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Geno (♥♪!?): Return of the Starsend Savior

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valkiriforce

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I've got a question for those who play Super Mario RPG; what's your play setup or environment? I'm curious to see or hear what it is, if anyone feels like sharing their setup.

I've got a short little video here in my bedroom playing the intro to SMPRG from a while ago.

 

EarlTamm

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I think the telling sign that people are really only defending PP simply because he's in the game is that while Snake's inclusion prompted more third-party requests, Greninja's inclusion prompted more starter requests, Cloud's inclusion prompted less Nintendo-oriented requests, Daisy's inclusion prompted more echo requests, PP's inclusion has not prompted more requests for random playable grunts.

I suspect that's due to people not seeing those kind of additions as what Smash is really about. They clearly haven't made noise about getting more.

Now I'm not saying that people don't genuinely like him now, and all in all this war of opinion is pretty pointless, but he is kind of proof that at the end of the day, people will glom on to and defend basically whoever ends up on that roster.
I mean, isn't PP's case similar to other WTF picks? What did they cause more demand for?
 

StormC

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I think the telling sign that people are really only defending PP simply because he's in the game is that while Snake's inclusion prompted more third-party requests, Greninja's inclusion prompted more starter requests, Cloud's inclusion prompted less Nintendo-oriented requests, Daisy's inclusion prompted more echo requests, PP's inclusion has not prompted more requests for random playable grunts.

I suspect that's due to people not seeing those kind of additions as what Smash is really about. They clearly haven't made noise about getting more.

Now I'm not saying that people don't genuinely like him now, and all in all this war of opinion is pretty pointless, but he is kind of proof that at the end of the day, people will glom on to and defend basically whoever ends up on that roster.
If more mook characters were added, the appeal of Piranha Plant would diminish. I don't see what's contradictory about that. The ridiculousness of the character addition is part of the appeal.

I'm not even the hugest Plant defender, but I'd take him over the likes of Corrin. At least Plant was funny and offered a completely unseen gameplay style.
 

Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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I think the telling sign that people are really only defending PP simply because he's in the game is that while Snake's inclusion prompted more third-party requests, Greninja's inclusion prompted more starter requests, Cloud's inclusion prompted less Nintendo-oriented requests, Daisy's inclusion prompted more echo requests, PP's inclusion has not prompted more requests for random playable grunts.

I suspect that's due to people not seeing those kind of additions as what Smash is really about. They clearly haven't made noise about getting more.

Now I'm not saying that people don't genuinely like him now, and all in all this war of opinion is pretty pointless, but he is kind of proof that at the end of the day, people will glom on to and defend basically whoever ends up on that roster.
Actually, after PP, we got a small amount of threads dedicated to various mooks and such. Whether from a franchise of a specific one. They've made noise, just not massive noise.

So... it has prompted more requests in the end. Some were requested beforehand, like Shy Guy.

Overall, what you said isn't really accurate in the end. Yes, some do defend for the sake of it, but your reasonings isn't really correct here. You can even find the various threads here. People want mooks playable too. All PP did was make them more vocal. There's no denying it's a vocal minority, though.
 

wynn728

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As for Piranha Plant, it's specifically boiling down the issues people have with that character and how they use it to justify specific comments on Sakurai's ineptitude or terrible decision making. We, at absolute worst, have 3 Sakurai picks in Ultimate. Incineroar (we were getting a Pokemon, so not really his pick, just the choice of Pokemon), Piranha Plant, and Joker (who also comes from one of the most respected JRPG franchises ever and the gold standard for modern JRPGs, so again...). Everything else has generally fan demand or beloved characters. Since Piranha Plant is by far the most passion project type of character in the game, when you sit around and criticize this character for not being one of the requested characters, you are saying, "I don't care about his creativity as a video game developer and I would prefer if he only makes the fan requests." You're basically throwing all creativity out the window for the roster in favor of just a bunch of standard ballot picks that Sakurai will just check off the list. If you've ever worked with a creative medium, then you know, that's stifling at best and downright soul crushing at worst.

Piranha Plant deserves to be in the game because Sakurai wanted him. That's all there is to it. He did a **** ton of fan fulfillment with Ultimate in every other conceivable area of the game. If people are unwilling to compromise and give him one personal pick, then we're really pushing into unreasonable territory. Sakurai has been committed to adding things people didn't even know they wanted since the original Super Smash Bros. Plant is a valuable part of that legacy. We got Captain Falcon, Ice Climbers, Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., Wii Fit Trainer, and Plant before any of those characters (and before many others at the time of their releases (Game and Watch got in before King Dedede, Wario, Diddy Kong, and so on). It's a fundamental part of the series identity that people should expect by now. This is his franchise and we all buy into it if we believe in the product. And so far, we've astoundingly bought into the franchise with every entry.

