[Source Gaming] Sakurai Discusses the Final DLC Choices

In a brand new Famitsu Column, translated by Source Gaming, Sakurai discusses his selection of Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta for the final DLC on Smash for Wii U/ 3DS.

He begins with Cloud,

Having a representative from Final Fantasy is an amazing feat! And the character that was the overwhelming favorite among the cast of Final Fantasy was Cloud. Wielding his massive Buster Sword with ease in one hand, he has speed, reach, and power. If left unadjusted, he’d definitely be overpowered. After thinking about how I would approach this character, I decided his swordsmanship style would utilize the concept of “swinging through,” which is exemplified in his forward smash. This move has Cloud build up some power before swing three times at high speed. It maintains his speed and reach, but is balanced by having a window of vulnerability before the attack. And he’s fast, but his recovery is weak.

He continues with Corrin,

After internal analysis, we decided that if we’re going to make DLC, we would choose a character from a soon-to-be-released new game. After consulting many times with Nintendo and looking at the upcoming release schedule, Fire Emblem Fates was in just the right spot. It’s already been released in Japan, but is yet to be released overseas, making it a prime candidate in terms of timing. I personally felt that having too many Fire Emblem characters was a problem, but after talking it over with the development staff and discussing logistics, I felt certain that I could make them a fun character.

To read the rest of the interview, check out the full translation on Source Gaming.

PushDustIn is excited for these upcoming characters. Who do you look forward to? Sound off on Twitter.

 

So were multiple votes from the same device counted? This ballot still seems fishy to me. Only 1.8 worldwide? Also why did they choose Corrin over characters like Wolf and Inkling who could also promote games? Krool is still a mystery too.
also 1st

 

Also why did they choose Corrin over characters like Wolf and Inkling who could also promote games?

Because the way it's worded in this interview for the likes of Splatoon or any other number of top voted character, someone like an Inkling, whose gameplay revolves around covering the stage in ink and traversing through it and using it to your advantage, very well could not have been realized given the complexities of it, and you know how Sakurai wants to stay true to how a character is to ingame canon. Bayonetta of the "realizable" characters that was voted for just happened to fit that in his vision.

 

We all know the REAL purpose of 8 player smash is to play as all the Fire Emblem characters.

and I love it

 

1.8 million votes is a little low... Still, nice to receive some info.

He's essentially confirming that Corrin was added as a form of advertisement, heh, just that FE16's release date is in the right spot.

"Negotiable" makes it sound like they were specifically looking for a 3rd party character and settled on Bayo.

Or that Nintendo decided against giving permission to use Wolf or Inklings (not sure why they'd do that, though.)

 

Because the way it's worded in this interview for the likes of Splatoon or any other number of top voted character, someone like an Inkling, whose gameplay revolves around covering the stage in ink and traversing through it and using it to your advantage, very well could not have been realized given the complexities of it, and you know how Sakurai wants to stay true to how a character is to ingame canon. Bayonetta of the "realizable" characters that was voted for just happened to fit that in his vision.

There are ways around that, maybe their specials could have them laying out a trail of ink that vanishes instantly, ex. the inkling uses the roller for side b and it leaves a trail of ink behind that starts vanishing as the inkling gets further away from it. Though we really need to know what realizable means.

We all know the REAL purpose of 8 player smash is to play as all the Fire Emblem characters.

and I love it

Someone please put this image on the official wiki

 

Well, I wish they had gone with a memorable character rather than one that's just "upcoming" in a new title...

 

Well, it's funny that they chose Corrin even though...
We could have...
****ing had...
A Bravely Second character instead.
But no, Sakurai went and gone with Corrin!
But hell, even though Bravely Second is gonna be a pretty damn good game.
Sakurai picked Corrin, like we really NEED a new FE character that just takes a slot away from a potentially good one.
Sure, Bravely Second is owned by Square Enix.
But it's a Nintendo exclusive game.
And hell, there'd be an amazing new representative and advertisement for that game right there.

Also, why give us a character nobody wanted in Smash 4?

