Event - E3 Invitational 2014 I'm Attending the Super Smash Bros. Roundtable at E3. Any Questions For Sakurai?

[Swift Fox]

That could be offensive, since Gnarleysquid IS a journalist. If he's worth his salt, he's going to be professional about it. And he's already said, like, one billion times that he's not going to ask Sakurai for roster spoilers, since it's likely a waste of valuable time.

That's what I thought. And another thing appeared in my mind: why not we make up a very clever question that will get sakurai to answer something that will give subtly hint of veteran's inclusion/cut, roster size, and/or # of cuts?

Sakurai did talked about Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch and used Ice Climbers as an example of 3DS tech limitations.

 

[newbiesmasher]

Could you ask Sakurai: Knowing that some fans of the series prefer Melee's game play, and others prefer brawl, did he ever consider adding sliders to adjust things like game speed and ledge suction, and switches to toggle things like analog controlled air dodges and l cancelling to allow players to customize their game to play the way they like?

 

[b2j135]

The only question I have is:
"Do you enjoy trolling good sir?"

 

[Kamikazek]

Welp Nintendo just answered ANintyMouse's question.

 

[LiteralGrill]

OH! I got another:

"Is Nintendo planning on releasing an official tournament ruleset for the game?"

 

[Deleted member]

OH! I got another:

"Is Nintendo planning on releasing an official tournament ruleset for the game?"

4 players will fight, 2 will advance, items are on.
The last battle is 1v1, no items, Battlefield.

 

[LiteralGrill]

That's not an official endorsed "do this" ruleset, I'm talking more along the lines of what other fighters do in terms of releasing an official ruleset.

 

[The_Master_E]

Has Sakurai seen the fan made images various communities have made for him?

Or how about "What does Sakurai think of collaborating with the community to create a constructive patching system? (i.e. Getting feedback, holding back on nerfing certain aspects to maintain competitiveness, etc.)"

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

Don't know what to ask him. But I wish I could send thanks and hear his reaction.

Mainly for creating Kirby-series, Smash Bros and introducing me to Panel De Pon. They've impacted my life and/or brought lots of joy to them.

Dunno if that's much asked, but eh.

 

[Fastblade5035]

Samurai y u cut ivysaur

dun b cherzerd faboy plz


In all seriousness, though, I do want to know why Sheik and Zamus ate returning separate but Ivysaur and that turtle (probably) aren't.

So...
"In the Smash Direct, you revealed that transforming characters were now separate, essentially removing the Pokemon Trainer. Zero Suit Samus, Sheik, and Charizard returned. Did you ever plan on keeping Ivysaur and Squirtle as playable after deciding this, or did you feel that only Charizard could stand alone?"

 

[Aninymouse]

Welp Nintendo just answered ANintyMouse's question.

And let me just say, I am so, so, SO glad they did. They have stamped out my fears. Now, all they have to do is deliver a solid game. It will be the total package, baby.

 

[[TSON]]

I think the major ones for me are:
- "A lot of competitive Smash players are worried about the way that flat stages put characters with projectiles at an advantage... Why did you decide not to include platforms in For Glory mode?"
- "The 3DS Version has Smash Run, which isn't included in the Wii U version. Will the Wii U release contain modes and/or content that isn't available on the 3DS version?"
- "Do you ever draw inspiration from fan art, movesets, or projects?"
- "Why did you decide to stick with Brawl-styled airdodges this time around?"

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Samurai y u cut ivysaur

dun b cherzerd faboy plz


In all seriousness, though, I do want to know why Sheik and Zamus ate returning separate but Ivysaur and that turtle (probably) aren't.

So...
"In the Smash Direct, you revealed that transforming characters were now separate, essentially removing the Pokemon Trainer. Zero Suit Samus, Sheik, and Charizard returned. Did you ever plan on keeping Ivysaur and Squirtle as playable after deciding this, or did you feel that only Charizard could stand alone?"

That may seem like a roster spoiler question though.

 

[Gnarleysquid]

And let me just say, I am so, so, SO glad they did. They have stamped out my fears. Now, all they have to do is deliver a solid game. It will be the total package, baby.

