Sunrise, Sunset - Isaac for Smash Ultimate #GoldenSunday

[KoopaSaki]

Do you Guys predict we will see something golden sun related at the Tokyo game awards in December or possibly E3 next year regarding golden sun 4?

 

[Luigifan18]

Slightly off topic here. Just want to throw in a crossover drawing idea. I would love to see Viridi from KI: Uprising crushing on Isaac and hugging his arm and basically either flirting with him and/or admire him. Meanwhile in the background, Palutena and Pit (& Dark Pit maybe?) are in shock/confused and Jenna is furious and ready to beat Viridi down. Heck, I can see this as a mini comic too.

I would make it myself if I could draw. :/

I would like to see Sonic swordfighting Vaati...

 

[MeatOfJustice]

Do you Guys predict we will see something golden sun related at the Tokyo game awards in December or possibly E3 next year regarding golden sun 4?

At the Tokyo game awards? Definitely not. Isn't Japan among the places where GS has its least amount of popularity? If we get new GS info I'm leaning towards a Nintendo Direct but it could perfectly be E3.

 

[TempestSurge]

Probably because animating a hand to grab or push an enemy isn't a terribly hard thing to do, and when Sakurai thinks Golden Sun he probably doesn't think of it as a core franchise. He probably started the AT direct with Isaac to tamper expectations, or a nod saying he'll get around to Isaac in DLC 2, or Smash 6, because I don't expect there to be a bigger money maker than Smash for Nintendo, at least for the future. (I'm aware Smash is still a few games behind other titles like Mario Cart, the Mario Series and LoZ, but i'm fairly certain Smash will eclipse those titles as the scene gets bigger and bigger thanks to the Internet.) As far as the first round of DLC, one thing is abundantly clear, Japanese preference is going be way higher than western preference for characters. I also think characters that are spherical in design, or look relatively simple are going be a majority of the first pass.

Also you have to think about it from a marketing strategy, Sakurai knows what the fans want, why would he put all the highest requested fan characters in a single game? Why not milk it some more for Smash 6 or Smash 7? Adding a few fan favorite characters here and there, taking away features, putting them back in, got to keep the train going. If you played any other games with multiple titles in it, you know this trick all too well.He could get upwards of 100$ for each copy of Smash Ultimate. Then when Smash 6 comes out, he could throw in Isaac and Geno and leave out Banjo and Shantae while leaving hints and repeat the process for Smash 7. There's a marketing strategy at play here that people aren't aware of. Their first job is to make as much money as possible, so they have to leave the fans partially-satisfied every time.

I doubt Sakurai holds back characters for the next Smash when he always talks about each current Smash being his last. And if he doesn't think Golden Sun is a core franchise over ones like Fire Emblem and Xenoblade, why would he save Isaac of all characters? He never talks about the character or his series and the franchise is inactive. It seems like he just isn't aware of Isaac's popularity, makes sense considering Golden Sun comes off more popular in the West.

It seems like the ballot was a wake up call (which is why K. Rool was never talked about like Ridley and Geno until he topped the ballot) and Isaac was probably going to stay a cut assist, like the rest of the ones from Brawl sans Gray Fox, until they had to scramble and update his assist (likely why he was never shown off till the very end). So I'm expecting more Fire Emblem and Xenoblade next Smash more than anything (Sakurai actually favors those games) along with whatever becomes the new Splatoon in that time.

 

[Jupiter Ivan]

At the Tokyo game awards? Definitely not. Isn't Japan among the places where GS has its least amount of popularity? If we get new GS info I'm leaning towards a Nintendo Direct but it could perfectly be E3.

Yeah, I imagine they’ll either announce a GS4 in a Nintendo Direct or E3. It probably wouldn’t make a big splash in any Japanese events.

I mean, look no further than Dark Dawn. DD was announced at E3 2009 (IIRC) and showed gameplay at E3 2010. Chances are GS4 or even remakes, for that matter, would get the same treatment.

