When Nintendo announced Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury last September, there was little information about what the ominous addition to the game’s title would be. The game’s latest trailer, released today, sheds a little bit more light on the situation with some new footage of the game in action.
Bowser’s Fury is marked by the appearance of a giant, even-more-angry-than-usual Bowser. Though not explicitly stated as such, this looks like a new difficulty mode that adds an extra layer of challenge to the game—the first half of the trailer shows familiar Super Mario 3D World levels in their remastered form, beforethe second half shows many of those same locations, only now with Bowser’s fire blasts, lava plumes, shadowy minions, and the like causing extra trouble.
Luckily, Bowser isn’t the only one getting supersized. The trailer also show’s Mario, in the iconic (?) cat costume that the original Super Mario 3D World introduced, finally succeeding at getting past all of Bowserzilla’s nonsense and activating a giant bell—at which point he grows to a similarly huge state and gets ready to fight the big guy on even footing. Whether Bowser’s Fury is the new difficulty mode it appears to be or something else entirely, it looks like an exciting addition to Super Mario 3D World (and if it wasn’t already one of my most anticipated games of this year, it certainly would be now.)
Nintendo also announced a few extra products that will be releasing alongside Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on February 12. Cat Mario and Cat Peach are getting the amiibo treatment, with new figures that provide in-game benefits. The existing Bowser and Bowser Jr. amiibo, which are also compatible with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, are also getting reissued.
There’s also a limited edition Switch console coming: the Nintendo Switch – Mario Red and Blue Edition. It’s coloured in honour of Mario’s famous outfit, with a red console, Joy-Con and dock, and a blue Joy-Con straps and Joy-Con grip, and also comes with a red and blue Mario-themed carry case and a screen protector.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is an enhanced Switch release of Super Mario 3D World, which originally came out in 2013 for Wii U. It launches February 12, as do the Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibo and the Nintendo Switch – Mario Red and Blue Edition console.