A question that a lot of gaming enthusiasts have is what are some games that industry professionals personally enjoy? It makes sense to want to know where and how developers draw inspiration from when creating their own titles. Sometimes people forget that most game developers are also fans of video games. Case in point, Masahiro Sakurai, director ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, recently wrote a column for Famitsu magazine that discussed at length a game that he deeply enjoyed.
Masahiro Sakurai is the visionary behind theSuper Smash Bros.franchise and is also the creator of theKirbyseries. Sakurai has had a long, lengthy career as both a video game developer and director. His most recent title,Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,will soon release the final DLC fighter, but a release date has not been set as of yet. Needless to say, Sakurai has certainly been around the block when it comes to video games.
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Something that a lot of people likely don’t know is that Sakurai also writes a weekly column for Famitsu, a popular Japanese gaming magazine that featuresvideo game reviews based on a combined 0-10 score from four different reviewers. Sakurai uses these weekly columns as a way of connecting with his fans and as a means of discussing certain aspects of his work and personal life. In his most recent column, Sakurai discussed a game called13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim,an RPG published by Atlus and will be releasing internationally sometime in 2020.
Sakurai urged anyone reading, especially those who write game scenarios for a living, to play this game, not just watch gameplay footage or a playthrough on YouTube. He placed a large amount of emphasis on experiencing the game on a personal level and also praised the visual presentation and narrative.Given his positive response to Hideo Kojima’sDeath Stranding, it seems Sakurai appreciates these kinds of atmospheric qualities in the games he plays on his own.
It’s fascinating hearing a seasoned professional, especially one that’s as renowned as Masahiro Sakurai, praise a game that he has no involvement with. Not to mention the fact that the game in question is one that places a great deal of emphasis on its narrative. An interesting contrast when compared tothe gameplay-centric, technical complexity thatSuper Smash Bros. is known for.
It would be interesting to see Sakurai lead a new gaming project that revolved around a more story-driven experience, like a JRPG for example. Then again,Super Smash Bros.does have an intricate, underlying lore that plays out via story modes like The Subspace Emissary and World of Light. Not to mention the multitude offan theories regardingSmash Bros., one of which actually turned out to be canonically true. Nevertheless, it was nice to hear Sakurai’s take on something non-Smash Bros.related.
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