Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Masahiro Sakurai has quite a lot of work on his slate. First and foremost, he and the Super Smash Bros. development team have to finish out the Fighter Pass Volume 2 DLC collection for Smash Ultimate. In between, there’s balancing and patching to be done on the game to make sure everything is as well off as it can be (within reason). Even so, fans often still ask for Sakurai to return to his other work though, and in honor of Kid Icarus: Uprising’s launch, he acknowledged the game. That said, it didn’t come without him adding that it would be difficult to pursue a sequel or remake.
Masahiro Sakurai briefly addressed Kid Icarus: Uprising in a post on his personal Twitter on March 21, 2021. While he mused fondly over the game, he was also quick to point out that a new game or a remake wouldn’t be easy.
“We have received many requests for sequels and remakes, but it would be difficult,” Sakurai wrote, roughly translated.
Designed specially for the Nintendo 3DS, Kid Icarus: Uprising has a control scheme that indeed seems like it would be highly difficult to patch together in a port. Much of the game ran as an on-rails shooter with touchscreen controls for aiming and shooting that translated to the top screen. Meanwhile, dialogue between characters ran on the touch screen of the 3DS as well with enjoyable graphic details in the chatter between characters. All of these elements worked quite well for the game on the 3DS and it wouldn’t be impossible to adapt, but Kid Icarus: Uprising would need a near full UI makeover to ensure players got a good, functional experience in a sequel or remake.
With the last two characters of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass Volume 2 still in the works and patches and balancing still happening as the team goes, it most certainly seems sensible that Sakurai’s bandwidth is limited. While it might be possible for someone to take the reins on Kid Icarus from Masahiro Sakurai, it also sounds highly improbable. Such as the case, we might have to wait till Smash Bros Ultimate Fighters Pass 2 is completely done before the chance of Sakurai doing things outside Nintendo’s party brawler becomes significant.