Geno

"I serve… a higher authority…"

- Geno

Geno (real name: ♡♪!?) is a warrior from the Star Road and one of Mario's partners in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He is sent by "a higher authority" to restore peace to Mario's world. During the events of Super Mario RPG, he teams up with Mario's team, which consists of Mario, Mallow, Princess Toadstool, and Bowser, and helps them out on their quest to defeat Smithy. In battle, he has high attack, but lower defense.

Prior to the release of Super Mario RPG, Nintendo Power wrote that Geno was described by Square as "".

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
When the Smithy Gang launch their attack on Mario's world, Exor crashes into Bowser's Keep and occupies it. As Exor fell from the sky, he shattered the Star Road, and as a result, seven Star Pieces are scattered throughout the world, and wishes are unable to be granted. Because of this, Geno is sent to retrieve the Star Pieces and restore the power of wishes to the world.

Some time later, Rose Town is besieged by the Smithy Gang. Bowyer is launching arrows into the town and paralyzing people. Many people in Rose Town fear leaving their homes out of potentially being paralyzed by one of Bowyer's arrows.

During this time of crisis, Mario and Mallow arrive in Rose Town. The pair enters the Town Inn, and while inside, Mario sees a young boy named Gaz playing with his dolls of Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser. Gaz's mom asks Mario to play with her son, which he agrees to. Mario pretends to be Bowser, and Gaz pretends to be his favorite of the dolls, Geno. Gaz ends up playing too rough however, and activates Geno's "Super Star Shot". Instead of hitting the Bowser doll, the blast accidentally hits Mario, knocking him out.

That night, a single star being enters the Inn. Seeing the four dolls on the floor, the star decides to inhabit the Geno doll. Now possessing the doll, the star has problems with walking, and slams into the wall before leaving the inn. Later, Geno admits he chose that particular doll because it appeared to be the strongest of the four.

The next morning, Gaz tells his mom that he saw the living Geno walk into the Forest Maze. His mom does not believe this, while Mario goes and enters the woods to find the animated doll. Geno enters the forest to challenge Bowyer, and retrieve the Star Piece that Bowyer's minions had found. Mario and Mallow decide to help Geno, and together, the three defeat Bowyer and acquire the Star Piece.

After defeating Bowyer, Geno reveals to the heroes that he is a warrior from Star Road and that he has assumed the form of the Geno doll to fight the Smithy Gang. Additionally, he states that wishes can never come true again until all the Star Pieces are recovered. He also reveals his real name, ♡♪!?. However, this is impossible to pronounce, so the star warrior assumes the name of the doll: Geno. After explaining everything, Geno decides to join forces with Mario and Mallow to find the remaining Star Pieces.

Eventually, Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Toadstool collect the remaining Star Pieces and defeat Smithy. With Smithy destroyed, Geno decides to leave the doll's wooden body, returning to the form of a star and bringing the Star Pieces to Star Road. Repairing the celestial road, the power of wishes return to the world. The lifeless Geno doll can be seen sitting behind Mario and company on Vista Hill while they witness Exor disintegrate.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Geno's doll form makes a cameo in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. He appears as the mechanical host of the Star 'Stache Smash arcade game in Little Fungitown, explaining the rules of the minigame. The end credits state that Geno is an intellectual property of Square Enix: "Regardless of the above-mentioned, the copyright of Character "Geno", reserved by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD." However, he does not return in the remake, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, where text bubbles replace his role.

Super Smash Bros. series
Director of the Super Smash Bros. series Masahiro Sakurai has stated that Geno was considered for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but was not followed up on for unexplained reasons.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Though not available as a fighter, a costume based on Geno was released as DLC for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Although the hat can be worn by any Mii Fighters, the costume is exclusive to Mii Gunners, with the Geno Beam arm cannon mounted on the right hand. The DLC was released during December 2015, alongside the Chocobo hat, Cloud Strife, and the Midgar stage. This is fitting as the character of Cloud is owned by Square Enix, who also developed Super Mario RPG, and owns the rights to Geno.

Nintendo also released a QR code for those who wish to have the exact Mii used in the costume's advertising.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Geno appears as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is also a selectable icon for use in the online modes. In his spirit battle, he is represented by Sheik armed with a Super Scope, and is joined by Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a gray Kirby, who represents Mallow. These five fighters represent the main cast of Super Mario RPG. His Mii Gunner costume from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U returns as DLC, and was released on December 22, 2020, alongside a series of Final Fantasy-themed costumes, in parallel with Challenger Pack 8 which introduced Sephiroth.

