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

Mariomaniac45213 · Aug 8, 2020

You might like this video:

Mushroomguy12 · Aug 8, 2020

Dixie Kong moveset concept by the Twitter.

#DixieKongMoveset Concept: Ponytail Slam. #DixieKong's Down Smash attack has her slamming her ponytail on the ground, damaging and paralyzing opponents nearby. In this clip, you can see a preview of her matchup with #Dedede. #SmashBros pic.twitter.com/oHJjve53L6
— Dixie Kong for Smash (@DixieforSmash) August 8, 2020

ChronoBound · Aug 8, 2020

~ Valkyrie ~ said:
Been meaning to discuss this with ChronoBound - I do wonder ATM however. I hope to articulate my thoughts later.

I have not forgotten about this post. I just needed the time to write out all of my various thoughts on this topic and several other DK related ones (what I think of DKC1 after recently replaying it, and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch and what it would mean for Dixie's prospects).

Unfortunately, I think Min Min's confirmation changes very little. As I have said many times before, the only other spirit promotion I see happening is Geno (I very strongly think Geno is going to be confirmed at some point as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2). I do not see any other spirit promotions happening.

I also see Min Min as the sole Nintendo owned character that will be a part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 (sort of like how Byleth was the only Nintendo owned character as part of the first Fighters Pass).

Aside from Geno, I think the next most likely DLC character we should be expecting is a Tales character (most likely Lloyd, and if not Lloyd, then Yuri), whom I expect will probably be confirmed and released for December of this year (which is when the 25th anniversary of the Tales series falls under). I also strongly expect we will see another Western made character as part of the pass as well as a Capcom character. I also see Ryu Hayabusa and Arle as possibilities (Tecmo-Koei is the only big Japanese developer still without a character on the roster, and Puyo Puyo's 25th anniversary is next year).

I do not see how Dixie Kong possibly makes it under the present situation unfortunately. It would take a massive miracle for everything to line up in her favor to warrant making it onto Ultimate's roster. I do not see how she could get selected as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 even if hypothetically a new DK title is in development (I will get into that later, and how even if it is true, it would mean very little for her prospects for Ultimate).

I am very sorry for the pessimistic assessment, but this is the most likely situation, even if there is hypothetically a new DK title in development.

Before going on to the possibility of a new DK title, I would like to discuss a little bit about DKC1. It was recently released for the Nintendo Switch Online, and I went through the game again (this was actually my first time ever getting to 101% on it, though I finished it quite a few times already in the past). This new play through basically cemented my thoughts on DKC1 that I shared in the past in this thread.

Strong points:
- Soundtrack (I think its soundtrack is better than DKC3's, or at least more atmospheric)
- Atmosphere (the "stop and go/misty/loopy lights" mines and cave stages in general are still moody and creepy after all these years. I still think DKC1 might be the most atmospheric game in the DKC trilogy)

Weak points:
- Boss fights (Bosses are easily the weakest of the whole trilogy, with the fight against King K. Rool being the only stand out)
- Worst usage/implementation of the animal buddies (the animal buddies are barely utilized for the gameplay, and are only basically used to access a few secret bonus rooms)
- Level design is rough (a lot of the stages seemed like they just slapped something together, and the barrel stages in particular are still obnoxious).
- No real award/incentive for getting 101% (you pretty much just get Cranky's praise and that's it. Contrast that with DKC2 and DKC3 where finding the bonus coins got you access to additional stages and a bonus final battle).

DKC1 was a massive landmark title for the SNES, and it probably single handedly helped the SNES overtake the Sega Genesis in North America (that and Sega diverting more and more resources away from the Genesis in 1995 and 1996, while Nintendo still gave the SNES a lot of focus during those two years). However, the game itself is very rough around the edges in terms of gameplay. DKC3 in particular is the opposite of DKC1, with its weaknesses and strengths inverted in particular (probably the best boss battles for the most part, excellent animal buddy usage, strong level design), but the weakest atmosphere and soundtrack. Heck, even the final battle battles are inverted, with the DKC1 one being one of the most memorable fights ever for the DKC series, while the DKC3 one is probably the most forgettable. DKC2 is the most well rounded, keeping the strengths from both DKC1 and DKC3, so it is overall the best.

My ranking of the trilogy is thus:
1. DKC2
2. DKC3
3. DKC1

All are very good games. DKC2 deserves all the praise it gets. However, I think DKC3 is still vert underrated, it is among the very best platformers on the SNES and that is very strong praise, probably being just outside the trinity of Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World, and DKC2 in terms of quality). DKC1 from what I have seen is the opposite and tends to be overrated.

I might someday get into a detailed review and analysis of each title of the DKC trilogy, but I am not sure if there would be an interest in it, or whether I would even have the time to do it.

Now on to the topic of the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. I definitely think it is possible. Donkey Kong is among Nintendo's biggest franchises, and on the SNES, N64, and Wii, a DK title was among the highest selling games for it, so Nintendo has probably looked for a way to continue the franchise on the Switch (their most successful console since the Wii) outside of a port.

I am not sure who would be developing it, but I imagine it might either be another Western studio. My guess is that the team that made Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, as the team did a massive DK expansion for that title) and recently is doing a bunch of hiring:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2..._studio_is_hiring_for_a_prestigious_aaa_title

There is a possibility that Nintendo themselves are handling it, but I am not optimistic on that. Nintendo themselves rarely has handled the DK series after Western studios started working on it, with Jungle Beat being the sole exception as far as I know.

Regardless, I think it will be a very major effort and it might be marketed as a AAA game even. Next year is the 40th anniversary of the DK franchise as well.

However, even assuming a massive DK title is in development, I think it means very little for the prospects for Dixie or additional DK content in general for Ultimate. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the second highest selling game for the Nintendo Switch, and its promotion in Ultimate ended up being simply a spirit event (though we might get some Mii costumes of Animal Crossing characters eventually). I expect the same for any DK title (especially if it is Western developed).

The same thing happened with Tropical Freeze. It was unveiled at the same time as Smash 4 was, and Dixie Kong was shown to be a major supporting character in it, which made most believe Dixie Kong was likely for Smash 4. Now we are here, seven years later, and Dixie is still not in Smash, and Tropical Freeze in general received negligible content in Smash 4 and Ultimate (four trophies and two music tracks in Smash 4, and just a single spirit and two music tracks in Ultimate). Tropical Freeze was announced at a point where the roster had already been decided thus making its impact on Smash content negligible.

I imagine it would be the same case with a new DK title. We might just get a spirit event, and at best maybe a Mii costume. The game's announcement would simply be too late to impact anything for Ultimate unfortunately.

The only situation where I could see it might possibly having an impact on Ultimate content is if Nintendo themselves were developing this new DK title, and themselves telling Sakurai about it and giving him a sneak peak about it. However, the only example I can think of where this has been done for is with the Fire Emblem series. Sakurai did consult the Zelda team for Breath of the Wild content before the game's release, but that game had already been unveiled before Ultimate was in development,

If it is a Western team making it, you can pretty much lose any hope of the game having any sort of notable content in Ultimate (outside of maybe spirits).

Going forward though, the game, if it is extremely well received, would definitely help boost Dixie Kong's fanbase, assuming though she has a major role in it. Otherwise, such a game is basically negligible for what it would mean for Ultimate unfortunately.

