Super Mario Bros. Wonder review: Wowie Zowie!

It's safe to say that 2023 will go down as one of the finest years in the history of video game releases, and Nintendo has been all over the headlines with the success of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the opening of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood, and the smash-hit success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It appears that Nintendo aims to cash in on the Mario hype with a few more video game releases to close out the year. Super Mario Bros. Wonder takes wild risks in an extremely self-aware manner to create a new, wonderful standard for 2D Mario games.

What a wonderful Super Mario World

Super Mario Bros. Wonder takes place in the Flower Kingdom where Bowser has merged with a castle to become a floating castle/battleship. Mario and the gang are teamed up with the petite Prince Florian to take back the kingdom.

The gameplay loop is similar to past 2D Mario games with players navigating an overworld, playing courses, and unlocking keystone levels through the progression of collecting Wonder Seeds. Players are tasked with helping Prince Florian to reclaim Royal Seeds in an effort to weaken Bowser's Cloud Piranha defense system.

The Flower Kingdom is different. There are little people with flowers on their heads called Poplins, and there are also talking flowers all over the courses. Bubble, Drill, Fire, and Elephant Power-Ups are featured in a thoughtful manner throughout the game depending on the nature of the level.

That's right. You can be an elephant in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Elephant Mario is the star of the show in so many ways. With the Power-Up, players can break bricks, attack enemies, or even suck up water to give to flowers. Players can even give a Poplin some water at the end of the level if they have some left in their trunk when they grab the flag. The Elephant Power-Up also works when playing as Daisy, Peach, Luigi, Yellow Toad, Blue Toad, or Toadette.

The Flower Kingdom is also home to the Wonder Flower, which has a ridiculously awesome effect on the gameplay mechanics, the environment, and the overall feel of each particular level. Early on, there is a pipe that starts to move like an inchworm after triggering the Wonder Effect and that is just the beginning of the delightful surprises in store for players. Securing each Wonder Flower's corresponding Wonder Seed adds another level of progression to levels. Players can complete a level without getting a Wonder Seed but they are served a dubious "Course... Cleared?" message.

New Super Mario Drip

Switch may not be the most powerful device on the market in 2023, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from applying a new level of polish to the entire 2D Mario art style. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a gorgeous game that shines brightest in wacky moments throughout the experience.

The new overworld is less linear than the New Super Mario Bros. formula. While there are still paths that connect courses and different worlds, Super Mario Bros. Wonder features larger areas where players can pick and choose between two to five different courses to aid in their progression. There are even some surprises hidden around in the form of special paths and hidden areas. Players can also jump into question mark blocks strewn around the overworld to score a Flower Coin.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder improves on more than just gameplay and overworld design. The game's menus, load times, and multiplayer modes have all been given another level of polish. Simpler sounding things like the time it takes to get from the main menu into the game have been improved when compared to past 2D Mario titles.

Every element of course design has been given a new coat of paint in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Enemies now have expressive faces, with eyes that actually follow Mario around. Goombas are especially funny to interact with as players can startle ones who are asleep on the job. Mario and the gang have also seen a masterful reworking of their character models. Nintendo's attention to detail truly shines in little moments like the animation of Mario going through a pipe, but having to grab his hat at the last second like in a classic Indiana Jones scene.

Badges?

The Badges in Super Mario Bros. Wonder are a tremendous addition to the 2D Mario gameplay formula. Prince Florian can wear one badge at a time which players can choose before loading into a level. These Badges augment the core gameplay for players. Some examples of fun Badges that can be experimented with are an underwater Dolphin Kick that makes water levels zip by, a Wall-Climb Jump Badge that brings a little bit of a Celeste gameplay feel, an Auto Super Mushroom for players who may need a bit of help at the start of a level, a Crouching High Jump for those hard to reach places, and a Floating High Jump Badge that comes in handy in a lot of places. The wizards at Nintendo also added a Grappling Vine Badge in Super Mario Bros. Wonder that is one of the most fun new gameplay mechanics introduced.

