Short interview with Super Mario Galaxy 2’s producer
The following information comes from Super Mario Galaxy 2 producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, who was interview in Famitsu this week…
Koizumi on how it was decided to include Yoshi…
“The idea for Yoshi has existed ever since the project document I wrote for the original Galaxy five years ago,” Koizumi said. “We also had ideas for other animals like bulls and birds. That eventually morphed into the Rock Mushroom and Fluzzard, but the idea still hasn’t drifted much from what we wanted to do.”
Koizumi on why Yoshi wasn’t in the original…
“The planet and gravity stuff in the first game was a brand-new experience that hadn’t been seen in games before,” he said. “I figured combining that with Yoshi would have been too many new features to contend with. That’s why his debut got saved for this game.”
Koizumi on why Yoshi can survive in space and eggs happen to appear in Yoshi stages…
“Well, it’s because he’s a space Yoshi! There are Yoshis all over the place, you know. Call it one of the mysteries of the cosmos.”
Koizumi on the Cosmic Witch…
“Giving the player video hints was an idea that we first used in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on the GameCube,” Koizumi said. “SMG2 can be tough in spots, so like in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, we thought we’d show not just a sample run, but also play through sections for you up to a certain point.”
Koizumi on Spaceship Mario…
“And then there’s the Spaceship Mario, the planet you travel around the world map on. “We wanted a Mario-shaped planet from the get-go, but we couldn’t work it into the last game,” Koizumi recalled. “There were some technical limits behind what we could do graphically in the first game, and we were able to use our experience to get over that with the sequel. We originally had you flying a mushroom-shaped spaceship around the world map, but the original design was kind of hard to spot on the map, so we went with something easier to notice — a mobile Mario onscreen.”
Koizumi on how the developers decided on the number of stars needed to progress on the map…
“Balancing the game is always a difficult process,” Koizumi admits. “We had people testing out the game’s difficulty near the end of development — not just the Super Mario Club [Nintendo’s debug/testing unit], but for example, a 60-year-old employee who hadn’t played any 3D games before. The end result is that the game’s trickier than the last one, and therefore you need to collect more stars to advance.”
