Playing Nintendo’s New ‘Super Mario Run’ Game

Super Mario Run is now out in the wild after being officially released yesterday, and Nintendo has demonstrated that it’s more than capable of developing a fun platformer for another company’s device. In order to help you get Mario running on your phone ASAP, here are some basics regarding the game.

Though a version of Super Mario Run is expected to launch on Android platforms in 2017, the game is currently only available to play on iOS devices such as the iPhone or iPad. The game requires iOS 8.0 or later, which is supported by all iPhones from the 4S onward, and all iPads from the iPad 2 onward.

In an effort to prevent game piracy, you’ll have to be connected to the internet to play any part of Super Mario Run — this applies to the modes that don’t appear to use online features, as well.

Super Mario Run is listed as a free game in the App Store, but the free version is really just a demo. The game’s first three levels, 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3, are available completely free of charge, but to finish the end of World 1 and complete your first castle stage, you’ll have to fork over $13.99. This one-time payment gets you access to all six of the game’s worlds — 24 stages in total.

Super Mario Run is divided into three different modes, each offering a different way to play the game. “World Tour” is the mode we’ve come expect from a classic 2D Mario Platformer, bringing with it the classic Mario game mode. “Toad Rally” is the game’s take on competitive multiplayer in which players have to race to collect the most coins and “impress” the most members of the audience, who happen to all be Toads. “Kingdom Builder” mode allows you to buy individual pieces of decoration to place around your individual kingdom, purchased with coins you’ve earned from the other two modes.

Super Mario Run is designed to be played with only one hand, and its extremely simple control scheme reflects this. Instead of controlling Mario’s left-right movement, the game will automatically make him run to the right, and you control his jumps with a tap of your finger. A quick tap will make Mario do a shorter hop, which can be useful for getting over smaller gaps, while holding your finger to the screen will result in a longer jump. For a tiny bit of extra distance, you can tap your finger a second time to make Mario do a little twirl in the air.

There are the basics of Super Mario Run, so get out there and start running! Show the game to your friends who don’t play mobile games, and maybe you’ll make a Mario fan out of them yet!

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