Yesterday’s Mario 35th Anniversary Nintendo Direct kicked off a major celebration of the famous mustachioed plumber, with new games, ports, merchandising collaborations and even a revival of the Game & Watch brand! For the next 6 months, it’ll be difficult to avoid Mario whether you like him or not, and that’ll be even more of an issue in Japan, with Nintendo Japan sharing a new TV commercial for the celebration has been launched that features the musical and game-playing talents of Hoshino Gen.
[任天堂HP]星野源さんが出演する「スーパーマリオブラザーズ 35周年」のTVCMを公開しました。 #スーパーマリオ35周年https://t.co/iuD47LIku7 pic.twitter.com/Z6ZlVQZa86
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) September 3, 2020
With an obvious focus on Mario’s earliest titles like Super Mario Bros and the games being rereleased as part of this 35th Anniversary celebration such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, this trailer blends the gameplay of Mario with the musical playing of Hoshino Gen. set in a music studio, we see Hoshino’s drums be matched in time with Mario pulling off a one-up trick in the original Super Mario Bros, we see Mario run over a xylophone and jump onto the wall where he throws Bowser like he does in Super Mario 64. The advert is designed to celebrate the gameplay of Mario by blending it with the music in a jubilant and celebratory way, and though there are obligatory shots of the Nintendo Switch console and a focus on games being rereleased, the trailer puts the character of Mario alongside Hoshino Gen as opposed to any particular game.
A brand new song from Hoshino Gen, Souzou (Create) is the song chosen to score this commercial, with the song being premiered for this promotional campaign. With Hoshino Gen’s current success in the Japanese music charts that has even seen him recognized abroad with collaborations with the likes of Dua Lipa, this trailer brings together one of Japan’s most successful musicians and Japan’s most famous gaming character together in some style!