Team Star Fox call in Krystal for Smash!

[Mushroomguy12]

So how would you guys feel about a Krystal Mii costume?

If she absolutely can't get in as a playable character, it's better than nothing.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

So how would you guys feel about a Krystal Mii costume?

It won't happen. She's already an AT, and they tend to do costumes related to themes (not always, but usually). It wouldn't make much sense for her to have a Mii Fighter costume included with... I dunno, Dante or something. The Mii Fighter costumes work really well for cartoony, squat characters like Sans, Vault Boy or Cuphead. It sort of works for Geno since he's already toy-like. It would look cheap or goofy for Krystal, who is more realistically proportioned and detailed.

Another reason I would like to see Krystal get upgraded to a playable character is to see the Orbital Gate Assault level come back. Sakurai's team spent a year making that level for Smash 4, and then left it out of Ultimate. It's a glaring omission, and it would make sense to upgrade Krystal to a fighter and have that level be her accompanying stage. Considering the stage just needs to be ported over/reworked, and her AT already has a variety of attacks and movements built in, I think it'd be easier for Sakurai to upgrade her to a playable character than starting a new character from scratch.

But she won't set twitter trends on fire because she's not a third party rep, so I don't think it'll happen this time around.

 

[Dinoman96]

Lyn and Krystal are two characters I'm surprised haven't been made Mii outfits yet. As shown by Aerith, the latter could absolutely work as a Swordfighter outfit.

 

[Guynamednelson]

But she won't set twitter trends on fire because she's not a third party rep, so I don't think it'll happen this time around.

Except Ultimate's development cycles seem to only have two big "hype bombs" each. Base game had Everyone/Ridley and August 8, FP1 had Joker and Hero/Banjo, and now FP2 has Steve/Sephiroth.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

Except Ultimate's development cycles seem to only have two big "hype bombs" each. Base game had Everyone/Ridley and August 8, FP1 had Joker and Hero/Banjo, and now FP2 has Steve/Sephiroth.

In your opinion.

 

[Guynamednelson]

In your opinion.

It's not just an opinion. Nintendo may have a lot of money, but they have to spend it on plenty of other things, not just DLC for one game.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

It's not just an opinion. Nintendo may have a lot of money, but they have to spend it on plenty of other things, not just DLC for one game.

Are you here to have in-depth discussions or just do drive-by 'ackshually' posts?

 

[Ryuvain]

If she absolutely can't get in as a playable character, it's better than nothing.

Yeah, only if she wasn't going to make it in at all.

It would hurt since she once was actually considered by Sakurai and actually has some of her moveset done already in her AT. But it's better than nothing.

 

[~Krystal~]

So how would you guys feel about a Krystal Mii costume?

I'd view it as a way to submit a second ballot and purchase the costume as a show of support. The ability to express our demand in dollars and cents is something that's eluded us in all these years of Smash, and with a field this crowded, you have to take the opportunities to stand out where you can.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I'd view it as a way to submit a second ballot and purchase the costume as a show of support. The ability to express our demand in dollars and cents is something that's eluded us in all these years of Smash, and with a field this crowded, you have to take the opportunities to stand out where you can.

I agree. A Krystal costume would be a second Ballot for us and maybe if enough of us bought it that would get Sakurai and Nintendo's attention to get her in the next game.

 

[ArcaneKitsune]

So how would you guys feel about a Krystal Mii costume?

I'd view it as a way to submit a second ballot and purchase the costume as a show of support. The ability to express our demand in dollars and cents is something that's eluded us in all these years of Smash, and with a field this crowded, you have to take the opportunities to stand out where you can.

I fully agree with what ~Krystal~ said about a Krystal Mii costume, but it would also be bittersweet because we came so close to fully playable only to get shot down again.

However, given that Sakurai has broken some deep seeded fan rules already with this second fighter pass makes me wonder if he has the Assist Trophy fan rule on the chopping block next. If so who would he release from their infernal shackles of assisting first?

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I fully agree with what ~Krystal~ said about a Krystal Mii costume, but it would also be bittersweet because we came so close to fully playable only to get shot down again.

However, given that Sakurai has broken some deep seeded fan rules already with this second fighter pass makes me wonder if he has the Assist Trophy fan rule on the chopping block next. If so who would he release from their infernal shackles of assisting first?

I would still take the costume since that would make Krystal likely for the next game. But in terms of who's most likely to kill the Assist Trophy barrier? Waluigi or Isaac. But I wouldn't count Krystal out though.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

I would still take the costume since that would make Krystal likely for the next game. But in terms of who's most likely to kill the Assist Trophy barrier? Waluigi or Isaac. But I wouldn't count Krystal out though.

Krystal has a pretty advanced moveset for an AT. It sort of implies that she was in development to be a full character, and they shifted her to an AT instead. This is why I personally think they could finish her up and port over the Orbital Gate Assault level, and it'd be way less of a workload than making a wholly new character and stage. However, given that Sakurai did stuff like rework all the stages to make Steve's abilities work, it seems difficulty and workload is not something taken into consideration for the DLC.

Waluigi is so basic in his AT moveset I don't know if he'd get upgraded. I also wonder if Sakurai would feel it would be rewarding people who were rather belligerent towards him when Ultimate revealed Waluigi as an AT. The cynic in me says that Isaac being yet another anime sword fighter means he has a higher chance than the others for an AT upgrade lol

(Fun fact, the Japanese voice actor for Isaac also voiced Krystal in the Lylat Cruise stage comm talk... so if Isaac becomes playable, does that mean we get Krystal playable by proxy? )

 

[Dinoman96]

So uh, been playing the new update...

Just wanted to pop in and say that your girl is actually featured in Shiva's spirit battle on the Final Fantasy spirit board lmao. Really caught me off guard.

I think this is the first spirit battle Krystal's been utilized for...you know, outside of her own.

 

[Ryuvain]

So uh, been playing the new update...

Just wanted to pop in and say that your girl is actually featured in Shiva's spirit battle on the Final Fantasy spirit board lmao. Really caught me off guard.

I think this is the first spirit battle Krystal's been utilized for...you know, outside of her own.

I would assume it's because there's so little ice users in game. I did like seeing her again.

They probably used her knowing she would fit more than ZSS but still wasn't a playable character. Good to know that she's somewhere in their minds.

