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

[Vector Victor]

Would they put the fighter pass on sale next week if they plan to show the first character at E3? That would be crazy, teasing a purchase that we have no idea who's on it that far out.

Nope, with the pass coming out next week and they admitted that character 6 is done, I believe we will find out character 6 much sooner than E3, maybe by the next Direct.

But yea, speculation is going to get FAR worse going forward, especially since most are assuming that these are the final characters and hope for a 3rd pass is very slim.

 

[KCCHIEFS27]

I'm glad people agree that Geno would be a great E3 reveal but I have no idea how the **** E3 this year will work for Smash. We're so used to at least double reveals at E3 because it's literally been like this since 2013 if Smash is at all present. This then begs the question for me of what the time table for announcements and releases is. If we get a double announcement for E3, those will likely both be 2020 releases. That said, would they even bother announcing someone in the fall Direct and just wait until 2021? That's a HUGE gap. Granted, it was about 6 months between Wii Fit and Rosalina for Smash 4 and almost 7 between Joker and Hero so I guess this could happen... 9 gets announced early 2021 and 10 and 11 are E3 2021 announcements? I guess that could work but the Smash fanbase would probably go feral by then...

I wouldn’t at all be surprised if we went the “1 announced in Q1, the other 2 announced at E3” route for both years. This makes a lot of sense and probably even takes the pressure off of Nintendo where everyone expects them to have smash stuff in every single direct and gets mad when there isn’t. This way we can all know the 2020 characters by summer and just ride out and enjoy the rest of the year’s announcements

 

[xpnc]

Would they put the fighter pass on sale next week if they plan to show the first character at E3?

Should they? No
Would they? Yes

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Anybody ever thought about Geno's potential Spirit board?

Well, here is my Geno Spirit board conspect:

Smithy/Giant metal (Legend Class Spirit. Enemy will once in awhile be able to one shot KO at low percentages. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy 2 red s.)

Axem Rangers/Red . (Ace Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; green , yellow , shadow , pink Byleth.)

Booster/Red Warioware (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 2 black s.)

Queen Valentina/Giant green . (Ace Class Spirit. Reinforcement will come to aide the enemy; .)

Johnny Jones/Blue (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 4 blue s.)

Croco/Pink (Advanced Class Spirit. Enemy will start the match with a Bob-Omb item.)

Yaridovich/Giant metal (Ace Class Spirit.)

Bowyer/Giant (Advanced Class Spirit.)

Mack the Knife/Giant red (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 4 red .)

Frogfucius/Green (Novice Class Spirit)

 

[YsDisciple]

One thing that I like how we keep going over is that most of the really "big" characters in speculation right now are "never evers." It doesn't need to be said that Geno's definitely a never ever but the fanbase is kind of converging on this point that, if these really are the final 6 to 7 characters for Ultimate, there's going to be several that pop up. Looking at people's lists, the same names keep coming up and people largely agree on the same characters that would knock the Smash fanbase on its ass. Geno's definitely one of them, even if he isn't on everyone's list. Even Sakurai has commented on how it blows him away that Geno gets so much demand after all these years. Some of you were literally not even born yet when Super Smash Brothers first launched in 1999 and Geno demand is just as old. Even on my end, I've been at this on this site since 2006. About 13 1/2 years! For the American public school system, that's K-12! Again, I think people sleep on how significant that is. Some of you didn't even exist or were in diapers when characters like Crash and Geno started being seriously pushed for Smash.

Ahh, this takes me back. I recall the days when my parents would rent me Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES. I would play it until completion when ever possible. I remember even getting the official strategy guide published by Nintendo. Dang that was a fine guide; with the character renders (including enemy renders). Fast forward to the N64 era, the day I saw the commercial for Super Smash Bros. blew my freakin mind! Every gamer, both young or "seasoned" have the same right to enjoy the games they love, and experience gaming in general at their own pace. The young ones will have the new generation games be their cherished first experiences which they will eventually carry into the future. Their nostalgia will be akin to the one us who've been around a bit longer have with the NES and SNES games when they first came out. Those who were there around the late 80s through mid-late 90s have also seen the gaming industry grow; their favorite video game franchises both expand and evolve, while unfortunately some having been forgotten somewhere in time.

