The developer behind Nintendo and Square Enix’s Super Mario RPG remake for Nintendo Switch has been revealed, as spoilers for early copies of the game began circulating on social media.
As spotted by social media users, a copyright notice attached to eShop pre-orders reveals that Japanese studio ArtePiazza developed the new Mario RPG.
ArtePiazza is known for his involvement in Square’s Dragon Quest series, beginning with Dragon Quest 3 in 1996. He was primarily responsible for the CG design of the early titles, and later produced remakes for PS2 and Nintendo DS.
Further details about the team behind the Mario RPG remake have been shared by a Twitter user. Mondo_Méga. Nintendo EPD’s Ayako Moriwaki reportedly directed the Switch version.
Moriwaki most recently acted as an assistant director for Pikmin 4. Before that, she worked on Yoshi’s Crafted World (2019) and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (2013).
According to Mondo_Mega, other Nintendo EPD staff were involved in the art direction, graphics, and user interface of Mario RPG. Nintendo Pictures, the animation studio established last year, reportedly provided the character artwork and animation.
Several members of the original Mario RPG development team are also rumored to be working on the new version, including event designer Taro Kudo, co-director Yoshihiko Maekawa, and composer Yoko Shimomura.
It is claimed that Square Enix’s involvement in Mario RPG for Switch was limited primarily to supervision.
Chihiro Fujioka, who co-directed the 1996 SNES original, is not working on the remake in any capacity, but earlier this year said he was looking forward to playing it.
In a recent hands-on preview of Mario RPG, we wrote: “It’s authentic to the point that you could almost imagine going back to the original pre-rendered sprites by activating a menu option, as – brilliantly – you can do with the game .soundtrack.
“For many people, this will seem incredibly appealing, as Mario RPG remains one of the most beloved Nintendo games of the ’90s. For those with fewer memories of the original, the Square adventure arguably holds up in 2023.”