Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review:
There’s always something magical about Super Mario games: they’re eternally fun, unafraid to bring joy, and consistently strive to be creative. It has been years since we experienced the same formula that initially drew us to Super Mario—the side-scrolling gameplay that the series is famous for perfecting. I don’t recall enjoying a side-scrolling Super Mario since that crown jewel we all know, Super Mario World and Nintendo is coming back again with another shot at the formula. So, will Super Mario Bros. Wonder truly evoke the same feelings and excitement we had playing a side-scrolling Super Mario like we used to in the distant past?
This is Not The Mashroom Kingdom Anymore:
Similar to all Super Mario games, the infamous Bowser is causing trouble yet again, and our cast of characters is tasked with the mission of stopping the chaos he has spread throughout the land. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, however, Mario isn’t there to save Princess Peach. Instead, Bowser has targeted the wonderful Flower Kingdom and unlike the classic ‘abduction’ storyline we see in most Mario games, players will have the choice to play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and various versions of Toads and Yoshis to save the Kingdom and not just Mario.
The premise in Wonder remains simple, as with any Mario game. However, considering this series is approaching 40 years old, credit must be given to Nintendo for consistently keeping things interesting and creative. The Flower Kingdom serves as a refreshing setting for Mario and Co. to explore, offering new experiences, enviroments and most importantly, creative ideas. The developers have introduced innovative ideas to maintain my interest through and through. For instance, there are very funny talking flowers that add a lighthearted and humorous touch which kept me giggling throughout the entire journey and through every level. The population of the Flower Kingdom is a fantastic iteration of the traditional toads and add more engaging factor to the setting. And most notably, the creative transformation of piranha plants into protective clouds for the newly formed Bowser castle was surprisingly intriguing.
The setting in Wonder is very engaging and creative. It’s captivating to the extent that I could appreciate all it offers in that department even without an engaging plot.
Although I am a strong advocate for games having a plot-based structure to feel ‘complete,’ I find the setting in Wonder very engaging and creative. It’s captivating to the extent that I could appreciate all it offers in that department even without an engaging plot.
A Real Taste of Nintendo's Creativity:
The gameplay of Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t deviate from the expectations of a typical side-scrolling platform game. It features the familiar elements we all used to – characters speeding up, enemies approaching, and the need to jump, fly, swim, or slide your way to the endpoint, which, in the Mario side-scroller tradition, is the flag pole you aim to touch its top. However, Wonder proves that creativity can infuse even the most basic ideas with fun and engagment.
The game design is enhanced with fresh, new and creative ideas. They are simple, fun, and provide the game with greater depth of gameplay than typical platformer mechanics.
The game design is enhanced with fresh, new ideas that will, with no single doubt, captivate you. There are innovative power-ups that grant Mario and his companions unique abilities. These abilities are not only enjoyable but also contribute to discovering secrets, hidden pathways, and items throughout the levels. For instance, the Elephant power-up transforms you into a comical elephant capable of hitting enemies with its trunk, using its weight to break heavy objects, lowering tall platforms, or even using the trunk to extinguish nearby fires. These small additions add more enjoyment than I anticipated. They are simple, fun, and provide the game with greater depth of gameplay than typical platformer mechanics.
It is More Fun When You Find it All:
Super Mario Bros. Wonder, in terms of design follows a basic-yet-smart approach we are used to from Super Mario since Super Mario World. You are supposed to find the Royal Seed to help demolish the piranha clouds, which can only be obtained by finishing levels and collecting Wonder Seeds to open other paths and places. Each level offers you two seeds: one for completing it and one for finding a secret Wonder Flower.
And this is the most glamorous part, and where I find Super Mario Bros. Wonder shines the most, is with the introduction of the Wonder Flower. When you find one, touching it will transform the entire level into something totally new, giving you a whole new way to play and finish the level. Sometimes it turns the entire level into a shadow silhouette where everything reacts to your shadow, or turns the level into a top-view maze you have to escape, or even transforms you into a slug where the entire gameplay structure becomes something totally different.
To my surprise, the game continues to introduce new mechanics and ideas up to the very last levels, even through the credits.
These creative ideas keep providing new and enjoyable aspects to the gameplay. To my surprise, the game continues to introduce new mechanics and ideas up to the very last levels. In a game with the same structure as Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I would expect some repetitiveness, but to I was honestly pleased that everything remained fresh and interesting even through the ending credits, which was something really shows how much effort Nintendo put into this title and shows the amount of care they put into their beloved franchise.
Online, Done Wrong:
However, Super Mario Bros. Wonder falls short in its multiplayer aspect, which was the one feature I hoped would be perfect because I was aiming to play it with my friends. Unfortunately, what it offers is just a simple time race where you and your friends should ignore everything in the level from coins and monsters to secrets and power ups and just race to the end to see who reach it earlier. It also doesn’t emphasize co-op play beyond the point where friends can help you if you become a ghost after dying. What I wished for was the implementation of a system where points accumulated from collecting coins, finding secrets, and finishing first would determine the winner of the race. However, what Wonder offers seems half-cooked to me.
The online feature lacks the co-op fun one would expect from this kind of game; it is just a timed race with no actual substance.
If you are not playing with friends, online players can be found leaving standees all around to help you survive if things go south. This is excellent for the harder levels at which Super Mario Bros. Wonder excels, yet it doesn’t provide a cooperative and fun feature in general, despite the overall excellent experience of the game.
An Excellent Super Mario Game:
With its genuinely creative and diverse levels, rewarding and balanced difficulties, and a colorful, fun world, Super Mario Bros. Wonder stands as one of the most enjoyable experiences in the franchise. There is never a dull moment in this game, from the beginning to the very credits roll. While it may not reach the grandiosity of Super Mario Odyssey or Super Mario Galaxy, it holds its own crown as one of the best Super Mario experiences and a very welcomed return to the side-scrolling formula.
- A colorful and diverse world radiates joy at every corner, from the over-head map to each playable level.
- A game that is built to be fun first and foremost, and it delivers on that promise in every aspect.
- Creative game design that remains fresh throughout the entire game.
- Balanced difficulty levels that are more rewarding when they are challenging rather than punishing..
- The online feature lacks the co-op fun one would expect from this kind of game.
- There is no clear indicator that you have managed to finish all levels, aside from a character rewarding you for doing so at each world.
- Some special abilities are practically not useful except in levels that specifically require using them.
