And the fact that the new Mario and Sonic games are coming out almost on the same day is just an interesting coincidence for the Japanese company (it can’t be anything else, since it’s been more than two decades since SEGA left the console market).
Takashi Tezuka, the producer of Super Mario Bros (he has worked on every Mario game since the release of Super Mario Bros in 1985!) and director Shiro Mouri gave an interview to Game Informer. Tezuka said that Sonic’s return to the side-scrolling platformer style (Sonic Superstars), which comes the same week as the Switch-exclusive Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which returns to the 2D style for the first time since 2012’s New Super Mario Bros. U, isn’t a rehash of an old rivalry, and that they have a lot to be thankful for, including ideas from younger developers:
“I think it’s an interesting coincidence. We’ve been making 2D action games for a long time, and of course we want as many people as possible to enjoy them. We’re looking forward to as many people as possible having the opportunity to play these 2D side-scrolling action games, Mario and otherwise. When we were thinking about making a new Mario, we actually hired a lot of younger people. They’re developers, of course, but they’re also people who enjoy playing games, so they wanted to make something that they would enjoy playing. We got a lot of different ideas and different thoughts from as many people as we could within that group,” Tezuka said.
Tezuka and Mouri admitted that the in-level countdown timer and scoring system have been removed, it will be possible to stomp enemies underwater, and you can continue on stage after losing a life. Mouri said that many of the new ideas came from the younger generation: “The thing about new developers is that they’re not too concerned with ‘It was done this way, so we have to do it this way.’ I think that’s a good thing because we can really listen to their opinions and feedback and really re-evaluate and think about what kind of changes and what kind of adjustments we want to make to each of these gameplay experiences,” Mouri added.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on October 20 (Sonic Superstars on October 17).
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