Shantae creator weighs in on Smash Ultimate DLC fighter potential

Matt Bozon, one of the creators of the popular video game character Shantae discussed the possibility of the half-genie coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a future DLC fighter.

Shantae is a highly-requested Smash Ultimate fighter, regularly appearing in character ballots. While she is technically in the game as a Spirit, many fans want her to evolve into a fully-playable fighter, just as Min Min did as DLC.

Now, in an interview with Siliconera, Matt Bozon delved into those desires when asked how he felt about the fans who want Shantae in Smash and how she’d play in the game.

“We love the enthusiasm!” he exclaimed. “It was incredible to have her included as a Spirit, and I know that meant a lot to Shantae fans.”

As for how she would play, Bozon further added: “If she ever becomes playable in Smash, it would be neat to see how hair-whipping, dancing, or transformations could play a part in her moveset.”

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This wording is quite interesting. Surely if Shantae was in development to become a DLC fighter, he wouldn’t be allowed to discuss possible movesets. On the other hand, it’s also not like he confirmed or denied that she is coming, so the character is still on the table.

Plus, Bozon seems to be more than a fan of seeing her in Ultimate. Considering franchises need some sort of history on Nintendo to get representation, the series is in luck.

Shantae is no stranger to Nintendo consoles, with the first debuting on the Gameboy Color back in 2002. Since then, the franchise has also shown up on Sony’s PlayStation platforms, the Xbox One, PC, and more.

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Amusingly, he also explained how Shantae’s Spirit came about. “In this case we just sent over some artwork to be used at their discretion, on the off chance they could include her in some way. We didn’t know that she’d be a Spirit, or even what a Spirit was!” he revealed to Siliconera.

“We were shocked to see Shantae show up during a Smash Direct. It was awesome! Before that moment, we didn’t know any details,” he added. “In cases like that, our M.O. is to zip it and wait.”

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With this in mind, it’s certainly possible that Shantae ends up coming to Smash Ultimate as DLC down the line, though we may have to wait quite a bit to find out. All of the Fighters Pass Volume 2 content is set to be released by December, 2021 so there’s still over a year to see what happens.