Disclosure: Products provided for inclusion. All opinions are my own.
If you’ve been following for a while then you know we are huge Nintendo fans here. Since the original NES system made its debut, I’ve been rescuing the princess in every Super Mario franchise I could get my hands on! Now that I’m a mom, I find that video games aren’t just for kids, and it even provides a place where the family can get together and bond. 35 years of Mario means some new and exciting offerings this spring!
Family game nights don’t only consist of board games. Mario Party 8 is a fun way to get everyone involved in a game where no one can accuse the other players of cheating. Randomized first players keep the peace and the extensive variety of mini games creates a unique gaming experience each time. I’ve even read that now there are new online gaming options for Mario Party, which I haven’t had a chance to check out yet, but it’s on my radar for the next family game night!
My youngest Super Mario fan is turning 6 this June and he plays better than my husband and I could have ever imagined a child his age to play. He will be having a SuperMario-themed game truck for his birthday where he will get to share all his Super Mario favorites with his friends. His favorite game is Super Mario Odyssey, which combines his love for travel, outer space, and Mario all in one. He’s excited for the latest, Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury. He doesn’t remember when we played Super Mario 3D World for the Nintendo Wii U system, so this will be an entirely new experience for him! The additional content included with Bowser’s Fury will be a new experience for the rest of us in the house we have previously played Super Mario 3D World. (We heard the bad guy is super angry in this version!) The updated version of the game offers regular and online gameplay (which works with a paid Nintendo Switch Online subscription.) I personally find the Nintendo Switch Online subscription worth every penny, and it definitely beats competitor pricing on other gaming consoles. A few other tweaks were made to the newly released version of Super Mario 3D World, like faster movement and snapshot mode.
Another classic game to be re-released with additional features and new game play options is Pokemon Snap! I’ll be honest, we didn’t play anything with Pokemon as a family before my son came along. My oldest daughter played a few of the older Pokemon games on her Nintendo 3DS, as well as the Nintendo Switch, but it wasn’t something that we all played together until my son became a Pokemon fan. Since he was a young gamer, he needed help with reading and learning the game, but once he got the hang of it he quickly became a Pokemon owning-pro. I knew he would love Pokemon Snap because it’s right on his level of gameplay. Since we never played Pokemon Snap before, I can’t compare it to the older version, but since it’s on the Nintendo Switch, you know the features will be enhanced and greater details will be included. As you find the Pokemon in their natural habitats, you can take pictures and add them to your Photodex. There are various islands to explore and lots of Pokemon to find, with the assistant of Professor Mirror.
Other goodies included in our gift box from Nintendo was the Mario and Me Three Year Journal. I had a three year journal for my oldest daughter and it was fun to go back and read how much she had changed through the years. Now I have one for my little guy in a theme we both love! This is a special reward offered at the Nintendo Store, and you can use the points you accumulate when purchasing new games from Nintendo. More details can be found on Nintendo.