There will always be people left out and not everything is going to be tailored specifically to your tastes. If you love a bunch of parts of the game, great, enjoy the game that we have then and don't criticize the character that clearly wasn't made for you in the first place for not being even more of what you wanted. People against Plant aren't saying, "This is unacceptable" to some real world issue or some legitimate breach of trust that we should deem problematic. They're saying this about one character of a soon to be 82 character roster for not appealing to them when it does others. This has nothing to do with "improvement." It has everything to do with difference in opinion and people continually frame Plant's place on the roster as an objective problem instead of a subjective one.
If Piranha Plant was Sakurai's passion project, the one character that he wanted to include in Smash Bros then I would honestly say that he has terrible taste. Again, he can do whatever he wants, but he's not shielded from people saying "That was bloody terrible." He can have his personal pick, that doesn't mean we have to like it. Doesn't mean we have to tolerate it. He open up to that decision and can't blame anyone for speaking their mind when Sakurai comes up and say "So yeah, this is the character that I really wanted. All those other characters were garbage and didn't deserve the development time to become playable. Now pay me $5 for this character that nobody wanted. That's right, Piranha Plant is worth around 10% of the base game price."
 

kiteinthesky

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I've got a question for those who play Super Mario RPG; what's your play setup or environment? I'm curious to see or hear what it is, if anyone feels like sharing their setup.

I've got a short little video here in my bedroom playing the intro to SMPRG from a while ago.
I used to have an old analog TV I would play my SNES on before I sold my game collection. I suspect as I rebuild my collection, I'll look for something similar if it's even possible to find that kind of television anymore.
 
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N3ON

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If more mook characters were added, the appeal of Piranha Plant would diminish. I don't see what's contradictory about that. The ridiculousness of the character addition is part of the appeal.

I'm not even the hugest Plant defender, but I'd take him over the likes of Corrin. At least Plant was funny and offered a completely unseen gameplay style.
That didn't stop more additions in the vein of G&W, or ICs, or any initial examples of a surprising addition which would later be doubled down upon. In fact, those examples lead to other characters in similar situations gaining popularity.

I understand that the surprise nature of the addition was the reason it happened, but the other incidental effect of the character's inclusion is breaking down a door previously not seriously considered. To that end, in the past, that's always lead to characters behind that door gaining support now that they were seen as viable. The fact that no mooks have really risen through the ranks since then show that's just not a type of character many people tend to gravitate towards in the context of inclusion.

Actually, after PP, we got a small amount of threads dedicated to various mooks and such. Whether from a franchise of a specific one. They've made noise, just not massive noise.

So... it has prompted more requests in the end. Some were requested beforehand, like Shy Guy.

Overall, what you said isn't really accurate in the end. Yes, some do defend for the sake of it, but your reasonings isn't really correct here. You can even find the various threads here. People want mooks playable too. All PP did was make them more vocal. There's no denying it's a vocal minority, though.
It certainly hasn't been anything sustained, like the aforementioned examples caused. There will always be exceptions, but minor ripples are not particularly reflective of larger trends towards a certain type of character in the fanbase, as those other watersheds were.

A few people supporting mooks is not a sea change. There were probably a few people supporting mooks before PP as well. Look how things changed for third-parties, starters, clones, etc. after those respective reveals.
 
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TheCJBrine

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We even had a thread for Goomba before the Plant was added, and I liked that as well.

People wanting mooks isn't new. This may have been after Plant, but someone even made an illustrated moveset for a Bulborb, which I also liked.

Y'all can dislike mooks but it's not a fact that they're bad, and Sakurai most likely didn't consider other characters for Plant's spot except maybe other mooks.
 

Adelto

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What I found funny about PP is that when he was announced everybody was like omg that's so cool and now everyone hate him what a coincidence.
 

GoodGrief741

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I'd rather not be considered as such.

Plant may be bad in y'all's opinions, but I like Plant and would also like Bulborb. Sakurai likely wanted something other than a hero or main villain so he went with the plant. I doubt it stole Geno's spot, or Isaac's spot, or whoever else's spot, or that Sakurai considered them for the same spot as Plant in the first place.
Just so we're clear, that was not meant to be a bash at all. Chaotic Evil is a Dungeons & Dragons term, and I use it with my party to describe each other in a joke way (it's a meme, not something that we invented). It's kind of like calling someone Chaotic Evil because they like pineapple on pizza, stuff like that. I thought more people were aware of it.
What I found funny about PP is that when he was announced everybody was like omg that's so cool and now everyone hate him what a coincidence.
I recall more people hating it during announcement than now. It's moveset won some over (beats me how I think it's terrible).
 

