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

[KingBowser86]

Hm. Mario isn't a "new world" per sé, so Geno might actually be the bonus character if they go FP2. Interesting.

 

[Biometal]

I still feel like if any AT gets promoted it'd be Waluigi, unless Sakurai straight-up doesn't want to add him, specifically.

Spirit-wise, Shantae should be far up there by now.

 

[zferolie]

Geno is considered a new world i say, and if its fan pleasing hes for sure one, same for shantae.

AT upgrades yeah Waluigi seems likely, but maybe the Isaac fans will get some love.

I still think Rex and Pyra will but added as Sakurao outright said if the game was slightly sooner they would have been in. He really wants them in.

Ryu Hayabusa could be leakbait but i also see him being a likely choice. He is the last try NES classic missing from the game.

These all are very likely for post FP. Part of me still hope shantae is fp5 but my money is in post for her, as thats her very likely chances.

As for FP5 people are looking at Reimu, a namco character(lloyd, a tales of rep, KOS-MOS), or a resident evil character. Those seem to be the front runners atm right?

 

[KingBowser86]

As for FP5 people are looking at Reimu, a namco character(lloyd, a tales of rep, KOS-MOS), or a resident evil character. Those seem to be the front runners atm right?

It's so hard for anyone to guess without biases. That's why I'm posting almost-neurotically, because I'm trying to take in as much hard data as possible and just spit possibilities out from there independent of biases. The way I see it, we've got the following substantial leads:

Monster Hunter - The Rathalos AT/Boss playing a major part in things (down to the Boss Battle having suspiciously-unique burial and stun mechanics where other bosses get 0 items), Missing Mega Man X and MM.EXE Mii Outfits

Lloyd Irving - Missing Mii Outfit, Tales Of series logo and symbol trademarks, VA's Tweet, upcoming 40th anniversary

Geno - Missing Mii Outfit, the Smashified SMRPG remixes that were taken down alongside the Megalovania remixes, many leakers indicating, longtime request

Doomslayer - Many leakers indicating, Nintendo likes promoting upcoming games (Doom Eternal)

Travis Touchdown - Suda met with Sakurai, Nintendo likes promoting upcoming games (No More Heroes 3)

Shantae - An absolute mountain of breadcrumbs including an unannounced Funko Pop in the same vein as Banjo-Kazooie's merch with the Smashified backpack, California-based Matt/James going to Japan on secret Shantae business (that, as far as I know, wasn't for Blaster Master Zero/Indivisible or we'd have heard such already), and Shovel Knight AT (while the AT could mean any indie at all like Quote, SK and Shantae have ties)

So if I take from this list, Geno and Monster Hunter seem like good cards to hold to frontload an FP2 or future DLC in general, while Lloyd / Doomslayer / Travis would be most sales-effective to announce later in 2020. It would seem that Shantae would indeed be FP1-5.
But there again, Snake came out of nowhere. Cloud shocked everyone. Terry snuck up on absolutely everyone and destroyed so many leaks. This could happen again with FP1-5. The grand irony is that, for anyone that isn't a die-hard Shantae fan, she is that exact kind of pick.

The other major contenders surprisingly have only 1 of these kinds of factors. Hayabusa only has leaker indication. Sakurai only talked about liking Minecraft, while the leaker indications are all-over-the-road. This section may well be in and they're just being (successfully) tight-lipped as we saw with FP1 (barring the codenames).

Waluigi, Rex/Pyra, and Isaac, on the other hand, don't carry much "face value likeliness," but they have noticeable fan request combined with some kind of appearance already. This section could be in but the evidence is running afoul of Occam's Razor at the moment. That could change at any time, especially in the case of Rex/Pyra given Sakurai's "time" remark.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

So, one thing I was thinking about this morning...

Since we may get relatively few promotions (not necessarily only 2 spirits, but still not much), I wonder if that would leave legroom for a few of the characters that somehow still aren't accounted for in the game as spirits. Namely a certain bounty hunter...

