Translated Sakurai Famitsu Interview

[Katy Parry]

Lucina wasn't chosen over Chrom. She was a costume that was split from Marth and put into a different slot with slight changes. Sakurai isn't saying that Chrom isn't unique but Lucina is; rather, Lucina was literally designed to not be unique in the first place.

It makes perfect sense. She poses as Marth, is in the same bloodline as Marth. I'm not upset she's a clone, really.

Besides, I'm just gonna change her up anyway with her special moves. That way she's not super identical.

 

[Xzsmmc]

Well, now I'm really hoping the leak is false, because losing Lucas after hearing his reasoning for Lucina just seems hypocritical.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Well, now I'm really hoping the leak is false, because losing Lucas after hearing his reasoning for Lucina just seems hypocritical.

The Gematsu Leak is already dead. Lucas is safe. Lucas already plays different enough from Ness in terms with what Sakurai wanted with Lucina and Marth.

 

[Banjodorf]

For those arguing about the Gematsu Leak:

Gematsu said nothing about /. If he was legit he would have mentioned / but he focused only on Chrom.

Never mind that Gematsu said nothing about .

A Leaker never would have let any characters past them. The Leak has been officially considered dead. (Well long dead if you count the non prediction of Rosalina).

For those of you worried about Shulk and Chorus Kids/Men and argue in favor of Gematsu for their sake, they are not affected.

Chorus Kids/Men are helped by the Sneaky Spirits enemy found in Smash Run.

Shulk is helped by his international popularity and cannot be ignored.

...I'm still going to silently argue, because my nerves are starting to get to me, and I need my Monado boy! So there!

...I'm so tired of this stressful speculation, and yet at the same time, glad that things were shaken up by one of my most wanted I didn't think had a real shot.

I'm not worried about the Chorus Men at all, for the reasons you mentioned, and while I absolutely can't see Sakurai ignoring Shulk, Monolith Soft likely really wanting a character, the worldwide popularity, the fact that he likes the series... just like with Little Mac, I can't shake the doubt now, and it's going to get at me until he's possibly revealed.

...Is it August 12th yet? I'm just done.

More on topic, that article is glorious, and gives me alot of faith (moreso) in Sakurai's ability to create unique newcomers, and go for good options instead of easy ones. (He also gave Ike the proper color fire, so that's a plus.)

 

[Oracle_Summon]

...I'm still going to silently argue, because my nerves are starting to get to me, and I need my Monado boy! So there!

...I'm so tired of this stressful speculation, and yet at the same time, glad that things were shaken up by one of my most wanted I didn't think had a real shot.

I'm not worried about the Chorus Men at all, for the reasons you mentioned, and while I absolutely can't see Sakurai ignoring Shulk, Monolith Soft likely really wanting a character, the worldwide popularity, the fact that he likes the series... just like with Little Mac, I can't shake the doubt now, and it's going to get at me until he's possibly revealed.

...Is it August 12th yet? I'm just done.

More on topic, that article is glorious, and gives me alot of faith (moreso) in Sakurai's ability to create unique newcomers, and go for good options instead of easy ones. (He also gave Ike the proper color fire, so that's a plus.)

Allow me to quote myself:

For those of you worried about Shulk and Chorus Kids/Men and argue in favor of Gematsu for their sake, they are not affected.
Chorus Kids/Men are helped by the Sneaky Spirits enemy found in Smash Run.

Shulk is helped by his international popularity and cannot be ignored.

 

[Banjodorf]

Allow me to quote myself:

Hey, I quoted you! I'm going to be concerned even if it's nonsense! So sue me!

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Hey, I quoted you! I'm going to be concerned even if it's nonsense! So sue me!

Hey! Shulk is the one who has the most chances of getting in if that is what you are worried about.

Nintendo is not going to ignore one of their most successful IPs in a long time that is also an International Hit.

 

[TerminalMontage]

Interesting interview.

