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Reggie Fils-Aimé once said many years ago, “If it’s not fun, why bother?” Being an impressionable youth at the time, I took these as words to live by in my gaming career. For this reason, I try to find the “fun” in every game I play. While playing Super Mario Bros Wonder for this review, this may have been one of the easiest tasks I’ve ever had. Super Mario Bros Wonder oozes charm, fun, and life, as well as being one of the best 2D Mario games that I have played in years.
Super Mario Bros Wonder Review
After spending years with the New Super Mario Bros series, 2D Mario receives its next major series in the form of Super Mario Bros Wonder. This game shows off a completely new graphical style, animations, gameplay, and gimmicks that are a massive departure from anything we’ve seen. While this may be a bit worrying at first for long-time fans, rest assured, this new direction is a very positive change.
Story: Simplicity at its Finest
As a franchise, Mario games don’t delve deep into complex stories too often. Outside of the JRPGs, any Mario entry follows the same few story beats: Bowser kidnaps Peach or steals something, and Mario must save the day and send you straight to the action without any lengthy interruptions. Following this tradition, Super Mario Bros Wonder’s story is as simple as it can get. Mario and friends are visiting the nearby Flower Kingdom. Bowser comes and steals their precious Wonder Flower, and now Mario must traverse the kingdom to stop him. Overall, this is nothing too out of the ordinary, but it has a bit of spectacle, like Bowser’s new castle form.
The real story kicks in once Mario and company leave on their quest to find the Wonder Seeds and save the day. While most 2D Mario games lose a sense of story at this point, Super Mario Bros Wonder manages to provide players with a sense of world-building that most entries lack. Instead of just heading from level to level, each level provides a unique circumstance or context that helps it fit into the overall world. For example, in World 4, you must team up with a loyal Poplin to explore three abandoned ruins in order to save their friends from a mining accident. These details are small, though they help create a wonderful sense of progression and connectedness throughout the game.
The setting itself is a departure from the usual Mushroom Kingdom, taking players to the new Flower Kingdom. Worlds are fairly standard, split between the usual archetypes of Mario worlds, like ice, grass, desert, and so on. Despite not doing anything out of the ordinary, the environments themselves stand out with excellent map design and composition. For example, World 4, the desert map, features invisible levels hidden around the map and puzzles players must solve to find a secret temple. Overall, with the addition of lively characters like Prince Florian and various Poplins, the Flower Kingdom, compared to the Mushroom Kingdom, feels so much more alive.
Gameplay: Addictive Chaotic Platforming
As far as gameplay is concerned, Super Mario Bros Wonder takes 2D Mario in a chaotic yet wholesome direction. Similar to past games, players must jump, run, and dash to the end of each level and reach the flagpole. Additionally, each level will feature a Wonder Flower, which will cause the environment or player to transform in some bizarre way. This includes things like turning the player into a Goomba, sending the player to space, or transforming the level into a musical. By far, these events are the highlight of the game. These Wonder Flower moments push Mario gameplay to their limits and are some of the most creative moments I’ve seen in gaming all year. The Wonder Flower events are quick, to the point, and never overstay their welcome.
As far as movement goes, Super Mario Bros Wonder is as clean as you would expect from Nintendo. Whether going fast or slow, moving through each level is as smooth. Plus, with the new Badge feature, which allows you to equip a badge for different movement options or effects, traversing each level feels much more personalized than previous 2D Mario entries. Some highlights include The Grappling Vine, which allows you to grapple to nearby walls, and the Parachute Cap, which lets you glide. Throughout my playthrough, I never once ran into an issue with controls.
Though the gameplay of Super Mario Bros Wonder is easy to review and the best 2D Mario has seen in years, it does have a bit of a downside. For some players, especially platformer veterans, Super Mario Bros Wonder is lacking in difficulty. Throughout my playthrough, I was able to quickly gather 99 lives and 999 Flower Coins without too much difficulty. For most levels, I could 100% them on the first try. While this may be a downside for a solo player familiar with 2D Mario, anyone working together with friends or new to Mario may feel a bit better about the lack of difficulty.
Graphics and Audio: A Perfect Blend of Style and Life
The graphics of Super Mario Bros Wonder are absolutely beautiful and a massive step above the previous New Super Mario Bros series. While New Super Mario Bros has excellent visuals, after so many years, the animations and style get a bit stale. Super Mario Bros Wonder’s modeled clay-like style and vibrant colors captured my heart from the first few minutes of gameplay. Plus, the animations are extremely detailed and full of life. Enemies panicking at oncoming attacks and unique pipe-entering animations are just two of the excellent animations you can expect to find in Super Mario Bros Wonder.
Much like graphics, the audio of Super Mario Bros Wonder is beautifully integrated with gameplay as well. The music and sound effects, despite being a bit of a change, are charming and very fun. The highlight of audio, however, comes in the form of musical-based levels scattered throughout the game. These levels perfectly combine music and gameplay, creating some of the best moments in the entire game. Finally, the voices of each character are strong, with Mario’s new voice actor giving an excellent performance that captures the heart of the character.
Conclusion
Overall, what makes Super Mario Bros Wonder special is the life, polish, and vibrancy that players have come to expect from Mario games. Super Mario Bros Wonder has a simple yet charming story, beautiful environments, and fun characters. On top of this, addictive gameplay and the exciting, chaotic Wonder Flowers are some of the most fun I’ve had with 2D Mario games in years. Finally, the entire package of this wonderful game is complete with excellent graphics and audio. If you are a Mario fan, this game is a must-buy. However, if you’re new to the series, I highly recommend trying this game out as well, as its difficulty may be perfect for new players. To put it simply, Super Mario Bros Wonder is chaotic and beautiful fun that would make Reggie proud.