N3ON

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We even had a thread for Goomba before the Plant was added, and I liked that as well.

People wanting mooks isn't new. This may have been after Plant, but someone even made an illustrated moveset for a Bulborb, which I also liked.

Y'all can dislike mooks but it's not a fact that they're bad, and Sakurai most likely didn't consider other characters for Plant's spot except maybe other mooks.
I'm not saying mooks are bad, I'm saying, unlikely previous "firsts", PP hasn't tipped the scales to any notable degree in them getting more popular, which is indicative of the fanbase at large being pretty apathetic towards them. The only one widely cared about (barring mascots like Slime) is the one already on the roster, and not until they were included did that happen.

I mean you probably won't see any mook (that, again, isn't a mascot/face) in the top... like... fifty most requested characters.

What I found funny about PP is that when he was announced everybody was like omg that's so cool and now everyone hate him what a coincidence.
It wasn't just people saying how cool he was. He was pretty divisive, to say the least.
 

StormC

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That didn't stop more additions in the vein of G&W, or ICs, or any initial examples of a surprising addition which would later be doubled down upon. In fact, those examples lead to other characters in similar situations gaining popularity.

I understand that the surprise nature of the addition was the reason it happened, but the other incidental effect of the character's inclusion is breaking down a door previously not seriously considered. To that end, in the past, that's always lead to characters behind that door gaining support now that they were seen as viable. The fact that no mooks have really risen through the ranks since then show that's just not a character many people tend to gravitate towards in the context of Smash.


It certainly hasn't been anything sustained, like the aforementioned examples caused. There will always be exceptions, but minor ripples are not particularly reflective of larger trends towards a certain type of character in the fanbase, as those other watersheds were.

A few people supporting mooks is not a sea change. There were probably a few people supporting mooks before PP as well. Look how things changed for third-parties, starters, clones, etc. after those respective reveals.
So what is the point exactly? Wii Fit Trainer didn't create an outpouring of support for similar characters besides Wiimote Safety Man as a joke character. Duck Hunt didn't create a demand for background characters in retro games. Not all these types of characters are going to suddenly resonate with the hardcore Smash fanbase but they don't need to.
 

EarlTamm

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Just so we're clear, that was not meant to be a bash at all. Chaotic Evil is a Dungeons & Dragons term, and I use it with my party to describe each other in a joke way (it's a meme, not something that we invented). It's kind of like calling someone Chaotic Evil because they like pineapple on pizza, stuff like that. I thought more people were aware of it.
I got the joke, but felt like this was not the best place to play it, as I think most people took it the wrong way.
 

maf91186

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Random question,

Why are generic enemies being referred to as mooks and not mobs or baddies or anything of that nature? Lol

As far as I know, "mook" is Italian slang for idiot or something to that effect. And in Webster's dictionary, it means "a foolish, insignificant, or contemptible person", so basically there's nothing positive about calling a character a mook.

I know it's just forum slang, but it's just really confusing to me, especially if you like Plants or Shy Guys etc. Lol
 

Firox

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Cut the bad sarcasm, I really like Geno. But this is just stupid. Y'all can dislike Plant but bashing Sakurai for something that's unlikely and bashing anyone who does like Plant is dumb; it's y'all's opinion that enemies are bad, not a fact.
You need to actually read peoples' posts. I, for one, was never bashing people for liking Plant. I was pointing out the fact that settling for generic enemies over actual characters like Geno is a disservice to him and the fanbase. Praising plant is an easy way to encourage more of the same, which I would rather not have. And I think it's funny you would call it bad sarcasm when all I did was use the exact same reasoning that you and others have used to justify the plant. My point is, there's a limit to how obscure a character can be before we cross the line into ridiculous. I'm confident that more noteworthy characters in smash would generate more hype. Plant was good, but I argue that Sakurai could have done better.

