Nintendo EU - Mario leaps into the spotlight with Paper Mario: Color Splash and Mario Party: Star Rush

7th October, 2016 – Super Mario is preparing to run, jump and flip his way through the rest of 2016 in a range of titles old and new, starting with today’s release of the action-adventure Paper Mario: Color Splash for Wii U and frantic multiplayer action in Mario Party: Star Rush for Nintendo 3DS family systems. Later this year, Mario fans will be able to see where it all began with the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System launching on 11th November, while December will see the release of Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS and the first Mario title developed specifically for smart devices: Super Mario Run.

Out today, Paper Mario: Color Splash is a hilarious action-adventure game that sees our hero discover that Prism Island is being drained of its colour, taking it upon himself to recover the Big Paint Stars that have mysteriously gone missing. Through strategic use of Battle Cards and his new paint hammer, Mario will engage in puzzling battles to defeat enemies and splash paint all over Prism Island on his quest to get to the bottom of a colour conundrum. You can learn more about this papery paradise in peril at our official Paper Mario: Color Splash website! Players can also get an insight into the game’s unique humour with the Paper Mario: Color Splash – Stop Motion “Outtakes” trailer.

More Mario action hits shop shelves today in the form of Mario Party: Star Rush for Nintendo 3DS family systems. This latest addition to the series has a new approach to the party with quicker play and simultaneous turns between players, with plenty of strategy waiting to be unfurled. Those wishing to play with others can also download the free Mario Party: Star Rush - Party Guest software*, which means that up to four friends with their own Nintendo 3DS family system can enjoy a full multiplayer experience with just one copy of the full game between them. Those without the Party Guest software can still enjoy a limited selection of modes via Download Play. Find out more about the party ahead at our official Mario Party: Star Rush website!

To celebrate the release of Mario Party: Star Rush, Donkey Kong, Wario, Rosalina, and a glow-in-the-dark Boo will form the second series of Super Mario Collection amiibo, all launching today. On 4th November, this series will also be bolstered by the addition of Diddy Kong, Daisy and Waluigi. All of these new Super Mario Collection amiibo are compatible with Mario Party: Star Rush, while all compatible amiibo with save data from Mario Party 10 on Wii U can be tapped into Mario Party: Star Rush** for special dice in the new Toad Scramble mode.

Those who’ve yet to pick up Mario Party 10 also have a new opportunity to do so, as it was recently added to the Nintendo Selects range for Wii U, alongside the first four-player 3D Mario platformer SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD. Both titles join New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U in the range, meaning that there’s plenty of opportunity to enjoy these multiplayer Mario outings. These titles are available at £19.99 / €24.99 each on Nintendo eShop for Wii U, and can also be purchased from a computer or mobile device on the official Nintendo website***.

For players who want to experience even more classic Mario titles, they can see where it all began for our hero with the launch of the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System on 11th November. Releasing with 30 classic NES titles built in to the console, players can enjoy Mario’s very first outings in Donkey Kong and Mario Bros., iconic platforming action in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3, and frantic puzzling action with Dr. Mario.

Mario leaps forward again in December with the first launch of Super Mario Run, a full-sized Super Mario Bros. action platformer that has been developed specifically for mobile. Mario runs forward on his own, but relies on the touch of a single finger to jump over obstacles, avoid pesky enemies and reach the flag pole to complete levels. Users will be able to download and enjoy a portion of Super Mario Run for free and will be able to enjoy all of the game content available in this release after paying a set purchase price.

Also releasing in December will be Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, which is all about playing courses anytime, anywhere. With nearly all of the creation tools from Super Mario Maker for Wii U, interactive lessons, and the ability to collaborate on level designs by sharing them with another game owner locally, there are plenty of ways to create courses on the go. While courses can’t be shared online, players can connect to the internet to download and play select courses from the Wii U version. Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS also includes 100 Nintendo-designed courses with new challenges, like collecting every coin or defeating all enemies, meaning that there’s more ways to play Mario than ever before when it launches this December.