That's more a response to the combination of what you said and general attitude regarding Geno not being likely tbh. I am saying that there are no other big fan favorite characters that are as highly requested from polls and whatnot as Geno. Like I said the only other one that comes close not counting Banjo-Kazooie are Sora and maybe Shantae It'd also fit within what we know which is that there is another SE rep coming. I just don't see the point of playing devil's advocate for ATs when they've never been made playable within the same game.
I think it's funny that you're saying he's expected given the massive amount of people online who call him a literally who and point out he hasn't been in a game in decades and isn't owned by Nintendo as being cons for him. Those things alone would make him an "unexpected" choice for a lot of people especially when compared to Dixie and BD. I mean, I know you've been here to see all the people who have come in to talk down his chances over the past few months. Just because he's a popular choice doesn't mean a lot of people are realistically expecting him. His lack of appearances definitely affect that idk how you can even post that.
Right, but something being a third party franchise doesn't mean the character would be a fan favorite. And considering who exactly they put as last years announcement (Ridely) I find it hard to believe they wouldn't put in another actually requested fan favorite on that level.
I think you're seriously downplaying Bandanna Dee in particular there. He's easily become a staple of Smash speculation during this cycle and is the same position as Geno with a Spirit. He also ranked pretty damn well on polls regarding Ultimate newcomers and consistently sits near the top of wanted characters. That said, we don't even know if we'll get a fan favorite newcomer. That's just the one theory going around, and I wanted to say Geno and Banjo aren't the only two remaining characters that fit the fan favorite moniker and don't have the AT hangup. And similarly, we don't know there is another SE rep coming? There's still no guarantee of that happening beyond the insiders and leakers stating that. Which in general, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to and I generally thought this thread had largely dumped them as well.
I'm also less playing devil's advocate for the ATs and pointing out that many fan favorites still exist. With our current age of DLC and direct contact that Nintendo and Sakurai have with fans, I do think the rule of no assist trophies in game is increasingly likely to be broken. I still don't see it as super likely for the Fighters Pass, but I wouldn't be surprised if that does happen at some point. It's been another fan rule that I just expect Sakurai to break at some point, and if he ever does, the flood gates are back open.
Did we live through the same hype cycle for Ultimate? Because basically all the Geno support that this thread is built on originated after E3 and Ridley. He was an incredibly likely pick for a lot of people when the impossible started happening. And after King K. Rool, we as a thread went into absolute overdrive. I remember that very well. For the period between King K. Rool's reveal on August 8th and final Smash Direct on November 1st, Geno was an extremely common prediction and discussion topic for those covering the game. His name came up constantly and helped I think genuinely breathe a lot of life back into this community. And hell, even in the wake of November 1st, he got a lot of discussion for not being an assist trophy and not directly revealed as a Spirit. He was most definitely an expected character for much of Ultimate's hype cycle.
The fact he's in the discussion at all, even if a bunch of people are screaming him down, means that he's less unexpected because he's in the conversation more actively for inclusion. Him ranking very highly on polls makes him a known entity and more predictable as an inclusion. The mythos built around him as the unlikely one-off character that has stayed in discussion makes him less unexpected. All of that means that he isn't "unexpected." His chances may be lower, but people wouldn't be surprised to see his inclusion at this point because his name is so far out in the community. Therefore, he's not unexpected.
And that's what I mean by his lack of appearances not impacting the "unexpected" label. To people not in the Smash community, he's unexpected, but so is basically every other character to be honest. Once you factor in the Smash community, the fact he was so actively predicted as a newcomer for Smash and the fact that conversations about him have not died down and people constantly push for him (or even against him, all press is good press sort of thing) makes his a more predictable inclusion. His lack of appearances have impacted how people perceive his specific chance to get in, but not really the amount of discussion or attention around him in the community. He's recognizable, and for a time was an extremely expected newcomer.
I also think Nintendo can make big moves and announcements that don't involve fan requests. I think there's a big community of people out there for a lot of big name third parties who will be very pleasantly surprised with a lot of different potential inclusions. Including characters or concepts that people don't even know they want until they see it. I would expect a decently large move at E3, I just don't know if it will be a fan favorite is really all I'm saying. It was easier to justify someone like Ridley while revealing the entire game. A big fan request for the community fits well there, but a character this year has to hold up that entire segment and generate all the hype. As much as I love Geno and know his place in the community, I don't know if he's the best fit for that venue sort of thing. If we're getting Banjo, I think he's the clear cut best idea for such a moment since there's a lot more riding on his inclusion than most characters. A bigger third party also I think fits there because E3 is usually the place where those big games and promotions are happening. Geno has always been a more intimate pick to me and has just always felt like the Nintendo Direct pick. But that's also just me if I'm being fair.
Sorry for the long ass post. I know I can come off a bit pessimistic to his chances, and well I am to some degree, but I really do still support him and think he has a shot. I just also think lots of other character picks I enjoy also have a shot for the Fighters Pass and I'm not keen on discounting any specific one. I also admit that while I love Super Mario RPG, Geno specifically maybe doesn't mean as much to me specifically as much as he's just a cool rep from the game that I also love for having the most unlikely community of Smash fans come to support. So I guess I'm a little less invested and that means my comments may come off a little harsher than I intend. So, if that's the case, I really do genuinely apologize for the irritation.
