Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary
Nintendo celebrated 35 years of Super Mario from September 2020 to March 2021.
The Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary marked the franchise's start with Shigeru Miyamoto's original 1985 game. Announced via a September 2020 Nintendo Direct, the event lasted until March 2021. It honored a series spanning over twenty titles across all major Nintendo consoles.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 3 September 2020, 31 March 2021
- Motive
- 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series
- Organizers
- Nintendo
Facts from the source article.
History
The Super Mario franchise began in 1985, when Shigeru Miyamoto created Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in other regions. That game was a hit with critics and buyers, leading to two additional sequels on the NES. In 1990, Super Mario World arrived for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, moving the series from 8-bit to 16-bit visuals and introducing Yoshi, who became a recurring character. Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in 1996, shifting the gameplay into 3D.
It earned widespread critical praise and is frequently cited as a major influence on the gaming industry. That 3D approach was later expanded in Super Mario Sunshine (2002) for the GameCube and Super Mario Galaxy (2007) for the Wii. Since then, more than twenty Mario titles have been released, alternating between 2D and 3D styles, with at least one appearing on every major Nintendo console.
The series first marked an anniversary in 2005, celebrating 20 years. In late July of that year, Nintendo announced that Mario Tennis: Power Tour and Dr. Mario & Puzzle League would launch in Japan on September 13, alongside a Famicom Mini version of Super Mario Bros. for the Game Boy Advance. A special Game Boy Micro was also released, designed to resemble a Famicom controller.
The 25th anniversary came in 2010. A limited edition of Super Mario All-Stars, bundled with a CD and an artbook, was released for the Wii under the title Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition. Additional Mario titles were reprinted for sale at Toys "R" Us. Limited edition consoles were made for the Wii and the DSi, with the DSi version offered as a promotion through Japanese 7-Eleven stores. An event at the Nintendo World Store in New York City featured Shigeru Miyamoto and former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé cutting a cake decorated with scenes from Super Mario Bros. levels.
Games
Rumors of a new Paper Mario game surfaced on March 30, with Eurogamer and Video Games Chronicle reporting it would "return to the franchise's roots" and feel more like the first two entries. The game, later titled Paper Mario: The Origami King, was originally slated for an E3 2020 reveal alongside other anniversary titles, but those plans were split off, partly because Nintendo shifted to working from home. On May 14, Nintendo announced the game with a standalone trailer on YouTube, followed by a second trailer on June 12 that showed more gameplay. It launched worldwide on July 17.
In the story, Mario and Luigi head to Princess Peach's castle for the "Origami Festival," only to find it's a trap set by King Olly, an origami being. Peach has been turned into origami, and Bowser is captured and forced to watch his minions become Folded Soldiers. Mario teams up with a new partner, Olivia, to explore five regions of the Mushroom Kingdom, aiming to rescue Peach and stop Olly from folding everyone into his army.
The gameplay blends action-adventure exploration in a linear open world. Mario uses tools like the Confetti Bag and 1000-Fold Arms to solve puzzles and move forward. Battles are turn-based, with Mario lining up enemies on a circular grid before attacking. He can also temporarily team up with partners such as Bobby the Bob-omb, Professor Toad, and Kamek.
Critics received The Origami King more warmly than its predecessors, Sticker Star and Color Splash, praising its storytelling, worldbuilding, and open-world design. However, it faced criticism for moving away from the battle systems of older Paper Mario games, especially by removing experience points. Despite this, it sold well, becoming the second best-selling Paper Mario title after Super Paper Mario.
Merchandise
Nintendo and the Lego Group joined forces in March 2020 to create a new building toy line called Lego Super Mario for the character's 35th anniversary. This line blends a video game with a construction set, featuring an electronic Mario figure that reads barcodes on brick-built items like Warp Pipes and ? Blocks, triggering sound effects as players move through side-scrolling levels. The collection includes 11 standard sets, four packs that change the Mario figure's appearance, and a series of 10 blind bags containing enemy characters.
All of these launched on August 1, 2020. That same July, Nintendo showed off a separate Lego set: a miniature Nintendo Entertainment System and a replica CRT television that plays Super Mario Bros. Although not part of the Lego Super Mario theme, the two sets can work together. Placing the Mario figure on top of the TV and turning a crank makes the figure produce sound effects. This set also came out on August 1, 2020.
In April 2020, Uniqlo and Levi both announced Mario-themed clothing. Uniqlo offered a line of T-shirts featuring Mario, with one notable shirt showing a timeline of mainline Mario games. Levi released a wider range, including hats, overalls, tops, and hoodies, all decorated with Super Mario characters. During a Nintendo Direct, two more clothing partners were revealed: Black Milk, which makes women's clothing and launched its Mario line on October 6, 2020, and Puma, which put out basketball shoes inspired by Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.
Hasbro also got involved, announcing in July 2020 that it would release Mario-themed versions of Jenga and Monopoly the following month, each with special Mario-style twists. Jakks Pacific sold many Mario character figurines throughout the year, including a 12-inch tall Mario figure that plays sounds and music. When Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury was announced, extra details confirmed that Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibo would launch alongside the game.
Events and partnerships
The 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. was marked by a series of events and partnerships that were reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, originally scheduled to open in early 2020 alongside the Tokyo Summer Olympics, was postponed to 2021. A Mario-themed store and cafe at the same park opened on October 16, offering merchandise and food like pancakes and power-up-shaped smoothies. Construction on a similar park in Universal Hollywood began in August 2020.
Nintendo also reopened its New York store after lockdown and vandalism, releasing additional Mario merchandise. On September 13, Nintendo launched two websites in Japan for Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, allowing fans to view game overviews and download original instruction manuals. Special Mario animations were commissioned for JR East trains, featuring weekly random trivia questions that change each Monday. Cold Stone Creamery partnered with Nintendo from September 30 to December 15, 2020, offering three Mario-inspired desserts: a Rainbow Road ice cream cake, ice cream in a Super Mario Odyssey cup, and a rainbow star milkshake.
In November, Nintendo collaborated with Amazon to randomly include Super Mario themed boxes in customer orders. Several Nintendo games hosted anniversary-related in-game events. Animal Crossing: New Horizons added Super Mario items in March 2021. Splatoon 2 held a Splatfest in January 2021 themed around Super Mushrooms versus Super Stars.
Mario Kart Tour introduced Mario and Donkey Kong Jr. in their original 16-bit sprites from Super Mario Kart. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate featured a Super Mario tournament in December and an Origami King spirit event. Super Mario Maker 2 offered special Ninji speedruns.
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