[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.

 

Can't find anywhere to put this, so here.

Spoiler

Smash 5 roster if Sakurai directs again (this is a troll joke)
In another attempt to avoid putting in Toad, Daisy, and Waluigi, Sakurai spins a throws two darts on a spinning wheel of new-gen Mario characters. They land on Nabbit and Dr. Luigi respectively.
By popular demand, Dixie Kong is added to the roster, whereas King K. Rool sits this one out once more.
Linkle is added as a new Zelda rep, being a clone of Link.
Metroid once again only has Samus only because Samus is part of the Original 12.
Yoshi is still the only rep, cuz who the **** cares about Yoshi anymore.
Wolf returns, but as DLC.
Still Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight.
Again, Sakurai throws a dart at a wheel. It lands on Pichu.
Lucas is cut again and does not return as DLC. Ness is the only character.
Captain Falcon returns only because of the Original 12.
We get seven more Fire Emblem reps because Fire Emblem has become the new Mario in Japan.
Olimar is cut because the Pikmin series is dead.
Virdi and Medusa debut as Kid Icarus reps.
Wario is Wario.
Villager is cut.
Wii Fit Trainer is cut due to NX Fit being cancelled.
We get two new Xenoblade reps.
Mii Fighters are cut.
Ice Climbers return, but replace Duck Hunt in the process.
Snake is still cut, but is replaced with some new third party.

 

That's not dumb, actually Ninten would fit better than the other characters people wanted.

Spoiler: do not click

Ridley, Shantae, Shovel Knight

Yeah, no.

 

There's a casual community that loves Smash and is oblivious about this, you can't put in perspective what a percentage of a community wants, since the ending result will always be different.

Uh, yeah that's what I was talking about. I was saying that people are overestimating Wolf's popularity outside of the people who go deeper into Smash.

 

Yeah, no.

I mean, we still gotta see how an indie rep would work.

 

Uh, yeah that's what I was talking about. I was saying that people are overestimating Wolf's popularity outside of the people who go deeper into Smash.

I know, I did a horrible choice of words, lmao.

 

The funny thing is how people get in such a tizzy whenever anyone says that a character is taking a spot. As Dan points out, wether or not it was a clone, making the character took up time that they could have put into making a more desirable character. So, yes, maybe if they hadn't added Dark Pit, Lucina, and Doc, they would have had time for a non-clone character that people would have wanted more.

 

The funny thing is how people get in such a tizzy whenever anyone says that a character is taking a spot. As Dan points out, wether or not it was a clone, making the character took up time that they could have put into making a more desirable character. So, yes, maybe if they hadn't added Dark Pit, Lucina, and Doc, they would have had time for a non-clone character that people would have wanted more.

It's not as simple as you may think it is, it would have taken much more of their time to develop a new character than a clone.

 

It's not as simple as you may think it is, it would have taken much more of their time to develop a new character than a clone.

I'm saying sacrifice three clones for one really good new character. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile trade.

 

I'm saying sacrifice three clones for one really good new character. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile trade.

It's not a trade, making a character from scratch takes about a complete year, models, moveset, hitboxes, animations are in consideration. were complete characters, and switched values to make them different. the most different of the clones, has its moveset from Melee .

took complete months to make, even ported from Melee/Brawl to Smash 4. is also included, taking by far most of the free time they had after releasing Smash 4.

 

I mean, we still gotta see how an indie rep would work.

If any Indie rep deserves a spot, It's Giana honestly. She's been around since the cartridge days and her revival only boosted her strong following.

 

Even Sakurai thought there were too many FE characters... Darn staff members.

 

I'm saying sacrifice three clones for one really good new character. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile trade.

OK, so say sacrifice three clones for one good character, right? Exactly what is your definition of "good" in this case? We know that is marginally different from , and that is EXTREMELY different from , as the only similarities between the two are sharing a few moves. The same applies to and ( vs. ) and and ( vs. ), and the same could be said for and / and / and / and ( vs. ) and and ( vs. ).

So main point is, give up three s for three s, or three s for a ?
I'd go with the three clones, personally.

 

OK, so say sacrifice three clones for one good character, right? Exactly what is your definition of "good" in this case? We know that is marginally different from , and that is EXTREMELY different from , as the only similarities between the two are sharing a few moves. The same applies to and ( vs. ) and and ( vs. ), and the same could be said for and / and / and / and ( vs. ) and and ( vs. ).

So main point is, give up three s for three s, or three s for a ?
I'd go with the three clones, personally.

Neither are true. Again, as Sakurai said "it was of the utmost importance that the workload on the project was not increased."

I stress this because the clones could only exist if they took minimal effort. There was zero room to add other characters instead of the clones because they took no additional effort to turn into characters. Their models, voices, and everything else were already in the project plan. Here is the grand list of things the team needed to do to turn them into characters.

