INTERVIEW MASAHIRO SAKURAI



Masahiro Sakurai talks about Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

We have the immense privilege of interviewing Masahiro Sakurai, creator of the Smash Bros. series, to ask him all the questions that you wanted on this franchise and the new opus Wii U and 3DS expected for 2014. Emotion!



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Masahiro Sakurai is not the type to take a vacation. Also, when Nintendo sent him to Los Angeles, it's as if the mere fact of leaving his Office offered him a break, and above all an opportunity to talk about her future babies: Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii U and 3DS. Lawrence and Matthew, sent special PN at E3, were able to ask all the questions they could ask about these future two hits, very expected on the current generation of Big N.





By

Laurent pn

Published the

18/06/2013

at 2:47 PM



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Nintendo Power: on the occasion of the E3 2011, Satoru Iwata has surprised everyone by announcing that the next Super Smash Bros. game. beyond on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. What are the main differences between the two versions? Can we expect a few surprises, especially at the level of connectivity?



Masahiro Sakurai: While the development of Kid Icarus: Uprising was at its end, Satoru Iwata came me propose to develop the new Smash Bros game, and asked me if he should be on 3DS or Wii U. We were arrived at a point where the series could not evolve too, and we wondered if the passage on handheld console was the solution. In the past, we have increased the number of characters and arenas, but this was not enough.



At that time, we could have chosen to develop a 3DS version only, but we realized the presence of several limitations. I am referring to the fact of playing a game like Super Smash Bros.. on a small screen. Thus, even if it is not easy to develop two versions simultaneously, we chose to adapt the game experience to the specificities of each platform.



Even though the characters will be the same in the version Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the arena will be completely different. In the 3DS version, they are based on games released on portable consoles, while Wii U, arenas are based on articles on home console games.



PN: given that develop two versions of a same game is a rather complex task, how you arrange? Do you have a console acting as lead platform, or do both versions are developed simultaneously, with a team dedicated to each of them?



Sakurai: The team is the same for both versions, which are being developed in parallel. There's no "lead platform" strictly speaking.



PN: In the 'Developer Direct @ E3 2013' video, you mention the outline of the characters [in the 3DS version], that you had to add to differentiate them on a small screen. What are the technical limitations to which you had to deal on Nintendo 3DS? Did you have to reduce the number of objects or special effects on the screen?



Sakurai: There are several aspects to which we had to reflect in order to offer a pleasant experience on both platforms.



Take the Nintendo 3DS version for example, we thought about the proportions of the body of the characters, and we have adapted all over its home console equivalent, in order to make a little more easily recognizable characters on a small screen. It is same for the deformation of the hands.



This purpose is to make the experience of comfortable play on 3DS.



PN: given that there are two versions of the game, players expect naturally some degree of connectivity. Can you give us examples of features of this type? Take Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for example, which allows the transfer of data backup between the two versions: can we expect similar functionality for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. ?



Sakurai: Data backup of the two versions will be completely separate, but there is a certain degree of interaction, since it will be possible to transfer data on the various characters from one version to the other.



PN: In all your games, and particularly Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus: Uprising for example, the density of content is very important, sometimes offering up to 100 hours of game play. Why do you integrate as much content in your games? Could this be because you do not really like the DLC [additional downloadable content], and you prefer to enjoy the gaming experience complete at the outset?



Sakurai: Oh, it is not as if I did not like the DLC, it is just that I do not really have the time to think. I'm too busy to work on the game and to include a maximum of content. The goal is to propose a complete and interesting gaming experience for players.



In principle, I am not opposed to the DLC. I loved those proposed for the game Fallout 3, for example.



PN: Music has always held an important place in the Smash Bros games, with a large number of pieces, remix and composers, but for what reason exactly?



Sakurai: I think it is a matter of respect. I have great respect for all these characters, and the experience that people have been playing these games. I believe that music plays an important role in this experience, and so in order to please fans of these games and original series, we need to recreate the same music to match their memories and their expectations.



PN: In the past, you indicated always wanting to involve the artist or the composer. Why is it so important to your eyes, that these people work at your side?



