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

[zferolie]

Why didn't you post the new video here WreckitRyan ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68gt3-9qXG4

Was actually just about to watch that after I made this one post.

So while I was triming the hedges at my mom's and grandma's, I was thinking a bit. Basically how the next direct, and other directs, may go. I am guessing we will get a fall general direct next week or the week after, focusing on Fall nintendo games, including smash and pokemon, as well as more infor on the live service.

For the fall direct, I actually see it opening with a Smash reveal, and that reveal being Shantae. Why? As with the castlevania on, they would like to talk about how they made it happen a bit, and go over some of her stuff, like stage (Scuttle town) and music, go a bit over Risky Boots Boss, and the Rotty Tops AT.

After that we get some more other games coming, like Starlink, the upcoming torna DLC, maybe some DLC for Hyrule warriors(A champions DLC pack with the 4 champions playable, plus a new map) and FE warriors. Then about Half way through the direct we are told say hello to 2 more echos for smash Brothers, Dixie kong(Loads in with that last part of the K Rool trailer and dixie saves them), and isabelle

Second half goes into other games, like some new ones, like Metroid Prime HD collection, and an HD Remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles X. After that we get more info on Pokemon Lets go. Then right as the Direct ends, we get a one more thing, another trailer. This one would be either a pokemon (Incineroar or someone else), OR Elma. Then it gives us the adding the 4 new comers to the banner, Shantae and Daisy bumping butts. I feel they would open and close with a new character, just like the last and E3 direct, plus some echos, to stay consitant, and leave the very end of the direct to add them to the banner. And this would still leave plenty of time for other fall Switch games.

I also theorized 2 more smash directs, one in October, and 1 in late november or early december. The October one would focus on the new mode, and other single player modes. It will open with Geno trailer, since the trailer itself is heavily tied to the single player mode. The story mode disscusion would go over the basics on how it works and stuff, one key thing being villains or traing to take over. There will be many bosses in the mode, and we will get a special secontion for that. Dracula and Rathalos already teased it, but Big Yellow, Metal Face, Risky Boots, Dr. Eggman, Mother Brain, Porky, and SNES Andross are shown off as well. They hint at a lot more being in as well, with a laugh from and off screen Marx and Skull Kid.

After that them mention 3 classic villains are appearing as Echos, and show off Shadow, Medusa, and Black Shadow. Mention how they are different from their conterparts, and how they will also play key rolls in the story.

After that some more gameplay info, like trophies, smash run returning, break the targets and board the platforms coming back. Last they end with a trailer, showing off Elma or a Pokemon

Last direct right before the release will focus on the remaining characters, as well as Online modes and the future of smash brothers. I feel like Sakuari would be planning how online works till the last second, hence why we don't hear anything about it till near launch. Opens with a trailer for the retro/wtf character for the game. We get some brief info on them and their stage if they get one. After that they then show off the last 2 echos, Ken or Akuma and Ms Pac Man. Then they detail the online modes, how it would work, ranked and casual, all that stuff. The we get the last smash reveal trailer, EITHER Banjo+Kazooie or Issac. Go into detail why they were added or how it happened, go over their stage (plus a minecraft stage if B+K are in) Last, Sakurai talks about the future of smash, its DLC plans and what not, giveing us a sneak peak at 1 or 2 of the upcoming stages, fighters, and other stuff. Maybe showing Rex+Pyra, Issac if he wasn't already in, and Rayman)

Phew... sorry for that massive text wall. Thinking WAY TOO MUCH about this game lol

 

[Shadowknight1]

Those Jammies Mode pictures just make me want plushies of the whole Shantae crew.

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

There's a disturbing lack of Shantae merchandise in general.

 

[EarlTamm]

You know, someone should map the data of the the replies of each of the top threads for every day after that last direct, because so much has changed. K.Rool is no longer top dog, Ashley got disconfirmed(May she rise again), and Shantae has now reached 90 pages. Really, I would just love to see those stats and the growth of this thread compared to others, it's amazing. And as for Shantae merch, why is there no Squid Baron merch at least? Maybe we should have let Hypno Baron complete his plan...

 

[GoldLiger]

Yeah 94 is the year when Shantae became the thought child of Matt and Erin so yeah. But then again it could be a clever way to disguise it as another thing. Stuff like that has happened before.

EDIT: Wow we are ten pages away from the big 100 page celebration!!!

 

[Shadowknight1]

There's a disturbing lack of Shantae merchandise in general.

