Being a lifelong Super Mario fan, (Super Mario 64 is what made me fall in love with gaming); I’ve always anticipated the next 3D Mario and what great ideas and fun Nintendo will churn out for the current console. Super Mario Oddessy, despite being bloated with a zillion moons to collect, was still hours upon hours of delightful entertainment.
The latest main installment in the Super Mario series, namely Super Mario Wonder takes a step back from the 3D environment to the more old school Mario approach which made him popular in the first place and literally saved gaming back in he 80s. When it was first announced, Mario Wonder was a bit of a surprise as we were all expecting the next main 3d installment, but I have to say, if you’re looking for something to hold you over until then, this game is not to be slept on.
Mario Wonder is just as charming and creative as any of the other installments. The levels are all as unique as the last, with each one containing a mystery (wonder) that when activated, kicks the strangeness up to 11. While the base game is still very addicting and bouncy as you expect from a Mario game, you’ll want to seek the Wonder flowers on each level to truly get the most of the weird, almost Adult Swim levels of bizarreness from each level. Luckily, most of these are pretty easy to come by if you just casual play through each level. It seems that Nintendo was looking to go for the weirder approach this time and I’m all for it.
Some of the best Nintendo games of all time are when they lean hard into the darker, uncanny territory and I honestly would love to see this idea explored more in future titles. Super Mario Wonder is a great addition to the longtime beloved series and if you’ve a fan of 2D and/or 3D Mario, you won’t want to miss this one. I dare say this game stands almost toe-to-toe with the mainline installments in terms of quality and innovation. My only gripe is that perhaps it won’t seem to be worth a $60 price tag as first party Nintendo games hardly go on any great sale and I can totally understand that so I have a difficult time justifying the price. But you will most certainly enjoy your time with it if you can get your hands on it.
https://opencritic.com/game/15123/super-mario-bros-wonder
It’s-a-me! Mikhail