The impending 35thanniversary ofSuper Mariohas Nintendo celebrating in many different ways, which honor both the legacy and innovation that’s behind the company’s most popular mascot. One of the big announcements to coincide with Mario’s anniversary is a radical new take on the traditionalSuper Mario Bros.format.
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Super Mario Bros. 35is a battle royale game that turns Mariointo a tumultuous multiplayer experiencethat allows up to 35 players to engage in combat and prove that they’re the superior plumber.Mario 35is clearlytaking a few cues from Nintendo’sTetris 99,right down to its name, but there are a handful of features that the new game should both incorporate and discard.
10Should Take: Team Battle
Part of the joy in the novelty of something likeSuper Mario Bros. 35is to take on hordes of people at once and feel overwhelmed by the onslaught. Adding a partner to that chaos doesn’t ruin that experience and it often even makes it better.Tetris 99offers for a team battle mode and there’s no reason whyMario 35couldn’t follow suit here.
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The controls are simple enough thatthe Joy-cons can be dividedand the concept of having Mario and Luigi working together in these environments hearkens back to the origins of the series.
9Leave Behind: Only Online Play
Mario 35has many people excited, but titles of this nature are naturally limiting in the sense that they cater towards online audiences. In the case of bothTetris 99andMario 35,both games are available exclusively through the Nintendo Switch Online service (althoughTetris 99later issued a physical release that’s bundled with Switch Online).
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This feature is understandable, but it’d be nice ifMario 35could also feature single player against CPU botsor local multiplayer to appease all gamers. These features were incorporated intoTetris 99through DLC, but that shouldn’t have to be necessary.
8Should Take: Maximus Cup And Events
Battle royale titles likeTetris 99orSuper Mario Bros. 35succeed because every game is an entirely new experience with real players that keep the game fresh even if the content remains the same. This is entertaining, but it’s exciting when the title can add in higher stakes and create some suspense among its audience.Tetris 99has implemented the Maximus Cup, a tournament that ramps up the competitive aspect of the game, as well as events that allow for something new around the norm. It wouldn’t be difficult forMario 35to follow suit in this department.
7Leave Behind: Badge System
BothTetrisandSuper Mario Bros.pull from simple formulas, which make them curious examples for battle royale games, but it’s a satisfying mix of a retro title with modern sensibilities.Tetris 99throws in lots of extra featuresand flair to add to the gameplay, like a badge system. Badges are gained by eliminating players and claiming their badges, which in turn increase a player’s attack power. This idea works inTetris,but it complicatesSuper Mariois an unnecessary way. This same idea could be implemented through experience points, without then adding another system on top of it.
6Should Take: Experience Points
The advent of online play to video games has naturally led to a more competitive side of gamers coming forward.Even something passive like a player’s achievementsor gamer score have become major areas of pride for many people. Battle royale games likeMario 35feature rankings between players, butTetris 99features a basic incorporation of experience points around victories.Mario 35could go even further with this idea and feature a leveling up system or some kind of advanced achievements that make use of experience points in different ways.
5Leave Behind: No Variety In The Player’s Character
Tetris 99features a few minor ways for players to feel some sense of individuality, but the sense of different characters is largely absent. This isn’t exactly surprising sinceTetrisis a puzzle series that really doesn’t feature any notable characters. The exact opposite is true with theSuper Marioseries and so it’d be a shame if this game only allows Mario to be playable. As fun as it can be to see a lot of Marios bouncing about, it’d be even better to see Luigiand Peach in on the action, too.
4Should Take: Daily And Timed Missions
The difficulty in games likeSuper Mario Bros. 35is that they’re often only as good as the competition that’s assembled. This can yield wildly contrasting results, especially when gamers begin to back away from a title.Tetris 99has worked in daily missions to ensure that players continue to return and offer up an incentive. Even ifMario 35did weekly missions it would give something new to the player base and go a long ways.It’s a feature of online gamesthat’s so basic that it’d be disappointing to not see some kind of timed content involved.
3Leave Behind: The Ticket System
Tetris 99has a surprising amount of features in an attempt to offer up as many different variations on the basicTetrisformula as possible.Tetris 99involves a system of tickets that can be acquired from the daily missions and the tournaments, which can then be redeemed for things like new themes. Achievements are always a good thingMario 35should still provide some sense of accomplishment like this, but tickets feel dangerously close to microtransaction territory, which could ruin a game like this and spoil what it’s trying to do.
2Should Take: DLC
With modern video games it’s often no longer enough to deliver a satisfying experience out of the box, but there’s the expectation for there to be a continued level of support for the game, especially when it comes to online titles.DLC is a fine way to add in new featuresand extend a game’s shelf life.Tetris 99has made excellent use of DLC that actually feels worthwhile. More than anything, fans just want to know thatMario 35won’t just be abandoned after its brief release window is over. DLC and continued support isn’t an outrageous expectation.
1Leave Behind: No Story Mode
Tetrisis a very unique example that it’s a puzzle franchise that’s been able to gain popularity purely off of its gameplay and hasn’t had to jump through hoops or add a narrative to help drive it forward. For this reason it makes sense thatTetris 99just focuses on multiplayer, but theSuper Mariogames have a simple enough story that could still be incorporated in some sense. Even if there was just a ten-level “arcade mode” that featured CPU opponents and plays an easy ending cutscene to mark the achievement would be something the fans would appreciate.
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