spring-Man. When it comes to choosing new characters, surely Sakurai will think of the one character he’s said would be playable if it wasn’t for timing.

Like, I unno. I basically took that as Rex’s soft confirmation, but you never know. I am almost entirely certain Rex&Pyra will be in

It's funny how different people are drawing the exact opposite conclusions from that costume reveal. Sure, the first half sounded optimistic, but the later half made it more ambiguous. In leaning towards no, at least for the first five DLC. But I wouldn't mind being wrong.

 

[PSIGuy]

Sakurai said they decided on the DLC characters during planning and that games revealed after planning wouldn't be able to make it in. Rex is definitely a consolation prize; the 5 DLC characters are already locked in. I assume this is due to licensing etc and a high quantity of third parties.

A really bizarre turn for Rex's chances honestly.

 

[RawstyleEevee]

Sakurai said they decided on the DLC characters during planning and that games revealed after planning wouldn't be able to make it in. Rex is definitely a consolation prize; the 5 DLC characters are already locked in. I assume this is due to licensing etc and a high quantity of third parties.

A really bizarre turn for Rex's chances honestly.

Well this destroys a Gen 8 mon and Edelgard to then

 

[Oniric Spriter]

Sakurai said they decided on the DLC characters during planning and that games revealed after planning wouldn't be able to make it in. Rex is definitely a consolation prize; the 5 DLC characters are already locked in. I assume this is due to licensing etc and a high quantity of third parties.

A really bizarre turn for Rex's chances honestly.

When you say he's a consolation prize you mean the mii costume or the potential actual character?

 

[takai]

The more I listen to Sakurai talk, the less optimistic I get. Like what people have said above, Sakurai said the only reason he didn't make it was because of timing. On one hand, that's a great thing to hear. It means Rex is a very viable fighter in the eyes of Sakurai.

However, the second part is the catch. Sakurai stated that due to the timing he wasn't able to plan Rex, or any XB2, for DLC. He specifically states DLC plans had already been set. That right there is the killer.

I don't know if Sakurai is messing with us, or being genuine. It just seems to me as if his statements sort of contradict each other.

"DLC characters have to be made from scratch"
"Rex was too late"

Why can't they use the time between now and the release to work on Rex? That's like a good 6+ months. Not to mention all the other time they've had to work on DLC characters. It just doesn't add up to me. It's why I'm still somewhat optimistic.

At least they acknowledge XB2's existence.

 

[PSIGuy]

Well this destroys a Gen 8 mon and Edelgard to then

A silver lining for sure; FE and Pokemon have enjoyed more than their fair share of DLC in Smash. But it does beg the question of what characters they decided upon as far back as 2015.

 

[Oniric Spriter]

However, the second part is the catch. Sakurai stated that due to the timing he wasn't able to plan Rex, or any XB2, for DLC. He specifically states DLC plans had already been set. That right there is the killer.

He says some characters couldn't make it into the base game's project plan not the DLC.

 

[PSIGuy]

Why would he put Rex in to make up for him not making it if he's already working on implementing Rex as a fighter? Surely he doesn't think people would be so bummed out about Rex not making the base game when everyone with a brain knew his chances would be in post-launch content. The difference between Chrom and K. Rool's costumes is that they were literally in separate games.

 

[Oniric Spriter]

Except mii costumes don't make up for anything, why would they make a costume of Link, Samus, Fox or Captain Falcon when they have the real thing. It could also be him really wanting to add the guy and acknowledging people do too.

 

[Machete]

But the thing is, if Rex was definitely not gonna make it, why not make him an Assist, like every other popular character? Unless I missed a key word or something, Sakurai said the roster was decided on 2015, which is why Rex couldn't make it, but they were gonna start with the DLC now, implying that the DLC can make room for a character like Rex.

I must have missed something if he said the DLC was decided back then, which doesn't seem at all what he was implying.

 

[PSIGuy]

There's a clear and obvious difference between costumes based on in-game assets and costumes based using new assets; Samus's Mii Costume obviously doesn't exclude Samus from appearing when the costume is derived from her model. Sakurai has used costumes to represent popular ballot votes in Smash 4 and has implemented assist trophies based on popularity as well so there's precendent for him trying to include characters who might not otherwise make it as playable and this is an easy example of it.

