Super Mario Bros. 35

 Switch
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 88
  3. Negative: 11 out of 88

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  1. Magc
    Oct 22, 2020
    7
    Super Mario 35th in a nutshell is if you mix Tetris99 (Nintendo Switch) and Super Mario Bros (Nes), Mario 35th is passable. Mario 35th the things I liked is that it controlls very simillar to the orirginal Super Mario Bros (Nes), Its a perfect game to stream, play it if you have Switch Online, is it worth it to buy a switch online just to play it no only if you love Tetris99 and Super Mario Bros
  2. nusco
    Oct 2, 2020
    5
    I respect Nintendo because they love experiments. Some experiments, however, should stay on the drawing board. One of those is Super Mario Bros. 35, an 8-bit peg awkwardly hammered into a battle royale hole.

    This game is an attempt to bottle the magic of Tetris 99. This time, however, the concept falls flat. SMB35 doesn't know what it wants to be. An exercise in nostalgia for people who    I respect Nintendo because they love experiments. Some experiments, however, should stay on the drawing board. One of those is Super Mario Bros. 35, an 8-bit peg awkwardly hammered into a battle royale hole.

    This game is an attempt to bottle the magic of Tetris 99. This time, however, the concept falls flat. SMB35 doesn't know what it wants to be. An exercise in nostalgia for people who grew up with the NES? A challenge for competitive players? A call to action for speedrunners? It's all of those things, but they're all getting in the way of each other.

    For example: one of the joys of good multiplayer games is their forgiveness: a mistake is an opportunity for a glorious comeback. But at its heart, the first Super Mario is a cruelly unforgiving game from the 80s, where a missed jump can instakill you. So in SMB35 you can play great, only to get kicked out because of a single misstep.

    Even games that are not forgiving, like Fortnite, give you an opportunity to spectate games when you get kicked out. Spectating games in SMB35, however, only makes its flaws more obvious. Once the bottom-tier players have killed themselves by jumping in a pit, and the medium-tier players have eventually been sieved out, a small bunch of Super Mario veterans gets stuck into a boring tug-of-war. They know every secret block and hidden passage, and are used to cope with the game's infamous inertia since they were in primary school. They go on and on, until one of them runs out of time, or makes a fatal mistake. It's extraordinary unexciting to watch, and it doesn't make you want to get better at the game. Sure, you might put in the effort to become a Super Mario Bros master. But why, when you could play a modern Mario game instead, or a modern battle royale?

    When I heard that SMB35 it's a limited-time release, I was disappointed. I don't like Nintendo's trend of creating artificial scarcity by taking games off the market. In the case of this game, however, I don't think that I'll miss when it's gone. It sure looked like a good idea on paper, but it's too awkward in practice.    … Expand
  3. TheQuietGamer
    Feb 28, 2021
    7
    A 35-player battle royale game where you play the original Super Mario Bros. The twist being that you're racing against a shortened timer and every enemy you kill gets sent to another player's screen while adding precious seconds to the clock. It's an addictive test of your platforming skills that breathes new life into an old classic.

    Everything isn't perfect though. There are some    A 35-player battle royale game where you play the original Super Mario Bros. The twist being that you're racing against a shortened timer and every enemy you kill gets sent to another player's screen while adding precious seconds to the clock. It's an addictive test of your platforming skills that breathes new life into an old classic.

    Everything isn't perfect though. There are some questionable design decisions. For example, unlocking new levels for your rotation in subsequent matches requires you to both reach and complete them. Not an easy task due to the increased number of foes being thrown at you by your opponents, and the fact that you only have one life before it's game over. Even after getting a few extra stages to choose from, I would still regularly find myself getting caught in a loop of worlds 1-1 and 1-2 ad nauseum.

    The reason this is a problem is because, while skill will still ultimately win the day, it puts newer, less experienced players at a disadvantage. Those who have made it farther can naturally send the Mushroom Kingdom's most dangerous inhabitants (including BOWSER!) at their opponents, while only receiving measly Goombas in retaliation. Plus, in a platforming game where practice makes perfect and a simple mistake can spell your doom, not having the ability to replay later sections with ease makes filling out the level list a daunting task, which causes the overall game to feel more repetitive than it should as a result.

    Still, it's easy to get hooked despite seeing the same content over and over again. The competitive spin really reinvigorates the legendary NES title for a new generation in a creative, trendy way. All the while adding a level of nail-biting tension, challenge, and excitement that had me saying "just one more match" more times than I can count. Not least of all because developer Arika made it faster to jump right into another game than any other battle royale I've played. I was also amazed by how well things like the retro level design hold up after all these years. The only aspect that comes off as dated outside of the graphics (which was to be expected) is having to use the D-pad to move instead of the analog sticks.

    It's a little sad that 35 won't be around past March of 2021. Because while its progression system doesn't offer much incentive to stick around, the sheer novelty of what it's doing alone would likely be enough to carry it for at least a few years. Personally I recommend checking it out before it disappears for good. The fact that it's free with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription that you're likely paying for anyways means you won't have lost anything by giving it a shot even if you end up not liking it for its faults.

    7.5/10    … Expand
  4. IkOzael
    Jan 3, 2021
    5
    If only Nintendo gave as much of a **** about Super Mario 3D All-Stars when compared to the emulated versions of those games. I guess it didn't matter since they know it was gonna be easy money. Oh wait, SMB35 has its flaws too.

    Even though it's limited, why not add SMB 2 an' SMB 3 for variety? Also, no kinda interaction with the other players aside from gameplay. Can't create a room    If only Nintendo gave as much of a **** about Super Mario 3D All-Stars when compared to the emulated versions of those games. I guess it didn't matter since they know it was gonna be easy money. Oh wait, SMB35 has its flaws too.

    Even though it's limited, why not add SMB 2 an' SMB 3 for variety? Also, no kinda interaction with the other players aside from gameplay. Can't create a room with 34 other friends? Maybe with some variable rule settings? Stuff like that? That's just me, I guess. I ain't surprised that it's gonna go away though; online has NEVER been a thing Nintendo could do. They have the though process of a hermit when it comes to that and many other things. Then again, it prolly has nothin' to do with that at all and is simply temporary with that Mario Anniversary thing being why it exists in the first place. Anyway, it's OK for a time waster.

    By the way... **** you, you damn well ripped off this idea from fans.    … Expand
  5. Pip_Penrod
    May 27, 2022
    7
    This is one of the greatest battle royals that I have ever played. Sure, it got repetitive, but it was still fun to pick up and play every once in a while. I am really sad that Nintendo shut it down.
  6. Maxdom77
    Jun 16, 2022
    7
    Le bajo un punto porque lo sacaron de la tienda para siempre, era buenisimo, lo mejor de jnintendo switch online, y lo sacaron como basura, ¿porque?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 28, 2021
    75
    Do you enjoy World 1-1 in the original Super Mario Bros. so much that you'd want to play it hundreds of times? If so, have I got the game for you! [Issue #49 – November/December 2020, p. 26]
  2. Ninty Fresh Magazine
    Dec 21, 2020
    80
    Like Tetris 99, Super Mario Bros. 35 is deviously addictive. It’s a clever revision of a classic, although more content may be required to sustain long-term interest. [Issue #2, p.77]
  3. CD-Action
    Dec 18, 2020
    80
    For the first time since forever, I feel like playing Super Mario Bros. again. The team at Arika added 34 other players, increased the number of mobs accordingly, made the player character a bit more powerful – and thus managed to turn rusty gameplay into gold. [12/2020, p.39]
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