As I wait to pick up Wonder later today, I think back on what made 2D Mario special to begin with. This isn't the flashiest game out there, but it's always been THE Mario game for me. What really propells this one to being my favorite to this day is the huge emphasis on secrets. And not just secrets that give you small bonuses, but entire alternate routes through the game, and LOTS of them. There's stuff hidden in every corner of the level select map. Finding them at all is a lot of fun but especially finding ways to reach them early is great. There's secrets within secrets, and what's great is that they're not afraid to really reward you for finding them. I was amazed as a kid when I found out it really lets you go from world 2 to world 8 if you know what to do.
Total player freedom for what kind of experience you want. If it was a strictly linear affair it would still be great, but this aspect ensures I'll never outgrow this game as a player. As a toddler I played through the easy auto scroller, as an adult I'll take the secret path branching off eventually leading to some of the more challenging stages. It all just feels good, and I absolutely love the world map. Still haven't seen a level select map this good anywhere else. Which may seem like a weird thing to praise but this game's level map is so fully realized I'm often left a little disappointed that almost no other game goes that extra mile with theirs.
And that's truly what this game is as a whole, fully realized. Even if you're not finding a lot of hidden routes or finding the star world...It's got stuff like the ghost houses to give you a taste of the out of box thinking they want you to employ. They hide the Yellow switch out in the open and tease you with the other colors by showing the outline of blocks that WOULD be there if you found their switch hidden somewhere in the game. The forest of illusion's levels will lead to levels you've already beaten, forcing you to find the secret way through to reveal the actual path forward. It's ingenious stuff like this that makes this game special. They knew what made this game fun and unique, and made sure to lean into it.
Nintendo's at their best when they take common game ideas, put their own twist on them, and take that idea to its logical extreme. And this is a glowing example of that.
Total player freedom for what kind of experience you want. If it was a strictly linear affair it would still be great, but this aspect ensures I'll never outgrow this game as a player. As a toddler I played through the easy auto scroller, as an adult I'll take the secret path branching off eventually leading to some of the more challenging stages. It all just feels good, and I absolutely love the world map. Still haven't seen a level select map this good anywhere else. Which may seem like a weird thing to praise but this game's level map is so fully realized I'm often left a little disappointed that almost no other game goes that extra mile with theirs.
And that's truly what this game is as a whole, fully realized. Even if you're not finding a lot of hidden routes or finding the star world...It's got stuff like the ghost houses to give you a taste of the out of box thinking they want you to employ. They hide the Yellow switch out in the open and tease you with the other colors by showing the outline of blocks that WOULD be there if you found their switch hidden somewhere in the game. The forest of illusion's levels will lead to levels you've already beaten, forcing you to find the secret way through to reveal the actual path forward. It's ingenious stuff like this that makes this game special. They knew what made this game fun and unique, and made sure to lean into it.
Nintendo's at their best when they take common game ideas, put their own twist on them, and take that idea to its logical extreme. And this is a glowing example of that.
NOWITSREYNTIME17
8 months ago