when you sit around and criticize this character for not being one of the requested characters, you are saying, "I don't care about his creativity as a video game developer and I would prefer if he only makes the fan requests." You're basically throwing all creativity out the window for the roster in favor of just a bunch of standard ballot picks that Sakurai will just check off the list. If you've ever worked with a creative medium, then you know, that's stifling at best and downright soul crushing at worst.
This is a completely false assumption. I never once argued the creativity behind plant, but rather plant itself. I never said that Sakurai ONLY had to do fan requests or to "throw all creativity out the window". And "standard ballot picks"? lol What's a standard ballot pick? Which character is too standard for your incredible tastes? The point I'm trying to get through to you, is why can't we apply creativity to something truly noteworthy? Something seriously hype inducing? Why can't creativity apply to Geno, or Sephiroth, or Shadow or a character that more than just Sakurai fancies? No, I ENCOURAGE creativity, but as a creator of my own craft, I also understand the importance of giving the people what they want. Being an artist is great, but if you want to actually SELL something, you would be better served to offer something that people like. As a writer, I understand the simple fact that if a story doesn't grab people's attention, it won't be read. It won't sell. Not all creativity is worthy of praise. Sorry, but it's true. Sometimes we need the input of others to truly shine. I mean, stuff like Duck hunt and ROB was a good example of creativity. A generic enemy just doesn't feel like the best Sakurai could do. It works for what it is, but if I could have chosen literally any other actual character, I would have. That's just me, and if we have to disagree, it is what it is. That's all there is to it.
 

Adelto

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I recall more people hating it during announcement than now. It's moveset won some over (beats me how I think it's terrible).
That's weird, in my case it's the opposite everyone was like haha that so funny Sakurai is a genius I'm 3gonna main him except maybe ZeRo
 
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TheCJBrine

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You need to actually read peoples' posts. I, for one, was never bashing people for liking Plant. I was pointing out the fact that settling for generic enemies over actual characters like Geno is a disservice to him and the fanbase. Praising plant is an easy way to encourage more of the same, which I would rather not have. And I think it's funny you would call it bad sarcasm when all I did was use the exact same reasoning that you and others have used to justify the plant. My point is, there's a limit to how obscure a character can be before we cross the line into ridiculous. I'm confident that more noteworthy characters in smash would generate more hype. Plant was good, but I argue that Sakurai could have done better.
I don't really see it as a "disservice" when it's likely he wasn't considering any main or big-time characters when wanting a character like the Plant. It's fine if you'd rather not have Plant or more characters like it, but others can praise Plant if they want. Sure, more characters like Skull Kid and Geno, a couple I also want, are likely to cause a lot more hype, but Plant was probably a just-for-fun choice. And I don't know about other people, but I couldn't give a single crap about whether Plant or other characters are recognizable or not; that's not why I like or want them, and not why I defend them as characters. When did I bring up how recognizable it is, or Sakurai's creativity? I was just suggesting Sakurai likely chose it without thinking of other characters for the same spot aside from maybe other mooks/enemies. I called your sarcasm "bad," because it was very unnecessary, annoying, and I didn't see how it mattered with my point.
 
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Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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Characters are just something created that is "basically alive" in some kind of media setting(including books). There's no tangible difference between a Character and an Actual Character. That's completely misrepresenting what being a Character is. Characterization is not something that actually makes one a Character. That's a trait that makes a Character far more interesting. And actions are just as important as words, so one's animations and how they act in various games/etc. can create Characterization too. Piranha Plant is absolutely a Character. And always was. And always will be. They were created as a some kind of Living Being to be in a media work. You don't need anything beyond that.

It doesn't mean every Character is interesting. There's a tons of flat characters. Mario is sometimes lacking in any real personality traits beyond "hero for the sake of being a hero", and maybe a bit of anger and slight animations. PP has pretty much similar characterization to begin with, but it's meant to represent a species of them rolled into one. It's like how they rolled multiple Links(Zelda II, Zelda 1, OOT, if not more versions at that point) into one character in Smash 64. They're different people after all.
 
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I think the telling sign that people are really only defending PP simply because he's in the game is that while Snake's inclusion prompted more third-party requests, Greninja's inclusion prompted more starter requests, Cloud's inclusion prompted less Nintendo-oriented requests, Daisy's inclusion prompted more echo requests, PP's inclusion has not prompted more requests for random playable grunts.

I suspect that's due to people not seeing those kind of additions as what Smash is really about. They clearly haven't made noise about getting more.

Now I'm not saying that people don't genuinely like him now, and all in all this war of opinion is pretty pointless, but he is kind of proof that at the end of the day, people will glom on to and defend basically whoever ends up on that roster.
If Hell Freezes over and someone like Bubsy gets in Smash, i will bet my soul that people WILL defend his inclusion.
 