It is a cycle, ladies and gentlemen, and a beautiful one when contemplating it. Video games can also be considered as a form of "toys", and similar to the embodiment of our beloved blue caped hero in this thread, to some said toys stay with us throughout the years, while to others said toys are forgotten in that old toy box; kept away in some unfrequented corner of the house. Geno (the doll) is the prime example of the experience toys go through; from being a child's favorite and cherished possession or friend, to an adolescent's forgotten relic, to an adult's nostalgic memento. From the opening of the N64 iteration of a hand flying over a toybox, picking up a random toy based on one of the fighters in the roster; to collecting trophies/figurines of each fighter; to collecting stickers and merchandise, moving on from the old trophies/figurines (notice how in Brawl, when the characters were turned into trophies, they had a grey-ish hue as if they had been weathered through the passage of time), to spirits (which thinking about it now, could be seen also as the nostalgic essence that said characters represent for each and every gamer out there).

With all that being said, here's another take on a potential Geno reveal.

The screen fades in to an expanded, HD version of Rose Town from a top-down perspective. The Inn looks slightly bigger than in the original SMRPG. Inside, an adult Gaz is working on the front desk, with a few guests around the reception. After a hard day of work, Gaz goes to his room. While going through the papers on his desk, he looks around to his room and fixes his eyes towards the closet. As it is open, he notices a box that is filled with his old toys to the brim. He smiles nostalgically, gets up from his chair and walks towards the box. He pulls the box near the side of his bed and begins to pick out the toys, contemplating them one by one, until he pulls out one that held a very important memory from his childhood. He picks out the Geno doll and loses himself in thought for a moment. He walks back to his desk and places the Geno doll near his lamp. As he yawns, he feels it would be best to call it a day. He turns the lamp off, and after cleaning up goes off to sleep. As Gaz sleeps, the camera is fixed on a top view of his bed as he sleeps. Meanwhile a light seems to enter his room unnoticed. The light moves around, almost unseen if not for its brightness. The light then seems to disappear. The camera then focuses on Gaz (closer view) from the side of his bed, looking towards the window. Light, slow steps can be heard, and a silhouette walks near the bed. The silhouette contemplates Gaz, and gently pulls the sheet higher to keep his old friend from the cold. The silhouette then quietly leaves. The following morning, Gaz wakes up for another day of work at the Inn. As he walks up to his desk to pick up some papers, he does not notice that the Geno doll he placed on his desk is no longer there. A distance outside Rose Town, a character cloaked in blue walks away and into the Forest Maze.

The screen begins to fade to black, just as the title begins to fade in

SUPER MARIO RPG 2

 

[Fatmanonice]

I wouldn’t at all be surprised if we went the “1 announced in Q1, the other 2 announced at E3” route for both years. This makes a lot of sense and probably even takes the pressure off of Nintendo where everyone expects them to have smash stuff in every single direct and gets mad when there isn’t. This way we can all know the 2020 characters by summer and just ride out and enjoy the rest of the year’s announcements

That's true... Smash is kind of notorious for sucking the air out of the room. When Smash is in tow, it's incredibly difficult for just about anything else to compete. Last E3 was a perfect example. Tons of huge announcements but what were people mostly talking about? Banjo in Smash and BoTW 2. Mainline Mario and Zelda games are like the only things that Nintendo fans care more about than Smash announcements. Smash is a hype black hole. We've seen this time and time again and why I can entertain the idea of no new announcements for the Fall Direct outside of "Hey, 9 is coming after the presentation so... Get those credit cards out, *******."

 

[nessdeltarune00]

This is the Geno thread

We were speculating about Power of 6, right?

So why can’t I give my own prediction based on that? Just because it doesn’t have Geno on it?

 

[AugustusB]

Quick question, has there been an Expansion Pass or DLC that got sold with no knowledge of what is on it?

I think it would be kind of weird if Fighter's Pass Volume 2: Electric Boogaloo goes live on Tuesday with no knowledge of the first fighter. However, we do know this Pass will feature 6 fighters with each of their own stages and music.

I am prepared for the off chance that we will not know the first fighter until E3.

 

[Fatmanonice]

KCCHIEFS27 Going off your idea, can you imagine if E3 2020 is Geno and Lloyd and E3 2021 is Crash and Master Chief? Collectively, the Smash fanbase wouldn't know whether to **** its pants or remortgage their homes. The Crash and Chief combo is especially heavy handed and basically just a checkmate on the whole damn show. I suppose it would make sense since Sony now avoids E3 and it would be the perfect opportunity for Nintendo and Microsoft to dunk on Sony as hard as humanly possible in their absence.

