Super Mario Bros. 35 was a 2D platformer and battle royale game for the Nintendo Switch created to celebrate the Super Mario Bros. series' 35th anniversary. It was exclusively available to Nintendo Switch Online members and released on October 1, 2020. This game, along with Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., was available until March 31, 2021. Unlike the other limited titles, however, Super Mario Bros. 35 is no longer playable, as its servers have been discontinued as of April 1, 2021. The game's battle royale mechanics were similar to Tetris 99, an earlier game that was initially only available to Nintendo Switch Online members.
Playing a round before March 31, 2021 was one of the 35th Anniversary site My Nintendo missions to be completed, though it did not actually register until a week after playing at the latest.
Fire Mario in World 5-2, featured enemies which have been sent over by other players.
Super Mario Bros. 35 was a battle royale where 35 players competed against each other until only a single player was left. In the menu, the player could play a normal game or a special event, if any, along with changing their icon, which was gained by leveling up. Leveling up was earned by obtaining experience points from playing levels.
During a game, players went through levels from Super Mario Bros. Enemies defeated would be sent over to a different player's course. The player could see other players' games. The course the enemies were sent to was determined by which course the player was currently targeting, which was surrounded by a red box. The player could choose between four strategies to determine how they targeted other players. Other player's enemies could also be sent to the player. On the top-left corner of the screen was the Item Roulette which cost 20 coins to use. Using it gave the player a random item, which could be a Super Mushroom, a Fire Flower, a Super Star, or a POW Block (which defeated all enemies on the screen). The player also had a Time Limit displayed on the top-right corner of their screen. Defeating enemies gave the player more time, up to a maximum of 400 seconds. If the player was the last alive, they would win the game. At the end of a game the player's name, rank, number of coins collected, and the number of other players they knocked out, were displayed. The player could also spectate the match after being defeated.
In a regular 35-Player Battle, the player could pick a course and pay coins to start the game with a power-up. These courses were added to the pool of courses that appeared in the battle. To unlock more courses to pick, the player would have to either complete all of the preceding levels in one of the online modes or beat the course itself when it was chosen by another player who already unlocked it or it appeared in a Special Battle. The course order would use each players' chosen course, going from whoever had the lowest level to the highest. However, the course order would not put the same course twice in a row. The course order looped to the first level after the last level. This was the only way a course could repeat.
Warp Zones let the player skip forward in the level queue. Warp Zones would include the same level that the Warp Zone was located in, letting the player use Warp Zones again. In World 1-2, the pipes of the warp zone from right to left skipped one, two, and three courses respectively. In World 4-2, the single pipe at the end of the main area skipped one course, while the overworld Warp Zone pipes from right to left skip one, two, and three courses respectively.
In Special Battle, limited-time events were held where players played through a set order of courses with special conditions, such as starting with 100 coins. The battle could start in any course.
Gave the Super form, or 15 seconds on the timer if already in that form. Defeating enemies by bouncing on them gave 2 or 3 seconds on the timer based on the type, bouncing on Buzzy Beetles gave 4, and bouncing on Hammer Bros and Lakitus gave 5.
Gave the ability to shootfireballs, or 15 seconds on the timer if already in that form. Defeating Bowser with fireballs gave the player 5 seconds on the timer, defeating Hammer Bros and Lakitus gave the player 2, while all other enemies gave 1.
Gave invincibility for a short period of time, and reset the period of invincibility if the player was already under the effects of a Super Star. Each defeated enemy gave 2 seconds on the timer, and if the player defeated several enemies without stopping, the amount of seconds given would increase more.
Defeated all enemies on-screen. Defeated Goombas gave 2 seconds on the timer, while stronger enemies like Koopa Troopas gave 3, while Buzzy Beetles gave 4, Lava Bubbles, Hammer Bros and Lakitus gave 5, and Bowsers gave 10.
