Does Super Mario Run’s New Update Have Legs?

The latest update for Nintendo’s mobile game Super Mario Run released on Thursday.  Among other additions such as an easy mode and bug fixes, Nintendo added new characters to play and additional content for free players. Along with this update the game is also releasing onto Android for the first time. The app originally released in December of last year and Android users are finally able to play the game. The intention with the simultaneous release of the update and Android version is to bring in players both new and old, but does it succeed?

Super Mario Run’s update adds Red, Blue, Yellow, and Purple Yoshis as playable characters. If these Yoshis are used in the Toad Rally mode, more Toads of the same color will appear. The update also allows free players to access level 1-4, which was previously locked behind the paywall. Clearing this level will give you access to new stages in Toad Rally. The new stages in turn can grant colored Toads that can be turned in for new buildings to place in the player’s kingdom (including unlocking the colored Yoshi characters). Along with this are other various changes, like making Rally Tickets easier to obtain from the bonus game house.

While the ability to play a level for free is convenient for the new Android playerbase, that doesn’t give those that already purchased the game anything new. The update instead focuses on the game’s Toad Rally mode and the rewards for participating in it. The additions to the game’s Tour mode are relatively non-existent. So for those that enjoy playing the Rally mode, this makes the grind for more Toads a little more palatable. Meanwhile those fans of the game that just want more standard Mario platforming goodness from the Tour mode will have to wait for another update.