Mario Reviews
Review Mario Tennis (GBC) - Camelot's Ace Little Tennis RPG Is Hard To Fault
Courts of appeal
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's Game Boy (Color) library via Nintendo Switch Online. For whatever its name is worth, Mario Tennis doesn’t feature a lot of the red guy — at least at first. That may come as an initial disappointment to...
To the Vector go the spoils
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang cruelly overlooked for some reason, fans of the Mario & Sonic series haven’t had a new entry for nearly four years now. Given that the 2020 Olympic Games are being held in Tokyo, the home of video games, it would have been truly bizarre for Sega to pass on that one too...
Review Arcade Archives Mario Bros. (Switch eShop)
Sibling rivalry
While we Switch owners continue to cross our arms and stamp our feet as we wait impatiently for the merest sniff of news regarding a Virtual Console service, it’s worth noting that Nintendo has given the nod for something that could be of greater importance to those with a keen interest in the company’s past. Hamster...
Review Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)
Taking home the bronze
Although carnivale looms neon bright on the horizon, the party may already be winding down for Sonic and Mario. From snowy peaks to sandy shores, these former rivals are back for another collection of sporting mini-games in celebration of the Rio 2016 Olympics, and while they won't have to deal with the political turmoil or...
Review Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (Wii U eShop / DS)
Going for a slam dunk
From his first venture into Karting through to competing in the Olympics, Mario has been spending plenty of time taking part in activities other than Princess saving. In 2007 (European release) Mario and his mates tried their hands at shooting a few hoops on Nintendo DS in Mario Slam Basketball (aka Mario Hoops 3-on-3 in the...
Review Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. (3DS)
This Mario mashup is a real jam
Though it came as a bit of a surprise, quietly tucked away into Nintendo's Digital Event during E3 earlier this year, fans of RPG silliness have been anticipating the crossover of a lifetime since the announcement of AlphaDream's latest adventure. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. (known simply as Mario & Luigi:...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (Wii U eShop / DS)
A toy story
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is the Nintendo DS sequel to the original GBA classic and a new recruit to the ever-growing Wii U Virtual Console library. Rather than being more of the same platforming puzzle action, Nintendo chose to focus this entire game around what is but a small percentage of the previous game - the...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Prophesizing the amiiboom
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is interesting in that it's the only game in the Mario vs DK franchise (to date) that actually allows the player to control Mario; indeed this was originally planned to be a sequel to 1994's Donkey Kong on Game Boy, so arguably those two have more in common than the other games in the series. Mario vs...
Review Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time (Wii U eShop / DS)
Fun for all ages
It takes quite a lot of star power to be able to co-star with yourself in something. The upcoming Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is set to show that our favourite plumbers are not lacking in this department, but it's not the first time developer AlphaDream has pulled a similar gimmick! For that we should look to Mario & Luigi:...
Review New Super Mario Bros. (Wii U eShop / DS)
LittleBigKingdom
When New Super Mario Bros. released for the Nintendo DS back in 2006, it had been roughly 15 years since the portly plumber starred in a proper 2D platformer. Not only that, but side-scrollers in general had been largely ignored since 1996, when the Nintendo 64 hit the market and assured us that 3D gaming was the way of the future...
Review Super Mario Ball (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Balls to the wall
It's no secret that Nintendo's iconic red-wearing plumber has had a number of vocations. From referee to painter to kart racer to hotelier, Mario's been through a lot and shows no sign of actually doing some plumbing. Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at a game where he becomes a pinball. Super Mario Ball's plot revolves...
Review NES Open Tournament Golf (Wii U eShop / NES)
Par for the course
If there's one specific niche of which there is no longer any shortage, it's sports titles featuring Mario. The iconic plumber's unlikely prowess at just about any athletic challenge is now extensively and frequently documented, with the likes of Mario Tennis and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games gracing home consoles on a...
Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Wii U eShop / NES)
Super Masochist Bros.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the famously difficult, Japan-only sequel to the titular plumber's breakout NES hit, expanding on the original formula with deviously challenging level design and obstacles. Western audiences were instead given the comparatively easy 'Super Mario USA' (a re-skinned translation of Nintendo's...
Review Mario Bros. (3DS eShop / NES)
Subpar Mario
Mario and Luigi’s adventures have been nothing short of fantastical over the years, to the point where you could be forgiven for questioning their occupations as plumbers. But despite the brothers’ incredibly varied employment history as doctors, sportsmen and racing drivers — in which they’ve rarely called upon their supposed...
Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)
A truly super Mario game
Super Mario Bros. 3’s recent arrival on the Wii U eShop seemed like a conspicuously low-key affair compared to the considerable hype that surrounded its hugely anticipated original release back the early nineties. However, that doesn't mean that the lack of booming fanfare should be interpreted as a cause for concern; over...
Review Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS)
Rolling the dice
Back in 1999, Mario and his crew could have taught Prince a thing or two about how to celebrate the coming of a new millennium. Establishing itself as a mainstay on the Nintendo 64, the Mario Party series showed up three times to blister hands and bring friends and family together to yell at each other at the top of their lungs...
Review Super Mario Bros. (Wii U eShop / NES)
Forever running to the right
Mario. Say it loud and there's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying. Super Mario Bros. was, is, and will always be one of gaming's great masterpieces, and its availability on any additional format is a good thing. It's come to the Wii and 3DS Virtual Consoles before, and now jumps onto the Wii U...
Review Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS eShop / NES)
Sweet dreams are made of these
By now we all know the story of Super Mario Bros. 2: concerns about the Japanese sequel to the original Super Mario Bros. kept it from release in North America and Europe. Different reasons have been given over time, from the game being too difficult to it simply not demonstrating enough creativity to keep gamers...
Review Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS)
A never-ending dream
If there was more justice in the world, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team — or Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. as it's known in Europe — would enjoy the same level of hype and anticipation as some of its prestigious predecessors on the 3DS in 2013. And yet, rather like its snoozy subject matter, it drifts into view on a...
Review Wrecking Crew (Wii U eShop / NES)
It's wrecking time!
Mario's claim to fame has often been jumping; a simple skill, but unfailingly entertaining. It can be tough to remember a time when he traded high-flying acrobatics for a hammer and an insatiable appetite for destruction, but that's exactly the case in Wrecking Crew. Smashing things to bits is the straightforward goal, but...
Review Mario Bros. (Wii U eShop / NES)
Definitely not super
If you've ever been curious about Mario and Luigi's actual credibility as plumbers, you'll want to look all the way back to 1983's Mario Bros., the game which established pipe-cleaning as their true vocation and served as something of a bridge between arcade sensation Donkey Kong and early platforming masterpiece Super Mario...
Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (3DS eShop / NES)
Lost levels = lost sanity
It's a story so well known now that we'll just summarise it for you: what is now known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was actually released in Japan as the sequel to enduring classic Super Mario Bros. Western gamers instead received the subconscious vegetable buffet that we more traditionally think of as Super Mario...
Review Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Mario + RPG = WIN!
What do you get when one of the best RPG creators in the world decides to build an RPG around one of the most recognizable video game characters in history? What you get is a video game that is considered one of the greatest ever made and an RPG that's not only unique, but extremely playable as well. Many were skeptical when the...