 

[T2by4]

I really hope they reveal Geno by this E3 at the latest. Either reveal him or deconfirm him with a mii costume. Rip the bandaid off, we need to know his fate.

 

[KCCHIEFS27]

KCCHIEFS27 Going off your idea, can you imagine if E3 2020 is Geno and Lloyd and E3 2021 is Crash and Master Chief? Collectively, the Smash fanbase wouldn't know whether to **** its pants or remortgage their homes. The Crash and Chief combo is especially heavy handed and basically just a checkmate on the whole damn show. I suppose it would make sense since Sony now avoids E3 and it would be the perfect opportunity for Nintendo and Microsoft to dunk on Sony as hard as humanly possible in their absence.

I love it. I think that is a perfect ending to the game’s DLC. The 2020 trio can be used to fulfill the few glaring longtime omissions, the 2021 trio can be used to flex so hard on every other game ever made that Sakurai explodes and rides off into the sunset.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

KCCHIEFS27 Going off your idea, can you imagine if E3 2020 is Geno and Lloyd and E3 2021 is Crash and Master Chief? Collectively, the Smash fanbase wouldn't know whether to **** its pants or remortgage their homes. The Crash and Chief combo is especially heavy handed and basically just a checkmate on the whole damn show. I suppose it would make sense since Sony now avoids E3 and it would be the perfect opportunity for Nintendo and Microsoft to dunk on Sony as hard as humanly possible in their absence.

Crash and Master Chief both being revealed at the same E3? I don't think the Internet could handle that level of hype at all. That would literally break the Internet twice lol! I hope that KCCHIEFS27 's thoery comes true.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Quick question, has there been an Expansion Pass or DLC that got sold with no knowledge of what is on it?

I think it would be kind of weird if Fighter's Pass Volume 2: Electric Boogaloo goes live on Tuesday with no knowledge of the first fighter. However, we do know this Pass will feature 6 fighters with each of their own stages and music.

I am prepared for the off chance that we will not know the first fighter until E3.

Sakurai has officially said twice that he hates blind buys, once in the November 2018 Direct and during the last presentation. This is one of the reasons I think a Direct is either coming on the 28th or 30th. Nintendo is probably forcing the pass format and he's begrudgingly going along with it so I don't think 6 will be a big ??? for very much longer. Worst case scenario: early February, in my opinion.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Fatmanonice , I know this is a stupid question to ask since you've been talking about it, but will we see fighter 6 before E3? I just ask because my fear is that we will have to wait until E3 for the next character.

 

[T2by4]

Sakurai has officially said twice that he hates blind buys, once in the November 2018 Direct and during the last presentation. This is one of the reasons I think a Direct is either coming on the 28th or 30th. Nintendo is probably forcing the pass format and he's begrudgingly going along with it so I don't think 6 will be a big ??? for very much longer. Worst case scenario: early February, in my opinion.

He has given multiple warnings about buying it only if you are super confident that it'll be worth the price. Which, let's be honest, it absolutely is. Banjo was worth the whole pass price alone for me, so as long as I get one really good character I've wanted I have no problem paying.

 

[SuperNintendoDisney]

Why does everyone think that the second fighter pass is going to take any longer than the first? We got the entire first pass in the span of one year, including Piranha Plant and ending near the same day Piranha Plant was released in 2019. Let’s assume that the second fighter pass followed a similar development schedule, give or take a day or month

Plant January / February 2019
Joker April 2019
Hero July 2019
Banjo September 2019
Terry November 2019
Byleth January / February 2020
FP2-1 April 2020
FP2-2 July 2020
FP2-3 September 2020
FP2-4 November 2020
FP2-5 January / February 2021
FP2-6 April 2021

The pass would end in April 2021 at the earliest, or in summer 2021 at the latest, with the final character announced at E3 2021. I would not be surprised if they ended E3 2021 with another reveal and the announcement of Volume 3

 

[Fatmanonice]

Fatmanonice , I know this is a stupid question to ask since you've been talking about it, but will we see fighter 6 before E3? I just ask because my fear is that we will have to wait until E3 for the next character.

I see 6 coming before E3, yes. Every Direct since Ultimate was announced has had a Smash announcement of some kind:

First Half Direct 2018: Teaser
E3 2018: Ultimate itself
Second Half Direct 2018: Isabelle

First Half Direct 2019: Joker's release month
E3 2019: Hero and Banjo
Second Half Direct 2019: Banjo release, Terry, and Season 2

Unless Smash is totally absent from the next Direct, they really can't avoid the issue of 6 being unknown.

