After 25 years since the release of the iconic Nintendo crossover fighting game, fans finally have the official lore behind the name "Super Smash Bros.," thanks to its creator, Masahiro Sakurai.
Masahiro Sakurai Explains Why It's Called Smash Bros
Super Smash Bros. stands out as Nintendo's premier crossover fighting game, showcasing a diverse roster of characters from the company's rich history of iconic titles. Despite its name suggesting familial ties, the game's characters are not all siblings—nor are they all male. So, why the name "Super Smash Bros."? Until recently, the reasoning behind the title was shrouded in mystery. Now, thanks to insights from Masahiro Sakurai, the game's creator, we have the full story.In a recent episode of his YouTube video series, Sakurai revealed that the name "Smash Bros" stems from the concept of "friends who were settling little disagreements." This theme of friendly competition was central to the game's design. Additionally, Sakurai credited the late Satoru Iwata, former Nintendo president, for playing a significant role in naming the series.
"Mr. Iwata also had a part in coming up with the name Super Smash Bros. We had team members suggest a bunch of possible names and words we might use," Sakurai explained in his video. A meeting was convened with Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the Mother/Earthbound series, to finalize the title. Sakurai further elaborated, "Mr. Iwata is the one who picked out the 'brothers' part. His reasoning was that, even though the characters weren't brothers at all, using the word added the nuance that they weren't simply fighting—they were friends who were settling a little disagreement!"
Beyond the lore of the game's name, Sakurai also reminisced about his first meeting with Iwata and shared other cherished memories of the former Nintendo president. He mentioned that Iwata personally contributed to programming the code for the Super Smash Bros. prototype, initially known as "Dragon King: The Fighting Game" for the Nintendo 64.