 

[ChronoBound]

I am not a Krystal supporter, but I think I have a few important things to say here. First off, I think Krystal making it in as an Assist Trophy was an impressive victory for the character. She had no notable consolation prize in Brawl or Smash 4 despite her source material titles being far more recent. Heck, a brand new Star Fox title was released in 2016 (Star Fox Zero) and it did not feature Krystal at all, yet the most significant piece of brand new Star Fox content introduced to the Smash Bros. series in Ultimate was the Assist Trophy of Krystal. For her to have made it in as an Assist Trophy, she likely did very well on the ballot.

For perspective, the only two non-echo Nintendo characters that became playable through the ballot were Ridley and K. Rool, both of whom are among the Top 3 most popular characters of their respective franchises. Isaac, a character that likely did even better than Krystal did in the ballot, similarly had an Assist Trophy role in Ultimate (his Assist Trophy appearance was missing in Smash 4), The only additional perks Isaac got over Krystal was a full Mii costume, and eight spirits for the Golden Sun series (by comparison, the only Golden Sun content in Smash 4 was two music tracks, the remix introduced in Brawl and a track rip from Dark Dawn).

There was a very high bar to climb over for a Nintendo character to become playable as a result of the ballot. Krystal did as well as she could have done given her circumstances. She now has a brand new appearance in the highest selling Smash Bros. title to date, one of which that shows a large extent of her possibilities as a fighter. As it stands, she is among the most dynamic Assist Trophies in Ultimate.

With Geno's massive rebound in requests beginning in late 2018, there has been a meme circulating that Geno was the last "major request from the pre-Brawl days". As I said multiple times, this is major revisionist thinking. Geno was among the top 10 but there were several other characters that were also heavily requested during the pre-Brawl days that are still not a part of Smash's roster and even managed to continue to be highly requested after Brawl. The two most notable of these characters are Isaac and Krystal. Krystal was even more highly requested during Brawl than Geno was. Isaac also became more requested after Brawl despite his titles becoming even older than they were during pre-Brawl (being arguably among the Top 5 most wanted character during the ballot). Krystal still remained among the Top 10 most wanted newcomers for much of the pre-Smash 4 period, with her nadir still being within the Top 15. Geno actually had a massive collapse in requests after Brawl's release (along with characters such as Midna and Lyn).

That brings up another major point that I wanted to bring up in this post. A good portion of Krystal retaining a significant portion of her popularity during the pre-Smash 4 was part of organization. At the forefront of this, was Shorts. He the preeminent supporter of Krystal during the pre-Smash 4 period. He would very often stand up for Krystal when detractors (I was one of them) talked down about her.

I do think it is possible that without the work of Shorts, Krystal might never have even been an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. A lot of character support in general is driven by organization (just look at BKupa's work in regards to K. Rool and the Kremling Kutthroats), and I think he did well in that regard. His polling work also provided an interesting snap shot in regards to character requests during the pre-Smash 4 period.

I recently used the last poll that Shorts published for an essay exploring the shifting fanbase desires of the Smash fanbase during the last six years:

Dixie Kong's Barrel Of Support Spirits. Farewell Everyone, Thank You ALL For Making This Thread An Excellent Place For DK Fans!

I think for Dixie's trailer they would do a montage of the female characters like Peach, Zelda, Palutena, Lucina, Daisy, etc, rather than villains. They would also be able to reuse that montage with Dixie added at the end, just like they reused the Rool one for Banjo, if they wanted to add any...

smashboards.com

Shorts died in November 2014, a few months before the announcement of the Smash Ballot. However, his tremendous work for the Krystal fanbase provided enough momentum for Krystal to do well enough on the ballot that she was given an Assist Trophy consolation prize in Ultimate.

I wrote this eulogizing Shorts at the end of November 2014:

Event though I am not a Krystal supporter, I am posting here to pay my respects to Shorts with a short eulogy.

Shorts was an integral part of the Smash Bros. community during the pre-Smash 4 era. He commonly offered his two-cents on possible new events relating to character speculation. He had an unique personality and wit to his posts, that no one else could ever replicate in this community. He was a one of a kind.

I did not have a positive opinion on Krystal, so me and Shorts would butt heads when the topic came up. His work on rebuilding the Krystal fanbase in the wake of the post-Brawl fallout was commendable. He was also a supporter of Dixie Kong (a character I did see eye-to-eye to him on).

However, perhaps his greatest contribution to the Smash Bros. community was his polling work. Shorts would take his poll on what newcomers Smash Bros. fans would want to see in Smash 4 and take it to every notable Smash Bros. community (SmashBoards, Reddit, 4chan, GameFAQs, NeoGAF, and some others). It provided the most accurate assessment in regards to character popularity and desirability among Western Smash Bros. fans than any other. His work was invaluable to avid speculators such as myself (though at this point I am retired from speculation).

He was an incredible asset to the speculation scene, and his polling work was something that no one else in the Smash Bros. speculation scene did.

If a compendium of Smash Bros. speculation history is written, Shorts definitely was a prominent figure within it, and helped shape it in a profound way.

However, aside from his work to the speculation community, his polling work, and prominent position within several character fanbases (particularly Krystal), he was a valued friend to many here. I never really got to know Shorts personally, but I am certain there are quite a few here who did. So while the community lost an important asset, plenty of people here lost a valued friend and companion.

It is tragic that he lost his life at such a young age (21). Hopefully, he now knows peace, and that his family and loved ones will honor his memory and remember the positive contributions to their lives his life gave them.

As I said earlier, I am not a fan of Krystal. However, in honor of the memory of Shorts. I will try to give my best assessment of where the Krystal fanbase should go forward in regards to make her playable.

The fact is that Wolf being cut was perhaps the worst thing going for Krystal right now. Wolf was basically the Mewtwo in terms of Smash 4 cuts. He is the most wanted character overall for DLC for Smash 4, and unlike Krystal he has already been confirmed for Star Fox Wii U. Its an uphill battle against Wolf.

Krystal having a fighting chance against Wolf as DLC is basically contingent on whether she returns for Star Fox Wii U. Right now, there are some signs that the game might be ignoring the post-64 continuity (Peppy back on the team, Wolf returning in an antagonistic role).

