Rayman Creator Says He Doesn’t Enjoy Playing Mario Games

Michel Ancel, who is the French creative director working on Rayman Origins, has said that he does not really enjoy playing the games in the Mario series, despite the fact that his style has been compared to that used by a certain legendary Japanese game developer.

The video game creator said that he was honored by any comparison made with Shigeru Miyamoto but that he was very different from the developers who created both Mario and Zelda.

He stated, “I really loved the idea of introducing artistic features in games - that is to say the storytelling, the artwork, music - and to get everything together in the best possible alchemy. We have two different approaches, two different tracks.”

He then added, “I will tell you something terrible -- I don't really enjoy playing Mario games. I don't like gliding, I don't like its inertia, and I don't like not being able to give some slaps! It's a fabulous series, and I understand that people love it, but it's not my cup of tea.”

Ancel says that he used to prefer playing games like Ghosts’n’Goblins, Heart of Darkness and Another World, mainly because of their focus on the story element.

The developer says that Mario had very interesting controls but that he could not shake the feeling that the mechanics of the games were too obvious.

Both Shigeru Miyamoto and Michel Ancel were awarded a French award called Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the two developers briefly met.

Shigeru Miyamoto is still the main creative force behind the top level Nintendo made video games and is now probably working on core properties for the upcoming Wii U home console.

Ancel has worked on Rayman Origins but it’s not clear whether Ubisoft is ready to deliver another core game in the series or will focus on the Rabbids set of spin-offs.