Super Smash Bros. is one of the most iconic gaming series of all time. A fighting mashup of characters from various Nintendo titles, it’s uniqueness makes it stand out in the video game industry, let alone in the fighting game community. The core concept is pitting combatants like Mario, Link, Kirby and Samus against each other in a king-of-the-ring type situation where you literally knock your opponent out of the arena to win. It’s some of the most exciting fun you will ever have in a video game with four or more players.
Masahiro Sakurai has been the director of the Super Smash Bros. series since the very first game on the Nintendo 64. Touted as a genius by many, it’s safe to say that Super Smash Bros. would not be the amazing series it is today without his involvement. Since wrapping up his work on the latest entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sakurai has taken to Youtube to share his knowledge and perspective on various topics in the gaming world. In a recent video, he talks about his involvement in Super Smash Bros., more specifically, his involvement in Super Smash Bros. Brawl during the time that Mr. Iwata was Nintendo’s President. (May he rest in peace.)
In this video, Sakurai shares a little of his experience on the involvement of working on Super Smash Bros. Brawl back in 2005 and how it all came together. One comment in general stands out amongst the rest and has since made waves in the gaming community:
“The question is now what happens next time? I mean whatever comes after Smash Bros. Ultimate. One option would be to separate the series itself from the original creator. But for now, at least, I can’t really imagine a Smash Bros. title without me. You might think that’s a natural stance for someone in my role, but I say so speaking objectively. I feel the same way President Iwata did when we formed the team for Smash Bros. Brawl.“
“At present, we don’t have someone who can simply take the reins… Smash Bros. is a massive, important title for Nintendo, so it’s fair to assume there will be another one at some point, but it’s going to take some work to figure out exactly how to make that happen. For my part, I’d like to keep working with Nintendo however I’m able.”
Many in the gaming community think that Sakurai’s comments confirm a future “Smash Bros. 6” is coming. While many of us hope this is the case and while it’s all but certain that a new Smash Bros. is almost definitely in the works, there may be a different meaning between the lines. Nintendo is notorious for doing things differently than what many try to predict or expect. One example is how many thought we would get a new “Mario Kart 9” for the Switch. What happened instead was we got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition, which is essentially a Wii U port for the Switch that contains all the content from that game as well as new content for the Switch. This game has gone on to sell record numbers in its new life on the Switch, and just when people thought it would slow down and pave the way for a new game, Nintendo announced the Booster Course Pass that added even more content to push the game to the end of 2023. This goes to show that Nintendo is on the mindset of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a game of the same vein as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. A masterpiece in itself, Ultimate has all of the characters from every single Smash Bros. game to date as well as new characters such as Joker from the Persona series and Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. This treasure trove of fighters compiled with all of the fun Ultimate has to offer proves that this game is the “ultimate” of them all. It’s quite the task to make a better Smash Bros. after this. After all, any future game with less than one character from its predecessor’s gigantic roster might not meet that great of a reception. Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series not being included in Super Smash Bros. 4 did indeed slightly dampen that title’s welcome. Nintendo may not want to pursue a new Smash Bros. game in consideration of this, but instead create some sort of a new “Booster Course” DLC adaption, or a “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Deluxe” on a new system, if you will. If there is anything Nintendo excels at, it’s taking a beloved game, giving it a nice polish, adding some new content and shipping it out with a sleek new look that sells like hot cakes.
While it seems safe to say that Sakurai will likely be involved in the next Smash Bros. game, Sakurai does mention in the video above how Nintendo began to proceed with Smash Bros. Brawl without his involvement. He didn’t even know about the project until it was announced at E3 2005 while he was attending. Luckily, President Iwata had the insight at the time to ask Sakurai to be involved, but even Sakurai admits that Iwata’s approach was an “extremely rare occurrence.” Unfortunately, the late great Mr. Iwata is no longer with us. Winds of change are inevitable, and Nintendo may not want to proceed with things the same way they were done before. If that’s the case there is a chance the future of Smash Bros. may proceed without Mr. Sakurai’s involvement, as he explained in his video. Let’s hope that whatever happens, it won’t affect the series in a negative way but instead carry on the sweeping success that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate helped to establish for a bright future “like a torch in the night.”
