Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U is a clear evolution of Super Mario 3D Land on the Nintendo 3DS. While it is an entirely new 3D Mario game, it’s building upon the combination of 2D and 3D Mario that 3D Land attempted, opting to drop the full-fledged exploratory style of games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy.
In a recent Iwata Asks interview, Nintendo’s president asks Super Mario 3D Land producer Yoshiaki Koizumi how he feels about players that say a game like Super Mario Galaxy is better suited to a console Mario experience. Koizumi, who directed Galaxy, replies, “Well… first of all, I say thank you.”
He goes on to elaborate that he has certain regrets regarding Super Mario Galaxy, which he feels have been addressed in 3D World. For starters, Koizumi has wanted Mario and Luigi to be able to play together in a 3D Mario game since Super Mario 64. While Luigi did make an appearance as unlockable character in Galaxy several years later, you weren’t able to control him with a second player alongside Mario. This is an issue that has finally been rectified in Super Mario 3D World with 4-player co-op.
Second, Koizumi says, he feels that Mario Galaxy was a title more suited to boys. The addition of Princess Peach in Super Mario 3D World makes the title more appealing to women in addition to men, he suggests. Furthermore, he adds, having a greater variety of characters with unique abilities in a game like 3D World makes the game more widely appealing in general.
Then, Mario co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto pitches in. “Just so there is no misunderstanding, I should point out that this doesn’t mean we’ll never make another Super Mario Galaxy game,” Miyamoto clarifies.
He elaborates, “The same team can’t make both at the same time. And we can’t bring in a second party and slap the name Super Mario Galaxy on it. I suppose we could idealistically make both in Tokyo, but we want to do something new too, so there was that dilemma. Personally, I would like to take on a variety of new challenges with Super Mario Galaxy and design 2D Super Mario games in an easy-to-understand way within certain restraints.”
