Super Smash Bros Ultimate.900x
Image: Nintendo

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate got its final DLC character last October in the form of Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It was a hugely exciting time, Sora's arrival in the game brought near-universal joy. People who didn't like Kingdom Hearts could see that the Keyblade-wielding boy had earned his place, while fans of the series were delighted to see a character who they all thought was a pipe dream.

Of course, it was also a sad time, as Sora was the last DLC character, and Ultimate was essentially over. Masahiro Sakurai, director of the game, and voice of King Dedede, was at last allowed to take a break.

Now, almost six months after we found out about Sora, Sakurai is taking a look back at his time on the series. Specifically, he's going over every reveal trailer for every character from the Wii U Smash Bros. onwards. Here's what he has to say in a recent blog post:

The Super Smash Bros. series is a project where we undertake collaborations you can’t see anywhere else. We wanted to use that opportunity and create nice content that people could enjoy, and that’s why we started making the fighter reveal videos.

It was a lot of work to make the videos while working on the game at the same time, but there were always big reactions from fans, so it was worth the effort. In this article, I’ll give some brief commentary as we go, so I hope you’ll enjoy looking back over all these videos.

Please take this opportunity to reflect on the history of Super Smash Bros. by watching the scenes where each new fighter first appeared.

We think you'll agree with us when we say there have been so many incredible reveal trailers over the years, so let's see what Sakurai has to say about some of our favourites. Don't worry, if your favourite isn't here, there's a second blog coming next week!

Mega Man Joins the Battle!

This is the first official fighter reveal video. That said, the announcement was the same day as Trailer 1. Considering it’s the first video, it came together well! This was made by Digital Frontier. They worked on many reveal videos after this, until the release of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game.

Champion of the Ring (Little Mac)

For this one we tried changing the style, to make it seem like it’s from a comic book. It was partly just to save budget, but it has good pacing and gives a good impression of Little Mac’s strict training attitude, so I think it worked well. The arcade machine at the beginning is inspired by the original Punch-Out!! arcade game. Even back then, Nintendo used two screens a lot

Looks like we don’t have a choice! (Shulk)

We always think carefully about the point in the reveal video when fans will realize what it is. In this video, fans will realize from the very first scene that it’s Gaur Plain, and that Shulk will be joining the battle. I thought it would be good that way.

This video is also notable for having so many references to things that appear in the original and in the Super Smash Bros. series, like visions, changing Monado Arts, and Metal Face.

An Unlikely Team (Duck Hunt Duo)

The game footage from Duck Hunt at the beginning isn’t from an original Nintendo Entertainment System console, but something new we made. I like the feel of the pacing in the first part of the in-game section, with it overlapping with the music. The light gun accessory that appears in the video is the NES Zapper, the light gun accessory for the NES. The concept for Duck Hunt Duo’s Smash attack is that the shots are coming from outside of the screen, so I’m glad we could explain it here.

Here comes a new challenger! RYU.

It’s obvious to those who know it, but this first shot is based on the opening to Super Street Fighter II Turbo. The phrase “I’m looking for a challenge” is the tagline from the original Street Fighter II advert in Japan. It was a perfect fit both for Ryu and for a reveal video. There are a lot of moves, but for the video we prioritized moving around a lot, like in the original game.

This isn't every single trailer covered in the blog, so go and see what Sakurai has to say about the others in the post. Then check back next week to reminisce even more about the biggest Smash game ever.

What's your favourite reveal of this first batch? Why not let us know in the comments.

Further reading

[source nintendo.com]