• Victory animations
• Modifying some data values
• Copy and pasting Shiek's final smash onto Dark Pit
• One unique move (Doc tornado)

And that's it. You know how lazy they were with Doc? Almost all of his data is literally the same as Mario's, but just multiplied by about 80% for movement and 20% for damage. And they're effortless to balance as well because instead of being balanced against every single character they just need to be balanced against their originals.

People saying "they could fit in a unique character if they didn't add Lucina, Dark Pit, and Doctor Mario" are basically saying "they could have fit in a unique character if they didn't add Alph, Male Wii Fit Trainer, and Female Robin".

 

Honestly, the whole reason for mii fighters was to please fans' desires. Just make a mii of who you wanted. Sure, it's not the best way, but it's an alternative to something we only could dream of back in Melee.

 

Neither are true. Again, as Sakurai said "it was of the utmost importance that the workload on the project was not increased."

I stress this because the clones could only exist if they took minimal effort. There was zero room to add other characters instead of the clones because they took no additional effort to turn into characters. Their models, voices, and everything else were already in the project plan. Here is the grand list of things the team needed to do to turn them into characters.

• Victory animations
• Modifying some data values
• Copy and pasting Shiek's final smash onto Dark Pit
• One unique move (Doc tornado)

And that's it. You know how lazy they were with Doc? Almost all of his data is literally the same as Mario's, but just multiplied by about 80% for movement and 20% for damage. And they're effortless to balance as well because instead of being balanced against every single character they just need to be balanced against their originals.

People saying "they could fit in a unique character if they didn't add Lucina, Dark Pit, and Doctor Mario" are basically saying "they could have fit in a unique character if they didn't add Alph, Male Wii Fit Trainer, and Female Robin".

If you read through it, at the end I said that I'd rather take the three clones not just because there'd be no room for an original, but also because it adds more to the total, thus adding replayablility. And also, I mained and in Melee. I was also asking Xandercosm what character could replace that clones.

 

Honestly, the whole reason for mii fighters was to please fans' desires. Just make a mii of who you wanted. Sure, it's not the best way, but it's an alternative to something we only could dream of back in Melee.

And what could be a better way?

 

If you read through it, at the end I said that I'd rather take the three clones not just because there'd be no room for an original, but also because it adds more to the total, thus adding replayablility. And also, I mained and in Melee. I was also asking Xandercosm what character could replace that clones.

So basically you're saying they should drive the character count up at any cost. Even if that means just adding a bunch of characters that are identical to ones that already exist. That's a recipe for a forgettable game.

 

Even Sakurai thought there were too many FE characters... Darn staff members.

Could you link that?

 

So basically you're saying they should drive the character count up at any cost. Even if that means just adding a bunch of characters that are identical to ones that already exist. That's a recipe for a forgettable game.

Not at all costs. I mean, sure, a few clones here and there is fine, but no need for clones to consist of half the roster. I guess it's all a matter of preference (though Dr. Mario is still my favorite of the bunch).

 

Not at all costs. I mean, sure, a few clones here and there is fine, but no need for clones to consist of half the roster. I guess it's all a matter of preference (though Dr. Mario is still my favorite of the bunch).

Doc IS okay with me. But, I say the fewer FE clones, the better.

 

Could you link that?

Sure.

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.

Found in this Smashboards article, as well as this one:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...fighters_soon_to_be_added_to_super_smash_bros

Basically, Sakurai thought Corrin was pushing it with the FE representation, but his staff convinced him.

 

Sure.

Found in this Smashboards article, as well as this one:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...fighters_soon_to_be_added_to_super_smash_bros

Basically, Sakurai thought Corrin was pushing it with the FE representation, but his staff convinced him.

Thanks a whole lot, staff...

 

Even if that means just adding a bunch of characters that are identical to ones that already exist. That's a recipe for a forgettable game.

Forgettable game?

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Melee's half of the cast are literally clones with different properties.

okei

 

I found a pattern!!! There is always at least one original character who has two clones in each game.

Melee
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Brawl
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SSB4
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I wonder who will have two clones in SSB5?

Young Link confirmed.

 

Forgettable game?

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Melee's half of the cast are literally clones with different properties.

okei

Which is why Melee's roster was just as boring as Smash 64's. There were so few actual additions to the roster. They wasted all that time on clones when they could have added actual characters. In fact, Melee, while having a competitive and fun physics engine, had probably the most pitiful roster of any fighting game in history.

 

I honestly think next smash they need to port smash 4. If they do it from scratch like they did with smash 4, there will probably be alot of character cuts, and really bad single player modes. Smash 4 focused too much on the characters and because of this, all the other extra modes suffered dearly. If you port the game you can build off what you had in the previous game instead of completely starting over.

