REVIEW: Super Mario Run

Back in 2011 late Nintendo President Satoru Iwata proclaimed that Nintendo would 'absolutely not' be making mobile games, and that any moves to do so would see Nintendo 'cease to be Nintendo'. Cut to five years later and, following a more off-the-wall experiment with Miitomo, we have our first fully fledged Nintendo game on iOS.

Super Mario Run sees the portly plumber stripped of everything but his core mechanic: jumping. Mario runs automatically across the screen, with a simple tap making him jump across ravines, onto enemies, and over obstacles. It's a perfect adaptation of the Mario franchise for mobile devices and, being a bespoke offering, is much more welcome than say, a straight port of the original Super Mario Bros.

Contrary to Iwata's prediction, the level designs are classic Nintendo. Initially accessible yet fun to vault your way through, with the challenge escalating across the 24 stages. Whilst I never had any real difficulty in finishing a level, it certainly got more satisfying to do so, especially in the single screen levels. These stages see Mario change direction when he reaches the right hand side of the screen, or run straight through to appear on the left once again a la Mario Bros. These involved a little more brain power to figure out and broke up the pace nicely from the standard 'run to the goal' levels.

Not that those outings are in any way monotonous. Classic Mario levels with green hills and mushrooms, haunted Boo mansions, Pokey infested desert settings, and of course Bowser's nefarious castles are all here and vary massively from course to course. They often have a unique mechanic to help - or hinder - your progress through the level, from enemies throwing huge spiky balls at you from every direction to utilising a well timed shell to clear your path. Every level on offer was a fun and unique experience. Throw in some mechanisms that allow Mario to somersault backwards, or stand still for a moment to time his way through a moving obstacle, and there's enough variety to stop the game ever getting repetitive.

As mentioned, it's fun if relatively easy to power through the 24 levels on offer here. The real challenge comes in collecting the special coins. Each level has five pink coins to locate. Doing so unlocks an ever so slightly modified version of the level with five purple coins to gather and if you can manage that, a further change up gives you a final challenge of five black coins. The pink ones can be collected on your first playthrough of a level if you're switched on enough, but by the time you reach the black coins the challenge can be fiendishly difficult, with the need to perfectly execute a series of jumps across multiple enemies to reach that one coin that's otherwise out of reach. It's a great excuse to keep coming back to the main 'World Tour' mode and there's a few bonus levels available as an extra challenge for those that manage to find them all.

Further replayability can be found in the high score mechanism. By adding friends, either directly via friend codes or by linking your Facebook and Twitter accounts, you can see who has managed to gather the most coins in any given level. It adds a cool competitive element and offers a further challenge to increase your high score.

Competition is the name of the game in the second mode, Toad Rally, which sees you compete against the ghost data of other Mario Run players in order to gain the approval of onlooking Toads. Collecting coins and pulling off sweet jump combinations will boost your score, and the winner will attract more Toads to their kingdom. As well as acting as a 'high score' in your friends table, gathering more Toads for your kingdom unlocks further items in the game's third mode; Kingdom Builder.

A much more serene affair than the other two modes, Kingdom builder lets you spend the coins you accrue in the other modes on buildings, items, flora and fauna, to customise your very own mushroom kingdom. The Toads you unlock in Toad Rally come in various colours, and various buildings require different combinations in order to unlock. It's mostly cosmetic, but there are extra playable characters you can unlock this way with their own unique traits that may help you reach a few elusive black coins back in World Tour mode.

Some may balk at paying £7.99 for a mobile game, but what you're getting for that is the full experience. There are no annoying adverts popping up after every level, no prompts to go and buy extra coins or jewels or any other nonsense. There is no 'pay to win' mechanism. The expansion of your Mushroom Kingdom relies solely on your platforming skills, and for a game that's so well built, packed with this many features and replayability, eight quid is a very reasonable price tag.

