Nintendo has finally unveiled the coveted "Super Mario" series on the mobile platform. It has made an admirable attempt in translating the controls of the Wii U into a simple tap of the screen with the new "Super Mario Run."
The game has a very simple scroll scheme that generally works well. However, even after three decades of evolving Mario, players still feel like the gaming experience has been compromised by the lack of precise control and power-ups. All the same, Nintendo has not had much input concerning Mario games in the mobile platform, according to Polygon, and this understandable.
The first levels of "Super Mario Run" will undoubtedly make any Mario fan feel right at home. With the serious polished graphics and Mario's characteristic agility presence accounted for, the player immediately feels like a winner.
But they might find that it continues to be. It all depends on their willingness to visit the same levels over and over again in search of modest rewards. On an honest note, many "Super Mario Run" players already think that it is the most convenient Mario game there is.
With 2D level design, it lives up to the series' rock-solid reputation. It is also complemented with graphics and moves that compare favorably to the refined new "Super Mario Brothers" games on both DS and 3DS.
With enhanced portability, however, comes few understandable sacrifices. "Run" feels like a Mario game from the beginning to the end of its adventure, in the ease that a player can make Mario jump, bounce off walls, and spin-attack enemies in mid-air with just a simple tap of the screen.
Rather than fighting to reach the end of the level by mastering platforming, which is the easiest it has ever been for the "Super Mario" series, a player's goal is to collect coins on their way to the finish line. Familiar gold coins are plenty, but there other harder-to-reach coins in every level that requires more finesse and strategic platforming than usual.
As fun as the levels can be, they are undoubtedly short and easy; and it is not hard to finish all of them if the player simply aims at the finish line. But if they choose to hunt for specific coins rather than choose to enjoy the flow of the game and the excitement of platforming, "Super Mario Run" loses some of its magic that seem to make it more gratifying at the start.
Replaying levels then becomes something of a grind. With a small selection of levels and their brief nature, players keep replaying several runs. This quickly grows tiresome but when they focus on chasing coins, they are not left empty handed.
"Super Mario Run" is not limitless runner; in each level, Nintendo has handcrafted the game to make it feel like an old-style side-scrolling Mario game. One of the biggest challenge for players is Mario's behavior and particularly his skill of vaulting over enemies.
Other things that alienate the game from its forbears are Mario's life system and the Toad Rally. The Toad Rally allows player to challenge other players in races to collecting more coins and recruiting more toads. Another mode, dubbed asynchronous multiplayer mode, enables players to compete against a ghost replay of another player's level runs, which are plucked from their World Tour mode.
Overall, "Super Mario Run" captures a huge part of the fun side of Mario, according to The Verge. However, it is an imperfect adaptation of Mario games on smartphones. The game's limited control plays a huge part in cutting back on the player's experience.
Besides having an excellent tour mode, signature Nintendo art, and being easy to pick up and play, "Super Mario Run" has its bothersome shortcomings. The most extreme ones are that it constantly needs an internet connection and has a tedious Kingdom Builder mode.
Watch the video below for another review of "Super Mario Run":