After the sad closure of long-time Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream, many fans had given up hope that a new entry in the franchise would see the light of day.
Now, according to a new 'Ask the Developer' feature, it seems even Nintendo was close to throwing in the towel before approaching Acquire to commence co-development on Mario & Luigi: Brothership. The interview gathers Akira Otani and Tomoki Fukushima from Nintendo EPD alongside director Haruyuki Ohashi and designer Hitomi Furuta from Acquire and delves into the conception and development of the game ahead of its launch earlier this year.
When asked about the fan response after such a lengthy period between new releases, Otani said the following:
"Of course, for a long time, we'd been having a number of internal discussions about a new instalment in the series following Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. We needed to aim for something new that would keep up with hardware advancements while maintaining the appeal of the classic Mario & Luigi games. It wasn't easy to achieve both at the same time… We kept trying various things, but there was a time when we thought it might not be possible to make any more games in the series and considered giving up.
"There were a lot of discussions, and eventually we decided to reach out to Acquire. After speaking a number of times with Ohashi-san, I felt that Acquire might be able to realise our dream of making Mario & Luigi in 3D, so we agreed to start joint development.
"Of course, it was also important to keep that "Mario & Luigi-like" feeling, so we also had some former AlphaDream (4) staff members who were involved in the development of previous titles in the series join the project."
Phew, that's good news then! Of course, whether Acquire collaborate with Nintendo again in the future is currenty up in the air after reports emerged of Sony's intention to acquire Kadokawa Corporation, the parent company of developer Acquire. Still, we'll treat this as a nice little success story for now, and we're thrilled to see Mario & Luigi return on the Switch.
It's worth checking out the whole interview, if you can. Designer Furuta also talks about how the team initially went with an "edgier, more rugged" look for Mario during early development, but was advised by Nintendo to make the visuals more identifiable for fans of the series.
All's well that ends well, and all that. What do you make of Nintendo's journey in producing a new Mario & Luigi game? Let us know with a comment down below.
[source nintendo.com]
Comments 47
I owe my soul to Acquire.
@Olliemar28 The correct spelling is ‘Acquire’. A lot of edits to make on this one.
Fascinating read. I wouldn't say I'm Brothership's biggest fan, but I can least respect the effort that went into it's development, even if the final product isn't a good representation of said effort.
Hopefully Brothership is the new foundation the series needs to really prosper. That being said, with Nintendo's home and handheld divisions merged, it does seem funny to have 2 concurrent mario RPG franchises on the same system. Even though M&L and Paper Mario are firmly distinct.
Imagine playing as Mario & Luigi looking the way they do in Mario Strikers artwork, as cool as it may be, that's not the Mario & Luigi style.
Glad they didn’t. I really like this Switch one a lot.
@HammerGalladeBro interesting fact: Masanori Sato, the original M&L lead artist, did the art for the Mario Strikers series as well. Small world, eh?
I hope Nintendo isn't considering giving up on M&L again if Sony actually aquires the studio
I really enjoyed Brothership. It may not be the best M&L but it is a very solid entry, would put it on a same level as Dream Team
This is very bittersweet for me because I’m glad Nintendo didn’t give up on the Mario & Luigi series but they’ve returned it with arguably the weakest game. I know some actually like it. Good for them. I know this game’s reception has been absolutely all over the place.
But as someone who gave Brothership a fair chance by playing it far enough, it just lacks the wit and whimsy that the series always had, from the bland music, the battles that were Brothership’s clear highlight at first and then becoming a boring slog (mainly with Bowser’s minions) to the backtracking filler late in the game. I’ve dropped it.
Even though they brought the series back with a weak installment, at least it offers the chance of another, better one in the future. I’m still not worried about the Sony deal.
I kinda get it though. Nintendo has little know-how on rpgs, and the series has been in a decline with sales.
Though, plenty of ideas can still be made if given to a studio who has the talent and the creativity.
@tjhiphop
Switch isn’t the first system to have both M&L and PM on the same system. 3DS had both.
Finished the game. Was awful. Acquire failed. Sadly
If the sales don‘t perform, than Nintendo will reconsider.
Glad Nintendo didn't give up in the end. Really hoping for the series to still staying active from here on.