I apologize for such a downer post, but as a veteran speculator (I have been doing Smash speculation since 2001), I wanted to give the rest of the Dixie fanbase a realistic assessment of what to expect even with the developments of Min Min being confirmed and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. Ultimate, unfortunately, will most likely not be Dixie's time. It is a bit of a shame personally because Ultimate already gave me everything else I personally wanted to see in Smash, and I know the next title will very likely jettison many of the characters I personally like from the roster, as well as the fact I will be much older by the time the next title happens.

As you all know, I have been less and less frequently posting on this site as DLC has gone on. I have made 20 posts so far this year (and only six since February). There is not anything left to which I am personally hoping for in Smash which I see as likely to happen. Dixie Kong is my last strong desire left, and even then the tether to her in regards to my Smash community participation is only in the very slim hope that she somehow is able to make the roster for this legendary title.

On this day, two years ago, K. Rool was finally confirmed for Smash. It was at this point where I felt that Dixie's time would finally begin. However, she still seems to be in the same spot as she was two years ago. A character with a lot of support that most people believe should have made it in a long time ago, but not among the most wanted characters in general. She seems to be a character almost universally accepted as deserving for Smash Bros. (she might be the having the highest "wanted" rating of any character in the "Rate Their Chances" thread), but yet has little passion for her.

Since I have been a regular participant in this thread (starting in August of 2018), I brought both sobering assessments regarding her prospects (which ended up being true for the base game) while at the same time offering hope. I have never at any point in this topic been optimistic on her prospects regarding her being a part of Ultimate's roster. However, regardless of how bleak things look (and right now things have changed very little since Ultimate's release), I have offered two consolations:
1. A little hope is still hope. The precedence for this what happened with both Roy and Ridley. Both characters whom I really wanted to see return or finally make their roster debut, and had extremely bleak points for their prospects. For Roy it was after Smash 4 released and Fire Emblem already had four characters, one of which being a Marth clone, and a bunch of cuts of popular Brawl veteran, thus likely have priority over Roy for returning as DLC; and for Ridley a hard deconfirmation by Sakurai saying that he was against resizing Ridley for Smash Bros.).

2. That even if Dixie does not make Ultimate's legendary roster. She exists as one of the few big name Nintendo characters left without a roster debut. A character for a new generation of Smash fans to support that actually has the credentials and legacy as much of the veteran cast. That if she continues to make major appearances in DK titles, she will continue to have strong support for Smash going forward, and will probably make the Top 10 most wanted for the next Smash speculation period.

For many of us Dixie supporters, we are in our late 20's and early 30's, and Dixie Kong really feels like the final missing piece of the puzzle in regards to Smash Bros.'s roster, so number two seems disheartening (and many of us plan to leave the speculation and character support scene for good after Ultimate's DLC wraps up). However, for the younger fans among us, it does offer hope going forward.

As I said many times before, we shall see what happens. There is still over another year to go until DLC for Ultimate wraps up. This has been a very long journey for many of us, and this thread in particular, inexplicably is the fourth largest support topic despite never having a massive support frenzy for it at any point.

This is another thing I have said many times before, but the Dixie Kong fanbase reminds me of Roy's fanbase. People who truly care about the character not because they think she is likely or because they see a ton of loud support for the character, but rather because they have a personal history of support and connection to the character. For many of us, this was through the cherished time and memories we had playing as her in DKC2 and DKC3. For many others, it may have come from her support role in Tropical Freeze or her appearances in DK and Mario spinoffs. Regardless, the personal history we have with Dixie is the driver why we continue to support and talk about her despite her prospects seeming to not have improved since the game's release.

This thread is not just about a shared love and appreciation of Dixie Kong, but also of the Donkey Kong series as a whole. Many of the games, dating back to the arcade origins to the franchise in the 80's, to the DKC trilogy of the 90's (and DK94), to Retro's excellent platformer duo during the 2010's are timeless classics. DK has nearly 40 years of history and is not just one of gaming's oldest franchises, but one of its most esteemed and impactful. The arcade games being among the most memorable and iconic from the golden age of arcade games, the DKC trilogy being among the most iconic and remembered platformers during the 90's, and Retro's two platformers being among the very best of the sidescrolling platformer revival of the 2010's. What kind of form DK will take during this decade only time will tell.

On a sidenote, I want to congratulate SeashoreWar on finally completing his Donkey Kong Racing roster art project. Your art has been a constant fixture in this thread for the past several years, and I hope you continue to make contributions to this topic even with this endeavor now completed. Your art is really appreciated. In general, all the artists this thread has really helps bring a special appeal to it. It really helps the Dixie thread here feel like a nice little community. As I said before, we all have various talents and insights that bring something unique to table. Even among the artists, they all have an unique style that contrasts with one another and helps bring out just what is so special about Dixie Kong and the DK franchise.

This year has had a few developments for the DK franchise as a whole. With both Dixie and Funky debuting in Mario Kart Tour and DKC1 coming to the Switch Online. I am not sure if anything else noteworthy will also happen for the remainder of this year in regards to DK, however next year will be very interesting on two notes. It will be both the conclusion to Ultimate's DLC as well as the 40th anniversary to the Donkey Kong franchise. We shall see what ultimately ends up happening.

Thank you to anyone that managed to read through the entirety of this post. I realize sometimes I tend to be a bit long winded, but I really had much to say as a result of the various topics that were brought up over the past several months. I hope the answers and insight were at least found to be satisfactory by a few here.

RetrogamerMax · Aug 8, 2020

ChronoBound said:
I have not forgotten about this post. I just needed the time to write out all of my various thoughts on this topic and several other DK related ones (what I think of DKC1 after recently replaying it, and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch and what it would mean for Dixie's prospects).

Unfortunately, I think Min Min's confirmation changes very little. As I have said many times before, the only other spirit promotion I see happening is Geno (I very strongly think Geno is going to be confirmed at some point as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2). I do not see any other spirit promotions happening.

I also see Min Min as the sole Nintendo owned character that will be a part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 (sort of like how Byleth was the only Nintendo owned character as part of the first Fighters Pass).

Aside from Geno, I think the next most likely DLC character we should be expecting is a Tales character (most likely Lloyd, and if not Lloyd, then Yuri), whom I expect will probably be confirmed and released for December of this year (which is when the 25th anniversary of the Tales series falls under). I also strongly expect we will see another Western made character as part of the pass as well as a Capcom character. I also see Ryu Hayabusa and Arle as possibilities (Tecmo-Koei is the only big Japanese developer still without a character on the roster, and Puyo Puyo's 25th anniversary is next year).

I do not see how Dixie Kong possibly makes it under the present situation unfortunately. It would take a massive miracle for everything to line up in her favor to warrant making it onto Ultimate's roster. I do not see how she could get selected as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 even if hypothetically a new DK title is in development (I will get into that later, and how even if it is true, it would mean very little for her prospects for Ultimate).

I am very sorry for the pessimistic assessment, but this is the most likely situation, even if there is hypothetically a new DK title in development.

Before going on to the possibility of a new DK title, I would like to discuss a little bit about DKC1. It was recently released for the Nintendo Switch Online, and I went through the game again (this was actually my first time ever getting to 101% on it, though I finished it quite a few times already in the past). This new play through basically cemented my thoughts on DKC1 that I shared in the past in this thread.