Sakurai: I never really decided that one specific person was appropriate for a given situation. But in general, what I do is that I talk with people who have composed the original music for a game, like the composer, for example, and I ask them how they would like to contribute to the project. In general, we find an agreement, and they come to compose the special versions of their music for Super Smash Bros. games.



Can be more complete than Smash bros on Wii?

PN: You get very personally involved in play-testing of your games; you test everything in detail: additions, changes, etc... You even play the multiplayer by yourself. Why do you do that? Is it the only way for you to ensure that the game remains on the right track?



Sakurai: I am afraid that the answer to a question like this is so essential to the nature of my work, sometimes I have much trouble finding a suitable response. I can explain it this way: develop a game is much harder than it looks at first glance, seen from the outside.



This is why I believe that the Director should enormously engaging and interested even in the smallest details of a game, each element of gameplay. This is why it would be very difficult for me to develop a game in a different way.



PN: Several months ago, in Famitsu magazine, you express the regret of not being able patcher Super Smash Bros.. Brawl, especially at the level of online. But with the Wii U and the 3DS, it is now possible to modify a game after its release. What are the aspects of the new Super Smash Bros. game. which will be the subject of scrutiny, for possible patches?



Sakurai: It is difficult to say at present, but rather obviously, we always try to keep the best balance. Nevertheless, I do not yet know if it will be really easy to patch these games once they will be released. For example: you have a person with a patched version of the game, and another with a non-patched version. If these two people play together, do they meet no problems? We will have to do extensive research about it.



That said, I think the patches are an important tool to maintain the balance of a game, once this last released. As you surely already know, the reputation of some characters, who are considered weak or powerful, is something to which players are very interested on the internet.



And sometimes, you have to ask if these perceptions are correct, or if people simply to join a popular opinion and to follow the movement. We really want to make our characters each have their specificities, with statistics that compensate their strengths.



We want to highlight these individual characteristics, but at the same time, players must also be asked whether they accept the reputation of a character on the internet. This is something that we will also have to take into account when creating patches.



Mario will face a newcomer among the fighters: Mega Man!

PN: With each new opus, you have added still more characters, arenas. But with Brawl, the game appeared less polished than its predecessors. For the new Smash Bros., will you change your approach by including less content, but making sure that all is well polished?



Sakurai: Until now, I am always considered myself personally responsible for specificities of each characters, from the balance at all, so I came to create each attack separately, for each display. But it is a task that I have to share with others this time, so if ensure that the right balance is found for this game.



In the past, I have often been exceed, and this is something that I now try to avoid. Of course, working on such a game is really very time consuming as much as we are currently developing two different versions. It will therefore have plenty of time to refine everything, and achieving the required balance. Of course, I always assume my duties as Director for these two games, and I test every aspect of the latter, but I also try to not take care of each task by myself. I just try to focus on things that I am the only one to occupy me.



PN: The new game Smash Bros. will it encourage players to experience so-called "casual", or rather competitive research? Is it something you're very attention during the development of the game?



Sakurai: If you consider as ideal Melee for experts from fighting games, who are interested than by the competitive aspect VS Brawl, which is more suited to newcomers seeking to discover the series... then perhaps we should strike a balance with the new Super Smash Bros. game. ?



I does not change the combat system, but rather to take account of the level [of each player]. Mario Kart is often described as the perfect example of the game accessible to players of all levels. The series has its own gameplay mechanics, which reduce the difference in level between the players.



But Smash Bros. is a radically different series from Mario Kart: it must find its own mechanics to provide a similar accessibility level, and thus to propose a neutral playing field to novice players as to the expert players. Nevertheless, it is still a game that requires some experience to master: we simply want to ensure that everyone can have fun with.



And always a playability neat small onions!

PN: In Brawl, he had a large focus on history, with notably the Subspace Emissary: the first mode 'History' of the series. Are you going to propose something similar in the new Smash Bros. ?



