Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run
Developer	Nintendo EPD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	ioS, Android
Release Date	ioS December 15, 2016 Android March 22, 2017
Rating	ESRB: E

Super Mario Run is an auto-scrolling Mario platforming game that was released for mobile devices in 2016 and 2017. Part of the game is free-to-play, but the rest of the game must be purchased.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Run follows a variation of the classic Mario gameplay. The player still controls Mario (or one of his unlockable allies) traversing through various stages, in the style of New Super Mario Bros., while dealing with enemies and collecting coins and power-ups. The core difference in this game is that it features an auto-running feature in which the character is always running forward, and the only control is that the player can make the character jump by tapping the screen. There are still related actions such as jumping on enemies and wall-kicking, and levels also include special blocks that can temporarily pause the character when stood upon, as well as blocks that can boost the character forward and backwards. The player must guide the character safely to the end of each course. If the character dies, they will be encased in a bubble and can be restored by tapping the bubble, although a player has a limited amount of bubbles in each stage.

The game is divided into several different modes. The standard gameplay mode is World Tour, where Mario must navigate through different worlds to save Princess Peach from Bowser, in a manner similar to the main gameplay modes of most Mario sidescrollers. Each world has four levels, with the last one being a castle or airship containing a boss battle with Bowser or Boom Boom. Each level also has three sets of specially-colored coins to collect. Another mode is Toad Rally, where players can compete against other players over the internet and attempt to win over various Toads with their performance in different environments. Collecting more Toads will unlock more within the game, such as other playable characters. There is also Kingdom Builder, where the player can purchase different houses and items to help rebuild the Mushroom Kingdom.

The game also added a mode called Remix 10 in an update. This mode contains courses which are short remixes of parts of stages from other modes. The player must clear through courses in spurts of ten at a time, although they do not need to succeed at all of them to progress forward. There are 30 areas containing different numbers of courses to be completed in order to rescue and unlock Princess Daisy. Through this mode, more items can be collected for Kingdom Builder. Each course also contains 3 (sometimes 5) Bonus Coins which can be collected to add to a meter that can allow the player to earn a Kingdom Builder item when filled. Toad Rally and Remix 10 are both playable through usage of Rally Tickets, which can be earned through various means such as completing certain objectives in World Tour or by playing a bonus game in Kingdom Builder.

The game's unlockable characters are Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi and four other Yoshi colors (Red, Blue, Purple and Yellow). Each of them has some sort of different variation in their abilities for varied gameplay. In Remix 10, Mario is the sole playable character for most of the game, but there is one individual course in each area in which the player plays as one of the other playable characters (regardless of whether or not the character in question has actually been unlocked at the time) instead. The game also runs events with different bonus effects such as being able to earn more coins or earn rarer treasures in particular modes. Special items are also given out as promotional tie-ins with the release of other Mario games.

Legacy

This game was notable as being the first Mario release on a mobile device. While Nintendo would move away from the mobile market after the release of the Nintendo Switch, two other Mario mobile games would be released: Dr. Mario World and Mario Kart Tour. This was also the last full game made to date in the New Super Mario Bros. style and was notable for being the first time Toadette and Princess Daisy were fully playable in a Mario platformer, aside from their playable costume appearances in Super Mario Maker. Toadette would go on to be added as a playable character for New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, while Daisy and Toadette (as well as some of the Yoshi variants) would be added as playable characters for the next original 2-D Mario platformer, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.