EarlTamm

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If Hell Freezes over and someone like Bubsy gets in Smash, i will bet my soul that people WILL defend his inclusion.
I am pretty sure he has a support thread, so you are not wrong. Difference here is that Bubsy is already a hated character. Doubt many people despised the PP species to the same extent as Bubsy pre Smash inclusion.
 

Firox

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Characters are just something created that is "basically alive" in some kind of media setting(including books). There's no tangible difference between a Character and an Actual Character. That's completely misrepresenting what being a Character is. Characterization is not something that actually makes one a Character. That's a trait that makes a Character far more interesting. And actions are just as important as words, so one's animations and how they act in various games/etc. can create Characterization too. Piranha Plant is absolutely a Character. And always was. And always will be. They were created as a some kind of Living Being to be in a media work. You don't need anything beyond that.

It doesn't mean every Character is interesting. There's a tons of flat characters. Mario is sometimes lacking in any real personality traits beyond "hero for the sake of being a hero", and maybe a bit of anger and slight animations. PP has pretty much similar characterization to begin with, but it's meant to represent a species of them rolled into one. It's like how they rolled multiple Links(Zelda II, Zelda 1, OOT, if not more versions at that point) into one character in Smash 64. They're different people after all.
I mean, in terms of this logic, we could say one of the cows at Lon Lon Ranch is a character. Or one of the Djinns from Golden Sun. I think I should specify the implied meaning of an "actual" character. An "actual" character is typically unique in both name and appearance. There is only one Super Mario and we all know what he looks like. When I say the name "Geno" there's no ambiguity over who I'm talking about. Shantae, Shadow, Ness, Falco and Megaman are all "actual" characters in that they each have distinct looks, names and personalities. Granted, CHARACTERIZATION can vary as to the depth of said characters but each is iconic in a way far more profound than the hordes of enemies they fight. In the context of generic enemies, however, they have neither individual names, personalities or distinctive features from one to another. They are more of obstacles to the protagonist than actual characters. For example, if I asked someone who their favorite Batman character was, I could guarantee you 1000% that their answer would NEVER be Joker's henchman #3.

Let's look at another example: Petey Piranha. Petey Piranha is unique and distinctive. He is MORE of a character than the average piranha plant for these reasons. The fact that nobody even THOUGHT of piranha plant as a viable character prior to its inclusion speaks volumes as to its character compared to the protagonists and villains of our favorite games. Bottom line: PP could be considered a character in the most general of definitions, however, there are a plethora of NAMED, DISTINCTIVE characters out there that would have definitely generated more hype than PP.

I didn't see how it mattered with my point.
Nope. Apparently, you didn't.
 

Ze Diglett

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I'll never forget the time the Geno thread engaged in heated discourse about a potted plant for a full 24 hours

As for my take, I like Plant and how creative his moveset is, but I think he really only works as a one-time deal and trying to say he stands for anything more than a quick gag and a "huh?" is just kind of silly IMO. If we continue to get more "deviantArt-tier" picks in the future like the UFO from Earthbound, then I'll be upset.
 

Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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I mean, in terms of this logic, we could say one of the cows at Lon Lon Ranch is a character. Or one of the Djinns from Golden Sun. I think I should specify the implied meaning of an "actual" character. An "actual" character is typically unique in both name and appearance. There is only one Super Mario and we all know what he looks like. When I say the name "Geno" there's no ambiguity over who I'm talking about. Shantae, Shadow, Ness, Falco and Megaman are all "actual" characters in that they each have distinct looks, names and personalities. Granted, CHARACTERIZATION can vary as to the depth of said characters but each is iconic in a way far more profound than the hordes of enemies they fight. In the context of generic enemies, however, they have neither individual names, personalities or distinctive features from one to another. They are more of obstacles to the protagonist than actual characters. For example, if I asked someone who their favorite Batman character was, I could guarantee you 1000% that their answer would NEVER be Joker's henchman #3.
And those are all characters in a game in every single case. There is no such thing as "actual" characters. Everybody is a character. That's a large technicality to ignore that every member of a species you come across is a fictional character. It's literally one "being" that counts as a character. They are still individuals. They are non-notable individuals in general, which is a different thing. But what you're mainly describing isn't "actual character" but "notable character".

