Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an incredible game, a game that makes me feel the same way I did playing Mario games as a kid. This game should be the golden standard of not only 2d platformers, but video games, period.

From the minute you boot up the game everything feels amazing, from the visuals of the game to the simple things as the sound design. I'm not one to notice small things in video games, but when I do, I am completely astonished. The little touches in this game remind me of the little touches in the Metal Gear franchise, different sound effects depending on when you jump depending on if you're small, big, or an elephant, a cymbal crash when you ground pound, all these little small details just make a game like Wonder feel full of life and personality.

I simply could not get enough of this game, I played it early and I just could not put it down, completing all the games levels, getting all of the unlockable levels, badges, collectable coins, wonder seeds, golden flagpoles and more. It felt like being a child all over again. In the New Super Mario Bros. games that preceded this, getting the collectables felt like a mindless chore full of tedium. The coins were hidden in boring locations like a hidden wall, or maybe some random corner next to a pipe, little consideration for the game's main collectables made it incredibly unfun.

Wonder does not have this issue, the main collectable, the Wonder Seeds, are fun to collect. The unique mechanics in almost every level of the game make it feel super cool to just grab a Wonder Seed, and they don't overstay their welcome either. Most levels have 2 Wonder Seeds, one for the Wonder Flower and the other for when you beat the level, on rare occasions, levels will have 3 Wonder Seeds, the extra being for a level secret. The side collectables are the 10-Purple Coins, these are more akin to the Star Coins from the New Super Mario Bros. Games, however they feel far more considered and don't feel like cheap, sidelined collectables in order to check off a box showing that they have collectables. They feel rewarding, but aren't too challenging to find, always feeling like a nice treat whenever they're found.

The game's badge system is incredible to me, I found so much enjoyment in collecting the badges and using whichever one I liked the most, however I do feel that some badges should've either been part of Mario's moveset at the start or permanently unlocked as a part of his moveset, I feel this only rings true for 2 badges though, the Triple Jump and the Dolphin Kick. I also dislike how because of the badge system, all characters got their attributes stripped, (i.e. Luigi doesn't jump higher and have more traction, Peach doesn't come with a float, and the Toads aren't faster with lower jumps.) Other than that, the badge system feels incredibly fun and refreshing and allows for you to pull off so many things you would've never previously been able to do without use of a power-up or something of similar vein.

This game is an expert when it comes to secrets, every secret in this game feels expertly crafted, making you wonder how you missed it in the first place whenever you end up finding it, and the rewards for doing so are always incredible. In World 1, finding a secret unlocks you 3 more levels, and the access to the game's Special World, with the games hardest challenges. There is an entrance to the special world in each world and most of them are fun to find and give the player strong rewards like more enjoyable levels. The game is also incredible at telegraphing to the player when they've actually discovered all the game has to offer in a level or world, there is a checkmark that shows up once you've found everything in a level or the entire world, making sure you don't get completely lost looking for that last Wonder Seed.

Reports of this game's development also make Wonder feel even sweeter, knowing that the developers had no hard deadline until they felt ready to release the game, allowing them to experiment however they wanted and implement incredible gameplay mechanics and polishing the game incredibly well to the point I hadn't seen a single bug in the game. Just knowing that Nintendo allowed the developers to work their magic however they saw fit makes this game feel all the nicer to play, sharing those smiles with the developers in certain areas that they probably smiled while making too.

All in all, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an incredible game that completely sticks the landing, sure there are tiny bumps here or there, but other than that I feel that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the best 2d Mario game to date, one of the best Mario games in general, and one of the greatest platformers of all time. Do yourself a favorite and go pick up this incredibly wonderful game.

This game means a lot to me.
It has one of my favorite casts in the series, great music and a great plot, but I'm gonna be honest with you, there's a limit to my patience in how many times I can replay the first 5 chapters of a story.

Ironically enough, the "Three Houses = Three routes" part of the game is the worst part. If you only play one route, you arguably have a better experience than playing all three.

A shame because, like I said, I really like most of the characters here, but I also hope they never do branching stories again.

But, at the same time, I really need to commend this game for still being discussed 4 years later. It shows how deep and morally grey its narrative truly is.