 

[Sigran101]

People were calling FP2 predictions. Might as well do my own. In no particular order.

1. Lloyd/Heihachi
2. Dante/Phoenix
3. Geno
4. Crash
5. King Boo
6. Master Chief/Sora

 

[Deleted member]

With only 6/7 characters left, the number of potential promotions was always going to be small anyways. That's why I've had the same mentality since the summer: at most we'll get three, if that. That's why I'm leaning hard on ONE assist trophy promotion, ONE spirit promotion, and ONE costume promotion and, for the sake of "fairness", each will probably be from a different company.

How much of a chance of Waluigi being actual leakbait?

 

[PatPrime]

He has given multiple warnings about buying it only if you are super confident that it'll be worth the price. Which, let's be honest, it absolutely is. Banjo was worth the whole pass price alone for me, so as long as I get one really good character I've wanted I have no problem paying.

I thought this was how I felt when I bought the pass when Banjo was announced but now I think it was barely worth for me, mainly because Terry was alright but I didn't give a single damn for the other characters. Hopefully the second pass will start off in excitement for me but I won't be confident in it until I see it.

 

[nessdeltarune00]

How much of a chance of Waluigi being actual leakbait?

If he even is being heard, it should be pretty obvious he is.

 

[Fatmanonice]

How much of a chance of Waluigi being actual leakbait?

Hard to say. As I've said before, Waluigi has been "active" since Fall 2018 and Dante since about E3 2019. Lot of people have accused both of being leakbait just because of how common they have been heard in those time periods. On the topic of Waluigi himself, he's... Himself. In his own right he's kind of unbelievable. He's an assist trophy and the "Waluigi tries to get into Smash but fails" meme is known all over the world. This is why even a lot of Waluigi fans aren't exactly lining up behind me to guess he's one of the post pass characters, let alone 6. It could even be argued that Waluigi doesn't even need leak bait because most people aren't even willing to entertain the idea of him either way. True to his nature, Waluigi is seen as such a loser that him "getting his way" is a scenario that carries an enormous shadow of a doubt. This is why, in my opinion, Waluigi as leakbait doesn't work in my eyes because the guy is pretty unbelievable to a vast majority of people to begin with.

 

[LipeCau]

Sakurai has officially said twice that he hates blind buys, once in the November 2018 Direct and during the last presentation. This is one of the reasons I think a Direct is either coming on the 28th or 30th. Nintendo is probably forcing the pass format and he's begrudgingly going along with it so I don't think 6 will be a big ??? for very much longer. Worst case scenario: early February, in my opinion.

This is spot on.
Whether the direct is on the 28th or even February, I find it hard to believe we'll have to wait until E3 for FP6. Sure, there are blind buyers, but I don't think it's good business to have a highly anticipated product on the eshop with low sales. Which also points to a showstopper of a character, leaving people wanting to buy the pack instead of just the one.

 

[Andwooooo]

He’s also well aware of Byleth’s backlash, and would probably want to avoid asking for another blind buy.

 

[Fatmanonice]

This is spot on.
Whether the direct is on the 28th or even February, I find it hard to believe we'll have to wait until E3 for FP6. Sure, there are blind buyers, but I don't think it's good business to have a highly anticipated product on the eshop with low sales. Which also points to a showstopper of a character, leaving people wanting to buy the pack instead of just the one.

It also doesn't exactly help that Byleth somehow did the impossible and was worse received than Corrin and Incineroar. The fanbase joked for months that Byleth would be a worst case scenario and well... It happened. Nintendo even joked in Byleth's trailer that he was going to be received poorly so I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would let that resentment stew for 5 1/2 months. It doesn't help that Byleth didn't have a buffer either. Inceniroar had the Fighter's Pass and Corrin had Bayo. Hell, even Isabelle had a "buffer" in the form of Animal Crossing New Horizons. As far as the fanbase is concerned, Blythe is still a big gaping wound begging for a bandage of some kind.

 

[nessdeltarune00]

It also doesn't exactly help that Byleth somehow did the impossible and was worse received than Corrin and Incineroar. The fanbase joked for months that Byleth would be a worst case scenario and well... It happened. Nintendo even joked in Byleth's trailer that he was going to be received poorly so I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would let that resentment stew for 5 1/2 months. It doesn't help that Byleth didn't have a buffer either. Inceniroar had the Fighter's Pass and Corrin had Bayo. Hell, even Isabelle had a "buffer" in the form of Animal Crossing New Horizons. As far as the fanbase is concerned, Blythe is still a big gaping wound begging for a bandage of some kind.

