Seems they had a good experience. I'm interested in seeing what they bring out next. This game had some of the best graphics on the Wii and the best/newest battle system I've played in years.

There were a whole lot of requests from Mario Club. All the requests that we got were spot on. They really know what they’re talking about, because they have a lot of skill and knowledge.

In a way, what we created was fine, but it was still rough around the edges. But I think by going through Nintendo, it really took out the unnecessary parts and refined it as a game.

Refinement is one of the most important aspects. The Nintendo influence was big, in a good way; at the same time it gave me confidence that if I really pushed my boundaries harder, then I can get to this level on my own.

 

Source: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/06/takuya_matsumoto_nintendo_influence_was_big_on_the_last_story

That's good to hear!

I enjoyed TLS, but felt as though it was more a demo than a full game. Hopefully they can build on the good stuff and make a truly great game, which, I believe, it REALLY had the potential to be...

Because it was too short? A friend of mine complained about that

Yes, and because it wouldn't let you play as different characters, aside from in scripted events. 

I don't see why you can't take out the (poor) online, and add in an extra 10-15 chapters, or 10 hours, as well as some extra sidequests and another city. That would've made it awesome.