*Super Mario Switch*

Super Mario Switch is a game for the Nintendo Switch released on July 10th 2022. It is the twenty-second game in the main Super Mario series and is the ninth sidescroller in the franchise. Unlike the past 2D Mario games, Switch is a 2D platformer that incorporates gameplay from the 3D Mario titles, most notably Super Mario 64 DS and Bowser's Fury. The plot revolves around Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad, who go on an adventure to retrieve the Eternal Star from Bowser, who has stolen it in the hopes of wooing Princess Peach into a romantic relationship with him, with one of the wishes of the Star being "eternity of love". While the story retains the series' signature simplicity it also adds some character development to the Mario Bros. (specifically their love and respect for one another with Yoshi and Toad supporting them in the emotional core of that development) and to a certain extent, Bowser. 
The game supports four-player co-op, allowing three other players to use their Nintendo Switches in handheld mode, or Pro Controllers, or single Joy-con, to play as one of the four playable characters. The game also has online functionality, which allows players to compare their times/scores in certain events. 
== Story ==
Super Mario Switch's narrative is split up into three acts, much like the structure of a movie. Ingame, they're called "Missions", with them being called "Mission 1", "Mission 2" and "Mission 3" and are given a specific goal that is shown to the player on the pause screen with a description of them.
=== Mission 1 ===
The story begins with Bowser aimlessly piloting his airship through outer space, furious about the failure of his forced marriage to Princess Peach. He complains that the Broodals' hard work was foiled by Mario, as is usual for his schemes. Realising the price of failure, he becomes furious and heads back to earth, ready to strangle someone. 
Back on Earth, Mario is holding a ring, planning to propose to Princess Peach for a potential engagement. He puts it in his pocket and walks downstairs to the foyer where Yoshi, Toad and Luigi are playing some Mario Kart on the television, knowing that Princess Peach is the courtyard. As Mario walks out he sees the airship, knowing that things will have to wait. 
Cutting to Mario and Bowser on the ship, high in the sky, with Princess Peach in a cage, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi, join in the fight. Yoshi, using his tongue, grabs Bowser by the tail and swings him around, launching him into the propellers of the ship, the ship crashes down into the garden of Peach's Castle. Bowser quickly grabs the Star statue and bolts out of the garden, leaving everyone in the wreck. This sets Mario on a mission to retrieve the statue from Bowser, knowing that what he could do with it, would be frightening, but before leaving, he proposes to Princess Peach on the spot, to which she says yes to. With that, Luigi, Toad and Yoshi offer to join Mario on his quest and the four heroes set off into the unknown.
After finding Bowser's Villa through multiple locales, the four heroes fight him, but he doesn't back down and keeps running. The heroes follow him. 
=== Mission 2 ===
Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad, travel through many locales, collecting a number of Power Stars to unlock more locales and branching paths to make the journey easier. They even find out about the Toad Network, a secret underground network that residents of the Mushroom Kingdom would use for a price of money, to get to their destinations much quicker, with the four heroes being an exception to that rule. Throughout the journey however, Mario is unsure about starting a romantic relationship with Princess Peach and lets Luigi know it privately, his brother reassures him that he did the right thing. 
The heroes find Bowser's Cathedral after going underground and discover how big of an underground following he's had as of lately, thanks to the Eternal Star. In fighting him, the heroes are victorious, but end up stuck in the cathedral when Bowser's escape causes a landslide, so they decide that the best thing to do is to look for a house for the Toad Network amongst the rubble. 
=== Mission 3 ===
After going through the different locales, fighting multiple bosses, including the Ancient soul of the Enteral Star and recovering multiple Stars to progress further. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad, reach Bowser's Castle for one more showdown, but are foiled thanks to a fake out, which leads to Bowser escaping with the statue, via his airship. Yoshi gives chase and jumps on the airship before it leaves the dock, and the three heroes follow him. Leading to one final showdown, as they lead the airship to crash into a volcano as Bowser tumbles down the volcano, with the wreckage of his airship and the minions inside of it, with the four heroes jumping off and making a soft landing on grass, along with the statue. 
=== Conclusion ===
The game concludes with Mario and Peach having a private wedding to themselves, ready to embrace their future as a couple. Luigi who is cooking some pasta for the two, smiles to himself, knowing that the future, is going to be fun. 
== Gameplay ==
Super Mario Switch takes notorious inspiration from Super Mario 64 DS and Bowser's Fury in terms of character usage and overworld exploration. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad explore various areas in order to collect Power Stars to unlock different parts of the Mushroom Kingdom. Like Super Mario 3D World, the four playable characters all have advantages and disadvantages to distinct them from each other, Mario is the all rounder, Luigi can jump the highest but has poor traction, Toad can run extremely fast but falls faster and Yoshi can flutter jump and swallow enemies but can't use any power ups except for the Mega Mushroom. The player can choose which character to use, from the pause menu.
