Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local, Online), Online Content Sharing

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, released on the Nintendo Switch in 2023, is the first completely original 2D Platformer that Nintendo’s family-friendly mascot has starred in since the first release of New Super Mario Bros. U in 2012. In the time since that game’s release, we’ve seen two Super Mario Maker games that allowed players to craft their own custom-made Mario levels, as well as a port of New Super Mario Bros. U to Nintendo Switch, but no truly new 2D Platformers have come down the pipe (ha) until now.

With this release, Nintendo has wisely dropped the “New” from the title and aimed for a change in artistic style to differentiate this new release from the New Super Mario Bros. games, which many (myself included) have come to find somewhat rote and predictable. To be clear, these games were never bad, but they were increasingly unambitious and cookie-cutter. With this new “Wonder”-ful release, Nintendo seems to be trying to distance Mario from the growing image that his 2D adventures were becoming stale, something that became especially stark when compared to games like the absolutely brilliant Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

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A Wonder to Behold?

Super Mario Bros. Wonder features some extremely nice animation for its 3D characters and bright, colorful world, with Mario and friends’ movements being delightfully snappy and having excellent little details such as Mario grabbing his hat when moving through a sideways pipe, and brief blur lines when a character first hits their top speed. These visuals give the game a fair amount of personality, though the overall look still retains much of the “polished” feel of the New Super Mario Bros. games… honestly a little too polished for my tastes. I kinda’ wish that this game’s visuals were a little messier to emphasize the wacky new personality a little more here. And I’m not talking about how the framerates drop when you enable the game’s online multiplayer.

The sound here is probably one of the things that seems least-changed from earlier games, even with the replacement of longtime Mario and Luigi voice actor Charles Martinet, replaced here by Kevin Afghani. You can hear the difference, but it’s not so jarring that it takes you out of the experience, and you’ll get used to the change soon enough. Given the Mario characters’ cartoonish voices, probably the most out-of-place thing here is the somewhat normal voices of flowers you pass on each stage, who comment on the action or hint at places to investigate for a secret. Thankfully, these voices can be turned off for those who dislike them.

These visuals and voices are backed by a cartoonish soundtrack that works well enough for the gameplay, but is one of the least-memorable Mario soundtracks… well, ever. You have songs like the cheerful acoustic guitar and a capella song Wonder Pipe Rock Plateau and the synthesized Wonder Effect theme and… well, at this time, it’s hard to find any others I can link to. Some of the music in the game’s snowy area was pretty nice, I suppose. And the game does reprise some classic Mario themes on occasion too. But overall, there was little here that I felt like I would be compelled to hum to myself when I wasn’t playing the game, which is pretty unusual for a Mario game.

Edit: Now that the game has been out for a few days, I can add a few of the songs I consider noteworthy, including one of my favorite musical moments this year, Wonder (Piranha Plants on Parade). Other good ones here include Petal Isles, Snow (Normal), Sunbaked Desert (Sand), Magma Bog (Lava), and Special World. To be clear, there’s definitely good stuff here, just nothing I feel rises to the level of Mario’s most memorable tunes.

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A Wonder-Worker?

Of course, the biggest new feature in Super Mario Bros. Wonder isn’t a name change and a shift in art style. The “wonder” in this game’s title refers to the “Wonder Flowers” that can be found in each of this game’s levels, each with their own transformative effect on the level, and with every level’s “wonder effect” being different. Well, almost every level – wonder effects are repeated on occasion, though infrequently enough that finding a wonder flower is almost always the highlight of each of this game’s levels, because you never quite know what you’ll find. Perhaps pipes will start crawling around like inchworms, or maybe the wonder flower will trigger a stampede of burly creatures that you can ride to a new exit. These are the two effects that have been most frequently highlighted in trailers, but suffice it to say that there’s all manner of creativity behind these effects. Without spoiling it, I will say that the second level’s wonder effect in a level filled with walking piranha plants brought a huge smile to my face.

Beyond these wonder effects, the core gameplay here is pretty standard Mario fare, and in fact it strikes me as being extremely similar to the New Super Mario Bros. games, even including the mid-air spin that was a signature of those games – you can even opt to trigger that spin by shaking your controller, much as those games did.

