Short Version: I love it, but it’s too short. I think it plays pretty well and has that authentic Nintendo feel, but there is too little content here for me to recommend it for $10, especially in an environment where people are used to things costly way less than that. I say you download the demo and see how you like it, but I can assure that it is of great quality and really fun to play, even though there are also many things that upset me about it. I suggest you wait for a sale.

Long Version: I wonder if someday people will look at Super Mario Run’s release and see it as some sort of historic moment where Nintendo finally starting expanding their properties to other platforms other than their own consoles. “Where were you when Mario came out on phones?” is what I imagine people asking years down the line, along with thoughts of how the game actually turned out. I have these thoughts because I feel concerned over the sheer amount of indifference people seem to feel towards this game. As far as I have been able to see, most people have played it and either gotten angry, indifferent or cynical over the business model. I can certainly agree to an extent, but I still found the game to be rather enjoyable, despite it’s borderline tragic decisions that hold the game back in such a sad way that makes me wonder what the hell Nintendo is thinking.

Let’s A Go Again!

For the uninitiated, let me roll it back a bit. Super Mario Run is the newest platforming game featuring Nintendo’s most popular property. What makes this special is that this game is available for smartphones and not a Nintendo-sanctioned console, which prior to Miitomo and Pokemon GO’s release, was completely unheard of. When playing, Mario is constantly running, and you progress by tapping the screen, which makes him jump around various platforms and enemies. Naturally, all of these levels are designed like the most recent New Super Mario Bros. games, featuring the typical grass, lava, airship levels and ghost houses that most Mario fans already know about, considering how they have been fed the same levels, enemies, bosses and much more for the past 30 years.

Even then, the level design is certainly of top-notch, Nintendo quality. The ingenious way that the levels are made and how they are traversed set it apart from any of the other mobile games of the “endless runner” genre, bringing a higher standard of quality and design to the platform. Tapping the screen is responsive and feels good to do when facing different levels. For all of these, there are special-colored coins that you can get, each color featuring a different, more difficult layout to that same level. This essentially gives you three levels in one, giving the player more replay value without having to necessarily play through the exact same level all over again. After getting used to the controls, everything will flow a lot more smoothly and you’ll feeling right at home with this new Mario game.

For A Plumber, He’s Pretty Clean

Don’t think that because this game is on phones that the quality went down. If anything, Super Mario Bros. has never looked this pretty, further aided by the mobile device/tablet’s high definition screen. All of the menus, along with their buttons and way of selecting through levels are all pleasant to the eye and easy to use. The clean aesthetic of this game never made me feel lost or intimidated about what I should be doing. The game does a really good job at guiding you through all of its features in a simple and approachable way, though it’s not that difficult to figure out on your own. Aside from the platforming game, you also have a Kingdom Builder, where you can use coins to buy buildings, plant life and other things in order to build up your kingdom. There doesn’t seem to be any particular goal you need to reach for this, and most of the items you buy won’t do anything, but I guess it’s a nice way to spend your coins if you ever need to.

Finally, you have the Toad Rally, in which you play through levels of the game along with someone else’s ghost online. The winner is decided by whoever can pull off the most tricks and collect the most coins. The reward is then a bunch of Toads that can level up your Kingdom for the ultimate goal of I have no idea. This is where I was having the most fun with Super Mario Run. Competing with others in order to beat them and build up my Toad count, simply for the satisfaction of having a higher number than everyone else. On top of that, the actual levels being played are different than the regular ones, so that’s more content that you’re getting into. All of these things are really fun, enjoyable and certainly feels like Nintendo, but as I say this, I get a haunting feeling in my back, almost like a ghost reminding me of tragedies. In that moment, I feel like I can’t ignore the game’s shortcomings either, which lead to the same conclusion that I had with my positive thoughts: it certainly feels like Nintendo.

Party Pooper

That’s one of the main problems with this game: it feels like the same song and dance as before. Considering how this is a brand new platform and a new opportunity to reach a new audience, you’d think that they would be more creative than to repurpose what they already had and simply make it playable on a phone. Other than the control scheme and some subtle changes to the level design, there’s nothing here that feels new, distinctive or creative. No new worlds, levels, bosses, or even characters to play with. None of you have to play the game in order to know everything about what this game has to offer in terms of creative contributions. Bowser kidnaps the princess, you jump on goombas, and the depressing epidemic of Toads that all of the most recent Mario games have had lately are still ever so present in this shining light of opportunity; tragically extinguished by fear, comfort zones and cynically charging too much money for something that didn’t seem to have all that much effort put into it.

Anyone can download it for free and play a handful of levels, but then you’ll have to spend $9.99 for the whole package. When putting in within the context of Nintendo and the overall console market, this is fairly cheap and seems like a good price, at least to me. However, when pinning it against a mobile phone backdrop, where the existence of $0.99 and free-to-play apps are the norm, Super Mario Run’s price tag sticks out like a sore thumb. Granted, there are many companies out there such as Square Enix, Capcom and others that have sold their games at similar prices and been fine, but for something as widely known as Nintendo, it would’ve probably been better to make a lower barrier of entry for their Mario’s mobile debut, then charge more for future games if the consumer’s good will is there. To make things worse, I personally don’t believe that the content available in this game is enough to make the $9.99 price worth it, even though I had a ton of fun with it.

An MIT Graduate Working At McDonald’s

Amidst the bland and directionless Kingdom Builder, the fun, but very limited Toad Rally, and the actual platforming game, there really isn’t much for anyone to sink their teeth into. I saved the princess in an afternoon and tried putting off this review for later, hoping that I would find something new to do if I played it for a little bit longer, but to no avail. All of it felt more like a $5 experience, rather than double the price that Nintendo asks of us, considering what content is present and what you actually bother to play with. To make matters worse, you have to be constantly connected online in order to be able to play, regardless of whether you’re interacting with the online elements of not. The reason for this is simply because Nintendo was afraid of piracy, so they decided to hamper the game in such a way that makes me tear my hair out over possibly one of the stupidest decisions they made with this game.

In the end, Super Mario Run is a fun game to play for the couple hours of content you’ll be able to play it for. If there is some sort of downloadable content in the future that adds more worlds and levels to the game, I’ll be more than happy to purchase them, but as it currently stands, this game is not worth the price point. You’d be better off downloading it for free and see how you like it before putting money on it, which unless there is a sale at some point, I don’t recommend you do. There are many things in this game that seems like a fresh, new and creative start for the Mario brand, but all of the horrible decisions made along with directionless features and 30+ years of recycled content, it feels like I’m looking at an MIT graduate student working at a McDonald’s, symbolizing the complete waste of potential in something so bright and exciting. If you have a friend that owns Super Mario Run, borrow their phone instead, rather than wasting the money yourself.