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Celebrate Mario Day's 2-day sale: Score up to 50% off your favorite Nintendo Switch games
Today is March 10 — in other words, Mario Day! You know, Mar10? If you're a fan of the Mario franchise, now is a fantastic time to stock up on Nintendo Switch titles you might not have played yet, especially when you consider that Switch games almost never go on sale. Right now, you can score savings up to 50% on Mario Party Superstars, Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Mario Maker 2 and more — all featuring your favorite mustachioed plumber.
Nintendo Switch games are notorious for never going on sale, and Super Mario Odyssey might be one of the worst offenders of the group. This game has remained around the same price point since it released, so don't miss this deal (though even at full price, it's worth it). Odyssey is the most recent mainstream game in the franchise, and arguably one of the Mario games with the highest production value. It's a ton of fun and not too challenging for the little ones.
"One of the best Mario games ever made," said one gamer. "I would place this as my second favorite Mario game of all time. There are a ton of things to collect, obtaining many of them through truly clever ideas. The worlds are all fun and creative. Being able to take control of baddies by throwing your hat on them is a great idea. Took me around 45 hours to get everything, and it was a blast every minute. I couldn’t put it down."
If you're looking to pick up something that even non-gamers can play with ease, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a fantastic choice. Not only is the game just as fun as when it launched, but continued support and releases mean there are tons of new courses waiting to be played and explored. This is a game that's easy to learn, but difficult to master — but you'll have a blast as you learn the ins and outs.
"We love this game and it is so much fun to play with our kids (7, 3, 2). We found out that this is one of only a small handful of games that let you use the 1 Joy-Con as a full controller. We are able to play with two full sets of Joy-Cons with four people! It's a great game and it create a wholesome family competitivness that is just fun all the way around. Highly recommend this game," said one satisfied parent.
Mario Party Superstars is the latest entry in the Mario Party series. There have been nearly a dozen games before this one, and each time, Nintendo has refined the formula to introduce even more fun to each session. Race your friends around a board and compete to end the game with the most stars. Most of the minigames can be learned in no time at all, which makes this yet another great title to involve people that don't play a lot of games.
One parent talked about how approachable it was: "I bought this for my 7-year-old boy. I remember loving Mario Party as a kid, and I knew he’d love it. What I LOVE about this game though, is that it's extremely kid friendly. You can start them off with up to five stars and change the difficulty of their opponents, so if they usually have game rage, that’s a great way to ease that — plus kids need to win sometimes to build on their self esteem. He started off with 5 stars, and he’s worked his way to starting with 0 stars and playing with opponents at the hard difficulty. It’s a great way to get them interested without frustration and BUILD on their skill. It’s also a fun game to play together! Easy and fun for kids and parents."
With Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, you get two games for the price of one. It's a fun romp through dozens of courses, created in a more traditional Mario style, but you can play with or against your friends to add another layer of gameplay.
"What an incredible game for young kids, such a beautiful 3D world they've created and so immersive. I love the Nintendo closed system and they always deliver stunning games that are fun and challenging like a puzzle. This game will blow your mind," one gamer said.
Love Minecraft and Mario? Then you'll adore Super Mario Maker 2. Take up the mantle of designing your own levels. Will you make something easy and relaxing, or will you create the most difficult challenge you can imagine? Nothing is off limits, but remember: You have to be able to complete the level before you can share it with other people.
"One of my favorite Switch games," one gamer said. "This game is so much fun and there's lot of nostalgia for older games! Level with style of different 2d Mario games: Mario 1, 3, Super Mario World, New Super Mario U, Super Mario 3d World. The ability to build levels is a lot of fun, but even if you don't care for that the story move has a lot (over 100) levels to play. Highly recommended."
The great thing about the Mario Day sale is that there are so many different styles of games to choose from. You've got your traditional entries, and then you have off-the-wall titles like Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. It's a strategy game, where you have to make tactical decisions in how you approach your foes. Don't worry, though: it's just as whimsical as other Mario games.
"I totally loved this game! I love how all the characters have their special and unique abilities. At first, hearing the Rabbids and Beep-o speak was odd to me but I eventually got to like it and appreciate it as it adds character and depth to characters we already knew. Thanks to this, I got to know the characters better," said one player.
We can't forget about the sports lineup! Mario Tennis Aces is a tennis game, obviously — but with a Mario twist to it. Play as your favorite characters, use special abilities and tear up the court. This game is a tough one, though — the AI isn't forgiving, and you might find yourself facing a bit of a challenge.
"There are different modes in this game and only one you can use the motion control in — swing mode — so that is the only one you can get exercise in and I love it; it's a lot of fun playing with my son," said one mom. "He doesn't mind the other modes where you can use the buttons, I prefer the motion control though. Lots of fun for the family, we cannot wait for the golf, hoping they have something like the tennis racket for that as well, like a golf club...wouldn't that be fun!"
And last, but certainly not least, you can snag Luigi's Mansion 3 on mega sale. Mario's green-clad brother is just as iconic a part of the series as Mario himself, and this game features him as the main character. Use your Poltergust to capture the ghosts that haunt this mansion and solve the mysteries of the creepy castle.
"We've had this game for awhile and my son loves to play it. It's actually kind of hard to know where to go, but the ghost hunting makes up for the confusing floors of the hotel," said one player. "The battles are intense and I really love how they incorporated all the characters. I played this game on my Game Cube and I am glad that my son can experience a similar game in this day and age. Good game and very family friendly!"
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
