EDIT - ...Especially as a 3rd party candidate. We're talking about a game that's so consistently fun, that it can be played regularly for over half a decade without losing it's awesome, and now there's a chance that practically any videogame character can be included...and everyone wants some random party member from an outdated RPG? No Simon Belmont? No Viewtiful Joe? No Megaman? No Sonic? No Ryu Hayabusa? No Django? No Sora? No Phoenix Wright? No Pac-Man? No Dan Hibiki? No Nightmare? No Alastor? No Leon? No Harman Smith? I just...don't ...get it.
You, good sir, get bonus points for suggesting the one and only Solar Boy
But to stay on topic, I see the Geno argument this way. Yes, he's technically a third party character, and would have to use up one of the third party slots. Assuming Square Enix has laid claim to one of those spots, we've got our standard 3 contenders (I know there are more, this is just an example): Sora, Crono, and Geno.
Sora: I still really don't get this. He was born and thrives on a Sony console, and the (relative) worst game in his series is the only one that barely makes him eligible for Brawl. I am a KH fan, but I really don't think Sora belongs in Brawl.
Crono: An old-school hero from one of the best RPGs ever? Plus! Created for the SNES? Plus! Character that could combine katana action with light magic? Plus! I'd almost say that Crono's spot was a gimmie as Square Enix's rep, if it weren't for...
Geno: Mendez brings up some good points to counter the Geno fanboys, and vice versa. "Geno's a cult favorite!" "But he's too obscure!" "He fits in so well!" "But he'd waste a third party slot!" Well, the way I see it, Geno is the best way to spend Square Enix's third party slot. Why? Geno is a Square Enix creation tailor made for the Mario universe. The SSB series has always been a game to showcase Nintendo's mascots, and it seems most fitting to me that a character made by a third party company specifically to fit in the Nintendo universe trumps characters from franchises that have nothing to do with Nintendo. Especially a character with the cult following that Geno has.
No using technicalities to consider him for eligibility *cough* Sora *cough*, no squabbling over whether he fits in the SSB style. Seems like the easy choice for a Square Enix rep to me. But hey, that's just my opinion. To each his own
Granted, if you really want to go for easy Square Enix recognizability, you could make an awesome character out of the old school Black Mage
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