Nintendo has always been a master of revenuing his fabulous brands with original ideas and innovative takes. Famous examples are represented by Animal Crossing, whose transformation into a sort of social metaverse despite his origin as life sim, The Legend of Zelda, with its sense of adventure inserted in a poetic and melancholic wild lands inspired by Studio Ghibli more than western fantasy settings, or Fire Emblem, which became a sort of mask theater tribute mixed with intrigues and wars between archetypical reigns obtaining an immense success. Obviously Super Mario Bros could not be missed in this list. After the great animated movie, a satisfying blockbuster for fans and people who grew up with the Japanese hydraulic, the other part of the franchise which broke up the entire platform genre is Super Mario Bros Wonder. Described as a revolutionary chapter of the saga, with the spectrum of a constant sense of marvel around the corner in every level. After ending it, I could certainly say that Super Mario Bros Wonder is the most mature game you can find inside this series.
Super Mario Bros Wonder tries constantly to create memorable moments granting every level a dose of replayability never seen before. The removal of the time was only the first step. In fact every level has more ways to complete it. We find mecaniques such as fake flags, verticality, interactions with the background and objects whose movement is linked with the player, without forgetting the wonder flowers and wonder seeds which modifies nature of the level with immense solutions. It is truly incredible to discover every little piece of game design, trying to make familiarity with the new powers, Elephant Mario which doesn't surprise at all, Bubble power up useful to kill in distance and the Drill one to interact directly with the scenery, and the new concept of badges, a sort of modification at gameplay inserted to grant a novelty to every try overturning the rules that were clear before. In this way lots of the new animations can be highlighted, from quotes to the movie to new ways to give emotions to the protagonists, in this sort of journey through a new world full of details. Super Mario Wonder is a pure experience. You can live it alone, enjoying the strong soundtracks and the peculiar ambiences, or connected to the entire world discovering the behavior of others in the levels and giving them help in a way very similar to the asynchronous multiplayer of Death Stranding. An experience whose search for unique memories sacrifices the precision made clear in the previous productions. Lots of flaws can be found inside the artistic feature, which eliminates completely the iconicity of the single proves Mario has to fight. Some of the most famous and traditional levels have been completely substituted to splendid representation of Wonder Flowers and Seeds which remains in our mind, but turning the levels into nothing else than containers for them. In this sense, Super Mario Bros Wonder has a deep debt with some of the newest additions to this genre, from Celeste to fan games like Mario Kaizo, without creating the kind of single challenges you could expect from this franchise. If we add to this equation some weak villains and a general atmosphere left to the adventure in complex more than the single moments, we understand how Super Mario Bros Wonder appear as something unique, fun and marvelously portrayed, the most complete game of the brand manufactured for everyone, but a title which doesn't represents the perfection.
Super Mario Bros Wonder tries to give the definitive potential of what this Nintendo platform could represent. In fact the entirety of this experience works with the strong intention of enhancing the memorable moments to sculpt them inside our brain: OST, Wonder Seeds and Flowers, new ideas in gameplay and game design and a new look of every single movement and expression. A type of grandeur which bares his side to flaws in the artistic feature and parterre of single levels and villains. What we discover in this way is that even a Mario Game can outline an epic journey, but at which cost?
Gameplay: 5
Game Design: 4
Technical Feature: 5
Narrative: 4,5
Protagonists: 5
Villains: 4
Multiplayer: 5
Score and Music: 5
Artistic Feature: 3,5
Atmosphere: 3,5
Emotional Impact: 4,5
Final Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
Super Mario Bros Wonder tries constantly to create memorable moments granting every level a dose of replayability never seen before. The removal of the time was only the first step. In fact every level has more ways to complete it. We find mecaniques such as fake flags, verticality, interactions with the background and objects whose movement is linked with the player, without forgetting the wonder flowers and wonder seeds which modifies nature of the level with immense solutions. It is truly incredible to discover every little piece of game design, trying to make familiarity with the new powers, Elephant Mario which doesn't surprise at all, Bubble power up useful to kill in distance and the Drill one to interact directly with the scenery, and the new concept of badges, a sort of modification at gameplay inserted to grant a novelty to every try overturning the rules that were clear before. In this way lots of the new animations can be highlighted, from quotes to the movie to new ways to give emotions to the protagonists, in this sort of journey through a new world full of details. Super Mario Wonder is a pure experience. You can live it alone, enjoying the strong soundtracks and the peculiar ambiences, or connected to the entire world discovering the behavior of others in the levels and giving them help in a way very similar to the asynchronous multiplayer of Death Stranding. An experience whose search for unique memories sacrifices the precision made clear in the previous productions. Lots of flaws can be found inside the artistic feature, which eliminates completely the iconicity of the single proves Mario has to fight. Some of the most famous and traditional levels have been completely substituted to splendid representation of Wonder Flowers and Seeds which remains in our mind, but turning the levels into nothing else than containers for them. In this sense, Super Mario Bros Wonder has a deep debt with some of the newest additions to this genre, from Celeste to fan games like Mario Kaizo, without creating the kind of single challenges you could expect from this franchise. If we add to this equation some weak villains and a general atmosphere left to the adventure in complex more than the single moments, we understand how Super Mario Bros Wonder appear as something unique, fun and marvelously portrayed, the most complete game of the brand manufactured for everyone, but a title which doesn't represents the perfection.
Super Mario Bros Wonder tries to give the definitive potential of what this Nintendo platform could represent. In fact the entirety of this experience works with the strong intention of enhancing the memorable moments to sculpt them inside our brain: OST, Wonder Seeds and Flowers, new ideas in gameplay and game design and a new look of every single movement and expression. A type of grandeur which bares his side to flaws in the artistic feature and parterre of single levels and villains. What we discover in this way is that even a Mario Game can outline an epic journey, but at which cost?
Gameplay: 5
Game Design: 4
Technical Feature: 5
Narrative: 4,5
Protagonists: 5
Villains: 4
Multiplayer: 5
Score and Music: 5
Artistic Feature: 3,5
Atmosphere: 3,5
Emotional Impact: 4,5
Final Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2