Sakurai: in fact, we do not expect to include a similar story mode this time. As you already know, Smash Bros. has a large number of different characters, which were entitled to their own cutscenes in the story Mode. These were supposed to be rewards for players finishing this mode with each of the characters.



I think it was something fun for the players, but at the same time, all the cutscenes finally found themselves on the internet. Players watched them online, which was not really sticking with what we had originally planned. It is for this reason that we are not going to do something similar this time.



Nevertheless, we expect well introduce new characters with cinematics of introduction, as we already did for the villagers of Animal Crossing Mega Man or even the coach WiiFit. We have several ongoing collaborations to propose several cutscenes of this kind there.

Super Smash Bros. -Wii Fit Trainer Joins the Battle! (Nintendo 3DS/Wii U)18/06/2013



› Find the video on YouTubePN: In the weeks leading up to the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising, you proposed players several animation videos. Have you planned something similar to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. ?



Sakurai: As you have already seen with the coach WiiFit, that we unveiled earlier this week, I really like the idea of presenting new characters with cinematics, before the release of the game. But have a development cost associated with them, and I therefore can't make precise promise.



PN: During the development of Brawl, you you are shown very open with fans via the Dojo, where you have shown many elements of the game with infos, pictures and videos... Will you show so much content this time for the new Smash Bros., or well do you plan to keep more intact surprises before the release of the game? With Brawl, many were the players to have had the impression of having any discovered before even leaving the game...



Sakurai: This time, we will not share as much info than [for Brawl]. You will have information about the characters via the official website, with images, but we will not always have very detailed info, as in the past.



PN: What level of customization will be proposed in the game? In the past, players have always had access to a large number of options, including at the level of the objects. Are you going to propose new, as for example the ability to disable the damage caused by the decor?



Sakurai: You can still manage the appearance of objects, but you cannot disable the damage caused by the set designer. If we propose such an option, you might you find then with PlayStation all-stars!



In SSBB on Wii U and 3DS, each will take to rank!

PN: The new Smash Bros., propose the content generated by the players, via an editor levels or characters?



Sakurai: I'm sorry, but we cannot talk about this at the moment.



PN: Let's talk about the new characters. Mega Man seems rather 'normal' for the series, which is not the case of the villagers of Animal Crossing or the coach WiiFit, which are rather surprising choices. Why did you choose to include them in the game? Would be - to seduce fans of these two games?



Sakurai: The first thing I want to say about these characters, it is that it is very fun player with them, and I understand why everyone thinks that Mega Man is suitable perfectly to the series.



But when we think about the characters to include in Smash Bros., we ask ourselves the following question: "What that this character can do, but that existing characters cannot be?". And so, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what the villagers of Animal Crossing and the WiiFit coach could do. I then realized that there were many possible interesting things with these two characters.



PN: You receive many requests for new characters, and this on the part of fans and even developers. Do you take into account those requests, or do you prefer to keep your vision of the game intact, and thus to maintain the balance in not taking into account these suggestions?



Sakurai: in fact, I would indeed like account requests from fans. But the phase during which I am collecting this kind of information is already complete, and we are currently integrating this content to the game. We always try to incorporate a maximum of content in our program.



PN: Finally, can you tell us what is your favorite aspect in the development of a game Smash Bros., something you do still love occupy you? And what are the most difficult to manage aspects?



Sakurai: I think that it is thinking about the game itself, system by seeking ways to propose a neutral playground for players of different levels, that I enjoy the most. I want to create a gameplay that is interesting, and make sure that players are never bored requires a lot of efforts. As this is difficult to manage in the development... I would say pretty much everything else!



Need to say that we need to manage a large volume of content, and we must therefore think hard to balance everything: the difficulties are many. That said, even if create a game like Smash Bros. requires a lot of effort, the game really worth the effort, and this is why I always do evidence very seriously in my work.





Many thanks to Mr. Sakurai for having agreed to answer our questions, to Nintendo for organizing this interview, as well as the interpreter of Nintendo of America for the translation of the words of Mr. Sakurai.Propos collected and translated by Lawrence and Matthew.