In the event that Krystal does not make an appearance in Star Fox Wii U, all is not lost though. The other option the Krystal fanbase has is support her inclusion in Project M, of which the character support fanbases are a microcosm compared to even the DLC support fanbases. indeed this is what I advised ManlySpririt and the rest of the Lyn fanbase to do, and their efforts found fruit (according to a leak Lyn was one of the first two newcomers decided).

If the Krystal fanbase does decide to go down this route though, there are two thing to keep in mind. One is that already 2 or 3 of the Project M slots have already been conclusively decided (already two characters are complete), and another one may already be complete. This means that only two potential slots are available for Krystal to get in, so time is ticking.

The second is that as with the rest of the Smash Bros. fanbase, the current attitude about Krystal in Project M is mixed (just as many negative votes as positive ones). Though I think that might change if the Krystal fanbase migrates over there.

It is definitely worth a try.

If Krystal does return for Star Fox Wii U, its means a lot of positive things for Krystal fans. For once, she will now be attached to an universally praised game in the Star Fox series, and also become relevant once again.

Even if Wolf gets in as DLC for Smash 4, just being in Star Fox Wii U will put her in an ideal vantage point going into Smash 5. If the fanbase continues along the lines of a K. Rool like fanbase, as opposed to a pre-Brawl Geno, pre-Brawl Krystal, or pre-Smash 4 Ridley fanbase, she will definitely be amongst the Top 5 most wanted true newcomers for Smash 5. She will probably even end up eclipsing characters such as Ridley (who right now have Sakurai's own word against him) and Isaac (whose series may still be dead by the time Smash 5 rolls around) in terms of requests.

However, even in the event that Nintendo decides to ignore post-64 with Star Fox Wii U, Project M offers the opportunity for Krystal fans to enjoy a playable Krystal on par with Sakurai-designed characters. As a Ridley fan, my main hopes are in Project M at this point, as opposed to a future Smash Bros. game developed by Sakurai, so don't see it as a "lesser title".

Krystal fans in the present should still hope and fight for her inclusion in the interim about when we know more about Star Fox Wii U.

In honor of Shorts, keep up the good fight. Be polite to Wolf fans (instead build bridges with them and encourage them to support Krystal once Wolf comes back), and support a narrative that says Star Fox should have four characters (bring up FE having four, and KI having three). Also, as I said Project M is also a possibility.

Krystal is basically the a lesser Isaac right now (meaning a character whose heyday was during the GCN/GBA era). She needs now more than anything a new role in her own series. Keep your fingers crossed in regards to that, because even if she does not get in as DLC, it will at least allow her to have a vantage point she has not enjoyed since the pre-Brawl days.

RIP Shorts. You live on through the lives you touched.

I ended up being wrong on quite a few things mentioned in the advice section to Krystal supporters. For one, Project M ended up being having to cease development at the end of 2015 (and the newcomers that were planned for Project M turned out to be Knuckles, Lyn, Isaac, and Sami). The other is that Star Fox Wii U (which became Star Fox Zero) ended up not having Krystal in at all. Star Fox Zero also ended up receiving mediocre review scores despite being developed by Platinum Games. The game also sold quite poorly, and could possibly be the poorest selling title in the series (though a lot of this might be attributed to the fact that it was a game with a mediocre reception releasing on the Wii U in 2016). The third thing I ended up being wrong on (to my pleasant surprise) was that Ridley actually did end up miraculously becoming playable in a Smash Bros. title directed by Sakurai (I still think it is surreal that this ended up happening).

On the things pertaining to Krystal's support, I think some updated advice is in order. As I said before, Krystal probably did very well on the ballot (possibly at the lower end of the Top 10 on the Western side of things, but at the very least within the Top 15), however, since then requests for her have depreciated. This is understandable given the circumstances facing her.

There are four major circumstances to which I think primarily factored in Krystal's decline in requests:

1. Krystal's last appearance in her own series being in 2006. This limits new exposure of the character, and also gives a perception that the character is "irrelevant". It is usually an uphill battle to argue for character inclusion when a character has been gone from their own series for a very long time.

2. Star Fox basically falling in prominence after the mid-2000's. The only three major things done with Star Fox during the 2010's was the release of Star Fox 64 3D, the release of Star Fox Zero (a game with a mixed reception that was released on the failing Wii U), the official release of Star Fox 2, and the crossover with Starlink. All four of these notable developments for the series lacked an appearance for Krystal as well.

3. The "we need more females" bandwagon finding other female characters to gravitate towards. During pre-Brawl, she might have been the most prominent female Nintendo character (outside of Dixie Kong and Daisy) that was not a one-shot and not yet part of the roster. As more female characters were added to the roster during Smash 4, and the roster gradually opened up to more and more third-parties, the unique attribute that Krystal had (being a non-one shot female Nintendo character) started to look less special, especially on the back of the Star Fox series losing prominence.

4. The Smash fanbase's desires having shifted almost entirely towards third-party characters. There is now the notion that "Nintendo characters are not hype or interesting", and according to a major poll done this year, the only five Nintendo characters within the Top 20 are Bandanna Waddle Dee, Waluigi, Isaac, Dixie Kong, and Rex & Pyra. In general, most prospective Nintendo newcomers are seldomly brought up, and much of the fan driven hype and interest is now focuses mostly on third-party characters.

Going forward, what Krystal is going to need more than anything is either a brand new appearance in the Star Fox series and/or the re-release of the Star Fox titles that she did appear in (Adventures, Assault, and Command). Star Fox Command was re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console, but it is not a readily accessible option for many given the very poor sales of the Wii U (its life to date sales was only 13.5 million).

In regards to a brand new appearance in her own series, there might be a feasible road to which to make this possible. Many Wii U have been re-released for the Switch (Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, Pokken, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2, Toyko Mirage Sessions, The Wonderful 101). As such one possibility would be to push for a port of Star Fox Zero, and encourage that Krystal is included in it if new content is made as part of the package.

As of a few months ago though, Platinum Games has said there still has been no talk of porting Star Fox Zero to the Switch:

PlatinumGames Has No Idea If Star Fox Zero Will Be Ported To Switch

"no conversations have come our way"

www.nintendolife.com

It might be possible a large fan drive towards porting the game might be enough of an impetus for Nintendo to consider porting the game to the Switch.

