8.5/10

Okay, here's the thing: yes, the game is 10 bucks (which doesn't bother me at all), it requires an internet connection (ugh), and it's not a full-fledged Mario. Now that the house cleaning is done, this is a great casual Mario game. In fact, for the most part this is exactly the Mario game Nintendo should have made, but you can't go into it thinking it's going to be as incredible as the best core entries in the series. My 8.5 reflects how it functions as a mobile game.

Touchscreen controls are wank for most genres, so it only made sense to make a kinetic Mario game where he is constantly moving and you just tap the screen. They give you plenty of room on the screen, on the bottom, so you can always see what you're doing. Mario games tend to be balanced, and I think that's something Nintendo doesn't get enough credit for. This one is more of the same, except maybe a little easier because it's harder to die. Still, you have to concentrate in order to get through the levels and, more importantly, get the special coins.

The catch of the game is that while you can technically beat it relatively quickly, you collect the special coins in each stage, and then they put new coins in new spots. You can do this three times for each stage, so there is replay value in the campaign.

On top of that, there's a Toad Ralley mode where you basically go through the levels and use your stylish platforming in order to get more points/coins than your opponent. You are rewarded with Toads, and those can be used to populate your kingdom. The build mode is simplistic but serves as a welcome distraction from the main game: you can build houses, and buy decorations. Sure, it's not real in-depth, but it's still a bonus, which only adds to the experience.

Speaking of which, there could be more meat here, and that would be wonderful. They also could have added some new features like core Mario games tend to do, just to make it a little more exciting, because it's kind of the Force Awakens of Mario; it's incredibly safe but still undeniably fun, with the charm of this beloved character. But you have to keep in mind that this is a mobile game and it's not meant to be played for hours on end. It's meant to be played in short bursts, and it's not supposed to be intensive. As such, it doesn't amaze but it succeeds admirably in what it is trying to accomplish.

It's just a shame that they shot themselves in the foot a little, because while one single price lets it avoid F2P bullshit, they did the Nintendo thing and piled their own bullshit onto it (the required internet). It seems counterproductive, but I mobile game in places that have Wi-Fi usually, anyway. Others may not, however, and that should be considered.

When I saw this game announced, I didn't know if even Nintendo could pull off a 1-button game. Thankfully, they did, and they did it beautifully. It's hard to describe just how good it feels to control Mario (and friends in this game). Sure, you can only jump, but holding down the jump causes you to jump higher. Hitting it while already in the air will cause you to do an air twirl. Hitting it while vaulting an enemy will give you a jump much higher than your normal jump. Seriously, it controls like a dream. The only frustrating thing was the pause blocks, which halt your movement. If you end up on one of these, your next move (roll or jump) is already pre-determined, and you can do nothing about it. That's a pretty minor gripe though.

The half of this game that would get 5 stars is the Tour mode, which presents 24 stages for you to run through. These stages each feature 5 pink coins. You must determine the right path through the stage in order to collect all of them. Remember, there is no backtracking. Once you get the 5 pink coins, you collect blue coins, then black. Each modifies the level in a small way to make your routes harder. Getting all coins on all stages is going to take you some work, but it's all enjoyable.

Then there's Toad Rally. Ugh, Toad Rally. The problem is not that Toad Rally exists; it's actually a really good mode where you race against other players' ghost data. The problem is that it seems to be at odds with itself. Nintendo clearly wanted this to be one of the main modes of the game, but realized people wouldn't play it. So, they made almost all unlockables tied to Toad Rally, meaning hours and hours of endless grinding to get Toads into your Kingdom. There are multiple problems with this: 1) You have to use tickets to participate, so it unnecessarily feels like you have a resource restriction. 2) Grinding for different color Toads is imbalanced. You'll get Blue Toads very easily, since Blue Toads are found in caves. Purple Toads though? You can only find them in Ghost Houses. Even when you win, Ghost Houses have limited coins and places to do stunts, so you only get a handful of Toads. 3) If you lose a Rally, even by 10 points, you lose Toads. So in my quest to collect 150 purple toads, I probably collected around 250. I would have lost even more, but I figured out that you can quit a race with no consequence. 4) 9999 Red Toads to unlock Red Yoshi?! You've gotta be friggin kidding me!

So, all in all, I loved this game, but Toad Rally almost killed it for me. Now that I'm finished, I'll just keep playing the awesome levels.