Hey guys, I'm a new member here ^_^.
I'd like to start off this post by first asking, what is the importance of a poll? The answer is, polls are used to collect valuable data when it comes to research or an experiment. Now not all polls are 100% accurate or legit, anyone with an IQ could tell you that, but Sakurai's poll is a decent base for argument because it is a reference that isn't pulled out of thin air. Just because characters are on the poll doesn't necessarily guarantee them a spot on the official roster. For sake or argument, the top five picks on the poll have the highest chances of appearing as playable characters. However, a high chance doesn't mean anything.
In terms of Smash Bros Brawl, one must never forget that it is a Nintendo game and therefore will have bias. Although I would love to have a boatload of third parties, it isn't likely. The point is, because this is a Nintendo title, the characters you see will usually have rich Nintendo history behind them or the characters must have appeared on a Nintendo counsel at least once.
All right, I know I'm boring you with info you already have, I'll begin the real part of my post now. I just felt as if it was important to have those elements in mind as I type this out because often my position is misinterpreted.
The never ending Geno argument:
So, who is this Geno guy that everyone is talking about? Whats so great about him? Is he cool? Has he appeared in many games? Is he popular? I'll try to answer these questions to the best of my abilities. I won't necessarily go too far in depth considering there is a Geno thread.
A lot of people aren't giving Geno his due credit. Many of the negative arguments are about how he hasn't been in many games, why he's unpopular and how there is stronger representation of Square Enix than a godforsaken puppet that nobody has even heard of.
A) Roughly 10 years ago, Nintendo pushed on to find a new idea for a Mario game. They obviously noted Squaresoft's popularity and decided to contract them out for help. With the brilliant game designers at Squaresoft and Nintendo, they finally pulled through to create the first Mario RPG. Why was this a big deal? There were a ton of firsts in this title. Mario was finally in a 3D world, he could fight by using his fists and other weapons, the storyline was kind of shoddy but was interesting nontheless but most importantly, Squaresoft developed this marvelous game. So whats the deal? Squaresoft has developed PLENTY of games for Nintendo. Well, this is Squaresoft's first Mario game. Arguably for the first time, Squaresoft acted as a second party to Nintendo. Not only did Squaresoft create characters FOR a Mario game (I'll cover this in a moment, sit tight) but they also created building blocks for future Mario RPGs to come.
B) When Squaresoft was working on Super Mario RPG, they wanted to create some memorable characters who are known as "Geno" and "Mallow". In a sense, you could consider Geno and Mallow to be Square Enix's Mario characters. So who would be bestto represent Square Enix in Super Smash Bros Brawl? Geno or Mallow of course! Now stop! Hold on right there! I completely understand that there are a million other choices for characters to represent Square Enix in Super Smash Bros Brawl, but the point is, Super Smash Bros Brawl is a Nintendo fighter! If this fighting game were based on popularity and nothing else, then by all means, add Cloud, add Auron, add Sephiroth, add Sora etc. Again, people, Geno is Square Enix's NINTENDO character! You won't see Geno or Mallow outside of the Nintendo world!
C) Unfortunately for a lot of arguers who oppose Geno, it isn't my fault or problem that Geno scored very high on Sakurai's official poll. Its just the way it is. If the fans felt as if Sora or Cloud or Crono were more popular and more deserving, then THEY should have scored as high if not higher than Geno on this poll. So about Geno only appearing in one game.. if you can recall, when Squaresoft was developing games, for a long time there were no direct sequels to any games they developed. Sure there is Final Fantasy II, but is that a direct sequel to the first? Is Final Fantasy III a direct sequel to Final Fantasy II? This was an unwritten rule for Squaresoft at the time. RECENTLY, the rule has been broken and the unwritten rule theory is one of the reasons why there was never a direct sequel to Super Mario RPG. Besides, Super Mario RPG is a masterpiece, perhaps also Nintendo and Squaresoft felt as if it should have stayed standalone. Also, it is possible that Nintendo and Squaresoft couldn't come to a legal agreement at the time. We may never know.
D) Now I will discuss some of the hints or evidence that supports Geno's cause in Super Smash Bros Brawl. By the way, before I get into any of this, this entire sub point is entirely speculation and opinions. I do not claim to have any official information and any accuracy listed that has proven Geno's spot on the roster is completely coincidental. All right, I hope that made sense ^_^. Anyways, aside from Geno being a top pick on the official poll, what else is there to support his inclusion in Super Smash Bros Brawl? Weeelllll... a while back, I think it was Nintendo's president that wanted Smash Bros Brawl to showcase Nintendo's history. It makes sense because of the amount of retro characters on the roster. I believe it is safe to assume that the very first Mario RPG is important to Nintendo's history. Rather than ranting on in a paragraph I'll list some short reasons:
1) Super Mario RPG is coming to the Wii VC. If Square Enix is all right with that, (ok they make money off of it, I know, just hang in there) then why would they say no to Geno? Even if Square Enix holds the copyrights to Geno, I think Nintendo has some sort of say as well because of Geno's circumstances.
2) Geno isn't necessarily a third party character even IF he realistically is. Confusing isn't it? Well, Geno was created in a joint custody game, more specifically a Mario game. That is what makes Geno a unique character. He was technically created as a "second party" character, however Nintendo doesn't own Square Enix. Oh man, what to do! Unlike our good friend Culex who also appeared in Super Mario RPG, Geno was created from a copyrighted Mario "world" which is the Star Road. The Star Road first appeared in Super Mario World which was independently developed by Nintendo. There is much confusion when it comes to rights and such especially when you have a third party character that was CREATED for a Mario game. *on a side note I have contacted Nintendo about if they have some sort of partial rights to Geno, I am still awaiting a response. If you check the Smash Bros Melee instruction booklet, you will find that Rare was given due credit for their material that was developed under Nintendo's guidance. Perhaps the same logic can be applied to Geno?
3) Composers don't mean anything when it comes to character confirmation, lets face it.. or do they? Well, I took the liberty of researching the credits of Super Mario RPG and found that the music was created by Yoko Shimomura. She is also a confirmed composer for Super Smash Bros Brawl. Is this a coincidence? Due to Geno's popularity and the fact that she is a confirmed composer, may..maybe Geno really is a playable character..? o_O
*her work as listed as Kingdom Hearts, but I doubt that Sora is actually in Super Smash Bros Brawl. That doesn't mean I don't WANT Sora, it just seems more logical that Geno is IN Brawl.
All right guys, I think I've said enough (for now). Of course this explanation is far from complete. I appreciate you guys reading all or most of it. I am also aware there is a Geno thread with.. is it.. 400+ pages? So it probably means that I'm just repeating a bunch of information already stated in there. Oh well, my apologies if I am. I hope I was somewhat convincing! ^_^