Strong points:
- Soundtrack (I think its soundtrack is better than DKC3's, or at least more atmospheric)
- Atmosphere (the "stop and go/misty/loopy lights" mines and cave stages in general are still moody and creepy after all these years. I still think DKC1 might be the most atmospheric game in the DKC trilogy)

Weak points:
- Boss fights (Bosses are easily the weakest of the whole trilogy, with the fight against King K. Rool being the only stand out)
- Worst usage/implementation of the animal buddies (the animal buddies are barely utilized for the gameplay, and are only basically used to access a few secret bonus rooms)
- Level design is rough (a lot of the stages seemed like they just slapped something together, and the barrel stages in particular are still obnoxious).
- No real award/incentive for getting 101% (you pretty much just get Cranky's praise and that's it. Contrast that with DKC2 and DKC3 where finding the bonus coins got you access to additional stages and a bonus final battle).

DKC1 was a massive landmark title for the SNES, and it probably single handedly helped the SNES overtake the Sega Genesis in North America (that and Sega diverting more and more resources away from the Genesis in 1995 and 1996, while Nintendo still gave the SNES a lot of focus during those two years). However, the game itself is very rough around the edges in terms of gameplay. DKC3 in particular is the opposite of DKC1, with its weaknesses and strengths inverted in particular (probably the best boss battles for the most part, excellent animal buddy usage, strong level design), but the weakest atmosphere and soundtrack. Heck, even the final battle battles are inverted, with the DKC1 one being one of the most memorable fights ever for the DKC series, while the DKC3 one is probably the most forgettable. DKC2 is the most well rounded, keeping the strengths from both DKC1 and DKC3, so it is overall the best.

My ranking of the trilogy is thus:
1. DKC2
2. DKC3
3. DKC1

All are very good games. DKC2 deserves all the praise it gets. However, I think DKC3 is still vert underrated, it is among the very best platformers on the SNES and that is very strong praise, probably being just outside the trinity of Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World, and DKC2 in terms of quality). DKC1 from what I have seen is the opposite and tends to be overrated.

I might someday get into a detailed review and analysis of each title of the DKC trilogy, but I am not sure if there would be an interest in it, or whether I would even have the time to do it.

Now on to the topic of the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. I definitely think it is possible. Donkey Kong is among Nintendo's biggest franchises, and on the SNES, N64, and Wii, a DK title was among the highest selling games for it, so Nintendo has probably looked for a way to continue the franchise on the Switch (their most successful console since the Wii) outside of a port.

I am not sure who would be developing it, but I imagine it might either be another Western studio. My guess is that the team that made Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, as the team did a massive DK expansion for that title) and recently is doing a bunch of hiring:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2..._studio_is_hiring_for_a_prestigious_aaa_title

There is a possibility that Nintendo themselves are handling it, but I am not optimistic on that. Nintendo themselves rarely has handled the DK series after Western studios started working on it, with Jungle Beat being the sole exception as far as I know.

Regardless, I think it will be a very major effort and it might be marketed as a AAA game even. Next year is the 40th anniversary of the DK franchise as well.

However, even assuming a massive DK title is in development, I think it means very little for the prospects for Dixie or additional DK content in general for Ultimate. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the second highest selling game for the Nintendo Switch, and its promotion in Ultimate ended up being simply a spirit event (though we might get some Mii costumes of Animal Crossing characters eventually). I expect the same for any DK title (especially if it is Western developed).

The same thing happened with Tropical Freeze. It was unveiled at the same time as Smash 4 was, and Dixie Kong was shown to be a major supporting character in it, which made most believe Dixie Kong was likely for Smash 4. Now we are here, seven years later, and Dixie is still not in Smash, and Tropical Freeze in general received negligible content in Smash 4 and Ultimate (four trophies and two music tracks in Smash 4, and just a single spirit and two music tracks in Ultimate). Tropical Freeze was announced at a point where the roster had already been decided thus making its impact on Smash content negligible.

I imagine it would be the same case with a new DK title. We might just get a spirit event, and at best maybe a Mii costume. The game's announcement would simply be too late to impact anything for Ultimate unfortunately.

The only situation where I could see it might possibly having an impact on Ultimate content is if Nintendo themselves were developing this new DK title, and themselves telling Sakurai about it and giving him a sneak peak about it. However, the only example I can think of where this has been done for is with the Fire Emblem series. Sakurai did consult the Zelda team for Breath of the Wild content before the game's release, but that game had already been unveiled before Ultimate was in development,

If it is a Western team making it, you can pretty much lose any hope of the game having any sort of notable content in Ultimate (outside of maybe spirits).

Going forward though, the game, if it is extremely well received, would definitely help boost Dixie Kong's fanbase, assuming though she has a major role in it. Otherwise, such a game is basically negligible for what it would mean for Ultimate unfortunately.

I apologize for such a downer post, but as a veteran speculator (I have been doing Smash speculation since 2001), I wanted to give the rest of the Dixie fanbase a realistic assessment of what to expect even with the developments of Min Min being confirmed and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. Ultimate, unfortunately, will most likely not be Dixie's time. It is a bit of a shame personally because Ultimate already gave me everything else I personally wanted to see in Smash, and I know the next title will very likely jettison many of the characters I personally like from the roster, as well as the fact I will be much older by the time the next title happens.

As you all know, I have been less and less frequently posting on this site as DLC has gone on. I have made less than 20 posts so far this year (and only six since February). There is not anything left to which I am personally hoping for in Smash which I see as likely to happen. Dixie Kong is my last strong desire left, and even then the tether to her in regards to my Smash community participation is only in the very slim hope that she somehow is able to make the roster for this legendary title.

On this day, two years ago, K. Rool was finally confirmed for Smash. It was at this point where I felt that Dixie's time would finally begin. However, she still seems to be in the same spot as she was two years ago. A character with a lot of support that most people believe should have made it in a long time ago, but not among the most wanted characters in general. She seems to be a character almost universally accepted as deserving for Smash Bros. (she might be the having the highest "wanted" rating of any character in the "Rate Their Chances" thread), but yet has little passion for her.

Since I have been a regular participant in this thread (starting in August of 2018), I brought both sobering assessments regarding her prospects (which ended up being true for the base game) while at the same time offering hope. I have never at any point in this topic been optimistic on her prospects regarding her being a part of Ultimate's roster. However, regardless of how bleak things look (and right now things have changed very little since Ultimate's release), I have offered two consolations:
1. A little hope is still hope. The precedence for this what happened with both Roy and Ridley. Both characters whom I really wanted to see return or finally make their roster debut, and had extremely bleak points for their prospects. For Roy it was after Smash 4 released and Fire Emblem already had four characters, one of which being a Marth clone, and a bunch of cuts of popular Brawl veteran, thus likely have priority over Roy for returning as DLC; and for Ridley a hard deconfirmation by Sakurai saying that he was against resizing Ridley for Smash Bros.).

2. That even if Dixie does not make Ultimate's legendary roster. She exists as one of the few big name Nintendo characters left without a roster debut. A character for a new generation of Smash fans to support that actually has the credentials and legacy as much of the veteran cast. That if she continues to make major appearances in DK titles, she will continue to have strong support for Smash going forward, and will probably make the Top 10 most wanted for the next Smash speculation period.