Wonder also brings with it some new power-ups – Mario can transform into an elephant with one ability and melee attack enemies or absorb and spray water with his trunk. With another ability, he can toss bubbles that can pass through walls, entrap enemies, and be jumped on. Yet another new ability allows him to drill into floors and ceilings. And you once again have the return of the fire flower.

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For Those Who Are Wondering…

You’ll note that I didn’t mention any flying abilities, and that is because they are not present in this game. No racoon tail or tanooki suit, no cape, not even a weaksauce gliding ability like the flying squirrel suit (though you get something akin to this last one with one of the badges, something I’ll touch on later). This may seem like a petty complaint, but it speaks to how limited the exploration elements of Super Mario Bros. Wonder are. You will occasionally find yourself discovering hidden enclaves, or taking a warp pipe that brings you into an area in the background, but for the most part these levels will be a pretty linear trip from left to right with only brief deviations.

There is another element that may irk some longtime Mario players. As Mario games go, this one is mostly pretty easy (though there are definitely some later levels that can be quite challenging), and even with this being the case the game is constantly falling over itself trying to offer ways to make things even easier. You’ll gradually unlock equippable badges that give you optional new abilities, add helpful blocks to levels, or offer free power-ups (though players can only use one badge at a time). The entire online multiplayer experience is built on the concept of players each working to make the game easier for each other. And players wanting an extra-easy mode can opt to play as Nabbit or Yoshi, who cannot take damage from enemies. As a side-note, all other playable characters have the exact same abilities and move set as Mario, so there’s no high-jumping Luigi or floating Peach this time.

Unlike the New Super Mario Bros. games, players in local multiplayer no longer interact directly, now passing through one another. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing will depend on whether you enjoyed the chaotic element this often brought to the New Super Mario Bros. games. Furthermore, in online multiplayer, not only can you not directly interact with others, but your interactions with the world around you don’t affect other players’ experience. Instead, you can opt to offer a power-up to these players from your stock, or touch their ghost after they die to bring them back so they don’t have to restart the level. You can also place flat standees that can bring back players, or perhaps indicate a conspicuous place to investigate.

Now, let me be clear – I do not hate that there are all sorts of options to make this game more friendly to younger and less-experienced players. I have applauded multiple other games that did much the same. And I love the variety that the wonder effects bring to this game, truly giving players something to look forward to in every level. However, despite all the variety, the fun extra features, and so on, I just don’t feel like this game has the same amount of depth as Mario’s greatest 2D adventures on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Instead, despite all the “wonder”-ful trappings of this game, it still feels to me a lot like… well, like one of the New Super Mario Bros. games.

I feel like that statement is going to earn me a lot of hate, but please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a low-effort game, I’m not saying that it’s stale, boring, cookie-cutter… all those things that people complain about the New Super Mario Bros. games increasingly becoming. The wonder effects alone ensure that this game has plenty of great new ideas to thrill players from start to finish. But as wond-… er, that is to say, as nice as all of these ideas are, they seem to be trying to distract from the fact that this game just doesn’t seem as deep as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island.

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A Small Wonder

And you know… that’s okay. That’s an absurdly high bar for any game to try to live up to. And Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s failure to live up to those classic games is absolutely not something that should be taken as a condemnation of this game. Quite the contrary – that we’re even comparing this game to some of the greatest 2D Platformers ever made should be an indication of the extremely high quality this game presents players with. And if you’re a fan of Platformers, you should absolutely consider this game to be among the best that Nintendo Switch has to offer, with tons of variety and imagination bursting at the seams. And this game is absolutely better than the New Super Mario Bros. titles that preceded it. Just don’t go into this expecting the absolute best 2D Mario game, or you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

tl;dr – Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a family-friendly Platformer that brings Mario back to 2D with brand new “wonder effects” that transform every level in the game in creative, inventive ways that infuse this game with tons of variety and personality. What’s more, this game has plenty of new multiplayer features and accessibility options to make this game ideal for younger and less-experienced players. This game is far more inspired than the New Super Mario Bros. games that preceded it… just don’t expect something as incredible as the classic games of Mario’s 8-bit and 16-bit eras or you’ll be disappointed. However, while this game doesn’t reach the same heights as Mario’s classic adventures, it is nevertheless a truly excellent Platformer that any fan of the genre should absolutely play.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Platformer – Mario’s first completely new 2D game in over a decade (if we don’t count Super Mario Run and the Super Mario Maker games) still borrows a lot from the New Super Mario Bros. games, but shakes things up with new “Wonder” effects that instill the game with much-needed variety. I disagree with critics who claim this game is on par with Mario’s 8-bit and 16-bit adventures, but this is nevertheless a fantastic Platformer, and without question the best one I played in 2023.

