Nintendo's First Samurai: Takamaru for SSB4 (Final Request: Ask the US HW devs to add Takamaru)

[Dinoman96]

I feel like Rosalina was a mere anomaly, if anything.

To me, it seems that Sal's source is getting his info piece by piece. I believe that WFT, Mega Man, Little Mac, Pac-Man, Mii, and Villager were all he knew at the time, and it wasn't until around the Direct he got more info. But by that point, Rosalina was already announced, so there wasn't much point to mention her.

A timeline of events:

• June 10th, 2013: Salromano posts his 'unlikely predictions' (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=62304489&postcount=2996)
• December 18th, 2013: Rosalina announced
• April 8th, 2014: Salromano's source returns with five more characters (http://gematsu.com/2014/04/rumor-shulk-palutena-set-super-smash-bros)

Something I'd find a bit damning is that the first leak had six characters, whilist the second list was down to five. Combine these with Rosalina and you get 12 newcomers...and I wouldn't really expect more than that. 12 is a damn healthy number of newcomers, I'd say. It doesn't seem too overwhelming (Sakurai implied in the past he didn't want to add a buttload of newcomers for the sake of it) or too underwhelming (Said comment by Sakurai made people think we were gonna get like less than 10 newcomers for example).

Basically what I'm trying to say here is that I believe that, had Palutena been revealed in December instead of Rosalina, Rosie probably would of been on the second list in the former's place. It's just a case of bad timing.

 

[Reila]

Rosalina wasn't an anomaly. She is a newcomer that wasn't leaked by Sal Romano, even though he did have the chance to leak her. It is simple. Some people are trying to over-think this, it is almost like some of you want to believe there aren't more newcomers besides the ones mentioned by Sal Romano, even though there is no evidence pointing to that being the case. Does that mean Takamaru is in Smash? Not at all. But it does mean people should stop taking him out of their rosters because he was never mentioned by Sal Romano.

 

[Capybara Gaming]

Sal is real, and non-believers are just jealous.

Bet: If a newcomer who isn't on Sal's list gets revealed, I'll have to make my avatar Zero Suit Pichu for a week.

Better find an image, because I'm directly the opposite. If no newcomers OTHER than Sal's appear (not counting Mewtwo as in this sense) then I'll change my avatar to the Mane 6 pony I really don't like; Rainbow Dash for a week. And for me personally, that's quite a sacrifice.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Also, no one here said Sal leak isn't real. Stop putting words on peoples... fingers.

Edit: Why I am trying to argue with someone usernamed "Delicious Tears" again?

Rosalina is definitely a counter to the leak, no exceptions. Sal's leak is both a good thing and the bad things since we know who are the newcomers so far and it's basically a spoiler to those who are aware of the leak's existence (thus killing off most of the hype and speculation).

The only real good thing about the leak is that we know that we are getting more swordsmen despite what the haters say. So Takamaru confirmed as the last unlockable swordsman. Hopefully in Sal's final leak for August.

 

[Reila]

Rosalina is definitely a counter to the leak, no exceptions. Sal's leak is both a good thing and the bad things since we know who are the newcomers so far and it's basically a spoiler to those who are aware of the leak's existence (thus killing off most of the hype and speculation).

The only real good thing about the leak is that we know that we are getting more swordsman despite what the haters say. So Takamaru confirmed as the last unlockable swordsman. Hopefully in Sal's final leak for August.

Being a sword user per se isn't a bad thing. Shulk is an interesting sword user, so is Takamaru. Chrom, on other hand...

 

[Delicious Tears]

Rosa doesn't count since she was revealed before the second leak. *smug*

 

[Arcadenik]

I think it's too early to resign Takamaru to DLC. Even taking into account the remaining three Sal characters, we still don't have a retro revival and Sakurai's comments pre-E3 2013 would seem to suggest that we are getting one.

I'm beginning to think that Little Mac, Mega Man, and Pac-Man are our retro newcomers.

 

[BluePikmin11]

I'm beginning to think that Little Mac, Mega Man, and Pac-Man are our retro newcomers.

Megaman and Pac-Man? They have retro designs, but they aren't classic Nintendo characters.

 

[Reila]

Mega Man 9, Mega Man 10 and Punch Out!! Wii are all recent games, plus Pac-Man still get new games regularly.

