After almost a decade of smartphones being a thing, Mario is finally available in the palm of our hands, ready to run, jump and spread joy, at the tap on the screen. Super Mario Run is Nintendo’s first foray into smartphone and tablet market and as you’d expect from Nintendo, they’ve done this right (they did take their sweet time though). Read on to find out everything interesting about the new game.
What Is Super Mario Run?
Super Mario Run is a side-scrolling, automatic runner (not an endless runner). You can play the game with just one hand and one finger. When the game starts, Mario runs automatically.
You tap the screen to make Mario jump. You tap for a longer time to make him jump higher. And that’s it. To make things a bit simpler and help you focus on collection the coins, Nintendo has added a bit of automation to the mix. When you come near an enemy, Mario will volt over them automatically.
Check out our complete beginners guide to Super Mario Run here!
How to Download Super Mario Run for iPhone and iPad
Super Mario Run has been released worldwide – in 155 countries. It’s available on the App Store. All you have to do is open the App Store, search for “Super Mario Run” and tap the “Get” button. Alternatively, you can also visit this link on your iPhone or iPad and the Super Mario Run page on the App Store will open automatically.
How Much Does It Cost?
The game is free to download but to get the whole experience, you’ll need to pay $9.99. That’s steep yes but it is, after all, a Nintendo game. Keep reading and by the end of this page, you’ll be convinced that the world of Super Mario Run is worth the price of admittance.
Will It Run Offline?
Putting a bit of a damper on all the excitement, Nintendo has said that the game just flat out won’t run if the device isn’t connected to the internet. The move is supposedly to curb piracy. But this is iOS we’re talking about – with a locked down file system. If they were talking about Android phones or jailbroken devices, then it would make sense. I guess this being their first foray on the new platform, Nintendo is just being really really cautious. This means no Super Mario Run for you when you’re on vacation or during your Subway rides.
What’s It Like To Play? Read Our Review to Find Out
We did a hands-on review of the game where we spent some quality time with the demo version at the Apple Store. You can read our in-depth review in this post.
How to Play Super Mario Run?
As I said, this is not an endless runner. The classic, single player mode “World Tour” has levels, just like the old school Mario games. You’ll find some levels and gameplay from the old game that you love so much. But there’s a lot of new stuff as well. There are 6 different worlds and 24 levels in total.
Just like the classic Super Mario games, you have to read to flag pole, which is at the end of the level, before the time runs out.
Super Mario Run isn’t about mindlessly running around. You, of course, have to collect coins, defeat enemies, get powers and such but there’s one more twist.
Each section has 5 special coins, they’re in pink. These are hard to get points. You’ll need to plan your taps precisely to reach them. When you collect them you get more points. Once you collect the pink coins, that will unlock the purple coins, after that it’s black coins. This means you can play the same level over again over again with new objectives and more points, without getting bored. All the special coins get you more points that you can then use in the Kingdom Builder.
Super Mario Run Tips and Tricks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKG5jU6DV70
A Nintendo game isn’t fun if you can’t use it to annoy your friends with your high scores. Thankfully, Super Mario Run has a competitive, multiplayer mode. You can play with someone over the internet, and they’ll show up in your run as a ghost.
At the end, the game will tally up the points from both players. The points are awarded not just to who got the most coins and power-ups but also who was the most “stylish”, making use of Mario’s movement.
Your kingdom building depends on your toad following. The more points you have, the more toads you’ll be able to get to your kingdom, the more buildings, and structures you’ll be able to acquire.
The way to do this is, you guessed it, play Toad Rally, a lot.
How to Play As Other Characters
As you play more and unlock the game, you’ll also be able to play as other characters from the Super Mario universe – Luigi, Yoshi, Toad and more.