 

[SonicLink125]

It would be the dream if a GS game is coming and a GS rep will be a fighter in Smash DLC for promotion.

I wish I was living in that timeline.

 

[DCavalier]

It would be the dream if a GS game is coming and a GS rep will be a fighter in Smash DLC for promotion.

I wish I was living in that timeline.

You and me both man.
Maybe Camelot will finally get another chance at working in something like Golden Sun.
I mean Mario Tennis Aces is a decent game, short on features but great gameplay.

Maybe this game success will finally let Camelot's chain a little loose to do something like remakes for the switch.

I always thought that Golden Sun could become like the Tales series of Nintendo.
If we compare Final Fantasy to Xenoblade, then Golden sun is the equal to Tales and i think a more action based entry would help raise the mainstream appeal.
Not that there is anything bad with turn-based RPGs but if we actually want this series to grow then we only have to look a Xenoblade.

Xenoblade changed for the better in almost every aspect, better and simpler gameplay, better asthetics and character design.
A better less nonsensical story than Xenogears and Saga.

And would you look a that, it became a million seller.

I would like to hear what you guys think about this, because I think is interesting to pitch everyones idea of the ideal Golden Sun sequel game.

 

[Skyblade12]

Man. The enthusiasm here has really dropped off.

 

[THE 6r]

Man. The enthusiasm here has really dropped off.

I mean, that last Direct lead to a mass exodus from the thread.

 

[DCavalier]

Man. The enthusiasm here has really dropped off.

I mean, that last Direct lead to a mass exodus from the thread.

Yeah, I think people are still grieving, hopefully they will come back.

 

[Rick4Smash]

I doubt Sakurai holds back characters for the next Smash when he always talks about each current Smash being his last. And if he doesn't think Golden Sun is a core franchise over ones like Fire Emblem and Xenoblade, why would he save Isaac of all characters? He never talks about the character or his series and the franchise is inactive. It seems like he just isn't aware of Isaac's popularity, makes sense considering Golden Sun comes off more popular in the West.

It seems like the ballot was a wake up call (which is why K. Rool was never talked about like Ridley and Geno until he topped the ballot) and Isaac was probably going to stay a cut assist, like the rest of the ones from Brawl sans Gray Fox, until they had to scramble and update his assist (likely why he was never shown off till the very end). So I'm expecting more Fire Emblem and Xenoblade next Smash more than anything (Sakurai actually favors those games) along with whatever becomes the new Splatoon in that time.

Part of the theatrics, and I'm sure he has insider information as well as Miyamoto about the future of the Nintendo brand and future Nintendo games. Remember he's been working on Ultimate since 2015..., when he was saying Smash for the Wii U would probably be his last, and it was likely on the drawing board a year before that, that's nearly 4 years, (plus the DLC) into the past. Right now i'm sure he has information about Smash 6, hence him saying "He can never get a break". I can almost guarantee if sales are good, (which they are expected to be good), there will be a Smash 6, probably to coincide with the next Nintendo console. Xenoblade and Fire Emblem are safe bets but I'm sure fan favorites will also be seriously considered, I don't think they are that tone-deaf, if they where they would have never shown Isaac as the first AT. There really would be no reason to bring him and show him first being that he is one of the more obscure characters in Nintendo history.

And if they do fan polls, the results are going be virtually the same, they're not going change much, again I don't think newer generations of smash players are that familiar with all the characters or potential characters because they didn't really grow up with them. There's not really a 3DS replacement, and most of the current Nintendo IP's that are selling are concepts from the N64 and Gamecube era. Mario Party, Legend Of Zelda, Star Fox, Pokemon, those are all very specific IPs. Yes you could say they'll always add new Pokemon and perhaps Xenoblade, but I don't think as far as fan requests they'll be much else, save for Banjo, Bomberman, Rayman, Crash, Isaac, and so forth. The fact that Geno, K.Rool, and Lloyd where all Mii Costumes, means they're probably listening and want to toy with expectations, and I don't see them putting all their eggs in one basket.

