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All Articles: Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo Switch Online (and its downloadable bundle of NES games) is now available
Nintendo launched their Nintendo Switch Online service yesterday, which means that subscribers now have access to Online Play, Cloud Saves, and that downloadable bundle of 20 NES games.
Online Play was previously available for free as Nintendo has spent the last 18 months preparing for the launch of Nintendo Switch Online, but its now locked behind a subscription, though one that’s much cheaper ($3.99 for one month, $7.99 for three months, $19.99 for 12 months, or $34.99 for a “Family” membership) than Sony’s PS Plus or Microsoft’s XBL Gold.
But the real draw might be the downloadable NES bundle, which currently includes Balloon Fight, Baseball, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Ice Hockey, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Pro Wrestling, River City Ransom, Soccer, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl, Tennis, and Yoshi.
Yes, we’ve played all these games many times before, but Nintendo will regularly add to this library of games, and nine more will be available by the end of the year. NES Open Tournament Golf, Solomon’s Key, and Super Dodge Ball will be added to the service in October, with Metroid, Mighty Bomb Jack, and TwinBee to follow in November, and Adventures of Lolo, Ninja Gaiden, and Wario’s Woods in December.
Nintendo Switch Online subscribers at the 12-Month or Family levels will also receive a download code that can be exchanged for exclusive in-game Splatoon 2 gear based on the jerseys worn by GG BoyZ, the winning team at the 2018 Splatoon 2 World Championship. And all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will be able to pre-order a pair of wireless Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers from Nintendo.com for $59.99.
More information about Nintendo Switch Online can found after the break, and a seven-day free trial is also available through the Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Splatoon 2, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo Switch Online service coming in September with NES Library, Cloud Saves, online play, more
Nintendo has announced the first official details for their Nintendo Switch Online service, which we now know will go live in September 2018. As expected, the service will be priced at $20 per month, though “$4 for One Month” and “$8 for Three Months” plans will also be available. A Family Membership (12 Months for $35) will include access to the Nintendo Switch Online service for up to eight Nintendo Account holders.
We already knew the basics of Nintendo’s service, and the consolemaker reconfirmed that Switch owners will need to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online service if they wish to play online. But also revealed that the service will include an option for Save Data Cloud Backup, giving Switch owners the chance to “retrieve their data if they lose, break, or purchase an additional Nintendo Switch system.”
But I think that most Switch owners will list the NES Library as the biggest perk of the Nintendo Switch Online service. The NES Library will initially launch with access to 20 games, and more will be added on a regular basis. For now, Nintendo has announced that subscribers will be able to play Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Soccer, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Tennis. Best of all, all games will include a Spectator Mode, as well as online competitive or co-op multiplayer (if the original game offered multiplayer options, of course). The other ten titles as part of the NES Library’s launch will be revealed at a later date.
If this sounds like a rebranded “Virtual Console,” you’re not far off. After making this announcement, Nintendo reached out to Kotaku to confirm that the “Virtual Console” branding won’t be used on the Switch. Instead, games from previous Nintendo consoles will be offered through Nintendo Switch Online, individually through the eShop (like Sega and Hamster are doing), or in packaged collections (like Capcom is doing with the Mega Man franchise):
“There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch, such as through Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo eShop or as packaged collections,” the Nintendo spokesperson said. “Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online will provide a fun new way to experience classic NES games that will be different from the Virtual Console service, thanks to enhancements such as added online play, voice chat via the Nintendo Switch Online app and the various play modes of Nintendo Switch.”
It’s currently unknown if Nintendo will add other platforms to Nintendo Switch Online’s playable library of games, but hopefully they’ll have more to say about the service at this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Dr. Mario, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo details Switch online service and Netflix-like subscription for classic games
Late last night, Nintendo unveiled the first concrete of the Switch’s online service… which will be known as Nintendo Switch Online.
Set to launch sometime in 2018, Nintendo Switch Online’s main purpose is to give Switch owners the ability to play online multiplayer matches against other people. But until Nintendo Switch Online launches, the consoles’s online multiplayer options will be available for free.
However, Nintendo will also offer a variety of eShop Deals to Switch Online subscribers, as well as access to the Classic Game Selection, a Netflix-like selection of downloadable classics. The first batch of games will include Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario, and Switch owners will also be able to play Classic Game Selection titles online with their friends. More titles will be added to the service after it launches.
Nintendo later clarified to Kotaku that Switch owners will have “ongoing access” to the retro titles in the Classic Game Selection, and that, “Users can play as many of the games as they want, as often as they like, as long as they have an active subscription.”
Voice chat and friend list features for the Nintendo Switch Online will be handled through a dedicated mobile app. Switch owners will be able to try out a “limited version” of Nintendo’s new communication tool this Summer.
