The Super Smash Bros. series has come a long way since it was first released on the Nintendo 64 in Japan on January 21, 1999 (and then on April 26, 1999 for America). Indeed, the latest entry of the series on the Nintendo Switch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, features a roster consisting of 86 characters, mostly thanks to its “Everyone Is Here” theme.
Initially, Super Smash Bros. 64 was worked on by just three people. Masahiro Sakurai himself handled the design, animations, and modelling while Satoru Iwata, the then president of HAL Laboratory, handled the programming. One more unnamed individual was responsible for the sound design.
Once Iwata and Sakurai were able to secure permissions from Nintendo to use their video game mascots, development expanded to about 10 to 15 people. Regardless, Masahiro Sakurai credits the Super Smash Bros. series’ existence to Satoru Iwata in an interview with Hoshinogen.
“If Iwata hadn’t been there I may never have started at Hal Laboratories. If Iwata hadn’t created the prototype for Super Smash Bros. then the world would’ve never had Smash Bros. at all.” — Masahiro Sakurai
“When you applied for work at Hal Laboratories, your interviewer was actually Iwata himself, right? How did your meeting with Iwata affect your creativity going forward?” asked Hoshinogen of Sakurai.
Indeed, Sakurai first met Iwata during his interview for a position at HAL Laboratory. Despite Sakurai not having any experience in the field, Iwata saw potential in him and had hired him.
“Well, first of all, if Iwata hadn’t been there I may never have started at Hal Laboratories. If Iwata hadn’t created the prototype for Super Smash Bros. then the world would’ve never had Smash Bros. at all,” declared Sakurai. “When I decided to leave Hal Laboratories, if Iwata hadn’t asked me to make Super Smash Bros. Brawl, then it’s possible that the franchise would’ve ended then and there.”
Shortly after the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001 and Kirby Air Ride in 2003, Sakurai suddenly departed from HAL Laboratory and essentially became a freelancer developer. The future of the Super Smash Bros. series had never been more uncertain than that moment.
“When I decided to leave Hal Laboratories, if Iwata hadn’t asked me to make Super Smash Bros. Brawl, then it’s possible that the franchise would’ve ended then and there.” — Masahiro Sakurai
Eventually, Satoru Iwata became the president of Nintendo. Shortly after the announcement of the Nintendo Wii, Iwata and Nintendo polled fans on which game they’d like to see for the upcoming console. Super Smash Bros. ended up winning that poll.
Upon seeing this, Iwata seemingly “accidentally” announced that Super Smash Bros. would indeed be coming to the Wii despite development not having started yet. Even Sakurai himself was perplexed by this after having heard the news.
Afterwards, Sakurai was invited to meet with Iwata where he was then offered the chance to oversee the development of Super Smash Bros. for the Wii. Iwata would later admit that, without Sakurai, all Nintendo could’ve otherwise hoped to do would be to port Super Smash Bros. Melee to the Wii with online functionality.
Though Sakurai does acknowledge how much Iwata has impacted his life, he does also acknowledge his own abilities as being a key factor to his personal success.
“Whenever he threw a project at me, it seems that he was confident that I would be able to produce results. Iwata-san was truly a special person.” — Masahiro Sakurai
“What I’m trying to say is that there’s no doubt that his presence had a great effect on me,” continued Sakurai. “But when it comes to my creativity specifically, I feel like I’ve been mostly self-taught.”
Of course, Sakurai still appears to be incredibly grateful to Iwata long after his unfortunate passing. There’s no doubt that gaming would be in a completely different place without the impact that Satoru Iwata had.
“Do you think that Iwata-san understood all of these attributes you had?” asked Hoshinogen towards the end of the interview.
“That I don’t know,” admitted Sakurai. “But whenever he threw a project at me, it seems that he was confident that I would be able to produce results. Iwata-san was truly a special person.”
A special thanks goes out to Nicholas MajinTenshinhan Taylor for the translations featured in this article.
Source: Event Hubs
