Sakurai Explains How Characters Are Chosen for Super Smash Bros.

Spoiler: He didn’t randomly pick names out of a hat!

By Anthony Vigna. Posted 10/09/2014 18:00 1 Comment     ShareThis

How did Masahiro Sakurai, creator of the Super Smash Bros. franchise, pick characters for the most recent entry of the series? As it turns out, there’s a method to his madness. In a recent interview with Weekly Famitsu, Sakurai answered this question in detail:

“We conduct a character popularity poll both domestically and internationally. We also research games that are currently being developed. After that, it’s pretty much up to us, with a touch of convenience.

“There are a lot things to take into account when deciding [characters]. Does the character have something inherently unique about them? Can that be used to make Smash Bros. interesting? Is the character a representative character [for the source material]? Do they conflict at all with other characters? Was there anything about them that stood out when we began development?

Characters from a series that has no future are rarely chosen. Also, fighters that switch models are a different matter. Basically, any character is accepted if I believe it works [in the game]. On the other hand, even if a character is unique, if they overlap with other characters and aren’t unique as a fighter, they are rejected.”

Hmm…characters without a future are rarely chosen? That totally means that Duck Hunt 2 is in the works, right?

On a more serious note, Sakurai’s sentiments make complete sense. Not only is it important to represent popular Nintendo franchises, it’s equally important to include characters with upcoming games. I absolutely love Fire Emblem, but I doubt I would have heard about it if I didn’t play Super Smash Bros. Melee. The character roster is the perfect way to enhance the exposure of all kinds of Nintendo franchises to the Smash Bros. audience.

What do you think about Sakurai’s statement? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Kotaku

One Response to “Sakurai Explains How Characters Are Chosen for Super Smash Bros.

  • 6 points
    Racht says...

    What Sakurai is basically saying is that he has no rule set for choosing. He just chooses, BUT does like to include one or two characters pertaining to upcoming series’ instalments.

    It’s a shame we got clones like Dr. Mario, Lucina, and Dark Pit… when there’s crazy, cool characters that could have very interesting and unique movesets such as Jill from Drill Dozer, Krystal (w/ bo staff), Ray 01 from Custom Robo, mother-effing RIDLEY, or Raymond Bryce from Disaster: Day of Crisis.

    He baffles me sometimes, really.

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