I love to see in-depth interviews like this! Some of it is lost on me because I haven't played the original Paper Mario (I'll get around to it Someday™), but it's still interesting to learn about the long design process and the refining of the different mechanics. Also, I just learned about kamishibai a few weeks ago so I was like, "Ooh, I know what that is!!"

Shumplations is such a wonderful resource—I was just reading this great Iwata interview from 1999 the other day, which I was turned onto by Part 1 of They Create Worlds Nintendo Wii two-parter (fascinating look at the business and inner politics of Nintendo, by the way!). The whole interview is full of great information, from the early history of HAL to Iwata's personal philosophy, but this excerpt from his final remarks rings even truer today:

I think it’s amazing that the biggest hit the game industry has ever had, Pokemon, was a Gameboy game. I think there’s so much to learn from that. Cutting-edge graphics and impressive CGI are tools, but they aren’t the only tools we have. Of course there are some players who really want to see the latest and greatest in graphics and technology, and there isn’t anything wrong with that. But I definitely think there are other avenues of approach. I don’t want every game developer to do the same thing; it will be a richer, more diverse, more enjoyable industry if we’re all moving along different vectors, don’t you think?