Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto says he isn't as involved in the development of each Mario game now, but always makes sure to play them during the development to ensure a given title feels like a Mario game.
Speaking to Japanese magazine Casa Brutus (which has been acquired and machine translated by VGC), Miyamoto explains that he mostly leaves the direction of Mario to his teammates – presumably referring to the likes of original Super Mario Bros designer Takashi Tezuka as well as recent series shepherds like Yoshiaki Koizumi and Koichi Hayashida.
