Sakurai's Interview on How Characters Are Chosen

[LancerStaff]

Only playable Fairy type in Smash.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

My goodness, there's a lot of anger here.

To those of you who didn't get your most wanted character...maybe next time, yes? *sigh*

I'll speak for myself and say I'm not mad, just curious because if a poll exists we need to find it. lol

 

[Marakatu]

Only playable Fairy type in Smash.

With no Fairy moves at all.

 

[Crocovile]

Only playable Fairy type in Smash.

Like that had anything to do with her inclusion in Smash 4, she doesn't use any fairy-type moves, and all her alt. moves are just weird variations of her already existing specials.

Anyways, concerning what Sakurai said, I call bull. It's obvious he just adds whoever he wants, fanbases for characters barely factors into his process of choosing playable characters.

 

[Snagrio]

That interview was chopped full of contradictions. Many here will and already have brought up reasons, more like excuses, to explain why things are the way they are, but you can only bypass so much. Maybe it's Sakurai's quote of "The greatest character roster ever" but some choices made just rub me wrong in all sorts of ways.

The bottom line for me is, ultimately, Sakurai just has too much power over the roster decisions. This has worked fine in the past (heck, in Melee he sacrificed Dedede for the sake of a bigger character selection), but now things have gotten highly questionable. I'm not saying other people should have a hand in picking either, but the fact that Sakurai's humbleness regarding his own franchises (in this case one he didn't even initially create) is completely gone is making me rather concerned.

 

[Raido]

Jigglypuff is an original veteran. They will always stay.

 

[MechaWave]

I will say that clones are definitely excluded from this because they were never intended to be on the roster until Sakurai felt they had some extra time to do it, which he has provided evidence with Lucina's case and the Melee clones.

Also where the **** are these "surveys" that he talks about? I have not seen a public survey that said it'll decide the game's roster except for Melee (which was Japan only) and Brawl (which, afaik, was also Japan only). International my ass.

 

[Naoshi]

I'm guessing a private poll? No idea, did we ever find Brawl's poll for that matter?

 

[Frostwraith]

A survey may not necessarily stem from a poll, I'd guess.

 

[shrooby]

I think by "poll" he means "my staff perused various communities, looked at what games and characters were popular and took informal polls."

 

[RamOne]

The only polls I know of are these:

But these aren't Smash polls.

 

[Frostwraith]

The only polls I know of are these:

But these aren't Smash polls.

They may still be a way to gauge general popularity.

That is a Nintendo themed magazine, you see.

 

[MechaWave]

I'm guessing a private poll? No idea, did we ever find Brawl's poll for that matter?

Yeah, there's a very old thread (from like 2006?) that has the poll results from Brawl but idk it anymore.

The only polls I know of are these:

But these aren't Smash polls.

These aren't for Smash tho, it's just a general popularity poll.

 

[RamOne]

These aren't for Smash tho, it's just a general popularity poll.

I know. That's what I said. Doesn't make it less interesting to note all Nintendo-characters on these polls are in the game in any form.

 

[LancerStaff]

With no Fairy moves at all.

Like that had anything to do with her inclusion in Smash 4, she doesn't use any fairy-type moves, and all her alt. moves are just weird variations of her already existing specials.

Anyways, concerning what Sakurai said, I call bull. It's obvious he just adds whoever he wants, fanbases for characters barely factors into his process of choosing playable characters.

'ey, you guys are going around saying that she doesn't have any justification when she does.

And I'll say it again, it's not about fanbases. It's about the overall opinion of the character, fans and non-fans.

 

[the8thark]

My thoughts on this- it's a load of garbage.
Sakurai picks the characters based on who he wants to see in the game. That's it. There are so many contradictions with what he's saying that it isn't even worth listing them all.

He can make all the excuses he wants as to why certain characters were included and others weren't. It doesn't change the fact that Dark Pit is playable and Lucas, Wolf, Mewtwo, Squirtle and Ivysaur were cut.

Add in Snake and Roy who are cut and what you say is totally correct.

Sakurai only puts characters that Sakurai wants into Smash 4. What anyone else says or thinks has zero effect on this. Sakurai can bull**** to us as much as he wants, but we all see right through it.

