Why Smash Fans Are Hyped About The Super Mario RPG Remake

The recent Nintendo Direct was packed with great announcements, chief among them for me being the remake for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The original 1996 game has been adored throughout the ages as a great introduction to JRPGs. It’s also praised for its amazing soundtrack, world-building of the Mario universe, and interesting characters, one of whom is the inimitable Geno, who’ll be making the return. That’s given Smash Bros fans hope that, at long last, one of their most requested characters may finally make an appearance in Nintendo’s brawler.

Geno is one of the members of Mario’s party. As he explains in one of his iconic lines, he works “for a higher authority” as a star warrior, for the duty of repairing the Star Road and restoring balance and hope to Mario’s world. Geno is actually a star with the unpronounceable name ‘♥♪!?’ that possessed the physical form of a young boy’s wooden puppet doll, assuming that it was stronger than the dolls of Mario, Toadstool (the name Princess Peach used to go by), and Bowser.

He’s very powerful, boasting strong physical and energy-based attacks. He’s also the fastest of Mario’s allies. But since he’s a wooden puppet and all, his physical and magical defenses are lacking (something that our resident Schomer thinks the remake should address). Being a deputy of the Star Road, Geno is confident and heroic, yet friendly and well-mannered, even worrying himself about being able to return the young boy’s doll to him. Geno’s skills were imperative in helping Mario and his allies repair the Star Road.

Geno has a bit of a rocky relationship when it comes to the Super Smash Bros series. He actually did almost make it into the 2008 Wii release, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but for reasons unknown, Sakurai and his team couldn’t go through with adding him into the game. He would appear in Smash 4, but only as a Mii costume, which didn’t sit well with people.

Things only got rockier in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which came out in 2018. He was no longer a mere Mii costume or assist trophy, but a Spirit, which seemingly prevented him from becoming a fully-fledged playable character. But then, when Min Min was confirmed to be joining the battle as the first DLC Fighter for Fighters Pass 2 in June 2020, despite already having been a Spirit, hope was rekindled that Geno could still make it into the roster. This hope would sadly last for only half a year, when Geno reappeared as a Mii costume instead. As the last three DLC fighters came after him, and development for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would cease, Geno would never see the light of day as a playable fighter.

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Geno had a lot of things going for him as a Smash character. He has a lot of moveset potential; he could utilize his special moves for special attacks, and Geno Flash could appear in his Final Smash as an upgraded version. He’s popular with those that have played the game he’s from and in the Smash community (coming second behind Crash Bandicoot in a fanmade poll for most-likely, and first for most-requested characters). The Geno IP is technically is owned by Square Enix, but the studio has always had a strong relationship with Nintendo, evident from four of their characters featuring in Smash, as well as many of their RPG collections coming to the Switch. Unfortunately, what held Geno back from being playable in Smash was one of the most important factors: his relevancy.

Geno may be popular, though definitely not at the level of other Mario characters he shares the screen with. Even for those that were familiar with him back then, the game was quickly overshadowed with the release of Super Mario 64 shortly after, not giving the RPG much breathing room in the market. To put it bluntly, Geno is plain old, with his most recent appearance in Mario being a minigame cameo in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. While Sakurai seems to care for Geno (and I think him being old makes him perfect for Smash), Nintendo and Square Enix had seemingly long forgotten about the character and Super Mario RPG, an impression that wasn’t helped by them excluding Super Mario RPG from the SNES library of Nintendo Switch Online.

But that’s all changed now, and this remake will be the chance for many modern fans of Mario to be introduced to the first of the franchise’s many RPGs. They can get acquainted with Geno (as well as Mallow and other original characters) and come to understand why he’s so popular with people. This could boost his relevancy and increase his chances to join the next Smash title, as a fighter that even more people than ever will want to see.

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