What is Super Mario Bros. Wonder?
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Wonder for the remainder of this review) is a 2D platformer featuring the iconic Mario characters. Wonder was released on October 20th, 2023 and is available only on the Nintendo Switch. It costs $60 and takes around 10 hours to beat the main story. It is playable for 1-4 players locally and online. The game takes place in a new area, the Flower Kingdom, and features the unique mechanics of that new world.
Game Review:
Mario is the most iconic video game character of all time. If you asked a random stranger to name a videogame character, Mario is likely to be the first one they name. Because of this notoriety and reputation, Mario games tend to have a level of quality that they need to meet. Nintendo does not release poorly designed Mario games, it would hurt their brand a lot more than other franchises doing poorly. Wonder fits right in with the Mario series and is very well-polished and has very high quality.
Wonder introduces a few new mechanics to the classic Mario repertoire. Wonder Flowers, a magical item that replaces the classic Star as the sought-after item, are scattered throughout levels. When one of these Wonder Flowers is touched, it can have all kinds of whacky effects on the level, including the characters. These effects can range from changing the perspective of the level to having certain parts of the level come alive and move to transforming Mario himself into a new form that affects how he navigates the environment. Each level has a Wonder Flower hidden in it that has some effect. And these crazy outcomes change with almost every level - there are a few repeat outcomes, but most are unique - which is really impressive from the developer’s perspective because there are 69 main story levels. Every level feels unique and like its own little world thanks to these very detailed and specific outcomes that are possible in each level.
Wonder also introduces a few new power-ups for Mario and company to utilize. There is a power-up that turns Mario into an elephant version of himself making him bigger and more physically destructive. He also can swing his trunk in an attack and spray water out of his trunk while in elephant form. There is also the drill power-up that lets Mario dig either in the floor or into the ceiling and avoid obstacles and enemies completely. And the last new power-up is the bubble power-up. This lets Mario shoot bubbles that trap enemies inside and defeat them. Alternatively the bubbles can serve as a platform for a single jump. Wonder also includes the classic Fire Flower power-up that is iconic throughout the Mario franchise.
I love 2D platformers, it’s one of my favorite genres. That being said, 2D Mario games typically haven’t stood out to me. I often lean more towards 3D Mario games when I think of my favorite Mario titles. I tend to get a little bored and/or frustrated because of difficulty in 2D Mario games. Wonder addresses both of those issues. The uniqueness of the Wonder Flowers and variety of the gameplay keep boredom from setting in, and Wonder tones down the difficulty to make it more approachable. One way that Wonder is made more approachable is the character select screen. You can pick from a number of playable characters, but a few select ones are invulnerable to enemy damage to ease players in. These characters are all of the Yoshis and Nabbit. You can still fall in pits with these characters but it removes the danger from enemies.
Another way that Wonder alleviates the challenge a bit is through its new badge system. The badge system works in that the player can choose a single badge to equip for a level and each badge has some kind of perk or power-up that can make a level easier. One example is a badge that lets the player do a dolphin kick in water to have a speed burst. This badge can be really helpful in underwater levels but isn’t really helpful in airborne levels. So being able to equip badges that fit the needed environments add a level of accessibility but also strategy and critical thinking. The player will earn more badges as they journey through the story.
Multiplayer in Wonder is one of the more fun features about it. This game can be played in 4-player co-op locally but also online. When turning on the online mode in Wonder you will also see random people playing the same level with you. It works by showing you other people in an almost faded ghost form that lets you see what they’re doing in the level. But there isn’t any interaction with other players outside of preset emotes and then actual helpful actions. In Wonder if you die while in online mode, you will have 5 seconds to go touch another person’s character or a healing point, called a Standee, that they have left behind. If a player helps revive another player, they will receive an in-game boost to their friendliness score. It’s a way to reward friendly behavior online and it still keeps the safe boundaries of not allowing players to interact with strangers outside of the approved forms in the game. This game would be a great game to play with friends and family.
Family Friendliness:
Wonder is an incredibly family friendly game. There is no iffy content. The game is similar to all Mario games and is playable by anyone of any age. There are online features but Nintendo did a great job at making it safe for children to use because there is no verbal communication whatsoever. Nintendo-created emotes and character movement are the only ways to interact with others so I think even the online mode is safe to use. The game is also great to play in multiplayer, though it may be frustrating for the more experienced Mario player as everyone has to share a single screen and players can be knocked out if someone goes too far ahead alone.
Features for Parents:
Wonder has a few features that are helpful for parents looking to play Mario. The level timer that has been standard for previous 2D Mario games is gone so you can take as long as you need to complete a level. They build this into the game by focusing more on exploration in Wonder. There is a “courses” feature that lets you jump straight to any course that you have played before if you want to re-experience it or find more secrets in the level. And the save feature is very easy to use from the pause menu.
Final Verdict:
Wonder is an incredibly well-made game. It is finely tuned and expertly designed with new features to the Mario franchise that make it an excellent family game. It’s great to play with kids and it is enjoyable to play single player. But there is something about it that didn’t engage me fully as a player though. I recognize how great it is but it’s not my favorite game I’ve played this year. I would recommend Wonder highly if you are interested in 2D platformers and have a Nintendo Switch but it’s not a console-seller in my opinion.