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Mario and Luigi: Dream Team devs on exploring Luigi, cut attacks and Wii U series interest

by rawmeatcowboy
25 July 2013
GN Version 4.0
A portion of a CVG interview with Director Hiroyuki Kubotan and Producer Akira Otani...

CVG: Without spoiling anything, it's clear as you play through the game that Luigi's mind is full of issues with being in his brother's shadow. Was it difficult to keep a balance between exploring Luigi's darker thoughts and keeping the game light-hearted?

KUBOTA: We do not think that Luigi is just a shadow of Mario. Of course, as an element of laughter in the game, we sometimes toy with Luigi by purposely calling him Green Moustache and treating him as a character whose name everyone can't remember, but in this title we consider Luigi as the leading character as well.

In this game, there are places where you can get a glimpse of what lies at the bottom of Luigi's heart, and we think that we were able to portray Luigi pretty well in the game, including even the inner feelings of caring for his elder brother, so we didn't really feel any particular difficulty in keeping a balance.

CVG: Were there any Luiginary Works or Luiginary Attacks that were planned for the game and ultimately abandoned for some reason?

KUBOTA: There are various attacks that have not been adopted, such as the Bros. Attack and Miracle Attack. Every time we come up with numerous ideas and then choose from these ideas by considering which ones are fun, can realistically be created and fit the concept of the game.

There are also cases where we create the attack on a trial basis, and find that it is not fun after all when playing it, so we have to abandon its production.

For example, there used to be one Luiginary Attack called 'Miracle Volcano'. In this idea, many Luigis gather together to become a volcano, and by shaking the Nintendo 3DS the volcano erupts, releasing masses of Luigis and hitting the enemies. We created this attack on a trial basis, but because the functionality did not work out so well and Mario had too little a role in the attack, this idea was not adopted.

CVG: While the Mario & Luigi series has always been handheld only, would AlphaDream consider a Wii U version?

OTANI: As a developer I am interested, but we currently have no plans for a Wii U version. If we want to convey the amusement and fun of the character animations and reactions using AlphaDream's pixel art, I think handheld consoles are the best for doing this.

Full interview here