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If there was a way to work out the play time of every game I've ever played, I'm sure New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS would be challenging for the top spot. I spent countless hours bouncing across mushroom platforms and stomping on Goombas as Mario (or Luigi, if you knew the trick), desperate to get three stars on every single level in every single world. Now, in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, that same feeling has returned, and it looks and feels fresher than ever.
During my hands-on time with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I got to try out a variety of courses that the platformer has to offer. Each of them felt so new and like nothing I had experienced in a 2D Mario game before; yet were still underpinned by the heartwarming familiarity that's driven so much of Mario's success for the last four decades. We've had a few Mario platformers since my favorite and I've played a lot of them – including New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, and more – but none of them excited me quite as much as Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
The elephant(s) in the room
I played Super Mario Bros Wonder and didn't stop smiling for a second
Something new that Super Mario Bros. Wonder brings to the table is the amount of playable characters to choose from. During my playthrough, I mainly played as Princess Daisy – it is, after all, her first time being included in a Super Mario platforming game – but I did also try out my other favorite Mario character, Toadette. Don't worry if neither of these is your character of choice, though, as there's also a selection of other Toads to choose from as well as Yoshis, Nabbit, and the usuals, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach. I was particularly excited about trying out the new Elephant Fruit Power-Up, which turns whoever you're playing into a literal elephant.
As the game's trailers have shown, whoever consumes the Power-Up will take on their own version of the world's largest land mammal. Mario, for example, will take on the appearance of a gray elephant with the same overalls and iconic cap. The same can be said of Luigi, whereas Peach and Daisy will instead take the form of pink and yellow elephants, wearing their signature pink and yellow dresses. I was especially charmed by Toadette's elephant transformation as it's almost cuter than her usual form. There are also a lot of perks when playing as an elephant, like sucking up water to spray wilting coin-giving flowers or smacking Goombas aside with your trunk.
Aside from the regulars, there's also a number of new characters coming along for the journey. One newcomer that's bound to come in handy is Prince Florian, who originally invites Mario and friends to the Flower Kingdom, thereafter offering the player advice throughout the game. There's also the talking flowers that can be spotted around each level ready to give players a hint on where to go next or where important items could be hiding. Don't worry, though, the flowers aren't nearly as irritating as some have made them out to be – they're also easily switched off in the game's menu.
I was also impressed with Super Mario Bros. Wonder's new enemies. I got to experience several of them over the course of my preview, but a few that stood out the most to me were the bison-type creatures called Bulrush, the salamander-like Maw-Maws, and squirrel look-alikes called Skedaddlers. Each of these enemies will try to hinder the player in their own ways like by charging at them, throwing huge nuts at them, or trying to swallow them whole. Weirdly, I still felt bad jumping on top of the Maw-Maws as they're actually quite cute when they're not trying to eat you and your friends.
Wonderful world
"I can't talk about my experience playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder without talking about its visuals. The entire game is stunning, and I couldn't believe how much detail and color could be crammed into every inch of the game."
In terms of Super Mario Bros. Wonder's new gameplay features, this time around we'll be working for Badges that enhance Mario and co's abilities. For instance, there's a Wall-Climb Jump Badge that players can unlock after completing the Wall-Climb Jump challenge, as well as one that lets characters use their hats as a parachute; one that makes them excellent swimmers, and more. As I mentioned earlier, Prince Florian can also lend a helping hand here and suggest which badges to equip before heading off into the level. These new abilities are sure to make traversing around the Flower Kingdom a bit smoother, so I can't wait to try out more of them in the full game.
I can't talk about my experience playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder without talking about its visuals. The entire game is stunning, and I couldn't believe how much detail and color could be crammed into every inch of the game. On some levels, it almost felt like it was taking place in a kaleidoscope as it was so shimmery and bright – this is particularly true in the Jewel-Block Cave level where players are sent underground and surrounded by large blocks of sparkly jewels, which are so satisfying to smash through. Thanks to the Wonder Flower, things can get psychedelic at times as each level can be jazzed up in beautiful ways, like causing Warp Pipes to slither off on their own and Invincibility Stars to rain from the sky – which is definitely not something I've seen in a Mario game before.
I may have only visited Mario's new world briefly, but I'm already counting down the days until I get to play more. There's so many levels, characters, and Badges in Super Mario Bros. Wonder that I didn't get to explore, so it's got me excited to not only play the full game, but to also play it again as other characters, and with friends and family. I can already tell that I'm about to get as obsessed with this game as I did with New Super Mario Bros. back in 2006.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to release for Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.
Find out what you can play in the meantime with our best Mario games list.
