Masahiro Sakurai

Masahiro Sakurai (桜井 政博) (born August 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game director and designer, best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series. He also directed Kid Icarus: Uprising. Sakurai began his career at HAL Laboratory before founding Sora Ltd. in 2005, where he continues to work today. Sakurai created the character Kirby when he was 19 years old at HAL, and directed the first Kirby game, Kirby's Dream Land. He also provided the voice of King Dedede in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

For Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Sakurai kept development blogs on their respective websites, using it to announce new or returning characters, stages and other content.

Comments on Ridley
Before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sakurai was reluctant to include Ridley as a playable character despite enormous fan requests dating back to Super Smash Bros. Melee. This is because he believed that doing so would require Ridley to be scaled down in size, affecting the image he has of being an intimidating villain in his native series. Interviewed by Nintendo Power for Brawl, he had this to say:

Following the release of the next game, he expanded on why Ridley would not fit in as a fighter, stating:

Sakurai finally honored the requests in Ultimate. He has commented that Ridley's down taunt is his favorite in the game.

Trivia

 * He was diagnosed with calcific tendinitis near his right shoulder in February 2013, which he said caused him significant pain whenever he moved his arm. Sakurai was concerned this could slow down his work, since he playtests some of his games himself.
 * Sakurai has stated that Samus Aran's pink alternate costume in the series is based on the Gravity Suit from Super Metroid. However, its color scheme more closely resembles the Varia Suit when Missiles are selected in Metroid. The Gravity Suit as it appears in Metroid Prime is present as another costume.
 * Sakurai twice claimed after Brawl and Nintendo 3DS and Wii U that he was unsure if another game in the series would be released. Despite this, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was confirmed in March 2018, unveiled in June and scheduled to be released in December the same year.
 * Sakurai writes a column in Famitsu.