Since NewSuper MarioBros. DS, every Mario 2D platformer has used the ‘New’ moniker and it soon became associated with a certain style. However, almost two decades after the confusingly named ‘New’ era of Super Mario Bros. started, it has ended withSuper Mario Bros Wonder.
With Wonder, the series has shed a lot of the stylistic choices that were holding it back, and now Super Mario, ironically, actually feels new. So, with all the changes that were made with Super Mario Wonder, what sets it apart from the ‘New’ generation, and why these changes are for the best?
8New Setting
When asked what the setting of a Super Mario game is, the most common answer would be the Mushroom Kingdom, and this was the case for every New Super Mario Bros game, but this is not the case for Super Mario Wonder.
Super Mario Wonder takes place in the Flower Kingdom, and while the visual style could still be linked to more classic Mario titles, the new world themes that Mario and the rest of the cast travel through definitely have a fresher feel. The subtle change of having the Petal Isles bridge each world also means that transitioning between each of the settings feels a little more natural.
7No Collision
A feature that was important to the New Super Mario Bros generation of games was multiplayer, especially with the home console iterations. This multiplayer is most well known for how chaotic it was to play through, with friends and family being able to bump into each other, and throw other them around, whether by choice or accidentally.
While this was its own brand of fun, it meant that multiplayer occasionally felt like a suboptimal way to play through the levels, so with Wonder removing player collision in multiplayer, while it may turn down the chaos, this ends up with a smoother experience.
6Characters
When choosing a character in the New Super Mario Bros game, the choices were usually kept pretty limited. The most choices ever available were in New Super Mario Bros Switch, which featured extra choices like Toadette and Nabbit, with classic Peach never being an option.
However, the range of options with Super Mario Wonder has been expanded massively, with choices added like Peach, Daisy, three types of Toad, Nabbit, and four Yoshis. This choice is great for having different options, but, it is a shame that the Yoshis and Nabbit are limited to a no-damage mode without power-ups.
5New Enemies
With the new setting of the Flower Kingdom comes a whole new set of enemies. Every New Mario title would add a couple of new enemies, but, with Wonder, it feels like every level has a new enemy to show off and build a level around.
These enemies and their unique attack patterns are often seamlessly interwoven with the design of the levels, making them feel like a natural part of the world and a fun obstacle to get past. This is further enhanced when their traits are accentuated with a fantastical Wonder Seed transformation.
4No Koopalings
When playing through a New Super Mario Bros title and getting to the end of a castle, you could expect one of the Koopalings to face you as the boss. The seven Koopalings are fun characters, but after facing them so often, it started to feel like their charm was starting to wear a little thin.
In Wonder, there are fewer castles, with some worlds ending with challenges instead of castles, and for the bosses, we have airship robots and an ever-changing Wonder-powered Bowser Jr. While the choice for repeating bosses can be questioned, at least Bowser Jr. gets a bit more of the spotlight.
3Multiple New Power Ups
It is easy to make sweeping statements and say that every New Super Mario game only made minor changes to the formula, but at least every entry would add one or two unique power-ups to change up how you could interact with the world. However, with Super Mario Wonder, the range of power-ups is almost completely swapped out for new offerings.
While the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Star remain, there are now even more choices added, like the Elephant Fruit, Drill, and Bubble power as well! These all change how you platform and attack massively and contribute tohow fresh Wonder feels.
2Badges
When playing through a New Super Mario title, the controls and how you platform would stay pretty consistent no matter how far you get through the game, with exceptions of some power-ups maybe being saved until later.
This is completely avoided in Super Mario Wonder with howbadges are distributed throughout the game, so you are unlocking them right up to the last world. These badges change how the character controls, and makes traversing some levels much easier, while others harder. Collecting them all is a challenge you will be doing well past the credits as well.
1Animations
All of the previous changes add up to feel like a massive accumulative change, but perhaps the most impactful is the complete visual overhaul that is best encapsulated in the animations. Just in how Mario and the rest of the cast move, you can see how much effort has been put into each second of gameplay.
It will shock you just how many unique animations there are for each character and enemy, and how this perfectly matches the vibe and movements of the stage and soundtrack. The look of Super Mario Wonder is arguably the most attractive feature of the game to draw backany 2D Mario fanspotentially worn out of the less vibrant New Super Mario Bros style.
