Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run is an automatic runner platformer game for mobile devices. In the game, Mario is constantly moving to the right and the player can make him jump by tapping the screen. The game features three modes: World Tour, which is the main game mode, Kingdom Builder, where players can customize their own kingdom with different objects, and Toad Rally, a battle mode where players can race against another player's time. Nintendo markets the game as the first Super Mario title that can be played with one hand.

The game was released in 150 countries worldwide on December 15, 2016. Super Mario Run is free-to-start, with the full game costing USD$9.99. It is the second mobile application developed and published by Nintendo (following Miitomo), and the first Mario mobile game. The game was released exclusively for iOS devices at launch. An Android release was originally planned for launch on March 23, 2017, but was officially released a day early instead. The latter version was open for pre-registration on Google Play on December 29, 2016.

On December 8, 2016, a demo of Super Mario Run was made available at Apple Stores worldwide.

Gameplay
Throughout each level, Mario will constantly run to the right without stopping, except when on Pause Blocks, and will jump if the player taps the screen. Mario will automatically grab ledges if he can reach them and will also jump over short obstacles on his own, including Goombas. If the player taps the screen while Mario is over an enemy, he will bounce off of it. If the player taps while Mario is on a wall, he will Wall Jump. The game features 24 levels (consisting of 6 worlds containing 4 levels each), with the entire World 1 being free. Additionally, the game requires the player to always be online for it to work.

In every level, up to five Pink Coins may be found among regular coins and within brick blocks. On the results screen, each Pink Coin is counted as ten regular coins. If all five Pink Coins are collected in a single run, they will be replaced with Purple Coins within that level, and the position of the coins will be made more challenging. If all five of these coins are again collected, the level will be replayable this time with Black Coins, with their positions also changed. Collecting all five Black Coins will have no further effect. Every time all of these coins are collected (regardless of color), the player receives two Rally Tickets.

The game features three game modes: World Tour, Toad Rally, and Kingdom Builder. World Tour is the single-player mode. In the Kingdom Builder mode, players will be able to build their own kingdom. In Toad Rally, the player can compete with other players from around the world. The main objective is to collect as many coins in a stage as possible. As Mario collects coins, a blue meter will gradually fill up. Once it is full, the player can use a mechanic known as "Coin Rush", which will allow Mario to run into enemies to defeat them and earn more coins. The player can also attract Toads by performing certain moves, which also increase the player's score.

As of January 2017, there is an easy mode added where the player has infinite bubbles and no time limit.

Playable
There are a total of six playable characters in Super Mario Run. At the start of the game, only Mario is available, but players can unlock more characters as they progress through the game. Each character plays differently from each other. For example, Luigi can jump higher than Mario, Toad can run faster than Mario, Princess Peach and Yoshi have special abilities, and Toadette can convert some Toads to the player's side before the final tally in Toad Rally. Mario and Luigi have small forms when they get hurt, meaning they can be hurt twice before being defeated; however, the rest of the characters are defeated if they touch enemies at all. If those characters touch a Super Mushroom, they earn bonus coins instead of turning super. If the player clears "World 6-4: Bowser's Bob-ombing Run" as Peach, a Toad takes her place in the ending. If the player or the player's opponent plays as Toadette in Toad Rally, a Toad takes her place as the referee.

Unlocking criteria
Since World 2-1 and beyond of World Tour mode and yellow and purple Toads are exclusive to the full version of the game, only Mario, Toad, and Blue Yoshi can be played as in the free version.

Non-playable

 * Toads
 * Red
 * Blue
 * Green
 * Purple
 * Yellow

Enemies
Once Mario defeats an enemy for the first time, it is added to the notebook. If Mario defeats a certain amount of the same kind of enemy, they will level up and drop more coins than usual when defeated in Toad Rally.

Obstacles
Obstacles are not included in the notebook as they cannot be defeated.
 * Burner
 * Fire Bar
 * Grinder
 * Muncher

Objects

 * Coin
 * Challenge Coin
 * Pink Coin
 * Purple Coin
 * Black Coin
 * Super Mushroom
 * Super Star
 * A blue Star that activates Coin Rush
 * Blue Coin
 * Key
 * ? Block
 * Brick Block
 * Pause Block
 * Time Block
 * A block with an arrow icon
 * Warp Pipe
 * Checkpoint Flag
 * Goal Pole
 * Axe
 * P Switch
 * ! Switch
 * Hidden Coin
 * Red Ring
 * Red Coin
 * Cannon
 * Lift
 * Door
 * Key Door
 * A Springboard-like object
 * A ring of fire