My bet is there going make some announcement about how Isaac isn't practical, his moves don't work with Smash, in the process leaving fans disappointed. Then come Smash 6, they'll say they found a way just like Ridley. They're going hold their cards close to their chest, and try to maximize profits as much as possible, if this is a game they don't even want to make, for example, then you'd have to ask yourself why they keep making it, it's all about money and people's nostalgia. They're not going create 5 DLC characters no one cares about, get the least amount of money/interest, and then come Smash 6 become totally tone-deaf and add 6 Fire Emblem characters, even Sakurai thinks there's to many FE characters. My guess is DLC will have 1 character western fans really wanted this time around, and the rest might be promotional or spherical characters that are easier to develop.

 

[SPEN18]

Yeah, I imagine they’ll either announce a GS4 in a Nintendo Direct or E3. It probably wouldn’t make a big splash in any Japanese events.

I mean, look no further than Dark Dawn. DD was announced at E3 2009 (IIRC) and showed gameplay at E3 2010. Chances are GS4 or even remakes, for that matter, would get the same treatment.

Yeah lol they could literally just show the logo with a 4 next to it just like Metroid Prime 4 and I'd go nuts. E3 is probably the most ideal place to reveal it for maximum publicity.

On an unrelated note, how would you guys feel about a few cinematic cutscenes in a new GS game? I've got mixed feelings for it; on one hand, having cinematics like that to show off in the trailers would help market the game but I wouldn't imagine they'd have that big of a budget and I'd rather they put the resources into gameplay and other content.

 

[Huanchi]

game awards are soon..please show a GS4 logo :/

 

[DogManStar]

Yeah, I think people are still grieving, hopefully they will come back.

I really hope people do come back, and participate in events like Golden Sunday tomorrow. If you just give up on the series, it will certainly die and Isaac will never be playable in Smash.

 

[Deleted member]

A lot of people left after the Direct.

But don't let it discourage you.

Golden Sunday will be big and we can make it that way.

 

[SonicLink125]

Yeah lol they could literally just show the logo with a 4 next to it just like Metroid Prime 4 and I'd go nuts. E3 is probably the most ideal place to reveal it for maximum publicity.

On an unrelated note, how would you guys feel about a few cinematic cutscenes in a new GS game? I've got mixed feelings for it; on one hand, having cinematics like that to show off in the trailers would help market the game but I wouldn't imagine they'd have that big of a budget and I'd rather they put the resources into gameplay and other content.

I think it would be cool to see cinematic cutscenes, but as you said, I would also prefer gameplay over anything else.

Sometimes I wish I was so ridiculously rich, I would pay Nintendo and Camelot to make both a GS remake and GS4. Hire highly trained professionals to help the Takashi Bros to make the best GS game(s) ever. Then go up to Sakurai in secret and pay him so much AND get him a very well deserved vacation/rest to make Isaac (and maybe Felix as an echo) as a fighter.

My plan for Sakurai to make the most hilarious troll move with Isaac's inclusion would be that at the end of a direct revealing the final planned DLC character. Sakurai would thank everyone. But then 5-10 seconds later after starring at the camera, he goes, "Oh wait, I forgot to show you all one last thing!" Shows off Isaac's trailer, but NO ONE has any idea who it is yet until Isaac's battle theme (remix or remastered) starts to play and BAM "Isaac Lends a Hand (or any good tag line). After his trailer ends. Nintendo, Sakurai and/or anybody don't say anything about it. And we all are left in the dark wondering if Isaac is an extra character, planned for a second season of DLC, a joke, a preview for Smash 6, etc. Chaos ensues, but in a fun way. Meanwhile Sakurai is having THE best vacation ever. Of course, in the end, we get Isaac regardless later on.