 

[LancerStaff]

Add in Snake and Roy who are cut and what you say is totally correct.

Sakurai only puts characters that Sakurai wants into Smash 4. What anyone else says or thinks has zero effect on this. Sakurai can bull**** to us as much as he wants, but we all see right through it.

Should I say it again?

 

[the8thark]

And I'll say it again, it's not about fanbases. It's about the overall opinion of the character, fans and non-fans.

Wrong. Only Sakurai's opinion matters here. He chooses, and what anyone else thinks has no effect on Sakurai's choices.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

I'll just assume that this is the most Western friendly Smash in history since we have Dunk Hunt and Mac, but no Lucas. But in all seriousness, I think he was cut due to avoiding fighters of "region exclusive" origin. Other than that, Sakurai's answers seem pretty reasonable and explains nearly 70% of the roster.

 

[Naoshi]

Wrong. Only Sakurai's opinion matters here. He chooses, and what anyone else thinks has no effect on Sakurai's choices.

While that's mostly true, Sakurai pretty much admitted Mega Man got in due to the high demand. So some fan input did influence his decisions.

 

[LancerStaff]

Wrong. Only Sakurai's opinion matters here. He chooses, and what anyone else thinks has no effect on Sakurai's choices.

Prove it. Prove to me Ridley or K. Rool have any semblance of popularity outside of their fanbase. Then we can talk. Otherwise you're just goin' "lolno sakuir is biased cause I say so." Give me evidence.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

While that's mostly true, Sakurai pretty much admitted Mega Man got in due to the high demand. So some fan input did influence his decisions.

Sonic too. He just doesn't take every fan opinion into account.

 

[Naoshi]

Sonic too. He just doesn't take every fan opinion into account.

Very true, I won't deny that. And I'm kind of glad he doesn't as controversial as that may sound! I prefer the roster to look more professional than some fan pipe dreams.

 

[the8thark]

Prove it. Prove to me Ridley or K. Rool have any semblance of popularity outside of their fanbase. Then we can talk. Otherwise you're just goin' "lolno sakuir is biased cause I say so." Give me evidence.

Can you prove Sakurai is not biased? And secondly I agree with you as they are good reasons as to why Ridley and K.Rool should not be in Smash. But it does not matter how popular or not popular those characters or any other character is. It's all Sakurai's choice.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

Very true, I won't deny that. And I'm kind of glad he doesn't as controversial as that may sound! I prefer the roster to look more professional than some fan pipe dreams.

In fact, I think many may forget that he has to listen to some companies. Are we sure it's his decision to keep Jigglypuff? I mean, he wanted to replace Ness in Melee but his own crew said "nope" when he asked. She could be a Gamefreak thing. Obviously third party has two criteria; Them allowing it and him being able to properly make a moveset. He can't just "do it", he has to be able to on both ends.

In fact, let's look at Mewtwo for a moment; Ever since the movie it was in ended, same with Origins, when's the last time it got promoted? Lucario still is, in Pokken. In fact, Mewtwo may only show up due to one of its Mega Evolutions in that game, if lucky. Advertising could be an issue. Or Mewtwo was created so badly that Gamefreak considers it low priority over the others. There's a lot we don't know about. We do know Sakurai considered Mewtwo, but not necessarily planned to have it in. If his inability to port Melee data over properly is an indication, he thought about it, tried to do it faster, but that meant giving it high priority over the rest of the huge cast, he probably dropped the Pokemon till finish the rest of the game. I think it has a good chance of being DLC and he may be working on it as we speak. We knew it has to be made from scratch now.

 

[Snagrio]

The relevancy issue is, hate it or not, more prevalent now then in any previous Smash game to date. Sakurai himself spelled that out.

Over half the newcomer roster is, in some way or another, there for some marketable reason (this is really driven home by the "find out more about them in X game" taglines), be it new characters from new IPs, new characters from well-established IPs, or established characters from IPs that are still getting new titles on a recent-enough basis. Some like Duck Hunt get a pass because obligatory retro card, but that's about it. At the very least, Westerners got thrown a single bone with Little Mac.

