Mario and Luigi — from Nintendo's iconic, and critically acclaimed
Super Mario Bros. series — have always had a very distinct look; both wearing blue overalls and a cap with their initial on it. Needless to say, the design has remained pretty much unchanged and is now a staple to the beloved characters.
As it turns out, Luigi almost got a complete redesign in the critically acclaimed
Super Mario Odyssey, where he has more of a glorified cameo than anything, but is still part of the game; although, he was added a few months after the game released.
Super Mario Odyssey Art Lead Sho Murata mentions, in
The Art of Super Mario Odyssey book, that he considered a drastic costume change" for Luigi, although eventually they decided not to change Mario's younger brother's appearance too much.
According to Murata, "
We wanted players to feel welcome in this minigame[Luigi's Baloon World], so we gave him[Luigi] a cheerful and casual attitude, like a performer passing out balloons on the street."
"We considered a drastic costume change for Luigi at first, but we ultimately went with a simple look, since it would work well against the background of this game’s world," reveals Murata while also pointing out that Luigi's balloons are a direct reference to the Super Famicom's controller.
"I wonder… including the Luigi green, did you notice his balloons are the same colors as Super Famicom controller buttons? To the many fans who were looking to his appearance in the game, know that the designer in charge put a lot of effort into Luigi’s development."
It's definitely interesting to know that the artists wanted to drastically change Luigi's design. It would be fun to see some sort of redesign in the future, and both Mario and Luigi's outfits have stood the test of time nicely.
Again, it would definitely be interesting to see them dramatically redesigned at some point, even if it's just official concept art that doesn't make it into the final game; whichever that may be.
Use amazing new abilities—like the power to capture and control objects, animals, and enemies—to collect Power Moons so you can power up the Odyssey airship and save Princess Peach from Bowser's wedding plans! Thanks to heroic, hat-shaped Cappy, Mario's got new moves that'll make you rethink his traditional run-and-jump gameplay—like cap jump, cap throw, and capture. Use captured cohorts such as enemies, objects, and animals to progress through the game and uncover loads of hidden collectibles.
Super Mario Odyssey is currently available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.