Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest"

Super Smash Bros. might be known for its deceptively simple gameplay and party-like atmosphere, but if you had to ask the franchise's creator, he'd tell you the development of the second game in the series was anything but easy.

In an recent issue of Famitsu, Sakurai detailed the "destructive lifestyle" the game created for him, with a 13-month development cycle with no holidays, 40-hour work "days" and very, very short weekends.

According to a 1Up translation of Sakurai's latest Famitsu column, the developer's experience with the first Smash Bros. game was far better. There was little at stake with the fighting game experiment and "no guarantee the game would be well-received at all." With Melee, the stakes changed, and Sakurai quickly found himself in the "biggest project I had ever led up to that point."


Here's the interesting part. Despite having made Brawl seven years later, Sakurai still considers Melee "the sharpest game in the series... it just felt really good to play." The franchise creator did lament that the game did have a problematic accessibility level, as he targeted it toward those "well-versed in videogames." More revealing was the following quote:

"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."

Regardless of how the game is developed, here's hoping we have a chance to play another Super Smash Bros. installment... sooner rather than later.

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