On the topic of Waluigi, I get the feeling that since he wasn't created by any of Nintendo's internal divisions but Camelot instead, they're hesitant on using him in anything outside of spin-offs. Even Sakurai doesn't want to overstep his boundaries in regards to him so far.

 

[LaBeteNoire]

That's understandable. I do have my doubts, so I may wait before buying.

If you are at all on the fence, I would highly suggests looking into what we learned from the leaks as it will help you make up your mind one way or the other. This time around Game Freak is opting to be very quiet about what the games entail, and from what we have learned, this is NOT the pokemon game to go completely blind into. THere are things there (or rather things NOT there) that will either not bother you or potentially sour the game for you enough that you will be sad you spent $60 on it

 

[zferolie]

Let me through my hat on the pokemon stuff. I was fine looking at the pokemon leaks for new pokemon, as that always excites me and i need to know to start planning my first team. I think all the new pokemon look great. Also so far all the new features i have heard make me very excited to team build.

As for the dex issue... as of now, without datamining, yes that seems like a huge cute. However, more could be in the code for post launch raid battles and swarms in the wild area. Plus we know there have to be mythical pokemon people cannot see yet. I dont think 400 is going to be the end for this game in the long run. More will be added over time, especially with how people are reacting.

Its a shame. If this dex thing wasnt an issue many would say this is the best pokemon game yet.

It's so hard for anyone to guess without biases. That's why I'm posting almost-neurotically, because I'm trying to take in as much hard data as possible and just spit possibilities out from there independent of biases. The way I see it, we've got the following substantial leads:

Monster Hunter - The Rathalos AT/Boss playing a major part in things (down to the Boss Battle having suspiciously-unique burial and stun mechanics where other bosses get 0 items), Missing Mega Man X and MM.EXE Mii Outfits

Lloyd Irving - Missing Mii Outfit, Tales Of series logo and symbol trademarks, VA's Tweet, upcoming 40th anniversary

Geno - Missing Mii Outfit, many leakers indicating, longtime request

Doomslayer - Many leakers indicating, Nintendo likes promoting upcoming games (Doom Eternal)

Travis Touchdown - Suda met with Sakurai, Nintendo likes promoting upcoming games (No More Heroes 3)

Shantae - An absolute mountain of breadcrumbs, California-based Matt/James going to Japan on secret Shantae business (that, as far as I know, wasn't for Blaster Master Zero/Indivisible or we'd have heard such already), and Shovel Knight AT (while the AT could mean any indie at all like Quote, SK and Shantae have ties)

So if I take from this list, Geno and Monster Hunter seem like good cards to hold to frontload an FP2 or future DLC in general, while Lloyd / Doomslayer / Travis would be most sales-effective to announce later in 2020. It would seem that Shantae would indeed be FP1-5.
But there again, Snake came out of nowhere. Cloud shocked everyone. Terry snuck up on absolutely everyone and destroyed so many leaks. This could happen again with FP1-5. The grand irony is that, for anyone that isn't a die-hard Shantae fan, she is that exact kind of pick.

The other major contenders surprisingly have only 1 of these kinds of factors. Hayabusa only has leaker indication. Sakurai only talked about liking Minecraft, while the leaker indications are all-over-the-road. This section may well be in and they're just being (successfully) tight-lipped as we saw with FP1 (barring the codenames).

Waluigi, Rex/Pyra, and Isaac, on the other hand, don't carry much "face value likeliness," but they have noticeable fan request combined with some kind of appearance already. This section could be in but the evidence is running afoul of Occam's Razor at the moment. That could change at any time, especially in the case of Rex/Pyra given Sakurai's "time" remark.

Lots of good points there. For monster hunter i really think sakurao felt rathalos was the best way to rep the series, as most people like the monsters more then the hunters, and i agree.

I think KOS-MOS could have a decent chance. The xeno series has a tie to both nintendo and bandai now, and we know KOS-MOS is still on monoliths softs mind, and bandai namcos. Plus she would be a very unique fighter, and no one can say anime sword fighter for her haha.