Agreed. I think GoodSmile/Max Factory could make an adorable figma of Shantae if she were popular enough. I also think she'd be a great fit for a Rock Candy style figure, though at this point I would settle for a Pop! Vinyl, like these:

 

[Shadow Novus]

Okay guys I did a little word play with my tweet to WayForward. No mentions of the word Smash at all. Let me know what you all think about it.

https://twitter.com/GoldLiger0X/status/1035966785290493954

*snicker*


I doubt they're going to fall for that, but it was a good attempt.

Starved as we are for info though, I wouldn't want to make Wayforward accidentally slip up because they could potentially end up in a big heap of trouble.

 

[WreckitRyan]

Why didn't you post the new video here WreckitRyan ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68gt3-9qXG4

You beat me to it! Thanks for posting the link Also that Twitter message made me lol.

 

[MattX20]

The Daisy with Shantae thing would make perfect sense given their usage of their hips

 

[loozer2]

So in Jammies mode, I'm sure some people remember this peculiar game-clear image:

I remember people once discussing how the number "94" doesn't seem to have any relevance with Shantae or WF.

However, put on your handy-dandy tinfoil hat and bear with me for just a moment.

Would it not be funny if we were to get a surprise announcement of a Nintendo Direct for Tuesday (either tomorrow or Monday)? Can anyone understand why, when cross-examined with this image, a Tuesday (September 4th) direct would be potentially "funny"?

Spoiler

Tuesday, September 4th is exactly 94 days until Smash Ultimate's release.

Obviously, if it doesn't happen, we just continue forward like business as usual. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

I mean unless Nintendo and WF are so confident in their ability to predict the future many months ahead then this is a bit too out there for me. Large directs like this take the planning and work of many different people across many different divisions of Nintendo in several different countries. There's realistically no way they could have an exact date planned that far in advance, at least with the confidence to include that in the game.

 

[GoldLiger]

You beat me to it! Thanks for posting the link Also that Twitter message made me lol.

Well it isn't breaking the NDA since I am talking about a totally different subject(ways to celebrate our favorite Half Genie Hero). Oh well do someone else wants to try using an even MORE obscure question?

 

[Shinuto]

Well it isn't breaking the NDA since I am talking about a totally different subject(ways to celebrate our favorite Half Genie Hero). Oh well do someone else wants to try using an even MORE obscure question?

No cause I don't want to make them accidentally break NDA like a jack***

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

Really, I would be content with just leaving WayForward alone.

It's extremely obvious they're under an NDA given they get bombarded by Smash-related questions hundreds of times. No need for further confirmation.

The question is how Shantae will be represented in Smash. She's virtually guaranteed to be represented in some capacity.

 

[Yellowlord]

Really, I would be content with just leaving WayForward alone.

It's extremely obvious they're under an NDA given they get bombarded by Smash-related questions hundreds of times. No need for further confirmation.

The question is how Shantae will be represented in Smash. She's virtually guaranteed to be represented in some capacity.

To be honest, if she gets in, I'm not sure what I'm going to think, really...

It'll be positive, of course, but the thought of it... I've pretty much been supporting her in some form since 2015, and I didn't think she would have a chance, but.... Ultimate might be her time to shine, finally. And well.... I'll be Ret2Go if that time finally comes before December.

 

[AngrySun88]

I'll be honest and say that I'd rather her not be in the game at all than be an assist trophy. That pretty much would kill her chances of being playable as DLC unless Sakurai starts making AT characters to playable for DLC.

WayForward is under an NDA as I think they would have told us if she wasn't in. So I do agree that she's in the game in some form.

 

[GoldLiger]

Really, I would be content with just leaving WayForward alone.

It's extremely obvious they're under an NDA given they get bombarded by Smash-related questions hundreds of times. No need for further confirmation.

The question is how Shantae will be represented in Smash. She's virtually guaranteed to be represented in some capacity.

The only way she can get in is via playable status. Especially with all this silence. Even Yacht Club games weren't THIS silent when it came to Shovel Knight(and as we now know he is an AT). Nothing warrants this level of silence and lack of participation in other Indie celebrating fighters more than being a playable character in one of the best Smash games in the decade.

I am probably looking into this too much but hey you can't tell me this silence is because of something OTHER than a very strict NDA.

 

[CloudedSun]

I honestly don't think Sakurai is as random as people think.

