Had he not made this decision, the roster might only be a third of its intended size by this point

Update: It has been pointed out to me that the term "game system" in Japanese may not necessarily refer to the assets of the game. Rather, Masahiro Sakurai could've been considering if the Super Smash Bros. series should take a completely different direction rather than following the rules that it has been since Super Smash Bros. 64. This doesn't really do much for the "port vs. new game" debate, so this article has been edited accordingly.

During Nintendo's 2018 E3 presentation, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch was officially announced after we had only previously saw a tease trailer three months prior. What made this particular iteration of the series special was the fact that every single playable fighter that has ever appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series would make a return.

In other words, this confirms the appearance of Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Princess Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers, Sheik, Zelda, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Falco, Marth, Lucina, Young Link, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Roy, Mr. Game and Watch, Meta Knight, Pit, Dark Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, Snake, Ike, Pokemon Trainer (consisting of Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard), Diddy Kong, Lucas, Sonic the Hedgehog, King Dedede, Captain Olimar, Lucario, R.O.B., Toon Link, Wolf, Villager, Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina and Luma, Little Mac, Greninja, Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, Mii Gunner, Palutena, Pac-Man, Robin, Shulk, Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Ryu, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta. That's a total of 65 different characters!

Of course, we'll also be able to play as Splatoon's Inkling, Metroid's Ridley, and Echo Fighter Princess Daisy from Super Mario Land. Ridley was a big surprise for many as it was believed that Ridley would always be too big to ever be playable in Super Smash Bros. Much to the amusement of fans, Ridley's trailer featured him mocking Mario's hat spin from Super Mario Odyssey and seemingly killing him and Mega Man.

According to unconfirmed rumors, there are still a few unannounced characters that could see a reveal at some point. Supposedly, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature a new third party guest character from an iconic franchise even though one wasn't announced at E3.

Apparently, Masahiro Sakurai was met with gasps of surprise followed by dead silence after telling the development team his plans. Masahiro Sakurai also stated that, despite his ambitions, he's never made something that he's truly satisfied with.

In the bi-weekly Famitsu column that was translated by Source Gaming revealed that Sakurai decided to build on top of pre-existing game systems rather than building a brand new one. Had he not done this, the roster might be just a mere fraction of what it is now.

"First, I was faced with a decision: create a completely new game system, or build off of pre-existing ones. I went with the latter; had I not, we might have ended up with only a third of the fighters we have now."

— Masahiro Sakurai.

"First, I was faced with a decision: create a completely new game system, or build off of pre-existing ones," said Masahiro Sakurai. "I went with the latter; had I not, we might have ended up with only a third of the fighters we have now."

In other words, if Masahiro Sakurai had opted to take the series in a different direction, it might've taken additional years to see the completion of the project. In order to make a 2018 release year, roster cuts would basically be mandatory.

Not only would this completely defeat the purpose of the game's main selling point, "everyone is here," but it would also cause Sakurai to deal with quite a bit of stress. Sakurai has described the act of cutting returning characters as stressful "almost to the brink of death."

Notably, the Source Gaming article also revealed that Masahiro Sakurai had completed the first project proposal for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate back in December 2015. Back then, the final DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. 4, Corrin and Bayonetta, were still being developed.

After the last two DLC fighters were released on February 3, 2016, Masahiro Sakurai then took an extended vacation. This was definitely good for Sakurai to do considering how involved he is with development and had been suffering from calcific tendonitis in his right arm during the process.

Considering that development of post-launch content had wrapped up in February, this means that the amount of time between entries is much shorter than it usually has been. Still, the wait for Super Smash Bros. Melee involved the lowest wait time, but was the most difficult on Masahiro Sakurai.

The European release for Super Smash Bros. 64 was released on November 19, 1999. Meanwhile, the PAL version of Super Smash Bros. Melee was released in May 2002.

Eventually, Masahiro Sakurai would leave HAL Laboratory but would later become the director for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The final version of that game was released in June 2008.

After Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Masahiro Sakurai then worked to develop Kid Icarus: Uprising. Eventually, Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U, with all its post launch content, was finished in February 2016.

This time around, it seems that Sakurai is limiting his workload to 50 hours per week -- which is a big deal for him. Nintendo has reported that he has been in good health during the game's development cycle.

"All in all, if you add up the changes we're making, there could be tens of thousands."

— Masahiro Sakurai.

During the Nintendo Direct, Sakurai stated during that there could be "tens of thousands" of changes present. Still, the game follows the formula that sees gaming icons knocking one another out of bounds.

Bill Triten of Nintendo said that "every Smash Bros. game is a new game." Considering the adjustments to the game's speed, roster, mechanics, and options, it truly does seem like a completely different experience than what Super Smash Bros. 4 offered.

Based on how Masahiro Sakurai worded this phrase, there's no actual confirmation on how much was "ported" over to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate other than the formula or basic rules of the series. This appears to be a completely different game compared to Super Smash Bros. 4.

To read the full translation of the Famitsu column by Masahiro Sakurai, head over to Source Gaming.

A Reddit thread pointed out the misinterpretation of "game systems" and how it is recognized in Japanese culture. Special thanks to Cynewulf for sending this our way.