Super Mario Wonder is sounding better and better as more information comes out about it. The lack of a time limit already gave a clue that Nintendo was going in a different direction from the New Super Mario Bros. games, and hearing comments like this from the developers confirms that this could be the true innovation in 2D Super Mario platformers we’ve been waiting on for over 30 years since Super Mario World on Super Nintendo.
“We didn’t think [Super Mario Run] was that challenging, so we hadn’t realized you’d feel discouraged from continuing the game if it felt too difficult. So we started to think about what we could do to make players want to advance. Then we thought, maybe there isn’t enough freedom. For example, I feel that Super Mario Odyssey is designed so that all players can reach the ending, no matter how they progress through the game.”
“I felt that 2D Mario games often had the reputation of being unforgiving. Compared to 3D Mario games, just one mistimed action can lead to a bigger mistake, since you have fewer options in terms of movement. In this game, we’ve changed that. We’ve designed it so that players can conquer the game with their ideas and use their heads, not just their skills, to progress.”
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