This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

The Iwata-san book, originally published last year, contains many fascinating interviews with the late Nintendo President’s friends and colleagues from around Nintendo. As IGN reported at the time, there’s an incredibly touching anecdote from Miyamoto about the way he would share his new ideas with Iwata and his sadness at his inability to that any longer.

There’s still no official English translation of the book, but an interview with Super Smash Bros director Masahiro Sakurai for the publication is now being released for free on Famitsu. Twitter user PushDustin has graciously summed up the first part for us to digest.

Sakurai recalls being interviewed by Iwata for his job at HAL when he was 18, with Iwata listening closely and making furious notes. He also, touchingly, remembers his constant smiling. Elsewhere he recalls Iwata’s eagerness to help out with development issues during the creation of Super Smash Bros. Melee, even without being asked for help.

There are more parts to the interview being published over the coming days, we’ll be sure to update this piece as and when they go live. Needless to say, we still miss the late Nintendo president dearly.

Source: Twitter