Incorrect.

For me at least, the buffer was 6 more fighters and the Cuphead costume.

Because of this, and what was shown off, Sakurai has done the unthinkable and made me warm up to another Fire Emblem character.

 

[MisterMike]

Anybody ever thought about Geno's potential Spirit board?

Well, here is my Geno Spirit board conspect:

Smithy/Giant metal (Legend Class Spirit. Enemy will once in awhile be able to one shot KO at low percentages. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy 2 red s.)

Axem Rangers/Red . (Ace Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; green , yellow , shadow , pink Byleth.)

Booster/Red Warioware (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 2 black s.)

Queen Valentina/Giant green . (Ace Class Spirit. Reinforcement will come to aide the enemy; .)

Johnny Jones/Blue (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 4 blue s.)

Croco/Pink (Advanced Class Spirit. Enemy will start the match with a Bob-Omb item.)

Yaridovich/Giant metal (Ace Class Spirit.)

Bowyer/Giant (Advanced Class Spirit.)

Mack the Knife/Giant red (Advanced Class Spirit. Reinforcements will come to aide the enemy; 4 red .)

Frogfucius/Green (Novice Class Spirit)

I made my own list a while back, if you're interested.
https://smashboards.com/threads/gen...hters-pass-2-speculation.446378/post-23744018

Incorrect.

For me at least, the buffer was 6 more fighters and the Cuphead costume.

Because of this, and what was shown off, Sakurai has done the unthinkable and made me warm up to another Fire Emblem character.

Agreed, though to be honest It wasn't really the Cuphead costume that did it for me. Rather, it was this:

Spoiler

... s-she's cute, okay?!

 

[Lord Woomy]

This is the Geno thread

I just don't get it lol. If you don't want/like Geno or don't think he's coming then why in the Hell are you here in the first place? lmao
Like, I'm sure many of you know my distaste for Sora by this point but I don't go to the Sora thread just to post my predictions on why I think Geno's getting in over him. Maybe they just got lost on their way to newcomer speculation idk.

 

[MattX20]

It also doesn't exactly help that Byleth somehow did the impossible and was worse received than Corrin and Incineroar. The fanbase joked for months that Byleth would be a worst case scenario and well... It happened. Nintendo even joked in Byleth's trailer that he was going to be received poorly so I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would let that resentment stew for 5 1/2 months. It doesn't help that Byleth didn't have a buffer either. Inceniroar had the Fighter's Pass and Corrin had Bayo. Hell, even Isabelle had a "buffer" in the form of Animal Crossing New Horizons. As far as the fanbase is concerned, Blythe is still a big gaping wound begging for a bandage of some kind.

Precisely, it would be financial suicide to let resentment that strong go on for 5+ months. Recall that Joker was previewed a few weeks after the reveal of the Fighter Pass, and that was literally hours away from Ultimate's release. They need a real buffer to inspire confidence in this second wave of DLC, and waiting until E3 would not help them out. That, and Geno or Crash would be decent buffers

 

[Deleted member]

All of this sounds amazing honestly it does. Crash and Dante would be solid picks and great characters as I've said before, And Geno that'd be amazing!

I want to believe Master Chief or Sora could be coming in Fighter's Pass 2 along with those 3 characters! That's just too awesome to even describe!

But honestly I'm not sure We'll see in time and I have full faith in what Fatmanonice is saying.

Just have to see what the Big N and Fire Emblem Loving Guy have planned! I believe in both!

 

[Vector Victor]

It also doesn't exactly help that Byleth somehow did the impossible and was worse received than Corrin and Incineroar. The fanbase joked for months that Byleth would be a worst case scenario and well... It happened. Nintendo even joked in Byleth's trailer that he was going to be received poorly so I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would let that resentment stew for 5 1/2 months. It doesn't help that Byleth didn't have a buffer either. Inceniroar had the Fighter's Pass and Corrin had Bayo. Hell, even Isabelle had a "buffer" in the form of Animal Crossing New Horizons. As far as the fanbase is concerned, Blythe is still a big gaping wound begging for a bandage of some kind.