An assist trophy requires implementing attacks, AI etc while a costume does not. The difference could be as simple as knowing about ARMS way earlier than knowing about XB2 and representing them using whatever resources he had left to allocate. If he's already decided on implementing Rex as a fighter then why would he need a placeholder or to apologize to the audience? And he is obviously apologizing because he makes a big deal out of XB2 content being in the game that he does for no other franchise, to show that it is in there in some capacity.

 

[Burruni]

Yo.
Tinfoil hat time.

Spoiler

Now, this is the complex mii costume Smash 4 or Ultimate has had, with the amount of detail in Pyra's version of the Aegis blade and Gramps moving around in the empty helmet strapped to rex's back. Gramps in general is an oddly extra detail and the model is SOLID on it.
This might partial modeling work for Rex, for the context of a Rex+Pyra/Mythra fighter.. The actual amount to work the pair mechanic of him with Pyra/Mythra was decided on later into development than most of the normal cast, and took more work than was possible before the release date. It got shelved for DLC.
Like, it's the only mii costume that has specific animations as part of the costume. It's just a lot more involved than the normal ones and it seems super weird for it.

I dunno man I still have hope.

 

[Altais]

I wouldn't say being a Mii Costume hurts Rex's chances in the slightest (Mii Costumes based on existing fighters kind of render that argument irrelevant). If anything, it shows Sakurai was interested enough in Xenoblade 2 to make the costume. According to the context clues in the Direct, the base roster for Smash Ultimate was finalised before Rex's game was even announced.

That said, I'd rather not give up on Rex just yet.

 

[takai]

Yo.
Tinfoil hat time.

Spoiler

Now, this is the complex mii costume Smash 4 or Ultimate has had, with the amount of detail in Pyra's version of the Aegis blade and Gramps moving around in the empty helmet strapped to rex's back. Gramps in general is an oddly extra detail and the model is SOLID on it.
This might partial modeling work for Rex, for the context of a Rex+Pyra/Mythra fighter.. The actual amount to work the pair mechanic of him with Pyra/Mythra was decided on later into development than most of the normal cast, and took more work than was possible before the release date. It got shelved for DLC.
Like, it's the only mii costume that has specific animations as part of the costume. It's just a lot more involved than the normal ones and it seems super weird for it.

I dunno man I still have hope.

That picture of Rex and Pyra is the best thing I've seen all week. I love it.

As for what you said, I too was very surprised at the sheer amount of detail to Rex's Mii costume. I said to myself "Wow, they made Pyra's sword AND an actual Gramps in Rex's helmet? Crazy how much detail this has"

The more I think about it, the more I think Sakurai low-key feels bad about doing this to Rex. We know he loved XB2, and did whatever he could to at least include this. It means he genuinely cares. It makes me think Sakurai is going to go the extra mile and surprise us with Rex in the DLC.

 

[Burruni]

That picture of Rex and Pyra is the best thing I've seen all week. I love it.

As for what you said, I too was very surprised at the sheer amount of detail to Rex's Mii costume. I said to myself "Wow, they made Pyra's sword AND an actual Gramps in Rex's helmet? Crazy how much detail this has"

The more I think about it, the more I think Sakurai low-key feels bad about doing this to Rex. We know he loved XB2, and did whatever he could to at least include this. It means he genuinely cares. It makes me think Sakurai is going to go the extra mile and surprise us with Rex in the DLC.

Pyra's sword has live flame effects, it even seems like the ones on the sides flare up more during specials and smash attacks.
Gramps has a pretty high quality model and is specifically set to an offset animation cycle from the natural bob of the idle animation.
It just seems a good bit... extra. Suspiciously so for me.

 

[Oniric Spriter]

Did someone say tinfoil hat time

 

[Super Bario]

While we’re on the topic of the Mii costume, do you think it will be sold separately outside of the DLC bundle? I’d still like to get it, but I’m not a fan of blind buys.

 

[fogbadge]

and id like to compliment the mii costumes inclusion of azurda