The toad twins return

New Super Mario Bros. U is one of the most anticipated launch window titles for Wii U, and like New Super Mario Bros. 2 on 3DS the Big N will be hoping that 2D Mario converts into big sales. Some of the information and footage suggests that a good deal of effort and design has gone into Mario's HD debut, with perhaps one exception — the playable characters.

Much like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario and Luigi will be joined by two toads on their adventure, which doesn't exactly make use of the varied character roster in the Mario universe. Perhaps it's simply because producing two identical clones as characters was easier for development time, but the new title does feature on alternative, Mii characters. If anyone in the world was still attempting to apply some kind of continuity or timeline to the Mario saves Peach tale — though we certainly hope not — the appearance of a Mii should finally put that to rest. In the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, Nintendo EAD’s Takashi Tezuka explains that various options, including those such as Peach and Wario, were considered.

We did consider that when we looked at which characters we would use. We really came down on the side of using Mii characters rather than some of the characters you had mentioned. Through the technology of HD, you’re going to see more expression and emotion on the Mii character faces. Of course, we’re going to continue making Mario games, so you can maybe look forward to some of the things you were asking about in the future.

In truth, we suspect that saving development resources was the biggest consideration, but it's arguably not a vitally important factor in whether this 2D Mario will meet expectations. Besides, we can all look forward to our Mii's happy face, in HD, as we reach the flagpole.

[source nintendoeverything.com]