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Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Vol. 4: The Subspace Emissary

January 25, 2008 in News comments 5

The Iwata Asks series of interviews has proved to be an interesting look into the developer's insight of the games that each interview focuses on. Most recently, this had be done for Super Mario Galaxy.

Since Tuesday, there have been new sections of the new Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl daily, where Iwata interviews SSBB's director, Masahiro Sakurai of Sora Ltd., one-on-one.

The topic of this part of the interview is Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Adventure Mode, The Subspace Emissary.

List of topics include:

  • Like Making Two Distinct Games
  • Need for a Story
  • Good for Beginners Too

    Iwata and his former employee discuss the idea of an adventure mode in a game like Brawl, the development of the story for the Subspace Emissary, and it's accessibility. One notable fact that can be taken from the interview: Kazushige Nojima of Final Fantasy VII fame is a scenario writer for Brawl. Also included in the interview is another Subspace Emissary video.

    Volumes Reference:
    Vol. 1: E3 2005: A Beginning | GameGrep
    Vol. 2: For First-time Gamers
    Vol. 3: Versus, Co-op, and Share
    Vol. 4: The Subspace Emissary

    Iwata
    In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there were some big developments for solo play.

    Sakurai
    Whoops! (laughs) Maybe I did go a bit overboard.

    Iwata
    It’s just that Smash Bros. has always been played as a fighting game and I didn’t think it would be possible to make the single-player Adventure Mode a primary form of game play. However, I was impressed by how well it turned out. Can you talk about why you were set on developing an Adventure Mode and how you got there?

    Sakurai
    Well, as I discussed earlier, a fundamental idea at the start of development was that this would be the last Smash Bros. title, and that, ultimately, there would be few opportunities for Nintendo characters and major, well-known characters to gather in the same place.

    Iwata
    So this too was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event, where you had to treasure every encounter.

    Sakurai
    Right. Blessed with such an opportunity, I tried to think of ways we could enable players to more thoroughly enjoy such a rare all-star lineup and, in the end, I pulled a power play. To put it simply, the Adventure Mode is like a stand-alone title offered in the same package. In terms of development work as well, it was like making two distinct games.

    Iwata
    So, what it shares with the multiplayer mode are the character data and programming for basic movements. Everything else is different, right?

    Sakurai
    Right. We had to change the basic game systems for the two modes. Also, even though character movements are pretty much the same, we made adjustments to things like the speed at which characters run for the Adventure Mode.

    Iwata
    Well, I can’t help but ask…what possessed you do to all this?
    Akira_EX via us.wii.com »
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    • 1
      Jesse1234567 Jan 25, 08
      So Sakurai is working with the man who wrote the storyline for games like FF7 to make the Subspace Emissary storyline? I guess that probably improves the chances of a Square-Enix character being the last third party character.
      • 0
        Storm Jan 25, 08
        That would be pretty interesting. ^^ Perhaps we'll see an FFXIII character involved if possible, since he's also writing for that game.
        • 0
          Jaw Knee Jan 25, 08
          I doubt anything like that. Probably someone who has been in a Nintendo game before. Like Geno from Super Mario RPG.
    • 0
      Remino52 Jan 25, 08
      Interesting review.I like this volume.And I'm glad he like it.
    • 0
      ConkerASkyJockey Jan 25, 08
      Ah, so we finally discover the Subspace Emmisary's dark secret: Help from the Final Fantasy 7 director. This brings up some expectations, such as a Square Enix character joining the Brawl.

      A good volume indeed, I'm glad Iwata asked Sakurai for some questions on Brawl's situation. It's really informative.

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