For many of us Dixie supporters, we are in our late 20's and early 30's, and Dixie Kong really feels like the final missing piece of the puzzle in regards to Smash Bros.'s roster, so number two seems disheartening (and many of us plan to leave the speculation and character support scene for good after Ultimate's DLC wraps up). However, for the younger fans among us, it does offer hope going forward.

As I said many times before, we shall see what happens. There is still over another year to go until DLC for Ultimate wraps up. This has been a very long journey for many of us, and this thread in particular, inexplicably is the fourth largest support topic despite never having a massive support frenzy for it at any point.

This is another thing I have said many times before, but the Dixie Kong fanbase reminds me of Roy's fanbase. People who truly care about the character not because they think she is likely or because they see a ton of loud support for the character, but rather because they have a personal history of support and connection to the character. For many of us, this was through the cherished time and memories we had playing as her in DKC2 and DKC3. For many others, it may have come from her support role in Tropical Freeze or her appearances in DK and Mario spinoffs. Regardless, the personal history we have with Dixie is the driver why we continue to support and talk about her despite her prospects seeming to not have improved since the game's release.

This thread is not just about a shared love and appreciation of Dixie Kong, but also of the Donkey Kong series as a whole. Many of the games, dating back to the arcade origins to the franchise in the 80's, to the DKC trilogy of the 90's (and DK94), to Retro's excellent platformer duo during the 2010's are timeless classics. DK has nearly 40 years of history and is not just one of gaming's oldest franchises, but one of its most esteemed and impactful. The arcade games being among the most memorable and iconic from the golden age of arcade games, the DKC trilogy being among the most iconic and remembered platformers during the 90's, and Retro's two platformers being among the very best of the sidescrolling platformer revival of the 2010's. What kind of form DK will take during this decade only time will tell.

On a sidenote, I want to congratulate SeashoreWar on finally completing his Donkey Kong Racing roster art project. Your art has been a constant fixture in this thread for the past several years, and I hope you continue to make contributions to this topic even with this endeavor now completed. Your art is really appreciated. In general, all the artists this thread has really helps bring a special appeal to it. It really helps the Dixie thread here feel like a nice little community. As I said before, we all have various talents and insights that bring something unique to table. Even among the artists, they all have an unique style that contrasts with one another and helps bring out just what is so special about Dixie Kong and the DK franchise.

This year has had a few developments for the DK franchise as a whole. With both Dixie and Funky debuting in Mario Kart Tour and DKC1 coming to the Switch Online. I am not sure if anything else noteworthy will also happen for the remainder of this year in regards to DK, however next year will be very interesting on two notes. It will be both the conclusion to Ultimate's DLC as well as the 40th anniversary to the Donkey Kong franchise. We shall see what ultimately ends up happening.

Thank you to anyone that managed to read through the entirety of this post. I realize sometimes I tend to be a bit long winded, but I really had much to say as a result of the various topics that were brought up over the past several months. I hope the answers and insight were at least found to be satisfactory by a few here.

I love reading your essays ChronoBound. Amazing work.

BirthNote · Aug 8, 2020

I do too. It's always a welcome sight.

Fuzzy Pickles! · Aug 8, 2020

ChronoBound said:
I have not forgotten about this post. I just needed the time to write out all of my various thoughts on this topic and several other DK related ones (what I think of DKC1 after recently replaying it, and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch and what it would mean for Dixie's prospects).

Unfortunately, I think Min Min's confirmation changes very little. As I have said many times before, the only other spirit promotion I see happening is Geno (I very strongly think Geno is going to be confirmed at some point as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2). I do not see any other spirit promotions happening.

I also see Min Min as the sole Nintendo owned character that will be a part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 (sort of like how Byleth was the only Nintendo owned character as part of the first Fighters Pass).

Aside from Geno, I think the next most likely DLC character we should be expecting is a Tales character (most likely Lloyd, and if not Lloyd, then Yuri), whom I expect will probably be confirmed and released for December of this year (which is when the 25th anniversary of the Tales series falls under). I also strongly expect we will see another Western made character as part of the pass as well as a Capcom character. I also see Ryu Hayabusa and Arle as possibilities (Tecmo-Koei is the only big Japanese developer still without a character on the roster, and Puyo Puyo's 25th anniversary is next year).

I do not see how Dixie Kong possibly makes it under the present situation unfortunately. It would take a massive miracle for everything to line up in her favor to warrant making it onto Ultimate's roster. I do not see how she could get selected as part of Fighters Pass Vol 2 even if hypothetically a new DK title is in development (I will get into that later, and how even if it is true, it would mean very little for her prospects for Ultimate).

I am very sorry for the pessimistic assessment, but this is the most likely situation, even if there is hypothetically a new DK title in development.

Before going on to the possibility of a new DK title, I would like to discuss a little bit about DKC1. It was recently released for the Nintendo Switch Online, and I went through the game again (this was actually my first time ever getting to 101% on it, though I finished it quite a few times already in the past). This new play through basically cemented my thoughts on DKC1 that I shared in the past in this thread.

Strong points:
- Soundtrack (I think its soundtrack is better than DKC3's, or at least more atmospheric)
- Atmosphere (the "stop and go/misty/loopy lights" mines and cave stages in general are still moody and creepy after all these years. I still think DKC1 might be the most atmospheric game in the DKC trilogy)

Weak points:
- Boss fights (Bosses are easily the weakest of the whole trilogy, with the fight against King K. Rool being the only stand out)
- Worst usage/implementation of the animal buddies (the animal buddies are barely utilized for the gameplay, and are only basically used to access a few secret bonus rooms)
- Level design is rough (a lot of the stages seemed like they just slapped something together, and the barrel stages in particular are still obnoxious).
- No real award/incentive for getting 101% (you pretty much just get Cranky's praise and that's it. Contrast that with DKC2 and DKC3 where finding the bonus coins got you access to additional stages and a bonus final battle).

DKC1 was a massive landmark title for the SNES, and it probably single handedly helped the SNES overtake the Sega Genesis in North America (that and Sega diverting more and more resources away from the Genesis in 1995 and 1996, while Nintendo still gave the SNES a lot of focus during those two years). However, the game itself is very rough around the edges in terms of gameplay. DKC3 in particular is the opposite of DKC1, with its weaknesses and strengths inverted in particular (probably the best boss battles for the most part, excellent animal buddy usage, strong level design), but the weakest atmosphere and soundtrack. Heck, even the final battle battles are inverted, with the DKC1 one being one of the most memorable fights ever for the DKC series, while the DKC3 one is probably the most forgettable. DKC2 is the most well rounded, keeping the strengths from both DKC1 and DKC3, so it is overall the best.

My ranking of the trilogy is thus:
1. DKC2
2. DKC3
3. DKC1

All are very good games. DKC2 deserves all the praise it gets. However, I think DKC3 is still vert underrated, it is among the very best platformers on the SNES and that is very strong praise, probably being just outside the trinity of Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World, and DKC2 in terms of quality). DKC1 from what I have seen is the opposite and tends to be overrated.

I might someday get into a detailed review and analysis of each title of the DKC trilogy, but I am not sure if there would be an interest in it, or whether I would even have the time to do it.

Now on to the topic of the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. I definitely think it is possible. Donkey Kong is among Nintendo's biggest franchises, and on the SNES, N64, and Wii, a DK title was among the highest selling games for it, so Nintendo has probably looked for a way to continue the franchise on the Switch (their most successful console since the Wii) outside of a port.

