Today Nintendo dropped a Mario-themed Nintendo Direct on us to celebrate Super Mario's 35th anniversary (as in Super Mario Bros., not Mario himself who was created a few years prior). The direct announced a few new Mario games as well as a couple of surprises. First off was the announcement of a new Game and Watch handheld that will feature both Super Mario Bros. and the Famicom version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (what we first got as The Lost Levels), along with some other surprises. This handheld will be available for a limited time starting on November 13th.
Next up, Super Mario 3D World will be making it's way to the Switch. From what the trailer shows it appears that the game will be the same as the Wii U version but with some additions as well. However, the end of the trailer alluded to something more and it was revealed that the game will be called Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Given how many times we've defeated Bowser in the past, it's amazing it's taken this long for him to show his fury. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury will launch on February 21st, 2021 for $59.99 and can be pre-ordered today.
Remember Tetris 99 where 99 players can battle it out against each other online? Ever wish that could be implemented into Super Mario Bros? Honestly that thought had never crossed my mind but...here we are. Super Mario Bros. 35 will allow up to 35 players online to race through levels from the original Super Mario Bros. while trying to sabotage everyone else. Enemies you defeat will be sent to other players and similar to Tetris 99 you can choose where to sent them (players with lowest amount of time left, most coins, attacking you, or a random player). You can also spend coins to use an item roulette wheel to gain a random power-up. Super Mario Bros. 35 will be available for free to Nintendo Online subscribers on October 1st, but will only be available through March 31st 2021.
Next up we have Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. This one is...interesting to say the least. It appears as you can place certain checkpoints around whatever room your in to create your own Mario Kart track. Each racer will then use an RC-style kart with a camera mounted on it to race each other using their Nintendo Switches. I'm kind of on the fence about this one personally. The concept itself is interesting; it's basically racing with RC Cars. Then again it looks like you have to have a bunch of room and hardwood flooring, so this could be an issue for some people. The fine print at the end of the trailer says that the game itself will be free to download, but course materials and karts are sold separately, so I'm curious if there'll be something on the free version you can do without the separate karts. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit will launch on October 16th.
The penultimate announcement was that starting today, Super Mario All-Stars will be available on the Super NES service for Nintendo Online subscribers. However, the major announcement that followed was that Super Mario 3D All-Stars will launch on the Nintendo Switch in just a couple of weeks on September 18th. The game will include higher resolution versions of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Each game has also been optimized for a 16:9 ratio and will include each game's soundtrack that you can listen to at any time. The game will see a digital and limited physical release and is available for pre-order today for $59.99, but the game will only be available for purchase until March 31st, 2021.
