Highlights

  • Nintendo Switch Online members can unlock Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels icons until August 5th.
  • The game's character icons include Mario, Luigi, and Bowser's Brother.
  • Nintendo Switch Online's Mission and Rewards system promotes playing classic games and offers exclusive avatars, icons, and backgrounds.

Nintendo Switch Online members can now unlock new profile icons based on Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. The icons will only be available for a certain period of time, similar to previous unlockable Nintendo Switch Online icons, and can be purchased as NSO members play Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels during the prescribed time period.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels had been added to Nintendo's Switch Online NES library in 2019. It was originally released as Super Mario Bros. 2 back in Japan, but its infamously notorious difficulty prompted Nintendo to create a different Mario Bros. sequel in the West. The game itself does follow the look and feel of the original Super Mario Bros., albeit with more unforgiving levels that even some veterans will have difficulty with.

Transparent images of Mario and a Game Boy set against a red background with the Nintendo Switch Online logo.
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As shared by NSO Icons Alerts on Twitter, new Nintendo Switch Online icons based on Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels will be available to unlock until August 5th. While the icons include Mario and Luigi, one surprising inclusion is the character known as Bowser's Brother, who some fans claim as either a twin or a fake Bowser. The character icon appears in its original bluish tint, which has garnered positive responses in the comments section. This update marks another set of unlockable Mario icons since the previous Mario vs. Donkey Kong icons were released.

Unlockable Icons Based On Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

  • Mario
  • Luigi
  • Princess Peach
  • Bowser's Brother
  • Mushroom
  • Cloud
  • Bloopers
  • Piranha Plants

Nintendo Switch Online's Missions and Rewards system was first introduced in 2022, and was added to give players various incentives to earn exclusive avatars, icons, and backgrounds, such as the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels icons. It also became a way for Nintendo to endorse newly-added classic games to the subscription, as well as to entice players to try the classic games. Nintendo recently made it a requirement for NSO members to play retro games first before being allowed to purchase icons, so this gives more exposure to the titles in the service.

While some may consider it a novelty, Nintendo Switch Online's Mission and Rewards does have lots of potential. Not only does it help advertise the playable games on the service, it also serves as a trophy of sorts for players. Unlocking exclusive time-sensitive unique graphics that gamers can display is an achievement of sorts. There are many games on the service, and there are even more titles that could potentially make their way onto Nintendo Switch Online. Many fans have certain games on their wishlist that could also entail inclusions of their favorite characters and their respective graphics, which hopefully Nintendo can consider as well.