There is also the consideration, that if Platinum Games did ever port or make a sequel to Star Fox Zero, there is a decent chance that Krystal would make some sort of appearance considering that Yusuka Hashimoto, a (now former) producer at Platinum Games, said that while Krystal would not make an appearance in Star Fox Zero that they would love to put her in a sequel if they were to ever make one:

Krystal won't be in Star Fox Zero

According to PlatinumGames’ Yusuke Hashimoto, Krystal won’t be featured in Star Fox Zero. Hashimoto is acting as co-director on the project. Hashimoto tweeted about the omission of Krystal a few months back. Although the tweet is a bit old, its information is still relevant. @JordanSweeto She...

nintendoeverything.com

Star Fox will also be having its 30th anniversary in another two years, so it is possible Nintendo might want to do something to special to celebrate it. The focus on Star Fox's 30th anniversary might be the opportunity Krystal fans need to put the character back in the spotlight, especially if Nintendo decides to release a new Star Fox that has Krystal in it, and/or re-release the Star Fox titles in which Krystal appears.

For requests, Krystal held on as best as she could given her circumstances. I think should the character ever have a major role in a Star Fox title ever again, she will have a resurgence in support and will at least be within the Top 20 most wanted characters overall, even with the shift towards third-party characters. A point of hope towards Krystal fans regarding a possible resurgence in requests for the character is looking at the phenomenon that has happened with Geno. If you look at the 2014 poll that was linked in my poll essay (I provide a link to it earlier in this post), Geno was barely within the Top 50 (#44 with veterans excluded, #49 with veterans included). In 2018, thanks to the Mii costume and Sakurai's own personal endorsement, he jumped up to #16 in a major poll. Another two years later (the 2020 poll), he jumped up to #2 in a major poll (though a large part of this may have been due to most Nintendo characters seeming to be no longer possibilities for Ultimate, as well as the absence of Geno's Mii costume from Hero's update seeming to be a suggestion towards his possible playable inclusion).

If Geno can go from a nadir of being barely within the Top 50 to well within the Top 5 (a height that even surpasses what he saw during pre-Brawl), then Krystal, someone who simply saw a more gradual decline throughout the 2010's, could also possibly see a resurgence given the right circumstances. There are also the examples of K. Rool and Dark Samus as similarly "irrelevant" characters in their own series that managed to become newcomers in Ultimate (though in the case of K. Rool he might have very well have been the ballot winner, and Dark Samus managed to get very lucky by being a viable option for an echo fighter and doing well enough on the ballot).

However, even if it is the case that Krystal's fanbase never returns to the heights that she saw during pre-Brawl and pre-Smash 4, she still had the notable victory of making an Assist Trophy appearance in the highest selling Smash Bros. title to date, a game which has already sold over 20 million copies. This alone gives the character more exposure and helps keep the character remembered. There is also the possibility that she might someday make an appearance in her own series again.

However, going forward, the Krystal fanbase should not forget Shorts and everything that he did for the character during the pre-Smash 4 period. Without his efforts, it is possible that Krystal might not have had the level of support necessary to help give her Assist Trophy appearance in Ultimate. Krystal was within the Top 10 most wanted newcomers going into the ballot, something she needed in order to have a large amount of ballot support.

Shorts has been dead for over six years, but years later his legacy in the Smash community still lives on. He might be the very reason why there is still activity in the Krystal thread despite her confirmation as an Assist Trophy and SmashBoards itself having much less activity now than it did years ago. For myself, his polling work proved essential in my analysis showing how character support has shifted tremendously away from Nintendo characters to third-party characters.

I am not a Krystal supporter, but I wish Krystal supporters the best of luck in bringing the character back to the Star Fox series and in bringing about her playable debut in the next Smash Bros. title.

"Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal." - Ernest Hemingway

The Krystal fanbase and greater speculation community should not forget Shorts. While many of the posters he was closest with are no longer actively involved with the speculation scene, there are a few that still are, and many of the Krystal supporters that are still here, remember him and his hard work persevering for the Krystal fanbase during the first half of the 2010's.

Even if Krystal were to have no future in Smash or Star Fox, we should remember the example of Shorts that even with youth, life is fragile and can be cut tragically short (he died in a car accident). To both Krystal supporters and non-supporters, take time out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (or New Years if you do not celebrate Christmas) to cherish your life and the connections you have with your loved ones. Please remember to give thanks for all the blessings you have.

Shorts may have died over six years ago, but his influence on the Smash community can still be felt to this day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and rest in peace Shorts. You still live on through the lives you have touched all these years later.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I am not a Krystal supporter, but I think I have a few important things to say here. First off, I think Krystal making it in as an Assist Trophy was an impressive victory for the character. She had no notable consolation prize in Brawl or Smash 4 despite her source material titles being far more recent. Heck, a brand new Star Fox title was released in 2016 (Star Fox Zero) and it did not feature Krystal at all, yet the most significant piece of brand new Star Fox content introduced to the Smash Bros. series in Ultimate was the Assist Trophy of Krystal. For her to have made it in as an Assist Trophy, she likely did very well on the ballot.

For perspective, the only two non-echo Nintendo characters that became playable through the ballot were Ridley and K. Rool, both of whom are among the Top 3 most popular characters of their respective franchises. Isaac, a character that likely did even better than Krystal did in the ballot, similarly had an Assist Trophy role in Ultimate (his Assist Trophy appearance was missing in Smash 4), The only additional perks Isaac got over Krystal was a full Mii costume, and eight spirits for the Golden Sun series (by comparison, the only Golden Sun content in Smash 4 was two music tracks, the remix introduced in Brawl and a track rip from Dark Dawn).

There was a very high bar to climb over for a Nintendo character to become playable as a result of the ballot. Krystal did as well as she could have done given her circumstances. She now has a brand new appearance in the highest selling Smash Bros. title to date, one of which that shows a large extent of her possibilities as a fighter. As it stands, she is among the most dynamic Assist Trophies in Ultimate.

