Mario Wonder can feel like such a fresh game. So many new enemies, colourful ideas, the wonder flower really shakes things up. Playing some of the harder levels, you can tell the designers got inspiration from the fan levels of Mario Maker. So much energy back to back. The final boss is rather fun. And the new voice cast (except maybe Daisy's) is rather solid.

However, there are some parts for me that hold it back from being perfect. Small one out of the way: I wish you could use more than one badge per level. Yes they'd have to remap some buttons for that to work but imagine the combos you could do when combining two or three.

Now for the two big ones: after the innovative boss fights seen in 3D World and Odyssey, we're back to NSMB-DS with Bowser Jr being the main reoccurring boss. How does NSMB-DS have more original bosses than this? And while most of the world themes feel different it's still the same grass, desert, jungle, lava, etc format we've seen too many times. The last area is the only original one and it's fairly short.

I still had fun, it's still feels more new that the past two "New" Super Mario Bros games, but if there were more levels per world, original locations and bosses this could have easily been the 2D Mario equivalent to Odyssey: something that shakes up the formula and breathes new life into the familiar gameplay format.

(Also I turned off the talking flowers two levels in not sorry.)

Despite spending almost two hours on the final boss I didn't hate this game. Obviously nowhere on the same level as mania but It's distinct enough from Sonic 4 (mostly), and there's some levels with semi interesting elements. I'd recommend playing sonic 3d blast saturn music over certain levels though.
If sonic 4 was an unrelated standalone mobile game (like how it was apparently meant to) and this came out in 2013-14 after Generations it would have probably fared alot better. Will my score change should I play the trip and last stories? Maybe, but for now I can sleep easy knowing I waited for a price drop and had two gift cards with enough left to reduce the price down to a euro.
EDIT FROM A FEW HOURS LATER: Lowering my score by half a star because Trip sucks

At first the game had me conflicted.
Gameplay-wise there were too many things that bothered me. I hated the swamp area as a whole, I hated the first two temples, I thought the new songs are all lame, I thought Goron-Link controls like ass, I hated how empty the Zora area felt, I hated the Stone Tower and on and on and on. Despite all that, I was still hooked.

What I realised is that, for me at least, this game doesn't excel in its main content, but in its side content. The 3 day cycle with the NPCs moving to certain places at certain times makes the game just feel so alive and unique. It's so fun to make an appointment with an NPC and then actually have them walk up to the appointed place at the appointed time in a 24 year old game.

What this game also excels in is its theme. Showing all these characters and how they deal with the feeling of dying, losing someone or their impending doom. It's something you don't expect in a Zelda game, yet it fits so perfectly.

This game is a weird combination of insane design choices in terms of gameplay, story, music - everything.

But I wouldn't want it any other way.