I figured they'd have to address it before the Invitational, but I did not at all expect it to come today. At any rate, that's one question answered, and I feel like many more will be before I enter the Q&A.

I'll make a post with some of the best questions tomorrow, so we have a good idea of what direction this is going. Then we can put a vote to what takes priority. If a journalist asks another question that covers familiar territory then I'll jump to the next one. Should be a good time, folks.

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Thanks for reaching out to us for any questions we feel are necessary to bring to the director, Gnarelysquid! I will definitely check out the post tomorrow. It would be good to see the general direction of your questions and maybe ones in a few other subjects (my FE question I am extremely curious about.)

 

[Joe73191]

In Melee and Brawl the hit stun was a x0.4 multiplier, but in Brawl you can air dodge to end hit stun after 13 frames or attack after 25 frames. Has this been changed at all from Brawl?

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

I got these for question

So how does the benefits part work of the new boss hazards?

Will there be a room search for multiplayer.

 

[Gnarleysquid]

Alright, here are the some of the top questions I've compiled thus far. There were a lot of great suggestions, but as it stands I likely won't be able to get a majority of the questions on this list answered.

First up is @Praxis whom brought up the tournament scene. One of the major focuses of the question was the hit stun in the Wii U version of the game. I opted not to include that aspect because the technical players involved in the Invitational or heading to their local Best Buy will largely be able to pickup on increased hit stun while chaining together combos – as well as a number of other tweaks. Fans will also know specifics pertaining to additional mechanics later this year when the games release, so this is something we'll all know by the year's end.

"How important has the competitive Smash scene been to the development team during the creation of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and what kind of influence has it had on the final games? Will that core audience remain a bigger focus for the franchise going forward through community-suggested patches, additional Nintendo-sponsored tournaments, etc.?"

Next is @SmashChu with a couple of good questions.

"Why did you stick with the ‘Super Smash Bros. for Wii U’ and ‘3DS’ titles instead of keeping it in line with past iterations like Melee and Brawl?"

"Why was the transformation mechanic removed? Do you feel it could take away from the appeal and effectiveness of some characters?"

Followed by a combination of @RIDLEY is too SMALL & @Shin F.

"How important is balancing the number of playable representatives between Nintendo franchises? Do you enforce limits pertaining to how many playable characters can be included from a single franchise?"

@sonicbrawler182

"What were your biggest development challenges when making the jump from Brawl to Smash Wii U? Overall, did developing for Wii U prove more stressful due to the standards set by the most modern games, or did the increased capabilities of the Wii U make development go much more smoothly compared to Brawl?"

@ Kamikazek has a great community-related question.

"Sakurai, do you or anyone on your team monitor forums on major gaming sites or fan sites, before, after or during development? If so, how important is this insight when building the roster and implementing mechanics?"

I modified @ Sarki Soliloquy question because I saw some serious potential, but I was sure to leave in the bit regarding Fire Emblem.

"How closely do you work with third and first-party developers when adding their characters to the roster? Does Miyamoto give you suggestions or guidelines for fighters like Rosalina? Capcom for Mega Man? Intelligent Systems for Fire Emblem?"

Here's one from yours truly. If you saw my previous post on the matter, I'm most interested in asking this because Bandai Namco posted job listings for a Super Smash Bros. 6 which will apparently arrive in 2015. Could 'Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament Edition' be en route, perhaps a new iteration for Nintendo's rumoured console? It's a juicy one.

"Do you believe that Super Smash Bros. is best fit for one iteration per console generation? Given the immense success of every installment, why doesn't Nintendo create Smash sequels on the same hardware in a similar style to other blockbuster fighting games like Street Fighter or Tekken?"

And last but not least we have @BridgesWithTurtles with a great question for Sakurai.

"After reintroducing players to Pit through Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you went on to resurrect the series with Kid Icarus Uprising. Would you be interested in reviving any other franchises represented in Smash Bros. (such as Ice Climber or F-Zero)?"

I wish I could ask them all, but these are some of the best questions I came across. Other journalists will have a ton of questions too, which will probably eliminate my need to ask a lot of these – as well as concerns that I didn't select here (i.e. DLC, roster, etc.). With that said, there's still plenty of more time for suggestions, so keep them coming.