Luigi - Luigi was playable by holding while selecting a course or selecting Special Battle. Luigi was only playable after every course was cleared at least once.[7]
The enemies were the same as in Super Mario Bros. (except fake Bowsers did not appear) and mostly retained their behavior. Every defeated enemy was transferred to the targeted player's enemy queue. This queue was visible at the bottom of the screen. Enemies only appeared in the game world as the player moves forward to scrolled them into view. An enemy sent by another player appeared with a white tinted sprite; however, it behaved exactly like a natural enemy, including the ability to send it to other players. When a player entered a bonus area, the enemy queue was instantly cleared, and any enemies sent while in the bonus area were removed as well.
Enemies that had multiple identical-looking variants (e.g. Green Koopa Paratroopa and Bowser) would have the correct variant appear for the target player. Enemies of the same kind with different behavior would retain their behavior, like Bowsers that throw hammers, for example. Enemies that could be bounced on and then further interacted with (all the shelled enemies) would be transferred and award time on the first bounce, any further interaction with that same enemy would not cause them to be transferred again or award more time, thus also avoiding the "infinite 1-Ups trick" (which in this game would translate into an infinite time trick).
When transferred to a non-water level, it would still behave as if it was swimming in the water, effectively floating, and could be stomped, as in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. (This mechanic exists in the Super Mario Bros. engine, but did not appear outside glitch levels.)
There were no fake Bowsers in this game. Kicking a shell into Bowser would defeat both the shell and Bowser. Bowser could not be defeated from below when he stood on a Brick Block or ? Block. Transferred Bowsers threw hammers if they were from World 6-4 and later.
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Super Mario Bros. 35 was based on the NTSC version of Super Mario Bros. Generally, many physics and other mechanics had been altered to fall more in line with newer Mario games, similarly to Super Mario Maker; some examples as follows:
Similarly, if a Fire Flower was grabbed as Small Mario, he would go straight to Fire Mario, as in Super Mario World and later games, instead of only growing to Super Mario like in the original. If the power-up had no effect due to Mario already being in the resulting state or higher, it awarded 15 seconds on the timer instead.
Since lives were no longer present, 1-Up Mushrooms instead awarded 20 coins. The coin counter extended to at least four digits.
1-Up Mushrooms that need conditions to appear were instead always available.
Bouncing off an enemy while holding the jump button would cause Mario to bounce very high, like in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and later games.
Similarly, the "Super Jump" introduced in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels had been added. Stomping the top of an enemy while moving upwards at the right trajectory would cause Mario to soar very high.
Sometimes when super jumping off of a Koopa Troopa or Koopa Paratroopa, they would instantly enter their shell and get kicked sideways.
Enemies interacted with trampolines, similarly to Super Mario Maker. This was most visible at the end of World 2-1, where enemies might have dropped from the tall wall of solid blocks and fallen on the trampoline. Mario's general physics while interacting with a trampoline were much smoother, akin to other recent platformers.
The mechanic that pushes Mario out of a solid block had been removed; instead, they acted like in Super Mario Bros. 3 onward: If Super/Fire Mario stopped in a 1-tall space (or powers up from Small Mario while in one), he would continue to crouch. If the blocks above were Brick Blocks, he could jump and break them, but even if they were solid blocks, he could make small hops to eventually escape.
The level-ending transitions were shortened. The player moved to the next course after Mario reached the flagpole or after the bridge collapsed from picking up the axe. The cutscenes with Toads and Princess Peach no longer appeared, although they made cameos in the game's icons.
Bridges also collapsed in castles when Bowser was defeated before touching the axe.
The block portion of Fire Bars no longer damaged Mario, but instead acted as if he hit a solid block.[8]
Mario had a proper animation for entering the pipe at the end of an underwater level, instead of simply vanishing as he did in the original game.
When going down a pipe, Mario always crouched, it was no longer possible to "walk" or "slide" down into a pipe.
If Mario passed a Hammer Bro. without defeating it, it would begin to chase after him. Hammer Bros. jumped more often.
Bowser's flame hitbox had been increased from just covering the front tip to covering its entire length.
Enemies no longer turned around off of the defeated bodies of other enemies.