The biggest drawback to the game though is the requirement for a constant internet connection in order to play. If you're at home or at work that isn't necessarily an issue. But once you're on the move it can start to scupper any platforming fun you might have. City dwellers won't have too much of an issue, but those of us that live in more rural areas may find that their bus ride into town won't be as Mario centric as they may have hoped. It seems a daft requirement, when the game is ideal to play on a commute, but if you have an unstable 3G connection, or say, a tube journey to undertake, you may find yourself reaching for other games.

All in all, Super Mario Run is an excellent first foray into the mobile gaming market for Nintendo. It's well built, plays excellently, and offers plenty of replayability for it's price tag. The need for a decent internet connection may mean that some won't get to play it when they would ideally like to, but it's nevertheless a great take on the Mario franchise that works perfectly for mobile devices.

Nintendo NX: Thoughts, Hopes, Fears and Speculations

As we inch towards an official unveiling of the NX the hype train and rumour mill are getting increasingly active, and whilst a metric tonne of salt needs to be taken with each report until Nintendo give us an official announcement, certain things appear to be clarifying. Or at the very least, looking more and more likely.

Over the past couple of weeks we had the big story from Eurogamer claiming that the NX would be a portable console with detachable controllers. Citing multiple sources it also said that the device would come with a TV docking station to allow users to play games on their TV, as well as using cartridges instead of discs. This ties in with the prevailing thought on the console, that it is a portable/home console hybrid, borne out of Nintendo's decision to merge their handheld and home console hardware divisions back in 2013.

Combining Portable and Home Consoles

I was initially less than enthused by this hybrid prospect. Whilst I own both a 3DS and a Wii U, they both offer very different experiences, and I was wary of a device that tried to consolidate those experiences into one machine, fearing it could be to the detriment of one or the other. Much of it depends on the focus of the device and how well Nintendo can amalgamate those two different disciplines into one product. There needs to be the sprawling adventure games like Zelda and Metroid, as well as the big hitters like Mario, but equally there will be a place for games that are better suited to a portable platform. Games like Animal Crossing and Tomadchi Life. Interestingly, certain franchises already span that divide - your Mario Karts and more recently Smash Bros - but a franchise like Zelda currently offers vastly different experiences across the disparate platforms. However, the more I've thought about it and the more information that appears to be coming to light about this console, the more excited about it I have become.

Breaching the gap: Smash Bros on 3DS and Wii U

One of the big issues though is storage. The Eurogamer piece mentions that Nintendo initially considered a digital only platform before opting for cartridges. As someone who traditionally has always favoured physical media, I've increasingly found myself moving towards digital versions of my games. Especially when it comes to 3DS, as it removes the need for carrying a load of cartridges around with me whenever I'm gaming on the go. But I've also found myself moving towards digital on Wii U too, especially for games where I may only want to jump in for a quick session. I have digital versions of Splatoon and Starfox, as well as numerous indie titles, but have also found myself wishing I had purchased the likes of Mario Kart 8 through the eShop too. If NX is indeed this portable hybrid, it will need a large storage capacity in order to optimise the 'take your games on the go' experience. Traditionally this has not been an area where Nintendo has excelled. The Wii had a tiny hard drive, the larger version of the Wii U also fills up very quickly, never mind the 'core' model, and I know of few people who didn't immediately put a larger SD card in their 3DS. The NX will need a large hard drive, especially if the reports of Nintendo's recommended 32gb cartridge size prove to be true. That's worryingly small given the size of many modern games.

Keeping Third Parties On Board

This is where the third party issue comes into play. The biggest problem the Wii U had was it's sporadic software releases. Nintendo can only turn out so many games a year and it needs third parties to fill those gaps. Unfortunately, the technical limitations of the Wii U made it difficult, if not impossible in some cases, to port games from the other consoles in the market to Nintendo's hardware. Nintendo badly needs to learn from this with the NX. Without the support of third parties, fewer people will buy the console, and if there isn't a worthwhile install base, fewer developers will make games for it, leading to fewer users and so on and so forth. Ensuring they don't get trapped in this cycle will be the overriding goal of Nintendo going into launch. This is the reason President Tatsumi Kimishima has given for eschweing a holiday release, and aiming for a March 2017 launch of the console. Nintendo want a strong launch line-up to get a healthy install base secured from day one. 