 

Well, it's funny that they chose Corrin even though...
We could have...
****ing had...
A Bravely Second character instead.
But no, Sakurai went and gone with Corrin!
But hell, even though Bravely Second is gonna be a pretty damn good game.
Sakurai picked Corrin, like we really NEED a new FE character that just takes a slot away from a potentially good one.
Sure, Bravely Second is owned by Square Enix.
But it's a Nintendo exclusive game.
And hell, there'd be an amazing new representative and advertisement for that game right there.

Also, why give us a character nobody wanted in Smash 4?

As if anyone actually wanted a Bravely Second character. I love how sure you are of yourself.

 

I still find it mind boggling that when they were looking for characters to promote upcoming releases, they passed over Wolf, who was a veteran from Brawl.
Really wish he would say something regarding Wolf and to an extent, Snake.

 

I still find it mind boggling that when they were looking for characters to promote upcoming releases, they passed over Wolf, who was a veteran from Brawl.
Really wish he would say something regarding Wolf and to an extent, Snake.

Snake was most likely due to licensing issues. Wolf however is a mystery, even Etika has named Wolf's exclusion as the #1 upset in his new video,

Spoiler

https://youtu.be/gCVFNqz_ogM?t=1182

Wolf easily fit the criteria for a character that can advertise a new game, and as a bonus he was easy to make and a fan favorite.

 

This DLC choice kind of solidifies how I feel Nintendo feels about the Smash community. Of course, they're actually right, but it's not in a good way.

I am excited for Corrin tho. That character looks amazjng.

 

I still wanted to know who literally got the most votes, including the ones that don't have all the requirements. THEN I can LOL at the Britany Spears voters.

 

I still wanted to know who literally got the most votes, including the ones that don't have all the requirements. THEN I can LOL at the Britany Spears voters.

I'll give you three guesses and a pachinko machine

 

I think the concern he shows over the prospects of having too much of one series is definitely respectable, and just that he's mindful of that is pretty cool in my honest opinion.

Though we really need to know what realizable means.

The legal stuff involving getting an outside company wanting their figure inside Smash, the possibility of it panning out on a technical level given that they have to have this content on 3DS to work, too, and probably other factors he's mentioned before like if the character is interesting enough with a potential moveset that is unique and would be fun to play in Smash.

I've only worked in some indie RPG development, but I can't imagine making a character like Inkling work is as easy as just saying what they will do and hitting the magic character making button, and suddenly we have Inkling. If that was a top contender for the ballot winner, I can already imagine so much going wrong with the ink mechanic having to work for every stage in Smash to date, including custom stages. Would be amazing to see what could be done with that in a Smash 5 some year.

Sakurai picked Corrin, like we really NEED a new FE character that just takes a slot away from a potentially good one.

Character slots do not exist.

I still wanted to know who literally got the most votes, including the ones that don't have all the requirements.

I'm curious myself, too, hoping they get released so we can stop hearing this nonsense about how so and so was way more popular than Bayonetta or whatever so we can get the straight facts on who made top five of the ballot. That's literally the last thing I am dying to know.

 

I still wanted to know who literally got the most votes, including the ones that don't have all the requirements. THEN I can LOL at the Britany Spears voters.

One fried Shrek and medium Goku fries with a hint of Freddy Fazbear salt.

 

I really don't mind corrin because at least he/she ha her own moveset.

 

honestly there were so many other good choices instead of another FE character. cause if you look at the roster now it would look so fake three years ago with pacman, cloud, ryu, bayonetta, megaman, mewtwo, and duck hunt: id think you were full of ****.

heres a nice list of people they could of had instead of another FE person:
kindly ask for Snake back
banjo
slippy (or other SF character, wolf?)
gordo
a minecraft guy (if they are going the advertisement route)
K.K. Slider
Sora (i mean if you are already talking to Square why not?)
Dixie Kong
MIssingno (if they wanna joke)
crash bandicoot (i bet naughty dog could woop up something)
Rayman (please the already joke that was out there)
Shovel Knight (the one everyone asked for plus he already has a god damn amiibo)

theres 13 i thought of in under 30 minutes. but no. you had to pick a FE. sigh

 

Side bets on the other ballot candidates? I do not doubt for one second given how many screenshots I saw of people sharing their troll votes (Shrek, Freddy Fazbear, etc) that America done goofed with voting, when other actual candidates could have very well been considered if we Americans weren't such clowns.