If this all sounds very similar to Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus, I’m sure that’s by design. But Nintendo’s Switch Online service will be considerably cheaper. Players will be able to sign up for a full year for $19.99, and short-term tiers offering one month ($3.99) or three months ($7.99) of service will also be available.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Super Mario Bros. 3
The Video Game Canon: Super Mario Bros. 3
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at Mario’s actorly ambitions in Super Mario Bros. 3. Here’s a teaser…
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
– As You Like It, Act II Scene VII
Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom cohorts have held a surprising number of occupations over the years. In addition to his plumbing business and the hero-for-hire game, Mario has been employed as a multi-sport athlete, a race car driver, a referee, a dancer, an artist, a virologist, and a typing tutor. He’s practically done it all, and I think only political office has eluded him. I guess that’s the trouble with monarchies.
Bouncing from genre to genre like that is usually considered a liability for other game characters. As sublimely silly as the idea seems, no one wants to see Kratos squeezed into a go-kart. And yet, fans readily accept Mario’s multitasking, and many of his spinoff adventures are now more popular than some of the franchise’s traditional platformers. There’s a strong possibility this all stems from the fact that Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, designed the character this way from the beginning.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in 3DS, Features, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Bros. 3
Colbert kicks off Summer Games Done Quick 2016 by pitting a SMB3 speedrunner versus relay runners and a Hot Pocket
If you don’t have the stomach for the Nathan’s Hog Dog Eating Contest this July 4th, maybe Stephen Colbert can interest you in Summer Games Done Quick 2016…
On Friday’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert welcomed Mitch “MitchFlowerPower” Fowler, a speedrunner who’ll be competing in the charity gaming marathon later this week. To kick things off in appropriately goofy fashion, the host asked Mitch to pit his Super Mario Bros. 3 prowess in a “3-Legged Race” against the Columbia University 4×400 relay team and a microwave timer manned by his own Hot Pocket-stained fingers.
Marvel as Mitch nails a flawless running jump to grab the Leaf in the first Fortress. Whoop it up when Colbert plays through the pain after burning the roof of his mouth on a Hot Pocket. And calmly watch as the Columbia track team circles the track with nary a lion nor Terminator in sight.
Ready… Set… Press Play… to see who wins when three elite competitors go head-to-head-to-head.
Summer Games Done Quick 2016 begins today and will continue through July 9. All proceeds from the charity event will benefit Doctors Without Borders, and you can follow all the action by visiting the Games Done Quick website.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo Download: Minecraft: Story Mode, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, SMB3 GBA, more
It’s going to be a busy busy time for Nintendo fans this weekend as the latest Nintendo Download includes a pair of hotly-anticipated new titles and a different pair of reborn classics.
Let’s start with the new, as Telltale brings their episodic magic to a Nintendo console for the first time in a long time with the release of Minecraft: Story Mode. The first episode, The Order of the Stone, is now available to download through the Wii U eShop and Wii U owners will finally get their chance to craft a new adventure with Jesse and his friends while also possibly saving the world. Also available this week is Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, the latest Mario RPG from Nintendo. Paper Jam will merge “two classic gaming universes” when its added to the 3DS eShop tomorrow.
However, if you’re looking for a game that has received a seal of approval from the gaming public, you can always turn to this week’s Virtual Console re-releases. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaros’ Treasure are both available to download for the Wii U today, bringing an enhanced version of Mario’s greatest adventure (along with the hard-to-find e-Reader-exclusive levels) and a pirate tale from Capcom to the Wii U for the first time.
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Minecraft: Story Mode, Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo Download: Super Mario Bros. 3, Lego The Hobbit, Golden Sun, more
Retro gaming fans will find a lot to like in this week’s Nintendo Download. Two more Game Boy Advance titles (the RPG Golden Sun and the futuristic racer F-Zero: Maximum Velocity) have made their way onto the Wii U eShop. They’re joined by one of the greatest games of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3. Mario’s third adventure will be available as separate downloads through both the Wii U eShop and the 3DS eShop.
Also available this week is the Wii U edition of Lego The Hobbit. The tie-in game will be available for Nintendo’s home console on Tuesday, April 22, just a few weeks after the Blu-ray/DVD release of the second movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Finally this week, a quartet of additional titles were added to Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS eShops. You can find more information on all of this week’s new game downloads after the break. Also, FYI, one of the Wii U’s best launch titles, ZombiU, has received a permanent price cut this week. The game, which was previously priced at $59.99, can now be had for $29.99. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Lego The Hobbit, Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo to add Super Mario Bros. 3, GBA classics to Virtual Console in April
Super Mario Bros. 3, one of the greatest games of all time, will soon be available to download through the Virtual Console on the Wii U and 3DS. It’ll be released next month alongside the first Game Boy Advance games to be added to the Wii U eShop.
Advance Wars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Metroid Fusion will kick things off on April 3. They will be joined on the Wii U eShop by a least one new GBA game every week for the entire month. Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! will follow on April 10, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity and Golden Sun can be downloaded beginning April 17, and Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 completes the first wave of GBA on Wii U games on April 24.
Like all Virtual Console titles on the Wii U, each game will include Off-TV Play and a Restore Point feature to save your progress. Miiverse functionality will also be included.
More details and pricing information for all of these titles can be found after the break. Yes, even for Super Mario Bros. 3. Though, if you need more information on Super Mario Bros. 3, I want to see the rock you’ve been living under, it must be impressive. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Bros. 3