When I was growing up in the late ’90s and ’00s, the video game landscape was a lot different. If you asked somebody who didn’t really play video games to name a single character, they’d probably tell you “well… I know Mario!” It didn’t matter how big games like Halo, Elder Scrolls, or World of Warcraft got, the general public just knew Mario! Mario was not only the face of Nintendo, but the face of gaming as a medium. I would say Mario is still probably the most recognizable face in gaming, next to Pikachu, but the gaming landscape has changed dramatically.
Kids growing up nowadays have a slew of games and characters to obsess over. Games like Splatoon, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Fortnite and Minecraft have taken over the vast majority of the younger crowd, and the love for Mario just isn’t as widespread as it once was. The Super Mario movie was released earlier this year and we live in a world where that could have been the first major exposure and deep dive into the Mushroom Kingdom for some gamers. Not only did I really enjoy the film, but I really like the idea that it was an easy and exciting way to introduce people to this world and these characters that I have loved all my life, much like how games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero introduced players to songs that they may have never heard before. Just a couple months after the entire planet had seen the movie, Super Mario Bros. Wonder was announced. Now all of these people who have been introduced to Mario have a brand new game to play. People like me, who have been fans for literal decades, have been yearning for the day we get to play this game. I think I speak for everyone when I say that it is no surprise that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an absolute masterpiece.
If you’ve been paying attention to the last couple decades of major Mario releases, you’ll know that the 2D Mario games haven’t felt anywhere near as inspired as their 3D counterparts. Super Mario Galaxy, its sequel, and Super Mario Odyssey had so many innovative ideas and really let the player do things that just weren’t possible in any other game. In stark contrast, the New Super Mario Bros. games have felt a little bland and uninspired. Not that those games were bad… they weren’t. But they just didn’t really do anything that felt revolutionary. In fact, they kept releasing what felt like the same game over and over again. It seemed like Nintendo ran out of ideas and needed to find something to keep Mario an interesting platformer for the future. In what felt like a reach out to the diehard Mario players, Nintendo released what happened to be a fantastic way to gather intel and ideas… Super Mario Maker. With millions of levels across both Mario Maker 1 and 2, it was clear that whatever Nintendo would do next would surely take inspiration from players around the world using Nintendo’s own systems to make better levels than the actual developers themselves. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is that next big thing, and it wears the global inspiration proudly on its sleeves.
Unless you’re living under a rock, you would have definitely heard that Charles Martinet is no longer providing his voice for Mario or Luigi. Charles lent his voice to many of the fan favourites from the Mushroom Kingdom for 29 years. He is now thriving in his new role as the global ambassador for Mario! That sounds like basically the greatest job ever, if you ask me. Fans everywhere were wondering who would take over the iconic roles. Would the voices be AI? Would they reuse old voice lines? The internet was arguing back and forth over what the answer could possibly be. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we learned that there is a new voice actor taking over by the name of Kevin Afghani. Kevin lends his vocal chops to Mario and Luigi and he is absolutely fantastic. The voices are unique, but not a total departure from what we all know and love. All of the classic catch phrases are there, but now, we have a ton of new ones. My personal favourite is the new “wowwie zowwie!” everyone yells when they get a power-up! The voices are instantly recognizable and hard to mistake for any other character. Kevin’s new lines feel fresh AND familiar… an extremely hard balance to get right. I cannot wait to see what he does for more characters in the future. Here’s hoping Kevin will have this job for a long time. Another voice I love is that of the new character, Talking Flower. These guys are littered all over the place and all have the same voice provided by the unbelievably great Mick Wingert. Seriously, look up his IMDb. Talking Flower is ridiculously charming and every time he appears on the screen I get a big fat grin on my face. Not only is the voice cast extremely charming and fantastic, but the worlds and levels themselves ooze charm out of every square inch of screen space.
The level design in Super Mario Bros. Wonder is among the best Nintendo has ever put out. The big new feature in the game is the new Wonder Flower. Each level has 2 Wonder Seeds for players to find. Some are out in the open, and some are hidden away, which makes a fun challenge for players to collect them all. One comes with finishing a Wonder Flower section, and the other by collecting the three big purple coins. There were some levels where I had to look up YouTube videos to find them. When you collect a Wonder Flower the level undergoes a massive change. Sometimes you find yourself instantly skydiving, or maybe the camera perspective changes to a bird’s eye view. One level I turned into a Goomba and had to maneuver my way through obstacles while moving at a slow pace. Another level had me physically turn into a section of the level. The creativity is off the charts. Every single level is exciting to play because you do not know what the Wonder Flower will do until you get it for yourself. It keeps you on your toes and has you constantly thinking about what Nintendo has up their sleeves at every turn.
There are also some new power-ups to play around with. The new Bubble Flower gives the playable cast the ability to shoot bubbles. These bubbles instantly turn enemies into coins while also providing a bubble to bounce on to get some extra height. Speedrunners have been having a blast with this game and have been utilizing the Bubble Flower to breeze through the game. I seriously recommend checking out some of Mario Wonder speedrunning videos to see the extent of how wild this new power-up is. The Drill Mushroom is the next new toy to play with. The power-up allows you to burrow into the floor and ceiling and the ability to drill through rocks. Since you’ve got a big spinning drill on your head, you’re also immune to enemies coming at you from above. Lastly is my personal favourite, the Elephant Fruit. It’s exactly as advertised, you eat this fruit and become a big funny looking elephant. You’re heavier and can break through blocks with your trunk. You can also collect water and use it to bring Talking Flowers back to life or find secrets. Seeing a hulking elephant running around while dressed up as any of the playable characters is way more fun than it has any right to be.
There are 12 playable characters this time around making it the most in any mainline Mario game ever! Of course you’ve got Mario and Luigi. But now you can play as both Peach AND Daisy, as well as Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and Toadette. They all play identically, so it’s moreso just an aesthetic choice. However, you can also play as a few different coloured Yoshis and the little rascal thief, Nabbit. Yoshi and Nabbit both provide an interesting difficulty selection for the player. Neither character can actually take any physical damage, and both have the ability to jump higher than the main characters. Playing as them is a lot easier and can help relieve issues some players may have with the harder levels in the game. Make no mistake, the levels do get extremely hard. So if you’re ever feeling stuck, maybe swap over to Nabbit or Yoshi. The downside is they can’t actually equip any of the power-ups, but they honestly don’t need them.
Nintendo has had an absolutely BANGER year. Nearly every first party game they’ve released is GOTY potential. They have really shown the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch and with the rumours of a new console coming sooner than later, I’d say Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a tremendous send off for the console. Colours burst off the screen like Jackson Pollock is launching paint directly at your face. The overall aesthetic exudes an exuberance and jubilance that is rarely seen from developers outside the Nintendo walls. The game is ridiculously fun and can be played with 3 other friends, and you can even play it online. I haven’t had the chance to try the online component yet, but if it’s anything like what I’ve already had displayed to me, then I think I’m in good hands. Games of this calibre are the reason the Nintendo Seal of Quality exists. Seldom do you get this top notch presentation anywhere else. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an another unbelievable notch in Nintendo’s belt. Nintendo really went above and beyond to create what is probably the greatest 2D platformer ever made.
In short, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is… wonderful.