None of these are dead retro characters like Pit was before Brawl, so I don't think they count. We are still to get one retro character for Smash 4, in my opinion.

 

[RhymesWithEmpty]

I really don't understand this logic that Rosalina doesn't count because she was in between leaks... why does that make any difference at all? XD Do we know for a fact that she would have been on the 2nd list of leaks had she not been revealed? Do we know how Sal's source is getting their information? Unless I'm missing something, the answer to those is no. Someone please fill me in if I'm wrong. Until that happens, I'm taking Rosalina as evidence that Sal's source is not necessarily all-inclusive. He seems to get his info in batches right before big events, so it doesn't appear to include hidden characters, unless he just doesn't care to leak that a bunch of locked veterans are also returning. Who knows, it's all quite up in the air at this point.

 

[Arcadenik]

Mega Man 9, Mega Man 10 and Punch Out!! Wii are all recent games, plus Pac-Man still get new games regularly.

None of these are dead retro characters like Pit was before Brawl, so I don't think they count. We are still to get one retro character for Smash 4, in my opinion.

I wish we could get two retro Nintendo newcomers. Takamaru and Duck Hunt Dog for me, of course.

 

[Reila]

I really don't understand this logic that Rosalina doesn't count because she was in between leaks... why does that make any difference at all? XD Do we know for a fact that she would have been on the 2nd list of leaks had she not been revealed? Do we know how Sal's source is getting their information? Unless I'm missing something, the answer to those is no. Someone please fill me in if I'm wrong. Until that happens, I'm taking Rosalina as evidence that Sal's source is not necessarily all-inclusive. He seems to get his info in batches right before big events, so it doesn't appear to include hidden characters, unless he just doesn't care to leak that a bunch of locked veterans are also returning. Who knows, it's all quite up in the air at this point.

Yeah, the logic just doesn't make any sense. If Sal Romano knew about Rosalina, he would have leaked her in the first batch of leaks. Also, Rosalina isn't the only evidence proving Sal Romano doesn't know everything regarding newcomers. He didn't know which XY Pokémon was the newcomer (seriously, it isn't hard to remember Greninja's name). So yeah, he clearly leaked legit stuff about Smash, but he either doesn't know everything about the newcomers OR he simply doesn't want to spoil every newcomer for us.

I wish we could get two retro Nintendo newcomers. Takamaru and Duck Hunt Dog for me, of course.

I know we are in Takamaru's thread, but if I had to choose one, I would take the Duck Hunt Dog over Takamaru for Smash. :x

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Something tells me that August would be the most exciting month for the Smash speculation scene since Sal's tipper might tell us who are the last remaining newcomers. If he mentions Takamaru, I can imagine half of the boards crawling here and apologizing for doubting him in the first place. Oh the irony would be so delicious.

 

[Arcadenik]

Something tells me that August would be the most exciting month for the Smash speculation scene since Sal's tipper might tell us who are the last remaining newcomers. If he mentions Takamaru, I can imagine half of the boards crawling here and apologizing for doubting him in the first place. Oh the irony would be so delicious.

That's what the "I was wrong" threads are for!

 

[Louie G.]

I do doubt Takamaru's inclusion, sadly.

It'd be nice to see him though, especially through a new Sal Leak.
However I'm not even sure we'll be getting one.

 

[Marakatu]

Better find an image, because I'm directly the opposite. If no newcomers OTHER than Sal's appear (not counting Mewtwo as in this sense) then I'll change my avatar to the Mane 6 pony I really don't like; Rainbow Dash for a week. And for me personally, that's quite a sacrifice.

Why don't you like Rainbow Dash? She's awesome!

Here's a cool picture, so I'm not off-topic:

I think the Captain Rainbow design could be an influence in a new design.

 

[Reila]

I do doubt Takamaru's inclusion, sadly.

It'd be nice to see him though, especially through a new Sal Leak.
However I'm not even sure we'll be getting one.

So do I, but not because of Sal Romano's leak.

 

[Louie G.]

So do I, but not because of Sal Romano's leak.

I'm more because of Greninja.

I really expected him before I saw Greninja do things I thought Takamaru would do.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Why don't you like Rainbow Dash? She's awesome!

Here's a cool picture, so I'm not off-topic:

I think the Captain Rainbow design could be an influence in a new design.

