As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming under my belt, I must admit that I was intrigued by the prospect of Mario & Luigi: Brothership adopting the HD-2D style reminiscent of Octopath Traveler. The thought of these iconic brothers traversing the Mushroom Kingdom in a visually stunning, pixelated world was tantalizing.
In contrast to Mario & Luigi: Brothership being published by Nintendo, the role-playing game was actually developed by Acquire, a developer known for their work on various Square Enix titles like the Octopath Traveler series. It was Octopath Traveler that pioneered the popular HD-2D art style, and there was a thought to incorporate a similar aesthetic in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. However, during an interview on Nintendo’s official website, co-producer Akira Otani mentioned that this idea was eventually scrapped. Instead, Otani aimed for a visual style that more accurately reflected the box art designs from previous installments of the series.
Otani mentioned that he once considered a change in style for future Mario & Luigi games, similar to HD-2D used in OCTOPATH TRAVELER. However, past games had pixel art graphics while their packaging and other visuals were drawn illustrations. Since the game visuals didn’t match the main illustrations in previous Mario & Luigi games, he thought it might be confusing for customers to identify the type of game. His desire was to eventually unify the game design and artwork, which is why his dream was to create the next one in 3D.
Initially, the Mario and Luigi series debuted on portable Nintendo systems such as Game Boy Advance, DS, and 3DS. The game characters’ appearances were reminiscent of those depicted on the boxes, but not an exact replica. With the transition to the Switch, it was natural for Nintendo to aim for a more authentic representation of these classic designs, rather than making drastic changes. Similarly, the developers at Acquire chose to adopt a new 3D style over attempting to match the 2D visuals that were prevalent in previous Mario and Luigi RPGs.
Director Haruyuki Ohashi expressed that he was impressed by the exceptional pixel art animation in earlier Mario & Luigi games, appreciating both its technical finesse and unique style. He admitted it seemed difficult to surpass such quality. However, he believed pushing ourselves to create a 3D version of Mario & Luigi would allow us to incorporate numerous fresh and captivating elements into the game that weren’t present in previous versions.
Wondering how different things might have been if Nintendo and Acquire had chosen to employ the HD-2D style for ‘Mario & Luigi: Brothership’. Nonetheless, it seems like the decision was wise. ‘Brothership’ represented a fresh Mario & Luigi RPG after nine years, so it was crucial for Nintendo to establish a visual style that aligned well with the series. In ComicBook’s assessment of the game, they highlighted the animation as one of its best features. Though HD-2D boasts numerous advantages, fans would have missed out on the game’s stunning graphics had this choice been made. Maybe in the future we’ll see a Mario RPG in HD-2D, but for now, it seems like the decision was beneficial!
Read More
- The Masked Singer Christmas special line-up – who are the characters?
- CRV PREDICTION. CRV cryptocurrency
- CTK PREDICTION. CTK cryptocurrency
- ZIG PREDICTION. ZIG cryptocurrency
- CTXC PREDICTION. CTXC cryptocurrency
- IMX PREDICTION. IMX cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- Polygon: Analyzing the impact of derivatives on its price momentum
- AGI PREDICTION. AGI cryptocurrency
- HBAR PREDICTION. HBAR cryptocurrency
2024-12-26 18:39