Super Mario Bros Wonder Development Didn’t Have a ‘Fixed Time Period’

Nintendo started releasing a series of Super Mario Bros Wonder interviews with members of its development team. The first installment focuses on how its development started and the concept behind it. It turns out that unlike other Nintendo games, Producer Takashi Tezuka said that there wasn’t a “fixed time period for development.” The people behind it also mentioned how the team working on it was small when things started and they began working on a game with “transformation” as the theme, and that they also decided on a new game engine.

Here’s Tezuka’s statement regarding the Super Mario Bros Wonder development period. The goal was to focus on creativity and take their time.

“We wanted to create a game with much more to offer than ever before, so this time, we didn’t set a fixed time period for development, which is usually decided before we kick off. To create something truly enjoyable, we decided to take our time and dedicate ample budget for development without having to worry about the production schedule. So at first, we only had a small group working on the development.”

It’s also due to Tezuka’s suggestion that “transformation” became a major element in the game. Director Shiro Mouri said the producer suggested the course transforming. That ended up dubbed the “Wonder effect.” Mouri also said this is what led to the idea of Elephant Mario.

Here’s what Mouri had to say about the Elephant transformation’s introduction. They developed it when considering major changes for an area:

Yes, it was when the idea for Elephant Mario came up. We were experimenting with the water-spraying action and trying out ideas for sprinkling water, and Kondo-san said, “Wouldn’t it be better to transform the entire screen more dramatically so that we get heavy rainfall?”

Super Mario Bros Wonder will come to the Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.