Switch 2 was supposed to be Mario's easiest layup in years, especially after Nintendo's latest Direct left fans waiting for gaming's most famous mascot to finally take center stage again. Instead, the Direct came and went without announcing a new standalone 3D Mario The game doesn't even hint that one even exists, so the Switch 2 has a weird distinction that no Nintendo console wants to attach to it. Specifically, Mario is now more than eight and a half years removed from his last original 3D platform adventure, making it a record drought for the iconic plumber.
Super Mario Odyssey launched on October 27, 2017 and still stands as the last full, standalone 3D Mario the game was released by Nintendo. Of course, Bowser's Fury deserves credit for arriving in 2021 and experimenting with a more open structure, but packed with 3D Super Mario World and was never built or sold as a fully standalone successor. It was also incredibly short, which makes counting it as the end of a drought feel more like a loophole than a fair read Mario's current situation, which seems to be avoiding the Switch 2 for now.
After Ocarina of Time and Star Fox, the next N64 Switch 2 remake is clear
After Ocarina of Time and Star Fox, Switch 2 already has the perfect opening to give another classic N64 title the remake it deserves.
Mario has never gone this long between full 3D games
The frustrating part about MarioThe current absence on the Switch 2 is that long waits between 3D inputs are nothing new, but this one is clearly different. Nintendo never addressed 3D Mario as an annual franchise, but that's actually a good thing because it helped each new entry feel like a major event worth waiting for. Even so, the gap after Odyssey has now stretched far beyond any major wait the series has experienced since Super Mario 64.
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Any drought between major 3D Mario games
- Super Mario 64 on Super Mario Sunshine: 5 years, 10 months, 28 days
- Super Mario Sunshine on Galaxy Super Mario: 5 years, 2 months, 17 days
- Galaxy Super Mario on Super Mario Galaxy 2: 2 years, 6 months, 11 days
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Super Mario 3D Land: 1 year, 5 months, 21 days
- Super Mario 3D Land on 3D Super Mario World: 2 years, 9 days
- 3D Super Mario World on Super Mario Odyssey: 3 years, 11 months, 5 days
- Super Mario Odyssey to date: 8 years, 7+ months
Considering the wait between Super Mario Odyssey and more 3D Mario the game is now fast approaching 9 years, once the next installment finally arrives the drought is likely to double some of the longest release gaps in franchise history. The previous longest stretch came in between Super Mario 64– original 3D Mario game – a Super Mario Sunshinewhich makes sense in light of the size of the jump from the Nintendo 64 era to the GameCube era. But Odyssey it now waits almost three years longer, with no confirmed successor on the Switch 2 calendar.
Bowser's Fury complicates things, but it still doesn't count
The Bowser's Fury debate is the only real complication, and even then it's not enough to clear the record. Bowser's Fury it was exciting because it was like a glimpse of a place where there is 3D Mario can go further, with one connected play space and a more experimental approach to structure. However, it was still an add-on paired with an enhanced Wii U port, meaning it acted more as a proof of concept than Marioanother flagship adventure.
Space after Odyssey has now stretched far beyond any major wait the series has experienced since Super Mario 64.
Historically 3D Mario games defined the launch of Nintendo hardware. Super Mario 64 introduced players to the Nintendo 64 and its capabilities, Galaxy Super Mario became a great creative piece of the Wii and Super Mario Odyssey gave the original Nintendo Switch one of the most important early exclusives. Switch 2 has Mario Kart World is great, but a racing game can't fully replace the sense of discovery that comes from the new 3D Mario built on new hardware.
Fans are not happy with 3D Mario's absence on Switch 2
The longer the wait, the more fans start talking about the missing 3D Mario as one of the Switch 2's strangest and most definitive absences. One Reddit post by user West-Exam-4136 pointed out that October 2026 will be nine years since Odyssey and asked if Nintendo would show a new one Mario game this year or save it Odyssey10th anniversary. The same post summed up the impatience bluntly by saying that 10 years is “too long”.
Other comments show how the gap is starting to affect people's feelings about the Switch 2 itself. In the same post, GOAt_tWO3 said Odyssey was the game that made them want the Switch in the first place, which is exactly the kind of statement that explains why the absence is now so glaring. OilMeUpStewart also wrote this Donkey Kong Banana it looked great, but it wasn't enough to make them buy a Switch 2 while new Mario the game would make them “pull the trigger”.
But there are also more indulgent voices worth acknowledging, because this is Nintendo, after all. Some fans are still willing to assume the new 3D Mario is finally coming, with user AttleesTears arguing in a post on Reddit by user ChiTownDog that the problem isn't a lack of good games, but the fact that the Switch 2's library and release schedule don't seem to be up to par with what people expect from Nintendo's brand new console. And that's actually the crux of the problem, because the frustration isn't necessarily that Nintendo doesn't have something to play, it's that Nintendo doesn't have full 3D Mario when his new system feels made for one.
Zelda still plays games, Mario doesn't
When compared to the original Switch, the Switch 2's situation is even harder to ignore. In 2017, the first Switch was launched The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and then received Super Mario Odyssey less than eight months later. That first year gave Nintendo fans a new full 3D Mario and new Zelda a game that instantly made the Switch feel like a complete generational reset rather than a simple but much-needed hardware upgrade.
since Zelda continued to treat this species Mario fans are still waiting. Tears of the Kingdom arrived in 2023 as a massive sequel Breath of the Wild, Echoes of wisdom launched just a year later and now Ocarina of Time a remake is on its way to Switch 2 in 2026. Zelda it has a new open world entry, the increased focus of Switch 2, a brand new installment with a new main protagonist and now a remake of one of the most popular games of all time, all in 3D Mario he still lives Odysseyheritage.
The frustration isn't necessarily that Nintendo doesn't have something to play, it's that Nintendo doesn't have full 3D Mario when his new system feels made for one.
None of this is to say that Nintendo simply ignored it completely Mario as a whole though. Super Mario Bros. Wonder gave 2D Mario big creative win Mario Kart World already gave the Switch 2 a great multiplayer game and Mario The brand in general is still healthier than almost any gaming franchise. The problem is, none of these things answer the specific question fans have been asking ever since Odysseywhich revolves around another 3D Mario game.
So the Switch 2 has now broken the wrong kind Mario record as Nintendo allowed the wait to exceed any historical comparison. The company may eventually unveil 3D Mario a game that makes silence justified, and history suggests that Nintendo is more than capable of turning patience into reward. But until that revelation comes, MarioUnfortunately, the Switch 2's most important achievement is the longest drought its 3D series has ever experienced.
