Taking cues from decades of their greatest hits, Nintendo returns to the world of 2D Mario platformers with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Traditional in structure, but transformative in every other way, Mario has never felt more like the trendsetter.

This time, Peach has not been kidnapped, but instead the castle itself of the neighboring Flower Kingdom. With no victims, the entire cast of the Mario party is available to play from old standbys like the Brothers and Toads to newer faces like Daisy and Toadette. All characters control and handle the same, but it allows you to play the game as whoever you'd like with no fear of missing out.

Mario Wonder follows most closely with the New Super Mario franchise. Every level is a 2D set of platforms with a flagpole at the end and 3 hidden coins to find. This time, the coins are part of a new purple-coin currency which can be found in smaller doses throughout the levels. These coins are used exclusively in the many shops scattered around the Flower Kingdom to purchase badges and standees. Badges are Wonder's newest core addition, which gives you one superpower move, like a floating high jump or an extra spin to more unconventional changeups like a grappling hook or a Celeste-like wall grab. Swapping between badges to fit the right job is a satisfying level of variety, and the fact that all badges work with every level is impressive.

Wonder's other big feature is the titular Wonder effect. By finding a Wonder Flower hidden or not-so-hidden, you trigger a wacky flip on the level, like changing you into some new creature, switching the perspective, or pitting you against a rampaging enemy. Levels surprise constantly with new and funny ideas that make stages visually striking and break up the A+ standard platforming.

The Flower Kingdom is the hub for all of the incredible worlds you can explore. While some areas are linear, others open up and allow you to tackle stages as you see fit. Hidden stages and secret exits further the worldbuilding on top of story jusitification for traveling each separate world. It all coalesces to create a vibrant backdrop that is similar to the highlights of Mario's RPG career.

Wonder can be enjoyed solo, but also has local and online multiplayer. Local multiplayer is just as you expect, up to 4 players can create chaos and mad dash to the end of the level. Online is more interesting: you play solo in your own game with ghosts of other players living in the level shadowing around you. Friendly players can drop standees which function as respawn points and you can interact with these players by liking them and emoting. It's a minimal setup, but works really well if you want to tackle the adventure with others. The best element is you don't have to be in the same level as your friends, so you can just be existing in the world and catch your friends when you match on the same stage.

Mario Wonder is the new standard for 2D platformers. The game is approachable, but knows when to bring a formidable challenge. The music is fantastic, boasting a confident new set of catchy athletic themes and underground bops. Finishing the game is a breeze, but there are enough collectibles and stages to keep you busy for several hours after defeating Bowser. It's an achievement and easily follows Nintendo's hot streak of excellent first-party Switch must-haves.

I revisited this beloved childhood game expecting it to not hold up at all today - having recently played through all of its predecessors which that was certainly true for.
Mario Kart DS is a complete masterpiece, everything about the game is near perfect. It still looks phenomenal on original hardware, the 3d character models are great, along with the bosses from the missions. The new tracks are mostly superb, with the obvious standouts that have returned in countless subsequent titles. The retro tracks do let the game down somewhat and I believe this to be its worst quality. A mix between technical limitations, and poor choice with the decision to include a gba and snes track in each retro cup. I revisited the mission mode and went on to get 3 stars on each mission, so much fun. I cannot believe they haven't brought back mission mode in any future games. If it weren't for most of the retros being sub-par this game would easily score a 10/10 from me.

This is one of like 3 games from my childhood that still holds up. If you asked modern me and eight-year-old me what we thought of the game, we would both talk about the really cool part in Bowser's Castle where you drive on a rotating rod.

Courses are the main thing that really makes a Mario Kart game. Almost every game in the series prior to DS had some good courses, but only a few I could even think of wanting to play again. SNES has the most basic courses in the series, 64 had a couple of cool ones like Royal Raceway and its take on Bowser's Castle, Super Circuit on GBA had some great ideas like Cheese Land and Ribbon Road (although they felt pretty unrealized on the GBA), and Double Dash probably had the best ratio of okay courses to mediocre ones, specifically highlighting Dino Dino Jungle and Daisy Cruiser. So what makes DS's courses different?

The game's Mushroom Course starts off with the obligatory basic, beginner-level, Figure 8 Circuit. It may be boring. And it is. But hey, for what would be the most accessible game to younger players, it made sense to make something super simple with nearly no offroad segments. Yoshi's Falls followed it up, gradually adding some more aspects to levels. While not complex at all, it's a small and enjoyable course, with stuff like the waterfalls and the giant egg that doesn't do anything. But then the developers decided to finally make a good course with Cheep Cheep Beach. The atmosphere gives me a warm and cozy feeling, with some small, but nice shortcuts. It's still nothing big, but it's just building up to the truly insane courses. Luigi's Mansion is a course that I probably should hate because of the mud ruining your momentum in a great portion of the course, but I kind of love it since it's just a ton of people swerving around, with bananas inevitable. Obviously gonna be a safer cup, but it still holds a special place in my heart.

