A free reimagining of a classic retro arcade game
Mari0 is a platform game that combines the characters, gameplay, and scenarios of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros and Valve’s Portal. Designed and developed by stabyourself.net’s Maurice Guégan, the game organically synthesizes the classic arcade platforming of the Mario franchise with the revolutionary mechanics and puzzles of Portal. Charming, humorous, and addicting to play, Mari0 is a great, fun game for Windows, OSX, Linux, and Source.
Similar to predecessors, Super Mario 3D and Portal, Mari0 is a product of its inspirations. This is apparent in many different facets of its presentation and gameplay. Completely free to play, players can jump around Mari0’s various platforms, receiving buffs from tokens just like in Super Mario 3D. The twist is that now they can also utilize the mind-bending Portal gun to access the catwalks, ledges, and positions that would be otherwise unreachable.
Mario meets Portal in this indie mashup
The concept of outfitting video gaming’s most famous plumber with his own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device is not hard to wrap your head around. This game is easy to pick up, but difficult to master; the exact sweet spot that many other indie games try so hard to accomplish. Combining the puzzle-solving of Portal with the traditional platforming of Mario is a match made in heaven.
The goal of Mari0 is a familiar one. Similar to Super Mario Bros, it’s a mad hop, sprint, and Goomba-stomp through the colorful obstacles of Mushroom Kingdom. Luckily there’s an array of tokens, smash tiles, and special abilities to help you survive attacks from Bowser's henchmen and save Princess Peach. This time, however, Mario has a secret weapon: The almighty Portal gun.
Just like in the Portal games, the Portal device fires blue and orange portals that connect to each other across any distance. The idea is simple, but the implications for a Mario game are huge. With it, Mario can reach great heights, accelerate his momentum, avoid deadly obstacles, and toss enemies around to their doom - or even out of the level completely.
Now that Mario can zip across the screen at higher speeds, vault past obstacles, and ensnare his foes with the Portal gun, the classic temporary enhancements of Mario games hold even more possibilities. Fans who have played Super Mario 3D before will hugely appreciate the new options and complexity to bolster a familiar experience.
Mari0 begs the question of what could happen if Valve and Nintendo teamed up together. This fusion of ideas is one that no one asked for, but that makes more and more sense the longer you think about it. Portal gun physics go hand in hand with platforming, and with new playable characters, a control system, and an array of original power-ups, Mari0 does take on a life of its own - something that’s a creative nod to its origin rather than a boring, derivative knockoff project.
Besides being a complete recreation of Super Mario Bros, Mari0 also has other quality features. These include downloadable map packs, game modifiers, a level editor function, character customization, and even multiplayer. Up to four players can be in a match simultaneously, which brings back all kinds of Portal 2 nostalgia. You’d think having more players would make the game easier, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
Mari0 vs Super Mario 3D
Given that Mari0 is a platformer game about a small Italian plumber going off to save Princess Peach from Bowser, it should come as little surprise that the game feels similar to other Mario titles. What makes Mari0 different from the kinds of games you might find in the Nintendo Switch store is that, given its indie nature, the developers were allowed to fuse it with their favorite elements of Portal.
This does mean, of course, that Mari0 is not an official Super Mario game. For players interested in the ever-expanding story of the Mario universe, nothing that this game provides has any bearing on Mario canonically. That said, most people play Mario for the gameplay, not the story. As such, the Portal twist should be enough for longtime Mario fans to give Mari0 a look, especially since it’s free.
A creative twist Mario fans will love
Though Mari0 is not an official Nintendo title, its gameplay and features are very similar to those of the original Super Mario titles. In some regards they are even improved: Animations and side-scrolling are smoother and more intuitive, and the challenging aspects that comprised both Mario and Portal are still present here, despite the new changes. For something both unique and nostalgic, fans of Portal and Mario should definitely give Mari0 a try.
