The third update of fan-favorite flash game Super Mario Bros. Crossover has just released. This is the one that incorporates perhaps the rarest port of the series, a Japan-only version that gave Mario the hammer from Donkey Kong.
In addition to the features of Super Mario Bros. special, this update will offer new map skins to play through, including Castlevania, a low-res Atari 2600-style map, and Super Mario Bros. 2.
Additionally, Jay Pavlina of Exploding Rabbit says the game now may be hosted at any site—though Exploding Rabbit's site is the only one where it may be played in full screen.
Exploding Rabbit's creation has been a big hit since its introduction three years ago, and though it has no arrangement with Nintendo it appears to be in the company's good graces, under an informal policy of not "criminalizing" fans' work.
That said, Pavlina and his studio cannot commercialize the work. They are putting their creative efforts into a game called Super Retro Squad, an original project designed to hit the kinds of nostalgia buttons that Crossover pushes. The seven-person team has opened a $50,000 fundraiser. If they can get $75,000, everyone can work full time on the game. [Correction: It's $235,000 to work full time.]
More information about Super Retro Squad can be found here; Exploding Rabbit plans to release it on PC, Mac and Linux; iOS and Android devices (including Ouya), and Steam "if accepted."
