Super Smash Bros. Celebrates Its 20 Year Anniversary with a Tweet from Sakurai

Lou Contaldi January 21, 2019 5:07 PM EST

Super Smash Bros. is officially 20 years old, and series creator Masahiro Sakurai has warm words of thanks to all of the series' fans.

Happy 20th anniversary, Super Smash Bros. series! One more year away from being able to purchase a drink legally in the United States. And while the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate may be enough to capstone a terrific year, the famed series creator Masahiro Sakurai also sent out positive vibes to celebrate the game’s storied success.

In a Tweet yesterday, Sakurai briefly reflected on the Super Smash Bros. series which he helped to create:

本日『大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ』が20周年となりました!

20年ものあいだ､激しく楽しく遊ばれたのを､たくさん見てきました｡いろんなお家､集まり､大会､同業者のオフィスなどでも｡

もちろん制作は大変でしたが､とても幸せなことだと思います｡

遊んでくれてありがとうございます｡ — 桜井 政博 (@Sora_Sakurai) January 21, 2019

For all of you unable to read Japanese, here is a quick recap:

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Super Smash Bros. For twenty years, I have seen a lot of things that have been played intensely and happily. In various houses, gatherings, competitions, offices of the same business. Of course, it was hard work, but I think it is a very happy thing. Thank you for playing.

Like all things Sakurai-san does, this really is a small and heartwarming gesture and really encapsulates both the personality he is able to bring to the series, as well as the positive vibes that run through the Super Smash Bros. community. In fact, keeping with that mentality, many people got back to Sakurai-san to congratulate him on all his success and thank him for his contribution to gaming:

Thank you Sakurai for making one of the best games ever!! It’s so amazing seeing this franchise grow as a whole! We all love you and your hard work!!✨ — ✨Kira✨ (@kiravera8) January 21, 2019

Thank you for everything, so much fun all those years! pic.twitter.com/JwwsrSiSVW — Kéké (@Kekeflipnote) January 21, 2019

You're a Godsend! Thank you for your amazing and hard work! pic.twitter.com/0LcgopkxXi — Enrique Enciso (Eeveecario) (@Eeveecario) January 21, 2019

No thank you, Sakurai from Sora limited! Smash has brought me some of the best friends I could ever ask for in my life and it’s all the thanks to your video game! It brings so many of us together and I can’t thank you enough for that! Keep up the great work! pic.twitter.com/wTiBby7yRw — Goku (@Goku65196565) January 21, 2019

Sakurai-san holds a really positive spot within the community, thanks to his absolute dedication to his work and sometimes quirkier PR stunts — like visiting Atlas to hug a giant Morgana from Persona 5. It isn’t all that uncommon for people to try and reach out to Sakurai directly to thank him for his work, for example the Donkey Kong fandom’s excited when it was revealed that King K. Roll would be making his way into Ultimate.

For all you Gen Zers out there, Super Smash Bros. started on January 21, 1999 as an experimental crossover fighting game for the Nintendo 64. Anyone looking for a deeper dive into the history can check out Max Roberts’ deep dive into the series’ development, history, and lasting impact on the gaming community.

Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. is still inspiring creativity to this day, whether it is professionally or through amateur content creators. Look no further than the meta duplication of the Melee opening recreated using scenes in Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the hottest exclusive game for Nintendo Switch right now. If you haven’t grabbed the game yet, feel free to pick it up on Amazon.

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