As many people know, the future of the Mario & Luigi series has been in limbo for a while now. That’s because the company developing it (AlphaDream) went bankrupt and shut down in 2019, with the lacklustre sales of the remakes and high costs of HD game development likely contributing to the situation.
Yet despite this, it seems like Nintendo may not actually be done with the whole series! Why? Because a very interesting survey has apparently been going around recently, with a focus on the Mario RPGs and their mechanics. Here’s a post about it by Aspharon on Reddit:
As well as tweet from longtime Mario RPG enthusiast Reecee on Twitter:
Apparently, Nintendo is sending out surveys about the Mario RPGs, this is really interesting. It even mentions very specific things like the original characters and battle mechanics (including Bros. Attacks, stickers, and SPM's real-time combat). pic.twitter.com/vinwBEhKFc
— Reecee (@Reecee_yt) April 2, 2024
As you can tell, there are a lot of detailed questions about every aspect of the series. You’ve got ones on whether you prefer seeing new or familiar characters, or enjoy both equally. You’ve got questions about which battle system is best, with mentions of everything from Bros Attacks to partners to Origami King esque ring puzzles.
And you’ve got a lot of questions about the Mario & Luigi series in general too.
So, there definitely seems to be an attempt by Nintendo to gauge interest in the idea of a new one. Or at least, to get some feedback as to which of the RPG styles fans might want to see more of going forward.
But what does this mean overall? Could we really see a new Mario & Luigi game based on that?
Maybe. If enough people say one of those games is their favourite and that some of the mechanics from it are things they’re extremely interested in, that could definitely let Nintendo know the interest for the series is there.
However, it’s best not to jump to any concrete conclusions just yet. After all, there are a few key things to keep in mind here:
Firstly, we have no idea if such a game is even in development, or when it would start development, or who might make it. Hence with AlphaDream not being around anymore, there’s likely going to be a few questions to sort out of who could be put to the task of making a new Mario & Luigi game, and for what console they’d actually develop it for. And we suspect that last part is going to be especially to Nintendo with this series, given that a huge factor in AlphaDream’s demise was them developing titles for the 3DS long after the general public had already moved onto the Switch.
Hence there’s definitely an incentive to wait for the next console here, regardless of fan reactions to the survey. They really don’t want to risk another Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions/Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr’s Journey type situation right now.
This game’s poor sales were likely in part due to its 2019 release date
Secondly, it’s Nintendo we’re talking about. They have a tendency to take direct evidence that a game might do well and completely ignore it, resulting in numerous longtime series being left in the dust.
Finally, there’s always the worry we’ll get the exact opposite of what we want from such a survey too. After all, half the reason we got Sticker Star was because people said the story wasn’t that important in Super Paper Mario when asked about it in a survey, and the possibility for such a disaster is sadly present here too.
Still, there’s room to be optimistic as well.
For starters, the Mario RPGs we have gotten on Switch have done exceedingly well sales wise. Paper Mario: The Origami King sold at least 3.45 million copies, Super Mario RPG cleared 3 million copies, and The Thousand Year Door HD is topping Amazon sales charts and ending up out of stock based on pre-orders alone. So there’s definitely an interest in story driven Mario games here, and a new Mario & Luigi title could fit in perfectly as a result.
Add to this how much demand the series has gotten online, and how Nintendo still seems to maintain the trademarks for it, and it seems like there’s at least some willingness to give the franchise another shot here.
Still, that’s the situation. There’s a survey about the Mario RPGs going around, with a lot of questions indicating that Nintendo might be willing to revisit the Mario & Luigi series at some point in the future.
So, what do you think about it? Are you interested in a new game in the series? What would you want to see in a new Mario & Luigi game for Switch?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, on social media, or on our Discord server today!
Source:
Nintendo is sending out surveys about the Mario RPGs (Reecee on Twitter)