I am not sure who would be developing it, but I imagine it might either be another Western studio. My guess is that the team that made Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, as the team did a massive DK expansion for that title) and recently is doing a bunch of hiring:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2..._studio_is_hiring_for_a_prestigious_aaa_title

There is a possibility that Nintendo themselves are handling it, but I am not optimistic on that. Nintendo themselves rarely has handled the DK series after Western studios started working on it, with Jungle Beat being the sole exception as far as I know.

Regardless, I think it will be a very major effort and it might be marketed as a AAA game even. Next year is the 40th anniversary of the DK franchise as well.

However, even assuming a massive DK title is in development, I think it means very little for the prospects for Dixie or additional DK content in general for Ultimate. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the second highest selling game for the Nintendo Switch, and its promotion in Ultimate ended up being simply a spirit event (though we might get some Mii costumes of Animal Crossing characters eventually). I expect the same for any DK title (especially if it is Western developed).

The same thing happened with Tropical Freeze. It was unveiled at the same time as Smash 4 was, and Dixie Kong was shown to be a major supporting character in it, which made most believe Dixie Kong was likely for Smash 4. Now we are here, seven years later, and Dixie is still not in Smash, and Tropical Freeze in general received negligible content in Smash 4 and Ultimate (four trophies and two music tracks in Smash 4, and just a single spirit and two music tracks in Ultimate). Tropical Freeze was announced at a point where the roster had already been decided thus making its impact on Smash content negligible.

I imagine it would be the same case with a new DK title. We might just get a spirit event, and at best maybe a Mii costume. The game's announcement would simply be too late to impact anything for Ultimate unfortunately.

The only situation where I could see it might possibly having an impact on Ultimate content is if Nintendo themselves were developing this new DK title, and themselves telling Sakurai about it and giving him a sneak peak about it. However, the only example I can think of where this has been done for is with the Fire Emblem series. Sakurai did consult the Zelda team for Breath of the Wild content before the game's release, but that game had already been unveiled before Ultimate was in development,

If it is a Western team making it, you can pretty much lose any hope of the game having any sort of notable content in Ultimate (outside of maybe spirits).

Going forward though, the game, if it is extremely well received, would definitely help boost Dixie Kong's fanbase, assuming though she has a major role in it. Otherwise, such a game is basically negligible for what it would mean for Ultimate unfortunately.

I apologize for such a downer post, but as a veteran speculator (I have been doing Smash speculation since 2001), I wanted to give the rest of the Dixie fanbase a realistic assessment of what to expect even with the developments of Min Min being confirmed and the possibility of a new DK title for the Switch. Ultimate, unfortunately, will most likely not be Dixie's time. It is a bit of a shame personally because Ultimate already gave me everything else I personally wanted to see in Smash, and I know the next title will very likely jettison many of the characters I personally like from the roster, as well as the fact I will be much older by the time the next title happens.

As you all know, I have been less and less frequently posting on this site as DLC has gone on. I have made 20 posts so far this year (and only six since February). There is not anything left to which I am personally hoping for in Smash which I see as likely to happen. Dixie Kong is my last strong desire left, and even then the tether to her in regards to my Smash community participation is only in the very slim hope that she somehow is able to make the roster for this legendary title.

On this day, two years ago, K. Rool was finally confirmed for Smash. It was at this point where I felt that Dixie's time would finally begin. However, she still seems to be in the same spot as she was two years ago. A character with a lot of support that most people believe should have made it in a long time ago, but not among the most wanted characters in general. She seems to be a character almost universally accepted as deserving for Smash Bros. (she might be the having the highest "wanted" rating of any character in the "Rate Their Chances" thread), but yet has little passion for her.

Since I have been a regular participant in this thread (starting in August of 2018), I brought both sobering assessments regarding her prospects (which ended up being true for the base game) while at the same time offering hope. I have never at any point in this topic been optimistic on her prospects regarding her being a part of Ultimate's roster. However, regardless of how bleak things look (and right now things have changed very little since Ultimate's release), I have offered two consolations:
1. A little hope is still hope. The precedence for this what happened with both Roy and Ridley. Both characters whom I really wanted to see return or finally make their roster debut, and had extremely bleak points for their prospects. For Roy it was after Smash 4 released and Fire Emblem already had four characters, one of which being a Marth clone, and a bunch of cuts of popular Brawl veteran, thus likely have priority over Roy for returning as DLC; and for Ridley a hard deconfirmation by Sakurai saying that he was against resizing Ridley for Smash Bros.).

2. That even if Dixie does not make Ultimate's legendary roster. She exists as one of the few big name Nintendo characters left without a roster debut. A character for a new generation of Smash fans to support that actually has the credentials and legacy as much of the veteran cast. That if she continues to make major appearances in DK titles, she will continue to have strong support for Smash going forward, and will probably make the Top 10 most wanted for the next Smash speculation period.

For many of us Dixie supporters, we are in our late 20's and early 30's, and Dixie Kong really feels like the final missing piece of the puzzle in regards to Smash Bros.'s roster, so number two seems disheartening (and many of us plan to leave the speculation and character support scene for good after Ultimate's DLC wraps up). However, for the younger fans among us, it does offer hope going forward.

As I said many times before, we shall see what happens. There is still over another year to go until DLC for Ultimate wraps up. This has been a very long journey for many of us, and this thread in particular, inexplicably is the fourth largest support topic despite never having a massive support frenzy for it at any point.

This is another thing I have said many times before, but the Dixie Kong fanbase reminds me of Roy's fanbase. People who truly care about the character not because they think she is likely or because they see a ton of loud support for the character, but rather because they have a personal history of support and connection to the character. For many of us, this was through the cherished time and memories we had playing as her in DKC2 and DKC3. For many others, it may have come from her support role in Tropical Freeze or her appearances in DK and Mario spinoffs. Regardless, the personal history we have with Dixie is the driver why we continue to support and talk about her despite her prospects seeming to not have improved since the game's release.

This thread is not just about a shared love and appreciation of Dixie Kong, but also of the Donkey Kong series as a whole. Many of the games, dating back to the arcade origins to the franchise in the 80's, to the DKC trilogy of the 90's (and DK94), to Retro's excellent platformer duo during the 2010's are timeless classics. DK has nearly 40 years of history and is not just one of gaming's oldest franchises, but one of its most esteemed and impactful. The arcade games being among the most memorable and iconic from the golden age of arcade games, the DKC trilogy being among the most iconic and remembered platformers during the 90's, and Retro's two platformers being among the very best of the sidescrolling platformer revival of the 2010's. What kind of form DK will take during this decade only time will tell.

On a sidenote, I want to congratulate SeashoreWar on finally completing his Donkey Kong Racing roster art project. Your art has been a constant fixture in this thread for the past several years, and I hope you continue to make contributions to this topic even with this endeavor now completed. Your art is really appreciated. In general, all the artists this thread has really helps bring a special appeal to it. It really helps the Dixie thread here feel like a nice little community. As I said before, we all have various talents and insights that bring something unique to table. Even among the artists, they all have an unique style that contrasts with one another and helps bring out just what is so special about Dixie Kong and the DK franchise.

