Ask the Developer Vol. 15, Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Chapter 1
04/12/2024
This interview was conducted before the game was released.
Some of the images and videos shown in text were created during development.
This article has been translated from the original Japanese content.
In this 15th volume of Ask the Developer, an interview series in which developers convey in their own words Nintendo's thoughts about creating products and the unusual details they hone in on, we're talking to the developers behind Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which launched on Thursday, November 7th.
Chapter 1: Harnessing the dream of 3D
Chapter 2: Working together for the first time
Chapter 3: Coming December 5th
Chapter 4: Coming December 5th
Chapter 1: Harnessing the dream of 3D
First, could you briefly introduce yourselves?
Otani:
I'm Akira Otani from Nintendo. I've been involved in the Mario & Luigi series since the second game, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and have been working as the producer since the third one, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. This is the seventh game in the series I've been involved in, and my role for this one was to supervise the overall project, but of course, I was doing all kinds of things, such as coming up with and putting together game content with the other team members.
Fukushima:
Prior to this game, I was in charge of coordinating with outside development companies for games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (1) for Nintendo Switch. For this game, I joined development as the Associate Producer. Working with the game development company Acquire, I was involved in a broad range of tasks from prototyping until completion, such as coordinating the schedule and putting the overall game content together.
(1) A Nintendo Switch game released in 2018. A competitive action game in which characters from various games fight and try to blast the opponents off the screen. There are over 80 playable characters including the DLC, and more than 100 stages are available to battle upon.
Ohashi:
I'm Haruyuki Ohashi from Acquire (2). As the director, I was in charge of planning and overseeing the development on site. This was my first time working with Nintendo, and I'm relieved that we were able to complete the project successfully.
(2) Acquire Corp. A game software development and publishing company, founded in 1994. On Nintendo Switch, they have published the Class of Heroes series in Japan (published by PQube in North America and Europe) and developed games such as the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series.
Furuta:
I'm Hitomi Furuta from Acquire. I worked as the Art Director for this game. My role was to direct the overall art style, and I was also in charge of designing some of the main characters. I've been playing Mario games since I was a child, but it was the development of this game that got me playing the Mario & Luigi series.
Next, could I ask Otani-san to explain a little about the Mario & Luigi series and about this game?
Otani:
The first game in the Mario & Luigi series was released in 2003 for Game Boy Advance. The Mario & Luigi games are Action RPGs characterised by having Mario and Luigi work together to progress in the game, and we like to call this genre "Brother Action RPG". I think the series is well balanced and neatly packages just the right amount of action and puzzles, as well as a fun story and character reactions that are unique to the Mario series. This is the first new title in the series in nine years, since Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3) in 2015.
(3) A Nintendo 3DS game released in December 2015, in which Mario and Luigi adventure through the world together with Paper Mario.
Thank you. You mentioned that this was the first new game in nine years, but what kind of setting does the story take place in?
Otani:
The game is set in Concordia, a different world from the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi adventure through islands drifting in its ocean. Your base of operations is the drifting Shipshape Island, and you sail around looking for other islands, where all kinds of puzzles and battles await you. As the threat of the antagonist Zokket draws nearer, Mario and Luigi meet all kinds of people and get their support to help stand up against them.
This game was first announced during the Nintendo Direct that aired in June 2024. Since it's the first new game in the series in nine years, I imagine a lot of people were surprised.
Otani:
People were more surprised than I expected, both in Japan and elsewhere. I think the biggest part of the surprise was that people didn't expect any more of these games to be released, and now the series has been brought back.
Well, it has been a while since the last instalment of the Mario & Luigi series was released, after all.
Otani:
That's true. Of course, for a long time, we'd been having a number of internal discussions about a new instalment in the series following Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. We needed to aim for something new that would keep up with hardware advancements while maintaining the appeal of the classic Mario & Luigi games. It wasn't easy to achieve both at the same time… We kept trying various things, but there was a time when we thought it might not be possible to make any more games in the series and considered giving up.
