Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a tough game to review because it objectively does nothing wrong -- it’s fun, accessible, and boasts so much eye candy, you’d think the devs were on something when they coded it. But as a lifelong fan of both the platformer and Mario games, I couldn’t help feeling like it was intrinsically stuck in the past - as though there was something stopping it from straying too far from that pre-established blueprint Miyamoto wrote back in 1985.

Of course, a series should never abandon its roots, but in a world where the 3D Mario titles have consistently innovated post-64, it’s admittedly disappointing to see its side-scrolling Bros. accompaniment not do the same post-Mario World, Fans may call me crazy given that these criticisms are normally-leveled at the New SMB subset; however, the truth is I’ve always felt the macro franchise, as a whole, was just as guilty of stagnation, and unfortunately this latest release did little to quell those preconceptions.

On the surface, Wonder appears completely discrepant from its forebears, but take a closer look and you’ll see there’s actually very little in the way of genuine DNA swaps: levels are largely the same desert/water/lava/ice motif we saw aplenty in the OG trilogy; stages primarily operate on the X-Y axis; secrets are still accessible by randomly-placed pipelines; bosses remain the same lame “jump on X three times” template; and even the story continues that tiring retread of Bowser conveniently discovering a new power source (and yes, I know that latter point will come across as excessively-whiny, but compare this to other Nintendo franchises like DKC, Zelda, and Kirby which at least swapped up the antagonist every other entry).

Regarding the new power-ups, they ain’t all that groundbreaking either - bubble flowers are reskinned fire flowers, while the much-touted elephant suit is literally limited to spraying water and breaking horizontal blocks ( things that were pioneered in DKC3 almost 30 years ago…). The Drill Cap stands as the most unique addition to the game, allowing Mario to tunnel into adjacent walls & floors, but as the name implies, it’s restricted to subterranean stages, rendering it severely-underutilized compared to its brethren.

Supplementing this are several design choices I thought were outright regressive from the past, the biggest being the presence of badges. These tokens grant supplements to Mario and co.’s movements, theoretically changing-up the gameplay for better & for worse depending on which one you choose. The problem is, in creating them, Nintendo outright-stripped standard abilities you had in previous Mario games, making it a bit frustrating for older gamers used to a full set of tools - the crouch jump, spin jump, vertical wall leap, speed boost, and Peach and Luigi’s semi-floating being among the casualties. Don’t get me wrong, Wonder does have some fresh concoctions; I just doubt the majority of gamers will utilize them in light of it making the game harder than necessary (the spring hop and wall latcher coming to mind).

Chances are you’ve heard of the eponymous Wonder Seeds laden in most levels, their touch causing all manner of psychedelic changes within, and look, I’d be lying if I said the visuals weren’t dope (you really do wonder what manner of drugs Mouri distributed to his staff during development); however, I personally never felt like you were undergoing some radical gameplay change during these sections, the lion’s share of them being either imagery swaps of standard templates, Mario Maker-esque rail levels, or transformation stages wherein you turn into an enemy like a poor man’s SM Odyssey.

Again, I don’t want it to seem like the game is bad - Wonder is, equitably-speaking, a great title, and considering every generation gives us a new batch of potential Mario fans, it’ll definitely serve as a wonderful (no pun intended) introduction to the franchise. But for longtime enthusiasts like myself expecting something different from Bros.-past, I think it’s fair to say, at this point in time anyway, that Nintendo has no interest in doing that. This is their, for lack of a better term, “safe” series where, much like GameFreak and Pokémon, they want people to know what you see is what you get - a modernized, but ultimately nostalgic, rendition of the classic SMB template.

Ironically, the one area where more was done that I actually felt would’ve actually benefited from a regressive set-up is the story as I kid you not when I say this game has more dialogue than every single Mario Bros. game combined, and it’s as trivial & repetitive as you can imagine. I get that you need a basic framework, but the way Wonder constantly reminds you about its pointless story or pointless characters, it honestly comes across like someone at Nintendo actually thought highly of the writing.

Outside of running-and-bounding across levels, Nintendo has thrown-in three additional stage types to peruse in each world: first are Break Times, or short excursions built around a gimmick; second are KO brawls, in which you’re tasked with clearing out squads of enemies; and third are Badge Challenges, wherein you, as the name implies, try out a badge in a handcrafted course. They’re fun enough diversions, but understand you’re maybe getting a couple minutes of enjoyment from each.

Graphically, Wonder is a phenomenal game, building on the HD palette New Super Mario Bros. U pioneered back in 2012 via brighter hues, motion-based environments, and even some well-done dynamic luminescence around fire. Much like Daedaelic, Mario games have always had a distinct art style, and Wonder continues that trend whilst evolving some of my favorite aspects from the franchise in the process ala superb facial expressions and minor animation work that’ll unfortunately be underappreciated (i.e., seeing a goomba’s scared reaction to his friend being eaten by a Yoshi!).

