Super Mario Bros. Wonder: A Psychedelic Experience
The best 2D Mario in 30 years
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first 2D side-scrolling game in the main series since New Super Mario Bros. U in 2012. And while its the revival subseries that carries the ‘New’ moniker, Wonder is truly a new 2D Mario experience that rivals even Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
You’re exploring an entirely new world in this game, the Flower Kingdom. Mario and company are invited to the kingdom by Prince Florian. Bowser, appearing uninvited alongside Bowser Jr. and Kamek, steals a Wonder Flower and merges with the nearby castle. He traps Popplins in their homes, spreading chaos throughout the kingdom before resting in the middle of the Petal Isles.
The Petal Isles surrounding Bowser’s castle form connects each of the game’s six unique worlds from Pipe-Rock Plateau to Deep Magma Bog, while containing levels of its own. The worlds themselves aren’t entirely linear, mostly in an open area in which you can challenge stages in any order you please, borrowing a concept explored in Super Mario 3D World. The game denotes each stage’s difficulty, so you can knock out tougher stages first if you choose to do so.
The worlds are gorgeous to play through, each with their own unique enemies and gimmicks. They’re inhabited by talking flowers, who may allude to secrets or events in each level. No two levels look the same, and almost none of them play the same either, thanks to the Wonder Flower. A simple race to the flagpole turns into a pipe-moving, piranha plant-singing, psychedelic journey after touching one.
You never really know what to expect when you obtain the Wonder Flower. Sometimes you’ll have to play the level from a different perspective, or avoid being chased down by hordes of enemies. You may even get turned into a Goomba.
Each standard level contains a Wonder Flower, but if you want to play through the level without it, you can do so. Some levels feature alternative routes and secrets beyond the Wonder Flower, so it’s sometimes beneficial to experience them without their intended effects.
Wonder features 11 characters to choose from — Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Blue and Yellow Toads, Toadette, and Princess Daisy, making her playable debut in the main series. There’s even various Yoshis and Nabbit, who returns from New Super Mario Bros. U. However these characters are reserved for those wanting a less stressful experience. Neither take damage from enemies, but they can’t use any of the new power-ups either. Players can also ride on Yoshi during co-op.
It’s disappointing that the Yoshis and Nabbit are essentially “easy mode” characters. I primarily used Toadette throughout my playthrough, ocassionally cycling through the other characters and only ever using Yoshi and Nabbit for gathering the rest of the game’s collectibles.
While none of the standard characters have any unique characteristics, they are present in the game as badges. A feature new to the series, badges influence certain characteristics within your character. You can equip badges that’ll allow you to jump higher, float in the air using a large cap, earn coins by defeating enemies, or even start the level with a mushroom power-up. These are found throughout the game, with some earned through special badge challenges or purchased through Popplin shops on the map. You never have to equip badges, but their effects drastically influence the game.
There’s several power-ups in the game. Returning are standard mushrooms, fire flowers, and stars, while introducing three new power-ups. You can transform into an elephant using Elephant Fruit, drill through the ground with a Drill Mushroom, or blow enemy-capturing bubbles with a Bubble Mushroom. These are some of my favorite power-ups since Super Mario Bros. 3, and you couldn’t turn into a goofy elephant in that game.
The new power-ups get tested throughout the game, but none more so than KO Arenas. While the game has its standard courses to run through, special stages such as KO Arenas, Search Parties and Break Time occupy the rest of each world, providing unique experiences away from the main game. KO Arenas challenge you to defeat waves of enemies under a certain time period to earn purple coins and Wonder Seeds, while the other two focus more on accomplishing tasks and discovering hidden secrets.
Well after completing Wonder, I found myself returning to many of the game’s difficult levels, guiding other players toward the goal. While there’s no traditional online multiplayer for the game, you can see other players in-game as ghosts. You can drop standees that will help revive fallen players, or even by simply touching them. This drives a sense of camaraderie with your fellow players, and it shows when the game’s difficulty takes a sharp turn. The satisfaction of helping others push through a difficult level, as simple as it may seem, feels really rewarding. Maybe you’ll make some friends along the way.
The game’s art direction is worthy of note. There hasn’t been a uniquely designed Mario platformer since the original New Super Mario Bros. back in 2006. It is absolutely a breath of fresh air seeing new designs, enemies and sound effects for the series. The game also introduces new voices for many of the characters, most notably Kevin Afghani as Mario, as Charles Martinet has moved into a new role as ‘Mario Ambassador’ at Nintendo.
Wonder is absolutely a rhythm-based game. Several badges, levels and secrets rewards players for keeping up with the beat. It helps that the game’s soundtrack is quite dynamic when it comes to setting tone. Petal Isles’ background music, for example, is quite calming and tranquil, fitting for an area that’s akin to a beach. In contrast, the game’s returning airship levels are harsher and energetic. There’s references to past games, such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and even Super Mario Maker as musical cues in some worlds.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is nothing short of a quality game. It brings its own unique identity to the franchise while maintaining the same addictive gameplay of its predecessors. Its attention to detail and emphasis on mind-boggling concepts make this one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch this year.
Total Playtime: 50 hours
Total Completion: Ending
