Mario RPG, Punch-Out Headline Club Nintendo Rewards For March

It’s the beginning of a new month, which means it is once again time for Nintendo to swap out its collection of four Club Nintendo reward games for a fresh batch of digital goodness. And as has been the norm as of late, the Wii U games are far shinier than those being offered on the 3DS.

For those new to the Club Nintendo program, it’s basically Nintendo’s way of rewarding fans who buy and register their games. Whenever you buy a Nintendo console or a new game for your Wii, Wii U or 3DS, you can register that product in order to grab a bunch of points that get attached to your account. You can earn extra points with occasional surveys, post-play reports and the like. Each month, Nintendo offers a rotating selection of four games that players can exchange their points to download for free. There are also a bunch of physical goodies you can claim with those points, such as pencil bags, game cases, postcards and the like.

This month’s collection of Club Nintendo games is actually pretty dang strong for the Wii U, both of which can be yours for 200 points. First up is NES classic boxing game, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream. Begin your career as a lowly nobody and punch your way through the best pugilists the world has to offer. Also up for grabs is a digital copy of the cult hit, Super Mario RPG. A wonderful classic-style RPG set in the Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mario RPG is a surprisingly solid entry for the genre and a fun, unique spin on characters and worlds you’re probably more used to seeing in an action/platforming setting.

Unfortunately, the 3DS offerings aren’t quite as awesome. Both Art Style: Pictobits and Donkey Kong Jr. can be yours for 150 points. Pictobits is a 3DS stylus-infused puzzling game that mixes in a bunch of NES references and graphics. Donkey Kong Jr. is a new spin on the “climb the tower” gameplay of the arcade classic, this time tasking a young gorilla with swinging between vines and dodging obstacles to save Donkey Kong from that meddling plumber, Mario.

All of these games will be available in exchange for your points between now and March 9, at which point four more games will be rotated in. Here’s hoping next month’s 3DS offerings will be a little more enticing.