There were a lot of discussions, and eventually we decided to reach out to Acquire. After speaking a number of times with Ohashi-san, I felt that Acquire might be able to realise our dream of making Mario & Luigi in 3D, so we agreed to start joint development.
Of course, it was also important to keep that "Mario & Luigi-like" feeling, so we also had some former AlphaDream (4) staff members who were involved in the development of previous titles in the series join the project.
(4) ALPHADREAM CORPORATION. A game development company best known for their work on the development of the Mario & Luigi series of games. It was active from 2000 to 2019.
Ah, that's interesting. What were your reasons for reaching out to Acquire?
Otani:
First, they have advanced 3D technology, and they created OCTOPATH TRAVELER (5), so they have experience in RPG development. Additionally, they have experience developing action games, such as Tenchu (6). I saw them as a company that could develop both action and RPG games. Their excellent track record and technical skills made me feel compelled to reach out to them.
(5) An RPG series whose first title was released by Square Enix in July 2018. It is notable for its HD-2D graphics that combine 3D CG effects with traditional pixel art. You can play as eight travelers with different attributes and backgrounds and experience each of their stories.
(6) An action game series first released in 1998. You play as a ninja and have to hide in the darkness and shadows to avoid being found by the enemy as you proceed. It is notable for the special moves you can pull off to take down enemies in one hit when they present an opening.
What was the reaction at Acquire after Otani-san's visit?
Ohashi:
Well, I personally was interested in working with Nintendo. Also, for Acquire as a whole, we felt that working with Nintendo would give us the chance to learn all kinds of things, from technical aspects to game creation. So we talked about how we'd love the opportunity to work together.
Was this Acquire's first time working together with Nintendo on development?
Ohashi:
Yes, this was the first time we were properly doing game development work together. Up until this title, Acquire had developed many games for other platforms, and the idea of co-developing something with Nintendo hadn't really occurred to us. But when we were presented with the idea and realised that such a future was possible, we became really interested and thought that it was bound to be a fascinating experience.
I think Acquire has tended to make original games that are quite edgy and a bit unconventional, like Tenchu, which was mentioned earlier. I don't think you've made many games with other companies' characters.
Ohashi:
That's right. Generally, until now, we've almost always drawn up the plan or proposal on Acquire's side and approached our partners about creating our idea together. We were coming into this game without having built up any prior experience on our side, so that was pretty challenging.
As mentioned earlier, Acquire has worked on the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series, which is known for its HD-2D graphical style that lies somewhere between 2D and 3D. When you brought this proposal to Acquire, Otani-san, did you also have such a visual direction in mind?
Otani:
There was a point where I thought an HD-2D approach like OCTOPATH TRAVELER could be a possibility. However, previous Mario & Luigi games were pixel art, and the artwork on the packaging, et cetera, consisted of drawn illustrations.
Artwork used on the packaging of the Nintendo 3DS game Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey (left) and the game's pixel art (right).
Otani:
For other Mario games, the in-game visual design and the main illustration match, but because they didn't for the previous Mario & Luigi games, I thought it might have been harder for customers to recognise what kind of game it was. I wanted to align the game and the artwork at some point. That's why my dream was to make the next one in 3D.
Ohashi:
I was also thinking since the planning stage that 3D would be a good approach to take if we were going to make this game. There were also several reasons why I thought 2D would be difficult. I created games using pixel art characters in the No Heroes Allowed! (7) series, and from that experience with pixel art animation, I could see how great the pixel art animation was in past Mario & Luigi games, both from a technical and stylistic perspective. I didn't think it would be easy to make something on that level or even better. So I thought, in that case, challenging ourselves to make Mario & Luigi in 3D would enable us to add lots of new and appealing elements into the game that weren't in previous ones.
(7) A game series first released in Japan in 2007 and in North America and Europe in 2009. You play as a God of Destruction, protecting a demon lord and defeating invading heroes by creating ecosystems for monsters inside dungeons. This series is notable for its world created with pixel art.
