Super Mario Bros. Wonder team wasn’t given deadline during prototype development

Game development often includes deadlines, but at least early on, that’s something the Super Mario Bros. Wonder development team didn’t need to worry about. In an interview with Wired, producer Takashi Tezuka revealed that the game wasn’t given a due date while prototyping was going on.

Tezuka said: “I wanted to prevent people from saying, ‘We won’t make that deadline, so that’s why we didn’t do it – we can’t do it.'”

Freedom and secrets have been two important aspects while making Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Director Shiro Mouri said: “Something we talk about within the teams: Don’t actually make a maze. We just need something that looks or feels like a maze.”

One of the new features of Super Mario Bros. are badges. Only one can be equipped at a time, but the team actually toyed around using more of them or even having the ability to change them mid-level. However, Tezuka said doing so felt more like a Zelda game.

He said:

“It felt more like maybe something that you would see in a Zelda title. It didn’t really feel very Mario-esque… Mario gameplay is a lot more straightforward and simple.”

“If someone plays through a course, finishes it, moves on, and never comes back, that makes me a little sad. I really want players to play courses again and again.”

Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be out for Switch on October 20, 2023.