It’s happening! Nintendo this morning finally revealed the Super Mario 35th Anniversary plan that we’ve been waiting all year for. Super Mario 3D All-Stars will release on September 18 and will include Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunhine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Those are three legendary games, but the package is a little underwhelming.
I blogged yesterday about how I was expecting graphics upgrades and bonus content, but it looks like we’re only getting the three games in high definition. That’s not terrible considering we also get the benefit of playing them on the go, but this could have been so much more. What’s really interesting to me is that the release date is just two weeks from Friday. Does that mean that Nintendo has something else up its sleeve for the holiday season?
Thanks to another Nintendo announcement, we know at least one game is coming on the other side of the holiday season. Super Mario 3D World, which was previously a Wii U exclusive, is now getting a Switch upgrade on February 12.
Nintendo did add bonus content to this package, and it looks pretty dark based on the teaser at the end of the video. In fact, it looks more like a Zelda game than a Mario game with Cat Mario poised to enter a spooky cat shrine that probably holds all sorts of spooky secrets and challenging levels. I’m excited to learn more so that I can decide if this one is worth picking up.
My favorite part of the 35th Anniversary announcement is Super Mario Bros. 35. Like Tetris 99, this game is a competitive online take on a classic title. Unlike Tetris 99, I might be somewhat good at this one since I’m better at platform games than puzzle games. I love that Nintendo is figuring out ways to turn its old games into competitive online experiences. It’s like they’re finally in tune with where the video game market is headed. I will be downloading this one as soon as it launches, as Nintendo’s online service continues to be a bargain.
Over at Barstool, it was awesome to see Glenny Balls bounce back and win a HooliganZ kill race with Robbie Fox just one day after scoring only two eliminations in the Litty Cup. Balls was way more comfortable on his native Xbox than on PlayStation, and it showed. At the same time, Smitty and White Sox Dave were up to their usually shenanigans, losing games in record time and peppering each other with insults.
The best game by Balls and Fox scored them enough points to win the race by itself. It will be interesting to see if shuttling back and forth between PlayStation — the platform on which Balls is Barstool’s most dominant Fall Guys player — and Xbox will take its toll on Balls. For now, he looks like a bronze champion.
Meanwhile, Smitty and Dave continue to be very entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Will this explosive duo ever be able to combine witty banter with winning results? It looks like we’re a long way off from that, but HooliganZ owner Dan Katz clearly sees potential in them.
I’m excited to see what’s next for the HooliganZ. Maybe we’ll see some SMB35 action come October? I might have to sack up and throw my hat in the ring if that’s the case.
Inside Yolk 