Wow. It seems as if hell as frozen over. I had a guy from Bob’s Discount Furniture come over to swap out my ottoman because it had a hole in it that I missed during the initial delivery. He started tearing apart the bubble wrap and then it happened—we both stared in shock as Super Mario displayed on my TV during Apple’s keynote. We both gazed in disbelief for a second and then looked at each other. Personally, I’d rather play a full fledged Mario titles on my 3DS or equivalent Nintendo system, but this man’s eyes light up and his smile was a mile wide.
So what is Super Mario Run? It’s an endless runner you can play with one hand. The core gameplay has you running to the right, tapping anywhere on the screen to make Mario jump, and avoiding enemies and obstacles until you reach the flagpole at the end of the level. There’s a second mode called Toad Rally, which has you competing against your friends online to get the highest score. You can also compete with other players online. In Toad Rally mode you’ll also be collecting coins and trying to impress toads who are watching you by performing difficult maneuvers until time runs out. One final mode lets you expand and decorate your Mushroom Kingdom with the coins you collect during playing.
Even better, the game won’t be free to play, so there is no need to worry about hitting a wall from in app purchases. Super Mario Run is launching first on iOS and with a TBD price. You’ll also be able to send Mario themed stickers in the Messages app when iOS 10 drops. I’m looking forward to a Mario game I can play with one hand when I have to stand on a crowded New York train. What do you think?