Happily, Nintendo are seemingly positioning themselves to lead the charge on this, with MCV reporting that, as well as Zelda, new Mario and Pokémon games are slated for the first six months of the console's life. Add to that Pikmin 4 which Miyamoto has said is all but finished (I'd be surprised if that wasn't now an NX title, maybe even a launch game alongside Zelda?) and the titles third parties have already confirmed are in development - Dragon Quest from Square Enix and the new Sonic title for example - and the NX should have a rather strong launch. Longer term though, architecture will also play an important role.

Nvidia's Tegra X1 chip, rumoured to be in NX dev kits

On this point, much has been discussed about the Nvidia Tegra chip the console is reportedly using. Dev kits are apparently sporting the Tegra X1 chip, currently found in the Shield Android TV, which would put the NX's power somewhere in the region between PS3 and PS4. This would give the NX some impressive visuals for a handheld, but would still leave it under cooked when compared to it's biggest competitors. Whilst Nintendo have eschewed the arms race and going toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft over the past couple of generations, this does give third parties a headache when it comes to developing for Nintendo's system alongside Playstation and Xbox.

The other option would be Tegra's X2 chip and as well as being more desirable, looks increasingly likely. Rumours have circulated that the NX will be operating on Nvidia's Pascal architecture, which the X2 utilises. What's more, the X2 is also much more power efficient. This will be crucial when you consider the importance of a decent battery life in a handheld console. It would also put it approaching the region of Xbox One in terms of power, at least when docked. The prospect of a Supplemental Computing Device (something Nintendo was recently granted a patent for) within the cradle for the NX to increase it's power when in docked mode could mean a power level that allows it to at least not be unduly disadvantaged when compared to it's competitors, making it easier for third parties to port their games to the NX and keep that crucial software library well stocked.

Games, Games, Games

As mentioned earlier, that library will need to be stellar from the get go. Breath of the Wild, if it turns out to be a launch title, would certainly be a strong start, especially if it delivers on it's early promise. The sheer hype surrounding it's E3 unveiling could really give the NX launch the pizzazz it needs. Naturally there will be a Mario game at some point. If the one rumoured to be coming within that six month launch window turns out to be something in the vein of a Super Mario Sunshine or Galaxy then that will certainly help carry any Zelda generated momentum forward. As for the Pokémon game Game Freak are apparently working on, it's difficult to say. If it is indeed coming within that first six months, I'd be very surprised if it was a full-on adventure. More likely it's a Pokémon Colosseum type game that maybe links somehow to the upcoming Sun and Moon games for 3DS. Further down the line though, if NX does end up replacing both Wii U and Nintendo's portable hardware, this raises the prospect of a fully fledged Pokémon title running on powerful hardware that can be played both on the go and on your TV. The much sought after Pokémon MMO could finally be on the horizon.

Pokémon Sun and Moon. The final portable only, mainline Pokémon games? 

This switching between the two throws up interesting ideas for other series like Animal Crossing too. Pottering around my town on the TV whilst still being able to check in to harvest fruit on the go sounds like the perfect way to play that game. It will be interesting to see what fun gameplay mechanics Nintendo and other developers come up with that utilise the unique features of a hybrid console like this. Streetpass style rewards for taking NX on the go, that unlock things when you next dock to your TV perhaps? 

It does throw up some dilemmas for other series though. Take Zelda for example, Would NX see an end to top down titles like A Link Between Worlds, or does this portable characteristic mean that Breath of the Wild will end up being a one off? Ideally of course we'll get both experiences, though how they will be marketed will be interesting. The thought of a top down Zelda with beautiful HD art direction however, certainly has me excited.

