Well then. What did we think of that, huh? Super Mario‘s 35th anniversary Nintendo Direct came and went, but not before we got some pretty interesting announcements. There are a few things to go over, many of which will get their own separate page, but here’s the lowdown on what we just saw today.
Mario is back on Game & Watch!
Yes, you heard that right. The Game and Watch is back, and of course, you can play the original Super Mario Bros. on it. However, and this is something that piqued my interest, it can act as a fancy digital alarm clock, complete with Mario-style graphics.
Super Mario 3D World gets a Switch port… plus extras!
One of the Wii U’s most highly-regarded titles has finally got its chance to shine on a much more successful console. Super Mario 3D World, the console follow-up to the equally-regarded 3DS Super Mario 3D Land, is coming to the Switch, but it’s packing a bonus in the form of Bowser’s Fury. Whether this is an extra world of levels or something more is yet to be confirmed, but it helps to sweeten the deal for people who have already gone through the original Wii U version.
Mario Battle Royale is finally a thing!
Okay, now this was a surprise. For all those who played Tetris 99, the battle-royale version of Tetris where 99 players face off until one is left standing, we now have our Mario equivalent. You play the original Mario Bros. 1-1, but every enemy you stomp on gets sent to another player’s game. One-by-one, numerous red plumbers are eliminated until one stands alone. It looks like an interesting twist on the formula, especially with the news that it will be free for Nintendo Switch Online members.
Mario Kart becomes (Augmented) Reality!
In one of the most obvious-yet-unexpected announcements of the Direct, we got a new way of annoying our friends with last-corner blue shell antics. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is probably one of my favorite “oh of course” announcements, as putting Mario Kart into reality has often been a spoofed YouTube video idea, and now, we have (sort of anyway) the closest thing there is to that.
64, Sunshine & Galaxy get the All-Star treatment… but where’s Galaxy 2?
In what was the biggest announcement of the Direct, three of Mario’s most iconic 3D games are getting bundled into an All-Star compilation. It follows the same vein as the SNES Super Mario All-Stars from 1993, which bundled updated versions of Super Mario Bros. 1 though 3.
In Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy will make their Switch debuts, and offer fans legal ways to experience these games for the first time or the hundredth. Curiously, while the first Galaxy game is represented here, the also exceptional Galaxy 2 is nowhere to be seen, even in the closing montage of all the Mario games. Also, perhaps even stranger is the news that the game will only be available for a limited time, until March 2021. Why is that Nintendo?
