Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Mario has never looked happier as he’s jumping (Picture: Nintendo)
The newest Super Mario game will appeal to fans of the animated movie, but any similarities between the two are coincidental.
There are some delightfully bizarre set pieces in Super Mario Bros. Wonder thanks to the new Wonder Flower item, but it should come as no surprise that some ideas were cut, probably for being too extreme.
One example that was pitched by sound director Koji Kondo was an ‘eight-heads-tall, life-sized, live-action Mario’ that would hum to the background music and say ‘Boing’ when he jumps.
As grossly fascinating as that sounds, it’s no wonder the idea was rejected, but Kondo doesn’t sound torn up about it, adding, ‘I felt I had to take the lead in going to the extreme.’
This comes from an interview with the development team behind Super Mario Bros. Wonder published to Nintendo’s website, where they also address whether or not The Super Mario Bros. Movie had any sort of effect on development.
As the first major Super Mario game to launch after the incredibly successful animated movie adaptation, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is bound to attract new fans whose first exposure to the franchise was said movie.
Ergo, it’d make sense for the movie to have some influence on Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s development; to try and make things a bit more recognisable and appealing to fans of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
It turns out that that’s not the case at all. Not only did the development team take no cues from the movie whatsoever, but most of them didn’t know anything about the movie’s content till it came out.
Obviously, development on the new game didn’t start after the movie’s release. Both projects ran concurrently yet the Wonder team were never shared any information about the movie’s development.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder – for some movie fans, this will be their introduction to the Super Mario games (Picture: Nintendo)
‘We’re often asked about the film’s influence on the game, but we didn’t hear anything about the film’s content during development,’ answers art director Masanobu Sato.
‘I think [producer Takashi Tezuka] and [sound director Koji Kondo] were the only members here who knew the details.’
So, even after the movie came out, it seems the team was under no pressure to suddenly ensure the characters looked and sounded more like how they did in the movie. That also explains why Mario and Luigi’s new voice actor sounds closer to Charles Martinet’s performance rather than Chris Pratt and Charlie Day’s.
However, Tezuka acknowledges that ‘some people would play the game because they watched the movie. This is why we were conscious of creating a game that wouldn’t disappoint them. So for this game, we dedicated ample budget and time to create the characters with even more care and attention and in greater detail.’
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Long-time purists will be pleased to hear that game development isn’t beholden to the movie despite it making more than a billion dollars at the box office. However, there are signs of Nintendo taking some cues from it regardless.
For instance, artwork for the upcoming Princess Peach Showtime was updated, altering Peach’s face so she looks more like she does in the movie. Although it’s unclear whether this will be reflected in-game too.
It was also implied that Donkey Kong’s movie design will become the new standard going forward though no new Donkey Kong games have been announced to corroborate this.
There is a remake of the original Mario Vs. Donkey Kong launching in February 2024, but that’s sticking with DK’s current game design.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches for Nintendo Switch on October 20.
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The newest Super Mario game will appeal to fans of the animated movie, but any similarities between the two are coincidental.