Let's look at another example: Petey Piranha. Petey Piranha is unique and distinctive. He is MORE of a character than the average piranha plant for these reasons. The fact that nobody even THOUGHT of piranha plant as a viable character prior to its inclusion speaks volumes as to its character compared to the protagonists and villains of our favorite games. Bottom line: PP could be considered a character in the most general of definitions, however, there are a plethora of NAMED, DISTINCTIVE characters out there that would have definitely generated more hype than PP.
So he's a notable character among tons of characters. It's not rocket science in that regard. You don't need to try so hard to dismiss a character. If you don't feel they're notable enough to be playable in Smash, that's fine. But trying to make up silly definitions that go against how game design and writing works is pointless and doesn't actually bolster your point. It's clear that being a character in a game was all that's needed to be playable. I don't know why people think otherwise when we see it plain as day. Also, Piranha Plant is a specific name. So yeah, that's pretty named to begin with. It's a distinctive enough name alone. What, you thought it was anymore special of a name than Pikachu, who is just a species name? Or Villager? Pokemon Trainer?

Characterization is a very small requirement to be in. Having just barely a little is enough. PP doesn't lack it either. Seems pretty full of emotion and doing things in Smash alone, but also is a combination of characters with various personalities wrapped into one. ...Hell, with how many PP various species there are, it looks a lot more notable than Link's bare personality, which is even worse in Smash, as he rarely has emotional responses at all. Determined and being able to scream is... it. Toon Link has a lot more. Young Link is not much better. Smash is pretty known for having some characters that are extremely fat personality-wise.

As we're talking about someone in a work alone, this is the definition that fits Smash in general the most in this context;

"character

A person in a literary work"

There's a lot of definitions, but others can be very similar as basically "Genetics A structure, function, or attribute determined by a gene or a group of genes." Which is more or less a description of a being brought to life at all. You don't need to have majorly defining traits to be a simple character in a game or work. That's just silly. But again, what you want is for Smash to stick with "notable characters", which accurately describes what you're talking about. Generic characters aren't your thing. Though I guess Pokemon is an exception? I never found it one, but eh, to each their own. Either way, I get what you're saying, but you're using a very odd definition of character that makes little sense in Smash. Plus, as noted, PP doesn't lack personality at all, and that's a defining trait A.K.A. Characterization, so it's pretty hard to see how they aren't an actual character in the long run. Not notable enough, sure. I get that. But if personality is the problem, as you're saying heavily... PP isn't the one to look at for a lack of one.
 

GoodGrief741

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I am pretty sure he has a support thread, so you are not wrong. Difference here is that Bubsy is already a hated character. Doubt many people despised the PP species to the same extent as Bubsy pre Smash inclusion.
To be fair people don't hate tables, but if a generic table became playable in Smash people would hate it too.
 

Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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I'll never forget the time the Geno thread engaged in heated discourse about a potted plant for a full 24 hours

As for my take, I like Plant and how creative his moveset is, but I think he really only works as a one-time deal and trying to say he stands for anything more than a quick gag and a "huh?" is just kind of silly IMO. If we continue to get more "deviantArt-tier" picks in the future like the UFO from Earthbound, then I'll be upset.
It's not a gag character either. That's more what Pichu and Jigglypuff were meant to be(though the term joke character is more common as the used phrase). It's a surprise character meant to be fun, but also show that there's characters beyond regular heroes and villains. So yes, it is meant to represent something. I mean, Sakurai said it so himself.
 

Firox

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And those are all characters in a game in every single case. There is no such thing as "actual" characters. Everybody is a character. That's a large technicality to ignore that every member of a species you come across is a fictional character. It's literally one "being" that counts as a character. They are still individuals. They are non-notable individuals in general, which is a different thing. But what you're mainly describing isn't "actual character" but "notable character".


So he's a notable character among tons of characters. It's not rocket science in that regard. You don't need to try so hard to dismiss a character. If you don't feel they're notable enough to be playable in Smash, that's fine. But trying to make up silly definitions that go against how game design and writing works is pointless and doesn't actually bolster your point. It's clear that being a character in a game was all that's needed to be playable. I don't know why people think otherwise when we see it plain as day. Also, Piranha Plant is a specific name. So yeah, that's pretty named to begin with. It's a distinctive enough name alone. What, you thought it was anymore special of a name than Pikachu, who is just a species name? Or Villager? Pokemon Trainer?

