About Geno the character

[Koopaul]

You know a ton of fans want to see Geno from SMRPG return in some game. It's everywhere. But I'm not sure how many fans really understand who and what he actually is. They probably do but they've never really thought about it.

Geno is actually an inanimate object. He's a toy, possibly. based on a fictional character within the Mario universe. And so there could be hundreds or thousands of Genos all over the place. So "Geno" is not some distinct single character.

The actual character you speak to in the game is an entity known as ♥♪!?. His true identity is still very mysterious, and Geno is merely a tool he used to interact with Mario. This entity and "Geno" don't nessessarily need to be connected. He could return in any number of forms or controlling some other sort of toy. It doesn't have to be Geno.

On top off that, nothing is stopping another NEW entity from taking control of the Geno doll. Even something evil!

There is so much creative potential here that I never see any fan consider with that character. Whether it's fanfic or fangame. What do you guys think? These are just some thoughts I thought I'd share.

[Koh]

They're probably associating whatever form it was attached to in the game to its character. It's sort of like the Cloud of Darkness from Final Fantasy 3. It looks like a female body and such, but really it's just more or less darkness amassed in a tangible, physical form. The Cloud of Darkness really has no gender, as it represents the entity of darkness. It could easily take another form if it wanted....but it never does!

If this is the one and only game this entity Geno has been in, then they're associating the one and only form they've seen to the entity itself, rather than thinking of alternatives.

[Kriven]

Right... it's like when Galactus was represented by a giant cloud in the second Fantastic Four movie. Everyone lost their shit because he wasn't a giant man in purple armor, even though the comics have laid out the whole "Galactus is a formless entity that appears differently to everyone"... It's just the iconic incarnation of the character.

[Koopaul]

You're right. But it would be more exciting for me if Geno returns as a villain. Or if there was a whole army of Geno dolls or something.

Just having him return the same way seems boring to me.

[Kriven]

Well, they did show the Geno doll in M&L didn't they? I don't remember if it was animated or just on a shelf...

I think I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of a Boo inhabiting one of the dolls in a Luigi's Mansion game or something like that, but they'd have to make it clear that this isn't "The" Geno.

I also feel like a great subset of Geno fans would get excited about ♥♪!? returning, even if he's mostly a disembodied voice or something. He's such a mystical, mysterious celestial character, and that's part of what makes him so appealing. Geno isn't just known for his body (which does look damn cool the way ♥♪!? wears it) but for his personality and mystique, and that's all ♥♪!?.

Of course I won't deny that even the portion of ♥♪!? fans who would get excited about his return would also be a little disappointed if he didn't take up the doll.

[Kosheh]

oh good, another nintendo character mythos topic by koopaul. i missed these

On top off that, nothing is stopping another NEW entity from taking control of the Geno doll.

Yes there is. It's called copyright law.
The character rights to almost ALL of those other characters that showed up in Mario RPG (Belome, Valentina, Mallow...yep, and Geno) currently belong to Square Enix, and adding the character to another Mario title requires Nintendo getting the legal OK from Square Enix (and in turn, Square Enix gets a little of said game's profits)

"But Kosheh, Geno appeared in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga!"

Yes, but so did this text at the end of the credits:

All Rights, including the copyrights
of Game, Scenario, Music and Program,
reserved by NINTENDO.
Regardless of the above-mentioned,
the copyright of Character "Geno",
reserved by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.

Nintendo has to jump through legal hoops to include a third-party character in their game in all territories. It's a process that involves lawyers talking over a giant table and results in Nintendo having to part with something to make ends meet and ensure that the other party gets treated fairly. I agree, it's stupid and dumb, but this is the decision that Nintendo chose to make almost 20 years ago. Every mention of Geno in a future game would require that small amount of text and another few months of legal negotiation.
In fact, it's probably why the Smash Ballot is taking forever: another third-party character's been added but they need to make ensure full legal clearance before announcing that the character, indeed will appear in the game.


LAWYERS: The only thing more threatening than Smithy regarding Geno's return

[Kriven]

I think Koopaul is pretty aware of the legal real-world blockade... but his post is primarily about the methods of Geno's return within the context of the story...