As a 2D platformer, Super Mario Switch plays like a 3D platformer, meaning that all of the levels in the game that would normally be fashioned in the style of "Get from point A to point B", are all interconnected levels in a vast open world. As such, the player can go any direction they want. The levels that Mario and friends travel in all have multiple branching points that are connected to each other, allowing quicker access to some of them. 
The hub world for the game is the Toad Network, which is a fast travel network that Mario and company can use in order to reach a locale much quicker. Toadsworth owns the Toad Network and provides the characters with new location points for Stars, for the number of Coins that they have on them. There are other things to do in the Toad Network such as playing in Luigi's Casino to win more coins, or taking a break from the travelling. A location for the Toad Network is represented by a Toad House.
The characters have a life meter, however instead being represented by three pie pieces, it's represented by eight pie pieces, more akin to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Additionally, there are no lives (and, by extension, 1-Up Mushrooms and Game Overs) in the game. To restore their health, the characters can collect Hearts. 
=== Power Ups ===
File:Fire Flowerkº.png|Fire Flower
File:BlueShell - MarioPartyStarRush.png|Blue Shell
File:Something cool.png|Wing Feather
File:Super Hammer2.png|Super Hammer
File:MTUS Mega Mushroom.png|Mega Mushroom
File:Power Flower Pink.png|Camouflage Flower
File:Metal Mushroom.png|Metal Mushroom
File:1200px-MKT Icon Heart.png|Heart
File:MKT Icon Ice Flower.png|Ice Flower
File:MKT Icon Bubble.png|Bubble
File:Super Leaf Build.png|Tanooki Leaf
File:SuperHornMK8.png|Super Horn
File:Cloud Flower.png|Cloud Flower
File:RockMushroomMKH.png|Rock Mushroom
File:SpinDrill.png|Spin Drill
The power ups act as temporary shields for Mario, Luigi and Toad, so that when they take damage, they lose the power up and not a piece of their health. They can also be given upgrades from the Toad Network which can be toggled on and off on the pause menu. 
=== The Time Zone ===
For the first time in a Super Mario game, there is a time zone added. For Super Mario Switch, time is exactly 72 times faster than normal time. This can be easily calculated as the proportion 1440⁄20 = 72, since there are 1440 minutes in a real day (60min × 24hr) and 20 minutes in a full day ingame. During the Daytime, things remain the same in terms of level structure. The length of this period is ten minutes and during the ten minutes, the sun moves to its zenth in a light blue sky. Around the nine minute mark, sunset begins and the Sun descends and the Moon rises. During the Nighttime, things change when it comes to level structure, the enemies move much faster, platforms move faster, certain Stars are only available during the nighttime and there's a limited visibility in certain areas. Like the daytime, the length of time for this period is ten minutes. 
== Characters ==
=== Playable ===
=== Residents of the Toad Network ===
File:Toadsworth by banjo2015-d8ns17u.png|Toadsworth
File:Princess daisy athletic at london 2012 by the brunette amitie dayd7mm-fullview.png|Princess Daisy
File:Captain Toad miner.png|Captain Toad
File:JaxiSniffing.png|Jaxi
File:Glydon.png|Glydon
File:PaulineMTA.png|Pauline
=== Secondary ===
File:Princess Peach (Or Hoshmand).png|Princess Peach
File:The price of eggs.png|Rosalina
File:Luma Mario Tennis.png|Luma
File:Koopa Troopa.png|Koopa the Quick
=== Antagonists ===
File:BowserNSMBU-transparent.png|Bowser
File:Bowser Jr.|Bowser Jr 
File:Kamek.png|Kamek
File:The Ancient.png|The Ancient
== Locales ==
There are thirty-three locations that Mario and friends can visit in the game. Each of them have a specific theme, some being similar to themes seen in previous Super Mario titles, others being based on different locations in Japan. Five of them are from Super Mario 64. 
