Tag: Sakurai
Random Sakurai Explains How Manga Influenced Smash Ultimate's Character Designs
It's all in the mouth
Masahiro Sakurai is back with another game development video and today's lesson is all about Manga-like visuals. The legendary game designer discusses the expressive and unrealistic techniques employed by manga and anime artists to achieve the most expressive result, specifically, how a character's mouth appears in profile and...
Random "Everyone Keeps The Gameplay In Mind" - Sakurai Talks Teamwork On Smash Ultimate
It's not all game designers, you know
Masahiro Sakurai is back talking about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on his YouTube channel (what do you know!). This time, the focus is on collision animations and how it's more of a collaborative effort than you might expect. Those who have been paying attention to the legendary game designer's videos over the...
Random Sakurai Demonstrates The Importance Of The Finer Details
Breaking the fourth, fifth, sixth wall
Masahiro Sakurai is known for his keen eye for detail and staunch perfectionism, but his latest YouTube video demonstrates just how many revisions are required for even the smallest details. The majority of the video focuses on one particular example of this. He discusses the Mishima Dojo stage from Super...
Random Sakurai Likens Boss Battles In Nintendo Games To Tutorials
"I think I'd prefer it if I had the freedom to choose how I fight"
In his latest YouTube video, Masahiro Sakurai highlights boss battles in Nintendo games as being similar to tutorials, noting that he prefers games that offer up more strategic freedom. Aptly titled Madatory Strategy and Strategic Balance, the video dives into the difference between...
Random Sakurai Cut Dolby Surround From Kirby Game To Trim Player Wait Time
One second too long
Super Smash Bros. developer Masahiro Sakurai has frequently demonstrated his desire to make game experiences as smooth and accessible as possible for the player. In a recent livestream event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hamster's Arcade Archives series, he talked on-stage with fellow creator Hideki Kamiya (Bayonetta,
Random Sakurai's Game Storage Solutions Are A Sight To Behold
Cabinet envy
Masahiro Sakurai's latest YouTube video has us looking at our measly game collections in shame as the legendary designer has given a full rundown of his storage solutions for just about every cartridge/disk size that you can think of. It should come as no surprise that this is a man with a beefy games collection (even if he has said...
Random "No Differences, No Fun!" - Sakurai Talks Unique Fighters In Smash Ultimate's DLC
"It's no fun if everyone's basically the same!"
Masahiro Sakurai is back again with another YouTube video and this one is all about 'using parameters' to keep characters feeling fresh. As expected, the legendary game designer touches on examples from Kirby and Smash Bros. to illustrate his point, though it was his explanation of "special...
Random Sakurai Endorses Powerwash Simulator And Other 'Work' Games
"I love these kind of games"
Masahiro Sakurai is back at it again with another YouTube video, this time looking at games that don't feature the 'pull and pull' or 'risk and reward' mechanics that he generally believes make up a games 'essence'. As such, he goes on to endorse "work" games such as PowerWash Simulator, Car Simulator, House Flipper,...
Random Even Giving Gifts To His Staff Was A Big Game To Sakurai
That's one way to break the ice
Masahiro Sakurai is best known for making video games (you don't need us to tell you that), but according to his latest YouTube video, he also made a game out of gift-giving. If Sakurai found himself with duplicate copies of games, or items that he didn't particularly need (even expensive things like graphics cards...
Random Sakurai Takes A Stand Against CGI Game Trailers
"Please don't do that!"
CGI trailers that refrain from showing any actual gameplay have often been a source of discourse in the video game community. On the one hand, they can be pretty effective in building hype - particularly if it's for a highly anticipated release - but on the other, they often fail at demonstrating what the game will actually...
News Sakurai Breaks Down How To Make Game Customisation Fun
"Make the designs cool"
Masahiro Sakurai has released a new YouTube video looking into the concept of customisation in video games. It's not the most groundbreaking stuff imaginable and it will likely only truly resonate with budding game developers. Still, since Sakurai has announced that he will be winding down his YouTube channel this year,...
News Masahiro Sakurai Plans To "Wrap Up" His YouTube Channel This Year
Back to Smash?
Super Smash Bros. creator and video game developer Masahiro Sakurai has been riding the waves of YouTube fame over the last 18 months or so. But the channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, will be ending sometime this year. This is straight from Sakurai himself, who shared the news over on his Community tab on the YouTube...
Random Sakurai Wanted The GameCube Controller To Include A Scroll Wheel
"I want to choose fast!"