World Tour

 * World 1
 * World 1-1: Up and Over
 * World 1-2: Wall-Kicking It Underground
 * World 1-3: Paratroopas in Mushroom Valley
 * World 1-4: Bowser's Castle Hangout
 * World 2
 * World 2-1: Ghost-Door Deception
 * World 2-2: Sky-High Lifts and Leaps!
 * World 2-3: Treasure-Hoarding Swoops
 * World 2-4: Airship Cannons...Fire!
 * World 3
 * World 3-1: Big Spiny Blitz
 * World 3-2: Bullet Bill Barrage
 * World 3-3: Shell Me the Way!
 * World 3-4: Fire Bar Castle! Youch!
 * World 4
 * World 4-1: Cutting-Edge Spire
 * World 4-2: Slope to Success
 * World 4-3: Danger High and Low
 * World 4-4: Firing the Airship's Burners
 * World 5
 * World 5-1: Lakitu's Revenge
 * World 5-2: Pokey Vaulting
 * World 5-3: Boohind Lock and Key
 * World 5-4: Rings of Fire!
 * World 6
 * World 6-1: Land of Spikes
 * World 6-2: Switch Ghost House
 * World 6-3: Throwing It All Overboard
 * World 6-4: Bowser's Bob-ombing Run
 * Special Courses
 * Chase the Snaking Coins - Collecting all Pink Coins unlocks a Pink Coin Pipe for Kingdom Builder, which grants access to this course.
 * Piranha Plant Field - Collecting all Purple Coins unlocks a Purple Coin Pipe for Kingdom Builder, which grants access to this course.
 * Make the Cut! - Collecting all Black Coins unlocks a Black Coin Pipe for Kingdom Builder, which grants access to this course.

Critical reception
Super Mario Run has received generally positive reviews, with the iOS version earning a 77 on Metacritic based on 46 reviews and an 77.31% based on 26 reviews on GameRankings. The game is generally praised for its simple, yet intuitive controls and that the game retains the quality level design from previous Mario platformers. Critics also praise the social competitiveness of the Toad Rally mode and building objects as motivation from Kingdom Builder. On the other hand, the game has been criticized for its relatively short World Tour length and low replayability of the levels, as well as the requirement for the game to be online.

Michael McWhertor of Polygon gave Super Mario Run a 7 out of 10 in his review. He has praised the game for its mechanics being translated well into taps for a touchscreen, but laments how it has been compromised by the lack of power-ups and precise control the series is known for. The review has described Kingdom Builder as a "lengthy grind in service of unlocking mostly cosmetic items." In his final verdict, he has described the game as "an enjoyable but imperfect adaptation of the Mario games for touchscreen devices." Jose Otero of IGN has given Super Mario Run an 8 out of 10,, praising the game for its strong level designs and new mechanics though also citing three-hit boss fights with Boom Boom and Bowser as "relics from Nintendo’s past" and states that "they’re not as smart or clever as the rest of the campaign stages." He has also cited that the visuals are not impressive, especially compared to another mobile auto-runner platformer, , but has praised Mario's animations within the game. His final statement stated that Super Mario Run is an elegantly designed platformer with strong hooks despite not being the best-looking Mario game by a longshot.

Sales
Super Mario Run received 3.5 million downloads in its first day, eclipsing another highly popular app game, Pokémon GO, which had only 900,000. It has reached the No. 1 spot in the App Store's top grossing and top free charts in the United States.

App Store description
A new kind of Mario game that you can play with one hand. In this game, Mario constantly moves forward through the courses while you use a variety of jumps to navigate. Mario will behave differently depending on the timing of your taps, so it's up to you to show off particularly smooth moves, gather coins, and reach the goal.

■World Tour Run and jump with style to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser’s clutches!

Travel through plains, caverns, haunted houses, airships, castles, and more...

Clear 6 worlds filled with 24 brand-new courses designed for one-handed play!

■Toad Rally Show off Mario’s stylish moves, compete against your friends and challenge people from all over the world.

A challenge mode where the competition differs each time you play.

Compete against the stylish moves of other players for the highest score as you gather coins and get cheered on by a crowd of Toads. If you’re impressive enough, the Toads may even come live in your kingdom.

You can also perform stylish moves to fill up your gauge and launch into Coin Rush!

* In order to play Toad Rally, you will need Rally Tickets that you can acquire in a variety of ways, such as clearing worlds or through bonus games in your kingdom.

■Kingdom Builder Gather coins and Toads to build your very own kingdom.

Create your unique kingdom with buildings and decorations that you acquire with the help of Toads gathered in Toad Rally.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros. 2: Ninjis return from this game, retaining their appearance from the NES version.
 * Super Mario World: When the blue star triggering Coin Rush is released, the "item dropped" sound effect from this game plays.
 * Mario Party 8: Princess Peach's artwork is taken from this game.
 * Mario Party DS: Yoshi's artwork is taken from this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: The music for the Coin Rush results screen is reused in this game, which is heard after clearing a course. The sound effect that plays when a ? Block releases a Gold Flower is heard when a Roulette Block releases three Super Mushrooms/Super Stars.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U: Graphics are taken from this game. Music from this game are also rearrangements. Some of the crowd cheers are also taken from this game.
 * Super Mario 3D World: Toad's artwork is an edited version of his artwork from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8: Some of Princess Peach's voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Mario Party 10: Toadette's artwork is taken from this game.
 * Super Mario Maker: The Airship tileset is taken from this game. The axes at the end of a castle levels function the same as the axe from this game, rather than a button in New Super Mario Bros. U. The Key design is also taken from this game. Many objects use their appearance from the New Super Mario Bros. U style.

Trivia

 * Super Mario Run is the first Mario game to be released on hardware not created by Nintendo since Mario's FUNdamentals was released for Windows in 1998, 18 years prior.