In a new “Ask the Developer” article posted by Nintendo on Mario & Luigi: Brothership, it was revealed that Mario’s original design concept was that he would be more rugged in appearance. In a push to differentiate the newest title from past Mario & Luigi games, the design team devised an “edgier, more rugged Mario.” Feedback from Nintendo guided the team towards an art direction that was more identifiable to fans and that does seem like a good call. Still, seeing concept art of Mario looking gruff and meaner is certainly interesting.
The lengthy discussion, which has been split into multiple parts, includes quotes from Akira Otani (Producer), Tomoki Fukushima (Associate Producer), Haruyuki Ohashi (Director), and Hitomi Furuta (Art Director). All four give tidbits about their philosophies for the latest Mario & Luigi game, including how newcomer Connie was originally designed to be more human-like. While I can understand that, her final design is definitely more appealing. The same goes for Snoutlet, who was originally more abstract.
There’s a lot of great information here and Nintendo has so far only published parts one and two. Parts three and four will be available tomorrow, December 5th, 2024, though it’s unclear how many segments there are to this interview. At the very least, I appreciate Nintendo lifting the veil a bit to give us some insight on certain choices made for its latest stab at a Mario RPG.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
