Much to the delight of fans and third-party developers, Nintendo has eased up on its licensing policies and partnerships. As a result, gamers have received Hyrule Warriors and are currently anticipating Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei for the Wii U. The Big N has since teased that more collaborations are in the works, but it has now confirmed an additional crossover that features developer GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons and the beloved Super Mario Bros. series.

Appropriately titled Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, this new handheld game is set to release exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS later this April. Despite only being confirmed for Japan thus far, it's still incredibly likely that the game will be localized for several markets given the popularity of both franchises involved with the crossover.

For those unfamiliar with Puzzle & Dragons, the game is an immensely popular mobile title that's amassed an immense following worldwide. In Japan alone the game has been downloaded 32 million times, which is an impressive number to be sure. North America has been less receptive to the puzzler, having been downloaded 6 million times, but overall this announcement is big for both companies involved.

Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros Edition

Gameplay wise, the title challenges fans to dismantle iconic Super Mario baddies that appear on the top screen by matching symbols based off of popular Mushroom Kingdom power-ups. Chaining together matches will result in greater damage done to Bowser's hostile forces, which will then clear the way for Mario and friends to progress through each stage. Even the overworld map is said to be based on Super Mario Bros., which will ensure a very familiar look and feel for longtime followers of the classic franchise.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is expected to launch at a cost of 4,000 yen, which means it'll run consumers roughly $33.64 USD. This is quite a difference considering that Puzzle & Dragons can be a free-to-play title on iOS devices, but hopefully this means that players will be treated to a much more in-depth and expansive title then what they've become accustomed to on mobile.

Will you play this newly announced crossover puzzle game? What other partnerships would you like to see from Nintendo? Get at us in the comments.

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Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is set to arrive on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 29, 2015.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle for more news on Nintendo, as well as everything else in gaming.

Source: Polygon