What the 'Super Mario Run' in-app purchase gets you for $9.99

In initial interviews with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer said that a single purchase would unlock the entire game. That's true, to a certain extent.

The in-app purchase does not supply an unlimited amount of in-game currency. What it does provide is full access to all six worlds in the game through a gifted question-mark block — which is what the "complete unlock" entails. It also provides 20 Toad Rally tickets, and 3,000 coins.

Level unlock, but not quite completely...

As far as the question-mark block unlock of all the levels goes, all it does is eliminate a 20-second gameplay lock on the levels after the initial free samples. To play the purchased levels, you still have to play through previous levels, just the same as in previous "Mario" titles.

Price of the Toad Rally

Toad Rally tickets are access tokens to the battle mode called "Toad Rally," where victory is determined by the number of coins you collect in the game, and by the number of Toad characters you impress, all happing while the "ghost" of your competition is visible as you run. Progress across all modes is tracked by the number of coins the player has collected, as well as with persistent scorekeeping.

No Toad Rally tickets? No access to the mode. However, in our so-far brief time with the game, we've found tickets to be doled out periodically for particularly memorable accomplishments.

Jumpstart with coinage

The 3,000 coins that are awarded are used to build buildings in Toad Kingdom, which serve to unlock other characters, such as Luigi, and Yoshi. Coins are also plentiful, as one of the main points in the game is to collect them — but 3,000 coins is a pretty impressive head start on game goals.

But none of it transfers

The in-app purchase to unlock the rest of the game is technically an expendable, like if you bought currency in one of the other popular mobile titles. That means that it does not carry over to other Apple IDs with family sharing. Purchase wisely.

Super Mario Run is free to download from the App Store, though unlocking the full game requires a $9.99 purchase. The title is a 204-megabyte download, which grows to 345 MB after the first data download — and there are a few as the game goes on.