It didn't help that they pretty much repeated Smash 4's DLC by having one first party surrounded by 3rd parties and it being Fire Emblem again. Another FE rep was going to get hated regardless of who it was (with MAYBE Lyn as an exception). So it's another rep and the image of Nintendo implying that only FE can stand with these 3rd party icons, not Mario or Pokemon, which set people off. Its funny how the Smash fanbase accepts that Nintendo ends rosters on a lackluster note and Nintendo nowadays seems to be striving for that claim.

Byleth looks fun and I like their design, but it was like Nintendo wanted Byleth to be hated by how much they botched the reveal (kind of like putting Corrin after Cloud). Now imagine if they didn't announce fighter pass 2 prior to this reveal......

This is why I'm not 100% on board with the idea that character 6 is a big name showstopper in order to maximize/rekindle hype, because clearly character 5's placement shows that they don't bother with that idea. And they did announce one of the biggest gaming icons in Japan at a time when the majority of the country was asleep, so they are crazy hit or miss with marketing hype.

Geno would be a big name reveal. Not for iconness, but rather fandom dreams. An underdog story, like K Rool and Banjo, where a fandom strived, flourished and campaigned for their favorite and makes it in the end. It would give hope for other fanbases. That would be a great start to the fighter pass. However, considering how vocal his detractors are, I think Geno as number 6 would just get the hate towards Byleth carried over to him. Maybe a more broad appeal character for 6 like Crash and then Geno as 7.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm thinking Toxtricity who knows maybe someone from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, to end it off not the biggest characters in the world but still ones. People would be okay to see. Ether would be great!

Nintendo and Sakurai never end things big so I doubt that changes here!


That's not me saying Master Chief or Sora won't get in because I hope and pray ether does! Esspecially Master Chief.

But you know it won't be big to end off. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

[nessdeltarune00]

All of this sounds amazing honestly it does. Crash and Dante would be solid picks and great characters as I've said before, And Geno that'd be amazing!

I want to believe Master Chief or Sora could be coming in Fighter's Pass 2 along with those 3 characters! That's just too awesome to even describe!

But honestly I'm not sure We'll see in time and I have full faith in what Fatmanonice is saying.

Just have to see what the Bog N and Fire Emblem Loving Guy have planned! I believe in both!

Just a bit of a warning, he was backing Dragonborn to be FP5.

I view him in a better light than I did, but try not to put too much stock or hope in his claims.

 

[Deleted member]

Just a bit of a warning, he was backing Dragonborn to be FP5.

I view him in a better light than I did, but try not to put too much stock or hope in his claims.

I know I trust and believe a lot of what he says. But maybe not a lot of it happens. Still believe what he's saying is truthful and if a lot of these characters don't happen including Geno that's fine. I'm going in excited regardless we'll see what happens.

 

[mynameisBlade]

How much of a chance of Waluigi being actual leakbait?

I have been wondering the same thing about Ryu Hayabusa.

The screen fades in to an expanded, HD version of Rose Town from a top-down perspective. The Inn looks slightly bigger than in the original SMRPG. Inside, an adult Gaz is working on the front desk, with a few guests around the reception. After a hard day of work, Gaz goes to his room. While going through the papers on his desk, he looks around to his room and fixes his eyes towards the closet. As it is open, he notices a box that is filled with his old toys to the brim. He smiles nostalgically, gets up from his chair and walks towards the box. He pulls the box near the side of his bed and begins to pick out the toys, contemplating them one by one, until he pulls out one that held a very important memory from his childhood. He picks out the Geno doll and loses himself in thought for a moment. He walks back to his desk and places the Geno doll near his lamp. As he yawns, he feels it would be best to call it a day. He turns the lamp off, and after cleaning up goes off to sleep. As Gaz sleeps, the camera is fixed on a top view of his bed as he sleeps. Meanwhile a light seems to enter his room unnoticed. The light moves around, almost unseen if not for its brightness. The light then seems to disappear. The camera then focuses on Gaz (closer view) from the side of his bed, looking towards the window. Light, slow steps can be heard, and a silhouette walks near the bed. The silhouette contemplates Gaz, and gently pulls the sheet higher to keep his old friend from the cold. The silhouette then quietly leaves. The following morning, Gaz wakes up for another day of work at the Inn. As he walks up to his desk to pick up some papers, he does not notice that the Geno doll he placed on his desk is no longer there. A distance outside Rose Town, a character cloaked in blue walks away and into the Forest Maze.

