Nintendo Surprises Fans With Super Mario 64 Freebie

A nice surprise for N64 nostalgics.

March 5, 2025, 7:15am

Nintendo fans on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED consoles have a new Super Mario 64 freebie available for the month of March. Those interested in the freebie will need a Nintendo Switch Online membership though. Not just this, but a Nintendo Switch Online subscription with the Expansion Pack add-on. For those unfamiliar with the two tiers of NSO, this is the more expensive tier of Nintendo Switch Online currently available on Switch, and soon, Switch 2.

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As for the freebie, it is for Super Mario 64 fans. The 1996 N64 game needs little introduction. The best-selling N64 game, the first Super Mario game with 3D gameplay, and one of the best and most important games ever made, Super Mario 64 is the quintessential N64 game that everyone thinks about when they think about the Nintendo console. That said, it is not the game that is free to download. Rather, some profile icons featuring iconic characters and items from the game is what is free to download. This includes Mario himself, as well as Bowser and King Bob-omb.

Each and every single one of the special profile icons have been available before, but not since 2022. To this end, there is no guarantee they will ever be available again after this, and if they do return, there could be an even longer gap than this previous time. Whatever the case, they are all available for the month of March, which means until March 31.

Once claimed, each icon is free to keep perpetually. This is the case regardless of whether not an active Nintendo Switch Online membership is maintained. In other words, a Nintendo Switch Online subscription — with the Expansion Pack — is required to access these icons but not to keep them once claimed.

Nintendo Switch Online, meanwhile, is available for $19.99. The Expansion Pack tier jacks the price up to $49.99 though. And in this case, it is required for the icons above.

For more Nintendo coverage — including all of the latest on the Nintendo Switch, all of the latest on the Nintendo Switch 2, and all of the latest on Nintendo Switch Online — click here.