Lucina is better than nothing. I don't see why people are whining about Sakurai choosing her over Chrom, or him considering Chrom as just another swordsman. Lucina was going to be a costume, but he decided to tweak a few things, so her having a roster slot doesn't mean someone else gets the cut, she truly is an extra character, and it's neat that he is sharing this with us.

And calling him lazy for not wanting to give Chrom a different moveset is silly. Sure he could think up of different swordplay, but compared to Ike and Marth, Chrom really is just another swordsman, and he thinks that's boring. Sakurai is making good choices.

 

[aldelaro5]

I found this statement quite important:

Conversely, when the idea of including Robin came to mind, conceiving the character was so easy that I immediately saw how it would work. From standards to specials, grabs to throws, all aspects of his moveset just fell into place. Not only did he possess characteristics unlike other fighters, but he also captured the essence of the Fire Emblem series. It was perfect!

This for me is a good idea of how Sakurai choose characters. I don't know about you but it seems to tell me that if I see x character in smash, how obvious I could interpret it would depends if he would be included or not.

In other words, a moveset too "forced" wouldn't seem appealing to him.

I don't know but I think this is important.

 

[Shroob]

...I'm still going to silently argue, because my nerves are starting to get to me, and I need my Monado boy! So there!

...I'm so tired of this stressful speculation, and yet at the same time, glad that things were shaken up by one of my most wanted I didn't think had a real shot.

I'm not worried about the Chorus Men at all, for the reasons you mentioned, and while I absolutely can't see Sakurai ignoring Shulk, Monolith Soft likely really wanting a character, the worldwide popularity, the fact that he likes the series... just like with Little Mac, I can't shake the doubt now, and it's going to get at me until he's possibly revealed.

...Is it August 12th yet? I'm just done.

More on topic, that article is glorious, and gives me alot of faith (moreso) in Sakurai's ability to create unique newcomers, and go for good options instead of easy ones. (He also gave Ike the proper color fire, so that's a plus.)

What, pray tell, happens on August 12th?

 

[Oracle_Summon]

What, pray tell, happens on August 12th?

If I recall, it is what most people presume to be the date of the next Nintendo Direct.

 

[Shroob]

If I recall, it is what most people presume to be the date of the next Nintendo Direct.

It could happen, I guess. Only 3 weeks to go. Would put us exactly one month until launch and all.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

It could happen, I guess. Only 3 weeks to go. Would put us exactly one month until launch and all.

I hope that is the official date, that would leave me 5 days before returning to College to finish up. And I would like to debate for a couple more days about characters.

 

[Icedragonadam]

And it's also the estimate date of when the September issue of Corocoro leaks. I'm not going to bother with Gematsu the arguments should die down atleast until something true related to it happens much later.

Still though, we're in for a very interesting August.

 

[soviet prince]

what intrest me the most is it seems like he is willing to have alt costumes of completly diff characters as long as they play the same way

 

[Rich Homie Quan]

I wonder how her standard attacks will differ. The scans and this translation seem to focus generally on her specials. We've seen from the footage that her Nair and uair are very similar to Marth's. I wonder if some of her other aerials are different.

 

[Staarih]

Interesting article. I'm not sure if I get the essence of if though... he says Chrom would become just a plain-old sword-wielder, but isn't that exactly what Lucina is? Maybe she has a few tweaks here and there, but that could've been done with Chrom too. It's a bit odd really. By bringing up specifically Chrom like that, it almost feels like Sakurai is apologizing for not being able to make Chrom work haha, which makes me think he might have been in development stage even, but later dropped for not working and having Lucina as a clone... which sounds weird now that I think about it. Nah...

I don't know, we have what we have, and that's it.

 

[Tree Gelbman]

Lucina has breasts. She's not even sharing a slot with a guy option either. Smash needed more female playables. It's a clear goal this time. Not to mention listening to fan demand there's been two things people have commonly said about the FE reps:

1) A rep that's just not a swordsman.
2) And a female rep.

