[quote name='KingBroly']I think your argument about Super Smash Frank is very weak. There wouldn't be a game here otherwise. And you only seem to use this argument for Nintendo games, and not any other franchise. Why not throw it out there for God of Frank or Franko? Seriously, the argument gets weaker every time you use it and it lowers the standards you have by bringing up again and again.[/quote]
I completely disagree. The reason this argument works so well with Nintendo games, specifically Mario games, is that very few core gameplay elements are translated from one game to the next. In fact, the only thing linking each game is a loose association of characters, not even a cohesive story. Nothing links "Super Mario Bros" to "Mario and Luigi" to "Mario Sunshine" to "Mario Galaxy" except for the fact that Mario stars in all of them. No one is saying they would be bad games without Mario, but they are saying that because they are Mario games, they are not always looked at with the sort of critical eye that a "frank" game would get.
As for "God of Frank" and "Franko": God of War doesn't have the fanbase that Mario has yet, so it still doesn't get the rose colored glasses. Plus, since each God of War game is inherently similar, changing the main character wouldn't make as huge a difference to the game. The same goes for "Franko," however, you also need to keep in mind that "Frank of Duty 4" is doing a much better job of keeping 360 FPS fans happy than Halo 3, so in a sense, the Frank arguement held up nicely there: if you take Master Chief out, people will still play an FPS. The Frank arguement would be better suited for when Halo Wars comes out. Then the question is "without Master Chief, is it still a good RTS?"
Likewise, ask yourself, "without Mario, would I like Smash?" There is a similar game called "Dream Mix TV:World Fighters" in which you can play as Optimus Prime, Simon Belmont and Snake (again) but no nintendo licenses. it didn't sell as well. So what does that say? You decide.