We here at The Outerhaven, and especially the members of the Nintendo Entertainment Podcast, have been heavily enjoying the “Creating Games” series on YouTube that Masahiro Sakurai does. The man has been a key part of Nintendo’s history and has fascinating insights into the gaming industry. But what many fans love the most are his “history lessons” for games he made. Today, he talked about Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U and all that went into them. As you can imagine, it was quite a lot, given what he had to do.
For example, this was the first handheld experience in the franchise’s history, and that led to certain issues and problems that had to be accounted for. It was also the first time that an outside studio seriously helped development. In this case, that was Bandai Namco Studios, who were instrumental in helping set the parameters for the gameplay and ensuring the 3DS version ran at 60 FPS. Plus, this is where the beloved character trailers truly hit their stride and where DLC came around for the first time!
Masahiro Sakurai also noted how he used the individual strengths of the 3DS and the Wii U to expand what the game could do. Check out the full video below, you won’t regret it.