alphads.jpg Sharp-witted folks on the Gaming-Age forums have pointed to a Japanese-language interview with Alpha Dream, the developers of Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time for DS, via the Official Nintendo Online Magazine website. [Here's a particularly mangled translation via Altavista.]

Fortunately, the particularly choice part of the interview is visual - a snapshot of Alpha Dream's 'development DS' which the team concocted before the real Nintendo DS hardware was available. As they explain: "The っ which 2 is attached to the top and bottom being able to connect GBA with the け て communication cable, because the っ which means 4 being the button, it is, you attached the controller of the super Family Computer, it is, (laughing)." Hah - well, I guess that doesn't explain it too well - but it's a SNES controller plus two Game Boy Advances connected with a link cable, and it's absolutely priceless.