Characterization is a very small requirement to be in. Having just barely a little is enough. PP doesn't lack it either. Seems pretty full of emotion and doing things in Smash alone, but also is a combination of characters with various personalities wrapped into one. ...Hell, with how many PP various species there are, it looks a lot more notable than Link's bare personality, which is even worse in Smash, as he rarely has emotional responses at all. Determined and being able to scream is... it. Toon Link has a lot more. Young Link is not much better. Smash is pretty known for having some characters that are extremely fat personality-wise.
Call it whatever you want. "Notable" character or "actual" character, you're the only one getting bent out of shape over silly definitions and word choice. My points still stand that PP was not a notable character prior to its inclusion, and no, "Piranha Plant" isn't a name. It's a species like cow, cucco, horse, etc. I concede that the pokemon also sort of fall into this category, however, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Lucario and Ash-Greninja all already have an established lore and personality behind them. Plus pokemon are a slightly different story since they are all playable characters in their respective games as opposed to the generic baddies of Mario and Zelda. If you want to defend his inclusion to suit your tastes, be my guest. It doesn't change the fact that Geno would have been a better choice than PP.
 

GoodGrief741

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But the PP is a creature with history, not some item with nothing of note.
The point I was going for is that there was no hate because it was beneath suspicion. Of people don't think you have a shot they won't hate. Hence why the mere mention of Katalina had people frothing at the mouths when she was leaked, but nobody cares now that she was debunked.
 

EarlTamm

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The point I was going for is that there was no hate because it was beneath suspicion. Of people don't think you have a shot they won't hate. Hence why the mere mention of Katalina had people frothing at the mouths when she was leaked, but nobody cares now that she was debunked.
I guess I could see that, but a lot of people seemed to have a "I didn't know I wanted this" reaction, so I guess it goes both ways. You can't have any sort of view if it is not on your radar. It's not limited to just hate.
 

Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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Call it whatever you want. "Notable" character or "actual" character, you're the only one getting bent out of shape over silly definitions and word choice. My points still stand that PP was not a notable character prior to its inclusion, and no, "Piranha Plant" isn't a name. It's a species like cow, cucco, horse, etc. I concede that the pokemon also sort of fall into this category, however, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Lucario and Ash-Greninja all already have an established lore and personality behind them. Plus pokemon are a slightly different story since they are all playable characters in their respective games as opposed to the generic baddies of Mario and Zelda. If you want to defend his inclusion to suit your tastes, be my guest. It doesn't change the fact that Geno would have been a better choice than PP.
It's a fictional character in a game given an actual name to represent what it is.

That's a name. That will always be a name. Actually, you can play as Mario characters in a lot of games before Smash, and they don't get special names either. So it's a pretty moot point when it does actually happen. Zelda games haven't done this either. But I do vastly remember Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa being directly playable. Birdo started off as a generic enemy too. Hell, what do you think Yoshi is? The whole "name" thing really ignores that Smash nor Mario ever cared about silly stuff like that. People want fun to play as characters. They still get that from your generic enemy or race(which Smash uses anyway).

Ash-Greninja is a poor example too. That came up way after Smash, with regular Greninja being chosen solely on its design and a moveset Sakurai thought of practically overnight. But then again, many of them follow the personality where they're most notable, the anime. Many of them were based upon the idea of having lore and such. PP's personality matches the many games it's in, which is just as good as lore is when it comes to what matters. Greninja actually had little to nothing of the anime bar at most a tiny bit of animations in 4. Ultimate evolved the character to based more heavily based upon the anime. The ninja personality was thrust on it and it was called a day. Stuff like voice clips didn't really add much as the animations also weren't heavily based upon the anime yet. The kunai, for instance, was added in Ultimate.

Geno wasn't really ever going to be in place of PP. Geno isn't a surprise character. Comparing them is pointless. They were never once in the same position or considered for remotely similar reasons. They have absolutely nothing in common beyond their franchise and that's where it ends. PP is a collaboration of species in Smash, using the original character that as a base for the actual model, also including its usual personality, which tends to go into "very silly" to "very mean if it wants to be by attacking your typical hero". These are small but atypical traits that still count. Geno is a completely different thing, being a mysterious puppet in an rpg, with no species related to it at all, and has a completely different set of abilities that at most in common is that they both can do something metal-like(PP has the spike ball, Geno has bullets), and that's a stretch of a comparison.
 

TheCJBrine

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If Sakurai actually went “Plant, Geno, or these other characters? I think I’ll go with Plant” then honestly I’d be disappointed and a bit miffed, too, but I find that very unlikely. He likely just wanted a non-protagonist or main antagonist for once, and just decided on Plant.

Yeah I didn’t care about Plant beforehand, but it’s cool and fun so I don’t really care that it’s in if it wasn’t actually chosen over Geno or other characters (even then I wouldn’t really hate that it’s in, just I’d be disappointed that he didn’t choose any of the others if they were considered alongside it), but I also liked the idea of a Goomba getting in even before Plant and the Bulborb idea came along so...
 
