The Super Mario Bros. series is making an elephantine return to the Nintendo Switch via the franchise's latest game. Titled Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the game's announcement showed off a lot of the titular whimsy with its new power-ups and updated art style. The latter point may be the game's most appealing element, and it notably fixes a major issue with some of the plumber's more recent 2D side-scrollers.
The New Super Mario Bros. games were well-received, though they're largely seen as coasting on the goodwill of the Mario formula and franchise. Notably bland and blasé compared to the series as a whole, these titles were far too boring when compared to the classic games they were based on. Super Mario Bros. Wonder definitely doesn't fit this description, and it finally gives Mario and company a new 2D title worthy of the series' legacy.
New Super Mario Bros. Games Were Mario's Most Boring Side-Scrollers
Released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS, the first New Super Mario Bros. game was the first brand-new classic Mario side-scroller in over a decade. During that time, the series had instead transitioned to 3D collectathons, with the acclaimed Super Mario 64 starting this trend. Given its return to the classic formula for the series, it's no wonder that NSMB was so well-received and successful. From this first game would spawn an entire subseries of New Super Mario Bros. titles that released across the Nintendo DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U and Switch hardware. Gamers new and old loved how the old-school games were brought into the modern day, especially given the wise decision of eschewing pixels. Sadly, the graphical choice for these titles would eventually become a sticking point among critics and fans.
After several games that felt and looked exactly the same, many quickly began to see the New Super Mario Bros. as stale and a bit bland. This was made worse given its aesthetic comparisons to the classic Mario titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo game Super Mario World. Those all had clearly distinct looks and gimmicks, and the added "gold-gathering" mechanic of New Super Mario Bros. 2 wasn't enough to differentiate it from the others in the subseries. With the success of 3D titles such as Super Mario Odyssey, a dramatic shake-up was definitely needed in order to make the side-scroller versions of the Mario series stand out again.
How Super Mario Bros. Wonder Gives the Series a Much-Needed Makeover
The most noticeable element of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is how "alive" it feels, especially in comparison to the New Super Mario Bros. games. In many ways, it looks like a playable cartoon, with some fans even comparing it to the iconic Nintendo Power #1 cover that promoted Super Mario Bros. 2. From the way in which Mario and his allies jump about the stage to how they use their powers, the gameplay has a sense of "pop" to it that strangely has yet to be realized in the series heretofore. When combined with the returning "wah wah" sounds heard in the music, the game seems to essentially be what the New Super Mario Bros. titles should have been.
This directly takes the chief criticism of NSMB and turns it on its head, resulting in a true refining of the classic formula. Such a remix was needed for the title to stand out, especially given the Super Mario Maker titles. Those games allowed players to create their own levels using the classic or New aesthetics and mechanics. While this promised a lot of customized fun, it also presented the possibility for these sorts of games to get even more played out. Wonder doesn't simply revisit old elements: it adds tons of new ones while making more familiar concepts feel fresh. In doing so, it's essentially the true creative sequel that Super Mario World never got, giving the playful plumber his wackiest worlds yet.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on the Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.