2021 was a busy year for Masahiro Sakurai — but in a different way. 

Sakurai is most known for tirelessly working on the Super Smash Bros. series, including putting together Ultimate's giant roster full of DLC fighters. But when Sora was announced as the final DLC, Sakurai said that the game was finally complete, something that people never thought they'd hear Sakurai say. This was the same man who passed out while working on Melee nonstop. 

It was hard for many in the Smash community to truly accept that Ultimate was done. At the same time, they were happy to see Sakurai finally share his passions and interests on Twitter. Before, Sakurai's every word was scrutinized, with fans constantly theorizing what it meant despite Sakurai's pleas for them to stop. 

Sakurai started sharing memes and photos of other games he enjoyed. He also shared his dreams of going on a road trip. Sakurai even showed off pics from atop a horse. Now, Sakurai opened up with 4Gamer, a Japanese gaming site, about some of the things he's done in 2021 now that he's had a break from Ultimate. For now. 

Sakurai reveals favorite video game and movies in 2021

Sakurai told 4Gamer that he played a lot of video games in 2021. His favorite of those games, however, was Inscryption, a card game with a creepy vibe. 

"Inscryption got me good," Sakurai said. "It’s a card game with a lot of meta elements, going past the common unwritten rules of gameplay. I’m sure anyone who already played the game will say that, but it’s best to enjoy it without spoiling yourself beforehand." 

Sakurai also gave a nod to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, who was responsible for Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Sakurai called him a "balanced" director who always manages to make the "right decisions" in his games. He called his video games "top-notch works." 

But Sakurai didn't only spend his free time on games. Sakurai also had the opportunity to watch a lot of movies. He especially enjoyed Marvel movies, including Disney+ original shows. 

He said: “The number of titles, including Disney+ original titles, is so large that it’s hard to tell how many people are working on them... I also thought that their ability as a production company to put together a setting without contradiction was also top-notch." 

It's clear that Sakurai enjoys work that he finds admirable and quality. This includes games and movies with an immense and immersive world that allows people to escape. Since Sakurai isn't done with video games, maybe this will be inspiration for his next project — something a bit more RPG. Or maybe Sakurai is truly just enjoying the video games and movies he never had the chance to experience while working on Ultimate.