So, maybe this can help with the arguing?
So it's finally time for this post to live and exist. It's taken multiple times and way too many days but I find it fitting to have this fall on Thanksgiving as this post has the goal of bringing both Geno fans together under what our boy represents as well as acknowledging that Smash Ultimate is indeed a game focused on being fun for as many player types as possible. That being said, I do hope you guys share this in circles who maybe aren't all about or super keen on Geno, and I understand how this can seemingly be pretty gusto and putting other fans on blast, but trust me if you keep reading it will all make sense. That being said...
WANTING OTHER CHARACTERS OVER GENO IS FINE, BUT ACTIVELY BEING AGAINST GENO'S INCLUSION IS THE WORST STANCE YOU COULD POSSIBLY TAKE!
And shortly now, I will explain why this is the case.
Think back about when Smash was first announced and how ridiculous that first announcement was. We got nothing more than Smash was coming, Link may have changes to him, and Inklings will be in. The internet exploded with speculation and it was a wonderful time to be alive as Flash Mothers was indeed coming soon. Now, think about each announcement since then and how each announcement catered to a player audience.
When they announced
it was a character people had thought would be in Smash 4 and a character people wanted, so they appealed to players who wanted newer Nintendo characters. Then in June of last year they announced that
were returning as well as giving us
and
. This announcement appealed to veteran players of Melee and Brawl who wanted returning characters more than anyone else, as well as fans who want a character even if they are only possible if they are an Echo Fighter and the first of many caterings to long-time requests for Smash from the community. Also keep in mind that no single character was cut, meaning they appealed to literally every Smash fan in existence and took the high road when they could have easily made some cuts. I remember how everyone swore there was no way would would get more than two more characters and how Sakurai had already done so much.
Then August came and we were all blown away again.
, followed by
and of course
. This was also amidst lots of information that catered to both casual and competitive players as well as the largest amount of stages and music ever to be seen in a Smash game and possible any other fighting game ever. Once again, this proved that Ultimate was doing it's absolute best to appeal to everyone it could: long-time fans who had become less vocal and felt like their series lost it's identity, players who love American-born characters, people who had just recently gotten their character snubbed in the previous title, and yet again another long-time Smash community pick. This announcement was huge and really pleased the most amount of people, which is why the next announcements were so off putting for most.
Now I need you all to open your minds when I list these last four characters because many of you were not happy with their inclusion to some degree or another. The first of these is
. Now I know that so wasn't on everyone's list, but it was a perfect announcement to get another very popular character from a franchise that had little representation and it brought in more newer-but-not-that-new players. Then we got
and
, two of which are VERY controversial. Ken is the perfect example of picking a favorite 3rd party that is easy to include while also showing the extents of how far an Echo Fighter can really go. Incineroar is appealing to newer players to attract Pokemon fans as well as fans of the new playstyle being introduced to Smash. Piranha Plant was the perfect silly gimmick character and appeals to those who love Sakurai's silly picks as well as the increasing demand for common enemies to be more fleshed out and be involved in more games. Despite how many fans felt, each character was designed in a way to try and be fun for a certain demographic of player...and THEN we GOT...
DLC~!
The first announcement was
and boy did that get everyone fired up again. Even his own fans thought he had no chance, yet here was Sakurai showing it was possible and that in fact he was a huge fan of the game himself. Not only would this pick appeal to newer players or players who may have not normally played Smash, but it also appealed to people who had more beloved characters tied to competitor systems and showed yet again that no one is off limits.
After that we got
and this was another controversial one, though it never really should have been. Dragon Quest has always been massively popular in Japan and around the world and recent events show that the US is finally catching up to speed with that trend. This was appealing to the Eastern audience in particular, but also proved that with Sakurai, it's more of an inevitability than anything else.
Then holy good lord in heaven these two showed up.
were just an absolute bombshell and it blew everything out of the water. The impossible was yet AGAIN possible and all Sakurai had to do was want to make it happen. Obviously, this appealed to mainly a Western audience, but this was also yet ANOTHER long-time Smash community pick finally getting the call (or letter, actually) to join Smash. This was even more proof that Sakurai can get whoever he wants into Smash, that Smash has such pull that IP owners are scrambling the moment they here Sakurai is coming to visit.
