We have finally arrived at the home stretch of Masahiro Sakurai’s excellent YouTube channel uploads and today’s penultimate video is all about the late, great Satoru Iwata.
Over the past two years, we’ve seen Sakurai get personal on the channel, opening up about his time in the industry with surprising honesty. But today’s release might be the most personal of the bunch as the legendary game designer runs through his cherished memories with one of Nintendo’s most fondly-remembered faces.
The video covers the full span of the pair’s friendship, from when Sakurai first met Iwata at his initial HAL Laboratory interview to their final get-together in early 2015.
It’s an emotional one at points, of course, but the video is full of touching moments, like Sakurai’s confession that “when taking notes, listening, or even just talking, [Iwata would] always have the most carefree smile on his face”.
It’s also peppered with some neat facts too. Did you know that Iwata is partly responsible for Super Smash Bros’ iconic name? We didn’t.
It’s a heartfelt send-off to the legendary CEO and a sweet way to round out Sakurai’s wonderful YouTube series. The final regular video is set to release next week on 15th October, with a “special finale episode” scheduled for later on.