 

There's a casual community that loves Smash and is oblivious about this, you can't put in perspective what a percentage of a community wants, since the ending result will always be different.



Why isn't he in Smash then?

Spoiler

:^)

No one likes either of them, and antagonists are main characters too. It may not be the one you are using, but it's existence makes the game what it is.

Edit: Just to make it clear,
Main character are the ones directly influenced on the story, protagonist and antagonist are both main characters. Slippy and Peppy are supporting characters, heck even Falco isn't a main character, he's a secondary.

Wolf isn't even the main antagonist.He's the secondary antagonist.Slippy and pepppy are main characters.There in every game and have just has much important stuff as falco.Hell in star fox i would say slippy and and falco are on the same level of importance in their home series.

 

I honestly think next smash they need to port smash 4. If they do it from scratch like they did with smash 4, there will probably be alot of character cuts, and really bad single player modes. Smash 4 focused too much on the characters and because of this, all the other extra modes suffered dearly. If you port the game you can build off what you had in the previous game instead of completely starting over.

Actually, that's a great idea. They'd have so much more time for adding characters and modes. Why waste time rebuilding the game entirely from scratch each time?

 

Wolf isn't even the main antagonist.He's the secondary antagonist.Slippy and pepppy are main characters.There in every game and have just has much important stuff as falco.Hell in star fox i would say slippy and and falco are on the same level of importance in their home series.

I don't really know, Star Fox has never been something I really like.

Which is why Melee's roster was just as boring as Smash 64's. There were so few actual additions to the roster. They wasted all that time on clones when they could have added actual characters. In fact, Melee, while having a competitive and fun physics engine, had probably the most pitiful roster of any fighting game in history.

There's worse, trust me.
Street Fighter, the original game, it's horrible.

 

Which is why Melee's roster was just as boring as Smash 64's. There were so few actual additions to the roster. They wasted all that time on clones when they could have added actual characters. In fact, Melee, while having a competitive and fun physics engine, had probably the most pitiful roster of any fighting game in history.

Actually, all the clones in Melee were last-minute additions due to having time left over after the main roster was complete. The reason they didn't add more unique characters is they didn't have the time to with Melee's release schedule, which was very tight. So they didn't waste any time with clones. In fact, according to Sakurai, even removing every clone wouldn't have been enough time to add one new character.

“If I could add one or two more characters, then [Wario] could have gotten in. Of all the characters I discarded, [he’s] ranked near the top. However, even if I didn’t work on several clone characters he wouldn’t have gotten in. Even if I deleted characters from before (Jigglypuff, Luigi) he wouldn’t have gotten in. You might think it’s impossible that even if we delete one character in development that it couldn’t be replaced with another character…. I would have needed to get rid of both Marth and Roy or Mewtwo in order for Wario to get in

For Sakurai, clones are actually a form of fan service because they are basically free characters.

“Clone characters are for the fans, through and through (literally, “clones are free/ service”). Even if we delete one clone, the amount of new characters wouldn’t increase by one.”

“Warning: Deleting a clone character to increase the amount of newcomers is simply not the case. It’s interesting to see people have different understandings. I made them thinking that people would be happy to see them. …it’s futile to change my mind, so stop.“

 

Which is why Melee's roster was just as boring as Smash 64's. There were so few actual additions to the roster. They wasted all that time on clones when they could have added actual characters. In fact, Melee, while having a competitive and fun physics engine, had probably the most pitiful roster of any fighting game in history.

The main reason why it has a "pitiful" roster was because Sakurai was working with a really small team at the time. I personally welcome these clones, I guess it's a matter of personal preference, so I won't argue.

I don't really know, Star Fox has never been something I really like.

Still, Wolf was a favorite of many. Even if one doesn't like Star Fox franchise, one could still like the Smash characters that come from there.

I honestly think next smash they need to port smash 4. If they do it from scratch like they did with smash 4, there will probably be alot of character cuts, and really bad single player modes. Smash 4 focused too much on the characters and because of this, all the other extra modes suffered dearly. If you port the game you can build off what you had in the previous game instead of completely starting over.

If that was actually a thing, /5.

Forgettable game?

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Melee's half of the cast are literally clones with different properties.

okei

I actually like the Melee roster as it is.

 

Xandercosm you might as well quit playing smash if you have that many complaints over it.

 

Xandercosm you might as well quit playing smash if you have that many complaints over it.

Thanks. Yes, I might as well quit Smash because I have a different opinion than yours. It's Sakurai-defending fanboys like you that make this community sickening. If you think me wanting Smash to go in a healthy and positive direction means that I should quit the game, you must not understand constructive critique. People need to stop thinking Sakurai can do no wrong. Get advice on debates. Soon. It'll do you some good...

