Shantae, the Half Genie Protector of Scuttle Town! (A Switch To A New WayForward)

[The Robot Dump]

...I mean, they've technically already "answered their call" to include Shantae in Smash with the spirits and online icon.

A lot of companies would love to see their franchises represented with a playable character, but that doesn't mean it's always going to happen just because they asked nicely.

Well, with the Shantae hype back up and running this year, and this being WayForward and Shantae's time to jump mainstream, it's only a matter of time before the moment of truth.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

I thought I heard somewhere 5 years ago that Shantae placed pretty high on the Smash 4 Fighter Ballot, which Ultimate has been pulling from for newcomers. Well, at least for base roster.

That's most likely conjecture from fan polls, seeing as the only thing we ever heard about the results is scoring high in Europe, solely because she was the only character brought up in the ballot they were in a position to add at the time before 4's DLC wrapped up.

So far, out of everyone known to be advertised by fans in the ballot scene that got in as DLC this time, we've had . There might be a few more. but as it stands it's hard to tell.

 

[kaithehedgefox]

Bendy and Freddy have no chance, Bendy was absolutely a FOTM and Freddy just doesnt really work its Reimu and Shantae to me.

Thanks for alerting me that Bendy was just a flavor of the month.

I personally believe that Masahiro Sakurai wouldn't choose two Indie reps for the same pass. It's either Reimu or Shantae. Reimu, in my opinion, isn't very likely. Steve is already Smash's first PC gaming rep, and I feel like other characters who had a PC debut, such as Reimu, TF2 characters, Gordon Freeman etc. have all been sidelined as a result.

Speaking of Reimu (Touhou), I would say that Reimu (Touhou) is more iconic than Shantae, I would say Marisa (Touhou) is too.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Speaking of Reimu (Touhou), I would say that Reimu (Touhou) is more iconic than Shantae, I would say Marisa (Touhou) is too.

Just because one character is more iconic than the other, that doesn't mean the other can't get in Smash. Popularity means nothing. Banjo was far less popular than Steve and yet he got in first. Then Steve came in later.

 

[kaithehedgefox]

Just because one character is more iconic than the other, that doesn't mean the other can't get in Smash. Popularity means nothing. Banjo was far less popular than Steve and yet he got in first. Then Steve came in later.

I know that the order in which 3rd party characters get in aren't about leveling up or down. The 3rd party characters are added in non-linear order, not from most iconic to least iconic.

 

[Teeb147]

Shantae got into smash as a spirit because of the poll nintendo had. It's not too hard to know that she scored high enough to get their attention. As far as is it enough to get her as a fighter, dunno, but I would think that just like min min, they didn't fully know what they were gonna do for dlc at the time, and then it's up to nintendo and sakurai what they go with.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Shantae got into smash as a spirit because of the poll nintendo had. It's not too hard to know that she scored high enough to get their attention. As far as is it enough to get her as a fighter, dunno, but I would think that just like min min, they didn't fully know what they were gonna do for dlc at the time, and then it's up to nintendo and sakurai what they wanna see in.

Smash also lacks a dedicated indie rep. I think Shantae is the best choice due to many reasons, including her rising popularity. Her Smash inclusion will only boost it further and effectively cement Shantae as a mainstream video game character, right up there with the likes of Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Kirby, the list goes on and on. Someone on YouTube said that Shantae is the best choice because she represents dreams coming true, and I can definitely see why. I'll get that video and post it here.

 

[Teeb147]

Smash also lacks a dedicated indie rep. I think Shantae is the best choice due to many reasons, including her rising popularity. Her Smash inclusion will only boost it further and effectively cement Shantae as a mainstream video game character, right up there with the likes of Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Kirby, the list goes on and on. Someone on YouTube said that Shantae is the best choice because she represents dreams coming true, and I can definitely see why. I'll get that video and post it here.

Sure. Lots wanted shovel knight, but I find the character pretty boring, Shantae would be much more interesting.

Also, just a comment on what you said about Steve & Banjo; we know that Steve has been discussed for smash for a very long time now. I don't know if they did Banjo at the same time, but it's possible they did Banjo first simply because of how complex Steve is.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Sure. Lots wanted shovel knight, but I find the character pretty boring, Shantae would be much more interesting.

Also, just a comment on what you said about Steve & Banjo; we know that Steve has been discussed for smash for a very long time now. I don't know if they did Banjo at the same time, but it's possible they did Banjo first simply because of how complex Steve is.

Plus Shovel Knight is already an Assist Trophy. I also just remembered that Steve was in discussion for a while now. Thanks.

 

[kaithehedgefox]

Sure. Lots wanted shovel knight, but I find the character pretty boring, Shantae would be much more interesting.

