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Nintendo fans are eating well in 2023. Not only do you have theSuper Mario Bros.animated film adaptation from Illumination,Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario RPG Remake on the horizon, but now the new Super Mario Bros. game is out as well.Super Mario Bros. Wonderis a wondrous reimagining of the platformer series Mario fans know and love, but is it as exciting as you hope?
You’re probably familiar by now that there aremany new power-ups in store, some interesting shifts taking place during a level, and musical aspects. But just what else does this game entail, how much time will you have to spend with it, and what do others think? All will be answered here in this breakdown.
Review
TheGamer’s Jade Kinggave Super Mario Bros. Wonder a magical 4/5 star review, praising the gameplay variety and all the new elements injected into the classic formula. The main highlights for Jade are how the environment and level design get transformed by Wonder Flowers andthe large selection of characters, noting that Nabbit and Yoshis can make your platforming adventure in the new Kingdom much easier.
King was particularly fond of the rhythm-based levels, going so far as to say that she’d want “an entire game based around them.” Singing Piranha Plants, musical note blocks, jumping and climbing to the beat, and background figures dancing and cheering along is a fun and memorable experience to be had.
There are moments in Super Mario Bros. Wonder where my mouth was left agape at all the creativity on display… Every level can drop your jaw to the floor, but the blueprint piecing it together feels so archaic.
Another new element that Jade touches upon in her review is the characters now having badges, which serve as special skills in the game that can be purchased. Overall,there are many varieties of badges availablethat can alter the gameplay to bring out even more whimsical fun, but sometimes King finds herself not needing so many options and just sticking to those that make the levels easier to clear.
The online multiplayer aspect of Super Mario Bros. Wonderintroduces the Standee mechanic, which lets you put a cardboard cutout of a character anywhere you desire in the level to act as a spawn point for other online players when they’ve been turned into ghosts. It almost sounds likeDeath Stranding’s Social Strand system.
With all these excellent new ideas taking shape inside the platforming worlds of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Jade felt the power-ups, traditional overworld, and characters hold the game back from being a complete transformation over classic aesthetics. Other criticisms that were expressed include the boss fights not going far enough with the new game design and the game running on the shorter side with “sparse endgame content.”
The game is definitely not the nextSuper Mario Odyssey, but it’s on the right track for the new heights this series can go. Though the addition of Wonder Flowers is already “asking you to think outside the box in ways platformers like this never do,” a little more magic like that will make this game even better.
Time Expenditure
With six main worlds to get through and some extra ones on the side, Super Mario Bros. Wonder comes with a completion time not too far off from previous entries.According to HowLongToBeat, Wonder’smain story takes 8.5 hours to finish, which is a half hour to an hour less than the previous New Super Mario Bros. games but still quite lengthier than the classic ones.
Getting in those side activities will costan additional three hours, while a full completionist goal of visiting Special Worlds or trying to collect all the badges and Standeestakes 17 hours. This is still 12 hours less than the completionist time for New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe on the Switch, andthe limited postgame contentmay be the culprit for this drastic difference.
Cost
It should come as no surprise that Super Mario Bros. Wonder isa Nintendo Switch exclusive, so there’s no point trying to unlock secret areas of digital storefronts to obtain a download for PC or other consoles. The price is also standard for a new game on the Switch, which is$60, so thankfully, you won’t need to cough up that additional $10 like you would on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
And Super Mario Bros. Wonder shockingly hasonly one standard edition. While there are no extra deluxe or collector’s editions available, you can still score some free goodies in addition to the physical copy of the game, depending on the place you buy from.
GameStop will offer an exclusive sticker set, which features some of the main characters, Wonder Flowers, and Elephant Mario. Walmart may be the best option because you will receive afreeSuper Mario Bros. Wonder trading card packthat contains ten cards inside, with the potential of pulling a limited edition Holofoil card. And lastly, shopping through Best Buy will get you afree print of the game’s cover art.
What People Are Saying
An Overdue Breath Of Fresh Air - Gary Kay
2D Mario has been in a slump for the past decade. But Wonder has picked out all the best bits of the ‘New Super Mario’ era, and added enough new to make it feel like the first truly ‘New’ entry this series has had for generations.
Nintendo proved once again that no one can make a 2D platformer as satisfying as they can, and the new Wonder Flower twist gives you a reason to try each new level wondering how your expectations will be subverted next. The lack of substantial post-game content is disappointing since the Special World is accessible so early on. However, from beginning to credits, Super Mario Wonder is perfectly paced platformer perfection.
One Of The Most Imaginative Games In Years - Quinton O’Connor
Despite a handful of quibbles, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has easily won me over. Nearly every stage is great even before factoring in the unforgettable Wonder Flowers that transform so many of them into the best sorts of fever dreams. When a gamestartswith a chorus of singing Piranha Plants and only improves from there, you have most certainly gotten your money’s worth.
There is a welcome sense of variety, too. Equipping badges can make even replays of stages you might not have loved the first time around suddenly burst with fun. The KO Arenas, Search Parties, and Break Times all chime in to remove any sense of tedium; if you’re tiring of traditional left-to-right platforming, hop into one of these instead.
Animations are much improved from the New Super Mario Bros. entries. If you’ve ever shared the common sentiment that those were a bit ‘plastic-looking’, and that characters and enemies were generally less expressive than in the days of the NES and SNES, you’ll be stoked to see what Super Mario Bros. Wonder has done by contrast.
As I said, I do have a few issues holding me back from saying the game is flawless. I wish Yoshi wasn’t confined to what is essentially easy mode; accessibility options are always welcome, but with four colors to choose from, surelyoneYoshi could at least have had a difficulty toggle. Postgame isn’t especially robust, and on a totally subjective note, I could really have some with less Bowser Jr. There are so many other familiar faces who can serve as boss fights!
The New Super Mario Bros. games were - somewhat ironically, given the title - a relentless ode to Mario’s past. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a clear eye toward the future. I hope we see more Wonder Flowers in the years to come because, call me an optimist, but I bet potential sequels will iron out the wrinkles.
I Would’ve Paid More For It, So Yes - Alfredo Robelo
Is Super Mario Wonder worth it? I would’ve paid more for it, so yes. While the new powers and Wonder effects are the main selling point, the new art style is what did it for me. The way each character interacts with pipes is something that never gets old.
Having played it all with my wife, I can say that the co-op system is better than ever here. No more accidental bounces, and you can use the Yoshis to help each other out. We had so much fun we nearly finished it in a single weekend.
NEXT:Super Mario Wonder: The Biggest Changes From The New Super Mario Bros. Games
