Is Super Mario Wonder a Restart for the Franchise?

Chaos in the Mushroom Kingdom

Mario has been a staple within the gaming community for almost as long as video games have existed. Generations of families have fond memories of playing these games with loved ones. And it looks as though that won’t be changing anytime soon.

Mario has famously been able to adapt to the times. This franchise has been adapted on 16 platforms, spanning over three hundred different titles. It is important to remember that like many of the classics, Mario started out as an arcade game. On top of that it wasn’t even Mario’s game, it was Donkey Kong’s.

Now that we have some of the history out of the way, let’s jump into the newest iteration of the Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo Switch. This new project is titled Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and it looks to combine all the things that made it famous in the first place with some modern twists.

Classic Mario gameplay is turned on its head with the addition of Wonder Flowers in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game. - Nintendo.com

This time around, we are headed back to the classic side-scrolling platform that we have all come to love. We will get to see the return of our favorite characters including Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toadette, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad.

They have also included Nabbit, Red Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Light-Blue Yoshi, and Red Yoshi. These characters will not take damage, allowing for an easier time exploring levels. And of course, the Yoshi’s will still be able to eat objects and perform their classic flutter jump.

Outside of that, every Character will play exactly the same as the others, allowing the players to choose based on the aesthetic rather than being locked into which one is the best overall. We have all been stuck with a character that we didn’t actually like but their move set was too powerful to ignore.

We are going to see the addition of some new enemies. The first is the Hoopycats, these will mimic your jumps. There is a new kind of Piranha Plants called Melon Piranha Plants, this new version spits a stream of seeds at the player. Condarts are able to shoot across the screen and lodge themselves in the environment.

Konks are a new type of crushing enemy that can travel through slime. Nintendo has even introduced Mumsies, which are mummy enemies that the player can unravel. And last but not least is the Maw-Maws, these enemies will eat anything that gets close to them, including players. Don’t worry, all of your favorite enemies from the original games will be making a comeback as well.

Okay, we have talked about enemies, but what about how to defeat them? Outside of the traditional methods, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is adding in some new transformations to add some extra excitement to the game. These include turning into an elephant, allowing you to use the trunk as a tool.

You can also take on the new bubble form. This allows you to blow floating bubbles, which you can use as a weapon, or to turn into a platform to jump from. If that doesn’t cut it, how about a drill form? This can be used as a weapon, or to burrow into the environment. If you aren’t sure which one to use at any given time, you can store up to one extra power up on your character.

Now, let’s talk about why this game is called Wonder. This version will have something called Wonder Flowers. These magical flowers will completely change the environment when interacted with. These changes add a level of insanity to the game that hasn’t been seen before. If you don’t believe me, one of the outcomes is Mario being changed into a Goomba!

Super Mario Bros. Wonder even adds its own RPG elements to the game via the badge system. These badges allow the characters to perform different special abilities that change how the game is played. One of which allows the player to become invisible upon equipping it.

This new iteration of the game looks like it may be one of the best entries into the franchise that we have seen in a long time. Not that there are many bad Mario games, but this one adds so much to the gameplay that it will be hard to top. If you want to know more about the game, you can watch the Nintendo Direct here. Or, if you are already sold, you can go ahead and preorder the game for Nintendo Switch right here.