With Geno's massive rebound in requests beginning in late 2018, there has been a meme circulating that Geno was the last "major request from the pre-Brawl days". As I said multiple times, this is major revisionist thinking. Geno was among the top 10 but there were several other characters that were also heavily requested during the pre-Brawl days that are still not a part of Smash's roster and even managed to continue to be highly requested after Brawl. The two most notable of these characters are Isaac and Krystal. Krystal was even more highly requested during Brawl than Geno was. Isaac also became more requested after Brawl despite his titles becoming even older than they were during pre-Brawl (being arguably among the Top 5 most wanted character during the ballot). Krystal still remained among the Top 10 most wanted newcomers for much of the pre-Smash 4 period, with her nadir still being within the Top 15. Geno actually had a massive collapse in requests after Brawl's release (along with characters such as Midna and Lyn).

That brings up another major point that I wanted to bring up in this post. A good portion of Krystal retaining a significant portion of her popularity during the pre-Smash 4 was part of organization. At the forefront of this, was Shorts. He the preeminent supporter of Krystal during the pre-Smash 4 period. He would very often stand up for Krystal when detractors (I was one of them) talked down about her.

I do think it is possible that without the work of Shorts, Krystal might never have even been an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. A lot of character support in general is driven by organization (just look at BKupa's work in regards to K. Rool and the Kremling Kutthroats), and I think he did well in that regard. His polling work also provided an interesting snap shot in regards to character requests during the pre-Smash 4 period.

I recently used the last poll that Shorts published for an essay exploring the shifting fanbase desires of the Smash fanbase during the last six years:

Dixie Kong's Barrel Of Support Spirits. Farewell Everyone, Thank You ALL For Making This Thread An Excellent Place For DK Fans!

I think for Dixie's trailer they would do a montage of the female characters like Peach, Zelda, Palutena, Lucina, Daisy, etc, rather than villains. They would also be able to reuse that montage with Dixie added at the end, just like they reused the Rool one for Banjo, if they wanted to add any...

smashboards.com

Shorts died in November 2014, a few months before the announcement of the Smash Ballot. However, his tremendous work for the Krystal fanbase provided enough momentum for Krystal to do well enough on the ballot that she was given an Assist Trophy consolation prize in Ultimate.

I wrote this eulogizing Shorts at the end of November 2014:

Event though I am not a Krystal supporter, I am posting here to pay my respects to Shorts with a short eulogy.

Shorts was an integral part of the Smash Bros. community during the pre-Smash 4 era. He commonly offered his two-cents on possible new events relating to character speculation. He had an unique personality and wit to his posts, that no one else could ever replicate in this community. He was a one of a kind.

I did not have a positive opinion on Krystal, so me and Shorts would butt heads when the topic came up. His work on rebuilding the Krystal fanbase in the wake of the post-Brawl fallout was commendable. He was also a supporter of Dixie Kong (a character I did see eye-to-eye to him on).

However, perhaps his greatest contribution to the Smash Bros. community was his polling work. Shorts would take his poll on what newcomers Smash Bros. fans would want to see in Smash 4 and take it to every notable Smash Bros. community (SmashBoards, Reddit, 4chan, GameFAQs, NeoGAF, and some others). It provided the most accurate assessment in regards to character popularity and desirability among Western Smash Bros. fans than any other. His work was invaluable to avid speculators such as myself (though at this point I am retired from speculation).

He was an incredible asset to the speculation scene, and his polling work was something that no one else in the Smash Bros. speculation scene did.

If a compendium of Smash Bros. speculation history is written, Shorts definitely was a prominent figure within it, and helped shape it in a profound way.

However, aside from his work to the speculation community, his polling work, and prominent position within several character fanbases (particularly Krystal), he was a valued friend to many here. I never really got to know Shorts personally, but I am certain there are quite a few here who did. So while the community lost an important asset, plenty of people here lost a valued friend and companion.

It is tragic that he lost his life at such a young age (21). Hopefully, he now knows peace, and that his family and loved ones will honor his memory and remember the positive contributions to their lives his life gave them.

As I said earlier, I am not a fan of Krystal. However, in honor of the memory of Shorts. I will try to give my best assessment of where the Krystal fanbase should go forward in regards to make her playable.

The fact is that Wolf being cut was perhaps the worst thing going for Krystal right now. Wolf was basically the Mewtwo in terms of Smash 4 cuts. He is the most wanted character overall for DLC for Smash 4, and unlike Krystal he has already been confirmed for Star Fox Wii U. Its an uphill battle against Wolf.

Krystal having a fighting chance against Wolf as DLC is basically contingent on whether she returns for Star Fox Wii U. Right now, there are some signs that the game might be ignoring the post-64 continuity (Peppy back on the team, Wolf returning in an antagonistic role).

In the event that Krystal does not make an appearance in Star Fox Wii U, all is not lost though. The other option the Krystal fanbase has is support her inclusion in Project M, of which the character support fanbases are a microcosm compared to even the DLC support fanbases. indeed this is what I advised ManlySpririt and the rest of the Lyn fanbase to do, and their efforts found fruit (according to a leak Lyn was one of the first two newcomers decided).

If the Krystal fanbase does decide to go down this route though, there are two thing to keep in mind. One is that already 2 or 3 of the Project M slots have already been conclusively decided (already two characters are complete), and another one may already be complete. This means that only two potential slots are available for Krystal to get in, so time is ticking.

The second is that as with the rest of the Smash Bros. fanbase, the current attitude about Krystal in Project M is mixed (just as many negative votes as positive ones). Though I think that might change if the Krystal fanbase migrates over there.

It is definitely worth a try.

If Krystal does return for Star Fox Wii U, its means a lot of positive things for Krystal fans. For once, she will now be attached to an universally praised game in the Star Fox series, and also become relevant once again.

Even if Wolf gets in as DLC for Smash 4, just being in Star Fox Wii U will put her in an ideal vantage point going into Smash 5. If the fanbase continues along the lines of a K. Rool like fanbase, as opposed to a pre-Brawl Geno, pre-Brawl Krystal, or pre-Smash 4 Ridley fanbase, she will definitely be amongst the Top 5 most wanted true newcomers for Smash 5. She will probably even end up eclipsing characters such as Ridley (who right now have Sakurai's own word against him) and Isaac (whose series may still be dead by the time Smash 5 rolls around) in terms of requests.

However, even in the event that Nintendo decides to ignore post-64 with Star Fox Wii U, Project M offers the opportunity for Krystal fans to enjoy a playable Krystal on par with Sakurai-designed characters. As a Ridley fan, my main hopes are in Project M at this point, as opposed to a future Smash Bros. game developed by Sakurai, so don't see it as a "lesser title".