Masahiro Sakurai has revealed that during the development of the Nintendo GameCube, he had suggested that a scroll wheel be implemented into the design of the controller. In his latest YouTube video, Sakurai explains the reasoning behind the suggestion, stating that a scroll wheel might have several useful functions for...
Random Sakurai Showcases Some Of Nintendo's Oldest Character Art In Latest Video
With "extremely special" permission from the Big N
Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube channel has long been a one-stop shop for all things gaming history. Be it showcasing his awesome collection or putting his retro gaming skills to the test, you know that the legendary game designer will have
News Sakurai Is Sceptical That Future Smash Bros. Titles Can Match Ultimate's Scope
"It would be difficult to push it any further than we have"
Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Smash Bros. franchise, has released a new video looking back on the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Switch. During the 12-13 minute presentation, Sakurai delves into the copious adjustments and additions required to make Ultimate...
News Masahiro Sakurai Is Teaming Up With 'Retro Game Master' For YouTube Crossover
First video will launch today
Update [Fri 13th Oct, 2023 09:30]: Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed that he will be teaming up with Retro Game Master (known as Game Centre CX in Japan) for his special YouTube crossover event. The first video will air today at 11am BST / 12pm CET and will be localised for Western audiences by 8-4, just like Sakurai's...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Showcases His Rare Gaming Collectibles
Autographs, engravings, and more
Being one of the most recognisable and influential figures in gaming, it should come as no surprise that Masahiro Sakurai has managed to accumulate a number of extremely rare collectibles over the years. In his latest YouTube 'Grab Bag' video, the legendary game designer has taken a bit of a different approach to...
Random Kirby's Dream Land Is All About Being "Kind To Beginners", Says Sakurai
A new challenge approaches
Everyone's favourite game developer-turned-YouTuber Masahiro Sakurai is back with another entry in his Creating Games series, and his latest video once again sees Kirby's Dream Land take centre stage. This time, Sakurai uses the classic Game Boy title to discuss the level of difficulty in video games and how it needs to...
Random "The Original Piece Is Always Right" - Sakurai Talks Smash Bros. Music
Musical mayhem
Legendary game developer Masahiro Sakurai is back with yet another entry in his Creating Games video series and this one is all about the difficulties of bringing classic video game soundtracks into a contemporary setting. Sakurai gives two examples from his time working on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (because why wouldn't you?) and...
News Sakurai Can't Imagine Future Super Smash Bros. Games Without His Involvement
"We don't have someone who can simply take the reins"
Legendary developer Masahiro Sakurai continues to pump out videos for his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, in which he imparts invaluable advice and anecdotes on game development. In his latest video, he goes into how his development team was built for the 2008 Wii title,...
Random Sakurai Explains Why True Twin-Stick Controls Weren't Possible For Kid Icarus: Uprising
And yes, he still wants that Switch port
In his latest video in the 'Game Concepts' series, Masahiro Sakurai once again goes back to Kid Icarus: Uprising. This time, the legendary game designer breaks down the game's "unique" control scheme and explains the difficulties that the team had in developing the title. Part on-rails shooter, part...
Random Sakurai Explains The Basics Of Pixel Art In His Latest Video
Sprite skills
Legendary games developer Masahiro Sakurai has been making more videos than we can keep track of over on his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. While we haven't been able to cover each and every one of them on Nintendo Life, his latest upload caught our artistic eye. In this recent video, 'The Basics of Pixel Art',...
Random Sakurai's Latest Video Implores Publishers Not To Mislead Players
"Big no-no!"
Legendary developer Masahiro Sakurai has been putting out new videos left, right, and centre on his YouTube channel Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games; while we've not covered all of them here at Nintendo Life, his latest is an interesting lesson on how publishers should approach marketing, and it certainly piqued our interest. While...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Shares Kirby Air Ride Stories In Latest Video
"The game shouldn't be about striving for perfection"
Masahiro Sakurai, the brilliant mind behind a library-full of our favourite Nintendo titles, has moved onto another development story in his latest YouTube video. This time, the discussion is all about Kirby Air Ride as the legendary creator discusses how the idea came to be, development...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His Impressive Controller Collection
"Too many?"
You might have heard the phrase "there's no such thing as too many books" before, but can the same also be applied to console controllers? Your answer may depend on your current living situation and, crucially, how much space you have in the house, but we reckon most would agree that an extra pad here and there is nothing to be sniffed...