This is Luigi before his year ended, which ironically spawned the Mario Kart 8 Death Glare.

On topic, I did share a manga of him on the last page where he has girl trouble to deal with. Honestly, I've like what they've did with him in that game and would like some form of reference to it in Smash (Not just a trophy, but also incorporate some of his quirks with the character). Sure we did argue about the nose bleeding issue ages ago, but it can actually be good IF pulled off right. Hell, this could easily be a great alternate costume for him (minus the obvious cartoony proportions).

 

[Diddy Kong]

I feel like Rosalina was a mere anomaly, if anything.

To me, it seems that Sal's source is getting his info piece by piece. I believe that WFT, Mega Man, Little Mac, Pac-Man, Mii, and Villager were all he knew at the time, and it wasn't until around the Direct he got more info. But by that point, Rosalina was already announced, so there wasn't much point to mention her.

A timeline of events:

• June 10th, 2013: Salromano posts his 'unlikely predictions' (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=62304489&postcount=2996)
• December 18th, 2013: Rosalina announced
• April 8th, 2014: Salromano's source returns with five more characters (http://gematsu.com/2014/04/rumor-shulk-palutena-set-super-smash-bros)

Something I'd find a bit damning is that the first leak had six characters, whilist the second list was down to five. Combine these with Rosalina and you get 12 newcomers...and I wouldn't really expect more than that. 12 is a damn healthy number of newcomers, I'd say. It doesn't seem too overwhelming (Sakurai implied in the past he didn't want to add a buttload of newcomers for the sake of it) or too underwhelming (Said comment by Sakurai made people think we were gonna get like less than 10 newcomers for example).

Basically what I'm trying to say here is that I believe that, had Palutena been revealed in December instead of Rosalina, Rosie probably would of been on the second list in the former's place. It's just a case of bad timing.

That would truely be very unfortunate...

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

That would truely be very unfortunate...

But hey, look on the bright side. DLC for everyone at an affordable price and as an alternative to get the fighters we want. Unless you want the game delayed again for a few additions like what happened for Brawl.

 

[Speculator]

I'm more because of Greninja.

I really expected him before I saw Greninja do things I thought Takamaru would do.

You must have a pretty poor grasp on Takamaru's abilities, then. There's not a single trait he shares with Greninja aside from the general Japanese aesthetic. Takamaru has never thrown a ninja star in any of his games, and certainly never a water-based charged projectile.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

You must have a pretty poor grasp on Takamaru's abilities, then. There's not a single trait he shares with Greninja aside from the general Japanese aesthetic. Takamaru has never thrown a ninja star in any of his games, and certainly never a water-based charged projectile.

This. Not to mention it will be impossible for Takamaru to pull off ninja poses with that bulky outfit. OIr better yet, samurai can't do such poses in the first place.

 

[Louie G.]

You must have a pretty poor grasp on Takamaru's abilities, then. There's not a single trait he shares with Greninja aside from the general Japanese aesthetic. Takamaru has never thrown a ninja star in any of his games, and certainly never a water-based charged projectile.

The Japanese aesthetic is just it.

I can't see another character taking up that niche in this iteration.

I'm well aware of the fact that Takamaru is a ninja, trust me.
Although Nintendo sure is treating him like one.

 

[Croph]

I personally don't have any problem having both Greninja and Takamaru. We have Link, Marth, and Ike would all borrow European swords/sword arts. And if Sakurai really chose Greninja to fill a "Japanese aesthetic" niche, and will ignore Takamaru, then that sort of mentality really limits a developer's creativity. And yeah, it would be really awkward to see Takamaru doing all the same flexible, ninja poses as Greninja, considering the samurai looks more bulkier thanks to his clothes. There are differences between a samurai and a ninja. Plus, there are examples of existing characters that share similar niches already, like the ones I've mentioned.

And Takamaru doesn't need those silly shuriken. Realistically, shuriken were unreliable as throwing weapons, although they did serve different purposes (like, having them dipped in lethal poison or for distraction). In fact, they had trouble penetrating most clothing. Let lame fighters like Greninja and Mii Fighters have them.

Kunai are cooler and more versatile. You can use them as digging and climbing tools!...

