Super Mario Bros Wonder promises freedom and fun
If there’s one thing that I’ve felt has long since been established, it’s that Peach is for the gays and girlies. So as the only queer video game journalist at EGX 2023 (a lie), I decided to step up and blitz my way through Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros Wonder and see what the big deal was.
The demo shown set the scene pretty aptly. After Mario and the rest of his 11 friends (who again, you get to pick and choose who to play as) get invited to the Flower Kingdom, Bowser also drops by to crash the party.
After stealing The Flower Kingdom’s Wonder Flower, Bowser merges with Prince Florian’s castle, which transforms him into a floating fortress. All in all, he becomes a major nuisance for everyone involved. Which, if nothing else, sounds like your typical Super Mario Bros game.
It’s the series’ first traditional side-scrolling Super Mario game since New Super Mario Bros. U, and as someone who has liked the Mario games well enough, but wouldn’t go as far as to call myself a huge fan, I quite liked Super Mario Bros Wonder. It isn’t the first game that allows you to pick whoever you want to play, but the level of choice here means that even if there are 4 of you playing, you’ll have more than enough options to keep everyone happy.
Once you’ve picked who you want to play, you’re thrust into the action with no real tutorial outside of a few small messages you can see briefly as the course loads. If you’re new to Mario or not an avid fan, don’t fret, as a side-scroller, it’s easy to pick up regardless of which character you pick.
Even so, Super Mario Bros Wonder’s simplicity is not its detriment. Fan favourite power-ups that you can gain from blocks like the fire flower make a return, but as shown by the EGX 2023 demo, new power-ups like the drill and the elephant spices up gameplay in new and memorable ways.
With the drill power up, Peach is a punishing taskmaster. She can sink into the ground – as well as the ceiling – and surprise enemies with a single thrust. It’s one of the deadliest of the new power-ups, mostly because it allows you to deal with spiky and hard enemies with relative ease, something which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. That and drilling into enemies is fun. Who doesn’t like drilling into stuff?
But even that pales in comparison to the elephant power-up. Not only is Elephant Peach downright adorable, but she’s also incredibly versatile. Due to your increased strength, you’re able to crush and break blocks far more easily than you would have as normal Peach. And, if you’re by a water source, you can collect the water to spray over plants. A perfect reminder for all plant parents out there. And if that’s not good enough, you can bash your enemies on the noggin, as well as deflect their own projectiles back at them. Take that!
The level design is also downright incredible. One of the more intense courses had me sweating in places I had no idea I could sweat in, with a huge axe-like smasher threatening to lop my head off if I didn’t hurry up and destroy the orbs with my drill. Top it off with a strange little creature that kept spitting peanuts at me, and well, I’ve never felt more secure in knowing I was in a Mario game.
All in all, if you’ve been craving the return of a Mario game that feels familiar but with enough of a twist that’ll keep you entertained, then congratulations. This is the game for you.
Even better, you won’t have to wait long. Super Mario Bros Wonder releases for the Nintendo Switch on 20 October, 2023.
About The Author
