Super Mario Bros. Wonder's multiplayer was added to reduce challenge

Currently, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is enjoying critical acclaim. It has been a real breath of fresh air for many fans of the world's most famous plumber, and one key point of innovation in the platformer is in its multiplayer.

In a recent ask the developers interview on Nintendo's website, game director Shiro Mouri spoke about how the system came about.

"From the initial concept, we wanted to develop a Mario game that's also fun to play online," Mouri said. "However, while playing online with people from around the world can be fun, we believe there are also some challenges."

The director then goes on to talk about how Super Mario Bros. Wonder creates a casual connection, where players can help each other out, but they can't necessarily impact their game negatively.

In a previous interview, Takashi Tezuka spoke about how he'd seen a member of the team give up on an early stage of Super Mario Run. This then made Tezuka rethink his design process, and how it was important to give players freedom in exploration.

The player shadows that you see in multiplayer helped with this, as another player is going through the same challenge as you and you can see how they approach it.