Super Mario Bros. Wonder hands-on: 2D Mario is awesome again

Super Mario Bros. WonderFrom the first moment that I saw Mario change into an Elephant Man, my attention was captured. In this unusual new form, Mario can bash enemies with his trunk, soak up water to spray at friends and foes, and — from a crouching position — perform an incredibly impressive push-up to launch himself into the air. It was fun to play as Mario as an elephant.

The idea of Princess Peach and Toad being elephants was so appealing to me that I had to have them. Witnessing those two as chunky pachyderms, their forms straining the seams of their bloomers and harem pants, and watching them squeeze through warp pipes… Well, it may be Nintendo’s funniest visual gag outside of the Paper Mario series.

Elephant Fruit is one of several new Power-Ups that are available for the game. Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s new destination, the Flower Kingdom, and they make the act of playing a 2D side-scrolling Super Mario game feel fresh again. It was like playing the sequel of a game. Super Mario WorldYou could say that it is more than you might think. Yoshi’s IslandNew Super Mario Bros. It’s spilling over with new ideas, including the game-changing Wonder Flower, while sticking to the side-scrolling core of what makes Mario great.

Wonder Flower, the powerful Wonder Flower at its heart Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s setup — which is, thankfully, not about a damsel in distress, but an entire kingdom.

Image: Nintendo

Super Mario Bros. Wonder starts in dramatic fashion, with longtime nemesis Bowser acquiring the power of a Wonder Flower and spectacularly merging his body (and Koopa Clown Car) with the Flower Kingdom’s castle. Bowser does appear in the game. Building in this game, and he uses his evil powers to imprison many of the kingdom’s residents: flower-crowned Toad-like creatures known as Poplins.

The whole Mario gang is here for the rescue mission of Prince Florian’s castle: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, various Yoshis, and Nabbit. In teams up to four, players can choose from any of the Mario characters to explore new worlds and learn new skills.

In the Flower Kingdom you’ll find familiar abilities, such as Super Mushrooms or Fire Flowers. However, there are some new ones, like Elephant Fruit, that will help to defeat your enemies. Other items that I found useful during my short session of hands-on gameplay with Super Mario Bros. WonderIncluded in this are the Drill Mushrooms, giving characters drill bits for their hats, and allowing them the ability to break apart gems and rocks, or dig into ceilings and floors; and the Bubble Flowers, letting Mario and his friends spew bubbles which seek out enemies and absorb them. These bubbles can also be used as ad-hoc platforms to help players cross wide gaps.

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

Then there are the Wonder Flowers, one of which seems to spawn in most levels, that deliver the game’s most dramatic effects. It’s not quite a power-up, but an instrument for showing off Nintendo’s creativity. In the trailer for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, we saw the new item in action: Mario touched the flower, and the level’s array of Green Pipes went wild, undulating, gushing water, one crawling across the screen like a huge metal inchworm. In other levels that I played at a recent hands-on event in New York, that Wonder Flower summoned a rampaging herd of Bulrushes — buffalolike creatures that wear wrestling singlets — or turned our characters into helpless Goombas. This Goomba-transformation turned Mario’s traditional levels into games of stealth. Me and my mushroomy buddies had to hide behind trees in order to avoid getting chomped on by Maw Maws, an alien land catfish.

It’s best to avoid the stage-specific tricks of Wonder Flowers for the time being, even though Nintendo showcased many of them during a recent Nintendo Direct. You might spoil the fun of finding them yourself. Super Mario Bros. WonderThis October, launch your website.

Wonder’s new starring item will be appreciated by both Super Mario fans and younger players who may be new to the series. The dramatic effects of the item are amazing. The game changes the pace of Super Mario Bros. levels, forcing players to change their tactics. I can imagine players playing games like Super Mario Bros. WonderWith kids, your parents or partner, try retrying the levels to feel that Wonder Flower magic.

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

Super Mario Bros. WonderThe game was built for multiplayer. The game can be enjoyed by up to four people. The playable character pool is not equal. Mario, Luigi Peach and Toad are all heroes who can take advantage of the entire suite. Wonder’s power-ups, Yoshis and Nabbit can’t. But those latter two characters also don’t take damage. However, they can still die if they fall. Yoshi can help other players by riding on his back. He comes in 4 different color choices. Yoshi is a great choice for partners or parents with superior Mario skills to assist other players.

Beyond Yoshi WonderFeels incredibly generous to cater to players that may not be Mario specialists. Characters that die become wispy-tailed ghosts, which can be revived. Super Mario’s past games placed downed characters in bubbles from which they can be rescued. WonderThis streamlines the process, turning players into ghosts. They can now move around freely and come back to life if another player touches their character. The system feels better right away than how it was before. New Super Mario Bros. WiiPlaying cooperative Mario can be a chaotic experience.

Super Mario Bros. WonderIt is also full of helpful features. Badges can be acquired and equipped by players, which offer boosts to everyone or give them special abilities. They’ll grant players more powerful jumps, for example, allowing them to float like Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 2You can also let the player use his hat to help slow down their fall. Bonuses are also available, such as extra coins for accelerating the acquisition of additional lives or Safety Bounces that eliminate instant-kill stage hazards.

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

Cooperative play can be enjoyed locally with a full team of players, or with live “player shadows” in online play. Nintendo calls online multiplayer a “subtle connection” with other Super Mario Bros. WonderThe players have a certain style. Dark Souls-inspired. The players can play certain moments in a competitive way, by engaging in races with friends after gathering online.

After a brief hands-on experience with Super Mario Bros. WonderThe game left me feeling awestruck. This game is energetic, inspired and thoughtful of both old and new Mario fans. It’s a showcase game, one that feels like a perfect send-off for the Nintendo Switch — even though its exploration of new Mario ideas could have easily been saved for the next generation of Nintendo hardware.

Super Mario Bros. WonderNintendo Switch is releasing an update on October 20. Nintendo is releasing a brand new Switch OLED colorway two weeks before the release date. The model will feature a clever Super Mario design and a red colour scheme.