I'm coming from complete ignorance here, but the subject of intellectual property in Japanese games has always seemed really strange to me. In the States, generally speaking, if you come up with something for the company you work for, it belongs to the company. It doesn't seem to work that way in Japan. Recently it was stated that there's no hope for a Rival Schools rerelease because the various people who worked on it aren't with Capcom anymore. Why wouldn't it be Capcom's intellectual property? There are probably many layers I just don't understand.
It say Squaresoft when opening and also the battle with Culex looks like something you'd see from Final Fantasy. Looks similar to Kefka as the last boss in FF6 but with four crystals which are also a Final Fantasy staple. Also the music is the normal boss music from FF4.
Btw. Why does everyone care about Geno anyways. He's really got no storyline on him in the game. What is there to really get attached too. The character is overrated and people see someone else saying they want to see Geno and I'm sure that's why they also chime in about it. Just like Super Mario RPG, Geno will never return, as well as Mallow who actually has a bit of background and story about him.
Geno made a cameo as part of a mini-game in Superstar Saga. He's not playable, but he's there.
America is one of the few countries where the companies get the legal IP. I know that in the UK, the person creator gets the rights, meaning for quite some time the legal owner of the Daleks was up in the air, making using them in Dr. Who dicey for a few years early on.
Dunno if this is the same in Japan but it's what came to my mind immediately.
-AB+
Holy crap. It's been a while.
Mallow 4 Life
You know what's really bullshit? That even though just about every semi-popular Squaresoft soundtrack has been reprinted, Super Mario RPG likely never will because of the legal issues behind it. I don't know about the non-Mario characters, but I'm fairly certain there's joint ownership on the soundtrack. And now the damn thing costs a couple hundred dollars. Nintendo has never truly seen the value in soundtracks, so they've barely reprinted anything over their history. When they even sanction a soundtrack in the first place. Even Smash Bros. Brawl didn't get one, despite that it's gotta be the most epic gathering of video game composers ever.