Super Mario Run First Impressions

Super MARIO run has just released (for iOS) and already it's at the top of the charts. Unfortunately after some time playing the game becomes a little bit boring only offering a challenge when trying to collect all the special coins within the level.

The game only becomes a lot more fun once you pay the $9.99 to unlock the rest of the levels. It was a bit disappointing playing the first 3 levels and then hitting the paywall hard when trying to advance to the very first castle. It's a shame Nintendo doesn't offer the complete first world for free. I feel like that alone will turn off a lot of people who want to keep playing.

 It's not all bad though. So far the game is enjoyable if you want a quick distraction and the music is truly enjoyable since it's straight from the console games. I found myself spending a good amount of time trying to get all the special coins within the free levels. Toad Rally is surprisingly fun and it adds some great competition to the game. Toad Rally earns you toads that come live in your kingdom and the more toads you have the higher level your kingdom becomes. Here is where the paywall becomes even more apparent as it seems in order to get different colored toads you need to progress through more worlds to unlock them. Unfortunately that's also how you unlock characters. In order to unlock Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, and Toadette you need to collect enough different colored toads.

Overall my first impression of this game is a little lackluster. The game is fun for what it is and Nintendo deserve some praise as they have managed to create something people will enjoy. I will in the near future shelve out the money to unlock the full game and spend more time with that before I give it a full review but for now I would recommend Super Mario Run to anyone who is looking for a good and quick time killer. Only time will tell if this is a great step in the right direction for Nintendo's journey through smartphone gaming.

-Nestor