At that moment, as I envision it, it would not only excite all Isaac fans, but also those who also been hoping that their favorite character that's an AT would be promoted will be a reality. And it will be one final middle finger to the fan rule of "ATs can't be promoted in game".

..............Man, I really need to stop dreaming. Haha!

 

[FlawedAI]

Maybe this game success will finally let Camelot's chain a little loose to do something like remakes for the switch.

I always thought that Golden Sun could become like the Tales series of Nintendo.
If we compare Final Fantasy to Xenoblade, then Golden sun is the equal to Tales and i think a more action based entry would help raise the mainstream appeal.
Not that there is anything bad with turn-based RPGs but if we actually want this series to grow then we only have to look a Xenoblade.

Xenoblade changed for the better in almost every aspect, better and simpler gameplay, better asthetics and character design.
A better less nonsensical story than Xenogears and Saga.

And would you look a that, it became a million seller.

I would like to hear what you guys think about this, because I think is interesting to pitch everyones idea of the ideal Golden Sun sequel game.

Please, for the love of God, don't do this. We don't need another Action-RPG, both Xenoblade and Final Fantasy have that covered. Golden Sun can carve it's niche in turn-based RPGs, Octopath showed that those games still have a massive market, and Golden Sun works better as a turn-based RPG anyway. I really think that changing Golden Sun into an Action RPG is just about the worst thing you could do when reviving this series. You say Xenoblade became a million seller, but so did Octopath, and that's a new IP. A revival of Golden Sun with solid, classic turn-based gameplay, plus the nostalgia of the series returning will result in higher sales than Xenoblade, I would guess.


My perfect revival of Golden Sun starts with a remake of the first two games together, followed by Dark Dawn and 4 getting combined into their own game as well, closing the story on the Matthew saga. Fortunately for me, I believe we see that first remake next E3, combined with an Isaac announcement for Smash.

 

[Isaac: Venus Adept]

#GoldenSunday has begun and I extended it to two days to accommodate for timezones

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[SPEN18]

I think it would be cool to see cinematic cutscenes, but as you said, I would also prefer gameplay over anything else.

Maybe they could just do a cinematic for the intro? It could double as a trailer kind of like Melee's opening. Again, not sure if it would be in the budget.

 

[SonicLink125]

https://mobile.twitter.com/kiravera8/status/1061138539876888576

This is so wholesome!

 

[Nimbostratus]

#GoldenSunday has begun and I extended it to two days to accommodate for timezones

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Ahh yeah, I thought I was jumping the gun when I picked up a copy of Dark Dawn today since I was already in town, but it looks like it counts towards Golden Sunday now
I'll save getting GS1&2 on the Wii U VC tomorrow for the main event. I've been wanting a fresh playthrough on a newer console for a while now, but I'd been holding out for the Switch VC. Buuuuut we all know how that turned out, so it looks like I finally have a reason to dust off the ole Wii U. Hey, I guess it works out in the end since it means I got to save the purchase for Golden Sunday!

 

[N3ON]

Man. The enthusiasm here has really dropped off.

It would be kinda weird if a deconfirmation didn't do that...

 

[Deleted member]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IO0lli9uJns&index=11&list=PLCD5E70634946E090


Don't give up peeps we got this.

Snow-covered city from Golden Sun posted above.

 

[SPEN18]

Ahh yeah, I thought I was jumping the gun when I picked up a copy of Dark Dawn today since I was already in town, but it looks like it counts towards Golden Sunday now
I'll save getting GS1&2 on the Wii U VC tomorrow for the main event. I've been wanting a fresh playthrough on a newer console for a while now, but I'd been holding out for the Switch VC. Buuuuut we all know how that turned out, so it looks like I finally have a reason to dust off the ole Wii U. Hey, I guess it works out in the end since it means I got to save the purchase for Golden Sunday!