This year has had a few developments for the DK franchise as a whole. With both Dixie and Funky debuting in Mario Kart Tour and DKC1 coming to the Switch Online. I am not sure if anything else noteworthy will also happen for the remainder of this year in regards to DK, however next year will be very interesting on two notes. It will be both the conclusion to Ultimate's DLC as well as the 40th anniversary to the Donkey Kong franchise. We shall see what ultimately ends up happening.

Thank you to anyone that managed to read through the entirety of this post. I realize sometimes I tend to be a bit long winded, but I really had much to say as a result of the various topics that were brought up over the past several months. I hope the answers and insight were at least found to be satisfactory by a few here.

Just want to say this is an excellent post. I have followed your works in the Smash community for nearly a decade and it is always a delight to see them. Your posts over the years gives light to the history of the Smash speculation community that we have been part of for so long.

Having said that, I disagree that Min-Min might be the only Nintendo character. Even if we assume Geno is inevitable, that's still a second Spirits upgrade. Not to mention that the second Fighter Pass will be even more spaced out than the first one was. That indicates a lower budget for DLCs and licensing out to Nintendo characters is cheaper than say, getting Cloud on the roster. If DK is getting a new game next year - and I am optimistic on that - she has a decent shot of getting in.

Handy Man · Aug 11, 2020

SmashBoards is back again, and about time too! And this time, she’s in the mood! She can fly real high, with her hair spin on! With her kneepads out! She’s one tough Kong! She’ll make you smile, when she plays her tune. But Kremlings beware, ‘cause she’s after you! HUH!

BirthNote · Aug 11, 2020

Mariomaniac45213 said:
You might like this video:

I DO like this video! It highlights the attention to detail each Kong had even in the OG trilogy; people tend to overlook it, but the 4 playable Kongs had so much distinction from one another. Even Kiddy, for as much as I don't care for him stood out from the rest and it wasn't just color scheme. None of the 4 shared the same animations, runs, attacks, jumps, climbs, victories or deaths. It's just excellent!

One thing the vid points out that many don't tend to acknowledge, is that Diddy was the only "normal" Kong. "Normal" in the sense that he has no extra ability, no situational move. He's mainly speed, while DK gets a (useless at the time) groundpound, Dixie gets to hover and Kiddy gets to skip on water like a rock thrown at a pond. Outside of DK64 Diddy has little to work with besides cartwheels....and look at the moveset we got for him! As my main, I'm content with his concept and he certainly feels like the hyperactive kong that loves to maul foes from my childhood.

It's ironic that a lot of people don't see much potential for Dixie outside of a copy of Diddy, when she, along with the other Kongs were made and behaved as distinctly as the old hardware could show. They had more than distinct idle animations; their attacks were different, along with their jumps, runs, victories and deaths. The simple act of Dixie using her hair for grabbing and throwing along with hovering opens up so many moveset ideas that you could believably brainstorm some cool stuff with a good thought experiment or 2. Just treat her ponytail like a 5th limb that can fly and the ideas will pour in.

Thanks for sharing that vid. Diddy's my childhood favorite Kong but I was worried Dixie wouldn't steal the show.

DeniroSerafim · Aug 11, 2020

So, despite how much it angered me previously, I decided to give Mario Kart Tour another shot out of boredom, and I ended up pulling both Dixie AND Funky without paying with real money. It's honestly a real joy to play as them in Mario Kart, really is shame it had to be this one of all of them, but I'm hopeful for their eventual inclusion in the next console Mario Kart. Destroying people online with them is extremely satisfying, if only I could do the same in Smash......

Dukemon102 · Aug 11, 2020

DK=jungle pic.twitter.com/hpDOnk7CLI
— Jon Cartwright (@JonComms) August 10, 2020

Jon being right as always (Except for his hatred of Kiddy)

ChronoBound said:
Before going on to the possibility of a new DK title, I would like to discuss a little bit about DKC1. It was recently released for the Nintendo Switch Online, and I went through the game again (this was actually my first time ever getting to 101% on it, though I finished it quite a few times already in the past). This new play through basically cemented my thoughts on DKC1 that I shared in the past in this thread.

Strong points:

Soundtrack (I think its soundtrack is better than DKC3's, or at least more atmospheric)

Atmosphere (the "stop and go/misty/loopy lights" mines and cave stages in general are still moody and creepy after all these years. I still think DKC1 might be the most atmospheric game in the DKC trilogy)

Weak points:

Boss fights (Bosses are easily the weakest of the whole trilogy, with the fight against King K. Rool being the only stand out)

Worst usage/implementation of the animal buddies (the animal buddies are barely utilized for the gameplay, and are only basically used to access a few secret bonus rooms)

Level design is rough (a lot of the stages seemed like they just slapped something together, and the barrel stages in particular are still obnoxious).

No real award/incentive for getting 101% (you pretty much just get Cranky's praise and that's it. Contrast that with DKC2 and DKC3 where finding the bonus coins got you access to additional stages and a bonus final battle).

DKC1 was a massive landmark title for the SNES, and it probably single handedly helped the SNES overtake the Sega Genesis in North America (that and Sega diverting more and more resources away from the Genesis in 1995 and 1996, while Nintendo still gave the SNES a lot of focus during those two years). However, the game itself is very rough around the edges in terms of gameplay. DKC3 in particular is the opposite of DKC1, with its weaknesses and strengths inverted in particular (probably the best boss battles for the most part, excellent animal buddy usage, strong level design), but the weakest atmosphere and soundtrack. Heck, even the final battle battles are inverted, with the DKC1 one being one of the most memorable fights ever for the DKC series, while the DKC3 one is probably the most forgettable. DKC2 is the most well rounded, keeping the strengths from both DKC1 and DKC3, so it is overall the best.

My ranking of the trilogy is thus:
1. DKC2
2. DKC3
3. DKC1

All are very good games. DKC2 deserves all the praise it gets. However, I think DKC3 is still vert underrated, it is among the very best platformers on the SNES and that is very strong praise, probably being just outside the trinity of Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World, and DKC2 in terms of quality). DKC1 from what I have seen is the opposite and tends to be overrated.

Yes, yes, yes. I agree 100% with everything here. It's criminal how much DKC3 gets overlooked. I don't think it's as good as Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island or Sonic 2 and 3&K. But its very commited use of gimmicks ironically make it one of the most unique platformers out there. If speed is your preference however, I understand not liking it as much, since DKC1 is designed to be beaten very fast if you know how to play (But its flaws are too evident once you play the sequels) and DKC2 landed that perfect sweetspot of exploration, speed, ambience and music.

Mariomaniac45213 said:
You might like this video:

Dixie: 2
Diddy: 1
DK and Kiddy: 0

Dang, even the DK series screws over the heavies!!

JK. Kind of obvious to see Diddy and Dixie at the top. Both are a joy to control and are very well balanced, another aspect that makes DKC2 the best game IMO.
But I want to disprove the claim that Dixie is faster than Kiddy. In game code units, both have the exact same run speed, Dixie has a higher walk speed, but the running speed is the exact same (And both are faster than DKC1 DK BTW). But I've always had an easier time with Kiddy when it comes to ground movement, maybe because of his superior roll and the way he holds barrels as protection like Diddy, which helps to hold Y+right without worrying about incoming enemies.

I would also give Dixie a 3 for Tropical Freeze, Dixie is the objectively best Kong 4 ever.