Ultimately, there will need to be a good balance of the sprawling adventures we're used to seeing on a home console, titles that traditionally are better suited to a portable, and indeed games that work just as well in either environment. This latter type of game is why I think a Smash Bros. Championship Edition would make a perfect launch title. Porting the Wii U/3DS game complete with all DLC and perhaps even with all the Wii U and 3DS maps in one place, would demonstrate the features of the console perfectly. Train on the commute to work, before heading home, jumping online and taking on the world on your TV. Given the long development time of a Smash Bros title, I imagine this is the most likely scenario. Sakurai and his team put a huge amount of work into that game and the development time on a new entry from the ground up for NX would put it several years into the console's life cycle. They could even dangle the promise of future DLC for the Championship Edition to entice Smash fans who own the game on Wii U and 3DS to make the switch to NX. This would also be easier to do than creating a whole new entry.

Other Wii U ports we could potentially see include Super Mario Maker - assuming the NX's screen has touch capabilities - and Splatoon. Personally though, I think Splatoon would benefit more from a direct sequel instead of a port, taking advantage of the unique features of the NX. Smash Bros has been perfected over 17 years and five iterations. Splatoon on the other hand has only it's first title to it's name. A Spla2oon that improved on the formula of the first would make for a great addition to the NX's library. There's no reason why it couldn't include a few fan-favourite maps and weapons, much like Mario Kart's retro tracks. It would even be a system-seller in Japan where Splatoon is huge.

Nintendo rarely fails to deliver on software though. The Wii U may have flopped as a console, but it is home to some of the best software the big N has produced. The key for me is that third party question. I want to be able to play FIFA and Call of Duty and other multi-platform titles on my NX. Especially as cross-platform play becomes more prevalent. And whilst the hardcore FPS fans are unlikely to play the likes of COD on NX, if Nintendo can ensure those multi-platform staples come to their hardware, then they'll be in a much stronger position than they have been this generation.

Marketing

If the software issues are kept in check, then the biggest challenge will be how the device is marketed. The Wii U suffered horrendously from poor messaging. Consumers were baffled as to whether it was a new device, an addition to the Wii, or something else entirely. Similarly, Nintendo need to think about how they are pitching the NX. Is it a successor to the Wii U, the 3DS or both?

The Wii U. Confusing branding.

Nintendo needs to make a decision as to whether to sell the NX as either a games console you can take on the go, or a portable console you can play on your TV. For what it's worth, I believe the former sounds like a more exciting proposition, but it does put it in more direct competition with PS4 and Xbox One than taking the latter approach. Regardless, if it's priced right, has the right library and isn't hugely under powered when compared to those big hitters, a simple message - devoid of any Wii branding - could be a big hit with that strong USP. If pitched similarly to the Wii as a second console to accompany the Xbox or Playstation, it even has the potential to hit the sort of highs the Wii did. Especially if Nintendo's goal of using mobile to introduce consumers to their brands in order to entice them over to more traditional experiences comes to fruition.

In conclusion, despite initially being lukewarm on the idea, I've grown to be rather excited by what the NX might entail. If it does manage to kick out some decent power, ensuring it isn't abandoned by gamers and developers alike, then the prospect of consolidating my home console and portable gaming into one device is an enticing one. Regardless, Nintendo will undoubtedly kick out some great software - Breath of the Wild means it will be a day one purchase for me anyway - but if everything lines up, the NX could be one brilliant console indeed.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Timeline Theory

Ever since we got our first look at Breath of the Wild at last week's E3 conference in LA, Zelda fans across the internet have been speculating as to where in the notoriously convoluted Zelda timeline the new game will fall. Is it pre-Ocarina of Time, before the split? Does it take place sometime after Wind Waker in the 'Adult Link' timeline or does it follow on from Twilight Princess in the 'Child Link' branch? Maybe it's set on the controversial 'Fallen Hero' arc of the timeline? There's been next to no information about the story within Breath of the Wild so far, but there has been a couple of little clues dotted around the footage shown in Nintendo's Treehouse Live presentation that may give an indication as to it's placement.

