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'Super Mario 64: Ocarina of Time’ is the perfect Nintendo mashup
Super Mario 64 is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Its large, imaginative levels and increasingly difficult challenges have defined the 3D platformer genre since its release on the Nintendo 64. Similarly, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — the first in the franchise with 3D graphics — is considered a classic with a record 99 rating on Metacritic. Both have been celebrated with portable re-releases and a deluge of fan movies, artwork and soundtrack remixes. But never have the two games been combined in a fan-made ROM hack like Super Mario 64: Ocarina of Time.
'Mario Kart' Monopoly will have you racing to buy properties
Hasbro's Super Mario Bros.-themed Monopoly looks delightful enough as it is, but it might feel a bit lacking if you prefer the kart-driving version of the beloved Italian plumber. The good news is that you won't have to make do with the ordinary Mario Monopoly -- not when toy and board game giant has released Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart. Like its predecessor, it incorporates Kart characters and twists into the game. You can choose from the Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi and Toad Mario Kart tokens, which all have specific powers and abilities. When the Toad token player rolls a Power-Up Boost, for instance, all players must pay them one coin.
'Mario Tennis Aces' hits the Nintendo Switch on June 22nd
Nintendo said that we'd get Mario Tennis Aces on the Switch this Spring, and now it looks like the company is stretching that deadline a bit. The game will actually land on June 22nd, one day after the season officially ends. We won't hold that against Nintendo too much though, because it looks to be a unique entry in the Mario Tennis franchise.
Shigeru Miyamoto will co-produce a 'Mario' animated movie
Nintendo's third big announcement of the evening (after Switch Online and Mario Kart Tour) comes right back to its main star, Mario, and the news that he will star in an animated movie. Confirming earlier rumors, Shigeru Miyamoto is listed as co-producer along with Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Minions, Ice Age) head Chris Meledandri, but the announcement didn't mention other details like a title or release date. The press release notes that Universal Pictures is co-financing the project and will handle worldwide distribution, and it seems ripe for a tie-in with theme park plans both companies are working on. The big question now is if it will live up/down (depending on how you feel about it) to the reputation of 1993's Super Mario Bros. movie.
‘Dark Souls’ and 'Mario Tennis' join Switch's 2018 lineup
Nintendo revealed another slew of titles that will come to the Switch, from old favorites and cult classics to, uh, Dark Souls. In today's Nintendo Direct video, the company announced new Kirby and Mario Tennis games headed to the console, plus a couple indie games and re-releases. There's also DLC coming for some of the console's best games, including Super Mario Odyssey, Pokkén Tournament DX and Mario + Rabbids.
Fans make 80 new levels for 'New Super Mario Bros.'
If you're pining for some classic Mario and don't have a copy of Super Mario Maker to hand, there's always Newer Super Mario Bros. DS. As the name implies, it's a fan-made successor to the portable title from 2006. The 80-level campaign was created with the free and legally dubious New Super Mario Bros. Editor, and requires a ROM of the original DS game to run. If you can find one and a compatible emulator (the team says it works "pretty much perfectly" with DeSmuME) you can play the game for free.
'Mario + Rabbids' gets a free versus battle mode tomorrow
The Nintendo Switch is quickly becoming the go-to console for games with couch co-op and local multiplayer. Need more evidence? Ubisoft is adding a versus mode to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, one of the best Switch games available. "Each player has just three available actions per turn, and how you decide to invest them is a big part of the strategy here," a post on Ubiblog reads. "You may be accustomed to moving, attacking and using techniques for each of your heroes during every turn in campaign and co-op, but versus is a different story."
The best Nintendo Switch games
The Nintendo Switch is an excellent game console. If you don't want to quit collecting Power Moons in Super Mario Odyssey but need a change of scenery from your living room, that's entirely doable. Simply take the tablet out of its dock, slide your Joy-cons back on and you can pick up right where you left off, regardless of venue. But there's so much more to play on Switch. The problem is, aside from the games you can buy at retail, they can be hard to find, because Nintendo's digital storefront isn't very well organized. Which is what our list of the best Switch games is for. Simply search for these games by name in the eShop and you're guaranteed to have some fun.
Nintendo reportedly plans to ramp up Switch production in 2018
The Switch, Nintendo's latest hybrid console is doing pretty well for the company, which expects it to outdo the Wii U's lifetime sales within a year. The company obviously thinks so, too, according to a new report at The Wall Street Journal, which says that Nintendo plans to ramp up production of the hardware itself, beginning in April 2018.
'Super Mario Run' isn't as profitable as Nintendo would like
Super Mario Odyssey might be a runaway hit for Nintendo on its Switch platform, but its mobile game Super Mario Run hasn't been as big of a success. It's incredibly popular, with over 200 million downloads, but "we have not yet reached an acceptable profit point," for the game, said Tatsumi Kimishima, president of Nintendo, in a briefing about the company's financial results.
'Super Mario Odyssey' is everything it needs to be and more
"A return to form." "A reinvention." There are lots of clichés we fall back on when describing a fresh game in a long-running series. The truth is, Nintendo has constantly reinvented the idea of a 3D Mario game, relentlessly pushing the franchise forward with each release. Super Mario Odyssey is just one more step in the right direction, another evolution of a perfect formula. The setup in Odyssey is as familiar as ever: Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach, so you need to collect an arbitrary item (Power Moons rather than Stars this time) and chase him down to save the day. This time around, Bowser is going from kingdom to kingdom collecting items -- a ring, a gown and so on -- for a wedding ceremony. It's a coherent enough narrative, but the joy of Mario has never been in its story.
