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Nintendo devs reveal influences behind Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Odyssey
Humble beginnings
In an interview with the Guardian, Nintendo's Yoshiaki Koizumi reveals that his childhood experiences paved the way for Super Mario Sunshine.
“Through Mario I wanted to recreate the experience of a hero jumping from rooftop to rooftop like those heroes I saw in my childhood, I achieved this somewhat in Super Mario Sunshine in that you can climb on the rooftops in the plaza and run around. The water-based play with FLUDD [Mario’s water-gun backpack] also reflects my childhood experiences, playing in water and enjoying the coolness on my skin.”
When it comes to Super Mario Odyssey, Kenta Motokura says he was actually inspired by a previous Mario title, along with his familiarity with snowboarding..
“Super Mario Bros 3 is my favorite Mario title. The idea of having lots of different Kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey came from Super Mario Bros 3. The fact that I was raised playing Mario games in my childhood had a big impact on how I make games. I’ve also used knowledge of body movement, which I’ve gained through sports like snowboarding, as a reference for Mario’s moves, and I’ve included terrain and environments I’ve found interesting in the games as well. I think you can also see things from trips to places such as Mexico or New York that I found fun or that made me nervous reflected in Super Mario Odyssey, too.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Mario’s developers shared even more behind-the-scenes insight on developing Super Mario games! Check out the highlights from Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Kenta Motokura.