So, writer’s block strikes again, so I guess I’ll open with this strangely personal intro that doesn’t directly relate to the game. It’s okay, I can just choose to not include this in the eventual video version. So, Super Mario Bros. Wonder... yeah, it’s good, but is it really THAT good? I get that the bar was low considering how widely panned the New Super Mario Bros subseries was by many, including myself, but did this game really deserve to be a Game of the Year contender? You see, most reviewers would use this as a hook, but I don’t do that. I believe in getting to the fucking point, and the point is that this game was overhyped. Notice how it’s been a few years, and no one is talking about it?
The Nintendo adults are not going to be pleased with this one, but when are they ever pleased? I’m sorry, I’m not salivating with hype to drop $600 on a new console at a time when most people are living paycheck to paycheck. I like Nintendo’s games, but brand loyalty is poison. Anyway, I enjoyed Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and it definitely cleared the bar of being better than the New Super Mario Bros games, but I was expecting a bit more to be honest.
The biggest improvement from past Mario platformers is the amount of flair and charm to it. We’ve already heard enough about the singing piranha plants, and all the cool wonder seed gimmicks. Every level was fresh and added a bit of much needed variety to a formula that was otherwise getting stale. The visuals are nice and eye catching, and add a much needed sense of style to this formula. Just to be certain, I went back and compared gameplay footage of of Wonder to New Super Mario Bros U, and I can confirm, the former is so much prettier than the latter.
The music, on the other hand, could have been better. Honestly I find the music frustrating because the standard overworld theme is absolutely beautiful, yet you barely hear it in the main game. And everything else just sounds bland. Even the castle theme, which have consistently been some of the strongest tracks in past Mario soundtracks, just sounds phoned in here. Just try and tell me that this…
Fittingly enough, this ties into what my main gripe with Super Mario Bros. Wonder is. Yes, it’s prettier, and it has some more neat gameplay ideas, but it’s still very much apparent that this game was made with a template, and at many points, it just felt like I was playing a New Super Mario Bros game, just with more effort into the aesthetics and level design. And the result is still a better game, but one that still does not compare to Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros 3, and a lot of that has to do with smaller details. I will be bringing up a lot of quote from my New Super Mario Bros U review for comparison.
For instance, I said the following about NSMBU’s world map in my review.
In Super Mario World, a lot of the various segments of the world map were sectioned off from each other. You were not shown where any levels you have not reached were on the map. Instead, the world map became more detailed and formed as you went along, which gives off a feeling that you are only scratching the surface by playing the main levels.
In New Super Mario Bros U, the entire world map is already formed and it looks like a bunch of level setting gimmicks strung together. In short, Super Mario World has a better sense of exploration with its world map, and is much more satisfying to progress through as a result.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder did improve upon this, and there is a better sense of exploration and discovery whenever you unlock secret exits. You can also get previews of what future worlds look like, which is something I always liked when games do. That being said, I still believe it falls short compared to Super Mario World, namely because each of the specific locales feel disconnected, even if the level themes are more unique than in the New Super Mario Bros titles.
I also said this in my review of NSMBU…
New Super Mario Bros U is also lacking a majority of features that added a significant amount of depth to Super Mario World, such as the block palaces, the ability to run up walls, throwing items upwards, or even taking Yoshi outside of a designated level.
This still applies in full to Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
But the most disappointing part of of Wonder was the final boss. One of the features of games like Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World that is missing from later 2D Mario games is the sense of adventure. People forget that sometimes, Mario games do take themselves relatively seriously, and make an attempt to draw the player into their world. And it’s not as if Nintendo doesn’t know how to do this anymore, as we see this approach with the mainline 3D games such as Super Mario Odyssey, it just seems like they don’t even try when it comes to 2D Mario.
This is somehow even more of the case with Super Mario Bros. Wonder than it was with the New Super Mario Bros series, because the latter games at least subverted this when it came to the final boss. In Super Mario Bros wonder though, the final boss motif is a music concert, as if spelling out that it’s all a performance. Just an excuse to go through the levels. And yes, it’s true, gameplay is the main appeal of 2D Mario, but I’m not asking for Celeste here. Without presentation, video games would be pressing buttons in front of a blank screen. it’s more important than people think.
That all being said, the negative slant was purely because of the hype that this game received. Super Mario Bros. Wonder IS a good game, but did it really deserve a Game of the Year nomination? Would people really feel as strongly about this game if it wasn’t Mario, and was instead something like Gex Wonder? I don’t think so. That all being said, this is a step in the right direction, and I hope that the next 2D Mario continues to amp up the creativity.
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