Super Mario Bros. Wonder originally had live commentary with optional Tsundere version

The developers behind Super Mario Bros. Wonder have revealed that the game originally had live commentary, and players would be able to choose between a “generic” voice or a Tsundere version. That news was shared in an official interview that went up today.

Game designer Koichi Hayashida said that Nintendo spent around six months of serious development on the concept. During the game, players would be able to hear voices that matched their actions. But the idea ultimately didn’t feel right to the team and there would have been a lot of work involved for voice variations. The original concept was scrapped, but the idea lives on with the Talking Flowers.

Here’s the full excerpt with Hayashida, director Shiro Mouri, producer Takashi Tezuka, and art director Masanobu Sato:

Mouri: Tezuka-san also once asked, “Can’t we have live commentary?” I had absolutely no clue what he meant. (Laughs) But I interpreted it as a desire for a new experience, even if it’s not necessarily in the form of live commentary.

When you say live commentary, do you mean like in soccer or baseball games? You considered doing that in a Mario game?

Hayashida: We actually spent about six months seriously developing live commentary. We tried adding voices to match the player’s actions. Even though we’d added various voices, questions like, “Who’s doing this commentary?” started to pop up amongst the team. Something about it just didn’t feel right. (Laughs)

Tezuka: I was quite a fan of it. (Laughs)

Mouri: Even the team was evenly split between those in favor and those against. (Laughs) The default voice was very generic, like a newscaster, but you had the option to switch it to a Tsundere (17) commentary.

(17) Tsundere is an adjective term in Japanese that is used to describe a personality or a person who usually has a cold and harsh attitude but on the other hand shows a glimpse of affection.

Wait, a Tsundere commentary?

Mouri: In fact, according to our play test records, quite a few people were switching to the Tsundere commentary. (Laughs)

Everyone: (Laughs)

Tezuka: But if we were to do this commentary feature seriously, just the process of creating voice variations alone would’ve involved a tremendous amount of work. So, unfortunately, we had to let it go.

Still, it would’ve been a shame to shut down the whole experiment. So we brought in an additional team member to dedicate themselves to this feature full-time.

Mouri: Around the same time, there was a discussion about setting the game in the Flower Kingdom, and we were able to incorporate the idea of live commentary in the form of Talking Flowers that would match the game’s world. It’s a version of live commentary that fits the world of Mario.

Hayashida: It’s nice that you’re never lonely when the Talking Flowers are there. If you were all alone in a course, it might feel like it was you against the world, but the Talking Flowers speak to you at just the right time.

Sato: They’ve got some funny lines like, “Make sure you’re getting your veggies!” as a parent might say. (Laughs) I think it’s a fun experience for those watching the player too.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is only a couple of days away with the game planned for October 20, 2023 on Switch.