-points to Wii Fit Trainer

I feel like if a Nintendo Direct weren't announced at this point in time already, then there isn't gonna be one coming this week.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

-points to Wii Fit Trainer

Yes, but not to the point of passing over (too) many popular choices. It's one thing to pass over Bomberman, Konami owns plenty of other potential picks, so go figure. But WayForward? They don't have too many viable choices, so ignoring the most obvious one for the sake of the element of surprise would be missing the forest for the trees. He ain't Vince Russo.

Besides, WTF picks are a different can of worms.

 

[Booper Blooper]

I'll be honest and say that I'd rather her not be in the game at all than be an assist trophy. That pretty much would kill her chances of being playable as DLC unless Sakurai starts making AT characters to playable for DLC.

WayForward is under an NDA as I think they would have told us if she wasn't in. So I do agree that she's in the game in some form.

I understand the sentiment, but I feel very differerntly.
Obviously, a playable Shantae would be amazing, and would be the ideal situation, but I really think people underestimate how big of a deal it is to be an assist trophy.

Obviously it has nothing on being a character, and it'd be a bummer that a playable Shantae wouldn't happen during Ultimate, but it is still an huge amount of recognition for a fantastic character that honestly I never thought had a chance before seeing the success of WayForward's ballot campaign, as much as I wanted it. And to me, that would still be pretty awesome, despite stinging a bit.

 

[AngrySun88]

The only way she can get in is via playable status. Especially with all this silence. Even Yacht Club games weren't THIS silent when it came to Shovel Knight(and as we now know he is an AT). Nothing warrants this level of silence and lack of participation in other Indie celebrating fighters more than being a playable character in one of the best Smash games in the decade.

I am probably looking into this too much but hey you can't tell me this silence is because of something OTHER than a very strict NDA.

This is my line of thinking as well. WF is being way too suspicious for her to be a simple AT while Yacht Club wasn't this quiet, and they were likely under a similar NDA. We're probably over-analyzing it, but I completely agree that WF has been very out of character lately. At the very least, I think we can all agree that she's in the game in some form. I'll be shocked if she's not.

I understand the sentiment, but I feel very differerntly.
Obviously, a playable Shantae would be amazing, and would be the ideal situation, but I really think people underestimate how big of a deal it is to be an assist trophy.

Obviously it has nothing on being a character, and it'd be a bummer that a playable Shantae wouldn't happen during Ultimate, but it is still an huge amount of recognition for a fantastic character that honestly I never thought had a chance before seeing the success of WayForward's ballot campaign, as much as I wanted it. And to me, that would still be pretty awesome, despite stinging a bit.

Characters like Ashley with such great potential regulated to merely being an assist trophy are why I have a love-hate relationship with assist trophies. Some I completely understand, but others like Shantae would be far better suited for being playable. Sure, it's nice to have the recognition, but for some characters it just feels like their potential is being wasted.

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

I understand the sentiment, but I feel very differerntly.
Obviously, a playable Shantae would be amazing, and would be the ideal situation, but I really think people underestimate how big of a deal it is to be an assist trophy.

Obviously it has nothing on being a character, and it'd be a bummer that a playable Shantae wouldn't happen during Ultimate, but it is still an huge amount of recognition for a fantastic character that honestly I never thought had a chance before seeing the success of WayForward's ballot campaign, as much as I wanted it. And to me, that would still be pretty awesome, despite stinging a bit.

^ This right here.

If Shantae is an AT then that means she'll have plenty of appearances in matches amongst casual fans AND get a regular trophy too. And given that she's usually promoted at the forefront (along with Shovel Knight) in the Indie section, she'll gain significantly more exposure and popularity as a result. I could see plenty of people investigating her and buying her games if she gets in and being intrigued by her abilities.

The biggest thing for me is Shantae gaining more traction as a series and helping to expand WayForward's budget so they can bring us even bigger and even better games. As well as the merchandise.~

Obviously I want her playable. But it's not an insult in the least if she's an AT. It'll still be a massive boon for her and for her future, in regards to her games and Smash.

 

[GoldLiger]

This is my line of thinking as well. WF is being way too suspicious for her to be a simple AT while Yacht Club wasn't this quiet, and they were likely under a similar NDA. We're probably over-analyzing it, but I completely agree that WF has been very out of character lately. At the very least, I think we can all agree that she's in the game in some form. I'll be shocked if she's not.



Characters like Ashley with such great potential regulated to merely being an assist trophy are why I have a love-hate relationship with assist trophies. Some I completely understand, but others like Shantae would be far better suited for being playable. Sure, it's nice to have the recognition, but for some characters it just feels like their potential is being wasted.