Yes baised for shantae and i know she will be in at some point. If its fp5 or later remains to be seen. I also still think reimu has a very good chance, and could actually be fp5

 

[KingBowser86]

On the topic of Waluigi, I get the feeling that since he wasn't created by any of Nintendo's internal divisions but Camelot instead, they're hesitant on using him in anything outside of spin-offs. Even Sakurai doesn't want to overstep his boundaries in regards to him so far.

I don't think that's the reason, if only because they did make an amiibo.

I think the hesitancy was because of the late Gunpei Yokoi. Daisy has been sidelined for the longest because of that too, and they specifically cited "to be honorable of his memory" that they wouldn't use his characters. However, Wario had already been active for a long time, so I think the Daisy love we've seen recently is Nintendo starting to come around on that.

 

[KingBowser86]

Lots of good points there. For monster hunter i really think sakurao felt rathalos was the best way to rep the series, as most people like the monsters more then the hunters, and i agree.

I think KOS-MOS could have a decent chance. The xeno series has a tie to both nintendo and bandai now, and we know KOS-MOS is still on monoliths softs mind, and bandai namcos. Plus she would be a very unique fighter, and no one can say anime sword fighter for her haha.

Yes baised for shantae and i know she will be in at some point. If its fp5 or later remains to be seen. I also still think reimu has a very good chance, and could actually be fp5

And, that's the thing about Reimu and KOS-MOS same as Shantae - any one of them could be FP1-5. MegamanX.EXE or ST Falcon Mk III could be FP1-5. This series is good at surprises.

My only 2 cents to throw in on Pokémon:
Cent 1: EV's/IV's/Natures are stupid and,
Cent 2: Pokémon Snap 2, already!!!

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Let's keep in mind though, Megaman.EXE could get Mii'd at any time, especially since not all of the third-party Mii costumes are back yet.

I don't think that's the reason, if only because they did make an amiibo.

I think the hesitancy was because of the late Gunpei Yokoi. Daisy has been sidelined for the longest because of that too, and they specifically cited "to be honorable of his memory" that they wouldn't use his characters. However, Wario had already been active for a long time, so I think the Daisy love we've seen recently is Nintendo starting to come around on that.

Well, that makes sense. Plus some divisions were merged by the time of Super Mario Run (EAD and one I forgot, IIRC), which was also a factor.

 

[KingBowser86]

Let's keep in mind though, Megaman.EXE could get Mii'd at any time, especially since not all of the third-party Mii costumes are back yet.



Well, that makes sense. Plus some divisions were merged by the time of Super Mario Run (EAD and one I forgot, IIRC), which was also a factor.

Eh? A speculative Mega Man X.EXE (assuming that's what they're doing with the upcoming mobile game) would be a brand-new character. As would ST Falcon Mk III.

Ohhh, is that what happened? That makes much more sense to me, then. I was wondering what the darn hold-up was. I knew some studios had merged but it didn't occur to me that it'd affect the characters...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Eh? A speculative Mega Man X.EXE (assuming that's what they're doing with the upcoming mobile game) would be a brand-new character. As would ST Falcon Mk III.

Ohhh, is that what happened? That makes much more sense to me, then. I was wondering what the darn hold-up was. I knew some studios had merged but it didn't occur to me that it'd affect the characters...

Depends on whether it's set in the same continuity as the old MMBN games or not. Would have a hard time imagining two MM.EXEs running around in the same universe.

 

[KingBowser86]

Depends on whether it's set in the same continuity as the old MMBN games or not. Would have a hard time imagining two MM.EXEs running around in the same universe.

Totally worth momentarily derailing a Shantae thread for this. Here goes:

In my envisionment, Megaman X Battle Network picks up where MMBN6 tearfully left us - the MMBN cast grown up and to the point where Lan/Mayl have Patch. In this time, Colonel is still around as a nigh-omnipresent global Antivirus program. Whether by PET or Wave Band, Patch's NetNavi that he occasionally uploads into a CopyBot is our Megaman.EXE, but upgraded to MegamanX.EXE. The converted Zero might even be trekking around as an independent Navi and ally. Meanwhile, Sigma and accompanying virus are looming, and the series can explore the dangers of a societal morality that's relative when combined with policies that are competitive in nature, A.I. hypotheticals, etc.

