Nintendo’s famous mascot is returning to the city. Well, sort of.
Mario, who has starred in scores of games across several video game platforms, will visit a New Donk City in the upcoming “Super Mario Odyssey” for Nintendo Switch. The metropolis is, as the name implies, an homage to New York City.
The connection between the mustached hero and New York City goes back decades. Before he and brother Luigi were hopping baddies in the Mushroom Kingdom, they starred in “Mario Bros.,” which first hit arcades in 1983. In both the 1989 TV series “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show” and the 1993 “Super Mario Bros.” film, the brothers hailed from Brooklyn.
Ahead of Friday’s release of “Odyssey,” and the coinciding launch event beginning 8 p.m. Thursday at Rockefeller Center, amNewYork had the chance to check out NYC’s Mario-ized doppelgänger. Here are a few of the odes to New Donk City’s real-world counterpart.
Taxis, taxis, everywhere
Hailing a cab would be no problem in New Donk City. They’re all over the place.
Riding a taxi in the game is a more active experience than in real life. Instead of hopping in, Mario can jump and bounce upon cabs, whether they’re sitting still or maneuvering the streets.
Mario isn’t limited to taxi rides while on foot, either. He can plop down on a scooter to drive on his own, and both Mario and scooter can then bounce on cars. That’s going to make one angry cabbie.
Scaling super skyscrapers
What would any New York City parody be without massive buildings?
Although Mario’s specialty is jumping, the pudgy ex-plumber won’t be leaping any tall buildings in a single bound (but that was another guy’s schtick, anyway). Instead, he’ll rely on carefully timed jumps up the sides of buildings to venture vertically. Plus, his powered-up cap — dubbed Cappy — can assist in using power lines to go higher.
More buildings and bridges are visible in the distance.
‘The city that never leaps’
This slogan for New Donk City is helpfully provided in the burgh’s brochure, which is more useful in the game for its city map. Mario, of course, is the exception to the motto and will be leaping all over town. The citizens, known as New Donkers, all are clad in business attire and prefer to walk the streets.
That doesn’t mean the digital denizens don’t know how to have some fun. The park features an interactive jump rope, and several musicians can be recruited to help Mayor Pauline with a quest. And, they’re not even asking for coins.
City critters
People aren’t the only inhabitants of New Donk City, which exists in the greater realm known as the Metro Kingdom.
Pigeons can be spotted throughout the world, but they won’t be stealing any hot dogs out of Mario’s hand — he won’t be eating them. Rats, too, harmlessly emerge after bashing bags of trash for coins.
But beware of aggressive flies, which hatch and aim to harm the hero.
