Nintendo On The Legacy Of The New Super Mario Bros. Series

Super Mario 64 marked 10 years of the Super Mario Series’ triumphant transition to 3D in 2006. That seminal entry proved that Nintendo’s iconic plumber could transition to 3D and still be the juggernaut franchise it was in 2D. The game also set the standard for 3D platforms for several years. Super Mario 64 looks amazing when it moves, but its gameplay is even better. Saying that the game revolutionized gaming is an understatement. 

In 2002, Nintendo released Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube to critical and fan acclaim. Super Mario Sunshine was a huge hit for both critics and fans. The improvements in visual quality from Nintendo 64 to GameCube are evident. While many celebrated the continued success of this 3D evolution for one of gaming’s most important and beloved franchises, some wondered if Mario’s 2D past was just that: the past. 

New Super Mario Bros. (2006)

The last 2D Super Mario game was released in 1995 with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo, and the Game Boy Advance received only remakes of previous Mario side-scrollers. Nintendo was working on its next 3D game, Super Mario Galaxy, for the Wii, but also considered the Nintendo DS as a possible home for a 2D Mario return.

New Super Mario Bros. was the result, which brought back the 2D classic gameplay with new visuals and game conventions. “We’d been working on the New Super Mario Bros. series based on the idea of recreating the experience of the original Super Mario Bros., which released in 1985, in a new way,” producer of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the New Super Mario Bros. series Takashi Tezuka says. It’s like preserving core gameplay, but adding in new features that improve it.

New Super Mario Bros., released in 2006, was an instant hit with critics and players alike. The game sold nearly 31 million copies, becoming the highest-selling game on Nintendo’s best-selling system of all time. 

“For the New Super Mario Bros. series, we did what we always do, which is go back and review what we had in the past, and we looked at how we could make changes to make something appropriate for the current generation,” Tezuka says. Tezuka says, “The New Super Mario Bros. continued for many years. I think one thing we achieved during that time was to create new Mario fans.”

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)

Three sequels were released on three platforms following the success of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS, New Super Mario Bros. U also on Wii U. Each entry in the franchise sold extremely well, charting at least in the top five of their respective console’s all-time sales chart. New Super Mario Bros. U, the Switch version of the game, is in the Top 10 list for Nintendo Switch sales. 

It’s safe to say that Nintendo’s attempt at bringing Mario back to 2D after the hiatus in the late ’90s and early 00’s was a success. However, following 2012’s New Super Mario Bros. U, the series went dark. The New Super Mario Bros. series always did well. However, with every subsequent game, critics began to claim that the series had stagnated. Although each entry was beautifully designed and made, the game began to look too much alike. Nintendo launched the Switch port mentioned above in 2019. Super Mario Maker 2 also featured the style as an option for players to design courses. But the Mario subseries was all but gone.

New Super Mario Bros. U (2012)

A similar gap has formed since the release of New Super Mario Bros., much like the 2D revival that preceded it. In fact, the elongated gap between Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island on SNES and New Super Mario Bros. on DS matches the 11 years since the last all-new home console 2D Super Mario Bros. game. The franchise also seemed to be focusing on 3D titles in the interim with games like Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Odyssey. 

Nintendo didn’t rest on its laurels even though the gap had grown longer. They continued to look for new ways to satisfy both their developers and fans. “There’s been quite a bit of time since the last installment in the New Super Mario Bros. franchise, but when we’re creating another iteration in the series, we understand that we have to go above and beyond the last title,” Tezuka says. Tezuka says, “We were filled with strong emotions about creating something rich in content.”

Fans of the 2D aspect could still have fun during this time with Super Mario Run, a mobile auto-runner, or the Super Mario Maker games. But it wasn’t the same. However, Nintendo seems to have found a way to one-up the games of its past and now, the 2D side of the series is poised for yet another injection of life and groundbreaking comeback with Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)

“The New Super Mario Bros. series has been going on for a while since the release of New Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo DS, so we wanted to create an all-new 2D Mario experience,” Super Mario Bros. Wonder director Shiro Mouri, who also worked on New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U, says. This is how it works. [Super Mario Bros. Wonder] started. The game was also designed from scratch.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, announced this summer by Nintendo, marks the end of a era. Nintendo had previously released four New Super Mario Bros. games. Super Mario Bros. Wonder may be the template for future titles, but Nintendo is reluctant to confirm this.

Tezuka: “I think that the New Super Mario Bros. game series has entered a new phase. But at this stage, we don’t know what style of gameplay will come next.” 

Masanobu Sato, art director at Nintendo of America’s San Francisco office responded: “However we do know that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a game with a greater adventure stage for Mario and Friends.”

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – the series’ new 2D console gaming experience in over 11 years – will be available on Switch from October 20. For more on this exciting new entry and how it’s changing things up from the New Super Mario Bros. series, visit our hub by clicking the banner below.