With all the raging opposite opinions on this game, I'm just getting sick of hearing about it already. Personally, I never really cared for it one way or another, and may or may not get it if I have the money some day, don't expect any miracles from if I do, and that's pretty much been my opinion of it from the start. I was never a big fan of the Mario and Luigi series to begin with. But all this bitching and moaning about it from the one side, and overapplied and blown out of proportion praise from the other seemingly just because their feelings got hurt over an IGN rating... grow up people.
@HammerGalladeBro
Chapter 2 of the interview actually have concept art of the rugged Mario (and Luigi).
https://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/Mario-Luigi-Brothership-concept-art-1.jpg
https://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/Mario-Luigi-Brothership-concept-art-2.jpg
Plus the early, more human-like, designs of Connie.
https://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/Mario-Luigi-Brothership-Connie-concept-art.jpg
I wonder what was the idea behind the raincoat Mario wears on the right.
I still don't get how EPD "Co-production Group" (R.I.P. 1 & 2) came to the conclusion "You know who'd make a great Martha and Louis 6? Tenchu."
Really I can see why they would be hesitant, given the Mario & Luigi games were kind of run into the ground churning out four of them on the same console in the span of five years and they weren't really even selling anymore.
Do think it was worth a shot on reviving it though, even if Brothership has kind of a shaky reception and doesn't seem to be selling very well.
@Markiemania95 Ha, I'd just come off a pretty sizeable feature piece, so perhaps my head wasn't quite in the game. Thanks for the heads up.
It needed to be 3D for the sake of tech advancement (which turned into their dream?) but they wanted it to retain the classic appeal.. I dunno, I guess it’s a damned business priority but I don’t see why tech advancements necessitate throwing the 2D presentation of a series into the garbage. I’ve got no issue with 3D but I don’t like most reasons for decommissioning 2D gaming from these businesses
They should of, the game really isn't that great. I bought it digitally and really regret it. I've put about 10 hours in and it's just not fun like the others. The story is boring.
Glad they did. As Brothership was a blast except for the rather slow intro.
My favourite in the series just below Super Star Saga.
Finally almost no strange gimmicks, no extreme linearity that made the world of the last Mario & Luigi feel like glorified corridors, and actual original characters with development and personality.
I’m about halfway through Brothership and although it was a slog in those first several hours, its been shaping up to be funny and deeper as an RPG than I imagined. I like the different approaches it has on the gameplay compared to the rest, feeling a bit more traditional than Paper Jam and Dream Team did, but also fitting the Mario and Luigi appeal. Its definitely the game I’d most emplore you to “wait until it gets good.”
People need to keep in mind that even if Acquire was own by Sony after the Sony Kadokawa acquisition, there's a likely chance that Sony would still allow them to work with Nintendo or even still allow them to make exclusive games for the Nintendo Switch or the Switch 2. That means games like an Octopath Traveler III and a new Mario & Luigi game after Brothership may still happen since Acquire doesn't own any of those two franchise. Now Tenchu on the otherhand is quite interesting.
@Kyloctopus It keeps getting better the final dungeon is my favorite in the series
Sure, Nintendo, kill off one of your most fun, inventive, and graphically flare series.
Sometimes I don’t know if Nintendo is run by humans or really lucky hamsters.
Sure, I know not every game is for everyone, but the Mario and Luigi series is just truly a unicorn. It leans into the comedy, brings some interesting pieces (like rhythm) to standard RPG turn-based combat, and is a different take on standard Mario games. I think it should be considered a Mario tripod. You have the 3D Mario, the side screen Mario, and the RPG Mario. Perfectly balanced.
So glad to hear it (and I'm definitely checking out the whole interview when I can), while Brothership might have issues and/or not be everyone's cup of tea I'm overall enjoying it so far and that's considering I'm still relatively early in the game so based on what I've heard also here I should enjoy it even more later!
@ChromaticDracula I think it's more due to the production values. Mario & Luigi was known for intricate pixel art and animation and Alphadream's animators/pixel arts were blown to the four winds.
It was probably very difficult to convert that to 3D while only having a handful of the old developers to work on the new game AND retaining the charm.
I can not bring myself to continue playing. The battle mechanics are fine though.
@Dev1024 I largely agree. And almost gave up during a tedious “filling the watering can” segment near the end.
But I have to say, if you’ve come that far the last 5 hours of the game are really good. It knocked my opinion of the game up significantly.