But that's as big of a pipe dream as when I made the Brawl reveal mockup for Bass.EXE.

 

[M00NFIRE94]

The most used excuse I'm still finding to this day why haters don't like Shantae always comes back to the infamous window theory. Do any of us even talk about that anymore? Aside from now I mean? lol

 

[meleebrawler]

Let me through my hat on the pokemon stuff. I was fine looking at the pokemon leaks for new pokemon, as that always excites me and i need to know to start planning my first team. I think all the new pokemon look great. Also so far all the new features i have heard make me very excited to team build.

As for the dex issue... as of now, without datamining, yes that seems like a huge cute. However, more could be in the code for post launch raid battles and swarms in the wild area. Plus we know there have to be mythical pokemon people cannot see yet. I dont think 400 is going to be the end for this game in the long run. More will be added over time, especially with how people are reacting.

Its a shame. If this dex thing wasnt an issue many would say this is the best pokemon game yet.



Lots of good points there. For monster hunter i really think sakurao felt rathalos was the best way to rep the series, as most people like the monsters more then the hunters, and i agree.

I think KOS-MOS could have a decent chance. The xeno series has a tie to both nintendo and bandai now, and we know KOS-MOS is still on monoliths softs mind, and bandai namcos. Plus she would be a very unique fighter, and no one can say anime sword fighter for her haha.

Yes baised for shantae and i know she will be in at some point. If its fp5 or later remains to be seen. I also still think reimu has a very good chance, and could actually be fp5

The thing about most criticisms one could levy at Pokemon these days is that they're incredibly subjective. Dex cut doesn't affect newcomers, is not very effective on those who don't transfer and so on. Graphics are always in the eye of the beholder and everyone has different favourite things to do in the games.

My favourite thing to do in these kinds of games is create lots of teams/builds to handle many different situations, and Sw/Sh definitely deliver in situations. Single and Double battles with or without Dynamaxing, raid battles, single player and capturing teams. Plus tons of quality of life changes that make doing so more feasible than ever before.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

The most used excuse I'm still finding to this day why haters don't like Shantae always comes back to the infamous window theory. Do any of us even talk about that anymore? Aside from now I mean? lol

Low hanging fruit.

IMO there's a possible clue that the last character is from Bandai Namco or Capcom, namely missing Mii costumes. None of Namco's Mii costumes from he last game have been rereleased and only a couple of Capcom's have. Capcom, maybe they're staggering out the release so it's not all Mega Man costumes but Namco has it's whole line-up empty.

 

[LaBeteNoire]

The thing about most criticisms one could levy at Pokemon these days is that they're incredibly subjective. Dex cut doesn't affect newcomers, is not very effective on those who don't transfer and so on. Graphics are always in the eye of the beholder and everyone has different favourite things to do in the games.

My favourite thing to do in these kinds of games is create lots of teams/builds to handle many different situations, and Sw/Sh definitely deliver in situations. Single and Double battles with or without Dynamaxing, raid battles, single player and capturing teams. Plus tons of quality of life changes that make doing so more feasible than ever before.

Actually, this time around is when it will affect newcomers most. For whatever reason, the anime this time around won't take place specificlly in the Galar region, but will instead be Ash and a new character traveling through all the regions. In just the preview trailer they show case tons of pokemon that won't be in these games. SO lots of fans who are just getting into pokemon will be watching this show and grow attached to certain monsters then ask for the game and find out some of them aren't there.

 

[Shinuto]

Damn....don't THIS line up reaaaaal nice with Shantae?


....Too bad its fake lol

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

The most used excuse I'm still finding to this day why haters don't like Shantae always comes back to the infamous window theory. Do any of us even talk about that anymore? Aside from now I mean? lol

I haven't even have thought about it at all lately. Those haters don't have enough brain cells to rub together about doing their research on whatever their perceived "enemies" are doing.