Don't be afraid, who else gets rock-hard to the Flower Cup in Mario Kart DS? This is probably my favorite cup in the game because it hits you immediately with some of the most creative ideas in the series. Of course, I'm going to have to mention Waluigi Pinball, which not only has a great theme but also some really wacky and off-the-wall elements, which has always shown to bring the best out of the series. A really big sleeper hit is Delfino Plaza, which I love for its many paths and lively atmosphere. There are so many different paths, which all are narrow pathways that build up suspense, especially if you don't have a banana or shell to protect you. The bridge jump rules too. Shroom Ridge is like the one and only course in the series where the car obstacles actually make it more fun. Plus, Desert Hills is like the one and only desert course in the series that looks aesthetically pleasing.

The next cup, The Star Cup, is easily the most difficult one. I know it's weird to say that about a relatively easy game, but then the subtitle for this review wouldn't make sense. Even without little me playing Mario 64, Tick Tock Clock was in like my top 3. I loved the random ass environment of driving in this big contraption, through rotating gears and the clock hands. Looking back at the game, I think I severely underrated Airship Fortress. It's quickly went from a solid course to one of my favorites. I love the Mario 3 references, I love the part when you get shot out of a cannon, I love drifting down the circular pillar, and I love the part where you dodge bullet bills. And DK Pass would be a top tier course too if those dumb ass snowmen weren't there at the end that I inevitably trip into on the 3rd lap and I go from 1st to 6th. Mario Circuit isn't bad but it’s like the most standard and basic course besides figure 8.

I'm so fucking good at this game oh my god. The Special Cup has some of the most memorable courses in the series. My personal favorite is and has always been its iteration of Bowser's Castle. The atmosphere is second to none, and I love the shortcuts. Not to mention the rotating rod part which is really really really really cool I swear. Peach Gardens is also kind of like a personal sleeper hit. Mushrooms can really cut through some big sections, and it feels so satisfying to maul through some monty moles with a star. The chain chomps also add some life to the course where it would be basic.

The 16 retro tracks in Super Circuit was a really cool edition, but since it was the SNES roster of tracks, I really couldn't care. But MKDS has a collection of the best courses through every prior MK game. Yoshi Circuit, Sky Garden, and Mushroom Bridge feel so adapted to the system, and you can really tell that these four extra cups doubling the count were no last-minute inclusion. Nearly every one of them is just a strictly better version of the old one, and adds some small things here and there.

I'm sure you've heard by now, but the mission mode is really something special. This is a new jam-packed mode full of some innovative and fun challenges that I'll always go for 3 stars in. I don't even know what else to say about it, it's just a super unique and replayable mode that the series has never brought back for some reason.

The unlockable characters are just really cool, but I really hope God doesn't care about me not liking Dry Bones. The odd one out is ROB, who was in this game before Brawl, which introduced many to him. I can't imagine how many kids just thought this guy was just some random ass new robot that they put into MKDS. Luckily, I'm immune from stupidity because I was never good enough as a kid to unlock him.

I wasn't sure whether or not to mention this, but there's a tech called Snaking that's kind of like the wavedashing of MKDS. It's not even an exploit or a glitch, all what you're doing is just really hurting your thumb to chain mini turbos in a very narrow space depending on how good you are. Snaking really changes a man, his thumbs, and opinions on the DS’s dpad.

Every part of me wants to love this game, and it's really working. Very solid 9/10. One of my favorite games of all time, and I'm not ashamed to love this instead of cult classic scrimbo bimbo rpg on the psp.

You know Nintendo's entire philosophy about making video games that make people smile while they play them?

I think Wonder manages to be the complete embodiment of that idea. So many times have I just smiled and giggled like a dumbass from whenever some big gameplay change happens from touching the Wonder Flower, to breezing through obstacles or knocking out the new, creative enemies back to back, or even when the game just becomes an outright musical. The level design and environments are at their absolute finest here, and paired with the Wonder Flowers, it becomes a completely different beast in itself. It manages to be creative and charming while still being really fun, engaging, and at times challenging, something that was starting to get lost by the time New Super Mario Bros. Wii was rolling around. Something about the toy/clay-like expressions from the characters and the story (which is easily the most I've ever seen in a 2D Mario game) that even comes full-circle in small ways throughout the journey really gives so much life to the Flower Kingdom and everything that's going on. Even the new inclusion of badges really add a lot to the movement kit and really gives you some new ways to tackle the obstacles thrown your way. The only small grip I really have is the bosses being on the weaker side, but everything else about the game exceeds so well that it's such a small issue in the grand scheme of things, although 2D Mario has never had the most balls to the wall bosses a lot of the time anyway. Obviously the music is as wonderful as ever but that goes without saying.

I really did not anticipate this being on-par with Yoshi's Island or even a GOTY candidate for myself, but Nintendo has been on an incredible run this console generation. I'm very glad to see that they're finally starting to give an equal amount of love and ideas to their 2D subseries like with their 3D outings. It's great to see so much of previous entries' DNA here and built upon, I hope this continues to be the standard for 2D Mario and onward, and it's very nice to see that Nintendo's philosophy come shining through here.