Why Sephiroth Spells Doom for Another Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Hopeful

During last week's presentation of The Game Awards, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans were shocked to discover that Sephiroth will be the next fighter to join the Nintendo Switch title. The main villain of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is a very fitting pick for Square Enix's third guest fighter. While many fans are celebrating the pick, it just might spell doom for another oft-requested DLC character: Super Mario RPG's Geno. The Square Enix-owned character is one of the most highly-requested fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it seems that Sephiroth's announcement might have made Geno's addition significantly less likely.

When Super Smash Bros. was first released on Nintendo 64, the game exclusively featured characters owned by Nintendo. That has changed over the last few series entries, as characters owned by Sega, Konami, and other publishers have been added. The addition of Sephiroth to the game will give Square Enix three representatives in total, following the previous releases of Cloud and Hero. That number gives the publisher the same number of fighters as Capcom and Konami have. No publisher has received more than that number, as of this writing.

With just three more fighters set to be added as part of the Fighter's Pass Vol. 2 DLC after Sephiroth, it seems highly unlikely that a niche character like Geno will receive one of those spots. After all, the character's only significant appearance was in 1996's Super Mario RPG, followed by an extremely minor cameo in 2003's Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Square Enix getting four fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and two of the six spots in the Fighter's Pass Vol. 2 seems nearly impossible, especially for such a small character.

That doesn't mean that Geno fans should abandon all hope, however. It seems quite likely that the character's Mii Fighter costume from Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U will return. Nintendo has a tendency to announce these skins during presentations for DLC fighters, so fans could know whether or not that will be the case as early as Thursday. That possibility might not be as exciting for fans, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has seen some changes made for certain Mii Fighters. Notably, Sans and Cuphead were both added to the game as Mii Fighter skins that are much more faithful to their in-game appearances. In fact, both were also accompanied by music tracks from their respective games. It's possible that Geno could receive a similar treatment, with the character's signature track "Beware the Forest's Mushrooms"appearing alongside him.

For now, fans will just have to wait and see what happens! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai's Sephiroth presentation is set to air December 17th at 2 p.m. PT.

Were you excited by the announcement for Sephiroth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Do you think it makes an appearance by Geno less likely? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!