Actually, this time around is when it will affect newcomers most. For whatever reason, the anime this time around won't take place specificlly in the Galar region, but will instead be Ash and a new character traveling through all the regions. In just the preview trailer they show case tons of pokemon that won't be in these games. SO lots of fans who are just getting into pokemon will be watching this show and grow attached to certain monsters then ask for the game and find out some of them aren't there.

You can thanks/blame The Pokemon Company, the games are basically just ads for the multimedia juggernaut Pokémon is nowadays. Especially since the 2-year turnover period is far too short for recent gens.

Damn....don't THIS line up reaaaaal nice with Shantae?


....Too bad its fake lol
View attachment 246223

Granted, it could be Jason Frudnick or something, but between this and the recent Nitro-Fueled leaks, the end of this year is set to be explosive.

Edit: Oh. Everyone is just pretending to be Sabi now, at this rate her credibility will be shot to death by jokesters like this.

 

[meleebrawler]

Actually, this time around is when it will affect newcomers most. For whatever reason, the anime this time around won't take place specificlly in the Galar region, but will instead be Ash and a new character traveling through all the regions. In just the preview trailer they show case tons of pokemon that won't be in these games. SO lots of fans who are just getting into pokemon will be watching this show and grow attached to certain monsters then ask for the game and find out some of them aren't there.

And? Most regions can be accessed with a 3DS these days. Only ones that aren't readily available are Sinnoh and Unova. The anime probably isn't going to be called Sword & Shield anyway. New fans will get pointed to the correct games when they mention X Pokemon from X region.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Sabi has a hard life.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[TheCJBrine]

Sabi has a hard life.

Heh, they didn't even tag him.

 

[Inoj]

Sabi has a hard life.

Did somebody order some MGS music?

 

[zferolie]

The thing about most criticisms one could levy at Pokemon these days is that they're incredibly subjective. Dex cut doesn't affect newcomers, is not very effective on those who don't transfer and so on. Graphics are always in the eye of the beholder and everyone has different favourite things to do in the games.

My favourite thing to do in these kinds of games is create lots of teams/builds to handle many different situations, and Sw/Sh definitely deliver in situations. Single and Double battles with or without Dynamaxing, raid battles, single player and capturing teams. Plus tons of quality of life changes that make doing so more feasible than ever before.

I love making teams in pokemon. its just in the past it has been so hard with getting natures, egg moves, evs. they are making it a lot easier and i appreaciate that. My goal was to make a team using every fully evolved pokemon(and some lower ones that are viable). With only 400 pokemon i won't be able to do every pokemon sadly, but as they add more i will have more teams to make

 

[meleebrawler]

I love making teams in pokemon. its just in the past it has been so hard with getting natures, egg moves, evs. they are making it a lot easier and i appreaciate that. My goal was to make a team using every fully evolved pokemon(and some lower ones that are viable). With only 400 pokemon i won't be able to do every pokemon sadly, but as they add more i will have more teams to make

If you still have your older games, could you not say you have done it or will do it at some point?

 

[zferolie]

If you still have your older games, could you not say you have done it or will do it at some point?

I never got as far as I wished in older games. Like I never got USUM as did not like how the new story was at all, hugely lower then the first game with Lusamine. Loved her as a villain and the new games ignored that. Also never got to make Mega Lopunny as a team, which sucks as I loved her design

 

[LaBeteNoire]

I never got as far as I wished in older games. Like I never got USUM as did not like how the new story was at all, hugely lower then the first game with Lusamine. Loved her as a villain and the new games ignored that. Also never got to make Mega Lopunny as a team, which sucks as I loved her design

Mega Lopunny was a perfect example of how good mega evolution could be of an overlooked pokemon. Lopunny used to have one role which was to switcheroo a toxic orb onto an opponent, but with it's Mega evolution it suddenly became a decently fast heavy hitter with perfect type coverage. And design wise it basically turned into rabbit Chun Li, so win-win.

