Super Mario Bros. Wonder was first announced at the Nintendo Direct June 2023 showcase—alongside various other games. Fast-forward to August 31, Nintendo has now given fans of the upcoming game 15 minutes of information that discusses everything from the story to the gameplay mechanics.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set in the Flower Kingdom which is not far away from the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and his friends were invited to the Flower Kingdom by the benevolent Prince Florian. However, before they had anything to celebrate, Bowser showed up in his flying clown-copter.
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With a single touch of the mysterious wonder flower, Bowser integrated with Prince Florian’s castle. With his newfound power, Bowser can transform anything that he touches and spread chaos across the Kingdom. Mario and friends are ready to do all it takes to stop Bowser and save the Flower Kingdom.
What format will the new Super Mario Bros. Wonder game take?
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will also take a 2D side-scrolling format like the classic Super Mario Bros. game. However, as the name suggests, the world is filled with wonder, like a crawling pipe that ferries Mario over short distances.
The Flower Kingdom is made up of six distinct worlds that circle the pedal isles. In total, there are seven areas to explore. In some of the worlds, players will encounter familiar enemies like the evil Goombas, hungry Piranha plants, carnivorous fishes, and ducky Koopa Troopas. However, they will look different in Super Mario Bros. Wonder—with obvious graphical upgrades.
Mario’s adventure to save the Flower Kingdom will start among the tubular Hills of Pipe Rock plateau. Beyond the freezing foot of the mountain, “you’ll be aiming for new heights in Fluff Puff Peaks”. From Islands to sand dunes, and underwater, Super Mario Bros. Wonder will challenge your resilience in every possible way.
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Players will need a great dose of patience and precise timing to get over some of the challenges littered all over the Flower Kingdom, especially in the caves at the heart of the Flower Kingdom and the scorching hot world full of molten magma that you need to douse in some instances with a pot of water.
However, unlike the Classic Super Mario Bros., the Super Mario Bros. Wonder uses a 3D map where the player will have the freedom to move around and select any course they want to play in no particular order. Completed courses are re-playable too.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces Talking Flowers
In the classic Super Mario Bros., flowers are the next power-up that players get if they have eaten the mushroom that makes them big. When collected, the flowers in the classic Super Mario Bros. game endow the player with the ability to shoot fireballs from their hands and easily take out obstacles.
In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, there is a new Talking Flower which you will encounter at different points in the game. The Talking Flowers makes the game fun and interactive by saying words like “Onward and upward”, “How’d you get up here?!”, “What a pretty sunset”, “Timing is key…”, “I wonder what Goombas taste like…”, and so on when you get close to them.
Besides saying random words that liven the adventure, Talking Flowers can also give players hints on the next step to take like “Wonder if you can get over there…”. You will definitely gain a lot by seeking out and listening to the Talking Flowers.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces more characters
In the classic Super Mario Bros., players can only play as Mario or Luigi. That has changed. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, you can play as any of the popular characters in the franchise. In addition to Mario and Luigi, players can now choose to play as;
- Princess Peach
- Princess Daisy
- Yellow Toad
- Blue Toad
- Toadette
- Yoshi
- Red Yoshi
- Yellow Yoshi
- Light-Blue Yoshi
- Nabbit
Apart from the Yoshis and Nabbit, all the other characters play just like Mario and Luigi. The Yoshis and Nabbit, on the other hand, will not take damage and are reserved for players who just want to breeze through the game without worrying about the challenges. However, they will still lose a life if they fall into a pit.
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Another cool feature of the Yoshis is that they can flutter jump—or you can say ‘fly’. Also, they can eat objects and spit them back at an enemy. This will come in handy when there are multiple enemies on the screen at the same time. Just grab one and chew and spit the remnant at the other enemies.
New enemies await
In addition to the familiar enemies, new enemies have also been added to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. One of the new enemies that has been introduced to the franchise is the Hoppycats. These enemies copy the player and will jump when you jump. Therefore, you will need to outwit them to get beyond them.
Melon Piranha Plants are similar to the ones you will find in the classic Super Mario Bros. game except that this time, they will spit seeds from their mouth. However, it appears the seeds don’t cause any damage except preventing you from taking the next step.
Condarts will stay suspended on the roof of caves and will descend on you at a great speed as soon as you pass beneath them. Their speed of descent is so fast that their beaks will stick to the surface they hit.
Konks also walk around the roof and will plunge down as you try to pass below them. Konks can plow through goo. So, don’t think you are safe simply because you are swimming in goo.
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Mumsies are sort of mummies with towering wraps that are too high for your character to jump over. However, by positioning correctly, you can pull their clip to unwrap them, and you will be rewarded with coins.
Maw-Maws is another interesting enemy that was introduced to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. These tiny frog-looking creatures eat anything in their path—including other enemies. Your only option would be to outrun them.