Super Mario-Kun
Geno appears in the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars volume of the Super Mario-Kun manga. Being an adaption with a few tweaks, he fills the same role as he did in the game.

Description
Geno acts as a sage-like figure to Mario and his allies. Consequently, Geno offers the heroes advice about matters the others may not understand. For instance, after Mario and his allies liberate Bowser's Keep, Bowser decides to quit the team and return to the castle. However, Geno points out that until Smithy and his factory are destroyed, Bowser's Keep is still at risk. Thus Bowser decides to continue the fight.

Geno has a variety of attacks which use a mix of physical and energy projectiles. His regular attack involves shooting physical projectiles from his arms. His special attacks typically involve powerful energy blasts. Additionally, Geno is the fastest of Mario's allies.

Personality
Geno's personality is strongly based on his confidence and attitude. Geno has more of a defiant, heroic attitude. His eagerness to confront the villain may be due to his status as an authority figure from Star Road. He also tends to show more enthusiasm than any other party member.

Geno comes off as very powerful from his first appearance as a doll when Gaz attacks using Geno and accidentally hits Mario and knocks him out. However, when Geno tries to fight Bowyer, upon striking Bowyer will say, "Strong you are, but stronger am I!" One of Geno's magic powers is also potentially the most powerful attack in game, Geno Whirl. If timed just right, it deals 9,999 points of damage; if not timed right, it does average damage at best. The skill works only on regular enemies, as well as Yaridovich, Machine Made, and Exor.

Although powerful, Geno is quite amiable, quick to make friends with Mario and Mallow. He has a strong sense of duty and responsibility, and his role on Star Road may be analogous to Mario's role in the Mushroom Kingdom. He even worries over the "ownership" of his physical form, and promises to return the body to the home from whence it came.

Battle
Geno is a very potent offensive character overall, having the highest speed of any party member (30), comparable attack stats to Bowser, and high magic attack stats and potent special moves primarily revolving around single and multiple enemy attacks. His one support move, Geno Boost, bolsters attack (and defense if timed properly) stats even further. When equipped with the Feather, Geno is the only character capable of defeating a Shy Ranger (provided Mario does not have the Super Suit + Attack Scarf combination). However, his HP growth begins to stall after level 20 and his special equipment is subpar at best, with his ultimate weapon, the Star Gun, not being as powerful as that of others, such as Mario's Lazy Shell, while his ultimate armor, the Star Cape is the second worst in the game, making him relatively weaker in both attack and defense power later in the game despite his high base stats. Still, Geno Boost and Geno Flash, one of the strongest special moves in the game that strikes all enemies, make Geno useful to have on any team.

Special moves

 * Geno Beam - Charging up his energy, Geno shoots a deadly energy beam at one enemy. Holding Y until three stars appears will deal more damage.
 * Geno Boost - Using magic, Geno boosts an ally's attack. After all the arrows disappear, pressing Y will boost the ally's defense as well.
 * Geno Whirl - Geno throws a disk of light at one enemy. If timed correctly, the attack will do 9,999 damage. This does not work for boss characters (except Exor and Yaridovich copies).
 * Geno Blast - Geno summons light energy from the sky, damaging all enemies. Holding Y until three stars appears will deal more damage.
 * Geno Flash - Geno transforms into a large cannon, then shoots a large ball of energy, damaging all enemies. Holding Y until three stars appears will deal more damage.

Initial stats in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

 * Level - 6
 * HP - 45
 * Speed - 30
 * Attack - 60
 * Defense - 23
 * Magic Attack - 25
 * Magic Defense - 17
 * Experience Level - 234 (254 after defeating Bowyer)
 * Special Attacks -
 * Geno Beam -
 * FP Required - 3
 * Magic Power - 40
 * Description - Geno shoots an energy beam at one enemy. Hold Y until three stars appear.

♡♪!?
Geno's real name is different in the Japanese version of Super Mario RPG, using a one-time set of unpronounceable symbols derived from a fictional star language.

Trivia

 * The sprites of Geno's star form when possessing the Geno doll and those seen at the end of the game are vastly different, the former being a small, white, almost realistic star while the latter was a yellow, more traditional Mario star surrounded by yellow dots. Similarly, the sprites of the Geno doll when playing with Gaz and the one sitting pose of it seen at the end of the game are proportionally inaccurate to each other.
 * When Geno uses a Special Move, a symbol of a star is superimposed over his body. While the other characters' symbols are the four main playing card symbols, Geno's is the Joker's star.