Lol I actually have played my Wii U more than my Switch this year. Why, you ask? Because Virtual Console. I can't play Golden Sun, Fire Emblem 7, Advance Wars, and Earthbound on my Switch.

 

[NukeA6]

Is Felix a spirit?

 

[GoodGrief741]

Is Felix a spirit?

Yeah, he’s been sighted.

 

[KoopaSaki]

All I know is our time now comes for us to rally to have our voice reach both Nintendo and Camelot that we want their rpg titan to return after a long way away. I will give it all I got for Golden Sunday!

 

[Nimbostratus]

Lol I actually have played my Wii U more than my Switch this year. Why, you ask? Because Virtual Console. I can't play Golden Sun, Fire Emblem 7, Advance Wars, and Earthbound on my Switch.

Ha, yeah, I've honestly been playing my SNES Classic more than anything right now. Like Golden Sun, I planned on getting Earthbound on the Wii U VC until I saw the Switch on the horizon, so I held off. I got lucky there that the Mini came out, but I don't really expect we'll be getting a GBA Classic in the near future to bail out Golden Sun as well.

... That would be pretty awesome if we did, though.

 

[SPEN18]

Ha, yeah, I've honestly been playing my SNES Classic more than anything right now. Like Golden Sun, I planned on getting Earthbound on the Wii U VC until I saw the Switch on the horizon, so I held off. I got lucky there that the Mini came out, but I don't really expect we'll be getting a GBA Classic in the near future to bail out Golden Sun as well.

... That would be pretty awesome if we did, though.

GBA Classic would be so lit

 

[Bladebreaker]

So I had a thought driving home tonight, and considered why GS has gotten so little attention in SSB. I now have a hypothesis.

Point one: Golden Sun, during it's height of popularity and relevancy, did relatively well and was very well received. Based on the sales number post several pages back, the series was outperforming pre-Awakening Fire Emblem (at least in the West? Or internationally?). Based on the logic of relevancy alone, Ike shouldn't have had a slot and Isaac should have.

Point two: Nintendo Life, who did a video discussing possible DLC characters, the guy (discussing Crono) mentioned that the SNES era of Ninendo hasn't gotten as much attention in SSB. If you look at the series as a highlight of the history of Nintendo, everything from the SNES forward seems to get less love than the NES era.

Point three: I've seen some comments from Bandana Waddle Dee supporters, Sakurai doesn't seem to have as much interest in newer Kirby, just Kirby he worked on himself. Which is why some BWD fans doubt his inclusion, because he's a newer character, relatively speaking.

Point four: In an interview I read (which I wish I could find to corroborate), Sakurai talked about how Samus plays, and how he designed her character. Some of her quirks, such as her floaty feeling, was based on how he interpreted how she controlled in the original Metroid.

This all leads me to think there's a certain 'logic' behind why Isaac isn't in the series (yet). That is, Sakurai's personal history with playing video games as a fan is centered around the NES and early GameBoy era. From then on, he started developing games instead of being a gamer. Much of Super Smash Bros. is built off of Sakurai's nostalgia for gaming, which is why we see such loving detail in the 'retro' characters such as Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Pit, and Duck Hunt, and why an addition such as Mach Rider felt so natural in the Grinch banner leak.

In my observation, it wasn't until after Brawl with Smash 4 that an ear was turned towards the fans and their wants (and even then, only really with the ballot). By then, Golden Sun had declined in relevance, so it's had less of an impact. A few years earlier, and it might have made it. This is why Ike got in despite the poorer performance of his two games; because Fire Emblem originated on the NES. There are outliers in this, like F-Zero and Zelda, but that could still be Sakurai's bias talking (if he's not a fan of those games as much as he is other series).

I think of it this way: Ken Burns' Jazz is a documentary talking about this history and origins of jazz. It's very good, but it spends a lot of time talking about Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and certain other very influential musicians such as Charles Mingus get only a passing mention. It's not wrong for it, but the creator's biases show through. If Smash is a documentary, Sakurai's biases are showing through: he's remembering his favorites in the NES era, while future eras have less of an emotional connection to him.