I want Shovel Knight to be playable to.

 

[The Robot Dump]

I found the video. The person I'm talking about in the comments is named Amanda Slough. Also, most people and even the creator himself support Shantae in Smash, the latter saying "Let's hope so!" in a reply: https://youtu.be/-iclP2hP3Hw

 

[Teeb147]

I want Shovel Knight to be playable to.

Play Rivals of Aether, Shovel Knight and Ori are both third part character for it.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Alright, I checked on the guy who claimed he saw Shantae as a Mii and someone responded to it, saying "Please stop spreading false information without proof." I gave it a like, and that guy still hasn't made his video. I think it's safe to say he was lying. See for yourselves.

 

[Inoj]

In slightly tangential news: I finally received my LRG copies of Mighty Switch Force and Vitamin Connection and the other stuff (read: Switch cased) I ordered. Yey.

 

[TDDolphin]

Thoughts anybody? This is the only article I've seen for a possible Fighters Pass Vol. 3, but it seems to have gained a bit of traction in some Smashboards threads. Despite what Sakurai said about Fighters Pass 2 being the last Smash Ultimate DLC. Personally, I don't feel like it's gonna happen.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjXtM-XjfbsAhX9hXIEHcFTDWsQ0PADegQIAhAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexerto.com%2Fsmash%2Fnew-smash-ultimate-dlc-sales-report-is-good-sign-for-third-fighters-pass-1449761%2F&usg=AOvVaw1uZP4GhftdMq44-HKzfeDl

 

[Dukefire]

Well, we don't know exactly sure since Sakurai is in control of the DLC for Smash Ultimate. So, it could go either way, but I think not if DLC should continue.

Still, more DLC means more money and people happy. Though, I can see the development time and stress that will follow for more DLC.

 

[The Robot Dump]

I'm just glad that the guy who claimed Shantae was a Mii Fighter is completely wrong. Even after someone told him to stop spreading false information without proof, he didn't respond and he still hasn't made his video. Shantae is still in the running for Smash DLC.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Thoughts anybody? This is the only article I've seen for a possible Fighters Pass Vol. 3, but it seems to have gained a bit of traction in some Smashboards threads. Despite what Sakurai said about Fighters Pass 2 being the last Smash Ultimate DLC. Personally, I don't feel like it's gonna happen.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjXtM-XjfbsAhX9hXIEHcFTDWsQ0PADegQIAhAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexerto.com%2Fsmash%2Fnew-smash-ultimate-dlc-sales-report-is-good-sign-for-third-fighters-pass-1449761%2F&usg=AOvVaw1uZP4GhftdMq44-HKzfeDl

Well, we don't know exactly sure since Sakurai is in control of the DLC for Smash Ultimate. So, it could go either way, but I think not if DLC should continue.

Still, more DLC means more money and people happy. Though, I can see the development time and stress that will follow for more DLC.

For what it's worth, whenever Sakurai said "this will be the last Smash game I'll work on", circumstances led him to have a change of heart and go back on this.

If the same principle applies to this game's Fighters Pass 2, I wouldn't be surprised if FP2 does well enough for Ninty that they convince him to have one more go. And for the record, I was expecting three passes total anyway, so if this ever occurs, I'd be validated.

Besides, Sak is used to big work by now. Guy even does weight lifting from time to time. He won't mind so long as he knows he can make as many people happy as possible.

 

[Dukefire]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if sakurai does another FP after the second one with 6 challengers done. For now, it is still too early to call since FP2 only have 2 challengers revealed (Min Min and Steve/Alex/Zombie/Enderman).

 

[TDDolphin]

For what it's worth, whenever Sakurai said "this will be the last Smash game I'll work on", circumstances led him to have a change of heart and go back on this.

If the same principle applies to this game's Fighters Pass 2, I wouldn't be surprised if FP2 does well enough for Ninty that they convince him to have one more go. And for the record, I was expecting three passes total anyway, so if this ever occurs, I'd be validated.

Besides, Sak is used to big work by now. Guy even does weight lifting from time to time. He won't mind so long as he knows he can make as many people happy as possible.

I suppose there are technically 4 spots on the character roster left after Fighters Pass 2. At least according to an old datamine back during Fighter Pass 1 that revealed 15 additional character spots in WoL. So I guess one more Fighter Pass of 4 more challenger packs would be awesome.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

I suppose there are technically 4 spots on the character roster left after Fighters Pass 2. At least according to an old datamine back during Fighter Pass 1 that revealed 15 additional character spots in WoL. So I guess one more Fighter Pass of 4 more challenger packs would be awesome.

