Ask the Developer Volume 15, Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Part 1 | Latest Updates

Certainly! Here’s a revised version of the article with a natural, human-like tone:

First off, can you introduce yourselves?

Otani: Sure! I’m Akira Otani, and I’m with Nintendo. My journey with the Mario & Luigi series began with the second game, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. I’ve been the producer since the third installment, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. This marks the seventh game in the series that I’ve been a part of. In this project, I supervised the whole process but also got my hands into everything, from creating and piecing together game content to collaborating closely with the team.

Fukushima: Before working on this game, I handled coordination with external developers for titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. This time, I came on board as the Associate Producer. I worked alongside Acquire, the development company, and my role spanned from prototyping through to the game’s completion. I coordinated schedules and helped bring together the entire game content.

Ohashi: I’m Haruyuki Ohashi from Acquire. As the director, I was responsible for planning and overseeing on-the-ground development. It was my first experience collaborating with Nintendo, and I’m really glad that we managed to successfully complete the project.

Furuta: Hi, I’m Hitomi Furuta from Acquire, and I took on the role of Art Director for this game. I oversaw the overall art style and designed some of the main characters. I’ve been a fan of Mario games since I was a kid, but it was actually during the development of this game that I started playing the Mario & Luigi series.

Could you tell us a bit about the Mario & Luigi series and this latest game, Otani-san?

Otani: Absolutely! The first game in the Mario & Luigi series debuted in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance. It’s a unique blend of action and role-play, with Mario and Luigi teaming up to tackle challenges—we like to call it a "Brother Action RPG." The series offers a fine balance of action, clever puzzles, a captivating story, and those signature quirky character interactions you expect from the Mario universe. This latest release is the first fresh title in almost a decade, with the last being Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam back in 2015.

Thanks for that! Since it’s been nearly a decade since a new game, what’s the setting this time around?

Otani: The adventure unfolds in Concordia, a world distinct from the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi explore islands that drift across the ocean. Their hub is Shipshape Island, which floats and transports them to these mysterious islands filled with puzzles and battles. As the looming threat of the villain Zokket intensifies, our heroes encounter a variety of characters who lend them their support to stand up against this menace.

The game was revealed during the Nintendo Direct in June 2024. It must have been quite unexpected for fans, considering the long gap.

Otani: Yes, the surprise was even bigger than we anticipated, both in Japan and globally. People just didn’t expect any new releases from this series, so bringing it back was quite a shock!

It’s understandable, given how long it’s been since the last installment.

Otani: Exactly. We’ve had numerous internal discussions since Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam about making a new installment. Our goal was to innovate in ways that aligned with current hardware advancements but still held onto the classic appeal of the Mario & Luigi games. Juggling both goals was no easy feat… We explored many avenues, and there were moments of doubt when continuing the series seemed impossible.

We had extensive talks and decided to collaborate with Acquire. After several conversations with Ohashi-san, I felt confident that Acquire could help bring our vision of a 3D Mario & Luigi game to life, so we teamed up for joint development. It was crucial to maintain the "Mario & Luigi-like" charm, so we also included some former AlphaDream staff members, who were instrumental in developing the earlier titles, in the team.