I'm joking about Greninja and Mii Fighters, they're pretty cool... And this is the video game world we're talking about, anything is possible...

It would be cool if Takamaru has a throwing kunai move (not sure if it's specified, but I'm assuming he throws a kunai in Nazo no Murasamejou. That, or a steel spike shuriken). And under the right input, Takamaru would do a close sweep with the knife instead. If hit, the kunai gets suck in the opponent (for a reasonable amount of time), and the right input will trigger the kunai to explode, causing some sort of elemental damage.

I think we need to see something to lighten up the mood. Here's a Captain Rainbow manga based on Takamaru's arc, which is surprisingly inappropriate appropriate considering what he had to do the first time Nick had met him.

http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=manga&illust_id=41942442

D'aww, that was cute. But the scene where one of those bunny-things accidentally gets an ear sliced off... Haha. And Nick's pretty adorkable in that manga, as always.

Yeah, I do like Captain Rainbow Takamaru, and I really wish we would get a reference... heck, I think I like all the characters. Even if it's non-canon, they all have their quirks and fun personalities, and some do go through a bit of character development thanks to overcoming obstacles. It's nothing deep, however in retrospect, it's nice to have a "normal" looking guy like Nick (albeit with an alter-ego) help Nintendo heroes/characters -- sometimes even the big guys need a hand as well.

Captain Rainbow's an interesting concept. I really wish it would be expanded and explored on more... oh well.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I personally don't have any problem having both Greninja and Takamaru. We have Link, Marth, and Ike would all borrow European swords/sword arts. And if Sakurai really chose Greninja to fill a "Japanese aesthetic" niche, and will ignore Takamaru, then that sort of mentality really limits a developer's creativity. And yeah, it would be really awkward to see Takamaru doing all the same flexible, ninja poses as Greninja, considering the samurai looks more bulkier thanks to his clothes. There are differences between a samurai and a ninja. Plus, there are examples of existing characters that share similar niches already, like the ones I've mentioned.

And Takamaru doesn't need those silly shuriken. Realistically, shuriken were unreliable as throwing weapons, although they did serve different purposes (like, having them dipped in lethal poison or for distraction). In fact, they had trouble penetrating most clothing. Let lame fighters like Greninja and Mii Fighters have them.

Kunai are cooler and more versatile. You can use them as digging and climbing tools!...

I'm joking about Greninja and Mii Fighters, they're pretty cool... And this is the video game world we're talking about, anything is possible...

It would be cool if Takamaru has a throwing kunai move (not sure if it's specified, but I'm assuming he throws a kunai in Nazo no Murasamejou. That, or a steel spike shuriken). And under the right input, Takamaru would do a close sweep with the knife instead. If hit, the kunai gets suck in the opponent (for a reasonable amount of time), and the right input will trigger the kunai to explode, causing some sort of elemental damage.


D'aww, that was cute. But the scene where one of those bunny-things accidentally gets an ear sliced off... Haha. And Nick's pretty adorkable in that manga, as always.

Yeah, I do like Captain Rainbow Takamaru, and I really wish we would get a reference... heck, I think I like all the characters. Even if it's non-canon, they all have their quirks and fun personalities, and some do go through a bit of character development thanks to overcoming obstacles. It's nothing deep, however in retrospect, it's nice to have a "normal" looking guy like Nick (albeit with an alter-ego) help Nintendo heroes/characters -- sometimes even the big guys need a hand as well.

Captain Rainbow's an interesting concept. I really wish it would be expanded and explored on more... oh well.

This. Just this comment is what I liked to see. That jab at Greninja and Mii Fighter just made my morning due to how expected it was. That explanation about samurai's usage of shiruken was definitely needed for those who are confused about the idea of samurai using them, especially non-Japanophiles.

As for the kunai idea, I can easily see that working since incorporating more of Takamaru's elemental abilities in his weapons should be something that needs to be expanded upon. I also like the idea since it reminds me of my favorite Ninja Gaiden/Ninja Gaiden character and her trademark kunai bombs.

Captain Rainbow is such an underrated game altogether than doesn't deserve the flopping that happened back then. Sure it was Nintendo's first time being so raunchy with their colorful characters, but the game overall is still quirky and fun enough to be like most Nintendo games. Despite being non-canon, they did a decent job on expanding upon certain character's personalities like Birdo (a rather underrated Mario character) and Takamaru (A samurai who's game should have sold well if it weren't for Zelda ). At least we should be happy that Sakurai acknowledge the game's existence in the form of Fat!Mac's trophy (with possibly more to come).

