The wait is finally over for all Android folks out there. Nintendo has now confirmed that the much-anticipated Android version of Super Mario Run is hitting the Play Store on March 23.
Super Mario Run Runs Toward Android On March 23
The news will definitely feed to the fanfare of all Android users who were excluded from playing the endless runner when it was only released for iOS back in mid-December. It's also been a while since Nintendo opened the Android version to pre-registration, leaving players on speculation territory during the whole impasse.
Super Mario Run is Nintendo's first ever Mario game for smartphones. The developers refined some of the game's core mechanics to better fit into control schemes available on the mobile platform.
As such, Mario maker Shigeru Miyamoto turned the classic side-scrolling platformer into an endless runner. Players control Mario as he jumps, vaults, slides, rolls, and performs a number of acrobatics while automatically running through levels. This way, people can play Super Mario Run with one hand while holding the overhead rails of a train, eating a hamburger with the free hand, as Miyamoto himself puts it, and more.
Android version of #SuperMarioRun will be available on 3/23 with the Ver.2.0.0 update! Pre-register now: https://t.co/dAxzTlppnG pic.twitter.com/nQ0T4znOBt
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 18, 2017
Irregardless of the new control scheme, Super Mario Run still features the familiar visual style and masterful level design past Mario outings have heralded. It's unsurprisingly another masterstroke by none other than Miyamoto.
Super Mario Run For iOS Gets Updated
With the release of Super Mario Run on Android on March 23, an updated version of the game on iOS will also be rolled out, carrying version number 2.0.0, according to Polygon's report. This will add new playable characters to the game. Additionally, for players who haven't purchased the whole Super Mario Run package, participating in one of Bowser's challenges in the free version will unlock World 1-4.
Super Mario Run, as previously mentioned, is a game built for touchscreens. It comes with 24 levels via the World Tour mode, and it features wacky multiplayer challenges via the Toad Rally mode. Finally, with the Kingdom Builder, players can collect items and use them to decorate their custom Mushroom Kingdom inside the game.
Super Mario Run is free-to-play and comes with three free levels. There is, however, a one-time $9.99 in-app purchase that will unlock everything.
Upon release, Super Mario Run garnered commercial and critical acclaim, though its relatively short length and endless running schtick were fodder for some lukewarm criticism. Still, the game shot up the charts almost immediately. It has now garnered over 78 million downloads as of February.
Super Mario Run is Nintendo's second app released for mobile devices overall following the initially popular but eventually short-lived Miitomo, though that isn't a game per se. There are now three Nintendo games on mobile including Fire Emblem Heroes, which was released in February. Nintendo's foray into the mobile gaming market has long been anticipated. The company had once been adamant to break into the smartphone audience.
Be on the lookout for Super Mario Run's imminent arrival on the Play Store.
Thrilled about Super Mario Run finally arriving for all Android users? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
