Soapbox: It's Time For Mario's Weird Minigames To Make A Comeback

Why not? Gives me something to do when I don't want to play the base game. When is that? ...uhh don't worry about it.

“Picture Poker”

This article is rated PEGI 18+.

Anyway is fine. Even a mini game 3D version of Mario Bros. would be fine.

I'll make my own Mario game! With blackjack and hookers! In fact, forget the Mario game!

maybe an update INSIDE mario wonder to have mini games would be cool.

There is a reason why I consider 64 DS better than the original and NSMBDS the 2nd best 2D platformer. The sub games make the difference.

Ooh these were so fun, would be be cool to see them return

I love the Mario 64 DS minigames, but it feels like they're a product of that one specific game. While they put a lot of work into it, at the end of the day, the game is primarily a recreation of a game that already existed so it was probably easier for people to have time to make minigames than if they made a full. brand new 3D game (even with NSMB they re-used quite a bit of the Mario 64 DS minigames IIRC).

Also Super Mario 64 DS was a handheld game from nearly 20 years ago. Sad reality is that its much more difficult to introduce a bunch of minigames outside of the context of the main game when you're trying to make an impressive, HD, large, AAA full priced video game. Like if its not even part of the game you're making, why bother? At least that's what I imagine most people would think. It already takes so much more to make one of these games, so you'd obviously use it to make the main game world feel more packed with content instead.

Though I think I'd prefer them not to do that, sometimes, because so many big budget games already have too much content to the point of being exhausting. I'd honestly be fine with the next Mario game having more content away from the main game, because while better than some, Odyssey still had what felt like too much to do by the time you go to post-game. Something like the challenges in the Arkham games is also a good example of that. It's a perfect compromise between people who like a lot of content and people who like...y'know, pacing and the game respecting that you have a life outside of the same, single video game.

Honestly those mini games were fun for about 10 seconds. I'd rather see them in Mario Party.

The Minigames are probably the reason I decided to get Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii U Virtual Console before the eShop closure. Well, that and to play those games on the TV.

Seeing Minigames as a side activity and not in the world like in Super Mario Odyssey is why I liked them, they don't feel mandatory to the overall game/story.
When I didn't feel like progressing the main games, I would spend hours playing the minigames.
The same could be said about the Super Mario Advance games and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga that included the Mario Bros. Classic arcade game. Part of that made me wish they had a remake of Mario Clash in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Sure, in Super Mario 64 DS you have to unlock them by catching the MIPS specific for each character, but it's up to you whether or not you do it and it doesn't affect the main game in any way if you don't.

Oh man, I love the minigames on ds games. It's really too bad design philosophy has shifted away from that era.

I remember when Super Mario 3D Land and subsequently New Super Mario Bros. 2 came out on 3DS, I thought those games felt rushed/incomplete because they lacked the side modes we saw during the DS era. Not only were there the minigames, but Super Mario 64 DS and the original New Super Mario Bros. included local multiplayer battle modes. At the time, these omissions were really disappointing to me, but in retrospect, I would rather Nintendo have a fully fleshed-out main game than to devote too many resources to little side modes.

It's not like Nintendo has never tried to bring back side modes; Luigi's Mansion 3, for example, had (in addition too Scare Scraper) those multiplayer minigames which even got paid DLC, though they never really seemed all that interesting to me. Kirby never stopped having side games, with Return to Dream Land Deluxe having the largest slew of minigames by far.

The side content is a very beloved component of Pikmin, so it's a real shame the multiplayer in Pikmin 4 pales in comparison to previous entries. No Bingo Battle is a pretty big disappointment for a lot of people, and although I personally don't have anybody to play it with, it would be a nice feature to have. Still holding out hope the game gets some paid DLC with new modes and a new snow world for the main campaign.

So, I don't think side modes in Nintendo games are completely dead, but they're definitely a remnant of what they once more, for better or worse. Even in Smash Ultimate, they were more of an afterthought than ever before. No Smash run, and we had to wait to get things like Home Run Contest and a stage editor in a post-launch update.

I do feel like Nintendo has been pumping out some really top-notch games, though, so I think I'll take quality over quantity any day. Previous Pikmin games are often criticized for being too short; you can complete Pikmin 3's main campaign in probably less than 10 hours. But Pikmin 4 took me like 40 hours to 100% complete--it was a meaty single-player campaign, and for me personally, sacrificing the side content (while a little disappointing) is a concession I'm willing to make for such a robust and fully-fleshed-out main game.

Those Minigames were fun! I spent a lot of time with Trampoline Time, juggling Marios around and frantically trying to get the right angle.

Mario Maker on Wii U had remade Fly Swatter to work with the Gamepad, this and Mario Maker as a whole is the type of weird energy I crave. There was also the Luigi Bros. bonus game in Super Mario 3D World on Wii U, which was really only there because people really liked the concept of Year of Luigi.

Judging on how Luigi’s Mansion 3 didn’t make a wild impression with its 8 Player side games, or how Super Mario Party’s content was criticized for being so spread out Vs. Mario Party Superstar’s much more direct approach, I would have to wonder how much Nintendo would have to care any longer in funding the time for stuff that’s not going to contribute to the game’s pitch. But, then again, they’re still consistent in working on Splatoon 3’s Tableturf Battles, which is deemed forgettable for a lot of players that aren’t me.

Although, if I had the choice to bring back NSMB’s Minigames or NSMB’s Mario Vs. Luigi, I’m taking Mario Vs. Luigi in a heartbeat.

Captain Toad in Super Mario 3D world was essentially a minigame. It was so good it became a standalone game. I want more of that. Minigames that are good enough to become their own game. Heck I would be fine if they threw some more Captain Toad in whatever Mario comes out next.

A DS Mario Collection HD on Switch with all the mini games included would be great though I doubt we'd get it anytime soon.

Wonder is not packed with content. You can tell the overworld and some of the recurring level themes try to fluff things up. I didn’t get that feeling from NSMBU, particularly after the NSLU add on

Wonder is far and away the longest 2D Mario game in terms of its main campaign, but it's a real shame how lacking it was in terms of reasons to come back after 100%ing it. It didn't have any of the sidemodes of the New games, nor did it even save your best times and scores like 3D World. It's these little bits of side content that help make a game feel like it's worth coming back to, rather than just being a one-and-done thing.

I had great difficulty putting down, Bob-omb squad on super mario 64 ds. The games on there were great.

The mini-games in New Super Mario Bros. were fantastic and really made great use of the dual-screens and bottom touch-screen interface. I honestly played those more than the main game.

Meh, no thanks. While I haven't played them all, I never really cared for the mini games in Mario. I don't care for mini games in general, tbh. The only one I ever liked was the card game in Final Fantasy 8.

@Cheez I couldn't agree more. Captain Toad might just be one of my favorite games of all time.

Luigi Remix where Luigi is the "villain" remixing games (NES Remix 3)

I always loved those minigames. I especially loved the picture poker one, too. Also enjoyed the one where Yoshi is plucking petals off a flower in a "she loves me, she loves me not" fashion. And let's not forget the one where you had to sort Bob-ombs by color; I loved the music for that one.