Krystal fans in the present should still hope and fight for her inclusion in the interim about when we know more about Star Fox Wii U.

In honor of Shorts, keep up the good fight. Be polite to Wolf fans (instead build bridges with them and encourage them to support Krystal once Wolf comes back), and support a narrative that says Star Fox should have four characters (bring up FE having four, and KI having three). Also, as I said Project M is also a possibility.

Krystal is basically the a lesser Isaac right now (meaning a character whose heyday was during the GCN/GBA era). She needs now more than anything a new role in her own series. Keep your fingers crossed in regards to that, because even if she does not get in as DLC, it will at least allow her to have a vantage point she has not enjoyed since the pre-Brawl days.

RIP Shorts. You live on through the lives you touched.

I ended up being wrong on quite a few things mentioned in the advice section to Krystal supporters. For one, Project M ended up being having to cease development at the end of 2015 (and the newcomers that were planned for Project M turned out to be Knuckles, Lyn, Isaac, and Sami). The other is that Star Fox Wii U (which became Star Fox Zero) ended up not having Krystal in at all. Star Fox Zero also ended up receiving mediocre review scores despite being developed by Platinum Games. The game also sold quite poorly, and could possibly be the poorest selling title in the series (though a lot of this might be attributed to the fact that it was a game with a mediocre reception releasing on the Wii U in 2016). The third thing I ended up being wrong on (to my pleasant surprise) was that Ridley actually did end up miraculously becoming playable in a Smash Bros. title directed by Sakurai (I still think it is surreal that this ended up happening).

On the things pertaining to Krystal's support, I think some updated advice is in order. As I said before, Krystal probably did very well on the ballot (possibly at the lower end of the Top 10 on the Western side of things, but at the very least within the Top 15), however, since then requests for her have depreciated. This is understandable given the circumstances facing her.

There are four major circumstances to which I think primarily factored in Krystal's decline in requests:

1. Krystal's last appearance in her own series being in 2006. This limits new exposure of the character, and also gives a perception that the character is "irrelevant". It is usually an uphill battle to argue for character inclusion when a character has been gone from their own series for a very long time.

2. Star Fox basically falling in prominence after the mid-2000's. The only three major things done with Star Fox during the 2010's was the release of Star Fox 64 3D, the release of Star Fox Zero (a game with a mixed reception that was released on the failing Wii U), and the official release of Star Fox 2. All three of these notable developments for the series lacked an appearance for Krystal as well.

3. The "we need more females" bandwagon finding other female characters to gravitate towards. During pre-Brawl, she might have been the most prominent female Nintendo character (outside of Dixie Kong and Daisy) that was not a one-shot and not yet part of the roster. As more female characters were added to the roster during Smash 4, and the roster gradually opened up to more and more third-parties, the unique attribute that Krystal had (being a non-one shot female Nintendo character) started to look less special, especially on the back of the Star Fox series losing prominence.

4. The Smash fanbase's desires having shifted almost entirely towards third-party characters. There is now the notion that "Nintendo characters are not hype or interesting", and according to a major poll done this year, the only five Nintendo characters within the Top 20 are Bandanna Waddle Dee, Waluigi, Isaac, Dixie Kong, and Rex & Pyra. In general, most prospective Nintendo newcomers are seldomly brought up, and much of the fan driven hype and interest is now focuses mostly on third-party characters.

Going forward, what Krystal is going to need more than anything is either a brand new appearance in the Star Fox series and/or the re-release of the Star Fox titles that she did appear in (Adventures, Assault, and Command). Star Fox Command was re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console, but it is not a readily accessible option for many given the very poor sales of the Wii U (its life to date sales was only 13.5 million).

In regards to a brand new appearance in her own series, there might be a feasible road to which to make this possible. Many Wii U have been re-released for the Switch (Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, Pokken, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2, Toyko Mirage Sessions, The Wonderful 101). As such one possibility would be to push for a port of Star Fox Zero, and encourage that Krystal is included in it if new content is made as part of the package.

As of a few months ago though, Platinum Games has said there still has been no talk of porting Star Fox Zero to the Switch:

PlatinumGames Has No Idea If Star Fox Zero Will Be Ported To Switch

"no conversations have come our way"

www.nintendolife.com

It might be possible a large fan drive towards porting the game might be enough of an impetus for Nintendo to consider porting the game to the Switch.

There is also the consideration, that if Platinum Games did ever port or make a sequel to Star Fox Zero, there is a decent chance that Krystal would make some sort of appearance considering that Yusuka Hashimoto, a (now former) producer at Platinum Games, said that while Krystal would not make an appearance in Star Fox Zero that they would love to put her in a sequel if they were to ever make one:

Krystal won't be in Star Fox Zero

According to PlatinumGames’ Yusuke Hashimoto, Krystal won’t be featured in Star Fox Zero. Hashimoto is acting as co-director on the project. Hashimoto tweeted about the omission of Krystal a few months back. Although the tweet is a bit old, its information is still relevant. @JordanSweeto She...

nintendoeverything.com

Star Fox will also be having its 30th anniversary in another two years, so it is possible Nintendo might want to do something to special to celebrate it. The focus on Star Fox's 30th anniversary might be the opportunity Krystal fans need to put the character back in the spotlight, especially if Nintendo decides to release a new Star Fox that has Krystal in it, and/or re-release the Star Fox titles in which Krystal appears.

For requests, Krystal held on as best as she could given her circumstances. I think should the character ever have a major role in a Star Fox title ever again, she will have a resurgence in support and will at least be within the Top 20 most wanted characters overall, even with the shift towards third-party characters. A point of hope towards Krystal fans regarding a possible resurgence in requests for the character is looking at the phenomenon that has happened with Geno. If you look at the 2014 poll that was linked in my poll essay (I provide a link to it earlier in this post), Geno was barely within the Top 50 (#44 with veterans excluded, #49 with veterans included). In 2018, thanks to the Mii costume and Sakurai's own personal endorsement, he jumped up to #16 in a major poll. Another two years later (the 2020 poll), he jumped up to #2 in a major poll (though a large part of this may have been due to most Nintendo characters seeming to be no longer possibilities for Ultimate, as well as the absence of Geno's Mii costume from Hero's update seeming to be a suggestion towards his possible playable inclusion).

