‘Like it or not, it’s not up to me if another sword fighter goes into the game’
If you count the two variants (a la Sheik and Zelda), Smash Ultimate I have only two more sword users with the addition of Pyra and Mythra.
This follows several other sword users on both Fighters Passes, including the most recent addition of Sephiroth. So, what gives? Well, the father of the Masahiro Sakurai series says you can’t blame him!
In conversation with Washa Live (via Nintendo Everything) this week, Sakurai said a few brief things about Smash Ultimateof the company’s DLC choices, but they also got their hands tied a little bit as far as they could go into detail. When asked why there are so many swordsmen (question he often receives), Sakurai explains, amidst laughter: “Like it or not, it is not up to me if another swordsman enters the game.”
When pressed again, saying that the player base usually groans when another sword user is announced, Sakurai moves on, noting, “Well, even if it’s another sword fighter, it’ll be okay as long as we balance them properly.” He also claims that sword fighters are “easy to implement”, especially compared to incredibly intricate characters like Steve.
But outside of that quick summary, Sakurai says that he can’t really expand outside of that, and that if he “goes a little further, [he] will get something from Nintendo. “A scolding, it seems! Sakurai is very careful with what he says in situations like this, but he has made it clear on several occasions that he is not responsible for who is chosen.
Washa Live [YouTube via Nintendo Everything]