Mushroomguy12 · Aug 11, 2020

Gang fights breaking out in the Isles.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

ZeroJanitor · Aug 11, 2020

The Mario Kart Tour model for Dixie Kong was uploaded to Models Resource recently:

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The Models Resource

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The #1 source for video game models on the internet!

www.models-resource.com

This is currently the highest-quality Dixie model we have available. I have no skills related to using 3D models, but maybe someone out there can do something interesting with this.

BirthNote · Aug 11, 2020

ZeroJanitor said:
The Mario Kart Tour model for Dixie Kong was uploaded to Models Resource recently:

View attachment 281919

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The Models Resource

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The #1 source for video game models on the internet!

www.models-resource.com

This is currently the highest-quality Dixie model we have available. I have no skills related to using 3D models, but maybe someone out there can do something interesting with this.

Damn if I was good at 3D Models I'd use this for moveset ideas!

SeashoreWar · Aug 11, 2020

So before I do the last 2 waves for Donkey Kong Racing, I wanted to go back through the roster and apply suggestions people made or any changes I wanted to make. I started off with the Diddy Kong Racing crew!

Half of them got completely new drawings (Timber, Tiptup, Bumper, Krunch) and the other 4 got changes ranging from major to minor. I included a picture comparing the old designs to the new ones (I always like seeing comparison pics!).

BirthNote · Aug 11, 2020

SeashoreWar said:
So before I do the last 2 waves for Donkey Kong Racing, I wanted to go back through the roster and apply suggestions people made or any changes I wanted to make. I started off with the Diddy Kong Racing crew!

Half of them got completely new drawings (Timber, Tiptup, Bumper, Krunch) and the other 4 got changes ranging from major to minor. I included a picture comparing the old designs to the new ones (I always like seeing comparison pics!).

I like the improvements! Wizpig especially looks more menacing, and the rest look more dynamic. Well done; I gave you a shoutout in the Thread Title.

InASnowBoundLand · Aug 11, 2020

The spike on Wizpig is a good move. I also like Timber's change a lot!

DeniroSerafim · Aug 11, 2020

They should make a make a metoridvania spin-off of DKC and make Dixie the protagonist, and make it take place during the events of DK64.

SeashoreWar · Aug 11, 2020

BirthNote said:
I like the improvements! Wizpig especially looks more menacing, and the rest look more dynamic. Well done; I gave you a shoutout in the Thread Title.

Thanks! An HD re-release before the game comes out lol.

InASnowBoundLand said:
The spike on Wizpig is a good move. I also like Timber's change a lot!

Thanks! Yeah I liked Timber's old design when I did it, but over time I kept looking at it thinking something was off with him. He definitely needed a revision.

RetrogamerMax · Aug 12, 2020

ZeroJanitor said:
The Mario Kart Tour model for Dixie Kong was uploaded to Models Resource recently:

View attachment 281919

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The Models Resource

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The #1 source for video game models on the internet!

www.models-resource.com

This is currently the highest-quality Dixie model we have available. I have no skills related to using 3D models, but maybe someone out there can do something interesting with this.

Our queen is beautiful.

okamifire · Aug 12, 2020

I'm really hoping Dixie makes it in Smash before Ultimate's DLC is over. Even if it's a semi echo of Diddy (which it doesn't have to be, but I wouldn't be offended if it was like a Villager / Isabelle thing). She really does feel like one of the big glaring omissions of the main Nintendo franchises.

Mariomaniac45213 · Aug 12, 2020

ZeroJanitor said:
The Mario Kart Tour model for Dixie Kong was uploaded to Models Resource recently:

View attachment 281919

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The Models Resource

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The #1 source for video game models on the internet!

www.models-resource.com

This is currently the highest-quality Dixie model we have available. I have no skills related to using 3D models, but maybe someone out there can do something interesting with this.

Man is it weird seeing Dixie stand up tall like that when she normally hunches or stands on all 4's. Also if she does stand up tall she really needs her old kneepads back to make it look "better". Great quality render nonetheless.

Jurae818 · Aug 13, 2020

ZeroJanitor said:
The Mario Kart Tour model for Dixie Kong was uploaded to Models Resource recently:

View attachment 281919

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The Models Resource

Mobile - Mario Kart Tour - Dixie Kong - The #1 source for video game models on the internet!

www.models-resource.com

This is currently the highest-quality Dixie model we have available. I have no skills related to using 3D models, but maybe someone out there can do something interesting with this.

Even moreso than the Tropical Freeze model?

Darkerik · Aug 13, 2020

So the other night I couldn't sleep so I started to think what if Dixie was in ultimate who'd she team up with? Besides Dixie I do really want her to team up with Terry as both have ponytail. I considered to ask for someone to draw them or something cuz I am a terrible at drawing lol

InASnowBoundLand · Aug 13, 2020

The TF model is not available on the website for some reason, most likely due to humanity not being worthy.

donkeykong_downunder · Aug 13, 2020

Bit late, but it is crazy to tihnk that Rare turned 35 this week!

Rare Turns 35 This Week - We Pick 10 Highlights From The Nintendo Years

Rare talent

www.nintendolife.com

A part of so many childhoods and cherished memories, coincidentally I recieved this from the USA this week and am rapt to add it to my collection, check it out!

http://instagr.am/p/CD2quKonCYo/
From memory the Dixie/Diddy keyring is from Japan and a part of a particular set, maybe one of 5-6 which includes a mix of animal budies and Kongs from DKC and DKC2. That makes me think of the original tag team mechanic...would love for it to return in the next title, if it turns out to be linear like previous titles.

BirthNote · Aug 16, 2020

Looks like the site update removed likes from years old posts. Huh.

Anyway, I beat Tropical Freeze a week and a few days ago, making sure I got every KONG letter and thus beating every temple before tackling each island's boss. I had a lot of fun going back and forth; levels that had machinery like Rickety Rafters and Harvest Hazards impressed me, I liked fighting all the bosses, which is usual cuz DKC games have only a few that's really fun and the attention to detail was really good.

It would be great to play as Kongs outside of Hard Mode and Co Op though, plus Secret Seclusion could use a Bonus Boss that's a nightmare. Speaking of Kongs, I remember a troll on this thread insisting that Diddy and Dixie share the same animations back when Isabelle got announced and me combating their points. So, I played some levels as both of them in Hard Mode, and it turns out they only share the item-holding and item-running animation. Everything else is different; even when you bounce off an enemy, each Kong has at least 4 unique individual animations. When you crash into a wall, all of them collide and react uniquely. That's impressive, as most people won't even see these.

Retro kept the trend of differentiating each Kong and making them feel like their own individual characters when their main function is to ride DK's back, in a game where you run, jump, grab, swim, slam and roll. How many developers would go that extra mile?

Mushroomguy12 · Aug 16, 2020

BirthNote said:
Looks like the site update removed likes from years old posts. Huh.

I think the update pretty much removed likes from any posts before the update.

Interestingly enough, if some does go back and like a post that had its likes removed, the likes will suddenly show up again for just that post.

Either way, the way the mods and admins have been talking about looking into it, I'm pretty sure it's unintentional.

BirthNote · Aug 16, 2020

Mushroomguy12 said:
I think the update pretty much removed likes from any posts before the update.

Interestingly enough, if some does go back and like a post that had its likes removed, the likes will suddenly show up again for just that post.

Either way, the way the mods and admins have been talking about looking into it, I'm pretty sure it's unintentional.

