Newly Translated Sakurai Mumblings (Oh joy!)

[Flip]

So Xubelox on Gamefaqs was kind enough to post a thread on things that Sakurai has said both about the SSB64 and Melee development history. I will post all he has written here, and highlight the more interesting points:

Transcribed from Gamefaqs User Xubelox:

*PLEASE DO NOT POST UNTIL I AM FINISHED*
Introduction:
Many people on this board tend not to research things. You can basically say "Sakurai said anyone with a green shirt can't be in Brawl!" or "Batman was supposed to be in Melee but was cut" and seldom will you even be asked to provide a source. I, for one, am not the person to simply believe a rumour just because it's popular and am very annoyed with the constant "Balloon Fighter was supposed to be in Melee" and "Roy replaced Sigurd". So I decided to do some research myself. I uncovered quite a few interesting things in my journey, and they're all from the official Smash sites.
You should all know by now about Lucas having been supposed to replace Ness, other characters considered for the Ice Climber's place in Melee, and King Dedede planned on being in the original, so I won't bother with those (if you aren't familiar with those facts, links are provided on request).
Originally, I had just planned to make this for Melee, but then I uncovered the SSB64 things, so I figured I'd include them as well. So! Let us begin.

Super Smash Bros. (N64)
These are all taken from Sakurai's questionnaire. Here, basically people would send Sakurai feedback and suggestions if there were ever to be another Smash (which there obviously was). There are many, many entries and Sakurai personally replied to a lot of them. Most of them were boring or pointless, so I had to filter through them. Here are some of his more interesting replies.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn003.html
-Sakurai says that one of the concepts he planned was a split screen. Of course, he decided against it in the long run.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn004.html
-Sakurai speculates on some possible titles for SSB2.
Smash Bros 2: The Beautiful Private Secretary Hot Water Smoke Murder Case
Smash Bros 2: Turbo Hot Water Cutting Whole Opening
Smash Bros 2: Hydrogen Bomb Death Match! Hot Blood Hong Kong Kung Fu Dragon Small Forest Temple
Then he says he was kidding. It's a shame. That last one would be the best title ever.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn006.html
A guy says Mario should have a Doctor Mario costume in the next SSB. Apparently Sakurai thinks Dr. Mario shooting out fireballs would be odd. I think we all know how that turned out.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn009.html
-A person makes a list of suggestions, only one of which Sakurai acknowledges. They say they want more female characters like Lip from Panel de Pon put in the game. Sakurai says he thinks Panel de Pon is a great masterpiece. Then he says some stuff which I'm not really sure of the meaning.
-Sakurai also comments on how Balloon Fighter and Ice Climbers tied in the poll. I wonder whom he will pick...

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn014.html
-Apparently Sakurai's favourite Fire Emblem character is Nabarl. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the rest, but it seems he's expressing displeasure at Oguma beating Nabarl in the poll.
-Someone asks for a Smash OVA. Sakurai jokingly expresses interest.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn015.html
-I honestly can't remember why I bookmarked this one. I thought there was something interesting here, but now I can't remember what it was.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn018.html
-See above. Man, I'm terrible.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn020.html
-A person says that if Jigglypuff can be a playable character, then so can Mr. Saturn. Sakurai says they aren't comparable since Mr. Saturn has no arms and different framework. I think Sakurai is just being lazy. Then he says he could be an item. And as we all know, he now is.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn025.html
-Sakurai says that if there is ever another Nazo no Murasamejou game with Takamaru, he would probably be put into Smash. Of course, Takamaru never did get another game (aside from a GBA port).
-We probably all know this, but Sakurai says that the beam sword sound was changed for overseas Smash games due to the Star Wars similarities.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn049.html
-Ooh, here's a juicy one. Someone asks what Sakurai's favourite character for Smash is and his favourite drink.

Favourite character: Captain Falcon
Favourite character for Smash 2: Mach Rider
Favourite drink: Black tea in the afternoon, straight.

Can you believe that? BLACK TEA?! Oh, and the Mach Rider thing is interesting too.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/PostReturn067.html
-Some guy uses the wrong kanji in Sumabura Ken (the website name). Sakurai makes a big deal out of it and ignores the rest of his message. Sakurai can really be a dick some times.

That's it for the first game. Actually it isn't since there are over 150 pages and I've only gone through 67. But who cares? I'll go through the rest some other time. Leave me alone. Also, there were a couple of other interesting things in there that I lost and now I can't find. Eat me.

Anyways...

