I'm glad the fact they actually can't design new characters has been bluntly said and it's still known to be in full enforcement. Regardless if you like this new game or it's generally praised in the end, this is just stupid and fucked up how they are so resistant on this topic. >Mario is famous for its iconic cast of villains. Can you talk about the new villain in this game and how you design a character to stand alongside all-time greats like Bowser and Kamek?
>Tanabe: Since Paper Mario: Sticker Star, it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe. That means that if we aren’t using Mario characters for bosses, we need to create original characters with designs that don’t involve the Mario universe at all, like we’ve done with Olly and the stationery bosses.
>Whether a character becomes an all-time hit or not isn’t up to us on the development side; I think it’s more the case that characters that fans truly accept naturally end up that way. I hope that the origami siblings in Paper Mario: The Origami King will stay in players’ memories, even if they do only end up appearing in this title.
Also on story: >How do you make sure the story appeals to a broad audience? And what challenges does existing within the Mario franchise present to your writers?
>Tanabe: In Super Paper Mario, the elaborate story led the game away from the Mario universe, so since Paper Mario: Sticker Star I’ve refrained from using stories that are too complicated. Personally, though, I like games with stories. During the production of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, we made use of a system for character settings and real conversations in order to build the story, which was a first for a game in a series. (I also wrote the text for this game.)
>To go back to Mario, in Paper Mario: Color Splash, I avoided having a complicated story so as not to veer too far away from the Mario universe, and instead aimed for a game with more memorable events. To create even more memorable experiences for players, in Paper Mario: The Origami King we’ve established some characters other than the partner character who will also journey with players through the game. In particular, I think that Bobby (Bob-omb) has turned out to be just as memorable a character as Olivia.
James Thomas
>it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe What the fuck then how come Odyssey is right just fucking there?!
Dylan Young
>it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe. Which is why there were so many new NPCs in Odyssey, including the Broodals who were clearly based on the Koopalings. Which is why there were so many new ghosts in LM3, including Helen and her King Boo fetish. How stupid does Tanabe think we are?
I think this hits more on the lesser spin-off series, main-line games such as 2D and 3D Mario are allowed to do what they want especially with Koizumi involved. Luigi's Mansion practically grew into it's own new series but who knows the full deal on that. Either way, this shoudn't be allowed for Paper Mario.
Jose Ross
I hate this faggot so much. Even M&L Paper Jam seeped in this policy of not using original characters. Both PM and M&L benefitted from it.
Jacob Stewart
>Whether a character becomes an all-time hit or not isn’t up to us on the development side;
Oh yeah big roll of tape is sure to be a smash hit
Jordan Martin
>Is it difficult to find a balance that pleases all Paper Mario fans? Particularly hardcore players who want more RPG elements such as experience points, versus more casual players looking for an approachable experience?
>Tanabe: First, Nintendo’s philosophy on game creation is that we don’t ignore casual players in creating our games. This is also true for games such as those in the Metroid Prime series; games that at first glance look like they are only aimed at core gamers. With that in mind, what we’ve done in the Paper Mario series is to put a lot of work particularly into the puzzle solving elements of the games, so that they can also be enjoyed by core users.
>So, for example, in Paper Mario: The Origami King, players need to guess the weak points of bosses based on their characteristics and search for the solution to defeat them, otherwise they won’t be able to win these battles.
>This is an adventure game after all, so it wouldn’t be right if the battles didn’t also have some kind of puzzle solving element! (Of course, we’ve also added in a system for casual players where they can use coins in battles to get help from the spectating Toads.)
>However, I do think it’s difficult to satisfy certain fans with the adventure game direction if they think of Paper Mario games as simply being RPGs. I hope that everyone will play this game with an open mind.
>"However, I do think it’s difficult to satisfy certain fans with the adventure game direction if they think of Paper Mario games as simply being RPGs. I hope that everyone will play this game with an open mind." God I hate Tanabe so much.
James Morales
>Luigi's Mansion practically grew into it's own new series And Paper Mario didn't?
What the fuck is this Wii era bullshit? You don't make games like that anymore. If people want to play a video game now, they just fucking play one, and anyone picking up a Metroid game is going to want one like they played when they were a kid if they are now a casual gamer. Also would not surprise me if Prime 4 is ruined somehow, hopefully Retro ignores him like they do with DK.
Lucas Lee
I think since Luigi is his own character and it's technically a Luigi series they treat it differently. That's just how I see it personally anyways. While of course Paper Mario grew into it's own series in my eyes they clearly get different treatment in comparison and I really think it's just because it's a *Mario* game still at the end of the day.
Joseph Butler
Luigi's Mansion never became an embarrassment for Nintendo internally, as Tanabe clearly implies PM was.
Jacob Young
I think what he's trying to say is that spinoff series can't make "new" characters out of canon designs anymore. Like a new Bobbery couldn't exist because he's a Bob-omb, and those can only look like the normal designs. But entirely new characters like Olly or the Vellumentals can because they're not old Mario characters. This is why Luigi's Mansion can get away with this because the ghosts are entirely new but the Boos stay the same.
This shows me that Tanabe isn't just the issue. Something happened after Super Paper Mario, in fact something happened in the entire Wii era that made Nintendo play incredibly safe with Mario ever since. This also explains why the M&L remakes were so soulless.
It really is over. Mario spin-offs will never be creative ever again.
It's hilarious he's saying this, considering Origami King is a complicated story built from the most childish reason (Olly getting scribbled on), thus wearing down the whole story into a kind-of, pointing-fingers-at "this is definitely not addressed towards you, the petty user who thinks something directly offends you just because you didn't understand its whole point" Olly.
But keep being you, I suppose, Tanabe.
Lincoln Kelly
Dream Team released after SS and had original characters.
