Masahiro Sakurai promised the world that change would come to the Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros., but few would have interpreted that to mean Project Sora wouldn’t develop the game entirely on its own.
In the aftermath of the announcement that a core team from Namco Bandai will assist in executing Sakurai’s vision, many wondered if developers responsible for the likes of Tekken and Soulcalibur could bring the appropriate tone and feel to Smash Bros. Those games, though technically all existing in the fighting genre, are worlds apart in virtually every respect. That’s to say nothing of the folks involved with other Namco franchises like the Tales of RPG series and Mobile Suit Gundam.
Change can be feared, or it can be embraced. What Smash Bros. fans should understand is the series has been developed in an environment of constant change. Though the first installment was technically developed by HAL Laboratory, both Melee and Brawl were created by completely different ad hoc teams assembled specifically for those projects. Those teams technically don’t exist anymore. This situation with Namco Bandai is no different. In fact, the developer is doing its own version of a team scramble, pulling not only from its Tekken and Soulcalibur veterans, but Tales, Ridge Racer and Mobile Gundam developers as well.
Namco and Sakurai appear to be seeking balance in the Smash Bros. team, pulling in folks responsible for a wide range of genres, skillsets and ideas. And in the end, that could be the best thing for the Smash Bros. franchise, which has increasingly tried to do more yet incrementally achieved less innovation and, some might argue, quality.
Take the single-player Subspace Emissary mode in Brawl. It not only suffered in terms of storyline but a feeling of progression and achievement as well. Don’t give us stickers and a bizarre plot featuring subspace goblins. Give us something more meaningful that has a strong sense of purpose, with mechanics to support that. Bringing in members of the Tales team, including series producer Yoshito Higuchi, who will be directing the upcoming Smash games, is the perfect way to address some of these issues. Developers responsible for 60-plus hour RPGs understand how to sustain a lengthy campaign, and the idea that Smash Bros. will benefit from that experience is reassuring.
While most of the focus of Tekken and Soulcalibur developers working on Smash Bros. has been on tone, my immediate reaction is that the series will now have the combined experience of two groups responsible for highly technical, highly competitive fighting games. Smash Bros. has grown as a competitive fighting series, yet as most dedicated fighting game enthusiasts will tell you, Brawl isn’t exactly the most balanced game. In fact many have taken to developing their own mods to attempt and bend the game to have a more technical edge to it. While Tekken and Soulcalibur no doubt have their fair share of issues, most fighting games evolve over time through patches and adjustments. The key, however, rests in the fact that Tekken and Soulcalibur rest on core concepts that have a great deal of depth and nuance when executed properly. Though Smash never needs to get too complicated, a solid foundation is something that any fighting game ought to have.
Namco’s cherry-picked team doesn’t end there, even looking to projects such as Ridge Racer and Mobile Gundam for assistance. Developing two Smash Bros. games at once, and attempting to design them to interact with each other, is a massive undertaking the likes of which Nintendo has rarely seen. It’s the sort of ambition that Sakurai is no doubt used to, having developed Melee and Brawl under extreme, last-minute conditions.
The news of Namco Bandai assisting with development of Smash Bros. should highlight several important things. First, the game is going to be made faster. In his statement released alongside the Nintendo Direct broadcast, Sakurai mentioned his new team has already developed a prototype that “looks pretty good, and [is] working great.” Had Sakurai attempted to build a team from scratch much in the way he did for Melee and Brawl, he’d likely still be figuring out the pieces to his own development puzzle.
Additionally, the larger implication of Nintendo’s willingness to work with outside partners is something that should be embraced by fans. While there is a risk that a team won’t capture Nintendo’s magic, we’ve seen time and time again that the publisher’s mentorship and collaboration can bring considerable benefits. Look at projects with Rare, Retro, Square and Capcom. Look at how incredible Project X Zone looks. Consider some of the more subtle partnerships we’ve seen, such as the case of Monolith Soft assisting with Skyward Sword development. Best of all, Namco’s teams have years of experience working in HD, meaning their skills can immediately help Sakurai’s Sora crew cross many hurdles.
Nintendo partnering with other developers isn’t exactly new. This work with Smash Bros. is one of the most high profile examples of that kind of development deal, but with Masahiro Sakurai watching over development, implementing his razor-sharp vision as he always does, it would seem premature to be anything but optimistic. We’re likely still years from seeing Smash Bros. arrive on the 3DS and Wii U, but thanks to Namco, that’s far closer to becoming a reality than before.
Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com, and the leader of the network's Nintendo team. He also covers all things Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil, WWE and more. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN, if you dare.
Source : ign[dot]com
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