Super Smash Bros. Melee
As well, these are taken from the official site's questionaire.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return510.html
-Some guy is whining about Sukapon not being in. Sakurai tells him that Sukapon was planned at one point, but had to be cut. Before you get too excited, Sukapon fans (yes, both of you), Sakurai goes on to say he probably won't appear in the future.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return537.html
-Apparently, Assist trophies (called Assist Capsules here) were planned for Melee. Alas, they didn't make it in.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return569.html
-There were plans to put in more Fire Emblem trophies, but it didn't work out.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return578.html
-More people complaining about Sukapon's exclusion. Geez, he's not THAT great. Sakurai apologizes and tells them not to expect to see him in the future.

www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/syukeiken/return586.html
-Why did I bookmark this again? Hell if I know. Whatever. You can check yourself to see if there was anything good there.

And that's the end of my facts collection. Keep in mind, I breezed through these. I mean, it's literally thousands of comments to read and I have a short attention span. I could have missed loads of good stuff. However, I was careful to browse for names of characters so I doubt I missed anything about characters who were cut from the previous Smash games. As well, there's still about one hundred pages of SSB64 stuff to go through. If anyone else wants to look for things I missed, or correct any mistranslations, be my guest. I have a damn cold, and I need some rest. Go to Hell and God bless. Also, keep bumped.


NOTE: You can see this all for yourself here boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=928518&topic=38898768

Also, Sukapon fans = OWNED. ... yes, that includes me >.>

And does this not bode well for Takamaru...?

EDIT: I did a little more digging, and saw that Sakurai gave a similar respone about Takamaru in the Brawl poll (!!!). To paraphrase, Sakurai said:
"If the GBA port of Nazo no Murasame sells well, then I will consider Takamaru."
In the same paragraph, he mentions that the GBA port of Kid Icarus was the final deciding factor in the inclusion of Pit as well. He knew Pit was popular, but he didn't think he could be a "top-seller." Lo and behold, Kid Icarus was the number one selling title in the Famicom Mini Series and thus Pit was included.
So what can we learn? Two things: we should be thankful that Pit got included because he almost got the axe AGAIN, and we need to research how well Nazo GBA sold. Definitely.

[Arcadenik]

Which translation tool do you use? I usually go for BabelFish.

So Captain Falcon got in SSB64 because Sakurai likes him? And it is interesting that Sakurai seemed annoyed that his precious Nabarl was outvoted by Oguma. So Pit got in Brawl not because he wanted to please the Kid Icarus fans, but because the GBA port sold well in Japan? Wow.

[Game Guru]

People will continue to complain about Sukapon not being in the game until he is in the game.

[Spud]

I have to agree with Sakurai on the issue with black tea.
Other than that this is pretty run of the mill.
Nice to see some research done though.

[TV Eye]

If his favorite character is Capt. Falcon, I see no threat of him not being in Brawl.

Also, very nice Flip! You're real handy with all this translating-a-poorly-translated-but-very-long-list-of-questions-and-answers type of thing!

[Da Robot]

Thanks for the info, Flip!

Maybe this is the reason why that Mach Rider trophy in SSBM was so detailed was he was an actual playable character?

[Fryguy64]

Damn right I will! ;D

Kid Icarus wasn't the best selling Famicom Mini game, but it did well... I still don't understand why they didn't release it outside of Japan.

Still, thanks for those Flip! Very useful nuggets of info.

UPDATE

geimin.net/da/mini.php
A handy Japanese resource with all the Famicom Mini sales figures. The numbers on the right are, for example:
4万9538本 = 49,538

Which means....

Kid Icarus was actually the second WORST selling game after Clu Clu Land (poor Bubbles...) while Nazo was the fourth worst seller - higher than Metroid.

So I don't know what all that "best selling" was all about. It was one of the worst sellers. Takamaru is more popular than Pit AND Samus in Japan! That knowledge sparks a little bit of hope in my gut! ;D

[Flip]

No prob. And guys, please: give credit where credit is due These were taken from Gamefaqs, translated by a good guy I recall from Smashboards named Xubelox. I did nothing but port them here for you.

I've been trying to find Nazo sales, and so far no luck. HOWEVER, I know for a fact that the game never broke the Top 10 Software sales in Japan (no idea about JUST GBA) for the week it was released, which is interesting because SMB2j, Zelda II, Shin Oni Ga Shima, and Famicom Tantei Club all did. Also, Series 3 is the best selling of the Famicom Mini Series with SMB2j and Zelda II selling 300,000 copies together alone in the first week. Also, if I am not mistaken, Nazo DID get its own ad for the GBA re-release, suggesting some hope that the Japanese market would recognize and buy it on its lonesome.

Regardless to all this, it's good to know Sakurai is interested in the character. The notes about him in the Brawl poll were all very positive.

EDIT: Fry, you sneaky little monkey. Woo-HOO! This bodes very, very well for Takamaru lovers such as yourself and I. And maybe Sakurai meant that Kid Icarus just sold a lot of copies period, and not more than other games?

