It's amazing how much of a difference a new lick of paint can make.

Super Mario Wonder is a 2D Mario game that is a kind of successor to the New Super Mario Bros. series. The NSMB games spanned multiple consoles and while that series was originally praised as a welcome return to classic 2D Mario gameplay, the formula quickly got old and uninspired. Then, along came Super Mario Wonder.

Wonder retains the strong fundamentals that made the NSMB games fun. Tight controls, satisfying platforming, chaotic multiplayer gameplay...but Wonder adds a hefty spoonful of creativity to the recipe that felt missing in the NSMB titles. You never feel like Wonder is just 'going through the motions' or presenting 'more of the same', it's a beautifully fresh, dynamic take on 2D Mario.

So, what's different? For starters, Wonder is an utterly gorgeous looking game. The graphics have a clean, cartoony look and every character, enemy and landscape is beaming with personality. Wonder also has a relatively experimental soundtrack as well. The soundtrack does a good job of mixing traditional Mario tunes with slightly more atmospheric and off-kilter compositions, which makes for some great variety and adds even more charm to the amazing looking environments. Most importantly, Wonder is a game teaming with fun ideas and charming gimmicks.

Every level sees you collecting a Wonder Seed, an item that, when grabbed, fundamentally changes something about the level's gameplay. You'll find Wonder Seeds that transform you into enemies, turn the level into a silhouette à la Donkey Kong Country Returns, changes the level perspective to a top-down view and many, many, MANY more. You just never know what you're getting yourself into when you boot up a level.

THAT is the real joy of Wonder; you never know what to expect. The coupling of the new presentation with the constantly charming, diverse gameplay easily elevates Wonder above the NSMB games. It delighted me in a way that no 2D Mario game has since Yoshi's Island and I can easily see myself revisiting Wonder for a second run in a couple of years.

Das beste 2D Mario Spiel. Oft werden die 2D Teile selbst trotz guten Level Designs irgendwann ein wenig Monoton, was einfach der Limitierung eines 2D Plattformers geschuldet ist, doch Mario Wonder überrascht in fast jedem Level mit einer neuen coolen Idee. Wie ein kleines Kind freue ich mich in jedem Level erneut auf die Wonderflower, welche das Level dann komplett auf den Kopf stellt.
Auch wenn da durch so ein bisschen Brot und Butter eines soliden Plattformers auf der Strecke bleiben hatte ich damit ungemein viel Spaß.

Dazu kommt noch eine hervorragend designte Overworld. Man hat Einiges an Freiheiten im Bezug auf die Reihenfolge in der man dieses Spiel spielen möchte und eine Reihe normaler Levels werden immer wieder mit kleinen, abwechslungsreichen Minigames aufgemischt. Zusätzlich verstecken sich ein paar simple Rätsel in der Overworld und die Spezialwelt ist auch gut eingebunden.

Wonder ist für mich das neue Benchmark für 2D Mario Spiele und ich hoffe es wird eine Fortsetzung geben.

I played this after receiving it on October 21st 2023. I didn't beat it that day but those next couple of days were so peak and while I wouldn't go as far as to say that it is the best modern 2D platformer like some other reviews have, It is EASILY the best modern 2D Mario game. They really cooked here with the gameplay and level design, the Wonder Flowers add so much variety and spice to the game and speaking of flowers, the Talking Flowers that give commentary during the levels are also a fun addition! That being said, they kinda got lazy with the bosses. considering most of them are just Bowser Jr. but with some mild, relatively unimpressive effect added to them, the final boss being a sort. of rhythmic based fight against the giant floating bowser castle head was kinda neat though I guess. Otherwise though this game was absolutely peak and you should buy it if you are interested. It was one of the best games of 2023 for sure!

Finally moving away from the sterile 2D adventures, Wonder is an absolute delight of a game that had me none stop smiling from beginning to end.

Firstly, the new art style is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are animated better than ever before, there's so much detail put into every aspect of this game's presentation.. including full voice acting for the first time in 2D Mario, adding some real personality to this world.

The story of course is extremely simple, but the excuse to bring so many playable characters to the table is a welcome one.

