It’s not usually big news when a game developer updates their social media feed, but when you’re Super Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai, people take notice when you adjust your Twitter. That’s what happened on December 27th, 2020, when Sakurai reached the one-year mark of posting daily photos from the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In 2019, the saga began when Sakurai announced that once per day, he’d post an image that he used during the Super Smash Bros. team’s daily internal meetings on his Twitter feed. The move seemed a bit like a “365 project,” an exercise common among photographers and artists to create or produce a photo or work on a daily basis for a year. This was the first picture he used:
『スマブラSP』の開発中、私はチーム内に公開する日報で1日1枚、開発中画像を上げ続けていました。ずっと続いています。
この画像をおよそ1日1枚、しばらくの間ランダムでアップしたいと思います。撮影にはデバッグ用機能を使っている場合もありますが、ご容赦を!! pic.twitter.com/IGXO9E3DbG— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) December 27, 2019
Since then, barring holidays, Sakurai has dutifully uploaded new screens. The pictures, taken in “photo mode” style and enabled by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s debug mode and development tools, featured a wide range of subjects and compositions. And now that rhythm is going to change slightly. In the latest tweet, Sakurai announced that after the holiday break, he’d be moving to a five-day-a-week schedule. In a follow-up tweet, Sakurai reasoned that the change was partly due to a dwindling stock of usable photos. Not every in-development shot is suitable for public consumption, though he still has at more than 100 worth putting up.
To commemorate this frankly quite minor ripple in the ongoing life of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, we’ve trawled through the feed over the past year and selected a few of our favorite posts for your enjoyment.
Some were anodyne development tests for the game, such as this lineup of Joker’s various color options.
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) December 27, 2019
Some were more artfully presented, like this shot of the Dragon Quest characters raising their weapons together.
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) January 10, 2020
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 4, 2020
Others were funny or clever references, such as this parody of Daigo parrying Justin at EVO 2004.
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) January 26, 2020
Or this celebration of Yoshi’s Island‘s 1995 release anniversary.
1995年のきょう『スーパーマリオ ヨッシーアイランド』発売!! pic.twitter.com/q7zZ9twq34
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 5, 2020
Still others were just surreal compositions made in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, like this haunting two-picture post from February.
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) February 12, 2020
Some were real flexes, showing off stage or character details from the game that would otherwise be invisible to the players.
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) March 6, 2020
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) March 12, 2020
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) December 4, 2020
Whatever the case, the shots showed off Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in its best light, treating onlookers to a glimpse of just how much content is in the game, and engaging fans as well.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo announced the addition of Final Fantasy VII‘s Sephiroth to the roster at the 2020 Game Awards.