[Kosheh]

I think Koopaul is pretty aware of the legal real-world blockade... but his post is primarily about the methods of Geno's return within the context of the story...

Still. It won't happen. Lawyers in the Mushroom Kingdom have ♥♪!?'s soul locked down (aka the Moogle ambassadors who regularly visit the Kingdom: they're really super-strict hardasses, that's why you haven't seen any Squeenix characters in a Smash game. They only approve of character-centric documentaries within their own homeland and mythos but it takes forever because it's only a few really elderly Moogles who prefer their tales of blue boogers and small doll-looking anime people on the portable "3DS" device, because the "investor Moogles" back in Squeenix world knows that a noticeably larger percentage of people would prefer to see the tales of those people told through a small device with two screens that can fit in your pocket)
(it is worth mentioning that the Nintendo overlords are still a little sore about the majority of the Square people jumping ship after they heard about a company called "SONY" making off with the SNES-CD technology that could potentially change the future of "video games")

Poor Geno's literally soulless at this point - that's why his likeness is just an instruction-spouting animatronic in Superstar Saga. Because those damn Moogles won't let ♥♪!?'s soul manifest in the Mushroom Kingdom.



Damn those Squeenix-Nintendo Moogle ambassadors are such hardasses. >:{
But that's not even the worst of it - it's those terrible, squabbling investors who keep arguing behind the Moogles, pulling the strings, but that's a talk for another time. >:{{{{

[Koopaul]

Well this topic is more of a reflection of fan works. I know Geno is never coming back. But I've read fanfics, read fan comics, watched videos, and more regarding Geno. It's always the same. He comes down and posses that doll again. And I'm like, "Guys! If you're going to make a fan work revolving around Geno, don't limit yourself!"

I always wanted to make a new Mario RPG fangame where the twist at the end was that Geno wasn't the same guy after all and was in fact the villian tricking everyone. Then there is an epic battle between Mario and Geno.

[DioShiba]

The only way I could ever see any Super Mario RPG character returning in the Mario Series at any given point is if Nintendo buys the Intellectual Properties of those characters from Square Einx.

And knowing how that shit works Nintendo is probably never going to do it.

---

On another note though I feel as if Geno/♥♪!? is probably one of the more under-appreciated characters in the whole Mario Franchise. However I feel as if his personality is really bland to the point where it's just "HURRR DEE DURR GET THE STAR PIECES SAVE THE WORLD".

I literally agree with Koopaul on how the character could be expanded into something more. I mean imagine if Super Mario RPG gets an actual sequel, not some Paper Mario or Super Star Saga thing and Geno comes back. With the way the Mario Franchise has expanded on it's roster of characters and how many new mythos you have starting from Super Mario Galaxy, ♥♪!? is one of those characters that could very well actually become more than just a soul from some celestial plane.

Hell if some one really wanted to I could see Rosalina having a spare Geno doll hanging around and ♥♪!? could come about to posses it, Perhaps somehow make it so that Rosalina is aware that such a plane exists and ♥♪!?'s purpose is far greater in the universe than just helping save everyone's ass from Smithy.

[MoneyMan]

i really dont understand why so many people jerk off over geno

like seriously what make him the thing everyone's like OH MY GOD I WISH WE COULD HAVE MORE GENO AAAAA

[Kitsu]

he's cool, mysterious, and brooding

[Kriven]

I like pretty much all of the Mario RPG side-characters, tbh, and I'd be stoked to see them in just about anything (including Sports and Party). Fuckin'... Ms. Mowz tennis, dude.

When I was younger I used to dream up Kingdom Hearts fanfic (that I never got around to writing) and almost always included Geno/♥♪!? in some capacity. He never seemed out of place to me, with his vague mysticism and balance-keeping spirituality and Final Fantasy-inspired design.

[TomGuycott]

As a character? Generic, bland, but mysterious, and his heart is in the right place.

As a character design, he's a cool-looking Pinocchio man with rocket punched, arm-mounted lasers and elbow cannons. He's awesome.

[Koopaul]

I suppose that's why most people want to see his doll form to return. It's a really cool design. It's also why I'd like to see him as a villain. The idea of Mario fighting that rocket punching, arm lasering puppet would just be too epic.