A recent video fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, explains how and why the game had a more casual focused approach as opposed toSuper Smash Bros. Melee. For those uninitiated, legendary game designer and directorMasahiro Sakurai started up a YouTube channellast year, where he goes over various aspects of game design and what he worked on before, with many tuning in to learn about his insights in the industry. He also provides stories behind the development of each game he had previously worked on, includingSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.
Super Smash Bros. Brawlis the third game in the franchise, following up the acclaimedSuper Smash Bros. Meleeon the GameCubea console generation before. While it was a hit among fans, it was also a game that the competitive community turned away from, decrying how it was slower and more “casual” as opposed toMelee. Sakurai’s video behindBrawl’s development goes into great detail behind the game’s origins, period of development, and how it was designed to be geared towards more casual players.
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Sakurai notes thatSuper Smash Bros. Melee’s fast-paced actionwas greatly appealing for the competitive side of the fanbase. It, however, had the consequence of being easy to learn but difficult to master the controls of. While this made it fun for competitive players to watch, this made it incredibly challenging for new players to try out. Sakurai even recalled a case where a competitive player got tendinitis from the game’s high level of control. With the Wii being more catered toward Nintendo’s casual crowd, it resulted in the game changing its focus.
Sakurai explained that the aim was to make it less hardcore thanMelee, and that the game was also going to have to accommodate the single Wiimote as a control scheme. The implementation of online play forSuper Smash Bros. Brawlwas also going to introduce a layer of complexity, where fast gameplay could potentially be a problem in introducing more frame skips during matches. As such,Brawl’s speed was changed to be slower, tuning it to more casual gameplay instead. He also brings up an anecdote of the game’s play-testing phase, which helped balance out the fighters. According to Sakurai, they only had four players in this role, and they weren’t “professional” level players either.
On a related note,Sakurai reinforces his view on howSuper Smash Bros.isn’t suited for online play, noting howSmash Bros.is best enjoyed when played among friends, with an online experience potentially hampering one’s enjoyment. Despite his own personal view, he stated that it is his job to overcome the technical challenges with including it.
Super Smash Bros. Brawlis available on the Nintendo Wii.
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