Fine by me. Thanks for the heads up

Mushroomguy12 · Aug 16, 2020

The Blue Bear from DKC3 has fallen on some hard times.

ブルー !
( スーパードンキーコング3 謎のクレミス島 ) pic.twitter.com/kJAdiRe571
— Gothic Teddy Bear 💀🐻 (@The_Last_Goth) August 17, 2020

BirthNote · Aug 17, 2020

Hey everyone, so I've been thinking about ways in which Dixie could use her hair--not just in Smash but for fighting games in general. So, after a couple nights brainstorming I doodled up a lot of new ideas, and I wanna separate them into categories.

The first category I wanna show is what I'm gonna call "Hair Pivots"; this is basically maneuvers and attacks where Dixie uses her hair to support herself while another body part performs an attack. It's one of many ways that show how her hair itself can do more than smack enemies. Speaking of which, here's an example:

Dixie can perform a reverse Flip Kick! By using her hair as a balancing agent, Dixie kicks both feet out behind her and uses the momentum as well as her ponytail to swing her legs in an arc. As she does so, her ponytail supports her entire body and allows her to extend her reach past the length of her limbs; Dixie's granted a field of range that's unusual for a Kong her size, with a move that's performed swiftly and gracefully thanks to its momentum. This is perfect for enemies trying to sneak up on Dixie as it's guaranteed to knock them backwards and upwards. The attack is quite strong overall, and one of its greatest assets is how startlingly fast she can perform it. As it's meant to deal with sneak attacks it can come without warning, so beware.

Very proud to show this one. I'm trying to give her an acrobatic flair while balancing the chimpiness and the girly/cartoony aspect. My headcanon is that each Kong has broken most of their bones at least twice in the jungle, so contorting should be no sweat. This concept is a general idea that can work for any fighting game, but in the context of Smash this is definitely Up Tilt or Up Smash material, but anyone who sees this is free to use it however they like for whatever. Speaking of fighting games, this is actually inspired by Cammy from Street Fighter; obviously Cammy can't use her hair to help her do this, but that's where I got the inspiration.

Hope everyone likes this, and please put this on twitter whenever you want!

InASnowBoundLand · Aug 17, 2020

That's awesome. The expression is great! And pretty creative and thoughtful use of her hair. I'll put it up tomorrow!

millsfan · Aug 18, 2020

Uh Dixie Kong fans... I just found an old article from before brawl released that shows Dixie in smash bros bros... crazy

Twitter

Arymle Roseanne · Aug 18, 2020

millsfan said:
Uh Dixie Kong fans... I just found an old article from before brawl released that shows Dixie in smash bros bros... crazy

Twitter

That's just a trophy... we all know she was planned for Brawl though.

BirthNote · Aug 18, 2020

InASnowBoundLand said:
That's awesome. The expression is great! And pretty creative and thoughtful use of her hair. I'll put it up tomorrow!

Thanks! I wanted it to be fierce and I'm glad the expression shows it. Here's the image with a transparent background,as well:

https://i.imgur.com/BLNJrcS.png

RetrogamerMax · Aug 18, 2020

Mushroomguy12 said:
The Blue Bear from DKC3 has fallen on some hard times.

ブルー !
( スーパードンキーコング3 謎のクレミス島 ) pic.twitter.com/kJAdiRe571
— Gothic Teddy Bear 💀🐻 (@The_Last_Goth) August 17, 2020

Banjo looks so sad in this picture, I want to give him a hug.

Vector Victor · Aug 18, 2020

Mushroomguy12 said:
The Blue Bear from DKC3 has fallen on some hard times.

ブルー !
( スーパードンキーコング3 謎のクレミス島 ) pic.twitter.com/kJAdiRe571
— Gothic Teddy Bear 💀🐻 (@The_Last_Goth) August 17, 2020

Before Ultimate was announced, Banjo heard that a DK rep was being added, so he decided to try his luck by pretending to be one of the DKC3 bears. It didn't work.

Shame, Banjo will never get into Smash. Never ever. Uh-huh, nope. Never.

Bodacious66 · Aug 19, 2020

I saw someone post this on twitter, is this fake? (Dixie in bottom right, supposedly before Brawl came out)

Dukemon102 · Aug 19, 2020

BirthNote said:
Hey everyone, so I've been thinking about ways in which Dixie could use her hair--not just in Smash but for fighting games in general. So, after a couple nights brainstorming I doodled up a lot of new ideas, and I wanna separate them into categories.

The first category I wanna show is what I'm gonna call "Hair Pivots"; this is basically maneuvers and attacks where Dixie uses her hair to support herself while another body part performs an attack. It's one of many ways that show how her hair itself can do more than smack enemies. Speaking of which, here's an example:

Dixie can perform a reverse Flip Kick! By using her hair as a balancing agent, Dixie kicks both feet out behind her and uses the momentum as well as her ponytail to swing her legs in an arc. As she does so, her ponytail supports her entire body and allows her to extend her reach past the length of her limbs; Dixie's granted a field of range that's unusual for a Kong her size, with a move that's performed swiftly and gracefully thanks to its momentum. This is perfect for enemies trying to sneak up on Dixie as it's guaranteed to knock them backwards and upwards. The attack is quite strong overall, and one of its greatest assets is how startlingly fast she can perform it. As it's meant to deal with sneak attacks it can come without warning, so beware.

Very proud to show this one. I'm trying to give her an acrobatic flair while balancing the chimpiness and the girly/cartoony aspect. My headcanon is that each Kong has broken most of their bones at least twice in the jungle, so contorting should be no sweat. This concept is a general idea that can work for any fighting game, but in the context of Smash this is definitely Up Tilt or Up Smash material, but anyone who sees this is free to use it however they like for whatever. Speaking of fighting games, this is actually inspired by Cammy from Street Fighter; obviously Cammy can't use her hair to help her do this, but that's where I got the inspiration.

Hope everyone likes this, and please put this on twitter whenever you want!

That's the Up Smash I always imagined. Great work and amazing design as always.

Don't you love when you convince your old cousin to play DKC3's contest mode with you and after 2 hours of playing he accidentaly loads a save state? God dang it.
But it was too much fun and I'm crazy so I will replay both adventures by myself to leave it how it was before the save state load.

Bodacious66 said:
I saw someone post this on twitter, is this fake? (Dixie in bottom right, supposedly before Brawl came out)

It's Dixie's Trophy in the mode that allowed you to arrange trophies like a diorama (I don't remember its name).

BirthNote · Aug 19, 2020

Bodacious66 said:
I saw someone post this on twitter, is this fake? (Dixie in bottom right, supposedly before Brawl came out)

It's not fake. That's their trophies, plus millsfan brought this up a few posts above you.

Damn, Brawl really was 12 years ago... Feeling old now.

Bodacious66 · Aug 19, 2020

Dukemon102 said:
That's the Up Smash I always imagined. Great work and amazing design as always.

Don't you love when you convince your old cousin to play DKC3's contest mode with you and after 2 hours of playing he accidentaly loads a save state? God dang it.
But it was too much fun and I'm crazy so I will replay both adventures by myself to leave it how it was before the save state load.

It's Dixie's Trophy in the mode that allowed you to arrange trophies like a diorama (I don't remember its name).

Ok thanks, brawl was so long ago I completely forgot about that mode.

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

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