This game controls perfectly, like no exaggeration every movement is smooth, and while character exclusive abilities aren't really a thing, the new badges can help add spice to the moveset depending on your playstyle.

Every single level brings a new obstacle to the table, especially when factoring in the Wonder flowers, which essentially cause an acid trip in the best way. These sections send the game in some crazy directions but it always made me smile, and constantly added variety to the gameplay.

The bosses were a let down, mainly for the lack of creativity that the rest of the game relishes in, but they are just a small factor. The music is fantastic, and with plenty of stages to play, tons of secrets to find and harder levels to challenge yourself with, this truly is Wonderful - 9/10

Apesar de ser um jogo muito bonito, não me agradou. Acho que pra cada coisa legal que ele faz, erra em mais duas ou três.

Primeiro vamos ao que faz de certo: visuais lindos, música muito boa e inimigos únicos, que escapam do tradicionalismo de ter.um mario bros só com goombas, koopas etc.

Entretanto, tudo isso é atrapalhado por dois grandes problemas: primeiro, você sempre vai ver uma cutscene inútil de algum NPC falando alguma coisa óbvia. Sério, Mario 2D nunca foi sobre a história, e isso só interrompe o fluxo. Pra que isso? E segundo: as wonder flowers são MUITO CHATAS. Entendo querer fazer um twist e tal, mas sempre que pegava uma, a fase ficava imediatamente mais chata. Parece que a maioria delas só transformava tudo em uma daquelas fases que se jogavam sozinhas do Mario Maker.

Mas voltemos aos pontos positivos: O online me surpreendeu, e acho que foi um dos pontos altos do jogo. Adorei jogar com os fantasminhas de outros jogadores aparecendo no fundo, invocando uma vibe de ver seu irmão mais novo jogando com você (mas sem gastar suas vidas). As flores que falam também são legais hehe.

Por fim, acho que foi um passo numa direção certa em termos de visual e design de inimigos, mas deveriam repensar nesses aspecto de "autoplay" das wonder seeds em jogos futuros.

Das Spiel hat mich extrem positiv überrascht. Ich bin nicht wirklich der 2D Mario Fan, vor allem die New Super Mario Bros Teile leiden enorm unter dem Gefühl der Repetitive, aber Wonder ist die direkte klare Antwort das Mario es noch kann.
Man bekommt konstant Überraschungen am laufenden Band, die Animationen sehen endlich super lebendig und gut aus, die Musik ist fantastisch, es wird gut mit Levelthematiken gespielt.
Es ist all in all ein unfassbar gutes Spiel, was trotz der lobenden Worte, aber nicht so viel in mir auslöst oder wo ich denke: "Das übertrifft DKCTF, Rayman Legends oder Sonic Mania", da es trotzdem noch so kleinere Schwächen gibt, die das Game etwas runterziehen.
1. Kein New Game +. Gerade mit dem Abzeichen könnte man easy ein neues interessantes Spielerlebnis erschaffen, aber stattdessen kann man nur nochmal die Level nach Lust und Laune zocken.
2. Bosse. 2D Mario typisch belanglos, aber diesmal so extrem, dass man gar vergisst, dass es mal Bosse gegeben hat. So unspektakulär die Koopalinge waren, sind es dennoch Bosse mit simplen Muster, dass es zu lernen/kontern gilt.
Hier ist es mehrfach Bowser Jr mit recht absehbaren Muster und das war es. Nur der Final Boss ist abwechslungsreich und gut, aber da muss Nintendo dringend nachrüsten.
3. Wunder-Blumen Spam. Die Abwechslung ist mega nice, aber hin und wieder fehlt es an Ausreizen der Ideen. Es wird sehr infantile mit Ideen geschmissen und das ist sehr schade, weil manche deutlich mehr Spotlight mMn verdient hätten.

Aber trotz allem liebe ich das Spiel und es konnte mich zum Fan von 2D Mario stimmen. Nächstes Mal nur noch so ein paar Stellschrauben anpacken und dann dürfte Mario wieder die Spitze von 2D Jump'n Runs sein. <3