Super Mario Run 2018 Review

Super Mario Run was Nintendo's first big game they released (Pokemon Go wasn't Nintendo) and it got a mixed reception immediately. Some were excited to see Nintendo jump into the smartphone gaming market, and many of their long-time fans were afraid of what the company would become.

But that was years ago at this point. The question is, how does this game hold up?
PROS:

-Super Mario Run won't look bad until New Super Mario Bros U looks bad. They share many elements, and much like Nintendo always tries to do, it will age very nicely in terms of graphics.

-The menus are nice to use. It sounds like the most petty compliment in the world, but smartphone games rarely have much thought put into their menus. Super Mario Run's menus all do a good job conveying what button takes you into which mode, and the level selection menu is also laid out nicely.

CONS:

-The price. Why is this game ten dollars? Five would be a good price. Ten is insulting. There may not be any microtransactions, but find any reasonable game that costs ten dollars and then had microtransactions on top of that.

-The gameplay is too simple. You tap the screen and Mario jumps. I'll admit it's impressive that the level design is so competent considering the simple gameplay, but there were multiple times where I just wanted to walk left. The controls feel bad for a Mario game.

-The music is uninspired. Most of the good songs came from other Mario games. I can't honestly remember any of the songs without either looking them up or by playing the game. Thankfully the game does let you use your own music, but support for that feature is rather limited.

-The game has a noticeable stutter. It's not incredibly common, but after playing the game for a few minutes it will stutter. This is when playing the game on an iPhone SE, so maybe newer phones will run the game a little bit better, but the far more complex "Run Sackboy Run" has perfectly fine performance, despite being in proper 3D and having a much faster pace.

-Super Mario Run doesn't have enough meaningful features. When playing a level, you can search for colored coins which give you rally tickets which let you play either "Remix 10" or "Toad Rally," neither of which has much depth.

Toad Rally is the more interesting mode because it turns the game into an infinite runner until time runs out. Whoever between you and the person you challenged is more entertaining to the Toads will win the some Toads.

Remix 10 is where random segments of levels are used and contain colored coins for you to collect. There is no time limit in these segments, so taking your time is advised. This mode doesn't really have any requirements in order to beat a level, to the point where you can theoretically die in each segment and still win. (I say theoretically because this game is so easy that dying is rather hard)

OVERALL OPINION:

Super Mario Run is overpriced. Don't buy the game for ten dollars, as it will go on sale for half off at some point. It features boring, repetitive gameplay, bland music, and has performance issues. Any 3DS or Wii U owner can do far better with a New Super Mario Bros game.