 

Side bets on the other ballot candidates? I do not doubt for one second given how many screenshots I saw of people sharing their troll votes (Shrek, Freddy Fazbear, etc) that America done goofed with voting, when other actual candidates could have very well been considered if we Americans weren't such clowns.

Though even if those characters were voted on, how could Bayonetta beat Krool? Also there were characters from previous smash games in the top 5. Also its 1.8 million worldwide. How many of those votes came from each region. Also I hope America elects a good president next year.

 

One fried Shrek and medium Goku fries with a hint of Freddy Fazbear salt.

And don't forget the medium Spongebob soft drink. Because if there's a lesson to be learned, we must never forget a drink with a costumer's valuable meal.

 

given that the wii U as a unit has a very small install base... it would make sense that the numbers are that low, as it isn't a given that wiii U to smash sales are 1:1 (not litterally every wii U owner likes or plays smash) and 3DS players probably didn't care cuz no game cube controller (at least without a big brain on technology hardware and modding) additionally, not every of the 7 gazillion 3DS owners have smash 4, it wouldn't make sense especially since controls speaking, nobody (not litterally no one) wants to play with 3DS controls and waited for the wii U version

 

I still find it mind boggling that when they were looking for characters to promote upcoming releases, they passed over Wolf, who was a veteran from Brawl.
Really wish he would say something regarding Wolf and to an extent, Snake.

Why do people insist Wolf would fall through as promotion for star fox zero when spacies are already in the game. CORRIN promotes a new entry into the FE series where he stars; FOX promotes his own series including any upcoming releases, not his rival that appears in 2-3 stages.

Wolf coming back wouldn't sell star fox; we already know his character. Corrin bringing something diverse to the table in smash sells his game; it drives interest for who this character is and his abilities and conflicts.

 

So were multiple votes from the same device counted? This ballot still seems fishy to me. Only 1.8 worldwide? Also why did they choose Corrin over characters like Wolf and Inkling who could also promote games? Krool is still a mystery too.
also 1st

Since RIP|Merrick already covered Inkling ima add one point or two and cover other stuff.
Inkling: it was probably a matter of timing. Too early for the base roster, too late for DLC. They're a victim of having their timing **** them over in terms of being in Smash.

Corrin: Unlike Inklings, timing was on his side, especially considering that FE Fates was only just recently released in Japan.

Wolf: Simply put, he was probably put on the back burner (assuming he got top 5 in the US or Europe) since Lucas had already come back as the cut Brawl vet (that Sakurai himself said).

K.Rool: Not relevant.

Ballot: 1.8 Million after they got rid of the votes that were blatantly duplicates. I'd imagine votes from the same device and such would have counted so long as they weren't the same.

 

And don't forget the medium Spongebob soft drink. Because if there's a lesson to be learned, we must never forget a drink with a costumer's valuable meal.

lol

 

Nintendo was a big factor behind this decision, not just Sakurai. Any attempt to boost sales by slapping an upcoming character in Smash Bros Nintendo will go for. A lot of people only found out about Cpt. Falcon from 64 and Marth/Roy were unheard of before Melee. However, in this current age, it's a little weird they're doing this again.

Then again, Fire Emblem is huge in Japan, so better to entertain them I guess.

 

Wolf: Simply put, he was probably put on the back burner (assuming he got top 5 in the US or Europe) since Lucas had already come back as the cut Brawl vet (that Sakurai himself said).

Its a little unfair that only 1 cut brawl vet got back. When Sakurai chose the Melee and Brawl vets, 2 other cut Melee vets had already gotten in the game.

