The father of Mario and Link recently spoke at length on how the 3DS will enhance the experiences of familiar franchises...

With a brand new console looming, you can bet that Shigeru Miyamoto has a few fresh ideas brewing. For now though, Nintendo's resident demigod is playing his cards close to chest, although he did recently elaborate on how he can see the 3DS improving the experience of playing Mario and Zelda.

Firstly, Miyamoto acknowledged the unique advantages 2D and 3D Mario and Zelda titles each have (and he recently stated there'll be room for both kinds on 3DS), though he pointed to certain hurdles that came with 3D games, namely the question of depth and height perception for platforms that lie in the distance. The new system will make distinctions like this much easier, according to Miyamoto.

"On Nintendo 3DS, you can readily understand the height and distance of the next floor in front of you. You can feel the difference by switching between the 2D and 3D modes. You might have had a hard time trying to jump on a stump or to hit a floating question-mark block in 3D Mario [games] until now, but you will be able to do so easily on Nintendo 3DS."

In a more general sense, he also spoke on how the stereoscopic 3D can make game worlds feel more 'realistic', especially concerning the 'weight' of the game character.

"In addition, Mario and Link will both have more vivid presences... When I make games, I take great care of such details as the body weights of the players' characters. When the character jumps, can the player feel the weight? When the character lands, does the land feel like it is acting as a cushion? How long should the character stand still in order for the player to feel the weight of the character's body? I think about a number of such details. By making 3D games on Nintendo 3DS, such minute details can be felt, and the players can feel as if the world exists."

Finally, on the subject of '2D', sidescrolling Mario titles, Miyamoto expressed that the 3D technology made it much easier to render background visuals that have a bearing on the gameplay, such as having Bullet Bills flying towards the player, and the player easily able to grasp where exactly such obstacles are in relation to the character.

Having dabbled in 3D way back in the day of the Virtual Boy, Miyamoto revealed that Nintendo have had ideas for such visual trickery brewing for years. It seems now these ideas are finally capable of being realised.