New Super Smash Bros. Roster

Nintendo didn't have much to say on the subject at this years E3, but Super Smash Bros. is rarely absent from gamer minds. Thankfully, their appetites are being slowly satiated just under month since the convention, as news concerning the popular fighter has been trickling steadily in. But this most recent tidbit hints that the series will be heading in a very different direction than they are used to. Will the changes be positive or leave gamers wanting?

It was recently announced that both the 3DS and Wii U versions of the project will be headed by Namco Bandai, assuring that franchise characters from their camp will make an appearance alongside other fresh, old school characters that will allow the game and its players to get in touch with their roots - not to mention educate young whippersnappers on what came before.

But the most interesting news to step forward came from an interview with Masahiro Sakurai in Nintendo Power. In it, they discuss the difficulties in developing the latest title. The shear amount of content available in Sakurai's last two games, Kid Icarus: Uprising and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. suggest that that tradition might continue with this sequel however, it doesn't seem to be the case. Brawl, which had an impressive roster, boasting 35 characters to choose from, two of which were the first third-party characters in series history, also included a full single-player mode, an "Event" mode and lots of other playable or collectible goodies. While the single-player campaign was a creative way to unlock characters, it was long and became tedious. In addition, most unlocked characters were similar to previous characters already available, so the excitement of variety was damped by the lack of originality. This time around Sakurai wishes to trim the fat, cutting down on size and focusing on quality.

"It isn't a matter of ‘if the next game has 50 characters, that’ll be enough. There is a certain charm to games that have huge casts of playable characters, but they tend to have issues with game balance and it becomes very difficult to fine-tune each character and have them all feel distinctive…. In terms of quantity, we've probably already reached the limit of what’s feasible. I think a change of direction may be what’s needed."

While fans might be bummed at the prospect of a smaller roaster, they should be pleased that the game will receive lots of extra care so that each playable character will feel unique -- that, coupled with a plethora of new faces mixing in with classic, returning characters, could make this the best Super Smash Bros. yet.

No release date has been announced at this time, but stay tuned to Game Rant for all of your updates on Super Smash Bros. Rumble, Battle, Clash... Altercation -- or whatever they end up calling it.

Source: Nintendo Everything