It’s not often someone can say happy birthday to one of their creations in a completely different creation, but that’s exactly what Masahiro Sakurai can manage with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Last week saw a quartet of games get their anniversaries honored and among them was Sakurai’s very first game – Kirby’s Dream Land.
1992年のきょう『星のカービィ』(Kirby's Dream Land)発売!!
ゲーム初心者に向けて特化した､私のデビュー作です｡
知らなかったかもしれないけど､カービィ考えたの私なんですよ…｡
なんで3人になるのかって?
そりゃあその方が楽しいからですよ｡#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/vKZQBxOoCm— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 27, 2021
This one’s pretty easy to replicate, especially since Kirby’s Dream Land (being played on a Game Boy) is a stage in Smash, but that didn’t stop him from adding a little extra by tripling down on dancing Kirby.
Far away from Pop Star, though, another celestial body is beginning to move…
2000年のきょう『ゼルダの伝説 ムジュラの仮面』(The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)発売!!
｢タイムリープもの｣なんて言葉もあまり見かけなかった時代ですね｡
写真で壮大なネタバレをしているような気がしますが､気にしないでください｡#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/VayNOlEV9B— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 27, 2021
Yes, the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask celebrated its anniversary as well. One of Link’s most unique adventures and perhaps the strangest in the series, Majora’s Mask manages to be as beloved as it is feared. Melee’s Great Bay stage is perfect for capturing the game’s climax, with the Four Giants halting the Moon before all of Termina is lost.
We’re not done with space yet, though.
1997年のきょう『スターフォックス64』(Star Fox 64)発売!!
『スターフォックス』2作目で、グレートフォックスやスターウルフの登場はここから｡
3Dスティック、振動パック対応などで、質が高いシューティングが楽しめました。#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/Av8X4X0zfH— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 27, 2021
All aircraft, report for one the Nintendo 64’s earliest and best! Star Fox 64 managed to define the series for many, and is a standard that it hasn’t been able to meet since. 64 gave us both the Great Fox and Star Wolf, as Sakurai notes, but its real gift to the world was the N64 Rumble Pak. The Switch’s own HD Rumble can be traced back to that behemoth and Fox McCloud was the perfect pilot to show the potential of haptic feedback.
Last but not least is something much more grounded, but perhaps the most humbling of all.
1980年のきょう､ゲーム＆ウオッチの第一作目『ボール』(Game & Watch: Ball)発売!!
ゲーム&ウオッチは任天堂ゲームの原点で､躍進への偉大な一歩と言えますね｡
ボールのこのひと､発売当時からおだんごヘアかと思っていたのですが､鼻ということでよいのですかね｡#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/TSGJvB2ewq— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 28, 2021
Behold, Ball. The very first Game & Watch title, and thus the oldest title represented in Super Smash Bros. by a fighter. Like Dream Land, it manages to get recreated in Smash both from a software and hardware perspective. There’s no knowing how Nintendo’s history would’ve unfolded without this simple little distraction, but here we are celebrating it 41 years later.
Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