K.Rool: Not relevant.

If they didn't include him solely for that reason despite the massive fan demand. I've lost some faith in Nintendo.

 

Since RIP|Merrick

RIP|Merrick

 

Even Sakurai thought they are too many!

 

It's funny how similar things are now to when Brawl came out.

Character people blame for *insert character here* not getting in:

Then: ROB/Toon Link
Now: Corrin/Dark Pit
Things in common: Unique character hardly anyone asked for/blatant variant of another character

Character addition no one expected but was secretly wanted:

Then: Snake
Now: Cloud
Things in common: Big third party characters with only a few Nintendo appearances

Cut veteran people are deeply upset about:

Then: Mewtwo/Roy
Now: Snake/Wolf
Things in common: Unique newcomer/clone character

Third Party character people were sure would get in but didn't:

Then: Megaman
Now: Banjo and Kazooie
Things in common: Character that has a lot of nostalgic value to Nintendo fans

Characters people are bewildered didn't get in:

Then: Ridley, Isaac, and K. Rool
Now: Ridley, Isaac, and K. Rool

Most salt spilled over character fanbase rivalries:

Then: Wolf beating Krystal/Lucario beating Mewtwo
Now: Robin beating Chrom/Greninja beating Mewtwo (until DLC)
Things in common: One got in, the other didn't, salt ensued

Fanbase fans argue got screwed over the most:

Then: DK/Metroid
Now: DK/Metroid

Fanbase fans argue got catered to too much:

Then: Kirby/Pokemon
Now: Kid Icarus/Fire Emblem
Things in common: "Sakurai bias"/"too many new additions"

Character arguably already in a good running for the next game:

Then: Little Mac/Animal Crossing rep
Now: Takamaru/Inkling
Things in common: retro character finding new life in Smash Bros/glaringly missing a franchise rep despite popularity

Most common complaint made against Sakurai:

Then: "Sakurai clearly doesn't care about the fanbase."
Now: "Sakurai clearly doesn't care about the fanbase."

Most proposed course of action for Sakurai now that development's done:

Then: "Make DLC then retire from Smash and leave it to someone else next time."
Now: "Make more DLC then retire from Smash and leave it to someone else next time."

Sunrise, sunset.

 

"I personally felt that having too many Fire Emblem characters was a problem"

Can we stop talking about Sakurai bias now.

 

I don't know about Corrin STILL, as Sakurai could've made any character a fun addition, so that excuse just doesn't work for me.

 

Yeah, this has a huge feeling of screw it and puts up what's popular now and shortly later from Sakurai via Nintendo's influence. Only if he wasn't too much after money, we would've had something a little more interesting than another FE rep.

 

Why do people insist Wolf would fall through as promotion for star fox zero when spacies are already in the game. CORRIN promotes a new entry into the FE series where he stars; FOX promotes his own series including any upcoming releases, not his rival that appears in 2-3 stages.

Wolf coming back wouldn't sell star fox; we already know his character. Corrin bringing something diverse to the table in smash sells his game; it drives interest for who this character is and his abilities and conflicts.

he is right, there are not many games that is coming to wii u / 3ds. Sakurai got no choice to put another fire emblem because this is the only new game we got for the coming months.

 

RIP|Merrick

Tfw no context.

Rip.

 

Here's the thing though...Adding any character for promotional/marketing/advertisement purposes is questionable in the base roster, and flat-out a bad idea for DLC...

Even then there are other characters that would've been fun and unique that wouldn't have been as divisive as a sixth Fire Emblem character...best example being Elma who is part of a series that is still new to a lot of Western Smash fans, which I believe needs a bigger boost than Fire Emblem since it's, as I said, still new to a lot of us...

I'm also not a fan of the whole 'trend following' state of mind that Sakurai had for this game...sure there are good games that have come out recently and there are good games on the way, but neglecting other great games from the past in favour of these games doesn't bode well for the fans of these titles...
example compare the content for Metroid Prime and Other M...Other M is more recent/relevant therefore it gets priority over Prime in terms of content...which I disagree with for several reasons...

