The battle royale market is a relatively new one in comparison to industry mainstays like first-person shooters (FPS) and role-playing games (RPG), but it has already brought upon fatigue among some players. Shooter titles, in particular, are the usual targets to venture down this field, so perhaps a switch-up is due.
Joining the likes of non-shooter battle royale games like Tetris 99 is a popular, well-loved classic, Super Mario Bros. The beloved Nintendo icon has finally made its way to the fold in the form of Mario Royale, a browser-based game that pits the player against other challengers to complete the game stages as quickly as possible.
Created by YouTuber Inferno Plus, it features the shortened versions of the original NES Super Smash Bros. as the main battleground. Since the game play experience is shared between other players (up to a maximum of 99), any resources encountered along the way (Super Stars, mushrooms, and Fire Flowers) can only be picked up by a handful of individuals.
The best part of Mario Royale is that it’s not a player-versus-player mechanic. Instead, what thins the crowd would be the environment, where falling off platforms, bumping into spinning turtle shells, and jumping into Piranha Plants are all common obstacles standing in the way of victory.
Unlike the ‘winner takes all’ approach in most battle royale titles, it’s possible to clinch a second- or third-place finish in Mario Royale, which will be determined by timing. It’s also very easy to dive right into it, especially since the world of Super Smash Bros. should prove to be standard knowledge. The end draws near when the player pool decreases to a single-digit count, after which the three fastest players will be crowned the winners.
Suffice to say, the race against time is an extremely chaotic affair. In place of one Mario, there are now seventy other identical Marios flailing around the same plane, and it can be difficult to spot where one’s sprite is. Its addictive and highly-thrilling nature, however, easily compensates for its imperfections, and players will repeatedly find themselves being drawn back into the nostalgic world of wall-punching and platform-jumping.
It should be noted that Mario Royale is a completely free fan-created project, which makes it even more of an impressive feat. The opening splash screen comes with an explicit disclaimer in tow, but Nintendo is known for having a tight leash on their IPs, so there’s a possibility that the game might be taken down soon.
Of course, we are hoping that it can stay around longer, because there’s nothing more satisfying than beating both the clock and the environment. Not to mention, there’s some sort of sadistic pleasure that comes with watching other players fall to their death.
Hop onto the website for a shot at becoming the fastest Mario, and also the only one worthy of the phrase, “It-a-me, Mario!”.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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