Update - March 31, 1:30pm EST:
A new report from VGC claims that Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are among the Mario games coming to Switch this year. These three will reportedly be released as part of a remastered anniversary collection, but it's unclear when and how this collection will be released, let alone what else it may include.
Meanwhile, Super Mario 3D World is apparently due for an independent re-release featuring new content, not unlike New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. These re-releases remain unconfirmed, but reports are piling up with multiple sources corroborating them, so we're expecting official word from Nintendo soon enough.
Original story:
Multiple Mario games could make new appearances on Nintendo Switch this year, according to a report on Nintendo's plans for Super Mario's 35th anniversary.
According to a new article on VGC, Nintendo aims to "reveal plans to re-release most of Super Mario’s 35-year back catalog" at some point this year. Even if this only refers specifically to Super Mario platforming games - thus skipping spinoff titles like Mario Party and Mario Tennis - that's still quite a few games. Many of them, such as Super Mario Sunshine for GameCube and Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, have only ever appeared on their original systems. Eurogamer cited its own sources in an article that backs up VGC's report.
The report also claims that Nintendo will put out a new Paper Mario and "several other Mario titles" this year. The Paper Mario series has been dormant since Paper Mario: Color Splash hit Wii U in 2016, though it's had even longer inactive periods before. These mustache-bristling developments in the Mario series were reportedly set to be revealed at a 35th anniversary event at E3 in June, but Nintendo is now considering other ways to share the announcement after E3 2020 was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nintendo has declined requests for comment about the alleged anniversary plans. The list of upcoming Switch games is lacking for big, first-party items right now, so introducing a whole bunch of remastered Mario classics would be a nice way to shore up any gaps.
Personally, I hope the report is true if only for the possibility that it could mean Super Mario 3D World coming to a console people actually own. Maybe this is just the fuzzy Cat Mario memories talking, but I still like it better than Super Mario Odyssey.
Some of those Super Mario classics would fit right in on our list of the best Nintendo Switch games.