Then we got our most recent reveal,
. He wasn't so much controversial as he was rather unknown to the majority of the Smash fanbase due to being filled with younger gamers as well as gamers who don't typical branch out too much in terms of the games they play or on what consoles. However, that didn't stop Sakurai from picking him and giving some noobs a history lesson in the glories of olden gaming and the legacy of one of fighting games's most iconic characters this side of Street Fighter. This character was appealing towards both traditional fighting game players as well as older gamers who would know about Terry from their youth.
Now that I've listed all the characters, think over their appeal again. Recall how they all appeal to different audiences and how they are all fun at their core. Keep that fresh in your mind as I now explain why Geno is the perfect inclusion for everyone and anyone, including those who want other characters much more than him.
This whole cycle...no, this WHOLE GAME has been about breaking down barriers and fan rules on why certain characters can't get in, and for every fan rule that has been smashed to pieces we've gotten closer and closer to a point where we all genuinely believe that anything can happen. What I'm here to tell you is that Geno getting into Smash Ultimate would be the final nail in the coffin and would be proof that literally any video-game-originating character (sorry Goku fans!) is possible after his inclusion, that no character is too far gone to be in Smash.
You see all those rules that have been broken? Geno is the extreme version of each and every one of them.
Ridley couldn't happen because of limitations and he hadn't been in for so long so he would never happen AND he got unplayable forms? He got in, and Geno is an extreme of this (though in some ways not as extreme as Ridley, I will admit).
King K. Rool couldn't get in because he was irrelevant and 'Nintendo hated him'? He got in, and Geno is an extreme of that.
Banjo & Kazooie couldn't get in because not only is he irrelevant and 'been dead' for too long but he is 3rd party AND from a company that is not the easiest to work with? They got in, and Geno is an extreme of that.
Square Enix is too stingy and there is no way a character of theirs/more than one character of theirs could get in? Cloud and Hero got in, and Geno is an extreme of that.
Nearly any argument you could make for a character not being able to get in applies to Geno, and he usually takes it to the next level. He's been asked just as long or longer than most Smash community picks, is more currently irrelevant than any other character mentioned, has been in less games and considered 'dead' for far longer than most others, and he has the added issues of being from a company that has an iron grip on their IPs that also has past bad blood with Nintendo as well as being a mix of a 1st and 3rd party character as well as not having much source material to pick and choose from...the list goes on and on...and yet right now, he's a front-runner for being in the game sooner rather than later.
For those of you who don't want Geno, understand this: if Geno gets in, whoever the character is that you want becomes that much more possible and plausible. Is your character already in the game as a Spirit or Assist Trophy? Geno got in, so it's possible! Has your character's series been dead for years? Geno got in, so it's possible! Is your character irrelevant in the current gaming sphere? Geno got in, so it's possible! Is your character not even the 'main' character of the game? Geno got in, so it's possible! Is your character owned by a company that you think would be hard to work with? Geno got in, so it's possible! Is your character owned by a company that already got a character in the game? Geno got in, so it's possible! Have you supported and fought for your character to get in for years and you are at the breaking point and feel like giving up, like it's never going to happen? Geno got in, SO IT'S POSSIBLE!
Yet again, the list goes on and on.
THIS IS WHY BEING AGAINST GENO'S INCLUSION IS THE WORST STANCE TO TAKE, BECAUSE BEING AGAINST HIM MEANS BEING AGAINST A CHARACTER THAT OPENS THE DOOR FOR SO MANY MORE, INCLUDING YOUR MOST WANTED! DON'T DO THIS! YOU CAN WANT SOMEONE OVER GENO, BUT DON'T BE ACTIVELY AGAINST HIM, AS HE COULD BE THE STEPPING STONE TO GETTING WHO YOU WANT IN THE GAME!
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