Lucina, even if she began life as a Marth alt. Has both of those things going for her. She's a swordswoman and a female rep. Same reasons Robin probably got some more attention from Sakurai too as he/she is both things as well.

 

[Moldy Clay]

Interesting article. I'm not sure if I get the essence of if though... he says Chrom would become just a plain-old sword-wielder, but isn't that exactly what Lucina is? Maybe she has a few tweaks here and there, but that could've been done with Chrom too. It's a bit odd really. By bringing up specifically Chrom like that, it almost feels like Sakurai is apologizing for not being able to make Chrom work haha, which makes me think he might have been in development stage even, but later dropped for not working and having Lucina as a clone... which sounds weird now that I think about it. Nah...

I don't know, we have what we have, and that's it.

Chrom was dropped in favor of Robin.
Lucina is only in because she is a glorified costume.

Essentially, she's just a bonus character because she slightly evolved out of a costume model that was already in the game.

It seems like Sakurai's being hypocritical, but he's not. Lucina wasn't included in place of Chrom. She was just promoted to beef the roster. Her not being there would've just meant she was still there, but selectable under Marth, while Chrom was still just Robin's Final Smash.

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

Lmao 3 Land masters. I don't follow the fire emblem series, so I wouldn't know about her or her fanbase. You make a good point about a female swordsmen as well. But I still don't see the point of being a transitional character. Wouldn't that make her useless after you switch to Marth? Only diehard Fire Emblem fans would stick to her even though probably being lower on the tier list.

Well, not really. I played Fox in Melee, and thanks to playing Fox I transitioned to Falco, and now I play both. Marth's moves may have more reward, but there is a risk , and that's where Lucina shines bright, as having consistent damage despite spacing and having solid knock back would make her easy to follow up with.

Personally, I'm going to play with them both . If I can land that Dair without spacing it I'll be doing Ken combos for days.

 

[Staarih]

Chrom was dropped in favor of Robin.
Lucina is only in because she is a glorified costume.

Essentially, she's just a bonus character because she slightly evolved out of a costume model that was already in the game.

It seems like Sakurai's being hypocritical, but he's not. Lucina wasn't included in place of Chrom. She was just promoted to beef the roster. Her not being there would've just meant she was still there, but selectable under Marth, while Chrom was still just Robin's Final Smash.

Ahh right, never thought of it that way. So Robin was the only planned FE-newcomer and initially it would have been only him/her. But they decided to add Lucina as her own character to (probably) beef up the roster as you said, which was an easy task because she already existed as Marth's alt. Makes sense. Lucina seems to be a lucky newcomer indeed.

 

[Heefe]

His reasons for adding Lucina and dropping Chrom are so stupid... but whatever...

 

[crazyhandmasterhand]

Ahh right, never thought of it that way. So Robin was the only planned FE-newcomer and initially it would have been only him/her. But they decided to add Lucina as her own character to (probably) beef up the roster as you said, which was an easy task because she already existed as Marth's alt. Makes sense. Lucina seems to be a lucky newcomer indeed.

Uh huh. Robin was the intended representative and Lucina was just icing on the cake.
Lucky indeed. I will also gladly take that luck because I really wanted Lucina to be playable in Smash, hahaha.

 

[Bladeviper]

His reasons for adding Lucina and dropping Chrom are so stupid... but whatever...

except thats not what happened... but whetever

 

[zombieRabbidz]

Lucina is more popular, is female and is visually less similar than Chrom is to Marth or Ike for those reasons. She's also an obvious choice for a Marth alt because of her role within FE:Awakening (posing as Marth). In any case, it was never a matter of "Chrom or Lucina"; it was "Chrom or Robin" and Robin was the obvious choice. Lucina was always going to be in the game; it's only her status as a costume or a character with slight differences that was changed.

