‘Mario And Luigi: Dream Team’ Development Time Longer Than Usual Due To 2D Pixel Art

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team took longer than usual to develop due to 2D pixel art.

Nintendo’s long-running hero Mario has been through a lot, and arguably so has Luigi. However, Luigi has rarely had the spotlight due to the titles of the games he’s been in. It’s usually Super Mario this or that, but it wasn’t until Luigi’s Mansion that we finally started seeing the green-suited plumber actually get his name featured on the box. Gamers have expressed their dismay at this, and Nintendo listened.

After decades, Luigi is finally coming into his own, having his own take on Mario’s adventures with New Super Luigi for Wii U, and a sequel to Luigi’s Mansion. The green-suited plumber is now costarring with his brother again, but this time he’s sharing the title with him. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team features them both in an unusual game where the brothers work together.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team has Mario traversing the majority of the game in a 3D world, and then entering his brother’s dreams for some parts of the game, and once again attempting to rescue the princess.

Development on Mario and Luigi: Dream Team has taken longer than usual, though. It’s not because Nintendo has been slacking. Quite the contrary; they’re working hard as ever, using 2D sprite animation in a 3D world. Studio AlphaDream took three years to make the process work because the art didn’t exist yet.

This isn’t the first time a Nintendo game has taken a 2D character in a 3D world approach, as the title The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has Link able to turn into a drawing and go where he normally couldn’t.

Nintendo producer Akira Otani has stated about the art style and production time in Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, “We worked out special ways of drawing and using color to make them look three-dimensional. The work load was tremendous, but thanks to that, it has the sort of smooth polish distinctive of AlphaDream.”

Nintendo is always aiming to make their games as original as possible, and this one is no different.

What do you think of Mario and Luigi: Dream Team taking so long to produce? Are you looking forward to seeing the 2D pixel art in a 3D world?