Voice acting in the Mario titles has always been restricted to the grunts & giggles of its cast, and here it’s as fine as it’s ever been. My only complaints would be Yoshi’s inflections appearing higher-pitched than normal, and all the Popplins sharing the same VA (and, you know, sounding & looking like discount Toads).

SFX is kind of disappointing given the strange decision to both use instrumentals for most actions and rehash standard stock noises Nintendo concocted long ago. With the former, static pounds are rendered as drum riffs; leaps, string plucks, and fireballs some sort of bleated note amongst others. With the latter, expect Starmen and Goalposts et al. to resound like they always have since Super Mario World.

Thankfully, the OST by Shiho Fujii, Sayako Doi, Chisaki Shimazu, and the legendary Koji Kondo remains exceptional. Going in, I expected nothing but a platter of classic Mario themes (i.e., your orchestral motifs & proud horns), and to be fair there are a good chunk of those in here; however, there’s just as many, if not more, unique tunes crafted for the game, with some of my favorite ones including: the snake charmer melody of Sunbaked Dessert, pan flutes of Shining Falls, the alternating xylophone & digitized blurts of Fungi Mines, the seafaring voyage of Lava Theme, the 80s synth revamp of Bowser’s Castle, and the masterpiece that was A Night at Boo’s Opera. The more nostalgic among you may recognize short callbacks to prior titles, like Isle Delfino in Bouncy Tunes, Slider in Coins Galore, or Super Mario World in Wonder Token Tunes, all of which add-up to a thoroughly-enjoyable medley of tracks for old and new ears alike.

In the end, though, the best music wouldn’t change what I said at the beginning - if you’re tired of the Mario Bros. formula, Wonder won’t amend things for you. It’s a terrifically-constructed enterprise ripe with multicolored energy and hallucinogenic fervor, albeit wrapped in an overly-familiar skin. Make your decision accordingly.


NOTES
-I genuinely don’t understand why Nintendo continues to put lives in the Mario games when losing them does nothing save forcing someone restart a level (a facet that, itself, is rarely going to happen). Can they really not think of any substitute purpose for collecting coins?

-Much has been made about the Talking Flowers, and they’re surprisingly not annoying, often having a singular line before disappearing from view. Still, I couldn’t get over Mick Wingert giving them a Petey the Pistol-esque voice (for you younger readers, basically he sounds like the Map from Dora the Explorer).

-Speaking more on the music, I loved how the majority of Wonder Flower shifts had their own leitmotif rather than just an altered version of the base level’s cues.

This is a review of the DLC for Never Alone. For the main game’s review, please see: https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1648515/

Note - as this game rehashes almost every asset from its predecessor, no in-depth discussions will be had on the GFX or sound


Foxtales is the sole expansion to Never Alone, offering another retelling of a (presumably popular) Iñupiaq tale. Is it worth the trouble? Well, that’ll depend on how much you like deep sea diving!

Yes, like Avatar 2 did for Avatar 1, Foxtales primarily revolves around water as you and your canidaec companion weather the icy seas in search of a runaway mouse. Puzzles are once again simple quid pro quos, the lion’s share entailing you utilizing stones to both circumvent obstacles and breakdown barriers blocking spirit winds. Interestingly, despite the title of Foxtales, your unnamed boy arguably plays a larger role in each stage due to him being the only one capable of navigating the boat and tossing boulders.

Speaking of the protagonist, graphically the game is a bit on the lazy side as the devs didn’t bother altering the character model to separate his sex from his predecessor’s. There was inconsistent gendering in the first game too, but I was willing to chock that up to translation errors: here, though, he is consistently referred to as a Boy despite being visually indifferent from the female of Never Alone.

Ironically, your Fox companion was given a slight makeover & new animations, his fur boasting a slight silver mane and his model doing things like putting paws up on the side of the boat and ducking whenever a rock falls into said vessel.

But ultimately there’s nothing much to say about Foxtales: it’s less than an hour, has a story with an unclear message, and is basically unconnected to its predecessor. It’s not inherently bad; however, filtering a potentially-strong cultural tale through a forgettable lens doesn’t exactly do it favors.


NOTES
-I’ll give the devs credit for crafting new enemy types rather than reskinning old ones.

Note - this is a review of the base game, for its expansion see: https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1648517/


Never Alone made the indie rounds back-in-the-day for being the first major video game to focus on the Iñupiat, its contents adapting a popular oral story from said tribe’s folklore. You control a young woman named Nuna who sets off on a quest to find the source of some horrible blizzards that have been afflicting her town. Question is, are the game’s contents as novel as its premise, or is it another case of flimsy execution? Well, it won’t challenge veteran players, though I could definitely see it being a gateway for newer ones, particularly those who have a close friend at-hand.

Yes, that’s right, Never Alone is local co-op only, and while you can technically play it solo, I’d recommend finding a buddy as this is one of those titles that best suits the format (like the name didn’t give that away). While Nuna is your protagonist, it’s not long before her arctic ally shows-up, the goal of each chapter devolving into the two of them working in-tandem to surpass obstacles good old-fashioned puzzle platformer style.