Some Badges will not work great on some courses, and players can go with Prince Florian's suggestion if selecting the right one is too much of a challenge. Badges are unlocked through very fun Badge Challenge levels throughout the overworld and some can also be purchased at Poplin Shops with Flower Coins.

Finding the right mix of Power-Ups and Badges is a fun challenge for players that will have them coming back to try out new strategies on already cleared levels. Completionists will also want to collect all three 10-piece Flower Coins that are hidden in tough to reach places in each course.

I hope that Goomba made it

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a hilarious and ridiculous game and that has a lot to do with the excellent addition of the talking flower characters included in each course. The constant encouragement mixed with wise cracks are a highlight of playing through the game. There were also times in my playthrough when a talking flower would give me a subtle hint that I might have missed a Wonder Flower. Other times it's just delightful to have flowers cheering you on as you blast through a level at high speeds. The talking flowers are sassy, funny, and adorable.

While the talking flowers are one voice acting highlight in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it's important to note that this is the first time in many years that a Mario video game has not featured the legendary Charles Martinet. Kevin Afghani has stepped into the role of Mario and Luigi and does a fantastic job. Mario and the gang have some new sayings too. Players will see characters exclaim "Wowie Zowie" when they grab the Elephant Power-Up, and one of the more charming new additions to the game is that Mario now says "Thank you" or some other new sayings at the end of levels.

The overall tone of most of the new voice acting in Super Mario Wonder Bros. seems to be aimed at making the characters sound younger. It may take players a few moments to get used to a slightly different voice saying "It's a me, Mario!" but the core Nintendo magic remains in these iconic characters' voices. Changing the voice of Mario is another risk taken that pays off by creating a new and fresh sound that will resonate with long-time fans of the franchise.

Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together

The New Super Mario Bros. multiplayer experience was largely left unchanged for several console generations, and it is not an exaggeration to call it stale. Even the more recently released Super Mario Maker 2 featured an online multiplayer mode that is genuinely bad. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has taken that same philosophy of improving on the 2D Mario formula to online and local multiplayer gameplay.

Gone are the days of collision detection ruining friendships. Many New Super Mario Bros. play sessions would end up with someone being annoyed that their friend jumped on their head at the wrong time or accidentally killed them. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, players will be able to join up with friends online for cooperative play or races. The ghost mechanic used to execute this results in the best online 2D Mario multiplayer experience that Nintendo has ever shipped.

Playing together locally is also ridiculously fun. Four players can join forces on one Switch for co-op gameplay. Less experienced players can play along with Mario pros with characters like Yoshi and Nabbit. Those two playable characters offer a less punishing gameplay experience and it's always fun to ride Yoshi around as Elephant Mario. As someone who didn't care for the New Super Mario Bros. franchise's multiplayer experience, the drastic changes in Super Mario Bros. Wonder are welcome.

Mario Number One!

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fantastic game that surprises and delights players with fresh new gameplay experiences driven by Wonder Flowers, a new look, awesome new Power-Ups, an amazing soundtrack, and a self-aware undertone that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The game appears to be dripping with influences from both Super Mario Maker games, but also some indie platforming games like Celeste, and even insanely creative Super Mario World ROM hacks. There are gameplay mechanics that show up in Super Mario Bros. Wonder for just a moment, like the use of foregrounds and backgrounds or a masterful balance of light and dark in a specific level or two.

Each level is perfectly crafted by the Nintendo wizards, but it really does feel like they threw out the rulebook when they made Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The result is one of the best 2D Mario games ever made that is teeming with genuinely unique gameplay experiences with a spectrum of challenges ranging from a single star to much more difficult 5-Star levels.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a delightful surprise in what has been an amazing year for Nintendo's iconic mascot. The game offers the right amount of challenges while remaining accessible to a wide cross-section of players. It can be enjoyed as a single player and also as something to be broken out in a party atmosphere. At its core Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fun and fantastic escape from reality that will leave players smiling for years to come.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch review code provided by Nintendo. Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on October 20, 2023, for the Nintendo Switch.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.