Super Mario Bros. Wonder Staff Discuss Improved Animations & Conceptualization

Nintendo published a double-part interview with Super Mario Bros. Wonder staff: producer Takashi Tezuka, director Shiro Mouri, game designer Koichi Hayashida, art director Masanobu Sato, and sound director Koji Kondo.

Various topics are discussed, such as how Mario Maker 2 made Hayashida nervous since it seemingly eliminated the need for a new 2D Mario game. However, Tezuka was confident that this new game would differ from the New Super Mario Bros. series, with a brand-new engine “that would serve as a foundation for future 2D Mario games.”

Scheduling wasn’t a concern either, as the priority was establishing this title’s quality above all else. In order to gather new gameplay concepts, the team hosted an idea-sharing session, from which over 2,000 sticky notes were written with ideas.

Regarding the enhanced character expressions and animations, the recent Mario film’s content was emphasized as not influencing the project. However, they knew that film-watchers would play the title, so they “dedicated ample budget and time to create the characters with even more care and attention and in greater detail.”

Further, the number of joints has increased from 12 since the previous title, with those and animations having doubled. The expressiveness of enemies has been improved considerably, too. For instance, Goombas are shown to be biting Mario when he collides with them, causing damage.

You can view Parts 1 and 2 of the full interview for additional details. Parts 3 and 4 will launch tomorrow.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Prince Florian invited Mario and his friends to the Flower Kingdom. However, when Bowser attacks and comes into contact with the Wonder Flower, he merges with the prince’s castle. Of course, the heroes set off on a quest to halt Bowser’s ambitions.

The game has six worlds that circle the petal isles, with a total of 7 areas to explore. There will be several types of environments throughout the levels, such as caves, deserts, and grasslands.

Luigi, Peach, Daisy, two Toads, and Toadette are also playable alongside Mario, and they all control the same. The Yoshi and Nabbit won’t take damage, though, so they’re for beginners. But they can still lose lives if they fall into a pit.

Players can experience stages with new power-ups, badges, and the Wonder Flower that significantly alters the layout of the environment. Four-player local play will also be featured alongside indirect online player interaction.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder will launch for Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023. Fans can now pre-order the game via the Switch eShop.