Whether its adventures in 2D or 3D, the Mario franchise has repeatedly delivered fresh, fun, and fascinating gameplay concepts that elevate and reinvent the platforming genre. It's this focus on ensuring new ideas are explored that has allowed the character, and the games he has featured in, to become an enduring part of the video game landscape.

For Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the latest entry in the 2D side-scrolling branch of the Mario franchise, Nintendo has leaned further into doing what it takes to ensure its game design ideas don't stagnate. Whereas previous Mario games have introduced one central concept that is then pulled and picked at from different angles to support a multi-hour gameplay experience, this one seems to introduce ideas with almost overwhelming regularity, positioning Wonder to be a game that is bursting with new ideas and unexpected twists on old ones.

To learn about Nintendo's new approach to making Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and the impact it has had on the design and development of the game, GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain and Lucy James spoke to Nintendo's Shiro Mouri and Takashi Tezuka, director and producer on the game respectively during PAX West 2023. Translations were done through Nintendo's representatives.