Nintendo’s celebration ofSuper Mario’s 35th anniversary went in many different directions. It came up with everything from limited-time items inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsto a compilation of some of the most famous 3DSuper Marioadventures for the date. Nintendo also releasedSuper Mario Bros. 35,a unique battle royale title about combative platforming. Each player had to complete levels from the originalSuper Mario Bros.game while contending with enemies that other players sent their way.Super Mario Bros. 35,however, only lasted as long as the anniversary and came to a close some time ago despite all of its unique ideas.
Super Mario Bros. 35easily could’ve been an ongoing game. Nintendo might have chosen to support the free game with microtransactions for cosmetics, for instance, but instead, it chose to limit the battle royale exclusively tothe window of Mario’s 35th birthday. However, Nintendo may have abandonedSuper Mario Bros. 35,but that doesn’t mean it’s abandoned the concept. It’s entirely possible that Nintendo returns to the idea in the future with a more fleshed-out game. If that’s the case, Nintendo should make aSuper Mariobattle royale based on a more recent game. There are lots of ways that a newer game could add to a potentialMario 35successor.
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Super Mario Bros. 35’s Design Choices
At the time, it made sense for Nintendo to focus onSuper Mario Bros.and its original levelswhen making aSuper Mariogame specifically for the anniversary.Super Mario Bros. 35celebrated one of the original games responsible for making Mario the face of Nintendo. After all, Nintendo wouldn’t be one of the world’s most influential game companies without Mario’s success.Super Mario Bros. 35offered fans a way to experience familiar levels in a new way, adding a twist of competition and plenty of tactical depth.
However, another game in the vein ofMario 35probably shouldn’t also reuseSuper Mario Bros.content. Instead, it should focus on something likeSuper Mario Worldfrom the SNES or even something much more recent likeSuper Mario 3D World.The fact of the matter is thatSuper Mario Bros.is just the foundation of the franchise—it’s not representative of whereSuper Mariois now, and it only has so many tools to work with. AnotherMario 35game that’s based on one of Mario’s more modern innovations would add more variety to the gameplay while also celebrating the series broadly, rather than focusing on its roots.
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Imagining a Super Mario Bros. 35 Sequel
There are lots of things that otherSuper Mariogames could contribute to anotherMario 35game. Even just the introductions of new powerups, fromSuper Mario World’s Feather toNew Super Mario Bros.' Ice Flower, would add new strategies and more variety to the game, giving each player more ways to tackle the obstacles that other players put in front of them. A game that blends levels and powerups froma broad range ofMariogamescould also offer a new level of challenge, as well as game mode options. AMario 35sequel where players can specifically queue up for matches focused on specificSuper Mariogames of their choice would be great.
Super Mario Bros. 35wasn’t the only game that only got a short run due to the anniversary. Nintendo stopped the production ofSuper Mario 3D All-Starsas soon as the celebration window closed. Even so, both games have concepts that can easily be revisited.Super Mario Bros. 35in particular has a lot of room to grow since it has so many original elements.Mario 35was a pretty unique take on the battle royale genre, and it still has untapped potential. If Nintendo gives the game another chance, it could make use of everything thatSuper Mariohas gained since its inception.
Super Mario Bros. 35is no longer available.
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