How Sora Ended an Epic Chapter of Nintendo History
It is finally over.
The request from a longtime friend is completed.
Arguably the biggest game in the history of Nintendo has finally rounded out its asinine and impossible-to-duplicate roster. Even deeper than that, the most-successful fighting game franchise in the history of gaming appears to reach its end for the time being. All the speculating has ended, and now that the game cannot pack any additional content as Sakurai and co. have finished all their work.
Masahiro Sakurai can finally take that break he truly deserves, as him, his company, and Nintendo in general has a very uncertain future ahead of them.
Nintendo, Namco, and Sakurai’s herculean effort to making the biggest gaming crossover in history has been nothing short of a resounding success that has translated to record-breaking sales and statistics that to be honest will be hard to ever match. Nearly 100 characters representing over 300 video games over the course of the history of gaming can be found here, and each of them were hand-picked and individually tweaked to having its own distinctive personality. The amount of content here can last you over a decade, especially if Nintendo decides to invest deeper in the eSports aspect of the franchise. But the story behind this game in particular hits an emotional level which is partially why we’re celebrating the end of an era, and it feels like closing a chapter of Nintendo history.
For those who aren’t aware, game director Masahiro Sakurai doesn’t technically actually work for Nintendo, even though he has developed games for them since the 1990s. However, he had a strong friendship with Satoru Iwata, a game developer that rose the ranks and became the CEO of Nintendo of Japan in the early 2000s. This partnership started on HAL and extended for the next several years as they would work together on Kirby games as well as the early Smash titles. On top of that, they constantly went out together for luncheons and brainstorming sessions and even vacations. Iwata however was falling very ill, and his final major request to Sakurai before his 2015 death was for him to make Smash Bros. Ultimate for the upcoming Nintendo hardware, which would be the Switch.
When Iwata passed, it wasn’t just a company loss, it was a gaming industry loss, the collective loss of a good friend, and one that would also deeply personally affect Sakurai.
Nintendo’s relationship with their fans is arguably the most unique in the planet. Whenever Nintendo does some of their more capitalistic tactics, we take it very personally. Whenever Nintendo essentially ignores franchises and also maintains extremely mum on their reasonings as well as their plans, the fans feel as if one of our best friends is simply not listening to us. Even though the Nintendo 64 and the Gamecube were outsold during their run, their relevance in the world of gaming today remains stronger than the consoles they lost against, and it’s part of this long-standing and layered connection we have with the company.
It is so hard to explain, but whenever Nintendo delivers, they really deliver, and the fandom will arrive in hordes for support. Breath of the Wild became the best-selling Zelda game ever, and that franchise has been around since Reagan, then we have Mario Odyssey outselling every 3D Mario adventure by a wide margin. Out of the 50 best-selling games of all-time, only TWO of the 27 console-exclusives aren’t Nintendo-based. So when Iwata, someone we watched for years doing these presentations and Nintendo Directs and communicating directly to the fans, unexpectedly passed away, the impact was immense. Sakurai knew that the best way to honor his late friend was to fulfill this request to its maximum level. Combine that with Nintendo’s blank check financial approach to this game and you have an opportunity to create experiences that even five years ago would have seemed impossible.
Smash Brothers Ultimate feels like a love letter to gaming as well as all the people that helped shape the industry. Iwata is the reason why we have the Wii, the Switch, the Pokemon Company, the Nintendo Direct, and believe it or not even Pokemon GO. It wasn’t going to be enough to just improve upon Smash WiiU, the team had to push this game to the absolute limit and go places never before attempted. We even saw Sakurai working while attached to an IV drip during production, prompting health scares from Nintendo fans who still haven’t recovered from Iwata’s passing. The end result is seeing every character returning, characters from the competition being included, and even characters from video games with explicit adult content appearing. Nintendo’s rough edges of censorship was even being eroded for Smash Brothers Ultimate to be more varied in personality.
This was more than a game; it was a mission.
For about a decade, fans were speculating as to who might end up in Smash Bros., which characters could Nintendo sneak in, and which ones could they revive from the dead to introduce to new audiences. And even though you definitely have those you can never ever please, its hard to deny how many fan-favorites made their way to the fight. We ended up with King K. Rool, Ridley, Sephiroth, Banjo-Kazzoie, and even Sora---and then got every single character from every previous Smash Bros., a feat once considered impossible. But for Iwata, and for the fandom, Sakurai and friends unleashed all their powers to make gaming dreams come true.
And now its done. 1,200 songs, 2,000-plus characters, 90+ playable fighters (if we including the Miis) later, its all over. Now, we can finish speculating, and can go back to enjoying the overall product without pondering about its future. Hopefully Nintendo can invest heavier in the competitive side of Smash Ultimate and offer online tourneys as well as sponsor events around the world to keep the game alive in social and sporting circles. But content-wise, its all over, speculating is now pointless.
One of the greatest video games ever as well as one of the great achievements of gaming history has finally completed its offering. All that’s left is to build more memories of this epic game, whether you are playing for fun, for sport, or for both reasons. Nintendo’s views on Smash Bros. have definitely evolved over the years, as we’re veering closer and closer to actual full support. This is now the only way to grow the game further, for content-wise there are no more avenues to pursue.
As for me, I’m honestly glad its over, but I am also aware that there’s a giant chapter in Nintendo history that’s set to close. The original minds behind Smash Bros. may never return to the franchise, and I severely doubt that another company or developer can carry the mantle without tripping on the mountain of expectations. To add to that, Iwata is no longer with us, and he was also a massive part of the Smash Bros. franchise. Between the licensing costs, the state of the gaming industry, and whatever Nintendo wants to do in their future (whether continue the Switch line or change hardware and try something new), Smash Bros. as it is may have peaked here, which would be the proper way to honor Iwata----his last favor transforming into the biggest gaming crossover ever. Its quite bittersweet to ponder the future of the franchise, especially as the old guard is slowly leaving the company.
Sora being revealed as the last character was the cause for celebration, but a bittersweet one. We will probably never see a Smash Bros. game of this caliber ever again, we may never see Sakurai return to the franchise, and only time will tell what he does after his (well-deserved) lengthy break. Sakurai and Smash Bros. was one of the remaining connections to Nintendo’s past, to the “old guard,” even though unlike most of Nintendo, Sakurai has been able to evolve his craft quite well.
Everything that happened today sounded like a definitive goodbye to an era of Nintendo, a successful and quality-filled one. Maybe the era will pick right back up during the next generation of Nintendo hardware. But until then, this feels like an earned good-bye, and a recollection of thoughts concerning our relationship with Nintendo, how much the company has grown since Iwata took over in the early 2000s, and what might happen as Sakurai is a free agent and the new guard is front and center.
End of an era of speculation, surprises, and incredible memories.