If Geno can go from a nadir of being barely within the Top 50 to well within the Top 5 (a height that even surpasses what he saw during pre-Brawl), then Krystal, someone who simply saw a more gradual decline throughout the 2010's, could also possibly see a resurgence given the right circumstances. There are also the examples of K. Rool and Dark Samus as similarly "irrelevant" characters in their own series that managed to become newcomers in Ultimate (though in the case of K. Rool he might have very well have been the ballot winner, and Dark Samus managed to get very lucky by being a viable option for an echo fighter and doing well enough on the ballot).

However, even if it is the case that Krystal's fanbase never returns to the heights that she saw during pre-Brawl and pre-Smash 4, she still had the notable victory of making an Assist Trophy appearance in the highest selling Smash Bros. title to date, a game which has already sold over 20 million copies. This alone gives the character more exposure and helps keep the character remembered. There is also the possibility that she might someday make an appearance in her own series again.

However, going forward, the Krystal fanbase should not forget Shorts and everything that he did for the character during the pre-Smash 4 period. Without his efforts, it is possible that Krystal might not have had the level of support necessary to help give her Assist Trophy appearance in Ultimate. Krystal was within the Top 10 most wanted newcomers going into the ballot, something she needed in order to have a large amount of ballot support.

Shorts has been dead for over six years, but years later his legacy in the Smash community still lives on. He might be the very reason why there is still activity in the Krystal thread despite her confirmation as an Assist Trophy and SmashBoards itself having much less activity now than it did years ago. For myself, his polling work proved essential in my analysis showing how character support has shifted tremendously away from Nintendo characters to third-party characters.

I am not a Krystal supporter, but I wish Krystal supporters the best of luck in bringing the character back to the Star Fox series and in bringing about her playable debut in the next Smash Bros. title.

"Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal." - Ernest Hemingway

The Krystal fanbase and greater speculation community should not forget Shorts. While many of the posters he was closest with are no longer actively involved with the speculation scene, there are a few that still are, and many of the Krystal supporters that are still here, remember him and his hard work persevering for the Krystal fanbase during the first half of the 2010's.

Even if Krystal were to have no future in Smash or Star Fox, we should remember the example of Shorts that even with youth, life is fragile and can be cut tragically short (he died in a car accident). To both Krystal supporters and non-supporters, take time out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (or New Years if you do not celebrate Christmas) to cherish your life and the connections you have with your loved ones. Please remember to give thanks for all the blessings you have.

Shorts may have died over six years ago, but his influence on the Smash community can still be felt to this day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and rest in peace Shorts. You still live on through the lives you have touched all these years later.

That was amazing read Chrono. Rest in peace Shorts your deeds to this community will never be forgotten.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Happy Tree Day!

Only Source I could find

 

[Dreamking]

I would have liked Crystal to be in. I would imagine that her stage would be from Dinosaur Planet, err Starfox Adventures, as well as all its stage music.

I believe that she was a victim of poor timing mostly. I think I recall reading somewhere that Krystal was considered for newcomer for Brawl, but the staff ran out of time and used preexisting assets to create Wolf instead.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Sakurai posted a Star Fox themed POTD on Christmas.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[RetrogamerMax]

I would have liked Crystal to be in. I would imagine that her stage would be from Dinosaur Planet, err Starfox Adventures, as well as all its stage music.

I believe that she was a victim of poor timing mostly. I think I recall reading somewhere that Krystal was considered for newcomer for Brawl, but the staff ran out of time and used preexisting assets to create Wolf instead.

Krystal was never consider for Brawl as Sakurai was telling a host she would have taken too much time and they would have had to make a new model and moveset from scratch. The host asked him why she didn't get in and he responded with something like "If that's the case, than it would be like asking why Waddle Dee, Dry Bones, ect aren't in.".

Here is the link to that Famitsu Column that Source Gaming translated: https://sourcegaming.info/2015/08/17/sakuraibrawlquestions/

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Someone made a playable Krystal mod of Star Fox Adventures.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Someone made a playable Krystal mod of Star Fox Adventures.

That's amazing! It's almost like playing Dinosaur Planet now.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

This guys been drawing Assist Trophies and Playable characters in different artstyles. Krystal in the style of Final Space.

Ayyee! Back at it again with the Assist Trophies! Here's Krystal in the style of Final Space! #SuperSmashBrosUltimate #supersmashstyle #finalspace #starfox #netflix #adultswim #fanart #starfox #Nintendo #artstyle #xeternalflamebryx pic.twitter.com/JM6q6I91nj

— ❄️xeternalFREEZEbryx❄️ (@eternalflamebry) February 22, 2020

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Early design of Krystal from Dinosaur Planet.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[Lenidem]

Early design of Krystal from Dinosaur Planet.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

I prefer the definitive design, by far.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

(Copying and pasting from my profile post cuz it gets the point across and can't think of anything new to add and this thread just barely showed up on the Feed section)

Super Smash Flash 2 has been an extremely positive experience for me not just with being able to alternate between Wario and Waluigi for practicing combos and playing Classic Mode and such but also in trying other fan desired characters.

I'm a very casual Star Fox fan and by that I mean I'm just a memelord for Star Fox 64. Never really played any of the other games, so I never seriously considered Krystal.

However, I'm starting to realize that the character really appeals to me alot both with how blue and white is a color scheme I adore, her feminine charms and I played alot of Sm4sh Fox, so I know my way around a space animal.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

Krystal fanart to start off 2021.

Happy new year 2021! New year, new days to make more Star Fox fanarts ◕ ◡ ◕ neat.#starfox #Krystal pic.twitter.com/Tnn6LNr57l

— 🌸 Ｍｏｎｏ ✨ (@mono_queen) January 1, 2021

 

[MorbidMiraj]

I'm a very casual Star Fox fan and by that I mean I'm just a memelord for Star Fox 64. Never really played any of the other games, so I never seriously considered Krystal.

However, I'm starting to realize that the character really appeals to me alot both with how blue and white is a color scheme I adore, her feminine charms and I played alot of Sm4sh Fox, so I know my way around a space animal.

She's a very striking design that stands out, even amongst the rather colorful Star Fox cast. As a character she's very impulsive but also altruistic, depending on the situation. I think if Nintendo actually... y'know... included her in games more often, I think more people would see why she's such an appealing character that retains a strong fanbase even though she hasn't been featured in a Star Fox game in 15 years. I hope more people get to like her like you have!