 

I understand the issue people are having with over repesentation of the Fire Emblem franchise, but I don't see why Wolf is such an appealing counter argument. Wolf was the last character included in Brawl and this is evident in the fact that almost every attack he has comes from another character in the game. With DLC being such a big ordeal, did we really want to see Wolf come back knowing he probably took ten minutes to make in the first place? No. I want Sakurai and his team to pour their heart and soul into it. Corrin, for what it's worth, seems very unique in his playstyle and is the protagonist of a highly anticipated, 1st-party Nintendo game. He just happens to be of the Fire Emblem franchise as well.

I think Star Fox could use greater representation, and I don't have any personal strife with Wolf O'Donnell, but is there anything specifically overtly appealing about him I'm missing? Something that puts him leagues ahead of other more reoccuring Nintendo icons like Toad or recent fan-avorites like Elma? Do we want him just because he'll be another Star Fox rep.? Is it because he is a villain? Is it because he's just inherently more "Nintendoy" than the Fire Emblem and Xenoblade fighters even though his design from Brawl was based on a title developed by Namco? I want to see fighters included for who their character is, what it means for people, and what they could uniquely bring to the table, not to diversy representation.

 

You know, what bugs me is how people don't look at Corrin as a character, but instead they look at him as a Fire Emblem character. Corrin could have been the exact same character in every way but if he came from some new series all you people would be raving about how new and unique he is with the chainsaw-sword and dragon transformations and what new ways to Smash he brings to the table.

Since when did Smash start being about series instead of characters?

 

Here's the thing though...Adding any character for promotional/marketing/advertisement purposes is questionable in the base roster, and flat-out a bad idea for DLC...

Even then there are other characters that would've been fun and unique that wouldn't have been as divisive as a sixth Fire Emblem character...

I'm also not a fan of the whole 'trend following' state of mind that Sakurai had for this game...sure there are good games that have come out recently and there are good games on the way, but neglecting other great games from the past in favour of these games doesn't bode well for the fans of these titles...
example compare the content for Metroid Prime and Other M...Other M is more recent/relevant therefore it gets priority over Prime in terms of content...which I disagree with for several reasons...

Let's be glad the last character wasn't promoting Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Then that would put the nail in the coffin for most Metroid content in Smash 4 being based on divisive/controversial games over Prime.

 

It's funny how similar things are now to when Brawl came out.

Character people blame for *insert character here* not getting in:

Then: ROB/Toon Link
Now: Dark Pit/Corrin

Character addition no one expected but was secretly wanted:

Then: Snake
Now: Cloud

Cut veteran people are deeply upset about:

Then: Mewtwo/Roy
Now: Wolf/Snake

Third Party character people were sure would get in but didn't:

Then: Megaman
Now: Banjo and Kazooie

Characters people are bewildered didn't get in:

Then: Ridley, Isaac, and K. Rool
Now: Ridley, Isaac, and K. Rool

Most salt spilled over character fanbase rivalries:

Then: Wolf beating Krystal/Lucario beating Mewtwo
Now: Robin beating Chrom/Greninja beating Mewtwo (until DLC)

Fanbase fans argue got screwed over the most:

Then: DK/Metroid
Now: DK/Metroid

Fanbase fans argue got catered to too much:

Then: Kirby/Pokemon
Now: Fire Emblem/ Kid Icarus

Character arguably already in a good running for the next game:

Then: Little Mac/Animal Crossing rep
Now: Takamaru/Inkling

Most common complaint made against Sakurai:

Then: "Sakurai clearly doesn't care about the fanbase."
Now: "Sakurai clearly doesn't care about the fanbase."

Most proposed course of action for Sakurai now that development's done:

Then: "Make DLC then retire from Smash and leave it to someone else next time."
Now: "Make more DLC then retire from Smash and leave it to someone else next time."

Sunrise, sunset.

I feel like I could make an argument for confirmation bias on this theory, but it does make a bit of sense.