Of course, this is me just wildly speculating, and I'm probably very, very wrong.

 

[WaddleMatt]

Happy Golden Sunday everybody!!

 

[SPEN18]

This all leads me to think there's a certain 'logic' behind why Isaac isn't in the series (yet). That is, Sakurai's personal history with playing video games as a fan is centered around the NES and early GameBoy era. From then on, he started developing games instead of being a gamer. Much of Super Smash Bros. is built off of Sakurai's nostalgia for gaming, which is why we see such loving detail in the 'retro' characters such as Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Pit, and Duck Hunt, and why an addition such as Mach Rider felt so natural in the Grinch banner leak.

In my observation, it wasn't until after Brawl with Smash 4 that an ear was turned towards the fans and their wants (and even then, only really with the ballot). By then, Golden Sun had declined in relevance, so it's had less of an impact. A few years earlier, and it might have made it. This is why Ike got in despite the poorer performance of his two games; because Fire Emblem originated on the NES. There are outliers in this, like F-Zero and Zelda, but that could still be Sakurai's bias talking (if he's not a fan of those games as much as he is other series).

I think of it this way: Ken Burns' Jazz is a documentary talking about this history and origins of jazz. It's very good, but it spends a lot of time talking about Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and certain other very influential musicians such as Charles Mingus get only a passing mention. It's not wrong for it, but the creator's biases show through. If Smash is a documentary, Sakurai's biases are showing through: he's remembering his favorites in the NES era, while future eras have less of an emotional connection to him.

Of course, this is me just wildly speculating, and I'm probably very, very wrong.

I think you're actually pretty spot on with a lot of those points. When you write a history book, you can't fit in every single thing that ever happened, so you have to pick and choose what's important to the historical narrative you're trying to convey. And by now it's pretty clear that Sakurai's "historical narrative" has some pretty large gaps in it. Basically, there are three things that get into Smash (for the most part): things made during Sakurai's formative years, things that were made recently, and things that have already been in Smash. But with many years between Smash games, there's a lot of stuff that gets passed over simply due to the timing of its release relative to Smash.
Golden Sun's timing in particular has been absolutely terrible with Smash. If they had waited on Melee a couple years instead of making it right after Smash 64, it is probable that Golden Sun would've been a shoe-in as a new IP ripe for promotion. With Dark Dawn, many people in this very thread have suggested that they should have pushed back the game to be an early 3DS title instead of a late DS title; this way, it would've been a JRPG on a system with barely any of them and they would've been able to touch up a few issues people had with the game. But in terms of Smash, a 2011-2012 release date would've put it in prime consideration for the 2012 roster plan for Smash 4. I could go into detail further, but this is obviously all hypothetical so I don't want to delve into it too much.

Also, Ken's inclusion reminds me a lot of your fourth point (about Samus). In an interview (an article about it linked below), Sakurai talks about how he had a 50-win streak on Street Fighter 2. It's obvious he loved that game and it must've contributed to Ryu being chosen in Smash 4 DLC and Ken being chosen for Ultimate with a SF2-based moveset.
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2...hiro-sakurai-35-years-gaming-history-nintendo

 

[Deleted member]

Happy Golden Sunday WaddleMatt.

We will make today count for Golden Sun.

I think this has already been said as well, we know the main goal of today. To spread hype and let Nintendo that Golden Sunday is not done and we want it back.

But let's not spam Masahiro Sakurai and the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's development teams Twitter accounts with requests for Isaac, it's already decided DLC and that won't change. So let's leave them alone, and guys don't worry I don't mean you no one here would do that but let anyone on Twitter you see to not do that.

Anyway here we go let's go Golden Sunday.

 

[WaddleMatt]

Was a plan with what we would be doing written up? I could have sworn I saw something.

