Anybody read the French interview?
Yes, sir.
1. I agree and disagree that raising the number of characters and stages isn't enough to evolve the series. More doesn't automatically mean better. However, it's not simply the addition of a character that should be considered, but how a character changes how the game is played. For example, Zelda/Sheik in Melee was especially unique. Besides the fact that she had double the moves, I remember the first time I realized that I could transform back into Zelda after getting launched as Sheik and use Naryu's Wind to get back onto a platform if Sheik was too far to do so herself. Brawl doesn't let you do that because the transformation takes too long, but a character like that still changes the game, enough to make things interesting.
Sakurai does kind of address this later in the interview when he mentions the thought process of including new characters. "What can this character do that existing ones cannot?" EXACTLY. That's why people bemoan the inclusion of "clones." They play differently, but they're variations of an existing character. New characters can't all be game-changers. However, if he's wondering how the series can evolve, it starts with picking characters that surprise people, characters that change the way people play the game. There's always some way to evolve or improve a game and a gap between releases helps a series like this from becoming stale. I still believe Super Smash Bros., like many of Nintendo's primarily multiplayer games, should only appear once per console.
When it comes to stages, I think a more robust stage editor will drastically help evolve the series. Look what people have done taking sprites of old Mario games and making their own stages. Additionally, swimming underwater could open up level design.
2. DLC always seemed like a forgone conclusion for the series. I expected it with these new games so I'm very surprised that it's not a definite at this point.
3. I don't think patching will be an issue. Basically, you don't get to play online until you update to the latest patch. That way anyone who plays online has the most up to date version and there won't be issues of someone with a patch playing against someone without.
4. I'm glad that he reiterated that he's sharing the burden of balancing the game and creating attacks with others on the team. Namco Bandai is a really great developer to be helping out in this regard.
5. I wasn't a fan of The Subspace Emissary, but Sakurai's reasoning for not including a similar story mode is weak. "Oh, people watched the cutscenes on the internet instead of playing the adventure mode." Sorry, no, that's terribly reductive. Some people watched the cutscenes instead of playing the adventure mode because the adventure mode sucked balls. Make a better adventure mode and people will want to play it. Also, all cutscenes of popular (and sometimes not so popular) games end up on the Interwebz. Is he suggesting that companies shouldn't bother with a story mode or cutscenes in their games from now on?
6. I like the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale name drop. I actually like the game, but it's only really fun with more than two players. You need more players to make the matches more interesting whereas, to me, Smash Bros. is still enjoyable no matter how many people are player.
7. Sakurai can't talk about player created content such as a stage or character editor. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't at least a stage editor. A character editor seems a bit trickier. Miis are an obvious choice though I wonder if the Fighting Alloys will be replaced by Miis. I still kind of hope the Polygon Team or Wireframes return.
Topic: Super Smash Bros. for WiiU (& 3DS) (Read 457923 times)
