Smash Bros. creator shows Dragon King prototype footage

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai released a new behind-the-scenes video on his YouTube channel on Thursday, revealing never-before-seen footage of an early prototype for the game and breaking down the origins behind Nintendo’s hit free-for-all fighting series.

The prototype, dubbed “Dragon King: The Fighting Game,” includes nearly all the fundamental elements that would later be seen in Super Smash Bros. This footage features four fighters in multicolored jumpsuits fighting on a set of floating platforms. The background is a static mountain image. They use staple moves like smash attacks, midair jumping, shields and dashes as well as five-directional aerial attacks.

The prototype was programmed by Satoru Iwata — former Nintendo CEO and one of the co-creator of Kirby — alongside another prototype: a robot adventure game where players hacked cameras in order to progress through levels. The cancellation of many projects, including the Nintendo 64 original version of the game, led to the abandonment of other ones. MotherSakurai decided the four-player fight game would be the most time-consuming to create and began development. As the saying goes: The rest is history.

The video can be viewed above or on Sakurai’s YouTube channel, where he posts weekly videos breaking down the fundamentals of game design as well as his own storied career as a game designer.