This is true and im glad she got in over chrom. Plus shes hot

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

Sadly I think if this all is the case, Chrom might as well stay forever as Robin's Final Smash because unlike Villager or Miis, his biggest problem is his lack of bringing anything new to the table to Sakurai - unless times change enough for him to gain something visibly unique from other Lords in the series. There's though the DLC-movement going now for him...

Also, Lucina's basically the new , eh

I think we could have still done well with the Pair-Up-mechanic where Robin used the tomes while Chrom delivered the sword attacks. We got that very partially though, but still...

 

[Bladeviper]

Sadly I think if this all is the case, Chrom might as well stay forever as Robin's Final Smash because unlike Villager or Miis, his biggest problem is his lack of bringing anything new to the table to Sakurai - unless times change enough for him to gain something visibly unique from other Lords in the series. There's though the DLC-movement going now for him...

Also, Lucina's basically the new , eh

I think we could have still done well with the Pair-Up-mechanic where Robin used the tomes while Chrom delivered the sword attacks. We got that very partially though, but still...

im not sure i would have liked the idea of a team up of robin and chrom. I mean the whole idea of robin's starting class is that he can use both magic and swords.

 

[Heefe]

except thats not what happened... but whetever

He said Chrom would just be another swordsman without any unique moves, therefore he adds Lucina which is basically the same character as Marth. Makes no sense to me... Even if Chrom wouldn't be that unique he still would be more than Lucina.

I'm not against Lucina, just saying that I find his reasons a bit weird.

 

[TeaTwoTime]

Sakurai's reasoning for doing what he did is completely fair. It is not a matter of Chrom being cut for Lucina's sake; if it was, then I would be able to sympathise more with Chrom supporters (of which I considered myself a part), but it just isn't. I'll assume that no-one would be complaining if she had been introduced as a costume that shared Marth's slot, so I have to ask... what is wrong with her having her own slot? There is no negative impact on the rest of the game and a very positive impact for fans of Lucina.

Also, a little OT, but my question now is: now that Robin and Lucina have been solidified as characters that will remain relevant throughout the lifetime of Smash 4, will they remain relevant in future Fire Emblem games throughout this period as well?

He said Chrom would just be another swordsman without any unique moves, therefore he adds Lucina which is basically the same character as Marth. Makes no sense to me... Even if Chrom wouldn't be that unique he still would be more than Lucina.

He didn't add Lucina because she was unique and Chrom wasn't. She was a costume that was put in to introduce a highly popular (moreso than Chrom) and female Fire Emblem representative. She was designed to be just like Marth - but not Marth. Sakurai never said she was more unique than Chrom in terms of potential movesets.

 

[ChikoLad]

This still doesn't change the fact that she is the worst clone. :V

 

[dezeray112]

After reading the translated version, I do find the reasoning for Chrom's consideration and then not to include him to be a bit awkward for some reason.

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

This still doesn't change the fact that she is the worst clone. :V

And for what reason?

 

[ChikoLad]

And for what reason?

She's still just Marth without what makes Marth interesting. Now her sword functions just like any of the swordfighters that aren't Marth, but using Marth's moves.

 

[Fatmanonice]

"Of course, it would be really easy to make a game by churning out a ton of similar characters, but that's not how I produce games."

Melee-
Brawl-

I get what he's saying and this was one of the biggest arguments against Chrom for the longest time but I definitely call shenanigans on this. Even if he's merely referring to appearance, this is terribly ironic given how Lucina and Marth are hard to tell apart from a distance and how Lucina is now the most copy and paste character in Smash history. This is the same man who put three landmasters in Brawl and only considered Nintendo's second most important villain based on his physical similarities with Captain Falcon so I can't take this statement 100% seriously.

 

[ChikoLad]

Eeeeeh, Wolf is no clone to me. His Final Smash is ripped from Fox, but his A attacks are all completely different, and even though his specials are similar enough, they still have vastly different functions, especially the neutral B. His unique elements far outweigh his similarities to other fighters.

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

"Of course, it would be really easy to make a game by churning out a ton of similar characters, but that's not how I produce games."

