It appears that Super Mario Bros. Miracle had a ‘live commentary’ feature during development that would have customized players’ actions as they progressed through the 2D platformer’s levels, with the option to switch the generic default voice to ‘tsundere commentary’. However, it did not make the final cut.
During the third part of Nintendo’s official Request the interview with the developer for Super Mario Bros. Miraclepublished yesterday (October 18), game director Shiro Mouri revealed that the idea for a live commentary was first proposed by producer Takashi Tezuka.
“We spent about six months seriously developing live commentary,” explains game designer Koichi Hayashida. “We tried to add voices that match the player’s actions. Even though we had added different voices, questions like: ‘Who is doing this commentary?’ started showing up in the team. There was something that just didn’t feel right.”
Mouri continued: “Even the team was evenly divided between supporters and opponents. The default voice was very generic, like that of a newsreader, but you had the option to switch it to tsundere commentary. (…) According to our playtest records, quite a few people switched to the tsundere commentary.
For those unfamiliar, ‘tsundere’ is a Japanese term that can be used to describe a person or character who appears tough on the outside, but occasionally shows a softer, more affectionate side. Think of characters who might say, “It’s not like I like you or anything,” and you’re on the right track. It’s a pretty popular character trope in a number of anime series, but imagine it appearing in one Mario Such a game sounds wild.
Ultimately, the commentary idea was almost entirely scrapped, as even creating the different voice variations would have been a huge undertaking. However, the idea still lives on in the form of Miracle‘s Talking Flowers, who say various phrases and hints to Mario and his friends as they explore the side-scrolling levels. Mouri believes this is “a version of live commentary that fits the world of Mario”.
Super Mario Bros. Miracle will be released tomorrow (October 20) exclusively for Nintendo Switch. In TRG’s review, I gave the game five out of five stars, praising its satisfying secrets, beautiful colorful visuals, and exciting, varied levels.
If you’re looking for more games to play, be sure to check out our overview of the best Nintendo Switch games available to play now. You can also keep track of the rest of the year’s releases with our handy list of upcoming matches.