Nintendo's celebration of Super Mario's 35th anniversary went in many different directions. It came up with everything from limited-time items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to a compilation of some of the most famous 3D Super Mario adventures for the date. Nintendo also released Super Mario Bros. 35, a unique battle royale title about combative platforming. Each player had to complete levels from the original Super Mario Bros. game while contending with enemies that other players sent their way. Super Mario Bros. 35, however, only lasted as long as the anniversary and came to a close some time ago despite all of its unique ideas.
Super Mario Bros. 35 easily could've been an ongoing game. Nintendo might have chosen to support the free game with microtransactions for cosmetics, for instance, but instead, it chose to limit the battle royale exclusively to the window of Mario's 35th birthday. However, Nintendo may have abandoned Super Mario Bros. 35, but that doesn't mean it's abandoned the concept. It's entirely possible that Nintendo returns to the idea in the future with a more fleshed-out game. If that's the case, Nintendo should make a Super Mario battle royale based on a more recent game. There are lots of ways that a newer game could add to a potential Mario 35 successor.
Super Mario Bros. 35's Design Choices
At the time, it made sense for Nintendo to focus on Super Mario Bros. and its original levels when making a Super Mario game specifically for the anniversary. Super Mario Bros. 35 celebrated one of the original games responsible for making Mario the face of Nintendo. After all, Nintendo wouldn't be one of the world's most influential game companies without Mario's success. Super Mario Bros. 35 offered fans a way to experience familiar levels in a new way, adding a twist of competition and plenty of tactical depth.
However, another game in the vein of Mario 35 probably shouldn't also reuse Super Mario Bros. content. Instead, it should focus on something like Super Mario World from the SNES or even something much more recent like Super Mario 3D World. The fact of the matter is that Super Mario Bros. is just the foundation of the franchise—it's not representative of where Super Mario is now, and it only has so many tools to work with. Another Mario 35 game that's based on one of Mario's more modern innovations would add more variety to the gameplay while also celebrating the series broadly, rather than focusing on its roots.
Imagining a Super Mario Bros. 35 Sequel
There are lots of things that other Super Mario games could contribute to another Mario 35 game. Even just the introductions of new powerups, from Super Mario World's Feather to New Super Mario Bros.' Ice Flower, would add new strategies and more variety to the game, giving each player more ways to tackle the obstacles that other players put in front of them. A game that blends levels and powerups from a broad range of Mario games could also offer a new level of challenge, as well as game mode options. A Mario 35 sequel where players can specifically queue up for matches focused on specific Super Mario games of their choice would be great.
Super Mario Bros. 35 wasn't the only game that only got a short run due to the anniversary. Nintendo stopped the production of Super Mario 3D All-Stars as soon as the celebration window closed. Even so, both games have concepts that can easily be revisited. Super Mario Bros. 35 in particular has a lot of room to grow since it has so many original elements. Mario 35 was a pretty unique take on the battle royale genre, and it still has untapped potential. If Nintendo gives the game another chance, it could make use of everything that Super Mario has gained since its inception.
Super Mario Bros. 35 is no longer available.