Masahiro Sakurai created Kirby at 19 and directed Kirby's Dream Land in 1992, then went on to direct the first two Super Smash Bros. games before abruptly resigning from HAL Laboratory in 2003, frustrated by an industry that assumed every hit demanded a sequel. This episode traces his path from teenage prodigy to independent orchestrator: founding Sora Ltd. with his wife Michiko in 2005, designing the original puzzle game Meteos, and being publicly cornered into directing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which he built by borrowing personnel from 19 different studios while writing daily updates on the Smash Bros. Dojo website.

The story turns darker with the simultaneous development of Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, a February 2013 diagnosis of calcific tendonitis that made hands-on testing agonizing, and a 2015 Famitsu column hinting at retirement ...