>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.
<Q: 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.
<Q: 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.
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>Kensuke Tanabe: At the moment, it is not possible for us to create original characters like the Goombas or modified Toads seen in past games, or to reuse such characters from past games. However, in this installment we have been able to create the two origami characters Olly and Olivia, and wear outfits for certain Toads when it suited their role. As for the game system, beyond not making it a platform game, everything is in the hands of the development team. However, an internal opinion has emerged as to whether we really need two different Mario RPG series and in order to differentiate them we have created our titles as adventure games.
>Kensuke Tanabe: With the exception of the central system of each series, in all the titles I've worked on, from The Legend of Zelda and Metroid series, to Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and more recently Luigi's Mansion 3, I have always wanted to create and incorporate new systems. This philosophy I have when creating games also applies to the Paper Mario series. However, even when all games are created with this same philosophy, sometimes fans welcome games and sometimes they don't. In general, for the Paper Mario series, the only element that has remained stable in each installment is the theme of paper.
1. Over the past 20 years the Paper Mario series has evolved around a dilemma: Follow or break the franchise tradition and create something different. Do you think this is so? Why?
>Kensuke Tanabe: The Paper Mario series began as a sequel to the Super Mario RPG (1996) game for Super Nintendo. In the process of coming up with a new artistic style, we ended up with a paper version of Mario and this is how Paper Mario started. From this moment on, paper became the main theme of the series and since then we have had to think about how to use this theme in the game.
>At Nintendo, even when we work on a new installment of an established franchise, we generally don't use the same game system that was used in the previous installment. For example, the Super Mario series made the leap to 3D with advances in hardware, and each new installment makes use of unique systems. The same can be said for 2D Mario games, as we have seen with Super Mario Maker. In this regard, Paper Mario is no exception and we hope that the series will continue to change in the future.
