I, for one, welcome the dev team for not being complete cowards by giving everyone an elephant form. Even at the risk of this being an... awakening of sorts for generations to come.
Mario Wonder sure is a 2D Mario game. Don't expect any massive shakeups to the formula, lest they risk their safe brand of near guaranteed success. Man, making a game to be enjoyable by adults and kids across the entire world sounds like a pain...
The big gameplay addition are Wonder Seeds, which can cause some wacky and amusing effects when found in a level. After a brief challenge you'll collect the seed itself, which are needed to progress through the game, and then revert the level to back to normalcy. Despite what the trailers may imply there isn't a unique effect for every single level in the entire game, but that'd give the impression that there aren't a metric buttload of Wonder Effects that infester every inch of this game. Some add a spin to the platforming with large set-pieces, some turn you into different creatures with their own mechanics, some will make the level harder, others will make the level effortless. I think what helps is that these effects, along with the levels themselves, are over before you know it.
They're a breeze in terms of challenge and length, which is definitely for the best as this is one of the longer 2D games. Not by much, but unlike past entries it doesn't seem possible to skip entire worlds to reach the end (whether it's from secret warp points or some worlds being completely optional). You still have a good amount of wiggle room at least. The Wonder Seed quota isn't too high to need to clear every level, plus you don't need to activate the Wonder Effect in most levels if you so wish. But the fast pacing may also be a result of the easy difficulty of this game. Between the brand new badges, the shop allowing you bulk buy 1-Ups, and the online system it's hard to get stuck on a single level for too long bearing anything in the post game.
Starting with badges, I feel they add a nice bit of player expression on how you want to play. You could increase your platforming abilities or you could make hazards be less lethal, but never both at once. While it would be awesome having a faster dash with a vine grappling hook as coins magnetize towards you, I think one badge apiece makes it a more important decision player as there's a lot to weigh; though you can change after every death if it isn't working out. For being the "Weird" Mario game, kind of wish there were more badges that do wacky or usless things. There's a couple that intentionally make the game more annoying or harder to play, and I kind of wanted to see more of them. Like maybe a badge that rotates the character you're playing every few seconds, or a badge that makes the character tiny; stuff like that.
I feel the shop is a good addition, albeit not executed as well as I would've preferred. It's namely the economy of flower coins, I almost never didn't have enough coins to buy every new badge or Wonder Seed at every shop. Granted I was being thorough with every level, maybe it's a bit more strict if you aren't the explorer type. Regardless I feel flower coins is one of the better motivators for exploration in these levels. Much better then the Star Coins at least.
Then you have what I feel is the most interesting addition, online. It's kind of like Dark So- GUNSHOTS.
While it makes the game even easier then it already is, online was a lot cooler then the previews made it out to be. Reviving players, who are total strangers, after they slip to their death only for them to save me moments later is such a simple yet effective method of comradery that fits with Mario's broadly-accepting tone perfectly. It's constantly picking each other backup from our mistakes with the only real benefit to you is that they might just return the favor. I had levels where people would stand at the end of a tough section and just wait in case someone fell, or sometimes they'd literally sacrifice themselves to revive a player whose timer almost ran out, or the funny moments where the potential savior missed and now both of them lost a life. I wouldn't say this alone made the game great, but if you're usually online adversed I'd recommend trying at least a few levels with it on.
In a interview posted on the Nintendo website, the devs gave an interesting run-down on their methodology, planning, and even a few scrapped ideas. One of the more interesting quotes to me came from when they were discussing the original Super Mario: "...Back then, everything was new and packed with unexpected delights. However, now that Super Mario games have been enjoyed by players for many years, those things have somehow become ordinary". This bizzare world of bouncing shells, coins from floating brick blocks, and clouds with happy faces has become very standard as time has progressed. Though not help by the 'New' series of Mario games that felt like menial extensions from the DS game, which in turn didn't push the envelope much from there (and the general overexposure of the brand). And frankly despite their best efforts I don't think they were able to recreate this sense of enchanting newness that they were hoping for. It feels like a different Mario, but it's still Mario. There's still bouncing shells and floating bricks, with flagpoles at the end of the course and mushrooms that make you grow in size. Nothing short of an utter overhaul of every aspect of Mario could come close to this ambitious goal. But at that point it may no longer be Mario anymore. Maybe the team should do something unrelated to Mario, but sadly our old friend capitalism will piss and shit itself if you're doing anything but the most safe and secured route to success. Doubly so if you are such a monolithic icon like Mario.