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Ovaltine

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I can't believe we're still arguing about Plant in the year of our lords and saviors, Banjo and Kazooie.

All of this is getting old. I don't give two hoots either way, don't love or hate Plant, don't play him, don't really care. We're here to talk Geno, yet we've segued into Plant for... no reason beyond him 'stealing Geno's spot' or something?

This is just tiresome... but you know what isn't? Stupid, random Geno headcanons. Here's a tasty one for you: he would love Coconut Mall. Despite living in the starry expanse of Star Road, he is just absolutely floored by all of the cool stuff he sees on Earth. He keeps seeing these weird new pieces of technology in the store windows, and he's both fascinated and baffled by them.

"Why are the phones just featureless rectangles? Where are the numbers?"
"What happened to CD stores? Video rentals? What are these mp3 players I keep seeing?"
"They have Frosted Flakes in chocolate now?"

Boy's locked in the 90's and doesn't get why calling something 'rad' gets him a bunch of weird looks.

Also, he would run up a down escalator to get to something that looks extremely interesting. He hardly even realizes, and before anyone can say anything, he's gone. Goodbye, Geno.

If Sakurai actually went “Plant, Geno, or these other characters? I think I’ll go with Plant” then honestly I’d be disappointed and a bit miffed, too, but I find that very unlikely. He likely just wanted a non-protagonist or main antagonist for once, and just decided on Plant.

Yeah I didn’t care about Plant beforehand, but it’s cool and fun so I don’t really care that it’s in if it wasn’t actually chosen over Geno or other characters (even then I wouldn’t really hate that it’s in, just I’d be disappointed that he didn’t choose any of the others if they were considered alongside it), but I also liked the idea of a Goomba getting in even before Plant and the Bulborb idea came along so...
Wanting a character like a Bulborb in Smash is just ridiculous.

Bulbmin gang is where it's at. :mad088::mad088::mad088:
 
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Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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Actually, I wouldn't mind if the Geno trailer was a rehash of PP's trailer, similar to what B~K did with King K. Rool's. That'd be fun.
 

EarlTamm

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Actually, I wouldn't mind if the Geno trailer was a rehash of PP's trailer, similar to what B~K did with King K. Rool's. That'd be fun.
While I would feel slightly sad about no cinematic, it would be hilarious considering all of the people who thought it was Geno. It would once again prove that Sakurai is more in tune with the memes than we know. And hey, the lack of cinematics would make sense if Geno was some sort of bonus.
 

Firox

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Ash-Greninja is a poor example too. That came up way after Smash, with regular Greninja being chosen solely on its design and a moveset Sakurai thought of practically overnight. But then again, many of them follow the personality where they're most notable, the anime. Many of them were based upon the idea of having lore and such. PP's personality matches the many games it's in, which is just as good as lore is when it comes to what matters.
I want to remind you that PP did NOT have a personality prior to smash. It was a clump of pixels in the rough shape of a venus fly trap that popped in and out of warp pipes, snapping its jaws open and closed like a robot. If you call that personality then I see no point in continuing this conversation.

Geno wasn't really ever going to be in place of PP. Geno isn't a surprise character.
Your first sentence here is a blatant assumption with no proof whatsoever. To my knowledge, NOBODY knows the inner workings of Sakurai and his superiors, let alone the true reasoning behind why Geno hasn't yet been included in Smash. Your second sentence is just plain false. You mean to tell me that you, nor anyone else here, would consider Geno EVER getting in as a surprise?! Holy hell, THAT would be the surprise of a lifetime right beside Banjo-Kazooie. All I gotta say is, for a Geno support thread, I'm seeing some pretty sad support. For laughs and giggles, I'm curious where our loyalties lie.
Let me ask a total hypothetical:

If....IF...you had the chance to trade PP for Geno...would you?

Again, this is purely hypothetical. Don't overthink the realism or reasoning of the scenario. The answer is yes... or no. Which one means more to you? I'm curious to know....
 
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xpnc

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If....IF...you had the chance to trade PP for Geno...would you?

Again, this is purely hypothetical. Don't overthink the realism or reasoning of the scenario. The answer is yes... or no. Which one means more to you? I'm curious to know....
I have compiled a list of 20 characters I would cut just to get Geno and Isaac, 18 if you don't count echoes. Even more considering I would make a lot of "semi-clones" alt costumes as well.
 
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Ovaltine

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If....IF...you had the chance to trade PP for Geno...would you?
In a heartbeat, not even a question.

That said, damn, this whole argument is so silly. More Geno headcanons: he would legitimately find installing Super Soakers into his arms a great idea.
 
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