Heck Shantae's VA is also just as quiet as WayForward and Mr. Bozon. It's too much for MERE coincidence.

 

[PichuMain]

Heck Shantae's VA is also just as quiet as WayForward and Mr. Bozon. It's too much for MERE coincidence.

Shantae's VA is also quiet? You have any sources? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[GoldLiger]

Shantae's VA is also quiet? You have any sources? I'm genuinely curious.

Go ask her any question with the words "Shantae" and "Smash" and she will not respond. But when it comes to anything else it's business as usual.

 

[Biometal]

I understand the sentiment, but I feel very differerntly.
Obviously, a playable Shantae would be amazing, and would be the ideal situation, but I really think people underestimate how big of a deal it is to be an assist trophy.

Obviously it has nothing on being a character, and it'd be a bummer that a playable Shantae wouldn't happen during Ultimate, but it is still an huge amount of recognition for a fantastic character that honestly I never thought had a chance before seeing the success of WayForward's ballot campaign, as much as I wanted it. And to me, that would still be pretty awesome, despite stinging a bit.

If not a base playable character, a regular trophy for representation I feel would be better than representation through AT; regular trophies should give somewhat of a representation, but an AT would nullify any possibility of her being playable through DLC.

Just my two-cents.

 

[CHAMPIONX9]

-points to Wii Fit Trainer

Even for all the characters that people think were unpredictable, Sakurai has written about his reasoning behind them.

From this, I was asked the following questions from many people. “I understand Megaman, but why were Villager and Wii Fit Trainer chosen?” They’re clearly not characters suited for battle. In fact, there was even a point where in the planning stages of the previous game, “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” I removed the Villager, the protagonist of Animal Crossing, from consideration because he wasn’t suited for battle. To be blunt, if I think I can do it then I can envision a concrete embodiment of the character, but if I cannot do that the character cannot be made.” This is a big factor. Of course getting permission and understanding from the original creators is necessary, but whether the image of the character in my head is dancing powerfully, or not. This is of the utmost importance. On the contrary, no matter how suited a character may be to fighting, if I cannot meaningfully distinguish them from other characters, or create fun unique characteristics of the characters, then that’s the end for them. I think there are probably many who have looked at the trailers on the official website or pictures and realized that both Villager and Wii Fit Trainer were not selected solely because they can show off their eccentricity. They each have their own individual fighting styles and strategies, and make the game more fun.
https://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/09/megaman-villager-wiifit/

if you view from a Creator's stand point all his actions make sense. It seems like he had a lot of fun making wii fit trainer. Wii fit trainer lent itself to "an image" an "interpretation" that danced and appealed to him.
Apart from that, Wii fit was also successful and was having a new game being developed for wii fit at the time. Mr. Game and Watch and Rob had also set a precedent for those kinds of characters.

How this is all Shantae related, it has to do with whether or not Sakurai can envision an image for her. (Which might be why shovel knight isn't playable, if Sakurai couldn't find a way to "meaningfully distinguish him from other characters".) The biggest difficulty would be to come up with a coherent image that takes advantage of what Shantae has to offer.
What do you guys think the Slogan/Concept behind Shantae could be?
Sakurai thought the “sword and sorcery/magic concept" with Robin worked well for showing individuality. Here are other examples.

http://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/11/gdc-2008-translation/

 

[Luminario]

What do you guys think the Slogan/Concept behind Shantae could be?

"Transforming Genie Dancer" sounds like it pops to me.

 

[EarlTamm]

Even for all the characters that people think were unpredictable, Sakurai has written about his reasoning behind them.


if you view from a Creator's stand point all his actions make sense. It seems like he had a lot of fun making wii fit trainer. Wii fit trainer lent itself to "an image" an "interpretation" that danced and appealed to him.
Apart from that, Wii fit was also successful and was having a new game being developed for wii fit at the time. Mr. Game and Watch and Rob had also set a precedent for those kinds of characters.

How this is all Shantae related, it has to do with whether or not Sakurai can envision an image for her. (Which might be why shovel knight isn't playable, if Sakurai couldn't find a way to "meaningfully distinguish him from other characters".) The biggest difficulty would be to come up with a coherent image that takes advantage of what Shantae has to offer.
What do you guys think the Slogan/Concept behind Shantae could be?
Sakurai thought the “sword and sorcery/magic concept" with Robin worked well for showing individuality. Here are other examples.

http://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/11/gdc-2008-translation/

"Magical shapeshifting dancer"

 

[Shadowknight1]

So Best Buy is having some Smash Ultimate demo events starting soon. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea since some unscrupulous Best Buy employee is likely to get their hands on the demo and then data mine it and reveal everything Sakurai has planned for the game?