Still, to say they'd failed at being especially creative in this title would be foolish. Your mileage may vary on the quality of these additions, but if you can't change the inner core of what Mario is then altering the surface is the next best thing you got. The new visuals and expressiveness of the characters is a refreshing relief after diluted 3D models of the 'New' series. Little details go a long way in bringing the world to life. Goombas react in horror as you're about to stomp them. They will also sit down and stare annoyingly at the screen if they find themselves trapped in a one-block space. Enemies of all kinds have a great "Oh shit!" face when a speeding Koopa shell is about to smash into their faces. This game's love of music and rythym sections are quite possibly the highlight of this game's charm. The talking flowers...I actually really li- GUNSHOTS
The new power-ups are quite possibly the most solid additions to the repertoire thus far. Despite the elephants larger presence (I didn't even plan that pun) I feel no power outshines another. All have their use while being fairly unique in their utility. Maybe the fire flower is weaker by comparison, but it still has the speed and range to have its own niche. I dig the bubble flower having platforming utility, but it's much trickier to pull off compared to past mobility power-ups. You have to be quick to bounce off your bubbles and it feels good when you take shortcuts with clever usage. The drill is insanely fast, can take unique level routes, and is arguably the strongest in terms of how quickly it can kill enemies, but since you have to be approaching from below it may not always be ideal in certain circumstances. And elephants are both fun and funny to control. I like all their additional animations that account for their unique shape, such as when they lower their head slightly if the ceiling is just barely too low or their struggle getting in and out of pipes. Not sure if this unpopular, but the KO arenas were some of my favorite levels. I liked deciding what power-ups and badges to use in order to optimize my route. Being able to hold onto one power-up at all times really adds a lot to planning, whether you want to swap at a specific stage or if you'd prefer it to be more of a backup in case you took damage. The times to beat are just tight enough to push you into being more competitive to achieve all the rewards, while not being so tight as to be frustrating.
Based on what I've played in the past this is probably my new favorite 2D Mario. I'm still not as ecstatic about 2D platformers in general, I'm more of Action and/or RPG person, but I still came away feeling pretty positive about the whole thing. Mario Wonder is ambitious as a Mario game, but something that's truly out there and original will probably be only found in the indie scene. Still, I'm curious if they'll be able to top themselves next time that elevate this from a Wonder to Wonderful.
They not only have elephant Peach and Daisy, but also inflatable balloon forms of them too.
Wonder if they knew what they were doing
Mario Wonder sure is a 2D Mario game. Don't expect any massive shakeups to the formula, lest they risk their safe brand of near guaranteed success. Man, making a game to be enjoyable by adults and kids across the entire world sounds like a pain...
The big gameplay addition are Wonder Seeds, which can cause some wacky and amusing effects when found in a level. After a brief challenge you'll collect the seed itself, which are needed to progress through the game, and then revert the level to back to normalcy. Despite what the trailers may imply there isn't a unique effect for every single level in the entire game, but that'd give the impression that there aren't a metric buttload of Wonder Effects that infester every inch of this game. Some add a spin to the platforming with large set-pieces, some turn you into different creatures with their own mechanics, some will make the level harder, others will make the level effortless. I think what helps is that these effects, along with the levels themselves, are over before you know it.
They're a breeze in terms of challenge and length, which is definitely for the best as this is one of the longer 2D games. Not by much, but unlike past entries it doesn't seem possible to skip entire worlds to reach the end (whether it's from secret warp points or some worlds being completely optional). You still have a good amount of wiggle room at least. The Wonder Seed quota isn't too high to need to clear every level, plus you don't need to activate the Wonder Effect in most levels if you so wish. But the fast pacing may also be a result of the easy difficulty of this game. Between the brand new badges, the shop allowing you bulk buy 1-Ups, and the online system it's hard to get stuck on a single level for too long bearing anything in the post game.
Starting with badges, I feel they add a nice bit of player expression on how you want to play. You could increase your platforming abilities or you could make hazards be less lethal, but never both at once. While it would be awesome having a faster dash with a vine grappling hook as coins magnetize towards you, I think one badge apiece makes it a more important decision player as there's a lot to weigh; though you can change after every death if it isn't working out. For being the "Weird" Mario game, kind of wish there were more badges that do wacky or usless things. There's a couple that intentionally make the game more annoying or harder to play, and I kind of wanted to see more of them. Like maybe a badge that rotates the character you're playing every few seconds, or a badge that makes the character tiny; stuff like that.
