Sakurai talks Smash Bros. visual design, says images of 3DS version “look fine” but don’t do the game justice

The new Smash Bros. games are particularly noteworthy for a couple of reasons. On Wii U, this marks the first time that the series will be shown in HD. And on 3DS, Smash Bros. will be making its debut appearance on a handheld, complete with a unique style thanks to character outlines given to the playable characters.

Director Masahiro Sakurai spoke about the visual design of both versions while speaking with GamesTM this month. Regarding Wii U, Sakurai said fans can expect “more details, and bigger stages”. He also shared an interesting comment about the 3DS version, noting that screenshots “look fine” but don’t do the game justice compared to actually seeing it running in person.

Sakurai told the magazine:

“And the same thing with the Wii U screen – since we’re an HD-compatible console, we’re able to do more details, and bigger stages as seen on previous home consoles. Now of course, I want to point out that everything on 3DS is designed for that screen, and that’s where they look the best. It’s unfortunate we can’t show everyone what it looks like on 3DS, rather than screenshots, while they do look fine, do not do that justice once you see it on the system. Too bad we can’t show everybody what it looks like on the system.”

Thanks to joclo for the tip.