Data might not necessarily be reliable to us this time, since and apparently didn't use up any of the 15 slots. Don't know who said that, but I heard of it. We'll have to see, since we have no idea what Sak would have in mind for FP3's number of additions.

 

[TDDolphin]

Data might not necessarily be reliable to us this time, since and apparently didn't use up any of the 15 slots. Don't know who said that, but I heard of it. We'll have to see.

I guess. I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end tho. Ending Smash Ultimate at either 86 fighters OR 90 fighters is still pretty stellar.

 

[The Robot Dump]

I guess. I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end tho. Ending Smash Ultimate at either 86 fighters OR 90 fighters is still pretty stellar.

It'd be even more stellar if one of them is our girl.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

One other addendum: Echo Fighters usually are added to round out a base roster, as a bonus towards the end of base development. Due to how the CSS is stacked in the linked mockups, it's likely that they might change things up with an Echo-themed pass, seeing as that would require less character resources.

 

[TDDolphin]

My Shantae plushie finally arrived tonight!!!

 

[The Robot Dump]

Min-Min deconfirmed the Spirits fan rule and Steve deconfirmed the Indies fan rule, and the latter was released after the former. Why are two rule breaking characters so close together? Well, I feel like it's intentional. It's as if Masahiro Sakurai wants to add Shantae, but he is building up to it by shooting down two fan rules at the same time.

Also, it seems like Sakurai is ignoring characters who would otherwise be obvious like Crash and Rayman and is adding characters nobody expects, such as the aforementioned Steve and other less popular names like Banjo, K. Rool, Ridley etc. Aka, Sakurai is adding characters who are hated on for dumb reasons while ignoring characters who are praised nonstop.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Min-Min deconfirmed the Spirits fan rule and Steve deconfirmed the Indies fan rule, and the latter was released after the former. Why are two rule breaking characters so close together? Well, I feel like it's intentional. It's as if Masahiro Sakurai wants to add Shantae, but he is building up to it by shooting down two fan rules at the same time.

Uh, Dude! You're seriously getting carried away there.
I doubt Sakurai is even aware of these stupid fan rules.

Also, it seems like Sakurai is ignoring characters who would otherwise be obvious like Crash and Rayman and is adding characters nobody expects, such as the aforementioned Steve and other less popular names like Banjo, K. Rool, Ridley etc. Aka, Sakurai is adding characters who are hated on for dumb reasons while ignoring characters who are praised nonstop.

Banjo, K.Rool, Ridley... Less popular...?
Are you serious?
Those three were among the most requested characters for years. :/

You're making things up at this point.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Uh, Dude! You're seriously getting carried away there.
I doubt Sakurai is even aware of these stupid fan rules.


Banjo, K.Rool, Ridley... Less popular...?
Are you serious?
Those three were among the most requested characters for years. :/

You're making things up at this point.

By less popular, I mean less popular than the likes of Rayman, Crash, Master Chief, Heavy etc.

Also, Sakurai has experienced just how terrible the Smash fandom is, and I think it reached it's peak with the Waluigi drama. So yeah, I think he is very much aware of fan rules and what goes on in the Smash fandom and wants to do everything in his power to extinguish the fires.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

By less popular, I mean less popular than the likes of Rayman, Crash, Master Chief, Heavy etc.

King K. Rool was dominating the non-Asian sectors during the Ballot, according to a lot of ballot studies at the time.
And Banjo and Ridley were also up there. So no, you're wrong.
They were at least on par with your examples, if not above them.

Also, Sakurai has experienced just how terrible the Smash fandom is, and I think it reached it's peak with the Waluigi drama.

That was on Twitter.
Still doesn't mean he checks their every move, which he would kinda have to do to even become aware of fan rules.
The extent of western fans he is exposed to is surely just via Twitter and polls.
At the very least, I don't think he pays as much attention to the western fans, as he does to japanese fans.

 

[Megadoomer]

By less popular, I mean less popular than the likes of Rayman, Crash, Master Chief, Heavy etc.

Also, Sakurai has experienced just how terrible the Smash fandom is, and I think it reached it's peak with the Waluigi drama. So yeah, I think he is very much aware of fan rules and what goes on in the Smash fandom and wants to do everything in his power to extinguish the fires.

Are you saying that they're less popular in the Smash fandom, or less popular in general? If you're saying that Ridley, K. Rool, and Banjo and Kazooie are less popular in the Smash fandom, then you need to look into the sheer amount of demand that those three characters had in the Smash 4, Brawl, and Melee days. (Ridley showing up in Smash got cheers as far back as Melee's announcement)

 

[Teeb147]

Lol T The Robot Dump where you been during speculation? Feels like you don't really know the climate.
It's great to have optimism, but if you start making all these random conclusions about things you don't know, you're just filling your head with nonsense.