It's fascinating how much opinions are split on this game. It almost makes me want to give it a try to see where I land on it. Regardless, I'm a little worried this might be the end of the series, cause it has not sold well at all.
@ChromaticDracula Dude the series is not dead anymore. This article is just explaining how Nintendo was thinking of ending the series cause no one wants to take over the project. Thanks to Acquire, the series will continue.
No I understand that (although I definitely didn't read the article thoroughly — guilty! 🙋♂️)
I guess I just find it hard to believe that "no one" wanted to take over the project. If I were Nintendo I'd be pushing hard to keep it alive. How many times do we read articles of devs that would love to work with Nintendo. Sure, Nintendo looks for top notch but still.
It was a good game but it took me nearly 60 hours to finish it which is far far too long.
Did Brothership do good enough to warrant future titles in the series I wonder...?
@Angelus3K It will probably be the same for me, but that includes doing most of the side quests.
I'd be ok with this franchise going away, if they focused on a different franchise instead. Paper mario is enough for me. My selfish suggestions: punch out, excite truck, single screen starfox (also some new planets next time), a metroid rpg, pilotwings, a new side scrolling Zelda. I said these were some of my random suggestions
@Soniciskewl well you finished it, isn't this a rather long game? Just wondering if it was awful why did you finish it? Also I did not purchase the game and haven't liked any of the previous games in this series.
Ok so I am not the only person unsure if they’re going to continue & finish the game. Having played Origami, RPG and TTYD on the Switch this one is noticeably weaker.
It’s quite comprehensive though… story and characters are ‚whatever‘, no wit or funny second layer, locations all look the same, invisible walls give a constricted feeling, music is generic, art design for loading screens is ugly, and the lack of technical polish. I could go on.
So what I’m saying is, I don’t feel like this developer just needs to apply some tweaks or „get the hang of it“. It feels like the franchise is in the wrong hands.
@Coolmusic @N00BiSH
Interesting bits of info.
I do like how characters look in Mario Strikers artwork and in-game for Super and Charged (something's amiss in Battle League, though), so I don't oppose to the idea of Mario characters looking edgier and rugged but I feel it probably would be better for a new series and not one that's already established.
Thinking about it, this art style could work with an American Football Mario game.
About the raincoat and boots, does it rain anywhere in-game? I haven't played it and I haven't followed it much. If not, I'm going to assume that at one point in development there was a deluge that probably was a major plot point.
@rvcolem1 I spent $60 of my hard-earned money on it because I was really excited. It would be a waste of money if i didnt play it. it was "fine" up until the halfway point when it all hit me. The slow progression, the bland writing, (names for islands would be misspelled words and the jokes were just as lazy) the need for a cutscene every two minutes, the literal 6 hours of filler backtracking, and the overly long combat. I was more or less watching TV and grinding it out near the end. This game didn't hold a candle to Inside Story or Superstar Saga. It was a bad game to me. And I don't think anyone who loved it is wrong either.
@Soniciskewl I get it, I try and beat everything I play for. Sucks that you got excited and it didn't live up to your expectations, I only have a handful of games that I bought that I was like "nope" I quit.
Well, I do hope the series continues, I thought brother ship was a worthy continuation of the series. I have no idea if it’s selling well enough to allow a new entry to be made, I hope it does,
But if the demand isn’t big enough, well, that stings, but if not enough people want it, not much I can do about it
@HammerGalladeBro oh that would have been bad!!! Already getting used to the comic strip coloring on brothership. But that no thanks!
I'm so glad they continued the series!!! I grew up begging for the OG Nintendo (never did get it, my parents got an Atari!!! 🙄) with Super Mario. Now I'm hooked on my switch!!! Still have a working N64 and DSL . Switch is the best!!! Mario is the reason I fell in love with Nintendo so they have to keep them!!! I've branched out with Switch and have only had it about a year!! So much variety easy to download or buy physical games.
This way husband doesn't always know I bought another lol 🤣Yeah, I'm bad like that.
@Alpha008 id certainly buy another in this series!! Brothership 2 please!! Still playing this version and am ready for another!
Nintendo give up on Ips too easily.
I mean just give sega F-Zero
and give your other old Ips to other devs and see what comes back.
1080, wave racer, starfox, etc
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