How Super Smash Bros. Smashed Franchise Records to Get Everyone In

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was a monumental undertaking, creating a massive roster by bringing back every fighter that had ever appeared in the series. In a new video, director Masahiro Sakurai reveals the trials and tribulations behind assembling Smash Ultimate's 74+ fighters.

According to Sakurai, Nintendo tasked the team with making a new Smash game for the Switch before the console was announced. This eventually became Sakurai's final mission for the late Satoru Iwata. The goal was clear—including every single fighter.

Unlike previous Smash games featuring different developers and teams, Ultimate retained the core Bandai Namco staff. This provided helpful continuity, as did building on the Wii U engine. But with vastly greater Switch power, models and assets still needed reworking.

With the dream of a definitive roster, Sakurai pushed to include the seven fighters left out of Smash 4. Adding new fighters and months of planning brought the initial design document to over 200 pages. Through cuts and changes, the final roster jumped to 74+ fighters—the largest in franchise history.

Sakurai aimed to speed up Smash's tempo compared to Smash 4 while retaining accessibility for newcomers. Despite tweaks for balance, Ultimate’s core mechanics could not be reused. Every fighter was meticulously adjusted, averaging 70–100 changes each.

Stages also received an enormous boost, combining and expanding past games' levels and allowing over 100 stages in total. Condensing audio and data innovation miraculously cut file sizes to a quarter of Smash 4’s, fitting everything on limited cartridge space.

Sakurai discussed his team’s journey through a worldwide pandemic and remote work challenges. Staying on track to deliver the full DLC roster required intense coordination and long hours. In December 2021, the six DLC fighters were completed, totaling three years of exhaustive post-launch development.

While proud of the accomplishment, Sakurai acknowledged the difficulty of further expanding Smash. Through meticulous effort and a "now or never" mentality, Smash Ultimate reached unprecedented heights, assembling gaming's greatest icons into one definitive experience.