A Super Mario 2D title has been rumored for a while after the release of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for Nintendo Switch. Then, on June 21, 2023, Nintendo unveiled Super Mario Bros. Wonder for Nintendo Switch during a Nintendo Direct Livestream. Players have been anticipating for more information on gameplay since the presentation. On August 31, 2023 – Nintendo showed off gameplay for Super Mario Bros. Wonder…
Beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. You are now in the “Flower Kingdom,” Mario his group was invited by Prince Florian, and Bowser is back at it with his antics at the beginning of the game. However, the storyline is a bit different this time: Bowser touched the “Wonder Flower” to change the world that inhabits “Flower Kingdom.”
The game has 7 areas to explore, each with their own flair. Nintendo explained some of these areas, and left a little bit of mystery. You can search the 7 areas and find “Open Areas” to complete levels in a specific order. Along your journeys in these levels, you can also find “Talking Flowers” that give you hints, jokes, and maybe give you a helping hand. Those “helping hand” can do anything like giving you items, coins, and any other items that help you in your journey.
Nintendo unveiled that there are a handful of characters to play as. New enemies were unveiled in this presentation, too. For example, Floppycat can jump when you jump. The biggest announcement is that there are new powerups available in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Elephant turns your character into an elephant, obviously. Thing is, though, in this powerup, you can ram into blocks, sniff for items, powerups, and special items in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. As an elephant, you can also flick enemies, items, and projectiles away, or upwards to Lakitus (or similar enemies). You can jump upwards to smash items above you. You can sink to the bottom of a water location, and slurp water to grow a plant.
Bubble is kinda obvious, but there are some things special about “Bubble” powerup. You can reach enemies from a distance, and “bubble” them up. You can turn enemies into a coin, especially flying enemies. You can throw two bubbles at the same time to bubble them up at once. You can even reach enemies through walls with the “bubble” powerup. In most of these ideas, you can jump on these bubbles.
Drill is also a bit obvious, but there are some things special about “Bubble” powerup. As the name implies, you can drill into the ground and reach locations that is usually reserved for block breaking. You can break blocks below you to open up new locations. You can even drill into the ceiling… an innovation that hasn’t been seen since the 80’s or 90’s via different game mechanics.
Classic powerups are here. And they take new forms, and ideas.
There are some gameplay mechanics that are new, and tweaked from the original Mario games. Are you frustrated that you wasted a powerup at the wrong time? Well, no worries, because you can “hold” the item in your inventory to use it later. The item balloon also allows you to swap powerups or items at will.
And now, for the biggest unveiling: Wonder Flower. It’s the central piece of the story, it’s the game’s overall theme (it’s even in the game’s title), and it is the game’s biggest item. The most powerful item in the game. It’s what Bowser was after, and is using against “Flower Kingdom.” Each of the 7 areas of Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a special world, and power utilized by Wonder Flower once it’s activated. Changing the areas/levels. Along with the change in the stage, comes new enemies to meet. The Wonder Effect causes the levels themselves to change as a result, some levels even tilt. You can even change into items, enemies, or new characters. Collect the Wonder Seed, and the level becomes normal again..
Badges is a special item in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Badges are abilities that can be combined with other badges to create implementations to bring about the ability. Nintendo showed off a few of these abilities in-game.
Shortly afterwards, Nintendo did a “Nintendo Treehouse” livestream to show off Super Mario Bros. Wonder…
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is scheduled to be released for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo Switch OLED on October 20, 2023.