And even IF that were the case, why aren’t they using Odyssey’s NPCs, or Sprixies, or anything from Yoshi’s Island that isn’t a fucking Shy Guy?
Chase Evans
I don't get this demand to make sure every generic mook has a generic look. It's not like they rely heavily on selling these generic enemies. And even if they did, you'd think people would like a TTYD style thing.
Angel Johnson
Maybe I'm dumb, but I don't see what part clearly implies Paper Mario was an internal embarrassment. I mean, I'd be embarrassed for making Sticker Star 1 and 2, but he's clearly not since we're on the third one now.
People joke that "they went too far with Super Paper Mario" but it's honestly starting to look like they went too far with SPM, to the point where Nintendo now holds them on a tight leash and they can't get creative anymore.
Jayden Powell
Jesus Christ this is Mickey Mouse levels of brand sterilisation. That being said it still doesn't explain the shit battle mechanics or lacking/lackluster partners. Anyone remember the cut Chain Chomp partner in the early footage of Sticker Star? It was completely generic but even then it still looked fun.
It was them going "Wait, we really are like Disney, Mario is our Mickey. We have to treat him like that now." Anything with Mickey Mouse in it, even if the style is very different, has to follow extremely strict guidelines of how Mickey is portrayed (ex Epic Mickey got drastically changed from its initial pitch to make it less dark and make Mickey incapable of being truly evil) and Nintendo is similar. And Super Paper Mario definitely scared Nintendo, but I wish they would get over it especially considering people like Tanabe absolutely know for sure that people want Mario OCs back. You can't be afraid of one game going a little bit too far for nearly 15 fucking years.
Chase Morgan
>Anyone remember the cut Chain Chomp partner in the early footage of Sticker Star? It was completely generic but even then it still looked fun. One day this build will leak, r-right?
Which is weird, because even fucking Mickey has done darker stuff as of late. And considering Smash Ultimate's first reveal involved Ridley crushing Mario's skull, and Odyssey relatively shook things up, they're clearly capable of letting Mario be more than just a bland mascot.
>You can't be afraid of one game going a little bit too far for nearly 15 fucking years. Reminds me of how Nintendo was scared of making another Mario movie for years until recently.
Gabriel Morgan
Nintendo sees TTYD/SPM the same way Sega sees the Archie Sonic stuff. No wonder they burned it all away for a clean slate with massive internal mandates.
Ryan Martinez
They do realize they straight up said to their primary audience who was mostly hanging on in vain hopes of TTYD again that they as developers are actually restricted from making a game like it again, right?
Jose Wood
He's essentially saying "You're never, ever, ever getting the old style back, now fuck off."
Liam Kelly
>I do think it’s difficult to satisfy certain fans with the adventure game direction if they think of Paper Mario games as simply being RPGs So he KNOWS what people want. He just doesn't fucking care.
Evan Williams
If that’s the case then where’s our new Mario RPG starring our new favorite character (coming soon to Dr Mario Worlc and Mario Kart Tour)?
Isaiah Wright
Even if he did and wanted to make a game like TTYD, he is prevented from doing so. The funnier thing to me is that he is actually one of those "people liked the old games because the Mario characters were in Halloween costumes" people, hence why he doesn't see keeping the battle system of TTYD an important thing. He's like "Well, can't make a game with Mario enemies playing dress up, guess that means I just throw out the old battle system too!" Even though that it would be just as accessible to casual gamers.
>With that in mind, what we’ve done in the Paper Mario series is to put a lot of work particularly into the puzzle solving elements of the games >the fire extinguisher puts out the fire >the giant bowling ball knocks down the giant bowling pins >the bone attracts the dog >the light bulb turns on the lights >the plunger unclogs the pipe >the bottle opener opens the bottle
Aaron Martin
It has Mario in the title, so Nintendo thinks that people must think of regular Mario
Zachary Jackson
The puzzles are so bad they had to add the solutions in color splash after you lose and made them braindead easy in TOK. They aren't fooling anyone.
Kevin Walker
That article confirms a lot of the things people were worried about and that they truly are being limited. Super Paper Mario really did a number on the series, despite the fact that it was just trying weird things in a one-off game.
Nicholas King
Intelligent Systems is actually a separate company from Nintendo. People often forget that. They aren't first party.
Hunter Rodriguez
>In particular, I think that Bobby (Bob-omb) has turned out to be just as memorable a character as Olivia. He really fucking isn't.
Brody Martinez
>Which is why there were so many new ghosts in LM3, including Helen and her King Boo fetish. But that is different. The only thing that was in Luigi Mansion 1 that were from Mario games were Coins (still there in 3), Boos (still there in 3), Mario (still there in 3), Toads (still there in 3), and Bowser (kinda, only thing not there in 3 as King Boo is allowed to be the big bad himself now).
The ghosts may have different softer designs, but are ultimately still from the same template that LM1 had. I will argue though that having one boss ghost per almost randomly themed floors is still simplifying it way more than LM1's ghosts in just about every room with intertwined connections was, tying into the point about the story limitations.
David Walker
>Watch my dramatic death scene! >Now hurl dozens of my kin to their deaths and realize that none of this makes any sense and it's all cheap emotional manipulation.
David Evans
fucking kek
and I swear that whole "muh sacrifice" thing has already run its course for who knows how many times.
Xavier Young
Don't forget this screenshot to go along with that.
>an embarrassment for Nintendo internally, as Tanabe clearly implies PM was. What the fuck is there to even be embarrassed about? It's one of the most beloved games of the 64 era.
Christopher White
It's the fact that Miyamoto expressed distaste for how full of OCs the series had become. The fact that Miyamoto doesn't like something is basically enough to scare Nintendo away from it for decades.