Melee-
Brawl-

I get what he's saying and this was one of the biggest arguments against Chrom for the longest time but I definitely call shenanigans on this. Even if he's merely referring to appearance, this is terribly ironic given how Lucina and Marth are hard to tell apart from a distance and how Lucina is now the most copy and paste character in Smash history. This is the same man who put three landmasters in Brawl and only considered Nintendo's second most important villain based on his physical similarities with Captain Falcon so I can't take this statement 100% seriously.

Dude all of the melee clones are 100% same moveset as there normal playables


Any lucina as a clone so

These guys are almost 100% likely now



(Lucas is still on the ropes but hes most definatly back on top and as likely as ike was of being deconfirmed)

And as for Hes just as likely as the above due to 4 fire emblem reps

 

[Fatmanonice]

Well, now I'm really hoping the leak is false, because losing Lucas after hearing his reasoning for Lucina just seems hypocritical.

Her and Toon Link would definitely be the elephants in the room if Lucas is cut. Honestly, if Fire Emblem can have four reps, Mother can retain two.

 

[Hong]

Eeeeeh, Wolf is no clone to me. His Final Smash is ripped from Fox, but his A attacks are all completely different, and even though his specials are similar enough, they still have vastly different functions, especially the neutral B. His unique elements far outweigh his similarities to other fighters.

Agreed. Even more so, it's not like a game designer doesn't grow and improve. Even just one game can completely change how you will think going forward.

I am sure Mr. Sakurai received some very nasty words when he thought clones would be okay in Melee. While some of the Brawl characters are lazily designed, I'll take Wolf and Lucas aside. Wolf's shine is the only thing that feels cloned, maybe b+up. All his normals make him one of the most original characters in the game. He has a "blaster", but it's about as similar to Fox's in that they are both lasers. The similarities end there.

Lucas ended up like Ness because Sakurai failed. Specials aside, he has all the intents of a fresh character. Unique properties, cool interesting normas with only 1? that uses a similar animation to that of Ness, Lucas was probably meant to be his own man. The problem is the unique properties, while they give Ness and Lucas their own advantages, more or less ended up with very similar faults. Designing the Mother series characters to the size scale he does means at most he can have them shoot sparks and distort their tiny bodies as much as he could, but it was not enough. In general Brawl was quantity over quality with newcomers and many of them had really lame moves, and again, he learned from it.

Meanwhile, Lucina was originally a costume for Marth. It makes sense, because there are now two "Marths" in Fire Emblem's pool of characters. Originally, designing Lucina would come at no expense of any character. Being purely a cosmetic change means that the team that actually has to design characters would not be involved. No moveset planning, full animation, balancing, etc.

But then she was made into her own character way after the fact. Transposing this and changing how her sword works was short work, and honestly balance concerns will be more between her and Marth more than anything, and otherwise most of their current testing will be relevant. Chrom meanwhile never had a reason to even begin creation. Chrom is Chrom.

 

[CapnMuffin]

To those saying Sakurai's reasoning is flawed or hypocritical. Think before you post.

The "plain old sword user" was not a decision between Lucina over Chrom. It was Robin over Chrom. In fact, Lucina wasn't even part of the picture. She didn't get in "over Chrom" she was simply added because they had already basically made her as an alt but decided she might as well be a separate character.

 

[Smashoperatingbuddy123]

Her and Toon Link would definitely be the elephants in the room if Lucas is cut. Honestly, if Fire Emblem can have four reps, Mother can retain two.

If fire emblem can have 4 reps

Star fox can have 3 or 4

Mother can have 2

And ofcoarse the most damning pokemon can have 6 or 7 (from all of the evidence of mewtwo before and this 4 reps thing im extremely confident mewtwo will redeem himself/herself to smash bros.) (ps do believe another female and male versions due to male for popularity and female for promotion and female, and almost that the male and female mewtwos do have slightly different bodys.)