Locales
Name 	Description 	Number of Stars	Toad House colour	Boss
Peach's Castle 	The famous castle is the castle situated within the Mushroom Kingdom and is its most prominent landmark. Princess Peach and many Toads, including Toad and Toadsworth, reside in it. 	10 	 	None
Apple Bobbin Acres 	A field full of apples owned by farmers. Yoshis come here on vacations to snack on the apples before being told off by the farmers, whilst not caring. Yoshi is one of those culprits 	10 	 	
Lime Lake 	A beautiful lake known for the hottest springs in the Mushroom Kingdom. With the scent of lime. 	10 	 	
Bob-omb Battlefield 	The home and former battle grounds of the Bob-ombs of the Mushroom Kingdom. Once a populated battlefield has become a peaceful neighbourhood, home to the Bob-ombs who either moved out of Bowser's line of work or grew up happy without the idea of "making an impact". It's also home to a floating fortress in the sky, run by Whomps, Thwomps and Twacks.	10 	 	
Shifting Sand Land 	An ancient desert that Mario, Luigi and Yoshi once visited in the form of artwork in order to collect seven Power Stars and fight a pair of hands. Thanks to global warming, the landmark has become a dead maze with more sand than ever. 	10 	 	
Shine Sprite Bowl 	A beach known for its sparkly water and for being a perfect place for beach parties. The beach was given the name "Shine Sprite Bowl" by some Piantas who were on holiday. Becoming a trend as a result, the name stuck. 	10 	 	
Bowser's Villa 	Bowser's holiday home in Snowman's Land. 	2 	 	
Cool, Cool Mountain 	A mountain located from the district of Snowman's Land. 	10 	 	
Luigi's Casino 	A casino that Luigi owns in the Toad Network. 	10 	 	
Tick Tock Clock 	An old clock that Mario, Luigi and Yoshi once jumped inside to collect some Stars. Once located on the third floor in Princess Peach's Castle, now moved outside in the courtyard. 	10 	 	
Cherry Blossom City 	The second biggest landmark in the Mushroom Kingdom. Know for the beautiful blossom trees that grow out of the buildings in the city. The city is located within a geodesic dome to keep the smell inside, safe from any potential rainfall. 	10 	 	
Mount Massive 	A mountain with an overflowing river of lemonade running down the structure, eroding the rocks and causing freeze-thaw action. 	10 	 	
Shy Guy Shuriken 	A dojo owned by the Shy Guys in the Mushroom Kingdom who use it for practising their skills in being ninjas. 	10 	 	
Bowser's Cathedral 	Bowser's underground place of worship, with his minions and son, worshipping his leadership and evilness. 	2 	 	
Jolly Rodger Bay 	A bay that Mario, Luigi and Yoshi once visited to retrieve some Stars, known for the sunken ship that is now a rotting relic, and the Eel. The tunnel he lives in branches off to a Dockside that Bowser had infiltrated around the same time. 	10 	 	
The Poppy Parade 	An area with large Japanese-style temples and an on going parade. 	10 	 	
Zen Restaurant 	A restaurant with some Japanese style dinners. 	10 	 	
Piranha Ruins 	A forest filled with piranha plants and other hostile plant life. 	10 	 	
The River of Determination	A very shiny river that leads to Princess Peach's Castle's moat line. Underwater, the river's reflection of the sun makes the soils at the bottom look beautiful. 	10 	 	
Greenboard Central 	A shopping area for people in the Mushroom Kingdom. 	10 	 	
Bowser's Castle 	The domicile of the Koopa villain Bowser and the base of operations for his army. Situated in a volcanic inferno. 	2 	 	
Freezeflame Inferno 	A volcanic lake, situated with flakes of snow around it that doesn't melt. 	10 	 	
Mega-Mini Island 	An island filled with unusually large and small enemies. 	10 	 	
Bombard Cliffs 	A ravine filled with many Bob-ombs and trees dying in the autumn. 	10 	 	
Cirrus Heavens 	A cog-filled city in the sky. Features the mythical creepy clock tower 	10 	 	
Creepy Clock Tower 	A cog-filled tower filled with spikes and Tetromino Blocks. No one has dared to enter it due to some mysterious theories about the tower being a crime scene. 	10 	 	
The Star Sanctuary 	The back garden of Peach's Castle, home to the statue of the Eternal Star. 	10 	 	
Bowser's Airship 	An airship owned by Bowser that is usually used for common invasions of Peach's Castle. 	2 	 	
The Fourth Floor 	The fourth floor of Peach's Castle recently built for the purposes of a wedding. 	none 	none 	none
The Throne Room 	A room in the fourth floor of Peach's Castle, haired by Princess Peach herself. 	none 	none 	none
==Development==
Development for Super Mario Switch had been overlaping with the development of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Pleased with the gameplay of the Bowser's Fury campaign of that game, Nintendo EPD felt that it would fit well enough as another Super Mario game. Not wanting the game to compete with Bowser's Fury around the same time, the developers decided that it should be a 2D platformer with 3D elements, complimenting Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. 
The title Super Mario Switch was suggested by Kenta Motokura and Shigeru Miyamoto as an inside joke to joke about the switch of playstyle that people would expect to see in a 2D Mario game. 
=== Soundtrack ===
Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo returned alongside Shiho Fujii, who had composed for Super Mario Odyssey to direct the game's score. They aimed for an orchestra–big band fusion for most of the soundtrack. 
Category:Mario (series)
Category:Mario Games
Category:Super Mario 3d Games
Category:Super Mario (series)