Hands-On With Nintendo's New Super Mario Run Game

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Nintendo today released its highly anticipated Mario-themed game, Super Mario Run. Super Mario Run offers simple one-handed gameplay in the form of a traditional runner crossed with platform game, but it adds complexity through coin-based score goals, competitions with friends, and a world building component.

While Super Mario Run is free to download, it costs $9.99 to unlock the complete game, which is pricy for an iOS title. We went hands-on with Super Mario Run so you can find out just what you get for that $10 investment before you shell out the cash.


The free component of Super Mario Run lets you try three levels of the standard Tour mode, which is a collection of Super Mario levels where the goal is to collect as many coins as possible. New and more difficult content goals are unlocked by collecting pink, purple, and black coins.

For $9.99, you unlock all six worlds, each of which features three standard levels and then a boss level, for a total of 24 levels. That price tag also gives you 3,000 coins and 20 Rally tickets.

Rally tickets are used for the Rally gameplay mode that lets you compete with other players to win Toad villagers. Rally mode is similar to Tour mode, but the goal is to get more coins and more applause than your opponents by doing tricks, defeating enemies, and grabbing bonuses.

Toad villagers and coins are both used to build out your Kingdom, adding decorations and little mini games to play. Mini games are small add-on games that give you coins and Rally tickets to put towards expanding your kingdom.

Super Mario Run is not a freemium game and does require the $9.99 investment to play the full game, but for Mario fans, the purchase is a no-brainer. It's a fun little iOS title that has a surprising amount of depth. [Direct Link]

Tags: Nintendo, Super Mario Run

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Top Rated Comments

Quu Avatar
Quu
112 months ago
I thought the game was quite disappointing. I was also shocked at the poor quality of the opening sequences where it made me choose which country I was in. Not only is it silly to ask that when they have geolocation API's like ipinfo.io available but also I downloaded it from the UK store where again they could check what store is available to my account and finally the window to choose the country has no search field and scrolling it makes all these noises and clicks as you scroll like really Nintendo? This is really poor.

The game itself .. I didn't find it fun. Not being able to control Mario completely like on 20 year old consoles just made it feel bland and like I was watching a video of someone playing Mario. I also don't like that you need to be online all the time to play or how many menus and things there was for what should be a very simple game.

And before someone replies, yes I know it's called Super Mario Run and the whole point is to only be able to control his jumping. I am saying the whole concept is meh.

For me, not great and I really do love Mario and the other Mario games.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFan91 Avatar
AppleFan91
112 months ago
It's actually much better than I expected. I really thought it would be a temple run, but side scrolling. It's not, it feels and plays like a Mario game once you get past the always-running component.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ovedius Avatar
Ovedius
112 months ago
do you guys play games when you go poop?
I ask you, when else do you have time to play games?
It is simply the perfect time to do so.

"Daddy needs to take a ****. Whatever you need, ask mommy for the next one and a half hour"


Zen
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
iapplelove
112 months ago
I really wanted to love it. I was ready to pay the $9.99. But after 15 minutes I deleted it.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jerry16 Avatar
jerry16
112 months ago
do you guys play games when you go poop?
No, I prefer to MacRumors when I poop.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
.player Avatar
.player
112 months ago
Game is a big disappointment to me. Ok to mess around with but don't see myself paying as it's too basic.
To each their own, but I strongly recommend trying to get all of the Pink + Purple + Black coins in the first level if you haven't already. The challenge of that has me hooked. If you play straight through the level to the flag it's pretty bland. It's a much more complex and rewarding game when you're timing tricky jumps, using walls and double-jumps to go left just enough for that box out of reach that you're sure has the coin you need. I haven't even tried the Toad Rally stuff yet and I know this game will be a work-break time sink for me.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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