Random Sounds Like Masahiro Sakurai Wants A Kid Icarus: Uprising Port As Much As Us
"It sure would be nice"
Masahiro Sakurai has put out another video through his 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games' YouTube channel, this time looking at the implementation of difficulty settings. Focusing primarily on the 3DS action title Kid Icarus: Uprising, Sakurai explains the concept of risk and reward with difficulty, going into the 'Fiend's...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Talks Super Smash Bros. Melee In Latest Video
"We had no spare time whatsoever"
Legendary game creator Masahiro Sakurai continues to throw out one video after the next on his YouTube channel 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games', and his latest effort delves into the development of the GameCube classic Super Smash Bros. Melee. Widely regarded as one of, if not the best entry to the Smash Bros...
Random Forget Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai Wants To Talk About His Cat
"She's so cute!"
Now that Masahiro Sakurai is free from the bonds of Smash Bros., he's been running his own YouTube channel, covering a bunch of different topics from game design and UI to animation and sound effects. One of the series he has is called Grab Bag, which touches on more random stories, but all of them are still pretty much game-related...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Was The First To Praise Resident Evil 4's Camera System
Capcom's pioneering camera system made a huge impression
Resident Evil 4 is, by all accounts, one of the most critically acclaimed and influential games of all time. Released for the GameCube back in 2004 (before making its way to what felt like every console in existence), Capcom's soft reboot of the Resident Evil franchise went through several...
News Masahiro Sakurai Is Almost Out Of Smash Ultimate Screenshots
"...it's looking like I'll run out sometime in August"
Even though Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "ended" with the release of the last Fighters Pass character — Kingdom Hearts' Sora — it still hasn't felt "over" for us. That's because Masahiro Sakurai, Mr. Smash Bros. himself, has continued a long-standing tradition of posting a new screenshot from...
Video Sakurai Doesn't Make Kirby Games Anymore, Y'know
And neither does Nintendo!
Here at Nintendo Life, we know our audience is a smart bunch of cookies, so we know that you're all confident in the knowledge that Masahiro Sakurai - known most recently for his work on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - hasn't worked on a Kirby game in quite some time. Nor, indeed, has Nintendo itself! That doesn't mean,...
Random Get A First Proper Look Inside The Former Nintendo HQ Hotel
Looks like Masahiro Sakurai stayed recently, too
A week ago, 'Marufukuro', the former Nintendo HQ that has been turned into a hotel, opened to the public. Based in Kyoto, the building is hugely iconic for Nintendo fans, with many of them posing outside in front of the old sign. It's actually where the company was making playing cards and began...
Gallery Masahiro Sakurai's Best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tweets
Our favourite dev shots from the Smash Bros. creator
For a long time, Kirby creator and master of the Smash Bros. series Masahiro Sakurai posted near-daily Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots on Twitter using his special debug build of the game. This developer-only mode let him line up angles and create special in-game shots that regular Smash...
News Sakurai Is Back To Work, But It Might Have "Nothing To Do With Game Production"
Smash Bros. creator gives a cryptic update
The creator of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arguably deserves some much needed time off, but it sounds like Masahiro Sakurai is back at it again. This time, however, his work might not be game-related. As reported by our friends at GoNintendo, the industry legend shared some comments with Famitsu that...
News A New Smash Bros. Would Need A Smaller Roster, Admits Sakurai
"I’ve been doing too much of the work myself"
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with its 'everyone is here' approach, concluded with an enormous roster and amount of content. It was already a huge game on release, but a DLC program that rolled out over the course of three years expanded it further, in addition to the various free updates and mode...
News Leaked Famitsu Column Suggests Sakurai Considered Rollback Netcode For Smash Bros. Ultimate
It didn't work out
Leaked excerpts of Masahiro Sakurai's weekly Famistu column have apparently revealed that during development of Smash Bros. Ultimate, the series creator and the team considered using a popular coding solution used in other fighting games to improve the online experience. According to PushDustin on Twitter, the column will discuss...
News Sakurai Discusses "Drawing Light, Not Objects" In Final Famitsu Column of 2019
In-depth thoughts on graphic development
Masahiro Sakurai's latest Famitsu column has been released, and it happens to be his last for 2019. In the article, titled "Draw light, not objects." Sakurai discusses various graphical development techniques and thoughts. We've gone ahead and translated the article for you. Please note, this is a general...
