Ask anyone who some of Nintendo's most recognizable characters are, and it's more than likely that they'll mention Mario. The charismatic plumber has been at the helm of Nintendo's Super Mario franchise for 35 years now, and last year's celebration was well-earned. He's proved his longevity by branching out from platforming and into all kinds of other genres, from RPGs to racing to party games. His flexibility, charm, and lovable cast of friends and enemies make him more than worthy of his place as Nintendo's de facto mascot. Mario gets used in all kinds of Nintendo advertisements as the face of all of the studio's achievements.
Does he still have the same clout among Nintendo fans as he used to, though? Super Mario is still a lucrative and entertaining franchise, without question, but it also can't be denied that Mario has a lot of peers that are bigger than ever. The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon have accomplished a lot of the same things as Super Mario, and in 2021, they're both getting opportunities to outshine Mario's anniversary. That's partially due to some frustration among fans about the way that Nintendo chose to celebrate Mario's 35th birthday. Nintendo clearly wants to keep Mario at the forefront of its recognizable characters, but it might have stepped on its own feet.
Mario's Brief Anniversary
Nintendo certainly came up with a fair few interesting ways to celebrate Super Mario's 35th anniversary last year. The standout star of the event was Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection of three of Mario's greatest 3D platforming games. 3D All-Stars was a delightful opportunity for fans to play some classic Super Mario games on Switch for the first time ever. The anniversary was supplemented with things like the battle royale platformer Super Mario Bros. 35, as well as the grand opening of Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan.
The problem with Mario's anniversary is that its celebrations ended much faster than fans expected. Nintendo told fans up front that Super Mario 3D All-Stars would cease production in March 2021, a promise that it's fulfilled. Similarly, Super Mario Bros. 35 has gone offline. Mario fans have levied no small amount of criticism at Nintendo for this kind of artificial scarcity. After all, there's little reason that that Super Mario 3D All-Stars couldn't stay in production, and that Super Mario Bros. 35 could keep its servers for longer. It was a very intentional move by Nintendo to keep these games exclusive to the 35th anniversary.
While it makes sense for merchandise for a special event like an anniversary to be limited-edition, a video game that's treated the same way is practically unheard of. Super Mario Bros. 35's short life span is a little more understandable, since it was a small, free game specifically themed towards the anniversary. Super Mario 3D All-Stars, however, offered a strong set of ports that fans really wanted to see more of. Copies of 3D All-Stars are already being scalped for preposterous prices because of Nintendo's choice to stop making it. It might have intended to make this game and the rest of the anniversary an uplifting bout of nostalgia, but unfortunately, some Mario fans might not look on Nintendo's mascot as kindly as usual after the anniversary.
Nintendo's Other Stars
What's ironic about the letdowns around Mario is that Nintendo is treating its other upcoming anniversaries very differently. For example, The Legend of Zelda is poised to have a fantastic 2021 as it also turns 35. In summer, Nintendo will release an HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and seemingly not for a limited time. Not only does Zelda have a valuable remake on the way, but fans are still hoping that Breath of the Wild 2 will release within 2021. An ambitious and coveted sequel alongside a high quality remaster, both without limited runs in production, would make Super Mario's short-lived celebration pale in comparison.
It's not just Link who seems like he'll get better treatment than Mario this year. The Pokemon world is having a really exciting 2021. Nintendo is celebrating Pokemon's 25th anniversary with New Pokemon Snap as well as Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. All three of these games represent remakes of impactful Pokemon games that fans have wanted to see revived for years. On top of that, Pokemon is getting an ambitious new spinoff in the form of the open world Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Once again, these Pokemon games have no limited releases in sight.
Now that Nintendo fans know what 2021's anniversary celebrations look like, it's kind of strange to look back and see the 2020 that Mario had. It's odd that Nintendo didn't decide to commit to long-term projects for their supposed mascot while dedicating much more time and effort to its other franchises. Even as Mario continues to dominate Nintendo's promotional material, it makes it look like Nintendo is increasingly interested in making characters like Link and Pikachu the face of Nintendo.
Mario's Next Steps
It's hard to say if all these events are a display of true favoritism for Pokemon or Zelda over Super Mario. Frankly, it seems unlikely that Nintendo really wants to abandon Mario as its mascot; after all, he's a perfect embodiment of the upbeat attitude and family-friendly design philosophy that's made Nintendo famous. That only makes it stranger that Mario's 35th anniversary was so different from his cousins in other franchises, though. It seems like Nintendo should've come up with some additional Super Mario project of Breath of the Wild 2 or Pokemon Legends: Arceus' caliber, or at least extended 3D All-Stars' life, but for some reason, it just didn't want to.
In spite of the unfavorable comparison, this naturally isn't the end of the world for Mario. At the very least, he does have Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury as a new game with staying power. While Bowser's Fury is far from the same as a totally new Mario game, it at least indicates that Nintendo's thoughts are still with the plucky plumber, and that they're interested in experimenting with the Super Mario formula. Mario's future with Nintendo isn't exactly dark, but Nintendo has to be cognizant of how its recent actions have impacted him and his franchise. He'll always be famous, but if it wants to keep him famous as its mascot, it needs to celebrate him as strongly as everyone else.