 

[egaddmario]

I knew people would be down after that Mii move reveal. I would like to see Takamaru come back, especially if Sakurai was at the helm of reviving the franchise. He did wonders with Kid Icarus, I'm sure he'd do just as well with Takamaru. I still support, but Sakurai's making it hard to keep up hope...

 

[Fatmanonice]

I'm beginning to think that Little Mac, Mega Man, and Pac-Man are our retro newcomers.

Which I think would be ridiculous considering all three of them have had new games in the last five years with Little Mac's being in 2009, Megaman's in 2010, and Pac-Man's this year. I'd argue that Pit and the Ice Climbers were some of the best additions to Smash because they were re-envisions of very basic characters that didn't have a ton of character to them to begin so there was a lot of creative flexibility. The best thing about Pit being brought back is that it led to the creation of a very solid modern game and I'd like Takamaru to take a similar path.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I knew people would be down after that Mii move reveal. I would like to see Takamaru come back, especially if Sakurai was at the helm of reviving the franchise. He did wonders with Kid Icarus, I'm sure he'd do just as well with Takamaru. I still support, but Sakurai's making it hard to keep up hope...

Don't wory, I'm sure Masahiro Samurai has his eye on him since he loves the Katana weapon from Uprising alot.

 

[egaddmario]

Which I think would be ridiculous considering all three of them have had new games in the last five years with Little Mac's being in 2009, Megaman's in 2010, and Pac-Man's this year. I'd argue that Pit and the Ice Climbers were some of the best additions to Smash because they were re-envisions of very basic characters that didn't have a ton of character to them to begin so there was a lot of creative flexibility. The best thing about Pit being brought back is that it led to the creation of the best game on the 3DS and I'd like Takamaru to take a similar path.

Fixed and bolded for similar opinions

 

[Pacack]

Don't wory, I'm sure Masahiro Samurai has his eye on him since he loves the Katana weapon from Uprising alot.

All hail Mashedpotato Samurai.

 

[Croph]

This. Just this comment is what I liked to see. That jab at Greninja and Mii Fighter just made my morning due to how expected it was. That explanation about samurai's usage of shiruken was definitely needed for those who are confused about the idea of samurai using them, especially non-Japanophiles.

Are you calling me a Japanophile!?

jk, jk

I know with Greninja's reveal, some users (not necessarily in this thread, but in general) have this mentality that Greninja's water shiruken poses a threat to Takamaru's inclusion. While it's true that both ninja and samurai used shiruken (and there's different types, like the "ninja star" ones, or spike needles [although from the research I did in the past, I'm not sure if "ninja stars" were popular among samurai. Perhaps uncommon]), Takamaru doesn't use shiruken or "ninja stars" in his source game (does he use them in samurai warriors?) Sure, there's that Nintendo Land game, however, I think having some weapon diversity is something Sakurai might go for, thus having Takamaru use kunai/throwing knifes or those wind blade thingys.

Although, we already have 3 fighters that fill the "cyber-robot arm cannon" archetype: Samus, Mega Man, and Mii Gunner, so know knows really. Maybe Taka could get "ninja stars"...

Captain Rainbow is such an underrated game altogether than doesn't deserve the flopping that happened back then. Sure it was Nintendo's first time being so raunchy with their colorful characters, but the game overall is still quirky and fun enough to be like most Nintendo games. Despite being non-canon, they did a decent job on expanding upon certain character's personalities like Birdo (a rather underrated Mario character) and Takamaru (A samurai who's game should have sold well if it weren't for Zelda ). At least we should be happy that Sakurai acknowledge the game's existence in the form of Fat!Mac's trophy (with possibly more to come).

Yeah, I'm really glad for the Fat Mac trophy, as Captain Rainbow is getting some recognition. And hopefully we'll get a Captain Rainbow Takamaru trophy as well!

Nintendo has a cool IP with a sexy samurai protag -- it would be nice to see the Takamaru again. Thinking about it, I always feel as though a character shouldn't have to get into Smash, an external game, in order to green light a revival for their series. However, if this is the only option (especially for a character to gain recognition/popularity), then so be it (it does kinda make sense I guess).

