Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Sakurai on His Next Mission: “Only God Knows”

The latest Smash Bros. game is absolutely massive, pulling in every version of Smash and several new fighters into one fairly definitive game. But for director Masahiro Sakurai, the game had a personal tie to it from his former coworker and friend, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

Last year, Sakurai said in a speech that bringing Smash Bros. to the Switch was the "last mission" Iwata gave him. The former Nintendo president died in 2015 from complications from a bile duct growth.

In a new interview with Shigesato Itoi's Hobonichi, which is working on a book about the late Nintendo president, Sakurai expands on what this final mission entailed and where it could take him (via Siliconera and journalist/translator PushDustin).

Sakurai says finishing the Smash Bros. project was the "best way" he could make it up to Iwata. He goes on to discuss how Iwata tasked him with making Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, his "final mission" from the Nintendo president.

"When I was making Super Smash Bros. for, the topic of making a Switch version of Smash Bros. naturally came up," Sakurai says. "We'd bring along the same development team, and create a definitive Smash Bros. game that took the best points of the handheld and console titles."

The Ultimate version went on to be a massive success for both the platform and series. Sakurai says he feels thankful for this; when it comes to deciding his next mission though, "only god knows." I personally hope it involves a little vacation.