 

[Captain Hazama]

So Best Buy is having some Smash Ultimate demo events starting soon. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea since some unscrupulous Best Buy employee is likely to get their hands on the demo and then data mine it and reveal everything Sakurai has planned for the game?

Didn't they try that with the last Smash game? I swear they did that, and even someone stole the demo as well.

 

[Lukingordex]

I support Shantae.

 

[AngrySun88]

So Best Buy is having some Smash Ultimate demo events starting soon. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea since some unscrupulous Best Buy employee is likely to get their hands on the demo and then data mine it and reveal everything Sakurai has planned for the game?

Yeah, that's a leak waiting to happen. I wouldn't put it past some Best Buy employee to either leak it or steal the copy and datamine it. This is a bad idea.

 

[EarlTamm]

I have a feeling that Sakurai would not allow this if he had any worries. So perhaps at this point there would be nothing new on the old demo's?

 

[Captain Hazama]

Still. Someone will be dumb enough to try and steal it to datamined it.

 

[Biometal]

The game is just a few months away. There should be no need for a demo because they've already been having events that allow people to attend and try the game out, and plus it will get datamined, again.

Now, if the build that would be in the demo would exclude future content, then sure.

 

[DeltaSceptile]

^ This right here.

If Shantae is an AT then that means she'll have plenty of appearances in matches amongst casual fans AND get a regular trophy too. And given that she's usually promoted at the forefront (along with Shovel Knight) in the Indie section, she'll gain significantly more exposure and popularity as a result. I could see plenty of people investigating her and buying her games if she gets in and being intrigued by her abilities.

The biggest thing for me is Shantae gaining more traction as a series and helping to expand WayForward's budget so they can bring us even bigger and even better games. As well as the merchandise.~

Obviously I want her playable. But it's not an insult in the least if she's an AT. It'll still be a massive boon for her and for her future, in regards to her games and Smash.

I honestly would rather a character stick to being unique in their own game as opposed to getting shoved in as an assist trophy. Just look at Knuckles for example: He hardly does anything from actual sonic games, and I would love to know when the heck Knuckles used homing spin attacks in a Sonic game. He doesn’t even do the glide, which is pretty much his trademark thing, groundpound, or regular punches. All we know is that his assist trophy does homing attacks and uses straight up dig from pokemon. Assist trophies are terrible images of what characters can do, and don’t even get me started on the poke balls.

 

[Biometal]

don’t even get me started on the poke balls.

What does Moltres even do? I could honestly never tell and assumed it was Overheat, but Groudon uses this. (Not to go off topic.)

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Even for all the characters that people think were unpredictable, Sakurai has written about his reasoning behind them.


if you view from a Creator's stand point all his actions make sense. It seems like he had a lot of fun making wii fit trainer. Wii fit trainer lent itself to "an image" an "interpretation" that danced and appealed to him.
Apart from that, Wii fit was also successful and was having a new game being developed for wii fit at the time. Mr. Game and Watch and Rob had also set a precedent for those kinds of characters.

How this is all Shantae related, it has to do with whether or not Sakurai can envision an image for her. (Which might be why shovel knight isn't playable, if Sakurai couldn't find a way to "meaningfully distinguish him from other characters".) The biggest difficulty would be to come up with a coherent image that takes advantage of what Shantae has to offer.
What do you guys think the Slogan/Concept behind Shantae could be?
Sakurai thought the “sword and sorcery/magic concept" with Robin worked well for showing individuality. Here are other examples.

http://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/11/gdc-2008-translation/

"Adaptable magic dancer" sounds like it could put the point across.

 

[DeltaSceptile]

What does Moltres even do? I could honestly never tell and assumed it was Overheat, but Groudon uses this. (Not to go off topic.)

You know there’s a problem with assists when people ask what they do. After looking at the moves Moltres uses in the games, my best guess is heat wave or sky attack/wing attack.

 

[Teeb147]

Looks like I missed a bit of stuff. To be fair I think it can be tough to keep up with threads that get bigger.
We're already at page 90, only 10 more before we hit 100 :O

I was busy making a support thread for Secret of Mana
(I think I'm pretty proud of how it turned out now: )
https://smashboards.com/threads/randi-primm-the-legends-and-secret-of-mana-for-smash.458008/

I'll catch up with Shantae tonight or tomorow, lol.