Do you ever wonder what it would be like if someone commented on every decision you made in Mario? Well, according to a recent Super Mario Bros. Wonder developer interview, the idea of live commentary was tested for the game.
Takashi Tezuka, a producer on Wonder, asked the game’s programming director, Shiro Mouri, about the concept during the game’s development. From there, the team “actually spent about six months seriously developing live commentary,” according to Nintendo’s Koichi Hayashida, in hopes of adding voices that matched the player’s actions.
During development, a generic “newscaster” voice and a “Tsundere” option were entertained. A Japanese adjective, Tsundere is usually attributed towards a person or personality that’s cold and harsh with glimpses of affection. Popular examples include Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Rukia from Bleach.
“In fact, according to our play test records, quite a few people were switching to the Tsundere commentary,” said Mouri, which prompted laughs from the team.
A Pipe Dream
Unfortunately, Tezuka—one of the supporters of the idea—realized that “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.” The idea was dropped but the concept led to the creation of the Talking Flowers, which give the player comments when roaming the Flower Kingdom.
“We thought the gameplay might be more enjoyable if the Talking Flowers speak to you and you can resonate with what they’re saying,” said Tezuka.
“They’ve got some funny lines like, ‘Make sure you’re getting your veggies!’ as a parent might say,” added Masanobu Sato, Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘s art director. “I think it’s a fun experience for those watching the player too.”
The idea of live commentary in-game isn’t a far-fetched idea. In fact, 2023’s Street Fighter VI had one for their fighting gameplay, even going as far as having different languages. Farther than that, 2019’s Rage 2 collaborated with different YouTubers to be commentators for its FPS shooter. Regardless, it’s fun to think that Wonder might have been more in line with a sports match. Maybe they can be the Delfino Dolphins. Or maybe the Kansas City Koopalings? One can only wonder.
Just recently, Kevin Afghani was announced as the new voice for Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, so we did technically get some new commentary. Our very own Timothy Monbleau gave the game a 9 in his glowing review, citing the game’s ambition and fun gameplay. Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches on October 20 on Nintendo Switch.