 

[Crocovile]

Is that Hatsune Miku I see there? Because if it is, I know my buddy @J04KlM could die a happy man if she was in smash.

I understand clones are exempt from the character-selection process in general, but that still doesn't excuse the general laziness surrounding their inclusion. Lucina just has different properties on her sword, and a single different taunt. Other than that she's just like Marth, just not as good. And don't get me started on Dark Pit. Just becuse it's extra content doesn't mean it's good content.
If you have time to include extra clones, at least try to make them more unique from the ones they're based on. The clones in Melee were more unique IMO.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Is that Hatsune Miku I see there? Because if it is, I know my buddy @J04KlM could die a happy man if she was in smash.

I understand clones are exempt from the character-selection process in general, but that still doesn't excuse the general laziness surrounding their inclusion. Lucina just has different properties on her sword, and a single different taunt. Other than that she's just like Marth, just not as good. And don't get me started on Dark Pit. Just becuse it's extra content doesn't mean it's good content.
If you have time to include extra clones, at least try to make them more unique from the ones they're based on. The clones in Melee were more unique IMO.

Then tons more time would be spent on balancing the new moves, just so you know.

 

[Naoshi]

Is that Hatsune Miku I see there? Because if it is, I know my buddy @J04KlM could die a happy man if she was in smash.

Erm, that is not a Smash poll. It was only a popularity poll from a Nintendo magazine. Miku literally has no chance in Smash because she isn't exactly a video game character. She originated from an audio program, not a video game.

 

[GunGunW]

I think there are arguments that can be made on both sides of this.

 

[Crocovile]

Erm, that is not a Smash poll. It was only a popularity poll from a Nintendo magazine. Miku literally has no chance in Smash because she isn't exactly a video game character. She originated from an audio program, not a video game.

I know, was just sayin', that's all. I'm not the kind of person who expects char's like Goku or Naruto in Smash.

 

[Raido]

I understand clones are exempt from the character-selection process in general, but that still doesn't excuse the general laziness surrounding their inclusion. Lucina just has different properties on her sword, and a single different taunt. Other than that she's just like Marth, just not as good. And don't get me started on Dark Pit. Just becuse it's extra content doesn't mean it's good content.
If you have time to include extra clones, at least try to make them more unique from the ones they're based on. The clones in Melee were more unique IMO.

They could've kept them as costumes and you would say "Wow, they put some afford into the costumes!". But as soon as they put extra work into them by giving them their own slot, they are lazy. Nice logic...

 

[Marakatu]

Erm, that is not a Smash poll. It was only a popularity poll from a Nintendo magazine. Miku literally has no chance in Smash because she isn't exactly a video game character. She originated from an audio program, not a video game.

And still she appeared in a poll in a Nintendo magazine. They count her as a videogame character.

 

[Naoshi]

And still she appeared in a poll in a Nintendo magazine. They count her as a videogame character.

That does not mean she's an eligible character for Smash.

 

[Marakatu]

That does not mean she's an eligible character for Smash.

I never said she was.

 

[Naoshi]

I never said she was.

Alrighty then.

 

[ミスティック Speed]

Ok...whatever you say, Sakurai.
if you were telling the truth, I'd have my Mewtwo back.
Also, the Ridley fans wouldn't have been disappointed for the 3rd time. Just...whatever.

 

[Meelow]

My thoughts on this- it's a load of garbage.
Sakurai picks the characters based on who he wants to see in the game. That's it. There are so many contradictions with what he's saying that it isn't even worth listing them all.

He can make all the excuses he wants as to why certain characters were included and others weren't. It doesn't change the fact that Dark Pit is playable and Lucas, Wolf, Mewtwo, Squirtle and Ivysaur were cut.

Well Squirtle, and Ivysaur probably got cut because Sakurai didn't think they could hold there own unlike Charizard.

It's possible Lucas, Wolf, and Mewtwo are DLC.

 

[Rockaphin]

I think there are arguments that can be made on both sides of this.

Agreed.
I'm confused why Alph wasn't promoted over Dark Pit since Pikmin didn't receive a newcomer. Seems fair to me.

 

[Vintage Creep]

Sakurai is simply full of ****.