Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review: A Mario Masterpiece

For nearly two decades, Nintendo has had a system with Mario games; 3D games like Super Mario Odyssey would take risks and deliver new experiences, while 2D games like New Super Mario Bros. U would adhere closely to the formula established in the '80s. Those 2D games were undeniably well crafted, but they never felt as revolutionary as the games that inspired them. Enter Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first wholly new 2D Mario game in more than a decade. The Nintendo Switch game feels like a much-needed revolution, and the result might even be the best 2D Mario game ever. 

New Worlds and New Concepts

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Mario and friends have traveled to the Flower Kingdom. Shortly after they arrive, Bowser comes along, merging with the kingdom's castle and sending the inhabitants into panic. Without hesitation, Mario and his crew set off to take on Bowser and restore peace. As players start out, they'll quickly notice that the world map is a bit less rigid than past Mario games. Instead of constantly following a straight line between courses, world maps have some areas where the player can move around and freely choose between them, similar to Super Mario 3D World. Every course in the game has an assigned star level that can be seen from the map, offering an idea of its difficulty level. If one seems too tough, players can often avoid it and select a different course instead. To progress to the next world, players must collect enough Wonder Seeds to unlock the final stage. Each course has at least two Seeds, so players can easily obtain enough without completing every course in the world. After completing the campaign, I was astounded to discover that I hadn't even found multiple courses from the first world.

While players can skip past quite a few courses in the game, most probably won't want to. The game's Wonder Flowers play a big part in that. With the exception of special courses like KO Arenas or Search Party areas, every course has a Wonder Flower to discover, and each one drastically changes the course in ways that players are going to want to experience. Sometimes, Wonder Flowers change the player into a Goomba, while others will make the Warp Pipes come to life. Wonder Flower effects rarely repeat, and since they offer a way to get a Wonder Seed in each level, they're always worth seeking out. 

What's amazing about Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just how much thought and care has been put into every single course. Each one feels different from the last, and the game never stops throwing original ideas and concepts at the player. The platforming genre often results in games that are too difficult to actually enjoy, which was one of my gripes with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Super Mario Bros. Wonder strikes a perfect balance between fun and challenging; players who like a challenge will have no problem finding one, and there are plenty of courses that require perfect platforming prowess. However, the game has plenty of courses that can be enjoyed by players of all skill levels. 

New Enemies and New Powers

Over the last 38 years, the Mario franchise has added a number of iconic enemies, including the Koopalings, Chargin' Chuck, and Monty Moles, though many of these enemies have been abandoned in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. While familiar enemies like Bowser Jr. and the Piranha Plants are back, they've been joined by a massive number of new opponents. New enemies like Skedaddlers, Outmaways, and Bloomps have been added to the world of Nintendo, and having new enemies to learn the powers and patterns of adds to the game's overall feeling of newness. 

Fortunately, Mario and friends have new abilities to take down their opponents. The game introduces power-ups like the Bubble Flower and Elephant Fruit. While Elephant Mario has gotten a lot of attention based on his excellent design, the Bubble Flower quickly became one of my favorite power-ups thanks to its versatility; it fires projectiles like the Fire Flower, but the bubbles can pass through objects and also work like platforms. In addition to power-ups, players can also use Badges, which are one of the biggest new features in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Badges are unlocked throughout the game, and players can equip one at a time. Action Badges change the player's abilities, while Boost Badges can make things a little bit easier. For example, the Grappling Vine Badge lets Mario shoot a vine that can be used like a grappling hook, while the Safety Bounce Badge can save the player from a fall. 

An Animated Adventure

One of the most stark differences between New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is in the presentation. While the game is not technically based on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Super Mario Bros. Wonder director Takashi Tezuka set out to make Mario's movements feel similar to an animated film, and the results are incredibly impressive. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom are more expressive than they've ever been, and even enemies that have been around since 1985 like Goombas and Koopa Troopas look livelier. The world in Super Mario Bros. Wonder makes previous 2D Mario games feel absolutely static by comparison.

Adding to this animated feel is the game's sound. The majority of the cast doesn't talk very much, and the voices are basically on par with what players have come to expect from Mario games. New Mario actor Kevin Afghani does a perfect job replicating the voice popularized by Charles Martinet, and most casual fans won't even notice a difference. While Mario isn't any chattier, the game's Talking Flowers more than live up to their name, with multiple lines in every level. Whether they're reacting to changes brought on by the Wonder Flowers or cheering on the player, they inject the game with a huge dose of humor. 

As great as the voice work is, the music is even better. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a number of new and returning tracks that perfectly add to the atmosphere of the Flower Kingdom. That's to be expected from the series, but there are also rhythm-themed courses and areas where music plays a major part in the gameplay. Without spoiling anything, the game has some musical moments that players will be discussing for years to come. 

Playable Characters

Mario's crew has gotten fairly large over the years, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder gives players the chance to select from 12 heroes spanning the franchise. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Daisy, and Toadette all control the same, so players can freely select whichever one they personally prefer. However, younger or more inexperienced players can choose Yoshi, Red Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Light-Blue Yoshi, or Nabbit, who won't take any damage from enemies. 

The trade-off with the Yoshis and Nabbit is that they don't get to use Badges or power-ups. The inclusion of these easier characters is a welcome one, but I found myself wishing that at least one of the Yoshis played a little more traditionally. Knowing that they made the game easier, I mostly avoided using them, but I still found myself wanting to. That's largely because the game's developers did a great job incorporating the Yoshis into the game, as they have their trademark moves from games like Yoshi's Island: they can flutter jump, eat enemies, and spit seeds after devouring Melon Piranha Plants. In local multiplayer, standard characters can even hitch a ride on Yoshis. So much thought was put into bringing these characters to life, yet I just wish there was an option that allowed them to take hits. 

Speaking of multiplayer, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has multiple options to choose from. Locally, up to four players can enjoy the game, but there are also new online options. Players can compete in course races with one another, attempting to get to the end flag before anyone else. When playing online, players can also see shadows of online players, and even help them out if they get turned into "ghosts." After testing out these modes with other reviewers, I found that the races are pretty fun, but the online options don't seem like much to write home about when compared to local multiplayer. 

Everything Old is New Again

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is about as close to perfection as it gets for a 2D Mario game. While the New Super Mario Bros. games were fun, they never felt like they had their own distinct identity, the way we saw with classic Mario games like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is dripping with creativity and personality in every facet. The game has set a new high bar for future Mario titles, offering an adventure that can stand with the very best games on Nintendo Switch. Nearly 40 years after the original Super Mario Bros., Nintendo has come along once again to prove that no one does the platforming genre better. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to release October 20th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED.