Super Mario Bros Wonder devs had no deadlines during the prototyping phase

The 2D games in the Mario series have long lagged behind the 3D releases in terms of introducing new creative elements and mechanics. However, this looks set to change with the upcoming Super Mario Bros Wonder, which introduces a number of gameplay innovations and power-ups, not least the ability to transform into an elephant.

The fact that the game appears to be more experimental may have something to do with the fact that Nintendo had no internal deadline during the game's prototype phase. The game's producer Takashi Tezuka told Wired:

"I wanted to prevent people from saying, 'We won't make that deadline, so that's why we didn't do it—we can't do it,'"

Whether Super Mario Bros Wonder actually feels as fresh to play as it looks, we'll find out on 20 October when it premieres exclusively for Switch.