The Nintendo Switch 2 is over a year old, and we’re fresh off a Nintendo Direct full of games for it. In fact, except for a cursory mention at the top of the show, Nintendo seems to have largely moved on from its older Switch 1 console. It’s instead focused on stuffing its latest contraption with spiffed-up ports of games from other systems, while offering almost all of its beloved mascots an opportunity to shine.
Yup, it seems like every one of Nintendo’s main characters has their own game for the Switch 2! Donkey Kong, Yoshi, the Inklings, Samus Aran with the announcement of Metroid Ravenous, Link with the Ocarina of Time remake, and now Kirby in Kirby and the World Beyond! Even Fox McCloud got a new game recently! The Pikmin are at least showing up in an upgraded port of Pikmin 4! Animal Crossing‘s cast got a shiny Switch 2-only upgrade recently for New Horizons, Pokopia is out there waving the Pokémon flag…yup, that’s just about everybody!
Sorry, I’m missing someone? Who? Who could possibly be missing from that list?
Oh.
Guys, where the heck is Mario?
It’s a little weird, right, not to have any sort of mainline Mario game even announced yet? Yes, we did get a Switch 2 upgrade to a Mario game in the form of the god-awfully named Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, and Mario Kart World is nominally a Mario game, sure. And I know, I know, Donkey Kong Bananza was the work of the 3D Mario team, and it was fantastic.
But Mario is a different guy. Blue overalls, red hat, does different stuff than DK. It just feels weird that there’s no major Mario game on the horizon this far in. No new 3D Mario, not even really a brand new 2D Mario either. In fact, is this the longest a new Nintendo home console has gone without a new 3D Mario since Mario first popped into polygons in Super Mario 64?
- Super Mario 64: Launch day game for Nintendo 64
- Super Mario Sunshine: 9 months after GameCube launch in the U.S.
- Super Mario Galaxy: 12 months after Wii launch in the U.S.
- Super Mario 3D World: 12 months after Wii U launch in the U.S.
- Super Mario Odyssey: 7 months after Nintendo Switch launch
What’s going on? He’s literally Nintendo’s main mascot, the biggest deal of them all. I don’t have any illusions that he’s been forgotten by Nintendo, I’m just sort of confused as to where he is right now. Is he sleeping? Is his next game going to be something huge? Something significantly more awe-inspiring than Super Mario Wonder?
Look, Mario can take his time getting ready. Whatever he needs. I have faith in my plumber hero. At this point, I wouldn’t expect him to emerge until next year, so as not to drag attention away from Ocarina of Time. But it would just be nice to see a sign of life, you know? A little flash of a red cap. A cursory “wahoo!” from behind a curtain. I miss him, you know? The Switch 2 is a great system that I am enjoying very much, but it won’t be fully realized to me until it has its super star.