Mario Maker Adds Three Pokemon Costumes

Pokemon are coming to the Koopa Kingdom. In celebration of Pokemon's 20th anniversary, Nintendo has released three new costumes for Super Mario Maker, which allow players to run through levels as 8 bit versions of Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander. The costumes are for show only, unfortunately, so you won't see Bulbasaur vine whip its way through a pack of Goombas or Charmander spit out fireballs, but it's still a great addition to one of the Wii U's top games. Each Pokemon makes their distinctive Pokemon "cry" when players first transform, which is also a neat little touch.

The new costumes are the latest addition to Nintendo's yearlong celebration of Pokemon. In addition to a popular Super Bowl commercial, Nintendo is also distributing Mythical Pokemon, releasing a boatload of new merchandise, and re-releasing the original Pokemon games for 3DS's Virtual Console. Nintendo also is releasing Pokemon Go, a "real life" version of Pokemon that uses player's mobile devices, and Pokken Tournament, a fighting game later this year.

The Pokemon are a free addition to Super Mario Maker, but you'll need to play through a special Pokemon-themed level that's recently been added to the game. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for some more big Pokemon news later this month!