1986 Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Masanobu Endo

One year after the release of Super Mario Bros., and just five after Donkey Kong. SMB was the game that showed the world that Miyamoto was a game design superstar. Endo designed Tower of Druaga and Xevious for Namco, two games that are still fairly unknown in the U.S. but were extraordinarily influential in Japan.

Endo: Also Wrecking Crew, that game feels great. The graphics are so pretty. And who knew Mario was so strong. I love Mario.

Miyamoto: When we made Donkey Kong, I dubbed Mario “Mister Video”, and I told everyone how I want him to be used in Nintendo games for many, many years to come. You know, I struggled a bit with his design. In order to show his nose better I gave him a mustache, and to make his running animation easier to understand, I gave him those overalls…

from an interview from Famimaga magazine, Feb 1986, translated by Shmuplations

The full interview was translated by the (looks at thesarus) always magnificent Shmuplations, and is up on their site.

Masanobu Endo x Shigeru Miyamoto – 1986 Developer Interview (shmuplations.com)