I can understand
Ovaltine
and her need of a break because I'm
THIS close to just leaving PapaGeno's server altogether because it's just so insanely Erdrick-riding and toxic besides. Multiple people have brought up the issues with this and nothing has been done, leaving people to their own devices which is, ironically enough
leaving the server and making up new ones that house mostly the same good people from Papa's server. The sad part is all these toxic fakers put on smiley friendly faces to newcomers and to Papa when he join in the speculation, but when he leaves and the new people acclimate they get treated the same way. Unfortunately Papa can't do much as he's busy with his content and his staff isn't taking care of the issue despite that being their job.
I've basically given up trying to debate there and am actively finding people there who are getting sick of it and letting them get a reprieve in our server where they can actually debate with people who are respectful.
Outside of this, I'm also sick and tired of people who think Erdrick is a lock because of talking points. How many times does it have to be said that these points are not evidence to his inclusion, merely talking points about his possibility just like EVERY. OTHER. CHARACTER! Jesus, people really are so naive and hard-headed. Still, there is no reason to give up. If you need a break, sure, go for it, but things aren't really bad for Geno. His chances are better than ever and...
My god, you couldn't be more in the opposite direction. Seriously, do I need to go over again how most of the character inclusions were fan-based? DO MY FELLOW GENO BROS AND GALS NEED PUMPED UP AGAIN! BECAUSE I AM READY AND RARING TO GO TODAY! WOOOOOOOOHHHHHHOOOOOOOO~!
*cracks knuckles and wiggles fingers in anticipation*
Alright, so look at all the returning vets with Ice Climbers, Pichu, Young Link, Pokemon Trainer, Snake and Wolf. In most mock polls, guess who placed highly? Snake, Wolf, and Ice Climbers with the rest of the veterans placing high as well though not quite as high as these three. Mewtwo was the biggest request and was brought back along with Lucas and Roy who also had tons of fan demand, and not only did they come back a game earlier but were still here for Ultimate. Don't forget now that EVERY SINGLE RETURNING VETERAN is fan pick which will likely never happen again in the history of Smash. Thus, for Ultimate alone, that is 6 fan picks right off the bat. Now, let's look at newcomers.
One of the biggest complaints was that Inkling and K. Rool were costumes when fans wanted both Inkling and K. Rool in the game as playable, and the first reveal was Inkling who was very much clamored for since Splatoon is a splash hit (pun intended) and everyone loves our lil' squid bois and gurls. Daisy has been requested for Smash for a very long time and Ridley for longer still despite how Ridley kept showing up as anything but playable. Then we get Simon, who has been requested for a long time as well even if his support wasn't as strong as others and we get Richter as a Japanese bonus. Chrom was complained about not being playable over Smash 4's lifespan and Dark Samus had some support (mainly as a Western-made character) that then skyrocketed once echo fighters were announced. Then, BIG BOI THICC BOI KING K. ROOL! Like, we got Ridley AND King K. Rool, two of the biggest of biggums! There was no way we could get that many fan requests, right? But it happened, and we were hype!
Now the last four are what I call The Questionable Four: where these characters REALLY requested? Here's the kicker: it doesn't matter! We all agree that a balance between fan requests, modern picks and Sakurai's creative genius is the formula that keeps Smash as dope as it is. Isabelle may not have been on the general radar but she has a fan base and is more modern compared to other picks, so her announcement with AC for Switch was brilliant. Ken is an auto-include when Richter confirmed 3rd-party echoes, and Ken is loved more than Ryu! Incineroar is more popular than everyone gives him credit for and is loved by the community once they got the Grinch Turd out of their ears and off their eyes, plus his style really hadn't been truly explored before as there was no TRUE grappler in Smash AND he is a more modern pick to balance out the oldie-yet-not-moldy heavy fan requests. Now Piranha Plant wasn't really as divisive as people let on: sure, it was an off-the-wall pick that only Sakurai could do, but less people were actually mad and more were just confused. Think about it: without holding onto the Grinch Ruse, is Piranha Plant really a let down? No, not in the slightest, as it's Sakurai magic at it's finest.