 

[Chrimbo]

Most bases have already been covered here, but there is one increasingly important question that will inevitably determine the future of the series moving forward:

"Sakurai, will Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS be the last entries in the series that you will personally direct, or can you see yourself returning to helm in years to come?"

You could also touch upon his injuries to go along with this question, but that's for you to decide. I'm looking forward to this Q&A, so thank you for compiling our questions!

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Geez, I hope everyone gets there answers. Great list we've compiled here!

For my bit, the only edit I suggest is putting the Fire Emblem bit before the other two in case Sakurai immediately notices it next to the initial question prompt. The ways you broaden it after leave it open to much more potential though.

 

[aldelaro5]

I actually care a lot more for his stress level now. His injuries doesn't help this stress and since he's a person who lived even more stress (melee as "destructive"), I'm really wondering how he's feeling now. There's also the thing that even with this big stress, it acts like a motivation here: He knows that we want a good game and he would do everything for it. This is why I'm interested so far, this game looks good and very detailed and since i know how melee was detailed, I'm just doubtful on his stress. Here's what he said after E3 2013

"The amount of stress I feel, it's almost to the brink of death. Because it's not just a matter of me personally thinking this character or that character is going to be in the game; it's that we also have the game balance, animation, graphics and sound to think about in order to make that character fully fleshed out in that universe. I have to think about all of that when I go through this decision-making process."

I think it's clear that he worries A LOT on the quality of this game. This was even before that we know that his arm injuries spread in his other arm. He seems positive when talking to us in potd and the smash direct but in reality, he is so determined to make us happy. This is why I think a question about how his stress level is would be important for me and others to know.

 

[Kel]

I would like to know if Sakurai is aware of Brawl's port priority issue.

I would also like to know if he was aware of L canceling when he made Melee.

 

[LiteralGrill]

I would also like to know if he was aware of L canceling when he made Melee.

Not to be a jerk, but the answer is kinda obvious. they even knew about wave dashing man, and since he put Z Canceling in the first game...

 

[Fatmanonice]

Approach him with a deadpan expression and ask "Mr. Sakurai... the fans want to know... do you... ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?"

 

[Halfhead]

Approach him with a deadpan expression and ask "Mr. Sakurai... the fans want to know... do you... ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?"

Best possible way to stop being a journalist ever.

 

[EdgeTheLucas]

Alright, here are the some of the top questions I've compiled thus far. There were a lot of great suggestions, but as it stands I likely won't be able to get a majority of the questions on this list answered.

First up is @Praxis whom brought up the tournament scene. One of the major focuses of the question was the hit stun in the Wii U version of the game. I opted not to include that aspect because the technical players involved in the Invitational or heading to their local Best Buy will largely be able to pickup on increased hit stun while chaining together combos – as well as a number of other tweaks. Fans will also know specifics pertaining to additional mechanics later this year when the games release, so this is something we'll all know by the year's end.


Next is @SmashChu with a couple of good questions.


Followed by a combination of @RIDLEY is too SMALL & @Shin F.


@sonicbrawler182


@ Kamikazek has a great community-related question.


I modified @ Sarki Soliloquy question because I saw some serious potential, but I was sure to leave in the bit regarding Fire Emblem.


Here's one from yours truly. If you saw my previous post on the matter, I'm most interested in asking this because Bandai Namco posted job listings for a Super Smash Bros. 6 which will apparently arrive in 2015. Could 'Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament Edition' be en route, perhaps a new iteration for Nintendo's rumoured console? It's a juicy one.


And last but not least we have @BridgesWithTurtles with a great question for Sakurai.


I wish I could ask them all, but these are some of the best questions I came across. Other journalists will have a ton of questions too, which will probably eliminate my need to ask a lot of these – as well as concerns that I didn't select here (i.e. DLC, roster, etc.). With that said, there's still plenty of more time for suggestions, so keep them coming.

Great questions, but I'm sad that my question won't be asked

I thought asking Sakurai how he'd make a Smash-like game without Ninty characters would be one of the most interesting questions to ask, so I'm wondering why you chose not to ask that.

 

[Shorts]

Who are some of his favorite Non-Nintendo video game characters?

