Friday’s Nintendo Direct, the company’s regular promotional livestream, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the company’s legendary mascot. Mario is getting a new sports game for the Switch 2, a compilation of some of the best games in the series, a new Yoshi game and a new movie.
Sept. 13 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. and Nintendo has a lot planned for the following year, the company announced during Friday’s Nintendo Direct. For this anniversary, Nintendo is doing more than just a new game or two — a whole range of Mario content is heading our way.
The first big news for Mario during the event is a new movie. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will hit theaters next April, and it brings back the voice cast from the first movie, with Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.
Speaking of Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo will release a compilation of both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which were both first released on the Nintendo Wii. The games will likely have updated graphics, but not much else will be added to the games, aside from more pages in the storybook of Rosalina, the Watcher of the Stars, who helps Mario and Luigi in both games.
The compilation will be released for the Switch, making it playable on the Switch 2. Nintendo didn’t provide a release date during the show, although it will give more details sometime on Friday.
A brand new game is Mario Tennis Fever. This powered-up sports game features 38 characters and will have some new moves and Fever rackets, which will let characters unleash special moves. An adventure mode will feature the baby Mario characters, who learn how to play tennis and take part in mini-games. Mario Tennis Fever comes out on Switch 2 on Feb. 12.
Another game Nintendo is bringing back is Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The Switch 2 version of the 2023 game will also include Meetup in Bellabel Park, a side area filled with minigames for players to compete with each other. Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Switch 2 will come out sometime next spring.
Finishing out the Mario-focused part of the Nintendo Direct, a new Yoshi game was shown. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will feature Mario’s hungry dinosaur buddy in his own platforming adventure involving a magical book. Only a small portion of gameplay was shown, as Nintendo plans to release more details in the coming year, but it looks charming. The new Yoshi game will come out for the Switch 2 next spring.
Mario’s 40th anniversary officially starts Saturday. There could be more Mario-themed content coming from Nintendo over the coming year, but for Mario fans, there’s plenty to enjoy already.
