With Sephiroth's arrival in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes a quiet but resonant moment for a generation of players: Geno, the beloved wooden doll from a 1996 collaboration between Nintendo and Square, has returned — not as a fighter, but as a costume, carrying with him the weight of decades of fan longing and the complexity of corporate ownership. His presence is a reminder that in the world of gaming, beloved characters exist at the intersection of creative memory and legal negotiation, where passion alone cannot unlock a door that licensing holds shut. Yet history whispers that doors once
Smash Bros. Ultimate Adds FF7 Characters, Geno as Mii Costumes
The impossible can become possible.
Mark
So Geno is back as a Mii costume. Why does that matter to people?
Mimi
Geno's been requested since Brawl—that's over a decade of fans asking for him. He's from Super Mario RPG, a game a lot of people grew up with, and he's just never gotten much acknowledgement since.
Luke
But he's been in Smash before as a costume, right? In the 3DS and Wii U versions?
Mimi
Yes, but this is a re-release of that costume, and it's missing the music track from the original. So it's not even a full return.
Mark
What's stopping him from being a full fighter instead of just a costume?
Mimi
Licensing. Square Enix owns Geno, which makes him complicated for Nintendo to use. They managed it for Sephiroth, but he's a much bigger character.
Luke
So the question is whether Square Enix would ever agree to let Geno be a full fighter, not whether Nintendo wants him?
Mimi
Exactly. And there's also the question of whether Geno is notable enough to justify a full fighter slot when there are other characters with bigger fanbases.
Mark
Has anyone else faced that same "impossible to impossible" journey?
Mimi
Ridley did. Sakurai said he couldn't be in Smash 4, but he made it into Ultimate. Steve too. So the precedent exists.
Luke
But those are characters with much broader appeal than Geno. Ridley's from Metroid, Steve's from Minecraft. Geno's from one game in 1996.
Mimi
True, but the fans asking for Geno are very vocal, and they've been asking for a long time.
Mark
So we're waiting to see if licensing and fan pressure eventually align?
Mimi
That's the hope. But there's no guarantee it happens.
El Pulso
- Sephiroth's debut as a playable fighter brought five Mii costumes with him, including Tifa, Barret, and Aerith — a full Final Fantasy VII reunion that signals the depth of Nintendo's partnership with Square Enix.
- Geno's return as a Mii costume ignited fan conversation far louder than any of the FF7 additions, because for nearly twenty years, players have wanted him as a full fighter — not an accessory.
- The absence of the Forest Maze music track from this version of the Geno costume is a small but stinging detail, a reminder that even partial inclusions come with compromises.
- Geno's licensing situation is the real obstacle: Square Enix owns him, and his erasure from the Mario & Luigi remaster shows that ownership has real consequences for his presence in Nintendo's world.
- Smash Bros. history refuses to let hope die — Ridley was once called impossible, Steve was once unthinkable, and yet both now stand on the roster, leaving Geno's future genuinely uncertain rather than foreclosed.
With Sephiroth's arrival in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes a quiet but resonant moment for a generation of players: Geno, the beloved wooden doll from a 1996 collaboration between Nintendo and Square, has returned — not as a fighter, but as a costume, carrying with him the weight of decades of fan longing and the complexity of corporate ownership. His presence is a reminder that in the world of gaming, beloved characters exist at the intersection of creative memory and legal negotiation, where passion alone cannot unlock a door that licensing holds shut. Yet history whispers that doors once thought sealed have opened before.
Sephiroth's full release in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arrived with five Mii costumes in tow, and while Tifa, Barret, Aerith, and a Chocobo hat reflected the depth of Nintendo's Square Enix partnership, it was the fifth costume that captured the community's attention: Geno, the wooden doll from Super Mario RPG, making his second appearance in the Smash series after his debut in the 3DS and Wii U era. Notably absent this time is the Forest Maze music track that accompanied his earlier costume.
Geno's story is one of licensing complexity. Born from a 1996 collaboration between Nintendo and Square, he has remained largely frozen out of Nintendo's subsequent projects — his cameo in the original Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was quietly removed when that game received a deluxe remaster. Square Enix owns him, and that ownership transforms every appearance into a negotiation rather than a creative decision.
The gap between Geno and Sephiroth illustrates the hierarchy at play. Sephiroth is a mainline Final Fantasy icon recognized across generations; Geno is a cherished supporting character from a single spin-off, beloved by those who found him but niche by any commercial measure. That distinction likely explains why one secured a fighter slot while the other remains a costume.
Still, Smash Bros. history has a habit of making the impossible ordinary. Ridley was once explained away as unworkable. Steve seemed absurd. Both now share the roster with Nintendo's greatest icons. Whether fan momentum, time, and the right licensing conversation could one day do the same for Geno is a question the series has not yet answered — but has not closed either.
Sephiroth's arrival in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought more than just a new playable fighter. Nintendo announced five additional Mii costumes to accompany the Final Fantasy VII villain's full release, and among them was a character the community had been requesting for nearly two decades: Geno, the wooden doll from Super Mario RPG.
The costume lineup reflects Nintendo's partnership with Square Enix, the company that owns both Sephiroth and the rights to Final Fantasy VII. Three of the new costumes pull directly from that game—Tifa as a Brawler, Barret as a Gunner, and Aerith as a Swordfighter—along with a Chocobo hat. But it was Geno's return that dominated fan conversation. This marks the second time the character has appeared as a Mii costume in the Smash series, the first being in the 3DS and Wii U versions. Unlike that earlier release, however, this version does not include the Forest Maze music track.
Geno's journey through Nintendo's ecosystem tells a story of licensing complexity. The character originated in Super Mario RPG, a 1996 collaboration between Nintendo and Square that has since been re-released on the Wii Virtual Console and the SNES Classic. Yet Geno himself has remained largely absent from Nintendo's subsequent projects. When Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga received a deluxe remaster, a cameo appearance Geno had in the original GBA version was removed entirely. The reason is straightforward: Square Enix owns the character, which makes his inclusion in Nintendo games a matter of negotiation and licensing rather than simple creative choice.
The question of whether Geno will ever graduate from costume or spirit status to become a fully playable fighter remains open. Fans have requested him consistently since the days of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and those requests have only grown louder. Yet Geno occupies an unusual position in the character hierarchy. While Sephiroth, also owned by Square Enix, secured a spot as a full fighter, he carries far greater cultural weight in gaming than Geno does. Sephiroth is a mainline Final Fantasy antagonist recognized across generations; Geno is a supporting character from a single spin-off game, however beloved by those who played it.
Smash Bros. history, though, offers reason for hope. Director Masahiro Sakurai once explained why Ridley could not be included in Smash 4, citing technical and design constraints. Yet Ridley became a playable fighter in Ultimate. Steve, a character from a blocky sandbox game, now fights alongside Nintendo icons. Sephiroth himself was once considered an unlikely addition. The series has repeatedly proven that the impossible can shift into the possible, given time, licensing agreements, and enough fan momentum. Whether Geno will be next remains to be seen.
Citas Notables
Geno has been a character that has been consistently requested ever since the days of Super Smash Bros. Brawl— Screen Rant reporting
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