I bet he says Cloud. I hope he says Geno :3

"Mr Sakurai, among many Smash Bros communities, the topic of Ridley as a playable fighter is somewhat controversial. Are you and your team aware of this? What are your thoughts on the subject?"

This question will be brushed off with no real answer as it was in the past.

 

[Kamikazek]

Heeeeeeeelllllllzzzzz yeah made the list!

But seriously, that's all around a really great list of questions.

 

[WheelerFGC]

EDIT: answer was actually in the OP.

 

[synesthe-sia]

Ask him if he believes in the Dee.

 

[XalchemistX]

I would ask Nintendo what their views are on the competitive scene, and if this game has had any specific efforts to make the game a faster paced competitive game than Brawl was, such as through increased hitstun.

For your own knowledge- the biggest issue with Brawl is that hitstun was dramatically lowered (presumably so that new players would feel more "free" to move after being hit), which had the unfortunate result of heavily reducing followup and the reward for approaching (many attacks gave so little stun that the opponent could hit you back for hitting them).


I asked Bill Trinen about the competitive scene back in 2009 and got a very canned brushed off response (I used to work with a game site and get in to E3 similarly), but he might have a different attitude now since he seems to have loved the documentary.

Completly agree. Should ask atleast about the competive scene, and explain a little about the melee mechanics that made it competitive before asking the question.
If this wasn't adressed someone should be ballsy enough to atleast ask a question related to Project M. A question something like "What are your thoughts about the Project M mod, and has it influenced some of your decsisions developing the game?"

"A lot of competitive Smash players are worried about the way that flat stages put characters with projectiles at an advantage... Why did you decide not to include platforms in For Glory mode?"

This is a great question as well

 

[MasterLuigi]

Ask Sakurai about the origin of the Super Smash Bros. Logo.

 

[Halfhead]

Ask Sakurai about the origin of the Super Smash Bros. Logo.

THIS. We only have clues and intuitions at the moment.

 

[Bedoop]

If you could ask about the origins of Tabuu from Subspace Emissary, that'd be nice. I always wanted to know about how Tabuu got into the Smash World.

 

[Marakatu]

I'd like to know what Sakurai feels about including characters that are not well-known in the East or the West.

 

[SkywardStriker16]

"Mr. Sakurai, throughout the years the Super Smash Bros. soundtrack has grown from just a few songs and remixes to beautiful orchestrated tunes made specifically for the series. That said, will you at least consider putting the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Soundtrack on iTunes, much like GAME FREAK published the Pokémon X and Y soundtrack on iTunes?"

This would be the best thing ever if he said yes.

 

[aldelaro5]

Ask Sakurai about the origin of the Super Smash Bros. Logo.

I just feel like an idiot WHY NO ONE ASKED THIS???

It's time to fix this mistake!!!

 

[LancerStaff]

"What did you think of Wavedashing when you first found it? Did you think it'd have a real effect on the game?"

"What was the reason behind including the L-canceling (smooth landing?) mechanic in SSB64 and SSBM? (Why didn't Brawl include it?)"

"Was Melee designed to be played the way it is competitively? (Was Melee supposed to be played completely at all?)"

"What do you think of 'techniques' like the ICs infinite chaingrab or DACUSing?"

"How much effort went into balancing previous SSB games?"

"Are there any standards of the SSB series you wish you weren't held back by?"

"If you had to make C.Falcon's moves from scratch now, would you try to make something more faithful to his series, or make it up on the fly?"

Uh, I'm bad at not sounding controversial.

 

[Kenith]

All of the question suggestions I would've asked, someone else already said it...

- Can you give us an idea on how much has the roster size increased since Brawl?

I feel like "can you give us an idea" should be in there somewhere because I highly doubt Sakurai will give you a straight answer with any question regarding the roster.

- In the previous game, there were a few fighters that copied moves from other characters. Will these characters be getting improved to stand out more?

- How much of the music and trophy content is original, and how much is reused from other games?

- Are there any characters you prefer using in Smash Bros?

 

[Swift Fox]

- In the previous game, there were a few fighters that copied moves from other characters. Will these characters be getting improved to stand out more?

This is actually good question, it can also convince Sakurtai to use the unannounced semi-clone veteran(s) as part of his answer too.