 

[zferolie]

Mega Lopunny was a perfect example of how good mega evolution could be of an overlooked pokemon. Lopunny used to have one role which was to switcheroo a toxic orb onto an opponent, but with it's Mega evolution it suddenly became a decently fast heavy hitter with perfect type coverage. And design wise it basically turned into rabbit Chun Li, so win-win.

Yup, and now megas are gone so a lot of these pokemon are meh again. I think they should bring back Mega's and Z-moves, but balance them a bit. Make the Z moves only have the special unique ones(maybe add a few more), and as for mega's change some of the stats and make it have a time limit(since the ,mega stones have become less filled with energy or something

 

[M00NFIRE94]

Low hanging fruit.

IMO there's a possible clue that the last character is from Bandai Namco or Capcom, namely missing Mii costumes. None of Namco's Mii costumes from he last game have been rereleased and only a couple of Capcom's have. Capcom, maybe they're staggering out the release so it's not all Mega Man costumes but Namco has it's whole line-up empty.

If it does come down to a Capcom/Namco rep, I hope it's either a Resident Evil or Tales rep. Jill Valentine and Velvet Crowe would be interesting. I do have friends that want to see Lloyd though as the Tales rep so I wouldn't mind him either.

 

[Sunny-Zee]

Hey guys, anyone for a luau?

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[KingBowser86]

Huh! River City Girls for Switch releases on my birthday! Neat.

Hey guys, anyone for a luau?

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Whaddya want me to do - dress in drag and do the Hula?!
sees Shantae
L U A U

 

[zferolie]

Hey guys, anyone for a luau?

There was a problem fetching the tweet

oh from 7 sirens? I've been avoiding any info on that, but its cool that she'll be in a hula outfit. hope she changes outfits a few times

 

[LaBeteNoire]

Yup, and now megas are gone so a lot of these pokemon are meh again. I think they should bring back Mega's and Z-moves, but balance them a bit. Make the Z moves only have the special unique ones(maybe add a few more), and as for mega's change some of the stats and make it have a time limit(since the ,mega stones have become less filled with energy or something

They should bring megas back, but they won't because they completely outclass Gigantamax. In one of the leaks it showed a gym battle, the leader sent out their ace and gigantamaxed it, the player used their starter who was a couple levels over it and had a 2x type advantage and killed it one shot. Gigantamaxing only give them an HP boost and that's it.

 

[Biometal]

They should bring megas back, but they won't because they completely outclass Gigantamax. In one of the leaks it showed a gym battle, the leader sent out their ace and gigantamaxed it, the player used their starter who was a couple levels over it and had a 2x type advantage and killed it one shot. Gigantamaxing only give them an HP boost and that's it.

Gigantimaxing is just Totem 2.0 with Mega Evolution appearance-changing aesthetics.

 

[LaBeteNoire]

Gigantimaxing is just Totem 2.0 with Mega Evolution appearance-changing aesthetics.

Yeah, I don;t see any undeused monster getting a huge boost to their viability from a Gigantamax form.

Moving on from disappointing form changes to pleasant ones. Shantae looks adorable in her Luau garb.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Where are those screenshots from? Did Part 2 get shadow-dropped?

 

[Biometal]

Where are those screenshots from? Did Part 2 get shadow-dropped?

I saw full gameplay of that part a few weeks ago. Idk exactly how people are getting it, but it's probably still uploaded.

 

[KingBowser86]

I've just been seeing the Luau and second dungeon as part of the Part 1 demo. (Yeah, I spoiled a significant part of the intro in anticipation, but to be fair, it's the intro. All the good stuff happens in Act 3 in Shantae games.)

 

[meleebrawler]

Why is everyone surprised by luau Shantae? We saw her as part of the stickers distributed by Limited Run Games.

Yeah, I don;t see any undeused monster getting a huge boost to their viability from a Gigantamax form.

Moving on from disappointing form changes to pleasant ones. Shantae looks adorable in her Luau garb.