Apart from these enemies, players will come across a plethora of new enemies in the game including flying Piranha fishes, Boos, Lakitus, and others.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will do more than shoot fireballs
In the classic Super Mario Bros. game, the only power-up in the game is the one that allows you to shoot fireballs (if you don’t count enlarging mushroom as a power-up). In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, players will be introduced to three new power-up options.
Elephant form
In the elephant form, players can use their trunk as a form of whip to attack enemies or destroy blocks. Your size also allows you to squeeze through tunnels. The elephant form also offers other perks including;
- Ability to dash through gaps without falling into them
- Swim and destroy blocks above the water with ease
- Flip your trunk to launch falling projectiles
- Store and spray water on plants to make them grow like Jack and the Beanstalk
Although only Mario was revealed in this form at the June showcase, all the different playable characters can transform into an elephant except Yoshi and Nabbit. So, don’t think that you will be missing out by not playing with Mario.
Bubble form
Another interesting power-up that has been introduced to Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the Bubbles. With this power-up, your character will blow a bubble that engulfs and digests an enemy into a coin. Break the bubble by jumping on it to collect the coin. The bubbles also sort of magnets nearby enemies.
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Besides being a projectile weapon of some sort, bubbles can also be a stepping stone for reaching hard-to-reach areas. Just blow enough bubbles and step on them.
Drill form
The third power-up that has been introduced to Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the drill form. The drill form makes it easier to deal with falling enemies. It can also be used to drill down to break into secret areas. The drill form gives the character a burrowing ability that makes it easier for them to burrow on the ground or ceiling—and escape hordes of enemies.
Fire form
The classic fire form that allows your character to shoot fireballs will also make a return in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It will function just like in the classic game.
One cool thing that Nintendo has done with Super Mario Bros. Wonder is that they made it possible for players to hold onto one more power-up. In other words, players can carry up to two power-ups at a time which can be swapped to better suit a situation.
Hunt for Wonder Flower and Wonder Seeds
Remember that flower that Bowser touched and merged with Prince Florian’s castle? Well, that flower grows in the different regions of Wonder Kingdom and you should look out for them. When you collect the wonder flower, the world changes and interesting things start happening.
From moving pipes to tilted worlds and even floating through space, expect anything once you touch the wonder flower. Your character can even change into a Goomba. You can reset the world to the familiar look by collecting the wonder seed.
Gather wonder seeds as you navigate through different courses in the Wonder Kingdom. Some locations can be unlocked using Wonder Seeds. Wonder Seeds are also received as a reward from the poplin when you clear a course.
Choose the right Badge to wear
A new gameplay mechanic that was added to Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the Badges. In-game badges can be unlocked by clearing special badge challenge courses. Some of the badges can also be purchased in the in-game Poplin Shops on the world map using the flower coins collected in the courses. When equipped, badges can change the way you play.
From our count, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a total of 24 unlockable badges. Each of the badges endows the player with a unique ability when equipped. Some of the badges and the unique abilities they bring include:
- Parachute Cap: allows a player to glide and extend their jump
- Wall-Climb Jump: improves a player’s wall climb ability so they can reach new heights
- Dolphin Kick: gives players a short speed burst when underwater. It also allows the player to break underwater blocks
- Timed High Jump: timing consecutive jumps allows players to jump higher
- Crouching High Jump: the player crouches and charges up their jump to jump higher
- Floating High Jump: this allows players to jump high and momentarily float
- Grappling Vine: allows players to shoot vines midair and attach them to nearby walls
- Safety Bounce: allows players to recover from dangerous drops like falling into a flowing lava
- Sensor: allows the players to locate hidden items
- Coin Magnet: attracts nearby coins so that players don’t have to struggle to get them
- Invisibility: makes the player invisible to themselves and their enemies
- Jet Run: increases the speed dash ability of the character. It also allows the player to run in the air for a few seconds
Players can only equip one badge per course. Badges can be equipped from the world map or just before they start a course. After a player dies, they will get a chance to choose a different badge and try again.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces local co-op and online play
As many as four people can locally play Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the same Nintendo Switch system. To do this, you will need to purchase additional Joycon Controllers. What is interesting about the local co-op play is that if a player is defeated, they will float around like a ghost in the course.
They will have a 5 seconds window for another player to revive them. If another player hits them during the countdown period, they will jump right back into the game. If one player is playing as a Yoshi, the other player can jump on their back and ride them around.
Players who connect online will see other players enjoying the game in real-time. Although they are not technically playing together, virtual players can be useful to your progress. For example, you can bump into one of the other players when you are defeated to be revived.
Also, online players can share greetings or even exchange in-game items. Players can place standees on the course. If a dead player bumps into a standee they will be revived too. There are other cool ways that have been included in Super Mario Bros. Wonder to bring players from around the world together.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will launch on 20 October 2023. However, the books are currently open for pre-orders and you can do that here. Coming with the game is a new Nintendo Switch OLED model Mario Red Edition which will launch on 6 October 2023.
Are you excited about the features of Super Mario Bros. Wonder? Share your thoughts in the comment box below. See the reveal livestream below.
