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Sakurai: Working On Super Smash Bros. Melee Was "Extremely Grueling"
Nintendo-developed games tend to be fairly light-hearted, and with the way it blends characters and locations from all of the big N's franchises, the Super Smash Bros. games are arguably the most whimsical in its catalog. But just because a game is fun doesn't mean it's fun to make.
In a column for this week's issue of Famitsu (via 1UP), Super Smash Bros. designer Masahiro Sakurai spoke about the "extremely grueling development cycle" that he and his team went through during the creation of Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Gamecube. Just how brutal was it? Here's what he had to say:
"I worked on that game for 13 months straight, after all, without a single Sunday or holiday off that whole time. During parts of it, I was living a really destructive lifestyle -- I'd work for over 40 hours in a row, then go back home to sleep for four."
So it was basically like E3 week is for us, but for 13 months straight. Ouch.
Sakurai also commented a bit on his one regret for Melee and where the series could go in the future. As you might guess from looking at the recent trend with Nintendo games, Sakurai wants to make the series more accessible and less hardcore:
"I had created Smash Bros. to be my response to how hardcore-exclusive the fighting game genre had become over the years. But why did I target it so squarely toward people well-versed in videogames, then? That's why I tried to aim for more of a happy medium with Brawl's play balance. There are three Smash Bros. games out now, but even if I ever had a chance at another one, I doubt we'll ever see one that's as geared toward hardcore gamers as Melee was. Melee fans who played deep into the game without any problems might have trouble understanding this, but Melee was just too difficult."
How do you feel about Sakurai's desire to take Smash Bros. in a more mainstream direction?
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