The latest ‘Super Mario Run’ update is available for download
The update to Super Mario Run has arrived. We heard about the new features planned for the game last week, a main one being the introduction of Remix 10 -- super quick courses that include Bonus Games and one Super Bonus Game that can get you some new buildings for Kingdom Builder mode. Super Mario Run will also now include Daisy as a playable character who has the ability to jump while she's already in midair.
Yes, Mario was punching Yoshi in the head
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is pineapple on pizza right or wrong? Was Mario punching Yoshi in the head or pointing in the direction he wanted to go? These are the questions that destroy friendships and melt internet forums, but finally, we have an answer for the latter. Mario was straight-up smacking Yoshi in the face -- Nintendo's developers say so.
SNES Classic Edition review: Worth it for the games alone
The success of last year's NES Classic Edition clearly took Nintendo by surprise. The company was completely incapable of meeting demand, leaving many people unable to buy what became the must-have gift of the holiday season. Now Nintendo has given its SNES the Classic Edition treatment and promises it's going to build way more than it did last year. Having grown up with the SNES (OK, we had a Sega Genesis and my best friend had SNES), it's easy to assume that everyone knows what it is and why people are so excited that it's back. After dominating the 8-bit era with the NES, Nintendo came late to the party with its sequel. The SNES launched in '90 in Japan, '91 in the US and '92 in the UK. The Genesis had a two-year head start in almost every country, but Nintendo's second-generation home console was worth the wait. The SNES arrived with Super Mario World and F-Zero, among other titles. The former is regarded as one of the greatest games of all time while the latter had faux-3D graphics with fluidity and speed unseen on a console before. For the next five years or so, some special games graced the system: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Metroid, Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, Star Fox. I could go on, but essentially, short of Sonic and a few other Sega exclusives, Nintendo destroyed the competition in terms of quality, with dozens of games that have stood the test of time. That puts the SNES Classic in different territory than its predecessor, which, nostalgia aside, featured many games that, for obvious reasons, aren't up to modern standards. While I utterly adore Metroid, trying to introduce someone to the original today is tough. But nearly all the games Nintendo has included in its latest console are as enjoyable today as they were when they were first released.
'Super Mario Odyssey' reminds us why we love Mario
Super Mario Odyssey is the most exciting Mario game in years. Sure, the two Galaxy entries on the Wii were inventive, but Nintendo's first Switch game in the series goes a step further and completely changes the way you've come to know Mario. It introduces entirely new powers and customizable outfits, and it brings Mario into strange new worlds. Simply put, it's precisely the Mario entry Nintendo needs right now -- one that'll satisfy longtime fans and entice new Switch owners.
Nintendo will show off more ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ on Wednesday
Apple isn't the only company showing off new stuff this week. Nintendo has announced it'll hold a 45-minute Direct stream this Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Pacific. What's on tap? "Information mainly focused on what's headed to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS over the next few months," according to an email from the gaming titan. Oh, and the announcement specifically mentions we'll hear more about Super Mario Odyssey, which comes out next month (!!!). Unlike Apple's event tomorrow, you can all but guarantee nothing Nintendo announces will cost $1,000.
Nintendo and Western Digital bring branded SD cards to Switch
Nintendo has partnered with Western Digital on a line of officially official SanDisk microSDXC cards for its Switch console. What makes them so different? Well, Mario and Link are on the packaging and the 64-and-128 gigabyte cards have Nintendo branding printed on them. Nope, no 400GB cards featuring Wario just yet. And that's the extent of it. The cards will be available starting next month at "select retail outlets." If anything, this will make it easier for parents and family members to grab the right storage card when buying gifts come the holiday season.
Nintendo’s New 2DS XL is the closest you’ll ever get to a ‘3DS XL Lite’
When most of us think about Nintendo hardware, we think about the gimmick. The motion controls of the Wii, the second screen of the Nintendo DS, the stereoscopic visuals of the 3DS and the duality of the Nintendo Switch. These innovations define Nintendo's brand -- but it's not the only hallmark of Nintendo hardware. The company is as much of a house of iteration as it is innovation, particularly when it comes to portable gaming. Almost every one of its handheld consoles -- from the original GameBoy to the Nintendo DS -- has been revised, retooled and released in a new form. Nintendo has made five versions of its original 3DS hardware, and it's about to release one more: The New Nintendo 2DS XL.
Nintendo's 3DS isn't dead, but it is trapped in the Switch's shadow
Earlier this year, Nintendo announced a brand-new console, a hybrid portable device that serves as both a portable entertainment machine and a game system for the living room. At a glance, it looked great -- but some criticized the Nintendo Switch for having "nothing to play" except the new Legend of Zelda game, of course. Nintendo's E3 show served as a strong answer to those critics: Between Super Mario Odyssey, the promise of a new Pokémon game, new Xenoblade, Yoshi and Kirby titles and a Switch port of Rocket League, Nintendo gave buyers every reason to pick up its latest portable console. At the same time, it gave fans almost no reason to pick its other handheld device. If you don't already own a 3DS, you're probably never going to buy one now.
‘Super Mario Odyssey’ lets player two tag along as Mario's hat
Just like at last year's E3, a new installment in a Nintendo franchise is stealing the show. Super Mario Odyssey already plays like a weird, wonderful new game with an expansive world to explore. But you won't have to go it alone: the new game will let another player take control of Mario's eyeball-lined sentient hat, Cappy.