Takamaru should have a tanooki appear in one of his taunts or victory animations! And I think it would be cool if cherry blossoms randomly fall and blow in the wind for a victory animation.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Nintendo has a cool IP with a sexy samurai protag -- it would be nice to see the Takamaru again. Thinking about it, I always feel as though a character shouldn't have to get into Smash, an external game, in order to green light a revival for their series. However, if this is the only option (especially for a character to gain recognition/popularity), then so be it (it does kinda make sense I guess).

Takamaru should have a tanooki appear in one of his taunts or victory animations! And I think it would be cool if cherry blossoms randomly fall and blow in the wind for a victory animation.

In general, Nintendo needs to revive more of their older IP's and Smash basically the only way for most Nintendo fans to even be aware of an obscure characters's existence. They might even find them cool if made right and that characters's popularity might warrant a sequel. Hell, Ice Climbers been playable since Melee and nobody even bother making them a new game since they're afraid that it might suck like the first. I'm still confident that Kamiya might revisit Murasame Castle after Scalebound gets released in the near future.

Seeing more Tanooki is always a good thing due to how cute they are. As long as Sakurai doesn't animate their swollen scrotum *shudders* The cherry blossom blow is still an option since Greninja only has water as his motif. And I bet he will be jealous of Takamaru's victory animation.

 

[DustyPumpkin]

I kinda wanna see Takamaru with his hair down..

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I kinda wanna see Takamaru with his hair down..

Jin from Samurai Champloo is close enough to that description.

 

[DustyPumpkin]

Jin from Samurai Champloo is close enough to that description.

 

[Marakatu]

Come to think of it, we have two shuriken users. We can have three shuriken users. Not a big deal.

I want Crazy Tracy to appear in Takamaru's victory animation. She would hug him from behind and he would get a massive nosebleed.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Come to think of it, we have two shuriken users. We can have three shuriken users. Not a big deal.

I want Crazy Tracy to appear in Takamaru's victory animation. She would hug him from behind and he would get a massive nosebleed.

Best victory screen ever!

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

In general, Nintendo needs to revive more of their older IP's and Smash basically the only way for most Nintendo fans to even be aware of an obscure characters's existence. They might even find them cool if made right and that characters's popularity might warrant a sequel. Hell, Ice Climbers been playable since Melee and nobody even bother making them a new game since they're afraid that it might suck like the first. I'm still confident that Kamiya might revisit Murasame Castle after Scalebound gets released in the near future.

Seeing more Tanooki is always a good thing due to how cute they are. As long as Sakurai doesn't animate their swollen scrotum *shudders* The cherry blossom blow is still an option since Greninja only has water as his motif. And I bet he will be jealous of Takamaru's victory animation.

I don't think Kamiya is going to do a Murasame Revival.
While I'm sure he would do a fantastic job I see Okami as his iteration of Murasame.
And on top of that there are better people to do it you know how amazing it would be for Retro to do a Murasame game?
Although they're a western developer so they might not be able to capture the Japanese theme as well as an Eastern developer can.
I hope Sakurai revives it he did a fantastic job with Kid Icarus and I believe he can do the same with Nazo No Murasame Jo.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I don't think Kamiya is going to do a Murasame Revival.
While I'm sure he would do a fantastic job I see Okami as his iteration of Murasame.
And on top of that there are better people to do it you know how amazing it would be for Retro to do a Murasame game?
Although they're a western developer so they might not be able to capture the Japanese theme as well as an Eastern developer can.
I hope Sakurai revives it he did a fantastic job with Kid Icarus and I believe he can do the same with Nazo No Murasame Jo.

Now that you've mentioned it, Sakurai would be the only one who can do it after all. Considering everything he had done to expand upon Kid Icarus's mythos, I can easily see him expanding upon Takamaru's world with his genius.

Just imagine how gorgeous the maidens will be in his style and how horrific the aliens/yokai would look. Not to mention the fact that he knows how to have great action a la Smash Run gives you a good idea of how frenzied the Murasame Castle reboot would be with its fast paced action.

After all, any retro character with a rebooted design must have their next game directed by Sakurai himself. (Unless they aren't named the Ice Climbers )