Mario Fandom Levels Up at Latest Nintendo Direct
Nintendo’s latest Direct has fans shouting LET’S-A-GO!
Back in 2011, Nintendo began using the internet to host mini-conferences to show off its newest announcements. Nintendo Directs are a staple of the company’s advertising and tend to be a huge hit with fans. This is the first one in a long time that didn’t have fans desperately waiting on Smash Bros or even Legend of Zelda news. With those out of the way, everyone’s favorite plumber and supporting cast made it their time to shine.
LET’S-A-GO!
Super Mario RPG Remake
One of the greatest RPGs Square ever made was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Released in 1996 for Super Nintendo/Famicom, the game had Mario and his supporting cast facing off against the Smithy Gang. It also introduced two new fan favorites named Mallow and Geno, who never really got used all that much again. The game is a classic and for a while was tough to legally own till the Wii Virtual Console and SNES Mini.
The game is being remade for the Nintendo Switch and looks beautifully recreated with even some of the awkward animations when exploring the world from the original game intact. The whole thing is available for digital preorder now on the Nintendo Switch Store and will be out on November 17th.
Untitled Peach Game and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
The next announcements are still in development, so there is no current release info for either of them. Nintendo announced that Princess Peach would be getting her own game for the third time since Super Princess Peach in 2006. The small footage shows her on a theater stage without her crown and attacking with what appears to be a ribbon. She then transforms with the help of some kind of star wearing a bow dress but it cuts before we find out what is happening. Nintendo had nothing more to say on it and will share more info later down the line.
via Nintendo Direct
The other thing in development is a rerelease on the Nintendo Switch of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. The game was first released in 2013 for Nintendo 3DS and was the direct sequel to 2001’s Luigi’s Mansion. The plot was there is a special crystal called the Dark Moon that has an effect that calms down ghosts in Evershade Valley. After being mysteriously shattered, Professor Egad once again calls upon Luigi to use the Poltergust to save the day by collecting the shards and defeating whoever destroyed the Dark Moon.
Unlike its first game and follow-up, it was all level-based instead of being one large building to catch ghosts since it was on a handheld. Nintendo recently closed the 3DS shop, so rereleasing the game outside of the 3DS is a no-brainer. They have no info on the release for it at the moment and will reveal more later down the line. Fingers crossed they will also rerelease the updated Luigi’s Mansion 1 that was on 3DS.
via Nintendo
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC
Nintendo showed off the launch trailer for its latest DLC for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope called “The Last Spark Hunter.” Mario and his friends go to Melodic Gardens, a world full of music, to face off against new enemies, Kanya, and Mecha-Rabbid King Bob-omb. The DLC is out now and can be purchased with the Season Pass or separately on the Nintendo Switch store.
The latest wave for the Booster Course Pass will be adding a brand new course called Squeaky Clean Sprint that takes place in an oversized bathroom for racers to compete in. Along with the new course, they will be adding Petey Piranha, Wiggler, and Kamek to the roster. All 3 of them have been in a Mario Kart game at some point with this being Kamek’s first time not on mobile.
The DLC currently only has a release window of Summer 2023 and is a part of the Booster Course Pass that can be purchased separately or accessed for free with the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.
WarioWare: Move It!
WarioWare is back and Wario can’t wait to take players mon… I mean provide players with brand new microgames. WarioWare: Move It! is set to feature over 200 minigames for up to 2-4 players to play together in various modes.
The game will rely heavily on motion controls, so be prepared to shake your body like you are at a club to win the various challenges Wario has in store this time around. The game is currently up for digital preorder on the Nintendo Switch store for release on November 3rd.
Super Mario Bros Wonder
The last thing in the Direct was a brand new side-scrolling Super Mario Bros game called Super Mario Bros Wonder. The game’s art style is so different from everything before it with updated animations for running, going through pipes, and more for Mario. The trailer also shows off that up to 4 players can play with more playable characters than ever before. The current confirmed ones from the trailer are:
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Daisy
- Toad
- 4 Different Colored Yoshis
The trailer also showed off new enemies and mechanics like gliding with your hat and Koopas on roller skates. The most interesting things shown were the new power-ups in the game. One was a fun-looking special Elephant fruit that transforms Mario into an Elephant that can kick enemies. The other, most fun one, is a crazy-looking starry blue flower called the “Wonder Flower” that transforms the level into some really out-of-this-world-looking area with new mechanics like crawling pipes and “long Mario.”
The game is up for digital preorder on the Nintendo Switch store and is set to release on October 20th.
Super Mario is the Mickey Mouse of Nintendo and it is always great to see that they are ready to give gamers more games to share with their family and friends. They are exactly the all-ages kind of thing Nintendo does better than anyone, I can’t wait to play them all!
“Thank you for calling Super Mario Brothers Plumbing! It’s-a me, Luigi!” – Luigi, The Super Mario Bros Movie
