After nearly 2 decades of same-y, sterile, and safe games in the “New Super Mario Bros.” series, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a well-needed, fresh, and creative departure from the “New” series’ very bland outings.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a game that oozes charm, passion—and most of all; fun. Throughout my playthrough I was repeatedly impressed by just how consistently creative and new everything truly felt, with each level featuring a new gimmick, or finding a fresh way to utilize a previously established one. There’s a level of cohesion between levels within any given world, yet none of them ever blend together due to how often the game tries new things to keep you at the edge of your seat. I was never once bored during the time I spent running around the stunningly beautiful Flower Kingdom, finding secret levels, warp pipes that lead to extra bite-sized challenges, and much MUCH more.

Playing through this game from start to finish was a very thoroughly pleasing experience, one I’m very sad I’ll never get the chance to do for the first time ever again. Running around with friends in multiplayer, finding secret exits, and conquering surprisingly tough and tightly designed challenges invoked a child-like whimsy that has been sorely missing from modern 2D Super Mario Bros. games.

All in all, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a special kind of game. It’s a game that is filled to the brim with tons of creative concepts, a game where you can just feel the passion radiating from it as you play. Even as I hit 100% completion, I was left wanting to dive back into the world to experience it all over again.

Whether you’re a fan of Super Mario Bros. games, or just a fan of fun and creative platformers, I cannot recommend this game enough. Play it!

Mega Man 2 is like, the best tasting margherita pizza you'll ever have in your life, but it's a teeny bit undercooked. It's classic, iconic even; down to the intro cutscene, the stage themes, the setpieces and the robot masters - and even if it's missing some of the additions that would later become synonymous with the series like the slide and charge shot, the core run and gun gameplay still serves as something well worth going back to. But man it is not perfect. Especially when looking at stuff like the Wily Stage 4 boss. You really need to go into that fight with a full supply of crash bomber ammo and can't afford to waste any of it or take any route other than the most optimal one. It's this super weird blemish on an otherwise challenging yet very thoughtfully and fairly designed 8-bit platformer. Huge props to the localization team for actually making it more accessible for its overseas release at least: a rarity for the time. I personally prefer playing on difficult but it's no wonder that 2 is often regarded as the most accessible classic series entry.

Also John Backloggd please change the boxart to the Japanese one please and thank you