Unfortunately, Never Alone’s puzzles are a bit on the easy side, meaning it doesn’t take more than a few seconds to deduce the solution upon second glance. Now, of course, simplicity isn’t synonymous with fun, and I certainly enjoyed my time with the game, but it should be made clear that, unless you’re playing it for ulterior reasons, you won’t find much exterior motivation here (+) -- this is less of a brainteaser and more of a cinematic introduction to a thoroughly-interesting culture.

That aside, there were some objective flaws with the gameplay that do bear repeating, the worst being the presence of game-breaking bugs. On multiple occasions my brother or I found our sprites stuck in a falling animation, and it appeared to be triggered whenever we immediately jumped after taking a fall; other times, a scene wouldn’t load and we’d have to restart from the last autosave. Now thankfully the checkpoint system is very generous, otherwise my monitor may have found a controller chucked through it; however, that doesn’t excuse the continued existence of errors almost 10 years post-release.

The second issue I had concerned a set of magical bolas you’ll frequently employ during the course of your journey as their controls are inverted and they lack a trajectory path, resulting in many many failed throw attempts. All cards on the table, I personally never got frustrated, though I could definitely see this being problematic for other gamers given the bolas’ extensive usage in-game.

Visually, Never Alone has rightfully earned acclaim for its presentation as this is a gorgeous title. It actually adopts two different art styles, one for the base game and the other for the slideshow cutscenes scattered throughout the story. In the former, you’re looking at something akin to an HD WiiWare release, with 3D modeling and cartoon-esque rendering propped against relatively-realistic backdrops of nature vistas. In the latter, cinematics resemble stenciled drawings overlain with a tan filter, their presence bringing to mind those old Tomie dePaola illustrations from the Strega Nona series.

Ultimately, though, the best graphical feats owe fealty to some superb animation and illumination work wrought by the artisans at Upper One Games. For starters, 90% of Never Alone takes place amidst heavy wind, and visibly seeing the effects of the gull on Nuna’s hair & cloak, or the Fox’s tail & fur, were delightful to witness. Even more impressive are the transitory animations as, with the exception of bola pull-outs, every single one of them is perfectly seamless: whether you’re going from a drop to recovery, or prone to standing, I never once caught those stilted frames oft seen in independent video games.

Lighting is largely static, but the few times the devs implement dynamic interfaces, they’re definitely spellbinding, the best instances ironically emanating from the bolas, whose blue glow shines on both Nuna and any obstacle you toss them at (++). In addition, a flurry of green spirits boast their own radiance during scripted sequences, bringing a dark viridescence to the Alaskan Tundra.

Speaking of dark, it should be noted that, while the story here is pretty heavy, I’d honestly put it in the same category as other children’s works like Secret of NIMH or Courage the Cowardly Dog in that it’s ultimately appropriate for kids (+++). There are some interesting twists that occur, but fundamentally the game follows the same general beats as other cultural fables (minus the preachy lesson at the end).

SFX is overall very good, with footsteps differentiated between the many characters and environmental interactions hosting grand reverberations - given that Mother Nature is as much against you as the demons within, it was terrific hearing such colossi as icebergs, snowstorms, and collapsing trees actually resound like their real-life counterparts would to a lone human. My sole complaint (no pun intended) is that the footfall was a little soft-sounding, though I understand that may have been deliberate due to the potential repetitiveness.

Nuna and the Fox have their respective grunts, but by-and-large the voice acting comes down to narration from a guy named James Mumigan Nageak, who does a fair job even if he’s a bit too monotone-ish. That said, as I noted in my review of Jotun, it’s difficult to judge non-English voice acting when you’re not fluent in the language, so I do concede Nageak could very well be putting greater nuance (or vice-versa!) into his oration and I’m simply incapable of noticing.

The score by Brendan J. Hogan operates in a low-key way, alternating between soft piano touches and hard drums to highlight the arctic beauty about you whilst accentuating action beats respectively.

In the end, Never Alone is a case of what you see is what you get - a beautiful platformer for either green gamers looking for a gateway into the genre or parents seeking a title to play with their kids. As long as you’re willing to overlook some glitches, you should have a pleasant time.


NOTES
+It blows my mind reading a number of negative Steam reviews ranting about trial & error puzzles. If you’re so frustrated with Never Alone that you have to resort to slinging mud-at-a-wall, you’re better off sticking with Checkers.

++The bolas are further amazing in that they follow the physics engine of the game: throw them at a slope and they’ll individually roll-on down; fling them into a body of water and they’ll make a splash!

+++In case it comes across like I’m denigrating Never Alone by calling it a children’s game, here’s my obligatory “no, I’m not using adolescence as an insult.”

-There is only one visual con, and that’d be the close-ups of Nuna and the Fox yielding some slightly-uncanny compositing. The distant camera, hoodie, and bellowing snow pellets were no doubt deliberate (smart) design choices in that regard.