Released on November 7, 2024, it was a bit of a surprise that Mario & Luigi: Brothership never got its own “Ask the Developer” interview, until now. With two chapters released today and another two to follow, Akira Otani, Tomoki Fukushima, Haruyuki Ohashi and Hitomi Furuta, were all on hand to explain the hows and whys they were able to bring Mario & Luigi back into the fold and release a new instalment. Here’s what the team had to say regarding their involvement with Mario & Luigi: Brothership:
Mario & Luigi | Introducing the Dev Team Behind Mario & Luigi: Brothership:
Akira Otani: I’m Akira Otani from Nintendo. I’ve been involved in the Mario & Luigi series since the second game, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and have been working as the producer since the third one, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. This is the seventh game in the series I’ve been involved in, and my role for this one was to supervise the overall project, but of course, I was doing all kinds of things, such as coming up with and putting together game content with the other team members.
Tomoki Fukushima: Prior to this game, I was in charge of coordinating with outside development companies for games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch. For this game, I joined development as the Associate Producer. Working with the game development company Acquire, I was involved in a broad range of tasks from prototyping until completion, such as coordinating the schedule and putting the overall game content together.
Haruyuki Ohashi: I’m Haruyuki Ohashi from Acquire. As the director, I was in charge of planning and overseeing the development on site. This was my first time working with Nintendo, and I’m relieved that we were able to complete the project successfully.
Hitomi Furuta: I’m Hitomi Furuta from Acquire. I worked as the Art Director for this game. My role was to direct the overall art style, and I was also in charge of designing some of the main characters. I’ve been playing Mario games since I was a child, but it was the development of this game that got me playing the Mario & Luigi series.
For the full interview, why not click here to check out Ask the Developer Vol. 15, Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Chapter 1:
Ask the Developer | Mario & Luigi Brothership (Participating Developers)
- Akira Otani | Entertainment Planning & Development Division, Co-Production Group (Producer)
- Tomoki Fukushima | Entertainment Planning & Development Division, Co-Production Group (Associate Producer)
- Haruyuki Ohashi | Director, Acquire Corp.
- Hitomi Furuta | Designer, Acquire Corp. (Art Director)