Best Game for Kids and Casual Players – Fewer games are as easy to plop a younger or less-experienced gamer in front of as a 2D Mario game, and this year Nintendo took that highly-accessible experience and infused it with enough variety and creativity to ensure that the game kept things interesting throughout its length, and older players playing the game with their kid could even help out in multiplayer without getting in the way. This is a Wonder that pretty much anyone can enjoy.

Runner-Up: Best Sequel

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1-4 Co-Op / Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online), 5-12 Competitive (Local Wireless, Online), Online Content Sharing, GameShare Support

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Review:

Super Mario Bros. Wonder was always a natural choice for receiving a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition release. It’s the most recent wholly new game in Nintendo’s flagship Mario franchise, it was both critically and commercially well-regarded, and its “Wonder” mechanic gave it a natural hook for more content. However, I think that when this Nintendo Switch 2 Edition was announced, it led to a lot of mixed feelings.

To start with, the $20 upgrade pack for players who purchased the Nintendo Switch release of the game already puts this among the priciest of Nintendo Switch 2 upgrades, with an $80 price tag to buy the whole package. In addition, a lot of the added content seemed to be multiplayer-focused, which just isn’t going to appeal to a lot of players. So, this all leads to the question: what are you getting for your $20, and is it worth it?

Let’s look at the changes to graphics and performance first. The difference in graphics on Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t as dramatic as it is in some other games, but it is absolutely noticeable, with both the resolution and framerate getting a solid bump that really makes the game look better, even though the original Nintendo Switch game still looks pretty good overall.

However, the improvements to the loading times are even more impressive – on Nintendo Switch, it took me 24 seconds to load the game to the main menu, another 28 seconds to load a game save, and 8 seconds to load into a level. On Nintendo Switch 2, those times are goomba-stomped down to 7 seconds, 4 seconds, and 7 seconds. There are a lot of loading times sprinkled throughout this game, so reducing those means you’ll spend a lot less time here waiting, and a lot more playing.

There are plenty of other improvements, but even though the game has a separate Bellabel Park mode (I’ll get to that in a moment), I think it’s fair to say that many of the improvements are strewn throughout the game rather than lumped all in one place. Let’s run through them.

First, right from the start, players gain access to two new playable characters: Rosalina and Co-Star Luma. Rosalina is just a normal character with all the same abilities as Mario, Luigi, Peach, and most of the rest of the Super Mario Bros. Wonder cast. Luma, on the other hand, is a character that can only be selected in multiplayer, cannot take damage, and can be controlled using Mouse Mode controls – basically, this is an assist character for younger or less-experienced players to participate in the game alongside a more experienced player.

Second, the game now has sounds that come through your controller (Nintendo Switch 2 controllers have a speaker, I guess. Who knew). Mostly, this is just the little utterances by your prince sidekick, the sounds of music blocks as you step on them, and a few other things – nothing major, but worth noting all the same.

Third, players will gain access to the Bellabel Park area after completing the first four stages of the game – after this, you’ll see a path blocked off by a piranha plant on the left side of the screen that can be opened up using three wonder seeds. Until you have done so, the Bellabel Park area remains shut off, and cannot be selected from the main menu.

Upon entering the Bellabel Park area, you’ll gain access to multiple new features, only some of which are multiplayer-focused. For solo players, you’ll unlock a new side-story involving the Koopa Kids, where players gradually gain access to these optional levels throughout the game. Each of these levels is unique and creative, and involves an original boss battle – something many players complained were lacking in the main game.

These levels also include a new super flower pot power-up where players can briefly flutter jump/float and shoot a wide flower petal upwards to attack enemies above you. It’s a nice addition to the assorted power-ups, though not so exceptional you’ll feel overpowered.

Also in the Bellabel Park area are new challenge stages players can tackle, such as trying to collect all coins in a small area as fast as possible, or trying to eliminate all enemies in a small area as fast as possible. It’s nothing major, but it’s an entertaining challenge for solo players wanting for more content in this game on top of the Koopa Kids levels.

