Game: Super Mario Bros Wonder
Genre: Platformer, Action
System: Nintendo Switch
Developers | Publishers: Nintendo
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $59.99 | UK £49.99 | EU €59.99
Release Date: October 20th, 2023
No review code was used, as I purchased the game myself.
Christmas came along (that seems like a distant memory now), and as is my usual tradition, I buy myself a game with any cash I have been given as a Christmas present. Off to the eShop, I went to study the games, and I ended up purchasing Super Mario Bros Wonder.
I’m not entirely sure why I bought Super Mario Bros Wonder, as I’m not really a fan of Mario or platform games. Still, I wanted something happy and colourful to play, and Super Mario Bros Wonder is certainly that.
The last Mario game I played was Paper Mario the Origami King, which isn’t a platformer; you can find that review here. I did wonder how my reaction times would stand the test of playing a platformer, but like me, Mario is also older and a little slower and other than losing many lives, I’ve had great fun and lots of laughs.
Bowser is Up to His Old Tricks in Super Mario Bros Wonder
Super Mario Bros Wonder starts as you would expect for a Mario game, with Bowser up to his old tricks of terrorising the Kingdom. Except this time, Mario, Luigi and friends are visiting the neighbouring Flower Kingdom.
This new Flower Kingdom has its own magical power source, Wonder Seeds, and, of course, Bowser swoops in to steal them. His malevolence transforms the realm into a strange land, and Bowser turns into a flying castle and threatens to take over the world. So Mario and Prince Florian must recover the Wonder Seeds and thwart Bowser’s plans, simple.
While the storyline won’t win any awards, I give the game points for not having Bowser kidnap Princess Peach, as I’m sure she is fed up with being kidnapped over and over again.
Lots of Collectables
In all, there are eight worlds, that’s six main worlds, a hub world that doubles as the final boss fight world, and a special world made up of the hardest levels in the game.
It wouldn’t be a Mario game without collectables, and Super Mario Bros Wonder is no exception to that rule. There are plenty of collectables, from Flower Coins, many of them hidden, and Wonder Seeds, which will help you unlock more levels to complete and badges.
Each main stage has three large Flower Coins and features at least two Wonder Seeds to grab. You earn one Wonder Seed when you finish the stage, and you also get one for collecting a Wonder Flower effect in that stage.
Additionally, each world map has certain blockades that require a number of Wonder Seeds to progress beyond those points on your way to the end of each world. As you clear each main world map, you will earn a Royal Wonder Seed, with the goal of the game being to obtain six of these, which have the power to stop Bowser’s evil plans.
Finally, to 100% the game, you’ll need to grab all the flower coins and Wonder Seeds and reach the highest point on every single one of the now-familiar course-ending flag poles.
Wonder Flower Effect
All of the standard stages in the game have a Wonder Flower hidden somewhere. Finding the Wonder Flower will start the Wonder Effect and do weird and wonderful things to the stage. Additionally, each Wonder Flower effect is unique; you never know what you are going to see.
The Wonder Flower effects are always delightful, and Mario Wonder is at its best when I was trying to get to the Wonder Flower to see whatever wacky stuff would happen next.
I’ve seen Mario turn into a balloon and a squishy ball. Sometimes he turns into a Goomba, and the stage can change completely, like when it turns into an isometric top-down semi-dungeon crawler. Furthermore, there are musical stages where you platform to the beat, pipes that turn into wiggly moving worms, and roller-skating Koopa-Troopas. The flowers talk and sing, the piranha plants sing and dance, and even the Boos and Bowser sing.
Collect Badges
To help you with the task of defeating Bowser, you’ll collect badges in special badge challenges. These badges change your character’s abilities, giving you passive effects and moves that can be swapped out to play through stages in very different ways.
For instance, there is the dolphin kick badge, which allows you to move underwater with speed, and other badges like floating high jump and boosting spin jump badges have their uses, too. My favourite badge has to be the Grappling Vine, which throws out a horizontal travelling vine that allows you to latch onto walls and cling to them.
As well as the badges the usual Mario transformations are in the game, Mario (or whichever character you choose) still gets big when eating a mushroom. Similarly, Fire Flowers can be grabbed to have Mario throw fireballs at enemies.
New power-ups appear, and you can turn into an elephant to smash through bricks and slurp up water to kill enemies. Another power-up gives you the ability to shoot out bubbles that can both kill enemies and serve as temporary platforms to jump on.
Large Cast of Characters
Overall, Super Mario Bros Wonder features a large cast of characters; you can play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, or Toadette. If you want to be immune to taking damage, a feature largely catered towards children, you can play as Yoshi in one of four different colours or as Nabbit.
The game is suitable for all ages, and up to four players can play simultaneously on one Nintendo Switch. My non-gaming partner played Super Mario Bros Wonder with me, and it was hilarious. That was mainly due to the side-scrolling screen and my partner getting her character stuck as the screen moved sideways, but best of all, we had a good time and a laugh, and she actually enjoyed playing the game.
Visuals and Music
Super Mario Bros Wonder is a happy place, with bright cartoon visuals, very detailed animations, and backdrops that bring depth to the 2D Flower Kingdom. The music is important in every Mario game; Super Mario Bros Wonder incorporates it with the gameplay like never before, especially when during the Wonder Flower effects. The game has an incredible soundtrack in its own right, but it also makes use of special musical levels, which I enjoy.
Personality is baked into everything you see, hear, and do in the game. Apart from the talking and singing flowers I mentioned, the expressions on the characters’ faces change, and the way they move all perfectly match the vibe and movements of the stage and soundtrack. I love seeing Mario stick his arm out of a pipe to collect his hat, which has fallen off.
Conclusion – It’s-a Happy Place
Super Mario Bros Wonder is a great game for all; the wonder effects and the singing Piranha Plants are the highlights for me. It’s a game that has something for everybody: longtime fans, more casual players, and even non-gamers may be impressed with the gameplay.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up 