The screen begins to fade to black, just as the title begins to fade in

SUPER MARIO RPG 2

Sick reveal. SMRPG 2 would be a breath of fresh air!

 

[Datboigeno]

It also doesn't exactly help that Byleth somehow did the impossible and was worse received than Corrin and Incineroar. The fanbase joked for months that Byleth would be a worst case scenario and well... It happened. Nintendo even joked in Byleth's trailer that he was going to be received poorly so I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would let that resentment stew for 5 1/2 months. It doesn't help that Byleth didn't have a buffer either. Inceniroar had the Fighter's Pass and Corrin had Bayo. Hell, even Isabelle had a "buffer" in the form of Animal Crossing New Horizons. As far as the fanbase is concerned, Blythe is still a big gaping wound begging for a bandage of some kind.

Yeah as much as many people want to defend the inclusion of Byleth as not being bad when Sakurai prefaces the announcement by saying it’ll probably make a significant amount of people unhappy that’s really saying something. They totally knew several months out from the announcement back when they filmed it that the reception would be not so great. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next pass announcement was lined up with that in mind to get people more hype and wipe away the bitter taste of FP5.

Also as we know Nintendo does pay attention to fan reactions, and even though I’m not sure what exactly they would/could adjust I do think having an almost 50/50 ratio of likes and dislikes will affect their marketing strategy for the next 6 characters going forward.

Just a bit of a warning, he was backing Dragonborn to be FP5.

I view him in a better light than I did, but try not to put too much stock or hope in his claims.

Do people really still not understand the difference between a claim and a prediction? He wasn’t saying that definitively Dragonborn was coming according to his sources. He only said based on what he knew that’s what his prediction was. I don’t think he’s ever claimed that 100% something was happening. That’s the big difference between Fatman and people like Sabi and Verge who make definitive claims as to things happening/getting announced.

 

[MonkeyDLenny]

Sword characters really aren't a problem. People are just tired of FIRE EMBLEM sword characters. This is why characters like Dante, Lloyd, and Sora are still heavily wanted. People are just dying for variety. Again, Byleth is a cool addition but people are salty because he checks so many boxes that have been beaten to death in Smash. Fire Emblem? Yep. Self insert avatar? Yep. Blue hair? Yep. Used to promote a recently released game? Yep. MonkeyDLenny nailed it in his Twitter essay. Byleth would have been hype AF if he didn't tick so many boxes that were already getting stale 5 years ago.

For every one person railing me over that thread, at least ten more agree with what I had to say and I'm always happy to hear it resonated with someone

 

[TX-55]

Its already been stated fighters have to come with a stage, music, and Spirit board.

You are shooting for the moon if you are expecting Waluigi at this point.

It's hypothetical, but Waluigi Pinball does exist, it's not like we didn't get a 1st party DLC who got both a stage and a spirit board.
Same with Geno (he's Square tho), Super Mario RPG is yet to get a proper representation in Smash.

And if you're familiar with the Mario spin-offs, you would realize the potential that Waluigi has in terms of soundtracks, and spirits.
Mario Tennis on 64, the game where Waluigi made his debut, is still not represented in anyway in Smash, that game has one of the most badass Mario soundtracks in the whole franchise (Game Point 1 & 2, Tie Break, and Tournament Round 2), give it a listen sometime.
And then you've got the human Mario characters from the N64 Tennis and Golf entries, those could act as spirits since they're from Camelot, same as Waluigi.
If not, remember there's always Mario Party 3, Waluigi was a big deal back then, kicking Bowser's ass and taking his place as the final boss of that game, with Waluigi Island acting as the final board for that game instead of the usual Bowser's Seat Burning Lava Resort.

And if Waluigi is the Mario spin-off rep, then Geno is the Mario RPG rep. So you got Forest Maze or Bowser's Castle with the chandeliers as a stage, cool, you've got plenty of spirits to choose from, you don't even need to fill the spirit board, 7 is the minimum as Banjo's spirit board showcased.
So what about the soundtrack?
Well I think it's fair game for Geno to have new remixes from across the entire Mario RPG series, and not just Super Mario RPG.
Geno was in the very first installment, and was a big part of it. Not to mention that, the original Paper Mario was actually called Super Mario RPG 2 during development, so even if Geno was absent, his essence was still there.
If Geno's circumstances were better, he'd be the Sheik of the Mario cast, he could've made it to Smash (which is still possible) with only one appearance in his series of origin, and maybe get to appear in spin-offs like Mario Kart, same way Sheik is in Hyrule Warriors.