A fellow Zelda Universe writer has explored this predicament in great detail themselves on the site, and have come to the conclusion that Breath of the Wild takes place on the fallen hero timeline. It's a great piece that takes the Sherlock Holmes approach of elimination, and that whatever remains, however improbable, must be the case. Myself, I've gone for the opposite approach and rather than trying to work out where it doesn't fit, instead use the few clues we have so far to hazard a guess as to the most likely placement. The ZU piece, once it's established that the game takes place after the Ocarina of Time fork in the timeline, moves on and eliminates the Adult Link timeline from the equation too. However, I believe this is dismissed far too quickly and is in fact, given what we know so far, the most probable place for the game to be positioned.

Adult Timeline

The adult timeline takes place after the events of Ocarina of Time and incorporates Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. At the end of Ocarina Ganondorf is sealed away. Eventually though, Ganondorf breaks free and wreaks havoc on Hyrule, and despite the people's prayers to the gods, the Hero of Time does not return to save them. King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule decides to leave the fate of his kingdom in the hands of the gods, who then choose to flood Hyrule, sealing the kingdom, along with it's king, and Ganondorf, beneath the ocean. It is this act, and the character of Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, that I believe holds the key to Breath of the Wild's placement.

Koroks

One of the more surprising elements of the Treehouse Live footage shown at E3 was the inclusion of the Koroks. These characters have only ever appeared in Wind Waker, which lends weight to the Adult Timeline placement of Breath of the Wild. The history and origin of the Koroks is explained in Wind Waker by the Great Deku Tree. He tells how Koroks are “spirits of the forest” and “little children of the woods.” Moreover, the Great Deku Tree considers them to be his “cherished little children.” Most crucial though is this line: “Once upon a time, long ago, the Koroks took on human forms, but when they came to live on the sea, they took these shapes.” So the Kokiri, the forest children of Ocarina of Time eventually become the Koroks of Wind Waker. Indeed this is confirmed in Hyrule Historia. This transformation happened as a direct result of the great flood and so it stands to reason that Breath of the Wild takes place sometime after Wind Waker.

But hold on, I hear you cry, we know what happens after Wind Waker already. Indeed we do. Ganondorf is defeated by Link and Tetra, the Master Sword embedded in his skull and his body turned to stone. The Hero of the Winds and the Pirate princess then head off across the ocean in Phantom Hourglass in search of the New Hyrule which is then established and plays home to the events of Spirit Tracks. But what of the Old Hyrule, lost beneath the flood? What of Ganondorf and the Master Sword? What of King Daphnes Nohansen?

Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule

They all remain under the ocean for the rest of time. Or do they? In his final monologue before sending Link and Tetra off in search of a new kingdom they can call their own, he says "If only I could do things over again. Not a day of my life has gone by without my thoughts turning to my kingdom of old. I have lived bound to Hyrule." We already know that Daphnes has lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, from the flood to the events of Wind Waker. There is nothing to suggest he cannot go on living beneath the sea, washed away with his beloved Hyrule. 

Perhaps Nohansen's desire to restore Hyrule to it's former glory led him to call upon the gods - or even utilise the power of the Triforce - to drain the ocean? This explains why the Temple of Time we see in the Treehouse footage is in ruins, having spent so many years at the bottom of the Great Sea. The rusted, dilapidated state of the Master Sword in the trailer indicates it's deterioration, tarnished by it's many years lost in the ocean depths. It also explains why the Koroks are now living in a world devoid of the Great Sea of Wind Waker. Furthermore, in footage of Link foraging in Breath of the Wild, we see our hero acquire Rock Salt whilst exploring a mountain. The description describes it as "Crystallised salt from the ancient sea", which is surely a reference to the Great Sea of Wind Waker? In his pursuit of restoring Hyrule to it's former glory, Daphnes inadvertently broke the seal securing Ganondorf in stone. This calamitous act released Ganon to wreak the havoc described by the old man in the opening stages of Breath of the Wild. This is why the enemy that is 'just barely contained' within Hyrule Castle is referred to by the old man as the Calamity Ganon. Indeed the only other reference we've seen to the old enemy, by the monks at the end of each Shrine, only refers to Ganon, with no 'Calamity' epithet. Perhaps this is something only Daphnes - and the people of Hyrule who know of his mistake - add to the Ganon name.

