Mario & Luigi Game Was Too "Edgy," Nintendo Rejected It

The beloved plumber duo, Mario and Luigi, could have taken a more rugged and edgy turn in their latest game, Mario & Luigi: Brothership. However, Nintendo decided to steer the project in a different direction to preserve the iconic identity of the characters. Let's delve into the fascinating journey of the game's art direction.

Mario & Luigi Was Rough And Rugged Early On

Experimenting With Different Styles

Image from Nintendo and Acquire

In an insightful Ask the Developer article on the Nintendo website, published on December 4th, the developers from Acquire shared their creative process behind Mario & Luigi: Brothership. Akira Otani and Tomoki Fukushima from Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development Department, along with Haruyuki Ohashi and Hitomi Furuta from Acquire, discussed their efforts to create "3D visuals that would bring out the unique appeal" of the series. This led them to explore various styles, resulting in an edgier and more rugged version of Mario and Luigi.

Designer Hitomi Furuta humorously recounted, “And in our search for a new Mario & Luigi style, at one point we ended up trying to present an edgier, more rugged Mario instead…” However, feedback from Nintendo emphasized the importance of maintaining the recognizable essence of Mario and Luigi. A document provided by Nintendo outlined the defining characteristics of the characters, prompting a reassessment of the art direction. Furuta reflected, “Although we'd enthusiastically pitched this rugged version of Mario, when I considered it from a player's perspective, I started to worry about whether it really represented the Mario that players would want to play.”

The team eventually focused on blending solid outlines and bold, black eyes with the charm of pixel animations, which allowed them to develop an art style unique to Brothership. Otani from Nintendo added, “While we wanted Acquire to have their own unique style, we also wanted them to preserve what defines Mario. I think it was a period when we were experimenting with how those two things could coexist.”

A Challenging Development

Acquire, known for their work on darker and more serious games like Octopath Traveler and the Way of the Samurai series, faced the challenge of adapting to the lighter, more playful tone of the Mario & Luigi franchise. Furuta admitted, "If the team were left to their own devices, they would subconsciously move toward heavier directions akin to darker RPGs." The task was further complicated by the fact that Acquire rarely worked with established IPs from other companies.

Despite these challenges, the collaboration ultimately led to a positive outcome. Furuta noted, “Although we were still getting to grips with the mood in the Mario & Luigi series, we decided on this direction so we wouldn't forget that it's a stage for fun, chaotic adventures. This doesn't only apply to the game's world, but we learned a lot from Nintendo's unique design perspective about making things easier to see and understand. The world turned out brighter and easier to play due to the insights we gained.”