Solly

I remember when people who never played a Dragon Quest game were arguing that "Erdrick" would be a Robin clone/derivative because they use a sword and magic spells. Then we got arguably one of the most unique characters in the entire series, with more special moves than any other fighter. Disappointed that some are actually taking the "hat Ken" memes seriously.

Better still, you should be able to add its danger zones to custom stages in stage builder. Neither Smash 4 or Ultimate allowed that, and it feels like such a missed opportunity.

Jake Kaufman isn't returning for this game, unfortunately. I wonder why? He's been with the series from the very beginning, and his compositions for it have always been great, so this is a pretty disappointing loss. At least he's still doing the music for Shovel Knight Dig.

Regarding those rankings, read this twitter thread. This is even less concrete than the usual fan polls. TF2 is one of my favorite games of all time and I love it to death but there is absolutely no way the Heavy is one of the top picks in any region, as amazing as that would be.

Honestly psyched for this. It seems more like a spin-off than a sequel but it looks like a lot of fun and I've got full confidence in just about anything Yacht Club has their name on. Love the spritework too. Music is also amazing, but that's hardly a surprise with Jake Kaufman composing.

...On one hand, you're completely right and this was a topic the community discussed to death, so I'm gonna have to concede there. But I swear there are pockets of the internet where the Hero is still being referred to as "Erdrick."

I disagree. That's just what the protagonists in Dragon Quest are referred to as, both in the games and in the fan discussion surrounding them. It's kind of an important word in the series, and even the characters who were given dubiously canon names are usually colloquially referenced as the "hero from X game" (something not made obvious by Smash discussion), which can't be said about "Dragon Warrior." Generic though it may be, "Hero" is the name actual DQ fans are going to recognize and connect with, and if the character isn't being made for them, then who is he for?

I was originally thinking August, but then Nintendo released this video. The title for this video was changed. It originally read "Fan-Favorites & New Releases- July" So either July was wrong or they're covering their tracks. The other two games (Marvel and Fire Emblem) are releasing this month. We'll have to wait and see. Part of me wants him to come out this week/next week, and part of me is dreading the thought of splitting my free time between Smash, Dragon Quest Builders and Fire Emblem.

This is more or less a perfect summary of where I'm at. Nothing about Shantae is outright "bad," it just feels like there's some obvious room for improvement. I hope that Wayforward continues to experiment and innovate on the formula going forward, and that "Shantae 5" doesn't feel like yet another "celebration" of the first game that ends up wallowing in its traditions.

Rarely does it feel like there are any options for the player to think through, though. If you have to climb something, you turn into the monkey. If you have to break something, you turn into the elephant. If you have to go underwater, you turn into the crab, etc. For everything else, you're just plain old Shantae, because the levels were designed around her, and every other form either has no viable attack, poor mobility, or a combination thereof. They could honestly make the dancing itself take half as long as it does in Half-Genie Hero without addressing the core of what's wrong with it as a mechanic, IMO.

Wario Man is the only old Final Smash I miss. Most of the other ones are marked improvements overall. With that said, they do feel kinda samey now. I'm not sure I follow the logic here. Is there some rumor going around that I'm not aware of?

I wouldn't really call it political, but you're right, Smash discussion can definitely be toxic. Some people online are way too invested in whether or not "their" character gets in and feel the need to criticize other people's picks that are perceived as a threat to their wishlist being realized: See Banjo vs. Steve, Shantae vs. Shovel Knight, Dragon Quest vs basically every other Square property. This thread (and forum in general) has been pretty tame though, IMO, even though I've seen a few people act like babies in status messages. We were seeing a bit of Resident Evil vs. Ace Attorney on the last page but it's been civil.

Could be, but IIRC the trouble people had accessing game servers when Joker launched was actually the result of him dropping between maintenance periods, and not from too many people trying to play at once. Extremely unlikely. Between how long it's taking them to release 5 challenger packs, and everything Sakurai had to say about DLC in his book I'm all but certain we're only getting one Fighter's Pass. I actually like the idea of more ATs getting promoted into fully-fledged fighters, but that seems like something they'd reserve for a sequel, unfortunately, and it's way too early to be thinking about Smash 6.

I will always stan Phoenix Wright. Say what you want, we don't have any lawyers in Smash. Capcom's library of memorable characters and franchises is second only to Nintendo-- if even that. I wouldn't mind if the next game got turned into NvC. This would absolutely infuriate some people, but I'd be down with him too. And not just because Dragalia Lost has been monopolizing my phone's battery for the past 6 months.