‘Super Smash Bros.’ Director Justifies Piranha Plant Character In ‘Ultimate’

The latest Nintendo Direct for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate left a lot of fans happy, introducing the new World of Light single player mode (with Kirby, our savior!), as well as some new characters and features. But a few are scratching their heads over the inclusion of Piranha Plant from the Super Mario Bros. series as a playable character. (And no, not just because he has legs.)

But director Masahiro Sakurai has decided to defend this new character in a recent interview with Game Informer, indicating that he definitely has his place in the cast.

When he was asked how he feels being able to surprise fans with characters such as this, as well as the intent of the inclusion of the Piranha Plant, Sakurai explained, "I'm actually not paying too much focus on the surprise element when we introduce a new fighter. The surprise element quickly fades once the announcement has been made.

"Rather, I believe it's important to have a good balance as a game. In the past titles in the series, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B. and Duck Hunt Dog were some of the examples we offered outside of people's typical expectations. However, if we don't have these types of fighters, and we only had typical 'hero/heroine' type fighters in the lineup, there's not much difference. It's probably not very interesting. Correct?"

"Also, unlike some main characters from some (not widely known) franchises, Piranha Plant is a character everyone knows well. And, I want to make sure to remind everyone that it is a limited-time offer fighter everyone can get for free as an early-purchase bonus."

So there you have it. While Waluigi fans may not be very happy that their favorite character was snubbed (for now, anyway), there's still a lot to look forward to with Ultimate. And, yes, Piranha Plant will be an interesting character, to say the least. Probably more so than a Thwomp, anyway. (Not that we have anything against Thwomps. Please don't crush us.)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate releases on December 7 for Nintendo Switch, both physically and in the Nintendo eShop. You can actually pre-order and preload the game now!

(Hat tip to Game Informer for the details!)