The newest installment in the 2D Super Mario games, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, was released last year on October 20, 2023, to critical acclaim. According to IGN and Nintendo statistics, it became the fastest-selling game in the series, selling 11.96 million copies by the end of the year. Game sites like IGN, Famitsu and GameSpot have given the game favorable reviews. The game introduces new power-ups and has a key component, the “Wonder Flower”, that leads to crazy effects which allows characters to transform into different forms, and regular pipes move like snakes.
“…With apologies to Yoshi’s Island, it looks like what you’d imagine a proper Super Mario World sequel should be if it were made in 2023 instead of 1995,” IGN states in its review.
Does the game live up to the reviews? The answer is, “absolutely yes.”
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fresh breath of air in the series. It’s similar to New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World in the fact that it introduces revolutionary ideas to the series. The levels are well-designed and made for exploration. The art style is cartoony with the characters being more expressive than in previous games. The multiplayer is less chaotic than the New Super Mario Bros. series, as players can no longer interact with each other; however, this is an upside because this allows for focus on cooperation in the level. The badges generally help make playing easy and are a good addition to the game.
Nevertheless, this game isn’t without flaws. The repetition of the Bowser Jr. fights is a key issue. Also, some worlds simply just give what’s needed for the final battle for free. The online multiplayer is a miss: you don’t even play levels together. However, all these flaws are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, this game truly revitalizes the mainline Super Mario series. If you haven’t tried it, and have a Nintendo Switch, I recommend you get this game.