Now, before we ever heard of Joker, look at the characters brought back to Ultimate: 18! Six of these are returning vets that most of the fanbase asked for and was excited to see; Eight of these are all characters people were excited about being added into the game with most of them being long-time requests; Four of these were lesser requested and were either more modern picks or Sakurai blessings. That means a whopping 14 of these bad bois were fan picks. Oh, but Ultimate isn't about fan picks, right? It's not focused an fan picks at all, is it? Get RIGHT OUTTA HERE with that mindset, it has NO PLACE in our hype zone baby!
So, that's it right? Incineroar and Piranha Plant, since they weren't big requests, are the end of the road...right? HELL TO THE **** NO! WE NEVER SAW IT COOOOOMIIIIIIIING~!
That's right, ladies and gents, you forgot about our first Challenger Pack, the one, THE ONLY....JOKER from PERSONA 5! A game that has apparently lost it's relevance already yet people love it, a character from a game people can't praise enough and gush all over...but there was NO way in HELL Joker could make it to Smash, right? Persona 5 was too niche despite it's amazing sales! We wouldn't get another JRPG character, and it definitely wouldn't be Joker, right? The man was nowhere on Nintendo's radar, right? YET WHO SHOWED UP AT THE GAME AWARDS WITH A SICK ANIMATED TRAILER AND STOLE NOT ONLY AN INVITATION, BUT ALSO THE WHOLE SHOWS AND THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE?! WHO IS THIS MAN CALLED MASSIVE HERO SOCCER GUY?! IS HE A WIZARD?! A GODDAMN DEITY?!
Here is the best part: he has four more reveals to go! Holy **** guys, who the hell are these characters gonna be? It could be literally anyone! It could be Banjo-Kazooie or Geno or Rayman or Bandanna Waddle Dee or Mach Rider or Chorus Kids or Heihachi or Lloyd Irving or Raiden or Scorpion or Sub-Zero or a character from Style Savvy or Master Chief or Ryu Hayabusa or Doom Guy or who even really the **** knows! Hell, Sakurai could go crazy and break more rules we have setup! What if ATs really do get promoted in this pass? What if Sakurai makes Isaac a reality because of the surge in support? What if Goku ACTUALLY happens? We have no idea, because...well, WE HAVE NO IDEA!! Anything is possible with Sakurai at the wheel, yet he always delivers us a wold ride we enjoy...AND WE HAVE MORE CONTENT THAN THE FIGHTER'S PASS! With the additions of returning modes, we may get brand new mode! Hell, we could get more items or stages or even MORE CHARACTERS not even tied to the Fighter's Pass! Sakurai has a team of competent workers, his crazy creative genius, and a SURPLUS of funds. WHO. THE. HELL. KNOWS. WHAT. COULD. HAPPEN!
I have no idea if we will get Geno, but you know what I do know? Sakurai will give us amazing stuff that we will love and he almost always makes the right call, and if he wants something he tends to get it, because who the hell says no to the man the myth the LEGEND Masahiro ****ing Sakurai? According to Reggie, not a single GOT DAYUM one, THAT'S WHO! If Sakurai still wants Geno, we will get Geno, and no PNG with a function or amount of naysayers is gonna stop him from doing it! He knows he's still popular, he knows we want him, and he knows he can make him, and he has the rights to do so as far as we know. Now, we just have to wait and see what happens from here, but we should do so with smiles on our faces and in our hearts and our faith placed in knowing that Sakurai is the man who drains his own HP to cast the magnificent spell that is Smash Bros and that we love him ever the more for it.
Let us all journey down that road together, and hope it leads us to the Star Road, knowing that if it doesn't it will still lead us to something great, speaking of our love for Geno and SMRPG as a whole all the way! And if you need help along the way and think you can't continue or feel like you've lost your way and there is no point, just reach out and I'll take your hand, and so will each and everyone one of us here!