I feel the shop is a good addition, albeit not executed as well as I would've preferred. It's namely the economy of flower coins, I almost never didn't have enough coins to buy every new badge or Wonder Seed at every shop. Granted I was being thorough with every level, maybe it's a bit more strict if you aren't the explorer type. Regardless I feel flower coins is one of the better motivators for exploration in these levels. Much better then the Star Coins at least.
Then you have what I feel is the most interesting addition, online. It's kind of like Dark So- GUNSHOTS.
While it makes the game even easier then it already is, online was a lot cooler then the previews made it out to be. Reviving players, who are total strangers, after they slip to their death only for them to save me moments later is such a simple yet effective method of comradery that fits with Mario's broadly-accepting tone perfectly. It's constantly picking each other backup from our mistakes with the only real benefit to you is that they might just return the favor. I had levels where people would stand at the end of a tough section and just wait in case someone fell, or sometimes they'd literally sacrifice themselves to revive a player whose timer almost ran out, or the funny moments where the potential savior missed and now both of them lost a life. I wouldn't say this alone made the game great, but if you're usually online adversed I'd recommend trying at least a few levels with it on.
In a interview posted on the Nintendo website, the devs gave an interesting run-down on their methodology, planning, and even a few scrapped ideas. One of the more interesting quotes to me came from when they were discussing the original Super Mario: "...Back then, everything was new and packed with unexpected delights. However, now that Super Mario games have been enjoyed by players for many years, those things have somehow become ordinary". This bizzare world of bouncing shells, coins from floating brick blocks, and clouds with happy faces has become very standard as time has progressed. Though not help by the 'New' series of Mario games that felt like menial extensions from the DS game, which in turn didn't push the envelope much from there (and the general overexposure of the brand). And frankly despite their best efforts I don't think they were able to recreate this sense of enchanting newness that they were hoping for. It feels like a different Mario, but it's still Mario. There's still bouncing shells and floating bricks, with flagpoles at the end of the course and mushrooms that make you grow in size. Nothing short of an utter overhaul of every aspect of Mario could come close to this ambitious goal. But at that point it may no longer be Mario anymore. Maybe the team should do something unrelated to Mario, but sadly our old friend capitalism will piss and shit itself if you're doing anything but the most safe and secured route to success. Doubly so if you are such a monolithic icon like Mario.
Still, to say they'd failed at being especially creative in this title would be foolish. Your mileage may vary on the quality of these additions, but if you can't change the inner core of what Mario is then altering the surface is the next best thing you got. The new visuals and expressiveness of the characters is a refreshing relief after diluted 3D models of the 'New' series. Little details go a long way in bringing the world to life. Goombas react in horror as you're about to stomp them. They will also sit down and stare annoyingly at the screen if they find themselves trapped in a one-block space. Enemies of all kinds have a great "Oh shit!" face when a speeding Koopa shell is about to smash into their faces. This game's love of music and rythym sections are quite possibly the highlight of this game's charm. The talking flowers...I actually really li- GUNSHOTS
The new power-ups are quite possibly the most solid additions to the repertoire thus far. Despite the elephants larger presence (I didn't even plan that pun) I feel no power outshines another. All have their use while being fairly unique in their utility. Maybe the fire flower is weaker by comparison, but it still has the speed and range to have its own niche. I dig the bubble flower having platforming utility, but it's much trickier to pull off compared to past mobility power-ups. You have to be quick to bounce off your bubbles and it feels good when you take shortcuts with clever usage. The drill is insanely fast, can take unique level routes, and is arguably the strongest in terms of how quickly it can kill enemies, but since you have to be approaching from below it may not always be ideal in certain circumstances. And elephants are both fun and funny to control. I like all their additional animations that account for their unique shape, such as when they lower their head slightly if the ceiling is just barely too low or their struggle getting in and out of pipes. Not sure if this unpopular, but the KO arenas were some of my favorite levels. I liked deciding what power-ups and badges to use in order to optimize my route. Being able to hold onto one power-up at all times really adds a lot to planning, whether you want to swap at a specific stage or if you'd prefer it to be more of a backup in case you took damage. The times to beat are just tight enough to push you into being more competitive to achieve all the rewards, while not being so tight as to be frustrating.
Based on what I've played in the past this is probably my new favorite 2D Mario. I'm still not as ecstatic about 2D platformers in general, I'm more of Action and/or RPG person, but I still came away feeling pretty positive about the whole thing. Mario Wonder is ambitious as a Mario game, but something that's truly out there and original will probably be only found in the indie scene. Still, I'm curious if they'll be able to top themselves next time that elevate this from a Wonder to Wonderful.
They not only have elephant Peach and Daisy, but also inflatable balloon forms of them too.
Wonder if they knew what they were doing