 

[Deleted member]

The main thing is to tweet at Nintendo about Golden Sun tell them we want Golden Sun back, tweet memories, discuss the game. Stuff like that if there are Golden Sun fans out there tweet them as well.

If you don't use Twitter use any form of social media spread videos discuss the game stuff like that.

I'm thinking that's the plan but let's see what we can do.

 

[NessAtc.]

Keep the buzz going! We have full support from fans around the world, let's spread it as far as we can now!

 

[Quetzal77]

I've seen a couple of posts for Golden Sunday already, awesome! Hopefully we can get it trending tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member]

I don't if we'll get it trending but keep spreading the message that is main thing.

 

[Undella2]

Since I don't have a Twitter account, I've been spreading the Golden Sun love through, uh, NationStates of all things.

Still, any support I can give will help the cause!

 

[TheSpaceKing12]

So I had a thought driving home tonight, and considered why GS has gotten so little attention in SSB. I now have a hypothesis.

Point one: Golden Sun, during it's height of popularity and relevancy, did relatively well and was very well received. Based on the sales number post several pages back, the series was outperforming pre-Awakening Fire Emblem (at least in the West? Or internationally?). Based on the logic of relevancy alone, Ike shouldn't have had a slot and Isaac should have.

Point two: Nintendo Life, who did a video discussing possible DLC characters, the guy (discussing Crono) mentioned that the SNES era of Ninendo hasn't gotten as much attention in SSB. If you look at the series as a highlight of the history of Nintendo, everything from the SNES forward seems to get less love than the NES era.

Point three: I've seen some comments from Bandana Waddle Dee supporters, Sakurai doesn't seem to have as much interest in newer Kirby, just Kirby he worked on himself. Which is why some BWD fans doubt his inclusion, because he's a newer character, relatively speaking.

Point four: In an interview I read (which I wish I could find to corroborate), Sakurai talked about how Samus plays, and how he designed her character. Some of her quirks, such as her floaty feeling, was based on how he interpreted how she controlled in the original Metroid.

This all leads me to think there's a certain 'logic' behind why Isaac isn't in the series (yet). That is, Sakurai's personal history with playing video games as a fan is centered around the NES and early GameBoy era. From then on, he started developing games instead of being a gamer. Much of Super Smash Bros. is built off of Sakurai's nostalgia for gaming, which is why we see such loving detail in the 'retro' characters such as Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Pit, and Duck Hunt, and why an addition such as Mach Rider felt so natural in the Grinch banner leak.

In my observation, it wasn't until after Brawl with Smash 4 that an ear was turned towards the fans and their wants (and even then, only really with the ballot). By then, Golden Sun had declined in relevance, so it's had less of an impact. A few years earlier, and it might have made it. This is why Ike got in despite the poorer performance of his two games; because Fire Emblem originated on the NES. There are outliers in this, like F-Zero and Zelda, but that could still be Sakurai's bias talking (if he's not a fan of those games as much as he is other series).

I think of it this way: Ken Burns' Jazz is a documentary talking about this history and origins of jazz. It's very good, but it spends a lot of time talking about Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and certain other very influential musicians such as Charles Mingus get only a passing mention. It's not wrong for it, but the creator's biases show through. If Smash is a documentary, Sakurai's biases are showing through: he's remembering his favorites in the NES era, while future eras have less of an emotional connection to him.

Of course, this is me just wildly speculating, and I'm probably very, very wrong.

I agreed until you said he stopped activrely playing games post NES era. That is straight up wrong. Sakurai plays games almost as much time as he spends making them. This is well documented by source gaming. And as for resonance with newer titles. He took a big interested in games like Minecraft, and Xenoblade 2. So that's also not much of a fair summation. The consideration of fan imput is fair. As stasitically they seemed to care more about the hardcore audience post brawl. But I can't make that call with certainty as the only big fan service picks in the base roster of smash 4 were little mac and megaman. I think they just do what they want all the way through.