Super Mario 3D World

Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata exercised his gift of gab yet again in the latest Iwata Asks, this time leaving no koopa shell unturned in a rousing discussion with the developers of Super Mario 3D World. Legendary Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with his fellow 3D World designers to field Iwata's questions on everything from the game's title to director Kenta Motokura's insistence on throwing a vast wealth of content into the game.

"It feels condensed and packed solid," remarked co-director Koichi Hayashida. Even Iwata commented that one of 3D World's trailers seemed filled with an incredible number of worlds, power-ups, and activities. The team went on to reveal that this was accomplished in part because 100 people were involved in the development of the game.

Hayashida also noted that the inclusion of multiplayer in Super Mario 3D World was a remnant of the desire to include a multiplayer mode in Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS — an idea that was unfortunately never realized.

Another major talking point in the interview session was the use of the game's camera. After a brief consideration of the historical use of camera angles in past 3D Nintendo titles, Motokura mentioned that 3D World's single-player features Free Camera Mode, which allows for complete customization of perspective using the gamepad's gyro function.

On the power-up front, the team revealed that Rosalina, who was announced as a playable character in yesterday's Nintendo Direct, transforms into a black cat when wearing her cat suit, and that any character who performs a Ground Pound can steal another player's double powers. Motokura also clarified his reasoning behind the decision to include Rosalina in the game:

I was thinking about what would be pleasing after the ending and wanted to bring in another female character in addition to Princess Peach. Rosalina has a following among the Super Mario Galaxy fanbase, and she's appeared in Mario Kart recently, so I think she's well known.

It seems like every day leading up to the launch of Super Mario 3D World is filled with newly announced characters, abilities, and fun facts. With this many surprises waiting around each turn and inside of every clear warp pipe, gamers will surely be in for a treat when, come 22nd November in North America and 29th November in Europe, they finally get a chance to insert Super Mario 3D World into their Wii Us and power star their way toward Bowser's castle.

[source iwataasks.nintendo.com]