When we first encountered the Old Man at the beginning of the game play footage of Breath of the Wild I immediately shouted out 'that's the king of Hyrule!' The resemblance between the two, I thought, was uncanny. 

This supposedly random hermit also seems peculiarly knowledgeable about the kingdom. He gives Link a history lesson about the Great Plateau upon which they stand being the birthplace of Hyrule. He also wistfully describes the great ceremonies that used to take place in the Temple of Time. Once Link uses his Sheikah Slate to activate the resurrection tower, the old man asks him if anything unusual happened whilst he was at the top of the tower. Once Link tells him about the voice he heard, the old man replies 'I suspected as much' and then asks Link if he recognised the voice. When Link tells him he did not, he replies that it is a 'shame.' This I think, allows us to further speculate on what is occurring in Breath of the Wild.

Hero of Time

Link starts the game hearing a voice telling him to wake up. He emerges, not from beneath a duvet but in some sort of bath of a mysterious liquid. We are then told that this room is in fact called the Shrine of Resurrection. I'm speculating somewhat wildly now, but join me on the ride. What if, knowing the evil he had inadvertently unleashed, Daphnes sought some way of resurrecting the Hero of Time in order to banish it?

There's no doubt that the Sheikah play an important role in Breath of the Wild, and Aonuma has mentioned how there is a greater focus on technology within the realm of the new Zelda. This Sheikah technology is something that the old man is peculiarly knowledgeable about. In a segment of game play skipped through by the Treehouse employee during Nintendo's stream, we are given some more information. The old man says “The appearance of those towers and the awakening of this shrine... it’s all connected to that Sheikah Slate you carry on your hip there. Long ago, an advanced civilisation known as the Sheikah inhabited these lands. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen or heard of the Sheikah Slate... It was the power and wisdom of the Sheikah that saved this land time and time again. But their civilisation disappeared long ago... or so it is said. It is interesting, however, to think... that something of them might still remain hidden away in a shrine such as this.”

Once again, this seemingly random old man knows a hell of a lot about an ancient and mysterious tribe. He also describes them as 'advanced'. Given the close ties between the Sheikah tribe and the Hylian royal family, it would make sense that the King would know this, and would also have heard tales of some of their advanced power. Perhaps even bringing people back from the dead? I propose that Daphnes set about tracking down some of the advanced technology of the Sheikah in order to revive the Hero of Time to claim the sword of evil's bane, now hidden away in the wooded area shown at the end of the Breath of the Wild trailer (the sacred grove perhaps?) restore it to it's former glory, and cast Ganon back once more.

Many fans are already speculating that the voice Link hears at the beginning of the game is Zelda. If this were the case, this could explain why the old man asks Link if he recognises the voice, knowing that they have met in the past. A seemingly throwaway line in the Treehouse footage also hints at this being the same Link that fought Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. In this video, at the 15:20 mark, Link is clearly referred to by the Treehouse member as the 'Hero of Time'. It could be nothing, but then again...

Holes

This theory is by no means perfect. It neglects the 100 years Aonuma says Link has been asleep prior to the start of the game. This fact would also mean Link's slumber started at the same time that Calamity Ganon laid waste to Hyrule. (This information is gleaned from this footage my colleagues at Zelda Universe took of the opening segments of the game). This could be crucial, or it could be coincidental, we just don't know yet. Another argument against the Link of Breath of the Wild being the same Hero of Time as Ocarina of Time is that the newer incarnation is right handed, whereas the original Hero of Time was a lefty. Aonuma doesn't seem to think this apparent ambidexterity is all that important to the story though, giving the excuse that he's right handed because that's where the buttons are on the controller. So if Aonuma can dismiss it, so can I!

Safe to say, any timeline placement - and any story details - are complete speculation at this point. We will no doubt get an official timeline placement before long, and if not there will be plenty of speculation and analysis once the game releases and we have more information. Until then though, for my money, a post Wind Waker, Adult Link timeline placement makes the most sense.