News Sakurai Praises Death Stranding In Latest Famitsu Column
A summary of his thoughts on Kojima's latest hit
Update: The full translation is now available in the Twitter thread below: The next issue of Famitsu releases tonight, but we've already received a general summary of Masahiro Sakurai's latest column. While the Smash Bros. director's writing often focuses on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, sometimes...
News Masahiro Sakurai's 500th Famitsu Column is Coming Up
Livestream to follow where he'll answer fan questions
It's a fairly well known fact that Masahiro Sakurai – the creator of the Super Smash Bros. series - is a regular contributor to the Japanese magazine, Famitsu. His columns typically detail his opinions on topics relevant to the broader industry, specific games, or some aspect of the Smash...
Feature A Celebration of HAL Laboratory - Forever Focused on Fun
Kirby, Pokemon, Smash Bros., and Box Boy...
From now until the start of the new year we're going to be republishing some of what we feel are our best features of 2015. Hopefully this will offer the chance for newer readers to catch up on content they might have missed and allow long-time fans to reacquaint themselves with features they enjoyed the...
Video Catch Up With All The Super Smash Bros. Final Presentation Footage
Including new challenger introductions
Well, that was something. Masahiro Sakurai pulled out a few surprises in his final Super Smash Bros. video presentation, while also going into typically exhaustive detail on movesets for new characters. The big reveals were Corrin - from Fire Emblem Fates - and Bayonetta, with the PlatinumGames icon being a...
News Nintendo Confirms Details for the Super Smash Bros. Direct
It's the 'Final Video Presentation', featuring Cloud and more
We know it's been coming, but we doubt that makes it any less exciting. Nintendo has now confirmed details for the Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct - branded as the Final Video Presentation - which should bring huge hype for fans of the Wii U and 3DS entries. For starters it's all going...
News Masahiro Sakurai Tackles Criticisms of Bonus Features in Games
"If it bothers you so much, then don’t use that feature"
Masahiro Sakurai shares regular articles in Famitsu magazine - on some occasions he discusses Smash Bros. features and updates or his personal plans, but occasionally he's happy to simply give his views on a topic that's clearly on his mind. This week he considers criticisms some level at...
News Masahiro Sakurai Celebrates His 45th Birthday
And doesn't look a day over 25
We want to know more about Masahiro Sakurai's diet and grooming habits, as he continues to defy the passing of time - the rigours of developing Super Smash Bros. have been tough on the game designer, yet he retains an admirably youthful look. Masahiro Sakurai turned 45 on 3rd August - at the time of publication it's...
"Several more characters" due before development stops
It may seem like ancient history now in internet land, but Masahiro Sakurai defied early leaks to deliver a rather entertaining Super Smash Bros. video presentation prior to E3. A whole lot of DLC content was released right away, too, including three characters, new stages and a batch of Mii...
"It’s all about making players happy"
It wasn't so long ago that Masahiro Sakurai was musing on his future with Super Smash Bros. and prompting fans to worry, sounding rather worn down and contemplating stepping away from the franchise. It seems that the last few months and a switch up in development - to focusing on DLC - has lightened...
News Masahiro Sakurai Praises the Achievements of Steam, Isn't Content With Other Download Services
Not quite Smash ready
In his most recent column in Famitsu Weekly, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai shared his views on digital services in gaming; his comments suggest that he feels console stores - by extension including the eShop platforms - could learn a lot from PC gaming. Sakurai-san said the following. It's become mandatory that...
News Masahiro Sakurai Discusses his Thoughts on Virtual Reality
"It is very enjoyable"
As you may or may not be aware, Masahiro Sakurai - the director of the Super Smash Bros. series - writes a regular column in the popular video game magazine, Famitsu. Over the past few months, Sakurai-san's articles have been all about Smash in the wake of the highly acclaimed game's launch. In the most recent issue, however,...
News Masahiro Sakurai Once Again Highlights The Possibility He'll Step Away From Game Development
"I doubt I'll be able to go on making games if it continues like this"
Throughout the course of development for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS series creator Masahiro Sakurai highlighted the demands of producing the titles. With ever-increasing modes and a growing roster, Sakurai-san often used his Famitsu Weekly article to emphasize...
News Masahiro Sakurai Admits That Super Smash Bros. for Wii U May Be His Last in the Series
Expects the franchise to continue
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is one of the biggest releases of the year, while the 3DS version has also proven to be a critical and commercial success following its October release. Masahiro Sakurai, the driving-force of the series that oversees the projects down to the finest details, has often spoken of the great...