The fake Bowsers were all replaced by the real Bowser.
Due to the Nintendo Switch's more powerful hardware, enemies would not despawn if there were too many.
In World 8-4, the Piranha Plant in the pipe that took Mario to the second room would not despawn when Mario reached it, like in Super Mario All-Stars.
Like in Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, an error buzzer sound would play if Mario went the wrong way in a castle maze.
Climbing up vines was fully manual instead of automatic past a certain point up the vine, which let players use the vine longer.
Getting carried off the top of the screen by a moving platform would make Mario drop down instead of dying, like in Super Mario All-Stars.
With enough forward momentum, Mario would enter sideways pipes regardless of whether the player held forward or not.
Mario couldn't defeat enemies by stomping low on their bodies while moving downwards.
The Goomba that started above the second Coin Block in World 1-2 started on the ground.
Koopa Troopa shells could break Brick Blocks and triggered blocks containing items.
Fire Bars would not despawn once they were at the left edge of the screen.
Mario's top running speed was slightly slower.
In World 4-1's coin room, which reappeared as the second coin room in World 6-2, a Brick Block containing a power-up was one block above the exit pipe. Super Mario and Fire Mario were no longer able to reach the spot under it by crouching and sliding off the row of Brick Blocks to the left of it as a result of their slower speed.
After exiting the bonus area in World 1-1, the two Goombas did not appear.
After exiting the bonus area in World 5-1, the first Koopa Paratroopa did not appear.
Fireballs bounced lower to the ground, allowing them to hit enemies on the ground easier.
Mario could use fireballs at the top of the screen.
Lakitus did not stop following Mario, making it possible for multiple Lakitus to pursue Mario.
Mario could crouch if down was pressed at the same time or after a side direction was pressed.
Mario would stand up if left or right was pressed while crouching.
Super Stars would pop out of blocks instead of dropping down.
Mario could collect coins from the side when a block was above it, e.g. walking into the block above the coins in World 2-4.
Mario did not accelerate faster when moving backwards.
Coin Ranking was unlocked by winning one battle. Coin Ranking was a competition each week where players were ranked by their highest number of coins in a battle in both 35-Player Battle and Special Battle. Players would be required to win one battle again to be ranked each week in each mode. Players received a grade based on their rank, with S grade at the top and A through E following it. The top 100 players of the week were listed with their coin scores on online leaderboards. The leaderboards and Results Graph were only shown for the ten most recent weeks. The players' coin score was the sum of the coins collected during the game, coins collected from the chest, and a Rank Bonus. That sum was doubled by the Small Mario Bonus if the player started without an item. Special Battle had no Small Mario Bonus.
Super Mario Bros. 35 World Count Challenge was an event that was announced on January 12, 2021 along with new details about Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Players from around the world would work together to complete goals within a certain time frame. The event was held monthly, three times from January to March 2021.[9]
In the first Super Mario Bros. 35 World Count Challenge, players worked together to defeat 3.5 million Bowsers from January 18, 2021 at 11 p.m. PT to January 25, 2021 at 10:59 p.m. PT. In addition to 35-Player Battle, the Special Battle that week lasted all seven days of the event[10] and featured courses with additional opportunities to battle with Bowser. If the total Bowsers defeated around the world reached 3.5 million, the players who defeated at least one Bowser would be eligible to receive 350 My Nintendo Platinum Points. The goal was reached with 5,363,696 Bowsers defeated.[11]
In the second Super Mario Bros. 35 World Count Challenge, players worked together to defeat 350 million Goombas from February 22, 2021 to March 1, 2021. In addition to 35-Player Battle, the Special Battle that week lasted all seven days of the event.[12] The goal was not reached with only 317,373,419 Goombas defeated.[13]
In the third, and final Super Mario Bros. 35 World Count Challenge, players worked together to collect 350 million coins from March 23, 2021 to March 29, 2021. In addition to 35-Player Battle, the Special Battle that week lasted all seven days of the event.[14] The goal was reached with 560,792,922 coins collected.[15]
Icons of various Super Mario Bros. characters and objects could be unlocked by leveling up, with 64 icons in total. Players started with standing Small Mario, a Brick Block, a Super Mushroom, and a Goomba as their only icons. The order that the icons were unlocked were random; however, players unlocked the last icon at level Level 50★.