 

[The Robot Dump]

Are you saying that they're less popular in the Smash fandom, or less popular in general? If you're saying that Ridley, K. Rool, and Banjo and Kazooie are less popular in the Smash fandom, then you need to look into the sheer amount of demand that those three characters had in the Smash 4, Brawl, and Melee days.

I think less popular in general is the right term.

Lol T The Robot Dump where you been during speculation? Feels like you don't really know the climate.

Sorry, I'm still relatively new to Smash speculation.

 

[Teeb147]

I think less popular in general is the right term.


Sorry, I'm still relatively new to Smash speculation.

Yeah I figured. You get a sense of things over time, and I can say sakurai doesn't check things in smash speculation. He may see some random things on twitter, but he pretty much has his own way of doing things for smash. It's good that this time around they actually care more about fans and added characters people asked for (besides bayo in 4, which is questionable)

 

[The Robot Dump]

Yeah I figured. You get a sense of things over time, and I can say sakurai doesn't check things in smash speculation. He may see some random things on twitter, but he pretty much has his own way of doing things for smash. It's good that this time around they actually care more about fans and added characters people asked for (besides bayo in 4, which is questionable)

I'm just hoping that Shantae gets revealed. I'm eyeing Fighter 8 as her current spot, and if they plan to reveal her at The Game Awards 2020, I'd be so down for it.

 

[Teeb147]

I'm just hoping that Shantae gets revealed. I'm eyeing Fighter 8 as her current spot, and if they plan to reveal her at The Game Awards 2020, I'd be so down for it.

Be hopeful. But I'd say her chances aren't all that high. Just enough to say hey maybe it'll happen, who knows.

At this point though, I feel like all the front runners have been handled, and while Crash could somehow happen, he wasn't really that talked about in the past and I didnt see him on fan polls much around the time of the fighter ballot. I just feel like the top characters people talk about won't happen and we'll see either some interseting collabs that no one expected, or also a few more nintendo characters.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Don't really care who's coming next as long as something bleeding happens. We still don't know when exactly the date for the Mario 35 tournament is supposed to happen, but at least we'll see if it actually gets brought up tomorrow.

Consensus is that we're likely to get some sort of character. Who it is? Don't know, search me.

 

[TDDolphin]

Teeb147

Honestly, Crash wasn't being widely speculated about for Smash Bros. until the March 2018 Nintendo Direct that showcased both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy coming to Switch, and the very first Smash Ultimate teaser with the Inklings fighting each other. It was only after that that I noticed Crash being highly requested to join Smash. So, I suppose it could go either way for him. Either his support came too late and he's not coming, or Sakurai noticed just in time to consider Crash for DLC, and he's one of the 4 remaining characters coming. I am kinda holding out hope for Shantae being next, but something inside me is telling me that Ryu Hayabusa is gonna be Challenger 8.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

For what it's worth, there have been rumblings of a "5-year plan" to bring Crash into Smash as Activision's endgame. Only time will tell if this paid off.

 

[TDDolphin]

For what it's worth, there have been rumblings of a "5-year plan" to bring Crash into Smash as Activision's endgame. Only time will tell if this paid off.

I remember reading about that in a recent article (forgot which one ), but not only has this supposed leaked document yet to actually be seen, but it stated Crash for Smash in 2021. He could very well be one of the later challenger packs instead of 8.

Also in response to your Mario 35th Anniversary Tournament post, I believe I heard that it got delayed to December. But I'm not holding my breath for any kind of Geno reveal during it. All summer people were predicting him to be Challenger 7, and lo and behold it wound up being Steve. Don't take this the wrong way, but it seems like the Geno fans tend to be more tin-foil hat wearing when it comes to looking for reasons to why he's always coming next pack, and they never amount to anything. Besides, Nintendo never does any kind of character reveal during tournaments sponsored by them.

 

[Teeb147]

Teeb147

Honestly, Crash wasn't being widely speculated about for Smash Bros. until the March 2018 Nintendo Direct that showcased both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy coming to Switch, and the very first Smash Ultimate teaser with the Inklings fighting each other. It was only after that that I noticed Crash being highly requested to join Smash. So, I suppose it could go either way for him. Either his support came too late and he's not coming, or Sakurai noticed just in time to consider Crash for DLC, and he's one of the 4 remaining characters coming. I am kinda holding out hope for Shantae being next, but something inside me is telling me that Ryu Hayabusa is gonna be Challenger 8.

I dont expect hayabusa at all. I think people just speculate him because he's been in other crossovers.