 

[JoeZegers]

That would be pretty epic.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

I prefer the definitive design, by far.

Agreed. I think her Dinosaur Planet designs are really just rough first drafts, and are really missing that 'something' that the final design nails. Maybe it's the hair and vulpine features. Also I abhor that bright yellow one-piece tribal outfit, though I'm not particularly into her Adventures outfit either.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Despite some people not liking Krystal's Star Fox design calling it too sexual, I actually like it more than the Dinosaur Planet design of her. I think Dinosaur Planet with the Star Fox design of Krystal would have been great on the Gamecube instead of Star Fox Adventures and Fox stealing Krystal's thunder and role.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

Despite some people not liking Krystal's Star Foxf design calling it too sexual, I actually like it more than the Dinosaur Planet design of her.

Sexy designs are fine by me. The more of them, the better.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Sexy designs are fine by me. The more of them, the better.

I mean, the original plot for Dinosaur Plant was better while the Star Fox design for Krystal is better in design not just only because she's sexier.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

Despite some people not liking Krystal's Star Fox design calling it too sexual, I actually like it more than the Dinosaur Planet design of her. I think Dinosaur Planet with the Star Fox design of Krystal would have been great on the Gamecube instead of Star Fox Adventures and Fox stealing Krystal's thunder and role.

Yeah I find it a bit funny that people think she's too sexual in her Adventures attire, and yet she has larger boobs in some of the Dinosaur Planet renders. They toned her down for Adventures. Sure she's wearing a bikini and loincloth combo, but I figure she's in a prehistoric-style outfit and leave it at that. If anything, I wonder how overheated Fox is running around tropical environments wearing his flight suit and jacket!

Krystal gets criticized a lot for her sexuality, but her design is practically puritanical compared to a number of Xenoblade, Zelda and Fire Emblem girls.

 

[Ryuvain]

I prefer the definitive design, by far.

Agreed there. I'm no art major but there's nothing to their early design that catches my eye or stands out.

Her final design, even if it was hijacked by Star Fox, was a major improvement imo.

Yeah I find it a bit funny that people think she's too sexual in her Adventures attire, and yet she has larger boobs in some of the Dinosaur Planet renders. They toned her down for Adventures. Sure she's wearing a bikini and loincloth combo, but I figure she's in a prehistoric-style outfit and leave it at that. If anything, I wonder how overheated Fox is running around tropical environments wearing his flight suit and jacket!

Krystal gets criticized a lot for her sexuality, but her design is practically puritanical compared to a number of Xenoblade, Zelda and Fire Emblem girls.

Yep. I mean if you were on a prehistoric planet with little to no tech but magic instead wouldn't your outfit be simpler? What I'm getting at is that her outfit makes complete sense.

Overall I used to not like her adventures outfit at first, but it makes sense. Calling her out for her outfit is like calling out Samus for her outfit. You really expect to wear casual attire in that suit?

I really like the design now. It calls back to my first time seeing her and thinking that she was already unique with how much she stood out.

 

[Dinoman96]

I feel like it's not just her being "sexy" that people complain about, per se. It's her being a sexy anthro.

A lot of people are just turned off by the "sexy anthromorphic female" aesthetic in general. With Samus, Bayonetta, Palutena, etc it's not as weird to do because they're just regular human/human looking beings, but giving a fox a pair of boobs is unsettling to a lot of people.

 

[DrCoeloCephalo]

I feel like it's not just her being "sexy" that people complain about, per se. It's her being a sexy anthro.

A lot of people are just turned off by the "sexy anthromorphic female" aesthetic in general. With Samus, Bayonetta, Palutena, etc it's not as weird to do because they're just regular human/human looking beings, but giving a fox a pair of boobs is unsettling to a lot of people.

I feel like stuff like this are only a problem when it comes to westerners. Japanese gamers don't take issue with sexy designs as is like many soccer moms that don't play video games stereotypically do but also have no issue with anthro themes either like cat girls and dog girls of varying levels of human to animalistic.

Toei's mascot is ****-in-Boots and has been for eons and even today, anime with furry themes remains highly praised not just in Japan but also among westerners.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

I feel like it's not just her being "sexy" that people complain about, per se. It's her being a sexy anthro.

A lot of people are just turned off by the "sexy anthromorphic female" aesthetic in general. With Samus, Bayonetta, Palutena, etc it's not as weird to do because they're just regular human/human looking beings, but giving a fox a pair of boobs is unsettling to a lot of people.

I think that's a big part of it too. I've seen posters (not on here) that would express disgust at her having breasts, and it was disgusting to them because she was an anthro. Of course, said person had a loli anime icon lol

It's such a weird thing to get hung up on because "sexy anthro women" have been a thing as long as there's been cartoon animal characters. I think it's a silly thing for them to get caught up on, and Krystal is far from the only female anthro character. I wonder if these people also are disgusted by Carmelita Fox, Minerva Mink, Lola Bunny, or heck, even that rabbit girl from Mario Odyssey.

But yeah, Krystal has the triple burdens of being 1) a female character, 2) an anthro female character, and 3) a "not truly Star Fox" female character put into a male character-focused franchise as a love interest for the male lead. She's probably one of the most criticized and scrutinized characters in Nintendo's canon as a result.

 

[MorbidMiraj]

I feel like stuff like this are only a problem when it comes to westerners. Japanese gamers don't take issue with sexy designs as is like many soccer moms that don't play video games stereotypically do but also have no issue with anthro themes either like cat girls and dog girls of varying levels of human to animalistic.

Toei's mascot is ****-in-Boots and has been for eons and even today, anime with furry themes remains highly praised not just in Japan but also among westerners.

I would go further and say it's definitely Americans who are more wound up by this kind of thing, probably due to cultural and historical reasons. The US is a relatively young country. European and Asian cultures have thousands of years of art and stories that have a healthy dose of ingrained sexuality and anthropomorphism. You're more likely to walk through a city full of ancient statues or buildings in those regions, and that historical influence filters into modern day culture. Heck, Star Fox was itself designed by Europeans and Japanese, and was inspired by Shintoism. Americans largely see cartoon animals as dismissible children's entertainment.