Captain Toad's base diorama concept initially starred Link
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an upcoming expansion of a minigame concept that debuted in Super Mario 3D Land, but the play style's conception involved a different, Toad-less kingdom of the Nintendo universe.
According to a report from Game Informer, Treasure Tracker director Shinya Hiratake wanted to build a game several years ago that was focused on small worlds. Hiratake reasoned that if the ability to jump was absent from, say, a platformer, it would drastically reduce the size of the game's levels. With that in mind, his idea incorporated The Legend of Zelda series' Link, a character that has largely conquered quests without a dedicated jump button (without the Roc's Feather, anyway).
When Hiratake and a small team presented a comparable tech demo to several members of Nintendo's upper management, he joked that they must have done a good job, because Shigeru Miyamoto asked how they were planning on bringing the stages into production. "He thought we were pitching him an actual physical product design," Hiratake explained.
Though a diorama-sized adventure starring Link was dismissed, Miyamoto told Hiratake the idea had potential. After recalling Captain Toad, the Super Mario Galaxy series' backpacking explorer, Hiratake reasoned that he would be too weighed down by his pack to be able to jump. Captain Toad's performance in 3D Land impressed Miyamoto enough for him to encourage a comparable standalone game, and Wii U owners will be able to play the results of that decision next month.
[Image: Nintendo]
