Gaming
‘Super Smash Bros.’ creator offers New Years message to fans
Masahiro Sakurai shared his favorite game this year as well as who he admires most in the industry.
Masahiro Sakurai is best known for developing Nintendo’s Kirby and Super Smash Bros. games. But what many might not know about him is how passionate he is about gaming as a whole and that he loves the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Meta storytelling — In an interview with Japanese gaming site 4Gamer, Sakurai said he had the chance to play a lot of different games this year. But his favorite was Inscryption, a card-based story game that’s creepy on many levels.
“Inscryption got me good. It’s a card game with a lot of meta elements, going past the common unwritten rules of gameplay. I’m sure anyone who already played the game will say that, but it’s best to enjoy it without spoiling yourself beforehand,” Sakurai said in a translation provided by Dualshockers.
Who does he admire? — As for his favorite person of 2021, Sakurai chose Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director behind the Dark Souls series and the hack-and-slash RPG Bloodborne.
“I have a lot of respect for all creators, but if I had to pick one, then Hidetaka Miyazaki. It’s impressive to see the impact he still has on the gaming industry. He’s a balanced director. Balanced as in he always manages to make the right decisions for his games, always delivering top-notch works,” Sakurai told 4Gamer.
Marvel magic — The Smash Bros. creator is also a fan of Marvel movies. “The number of titles, including Disney+ original titles, is so large that it’s hard to tell how many people are working on them… I also thought that their ability as a production company to put together a setting without contradiction was also top-notch,” he said (translated by Dexerto).
Future plans — Sakurai recently finished working on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and told IGN earlier this month that there are currently “no plans” for a sequel to the hit game.
When asked about his future aspirations, Sakurai told 4Gamer that nothing specific comes to mind. “I don’t have anything in particular to say. I think it’ll take me some time to do anything,” he admitted. This sentiment echoes what he told IGN previously, to whom he said, “I can’t really think about future prospects at the moment.”
As for his message to fans, Sakurai suggested, “It’s best you just forget about me for a while.”
