Super Mario Bros Wonder looks like the most refreshing 2D Mario in years

31 August 2023 , 18:00

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Super Mario Bros Wonder launches on October 20, 2023

Nintendo posted a 15-minute long Super Mario Bros Wonder Nintendo Direct earlier today, and it looks like the biggest shake-up the 2D entries in the series has had in decades.

We already knew Super Mario Bros Wonder would be weird when we got our first look at it back in the June 2023 Nintendo Direct and first locked our eyes on Elephant Mario. But what stood out about that presentation was how striking and fresh Super Mario Bros Wonder looked compared to the last few 2D outings as a part of the New Super Mario Bros saga.

The Super Mario Bros Wonder Nintendo Direct showed off a number of new features for Mario's latest outing. The presentation showed off new powerups like the aforementioned Elephant Mario, with Bubble and Drill forms also showing up, as well as 12 playable characters being confirmed for the game (sure two of them are toads and four are Yoshi's but you get me).

Those features are all well and good, but the most interesting thing shown off are the badges which give Mario and friends extra abilities to bring into a level. Things shown ranged from using your cap as a glider, the Super Mario Bros 2 charge jump, the ability to turn invisible, and the introduction of gaming's greatest mechanic – a grappling hook.

These badges have skyrocketed my hype for the game tenfold as this represents the biggest change to that core 2D Mario gameplay since the wall jump was introduced back in the original New Super Mario Bros.

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Full of wonder

Now after the Super Mario Bros Wonder Nintendo Direct I'm all in on the latest Mario adventure. While the first New Super Mario Bros was a breath of fresh air after 14-years without a 2D Mario, as that sub-series went on it felt increasingly safe and bland. We got four of those over six years and then after 2012's New Super Mario Bros U nothing came out rather than Super Mario Maker and the odd re-release.

Nintendo seems to have taken the criticism on board with Super Mario Bros Wonder as from the new Nintendo direct it looks so vibrant and full of ideas – exactly what the series needed after four very similar looking and playing 2D titles – in a similar way to 2017's Super Mario Odyssey. If this game is anywhere near as good as Odyssey then we're in for a treat this October.

Scott McCrae