The first name is from Nintendo of America's Twitter account, the second is from the UK Super Mario Twitter account if theirs is different, and the (second or) third is from the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Twitter account.
In all Special Battles from World 1-1 to World 8-4, the Warp Zones worked like they did in Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 35 received generally positive reviews. It was generally praised for its twist on the original game, but the game received some criticism due to its repetitive gameplay, lack of game modes, and limited-time availability.
"There's plenty to criticize, but Super Mario Bros. 35 is a free download, so give it a shot. I've played many rounds already and will jump into plenty more until that fated March 2021 eShop removal death date. Hopefully Nintendo has a change of heart like they did with Jump Rope Challenge and updates the game to address some of its shortcomings: because it has even more potential than a temporary flight of fancy."
"Super Mario Bros. 35 is an extremely fun twist on the classic platformer and the battle royale formula with plenty to love, although it starts to lose its luster after just a few hours because repeating level 1-1 and a handful of other early levels becomes a chore. But before that happens, developing a winning strategy, perfecting each jump, and knowing just where and when to send your defeated enemies is a satisfying mental juggling act, and winning is a truly special feeling indeed."
"Super Mario Bros. 35 gives Nintendo's most iconic game a jolt of life and it's massively welcome. Its matches could do with being a little shorter and it's difficult to see whether it's actually going to have changed much a few months down the line, but it says a lot about the quality of the experience that the biggest problem we have with it is that come April 2021 it won't exist anymore."
"Delivering precisely what is advertised, Super Mario Bros. 35 delivers on familiar 2D platforming with an all-new competitive twist. Playing against 34 other Marios at once is a wonderful type of mayhem, as is facing off against hordes of enemies. However, early course repetition and late-game lulls slightly temper this Mushroom Kingdom celebration of Mario's 35 years."
The glitch to jump in midair from Super Mario Bros. was retained. When the player obtained a Super Mushroom or Fire Flower in midair and pressed while Mario was transforming, he would jump in midair. This worked with the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower from the Item Roulette.
Like Super Mario Bros., jumping into the bottom corner of a ? Block with a power-up on top of it in a specific way caused Mario to get powered up from underneath the block.[28] However, it was much rarer in Super Mario Bros. 35.
Power-ups could be obtained from the side of the block if the screen was scrolled so there was gap less than one block to the left of the block, then Mario jumped into the gap.
Touching a Super Mushroom and an enemy at the same time caused Mario's lower half to briefly clip into the ground before reverting to Small Mario.[29]
Taking damage as Super Mario then shortly after powering up back to Super Mario would make Mario flash between Small Mario and Super Mario, which could make him fall through thin bridges.[30]
If Small Mario touched a Super Mushroom while getting a Fire Flower in the Item Roulette, he would briefly look like Small Mario with Fire Mario's color palette and his lower half would briefly clip into the ground.[31]
Dying as Small Mario and getting a Super Mushroom in the Item Roulette at the same time made Mario's sprite grow to Super Mario, then move up and down like the death animation.[32] Small Mario could also die while being Invincible Mario from the Item Roulette if hit at the same time.
Before it was fixed in version 1.0.2, if the player pressed a direction and during the same frame, they would be able to advance to a stage adjacent to an unlocked level without unlocking it yet. If that stage was cleared, the player would unlock it.[33]
Super Mario Maker: The design of the coin counter bore a resemblance to the one in this game. The title screen music had similarities to the one in this game.
Tetris 99: The game ran on the same engine used in this game. As such, the gameplay concept was similar to the one in this game, and various UI elements appeared to be a modified version of this game's UI. Players would reach Level 1★ after Level 99, and Level 1★★ after Level 99★.
- Everyone
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- General
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