If you were hanging out in the Nintendo 3DS era around 2015, you probably remember the deluge of "match-three" games. They were everywhere. But then Nintendo did something weird. They took GungHo Online Entertainment’s massive mobile hit and mashed it together with the Mushroom Kingdom. Honestly, Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition shouldn't have worked as well as it did. It felt like a cash grab on paper. In reality? It turned out to be one of the most polished, frustratingly addictive, and mechanically deep puzzle RPGs ever put on a handheld.
It’s been years. People still play it. Why?
The game didn't just skin a mobile game with Mario assets. It fundamentally changed how you think about a "turn" in a puzzle game. Most people see a board of colored orbs and think Bejeweled. That’s a mistake. In this game, you grab one orb and move it anywhere on the board for a limited time, displacing every other orb in its path. It’s chaotic. It’s precise. It’s nothing like Candy Crush.
The Weird Logic of Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition
Most Mario games are about reflexes. This one is about spatial geometry and math. You aren't just matching three red fire flowers to make Mario fireball a Goomba. You’re trying to trigger a 10-hit combo to multiply your damage output by 5x so you don't get one-shot by a boss.
The game was bundled in the West with Puzzle & Dragons Z, but most players gravitated toward the Mario side. It felt familiar. You had the world map from New Super Mario Bros. U, the classic sound effects, and the Koopalings as world bosses. But underneath that "E for Everyone" veneer, the game is actually hard. Like, "throw your 3DS across the room" hard.
The difficulty spike in World 6 is legendary among the fanbase. You go from breezing through stages to suddenly needing a perfectly synergized team of Bowser Jr. and various colored Yoshis just to survive a single hit from a Magikoopa.
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Why the "Orb Movement" changes everything
In a standard match-three, you swap two adjacent icons. In Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition, you pick up a Light Orb and drag it in a wild zigzag across the screen. As you move it, it pushes other orbs out of the way. If you’re fast enough, you can rearrange the entire 5x6 board in a single "turn."
This creates a massive skill ceiling. High-level players don't just look for one match; they visualize the entire board's final state before they even touch the stylus.
Building a Team That Doesn't Suck
You can't just pick your favorite characters and hope for the best. That’s how you lose. The game uses an elemental system: Fire beats Wood, Wood beats Water, Water beats Fire. Then you’ve got Light and Dark, which just hammer each other.
If you’re heading into a Water-heavy world, bringing a team of Fire Marios is a death wish. You need to pivot. You need to evolve your characters. This is where the RPG elements kick in. You collect "Baddie Blocks" and rare materials to transform a standard Goomba into a Grand Goomba.
- Leader Skills: These are the bread and butter of your strategy. If your leader is "Super Mario," he might give a 2x attack boost to all Fire-attribute teammates.
- Awoken Skills: Once you start hitting the post-game content, you have to worry about "Awakenings"—passive buffs that reduce damage or increase the time you have to move orbs.
- Skill Levels: Every character has an active ability, like changing all Heart Orbs into Fire Orbs. If you don't level these up by "feeding" the characters duplicate monsters, the cooldowns will be too long to save you in a boss fight.
The Problem with the "Mobile" DNA
We have to be real here. Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is a port of a "freemium" mobile game architecture into a $40 retail product. Some of that DNA didn't translate perfectly.
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The drop rates for certain evolution materials are notoriously stingy. You might find yourself grinding the same level twenty times just to get a specific "Life Mushroom" or "Super Leaf" to evolve your Luigi. Because there are no microtransactions (thankfully), you can't pay to skip the grind. You just have to suffer through the RNG.
Also, the game lacks a bit of the "soul" of a main-line Mario title. The story is non-existent. Peach gets kidnapped. Again. Bowser is at the end. Again. You aren't playing this for the narrative; you're playing it for the dopamine hit of a 14-combo clear.
Is it still worth playing in 2026?
Actually, yeah. Since the 3DS eShop has closed, physical copies of the Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition dual-pack have become a bit of a collector's item. But if you can find one, it's a massive amount of content.
There are no ads. No "stamina" bars forcing you to stop playing. No "Gacha" mechanics where you spend real money on a 1% chance to get a Gold Egg. It’s the purest version of the Puzzle & Dragons loop that has ever existed.
Many modern fans of the mobile version actually go back to the Mario edition to practice their board-solving skills. The "Score Attack" mode in the game is a fantastic way to test how many combos you can pull off under a strict time limit. It’s basically a digital gym for your brain.
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Secrets and Post-Game Content
Most people beat Bowser and think they’re done. They aren't. The "Special Worlds" (Star, Life, and Crown worlds) are where the real game begins. The enemies there have millions of HP and can kill you in one turn if you don't have a "Resolve" skill or a massive shield active.
Finding the secret exits is also a throwback to Super Mario World. Some levels have branching paths that only unlock if you clear the stage with a specific elemental combo or find a hidden orb on the board. It adds a layer of replayability that most puzzle games lack.
Key Strategies for New Players
If you're just starting out or dusting off an old cartridge, keep these things in mind:
- Don't ignore the Yoshis. They are some of the most versatile sub-members in the game because they have high "Recover" stats. If you can't heal, you can't win.
- Focus on "Combo" Leaders. Leaders that give an attack boost based on the number of combos (rather than specific colors) are generally more flexible.
- Use the Stylus. Don't try to use your thumb. You need the precision of the stylus to weave between orbs without messing up your existing matches.
- Save your "Transformation" materials. Don't waste rare items on a character you're only going to use for one world. Plan your endgame team early.
The Final Word on Mario’s Puzzler
Puzzle and Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition represents a specific moment in time when Nintendo was willing to let their biggest IP play in someone else’s sandbox. It resulted in a game that is deeper than it looks and harder than it has any right to be.
It’s a masterclass in taking a simple mechanic—matching colors—and layering so much math and strategy on top of it that it becomes a completely different beast. It’s not just a Mario game. It’s a tactical RPG disguised as a casual puzzler.
If you want to master the game today, your next step is to stop thinking about matches and start thinking about paths. Go into the "Endless" practice mode. Pick one orb and see how many times you can circle the board before the timer runs out. Once you can consistently hit 6 or 7 combos every single turn, the "impossible" bosses in the Special Worlds will finally start to fall.
Check your local used game shops or online marketplaces for the "Z + Super Mario Bros." bundle. It’s one of the few 3DS titles that offers over 100 hours of gameplay without ever feeling like it’s wasting your time with fluff. Just be prepared to see colored orbs when you close your eyes at night.