 

Still, Wolf was a favorite of many. Even if one doesn't like Star Fox franchise, one could still like the Smash characters that come from there.

I don't mind Wolf too, he was a pretty cool character in Brawl.

I actually like the Melee roster as it is.

I don't really care about clones, heck without them, it would be boring as hell. I love the Melee roster!

Thanks. Yes, I might as well quit Smash because I have a different opinion than yours. It's Sakurai-defending fanboys like you that make this community sickening. If you think me wanting Smash to go in a healthy and positive direction means that I should quit the game, you must not understand constructive critique. People need to stop thinking Sakurai can do no wrong. Get advice on debates. Soon. It'll do you some good...

It's HIS game. Would you like to be working tirelessly for something you don't like?

 

Thanks. Yes, I might as well quit Smash because I have a different opinion than yours. It's Sakurai-defending fanboys like you that make this community sickening. If you think me wanting Smash to go in a healthy and positive direction means that I should quit the game, you must not understand constructive critique. People need to stop thinking Sakurai can do no wrong. Get advice on debates. Soon. It'll do you some good...

I'm pretty sure that they know Sakurai is not perfect like Christ, but these "Sakurai-defending fanboys" actually see past the fact that Fire Emblem is overflowing with reps in Smash 4 and see the uniqueness in the character and what they bring to the table. I think the same way, but you don't see me those that think otherwise.

But be honest, now that Lucina, Robin, and Corrin are in Smash 4, whould you like to see them get cut in Smash 5? I wouldn't.

Xandercosm you might as well quit playing smash if you have that many complaints over it.

That ain't gonna change anything.

 

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.

but Wolf is not a new character, they wanted a new character to add to the roster whether if its from Fire Emblem or not. It wouldn't make sense that they would waste that on a veteran character. Just like how Roy, Mewtwo, and Lucas were added to the game. Wolf would have gotten that same treatment if they really wanted him back. I would have not been hyped if the Ballot or Upcoming character was someone I have seen from the last game. I would be happy for the Wolf fans who wanted them but Wolf would have been an easy character to import back so wasting all of the hype speculation for a Veteran character wouldn't do it.

I'm not a big FE fan but if you are going to end the DLC, then bring fresh blood to the roster and thats what they did.

 

Sakurai should learn to not make promises he can't keep in a world of big business. "From now on, everything will be fan service"... "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." He just sounds like a puppet now.

So he basically said that he felt there were too many FE characters but Nintendo really wanted a character to promote a new game. That's where vision clashes with business, and that's where things get tricky.

Why didn't they care before that none of the previous DLC characters had anything to promote (except Cloud, for your rival company lol), but now there's this sudden "OMG, we need a money-grab character in there"? Couldn't there have at least been a new game to promote that didn't have too many reps? I guess it was either Corrin or Paper Mario; take your pick at whatever franchise you want to overload. I guess Sakurai's heart was in the right place, but ultimately the higher-ups took over.

I hope I'm not misreading things. I'm assuming by logistics, he means the "higher-ups" involvement.

I think for the Inkling, Splatoon's advertising campaign is over, so I think they want to promote something that has a close upcoming release date.

No **** K. Rool is not relevant anymore. Who said a character had to be relevant to be in Smash? , , ... even at this day in age.


Faith and respect. All I got from this interview was $$$.


I disagree. If they didn't develop Corrin, they would've had time to develop a whole new character instead. If they didn't create Lucina, they would've had time to clone another character instead.


Is Wolf in the new game?

The whole Fan Service he was referring too was most likely the ballot.

 

I don't mind Wolf too, he was a pretty cool character in Brawl.



I don't really care about clones, heck without them, it would be boring as hell. I love the Melee roster!



It's HIS game. Would you like to be working tirelessly for something you don't like?

I never knew that he didn't like Smash Bros.

 

I'm pretty sure that they know Sakurai is not perfect like Christ, but these "Sakurai-defending fanboys" actually see past the fact that Fire Emblem is overflowing with reps in Smash 4 and see the uniqueness in the character and what they bring to the table. I think the same way, but you don't see me those that think otherwise.

But be honest, now that Lucina, Robin, and Corrin are in Smash 4, whould you like to see them get cut in Smash 5? I wouldn't.

That ain't gonna change anything.

I honestly hate cuts, which is why they should port the game, that way none of the 1st party characters get cut, and they can easily add back in all the cut 1st party characters. 3rd parties are a different story due to licensing issues, but they should still try to bring all of them back.






That's all 65 characters from previous smash games, now you just add in 15-20 newcomers.

 

The whole Fan Service he was referring too was most likely the ballot.

Everything.