

Amano and Ishikawa rationalized it in a few ways, including how a less-skilled player can improve by watching a better one, and how two players can work together to collect the multitude of coins present on the screen at one time. The solution? Have the camera focus on one player, while allowing the two to compete for who that player is. This would prove troublesome in terms of how to focus the camera on both players. 2's level structure allowed for a lot of exploration, not just simple left-to-right progression. More than that, they also pointed out that, unlike other entries in the series, New Super Mario Bros. Though a prototype of the mode was up and running, the pair didn't believe that they would have enough time to go back and retrofit the levels that had already been completed to accommodate a possible second player. While this inclusion seems like a no-brainer, it was met with hesitation from Yusuke Amano and Masaaki Ishikawa, the Director and Art Director of New Super Mario Bros.

Rather than the competitive mode that was featured in the original New Super Mario Bros., Tezuka instead envisioned a mode more akin to that in New Super Mario Bros.

2, Takashi Tezuka, who was overseeing the development of the game, suggested that a robust cooperative mode be added. 2's cooperative mode, which allows two players to progress through the entire main game together, was nearly unable to be included in the final product, the latest Iwata Asks revealed.ĭuring the development of New Super Mario Bros.
