This week, we learned that Masahiro Sakurai is working on a new game. After coming up with a proposal for the project in 2021, actual development started the following year.

Here’s where the fan debate comes in. Some would like to see another Smash Bros. game with Sakurai at the helm while others would like to see him work on something else. If Nintendo wants a new Smash Bros. title on Switch’s successor and Sakurai is in charge of something else, that could mean that someone entirely different would need to handle the directorial duties.

Sakurai’s legacy will always be tied to Smash Bros. However, he’s obviously worked on games outside of that. During the early days of his career, Sakurai was heavily involved with Kirby. He’s also handled Kid Icarus: Uprising and Meteos.

What would you ultimately like to see here? Smash Bros. is always an option for Sakurai, but he could also make a Kid Icarus: Uprising follow-up or something totally different. Let us know in the comments.

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Satoru Iwata helped come up with the Super Smash Bros. name

Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

In a new video from Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai, he spoke about Satoru Iwata and shared a tidbit of information that the late Nintendo president helped come up with the name.

Iwata is the one that felt that “Brothers” would be a good fit. That part of the name is a suggestion that the characters “were friends who were settling a little disagreement” rather than having a hardcore fight.

Sakurai said the following about Iwata and his involvement with the Super Smash Bros. name:

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Sakurai: Smash Bros. Ultimate characters win rates are about the same

Posted on 6 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

In his latest video on YouTube, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai provided insight into the game’s win rates.

Many fans have certain opinions about which characters are best to play as. You can probably find plenty of tier lists online with some fighters coming out more favorably. However, win rates in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are probably closer than you’d think.

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Sakurai cut Dolby Surround audio from Kirby Air Ride to avoid making players wait on the logo screen

Posted on 6 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 0 comments

Kirby Air Ride almost supported Dolby Surround audio. That’s according to Masahiro Sakurai, the game’s director.

Sakurai was speaking about the game during a live stream with Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya. The two participated in a live discussion event hosted by Hamster Corporation. Sakurai’s comments came about while discussing how he’d like publishers to improve the waiting time before each game begins.

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Masahiro Sakurai wanted Nintendo to include a scroll wheel on the GameCube controller

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Random | 0 comments

Masahiro Sakurai posted his latest YouTube video today, and includes an interesting tidbit of information that he wanted a scroll wheel on the GameCube controller when the hardware was being developed.

Sakurai said he was allowed to give input – which makes sense given his close relationship with the company thanks to the Super Smash Bros. series. As explained in his proposal for Melee, the scroll wheel – or jog dial – “is a knob that you can turn either up or down, and it also functions as a switch if you press it in.” The idea here is that players would more quickly make menu selections and it’d allow for smooth camera movement.

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Sakurai on the most common Smash Bros. Ultimate bugs during development

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

Have you ever wondered about the kinds of bugs that were most common during the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Director Masahiro Sakurai provided new insight as part of his latest YouTube video today.

First up are grabs and throws, “as actions that forcefully control another fighter can easily cause processing contradictions.” This includes grabbing a fighter in the middle of a special move. The same also tends to happen for Final Smashes. Sakurai pointed out that scene changes in particular require restraining and releasing fighters and you need to ensure that nothing else enters the scene. Also brought up is terrain, especially in Stage Builder, and V-shaped terrain can cause a lot of issues. Lastly, the Spirits system can cause problems as well.

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Sakurai reflects on the making of Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Switch, Videos | 0 comments

Masahiro Sakurai uploaded his latest video on YouTube a short while ago, and this time around, we get to hear about the making of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U.

Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata asked Sakurai to handle development, and he was certainly up to the task of developing two versions at the same time. Smash hadn’t been released on a portable system previously which would be unique, but its power would put a bit of a limit on the game. Meanwhile, Wii U’s power and HD output would be the main appeal. Thankfully, some of the work was made easier since the two versions could share mechanics, animation, and game balance.

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Sakurai can’t imagine Smash Bros. without him, thinks it’s going to take some time to figure out how to make another one happen

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has shared his thoughts in the future of the series, including his involvement.

In a new video published to YouTube today, he mentioned that he “can’t really imagine a Smash Bros. title without me.” Sakurai added that, currently, there isn’t someone that could “take the reigns” from him.

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Sakurai on Kid Icarus: Uprising controls, still interested in re-release, more

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

Masahiro Sakurai published a new video on his YouTube channel today about Kid Icarus: Uprising, which goes over the game’s development and he touches on aspects such as the controls. Additionally, he once again expressed interest in seeing a re-release, though that would be “difficult”.

Sakurai starts out by going over the initial history, with late president Satoru Iwata asking him to provide input about the 3DS’ specs and create a game for the hardware. He wanted to develop something for the core audience and ended up going with a third-person shooter. Kid Icarus was chosen due to demand for a new title and Pit’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

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Sakurai further explains why he feels Smash Bros. and online play aren’t a good fit

Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 0 comments

In a new video posted today, Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai shared more of his thoughts on why he feels the series isn’t the best fit with online play.

Sakurai was addressing the topic while speaking about the creation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was the first entry in the franchise to support the feature. We previously heard him talking about this a bit in a column a couple of years ago.