Btw has anyone played Mario Kart Tour?
Doesn’t anyone found it sus that not only Waluigi Pinball returned as a race track, but it also got majorly updated in the looks department? It's like they made the track from the ground up. Other tracks I tried only had minimal difference to accommodate the jump to mobile devices, but I don't know, Waluigi Pinball in MKT received a brand new paint job, it's like it was remade to be used as reference for a grander game like Smash.

It wouldn’t be the first time they included something from the mobile iterations, Fire Emblem Heroes received a new remix in the base game, so maybe...

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Are we still doing this?

Fatman does have leaked information. Yes. Except he's making predictions off of that but not saying anything 100% nor directly leaking their statements in the same way.

So it's stilll speculation, not pure leaking. Even if for whatever reason you believe Fatman's sources to not know anything, he's speculating either way. So he's both, but it's not really ultimately different from us speculating based upon various patterns and such. As well as us getting burned for relying solely on said patterns. There's no reason to keep up this pointless struggle. We all predict based upon information we have anyway, even if it's leaked information. It's not really much different from people speculating about Terry when the SNK information leaked. Or when the music for Castlevania appeared. The source is the only real difference. In the end, there's only two ways to present the information; make predictions based upon what you heard(a lot do this) or outright say the information as the leaker wants you to(Fatman only sometimes does this, but still hasn't given anything 100% anyway, so taking what he says as a grain of salt is the logical approach, especially since they're predictions in practice too. Not like we all predict perfectly).

 

[nessdeltarune00]

It's hypothetical, but Waluigi Pinball does exist, it's not like we didn't get a 1st party DLC who got both a stage and a spirit board.
Same with Geno (he's Square tho), Super Mario RPG is yet to get a proper representation in Smash.

And if you're familiar with the Mario spin-offs, you would realize the potential that Waluigi has in terms of soundtracks, and spirits.
Mario Tennis on 64, the game where Waluigi made his debut, is still not represented in anyway in Smash, that game has one of the most badass Mario soundtracks in the whole franchise (Game Point 1 & 2, Tie Break, and Tournament Round 2), give it a listen sometime.
And then you've got the human Mario characters from the N64 Tennis and Golf entries, those could act as spirits since they're from Camelot, same as Waluigi.
If not, remember there's always Mario Party 3, Waluigi was a big deal back then, kicking Bowser's ass and taking his place as the final boss of that game, with Waluigi Island acting as the final board for that game instead of the usual Bowser's Seat Burning Lava Resort.

And if Waluigi is the Mario spin-off rep, then Geno is the Mario RPG rep. So you got Forest Maze or Bowser's Castle with the chandeliers as a stage, cool, you've got plenty of spirits to choose from, you don't even need to fill the spirit board, 7 is the minimum as Banjo's spirit board showcased.
So what about the soundtrack?
Well I think it's fair game for Geno to have new remixes from across the entire Mario RPG series, and not just Super Mario RPG.
Geno was in the very first installment, and was a big part of it. Not to mention that, the original Paper Mario was actually called Super Mario RPG 2 during development, so even if Geno was absent, his essence was still there.
If Geno's circumstances were better, he'd be the Sheik of the Mario cast, he could've made it to Smash (which is still possible) with only one appearance in his series of origin, and maybe get to appear in spin-offs like Mario Kart, same way Sheik is in Hyrule Warriors.

Btw has anyone played Mario Kart Tour?
Doesn’t anyone found it sus that not only Waluigi Pinball returned as a race track, but it also got majorly updated in the looks department? It's like they made the track from the ground up. Other tracks I tried only had minimal difference to accommodate the jump to mobile devices, but I don't know, Waluigi Pinball in MKT received a brand new paint job, it's like it was remade to be used as reference for a grander game like Smash.

It wouldn’t be the first time they included something from the mobile iterations, Fire Emblem Heroes received a new remix in the base game, so maybe...

Good luck scraping for any Mario enemy that isn’t a Spirit for his board.

And also, we have a ton of music for Mario spin offs (including Mario Tennis Aces) already, one being Waluigis theme itself.

Finally, he not only has both an AT and Spirit, but he has multiple iterations of himself as Spirits on top of all of this. This also traces back to the first point, it will be really tough to make a Spirit Board with all of this into consideration, lol.

We can argue about Geno all you want, but Sakurai really seems deadset on not making Waluigi playable.