Super Mario Bros. is part of my DNA. It's a Backloggd cliche to begin a review with an assertion that a multimedia franchise is a fundamental component of your soul, but I think it's worth prefacing this review with the knowledge that my first introduction to the concept of "video games" was playing Super Mario Bros. 2 on a black-and-white TV barely connected by exposed tin wire to a NES that had been confiscated from my dad's friend's deadbeat stoner son; I was electrified (both literally and figuratively) from the moment I first entered Subspace, and Mario and his posse have been a regular feature in my life ever since. Just recently my brother and I went to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the first thing we talked about afterward was that it was cool that they kept the biddybuds walk cycle true to the games. That doesn't happen unless a Super Mario has fundamentally rearranged the genetic code you share.
Wonder’s greatest delight is its history, and in many ways, it’s the Ultimate entry in the 2D Mario series. Nothing is overtly categorised or labeled as it is in Smash Bros., but it’s all there for us, the fans, to see; at least a half-dozen character/istics from each prior entry make an appearance, and they often elicit the same brain tingles as my precious biddybud-based ASMR at the cinema last year. That’s a special sort of feeling that you can’t wrap in a Backloggd cliche, but basically what I’m trying to say here is that I pogged the fuck out when I got the Wonder Seed in High-Voltage Gauntlet.
The subtle art of referencing is not lost here, despite the relegation of Mario’s makers to “supervising director” roles in the credits (this children’s toy is an incredibly classy affair!). Like Ultimate, though, I think Wonder’s biggest strength is also the cause of an identity crisis - this is a buffet of all the other Mario games (and Rayman Legends) with no distinct flavour beyond talking to tiny caterpillars at great length about statecraft. Despite the intentionality of the hijinks, game mechanics, visuals and music are majority non-distinct, and the aforementioned Metal Mario sample only serves to highlight how little else the game has to offer of its own self beyond genteel appeals to the part of my hippocampus that remembers one particular kind of jump from Super Mario Bros. 2.
In Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man, Fukuyama argues that with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism, humanity has reached the end point of ideological evolution. He suggests that liberal democracy, emphasizing individual rights, political pluralism, and free-market capitalism, represents the ultimate form of government and is the culmination of the ideological struggles that have characterised history.¹
The key message of the book² is that liberal democracy, as exemplified by Western societies, represents the endpoint of humanity's sociocultural evolution and that further developments in the political and economic realms are unlikely to result in a fundamentally different or superior system. Fukuyama contends that liberal democracy has triumphed over other ideologies, such as fascism and communism, and has become the universally accepted political and economic organisation model.
In 2024, Nintendo Co., Ltd.’s resounding triumph over its former rivals potentially represents the endpoint of Super Mario’s sociocultural evolution. What Super Mario Bros. Wonder proves to us is that developments in the realm of Super Mario Bros.-based gameplay are unlikely to result in a fundamentally different or superior video game. I contend that Super Mario has triumphed over his former foes, such as Sonic and Zool, and has become the universally accepted model for jumping on turtles.
Fuck it, at least they added a grappling hook.
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¹ Don’t worry. I haven’t read this book or even checked its Wikipedia synopsis. I was too busy collecting all the bonus Wonder Seeds in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
² A book is a physical publication that consists of pages containing written or printed material, usually bound together along one edge. Books can cover a wide range of topics and genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, reference, and more. They serve as a medium for conveying information, storytelling, and expressing ideas. Traditional books are typically made of paper, with ink or other printing methods used to display text and images.
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(Also the co-op mode is one hundred times more oppressive than New Super Mario Bros. and almost lead to my wedding getting cancelled, thanks Nintendo)
Wonder’s greatest delight is its history, and in many ways, it’s the Ultimate entry in the 2D Mario series. Nothing is overtly categorised or labeled as it is in Smash Bros., but it’s all there for us, the fans, to see; at least a half-dozen character/istics from each prior entry make an appearance, and they often elicit the same brain tingles as my precious biddybud-based ASMR at the cinema last year. That’s a special sort of feeling that you can’t wrap in a Backloggd cliche, but basically what I’m trying to say here is that I pogged the fuck out when I got the Wonder Seed in High-Voltage Gauntlet.
The subtle art of referencing is not lost here, despite the relegation of Mario’s makers to “supervising director” roles in the credits (this children’s toy is an incredibly classy affair!). Like Ultimate, though, I think Wonder’s biggest strength is also the cause of an identity crisis - this is a buffet of all the other Mario games (and Rayman Legends) with no distinct flavour beyond talking to tiny caterpillars at great length about statecraft. Despite the intentionality of the hijinks, game mechanics, visuals and music are majority non-distinct, and the aforementioned Metal Mario sample only serves to highlight how little else the game has to offer of its own self beyond genteel appeals to the part of my hippocampus that remembers one particular kind of jump from Super Mario Bros. 2.
In Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man, Fukuyama argues that with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism, humanity has reached the end point of ideological evolution. He suggests that liberal democracy, emphasizing individual rights, political pluralism, and free-market capitalism, represents the ultimate form of government and is the culmination of the ideological struggles that have characterised history.¹
The key message of the book² is that liberal democracy, as exemplified by Western societies, represents the endpoint of humanity's sociocultural evolution and that further developments in the political and economic realms are unlikely to result in a fundamentally different or superior system. Fukuyama contends that liberal democracy has triumphed over other ideologies, such as fascism and communism, and has become the universally accepted political and economic organisation model.
In 2024, Nintendo Co., Ltd.’s resounding triumph over its former rivals potentially represents the endpoint of Super Mario’s sociocultural evolution. What Super Mario Bros. Wonder proves to us is that developments in the realm of Super Mario Bros.-based gameplay are unlikely to result in a fundamentally different or superior video game. I contend that Super Mario has triumphed over his former foes, such as Sonic and Zool, and has become the universally accepted model for jumping on turtles.
Fuck it, at least they added a grappling hook.
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¹ Don’t worry. I haven’t read this book or even checked its Wikipedia synopsis. I was too busy collecting all the bonus Wonder Seeds in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
² A book is a physical publication that consists of pages containing written or printed material, usually bound together along one edge. Books can cover a wide range of topics and genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, reference, and more. They serve as a medium for conveying information, storytelling, and expressing ideas. Traditional books are typically made of paper, with ink or other printing methods used to display text and images.
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(Also the co-op mode is one hundred times more oppressive than New Super Mario Bros. and almost lead to my wedding getting cancelled, thanks Nintendo)
2 Comments
Super Mario is forever.
Rensie
3 months ago