FEATURES .: CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT

December 2001
by Cammy / Jae

In this feature we showcase some of our most beloved game characters of all time. Favourites are the characters whose charm and brilliance made the games they graced alot more memorable. Sometimes its because we can relate to them. Often they share the same ambitions and dreams as we do. Or maybe its just because they make us laugh. Whatever reasons we may have, our favourite characters will always be held near and dear to our gaming hearts.

Most of the characters here never received the recognition they deserved, ending up playing either sideline roles or lead roles in lesser known games and then vanishing. Rather than casting them into a fading obscurity, we shine the spotlight on them here and honour them for the true strokes of genius they are.

We hope you enjoy this unique feature and we're open to suggestions. The Character Spotlight will continue to grow as we add more characters and updates. So here goes...

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT LIST
Geno
Hinopio

GENO
Game - Super Mario RPG (SNES), 1996

It was a really pleasant surprise meeting Geno in Super Mario RPG. He was a great addition to the team with his elusive and mysterious personality, cute looks (he's a doll!) and spectacular special attacks. He was like a breath of fresh air, a unique new character with a charm all of his own. I couldn't help developing a growing adoration for Geno as the game progressed.

The story of Geno is as follows: He initially was a toy doll owned by Gaz, a boy living in Mushroom Kingdom. One night a guardian spirit from the stars came down to Mario's world and chose to possess the doll, because it needed a powerful body to venture into the quest to repair the star road so peoples wishes can be granted once again. Thus, it breathed life and magic into the doll, and Geno was born. He immediately left for the Forest Maze to recover the star piece that Bowyer, one of Smithy's cronies, had in his possession. Mario and Mallow (another awesome character) followed Geno's trail through the maze and found him engaged in confrontation with Bowyer. They immediately joined the battle (in a particularly humorous way) and helped Geno defeat the big scary baddie. From then on, Geno became a part of the team, and the rest is history.

As Geno levels up, he gains really powerful spells and is the only character that can equip magic capes and amusing weapons such as the hand cannon (?) and the star gun. Geno may be a reanimated doll, but he sure packs a punch. Also, he is often the voice of reason in squabbles between Mario and Bowser, in which he reassures the former and repriminds the latter. His personality really shines in the few cutscenes he appears in, and in the variety of attacks and expressions he has. In other words, he's got style.

Geno is a truly unforgettable character. He is a great addition to the Super Mario Brothers extended character family and has alot of potential. I certainly hope to see more of him in the future; in a direct sequel to this excellent RPG or in a game of his own, that would be as enjoyable and unique as he is. Sadly, this may never happen because Geno is partially owned by Squaresoft whom no longer develop games for Nintendo systems. But he will remain one of the coolest game characters around.

HINOPIO
GAME - Super Mario RPG (SNES), 1996

Hinopio is a very minor character in SMRPG. He is the host of the shop/inn inside the Barrel Volcano known as the Hino Mart. Hinopio is a robot with an armored body and a visor-like face. He is also really sweet. He seems surprised to meet Mario, because he never thought anyone could pay him a visit. However, he offers Mario a place to sleep (a wooden box, what do you expect, its inside a volcano!) and shows him a great deal of hospitality ("Good morning! Wasn't that a cushy bed?") It is cute to see him quickly switching tables to operate the shops. When Mario leaves, he says, "You can always come back, you know." He must be lonely living by himself in the volcano with his model airpcraft, but also happy to have met new friends. As you can see Hinopio blends into his volcanic surroundings with ease. But don't be put off by his sturdy yet stylish looks, he'd never let you down.

Hinopio is so shrouded in mystery that we were barely able to locate a single tiny image of him for this feature. In the end we heavily doctored an in-game image resulting in what we hope is as close as anyone is going to get to discovering the mysterious Hinopio's true identity.

INTERESTING FACT
Hinopio's name is a combination of "Kinopio" (Toad's Japanese name) and "hi" (Japanese for "fire"), it also kinda sounds like Pinocchio!