Maybe it's for the best these form changes don't boost you too dramatically. It's not like you'll benefit from level advantage online anyway.

You don't need Mega Evolution for a boost in viability, in fact I'd argue it's a band-aid that masks issues instead of addressing them. If you're weak enough that Mega Evolving is your only recourse to be a threat, why not just bring them closer to that level by default? Only Sableye had any real nuance as to whether or when to do so, thanks to a good ability given to his base form.

Slush Rush Beartic and Drizzle Pelipper are two other good examples of improvements to overlooked mons. Sometimes even just indirect buffs to stuff like moves or small BST increases can see a jump, and that's not even getting to regional forms giving mons like Farfetch'd a new lease on life.

 

[LaBeteNoire]

Why is everyone surprised by luau Shantae? We saw her as part of the stickers distributed by Limited Run Games.



Maybe it's for the best these form changes don't boost you too dramatically. It's not like you'll benefit from level advantage online anyway.

You don't need Mega Evolution for a boost in viability, in fact I'd argue it's a band-aid that masks issues instead of addressing them. If you're weak enough that Mega Evolving is your only recourse to be a threat, why not just bring them closer to that level by default? Only Sableye had any real nuance as to whether or when to do so, thanks to a good ability given to his base form.

Slush Rush Beartic and Drizzle Pelipper are two other good examples of improvements to overlooked mons. Sometimes even just indirect buffs to stuff like moves or small BST increases can see a jump, and that's not even getting to regional forms giving mons like Farfetch'd a new lease on life.

Yeah, but GF is more keen on just forgetting pokemon most of the time than buffing them. If anything that was part of why the decided to do the cut. Can't make all of them useful at once, so ditch half of them (but then they still kept releatively useless ones in like Basculin...)

As for regional varients, they are a very mixed bag, because too many of them chamge the pokemon so much that they are basically another pokemon with the same name. So what happens is that technically an old pokemon might get a new chance in the spotlight, but only by giving up everything they were. Like Ninetales didn't get better in gen 7, it just had it's name used by a drastically different pokemon that had a few similarities. PLus stat totals stay the same, so the best that ever happens is a variant might be a bit more min'maxed. Regional varients are for the most part a lateral move rather than an improvement (with a few exceptions like Muk)

Now not all mega were great. SO barely changed how the pokemon worked (same typing same ability) and just made it more powerful. But the really good ones gave new life into certain pokemon that were never going to see much use ever again. PLus they allowed for something that never existed before, ability combos. Since many megas changed abilities, some pokemon got some really cool bonues from it. Mawile and Gayrados could now use intimidate to get a free debuff and them mega evolve to make use of new abilities. To go back to Lopunny, you could now use a limber Lopunny and switch it in when you were expecting a thunderwave. Now yuo got a free switch and could them mega evolve to a semi sweeper with perfect type coverage.

And when it comes to Dyna/Giganta not being as strong. it might make it better for balance, but it kind looks silly to have the enormous building sized monsters then getting one shot like they were their regular size. Like from a lore aspect they should be more powerful than megas just because they are supposed to feel like these overblown Kaiju battles. While we are talking about lore/design, megas were also more personal to the pokemon that got them. They looked at them and said "what is this pokemon about and how can we accentuate that to it's next obvious degree?" and because of that Mega designs were far more varied and unique. Alakazam is all about it's mind, so it's mega has a withered body. Kangaskahn is all about a mother taking care of it's baby, so it doesn't change at all while the baby grows up a little.

Every gigantamax form has the same design goal of "emphasize something that's remarkably big about this pokemon" and yes, they found different ways to do that, but they all lead to the same end goal. The only Gigantamax thar actually feels personal to the pokemon is PIkachu because it is a reference to Pikachu's origins.

Dunno, it's just they seem to be trying to make such a big deal (pun really not intended) about Gigantamax when it just feels rather underwhelming in actual practice. instead of a replacement to Megas it more feels like a buff to z-moves where you can use three of them (if you don;t get ko'd before then)