EDIT2: You know, this does mean discussing Takamaru is completely and 100% legitimate now... ;D ;D

And poor Bubbles is an AT

[Fryguy64]

Teehee, I know lots of sites with useful and fancy Japanese words to copy into Google Japan

ninten.style.coocan.jp/dssoft.htm

This site gives the sales figures for MOST of the original Disk System games (top entry in the blue boxes on the right - again the number stands for 10,000).

Again, Nazo sold more than Kid Icarus (but in this case, less than Metroid). Maybe also worth noting... it sold more than Earthbound as well

[Flip]

XD

Takamaru... he's so near confirmation...

Not really, but this definitely lifts my spirits :3

[Smashchu]

admin said:

Damn right I will! ;D

Kid Icarus wasn't the best selling Famicom Mini game, but it did well... I still don't understand why they didn't release it outside of Japan.

Still, thanks for those Flip! Very useful nuggets of info.

UPDATE

geimin.net/da/mini.php
A handy Japanese resource with all the Famicom Mini sales figures. The numbers on the right are, for example:
4万9538本 = 49,538

Which means....

Kid Icarus was actually the second WORST selling game after Clu Clu Land (poor Bubbles...) while Nazo was the fourth worst seller - higher than Metroid.

So I don't know what all that "best selling" was all about. It was one of the worst sellers. Takamaru is more popular than Pit AND Samus in Japan! That knowledge sparks a little bit of hope in my gut! ;D

Vgchartz says the mini sold 69,356 units total which much higher then 4th. Also, he may mean selling well, which all the minis did as quite a few were Japan-only. In fact, 69,359 is pretty good for the Japan region as many games would kill to get that in one region. Also, it begs the question if they include world sales. If so, there is a very good reason those games got beat.
Here

Also, number makes me LAWL. Good finmd BTW Flip. Does that mean Mach Rider and Takamaru 4 Brawl?

[Dances in Undergarments]

The Mach Rider stuff is rather interesting, but what would he do? I mean, Wario stole his schtick.

Still a good read. Cheers Flip. And Xubelox.

[Arcadenik]

Smashchu, I doubt "Mach Rider 4 Brawl", Takamaru, maybe, but he would need to be very original seeing we already have 1, 2, 3.. yes, THREE swordfighters in Brawl. Link, Meta Knight, and Ike. Although I tend to confuse Pit as a swordfighter seeing how he uses his bow like one.

As for Mach Rider, what would he do? Like DiU said, Wario stole his motorcycle move. So what would Mach Rider do to make himself unique apart Wario? Why Sakurai gave Wario the farts and the motorcycle, I will never understand. I mean, yeah, I understand the clothes but that doesn't mean he cannot have Wario Land moves. If Wario had his Wario Land moves, then maybe Mach Rider might have a shot. Oh well.

[Flip]

Yeah, the Body Slam appears to be absent as well if Wario's B is that suction thing we saw in the Snake video. Oh well...

Anyways, Mach Rider is more or less out because, again, his shtick has been stolen. But Takamaru would potentially reek awesome, and here's why:
1. Uses a katana, which means he would have rapid attacks a la Meta Knight but "tippers" like Marth
2. He can turn invisible. Who else can do that?
3. He throws kunai, burning straw, and spinning blades as his regular attack
4. He can catch and even deflect attacks (including shurikens) on his blade
5. He can run on water
6. And, for good measure: he's a freakin' SAMURAI

Takamaru can be very different from the other sword users. Trust me. And irregardless of the fact, the sword users we see already as being vastly different. Meta Knight has low reach and damage but is very fast; Link is slow but with great range; and Ike has great range and huge power but is very slow. Marth was fast with good range but power only at the tip, and Roy wasn't as light as Marth and had more balanced power but insanely powerful specials.

It's no different than having a bunch of punchy characters in the game. What's that? We already have a bunch of those? Then, by all means! Let the swordfighters enter the fray!

EDIT: As a matter o' fact, here's my Takamaru moveset
fryguy64.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=ssb&action=display&thread=1186061428&page=1#1186061504

[Johans Nidorino]

arcadenik said:

As for Mach Rider, what would he do? Like DiU said, Wario stole his motorcycle move. So what would Mach Rider do to make himself unique apart Wario? Why Sakurai gave Wario the farts and the motorcycle, I will never understand. I mean, yeah, I understand the clothes but that doesn't mean he cannot have Wario Land moves. If Wario had his Wario Land moves, then maybe Mach Rider might have a shot. Oh well.

It's all about game-specific themes I guess. But personally I'm content now that we got that WarioWare stage... The stage itself really made me forget about the made-up nature of Wario's moves that didn't please my nerdiness in the beginning.

Maybe Mach Rider's Final Smash would require the use of a motorcycle in a different way... Maybe you can fully control it without losing it unlike the Wario Chopper.

BTW, Flip, I just realized the picture for Mach Rider's moveset you drew once wasn't your idea x-D. It was a very nice moveset, though.