Nintendo's iconic Super Mario franchise is riding higher than ever. Earlier this year, the second film adaptation of the series grossed over a billion dollars, breaking several box office records. In the wake of this success, Nintendo is expanding its universe with a new game titled Super Mario Bros. Wonder that draws inspiration from the recently released Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first 2D video game in the franchise in over a decade, and is already shaping up to be a big success. It has garnered widespread acclaim, boasting a 93% rating on Metacritic, making it the third-highest-rated video game of the year.
In a recent interview with NPR, Takashi Tezuka, the producer of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, shared insights into the game's development process. Tezuka revealed that the development team spent most of the game's budget on the animation to make it resemble the movie's visual style.
Tezuka told NPR, "Traditionally, our development costs have gone into the gameplay experience itself. Of course that's absolutely essential. But this time we really wanted to pour some of that into the animations."