Minecraft: Wii U Edition gets free Mario-themed DLC this month

By Danny Cowan May 9, 2016

Mario and his pals will soon venture into the blocky world of Mojang’s Minecraft as part of a free update for Minecraft: Wii U Edition launching later this month, Nintendo and Mojang confirmed this week.

Minecraft: Wii U Edition‘s “Super Mario Mash Up Pack,” launching digitally on May 18, introduces a variety of Nintendo-themed character and enemy skins, and includes a pre-built world that recalls Mario’s previous adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom.

The free update offers up 40 new character skins, allowing Minecraft explorers to play as Nintendo heroes Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, Dr. Mario, and Diddy Kong. Also included are skins for several villain characters, including Bowser, Wario, Waluigi, Shy Guy, Magikoopa, and Koopa Troopa.

Environments seen in the preview trailer above mimic classic Mario series settings like Super Mario Sunshine‘s Delfino Plaza, Princess Peach’s castle from Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Bros. 3‘s desert world, complete with an angry sun blazing overhead. According to Nintendo, these worlds will feature appropriate background music when explored in-game.

The pack’s included world also features several custom-built environmental items to further blur the lines between Nintendo’s legacy franchises and Mojang’s modern-day indie hit. Included textures like music note blocks, warp pipes, and classic Super Mario Bros. question-mark bricks will allow players to build their own custom Mario universe within Minecraft.

The Super Mario Mash Up Pack is exclusive to the Wii U version of Minecraft, which premiered back in December. Arriving long after the launch of Minecraft ports for Sony and Microsoft consoles, the Wii U edition includes several customization-oriented content packs that were previously released as paid content on other platforms.

The upcoming launch of the Super Mario Mash Up Pack suggests that Nintendo has entered a partnership with current Minecraft franchise owner Microsoft. At the time of this writing, neither company has announced plans to continue the partnership across other games or consoles.

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