Completion of pretty much any of the extra tasks or levels in the new Bellabel Park content gives players a new in-game currency that can be spent on a few different things, including watering sprouts that give an assortment of awards. Those awards range from decorations that you can place in the Bellabel Park area to new “dual badges” that combine two badges from the base game.

Okay, now let’s talk about that multiplayer content. This is split into three parts: Local Multiplayer, Game Rooms, and GameShare. All of these game modes work for both the base game and the new Bellabel Park content, but some parts of Bellabel Park are specifically-designed with Game Rooms in mind, so let’s address that first.

The Game Room is a mode specifically for online or local wireless play, with each player needing to own a copy of the game. In other words, the Game Room sections of the game do not support GameShare or local multiplayer, and you can’t play with random players online either. So, if you only have one copy of the game, you won’t be able to access these areas, which include six competitive multiplayer games.

All of the other multiplayer content is accessible whichever way you choose to play, as long as you play with friends, including GameShare with a regular Nintendo Switch, even if that player doesn’t own a copy of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. This content includes 6 additional competitive multiplayer games, as well as 5 Co-Op games.

These games range from “get the most coins”, “defeat the most enemies” and “survive the longest”-style minigames to more creative stuff like a minigame that has players competing in a game of hide-and-seek, or a co-op game where one players creates platforms (using a cursor or Mouse Mode) that other players will need to use to complete the level. Overall, it’s a good amount of multiplayer content that should be entertaining for players who enjoy Platformers and want to play with or against friends.

This is undoubtedly one of the longest Nintendo Switch 2 Difference articles I’ve written at this point, because there’s a lot of added content here. But we get back to the big question – is it all worth the extra $20? And honestly that is a very difficult question to answer. Make no mistake, this version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is greatly-improved over the Nintendo Switch version of the game, in numerous ways at that. But that’s also a part of what makes this so difficult to assess – because it doesn’t add something huge in any one area.

The improved graphics and especially improved loading times absolutely make the entire game better, but not $20 better. The new side-story single-player content and challenge levels are excellent additions, but you could knock them out within an hour or two, tops. The new multiplayer content is excellent… but only if you’re looking for multiplayer, and even then you won’t be able to enjoy all of it unless you have a friend who owns the game too.

In many ways, much of what’s here feels like it would have been great if it was in the game to start with, letting you discover it naturally as you progressed through the game normally. The Koopa Kids stuff in particular seems like it would have naturally fit into the game from the start, and if you’ve already completed the game it seems odd to go globetrotting to get to all the locations where you access these new levels. The new Luma sidekick character as well – a great inclusion for new players with a young kid or a non-gamer significant other… but not something you’re likely to return to the game for if you already played it when it originally came out a few years ago.

Okay, well what if we assess this as a complete experience, then? Just take it all in together, as if this was a players’ first time playing the game? Well, then yes, this is definitely the most ideal way to play Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a truly excellent version of a truly excellent game… but it’s not a game that I’d say is worth $80. And it’s strange, because I did think the original game was worth $60, and I do think this new content is worth the extra $20 if you’re approaching it organically rather than after the fact having already completed the base game. But… well, this is where Nintendo never reducing the prices of their games really starts to mess with perceived value, because I just can’t see this being worth $80, and for players who played the Nintendo Switch version years ago, I can’t see them wanting to dive into this content for $20, at least not all of it.

I feel like I’m going in circles here. Look, I’ll just let you make your own decision. Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park is a wonderful expansion that adds a ton of new content, features, and graphics and performance upgrades to what was already a fantastic game. Despite this, it’s a hard sell because of how scattered this new content is. I suppose whether it’s worth it to you really depends on… you.

tl;dr – Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a family-friendly Platformer that brings Mario back to 2D with brand new “wonder effects” that transform every level in the game in creative, inventive ways that infuse this game with tons of variety and personality. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition adds a ton of new content, features, and upgrades that enhance the game in numerous ways, though it’s hard to say whether that’s worth $20. Ultimately, I think this game doesn’t reach the same heights as Mario’s classic adventures, but it is nevertheless a truly excellent Platformer that any fan of the genre should absolutely play, and this is definitely the definitive way to play this game.

Grade: A-

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