Super Mario Bros. Wonder: A Great Jumping On Point For Platformers

The mascot platformer is a genre of video games as old as the medium itself and one of the oldest still ongoing franchises in that genre is Super Mario Bros. While the franchise has evolved and diverged, Nintendo has always carved out a little room for the traditional 2D side-scrolling version of the series to exist side-by-side with the tentpole 3D version of the series. The key issue with the entries from around the DS/Wii-era until now is that they really lacked the innovation that existed within the 3D action platforming series popularized by Super Mario 64 or the more traditional 3D platformer that debuted with the 3DS entry Super Mario 3D Land. Fortunately, Super Mario Bros. Wonder appears to take some of the lessons learned from the more recent entries to bring the franchise up to the contemporary standards that players expect.

The plot is the same plot that has been done since Super Mario Bros in 1985, just with the modified twist that Princess Peach is a playable character instead of an object to be rescued. Bowser is up to some ambiguous evil that’s never clearly defined using the mysterious power of the Wonder Flowers from the Flower Kingdom and it is up to Mario and his friends to stop Bowser. The plot is not super important, it’s really just a device to guide the player through the courses.

With the exception of the franchise mainstay Fire Flower, the power-ups in the game are all new to the franchise and all mesh with the gameplay aesthetic very well. Considering how much of the game is dependent on exploring, a new feature for this series, the additions of the Bubble Flower, the Elephant Fruit, and the Drill Mushroom do widen the gameplay in substantial ways that previous games did not. The Wonder Flower mechanic also allows for some interesting gameplay shifts and some light challenges to help speed up the progression through the narrative.

If there is an issue to be had with this game, it would be that the game is too short and too easy, with the only difficulty options (in the form of badges) making the game even easier. For older fans of the franchise, it is an interesting experience, however, this is really more of an excellent onboarding opportunity for the next generation of players. That said, some of the optional challenge levels that need to be discovered are truly a challenge that will test the player’s skills. Considering the game can be beaten in about 8-10 hours and does not have a ton of post-game content if one has been playing with the intent to collect everything along the way.

Despite these minor shortcomings, the game is still a fun experience and worth playing if one is a fan of traditional 2D platformers. The gameplay is complex enough to breathe some fresh air into the genre and makes yet another excellent case (and again it’s Nintendo proving it) where a top-tier product will often come from development environments without large amounts of crunch to make a deadline. While the price tag may be a little high, Super Mario Bros. Wonder should definitely be considered for holiday gifts this winter, especially for younger fans who loved The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Final Rating: 9/10