Once upon a time, the mainline Super Mario games were 2D sidescrolling platformers which were, and still are to many, the best in the genre. Since then, Mario has mainly starred in 3D adventures like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario 3D World with the last traditional game being New Super Mario Bros. U which was released back in 2012. Nintendo has now returned to the style of game that made Mario a star with an all-new look and all-new voices.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘s setup does not drastically change from other games in the series; Mario and friends have to thwart Bowser’s attempts at causing chaos. This time the game takes place in the Flower Kingdom which has a variety of new enemies and powerups for Mario to encounter and special game-changing Wonder Flowers to collect.
It’s fair to say that the Koalaty Critics are in love with the latest 2D Mario game, praising this entry’s new look, sound and feel. All were enraptured with the Wonder Flower sequences and appreciated the new badge system. The Critics only had minor quibbles with the game with one wishing the boss fights were harder, another found the online functionality to feel like an add-on while another just felt the the non-Wonder Flower segments were diminished by how great those were.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on Friday, October 20, and available exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
KOALATY CRITICS – AUSTRALIAN CRITICS
Here’s what Australian critics are saying about the game.
Checkpoint Gaming – 9/10 (Elliot Attard)
“Gameplay feels appropriately nostalgic yet impressively fresh. Stomping Goombas and smashing Brick Blocks is still very much a part of Mario Wonder’s identity. But the addition of the new enemy varieties and power-ups helps to change the moment-to-moment strategy in significant ways.”
GamesHub – 5/5 (Edmond Tran)
“Even outside of the Wonder Flower activations, each stage provides a variety of different experiences, from careful and considered platforming to non-stop speed runs, actual head-to-head races and even puzzle-box-style mysteries. Traditional concepts like secret paths that lead to hidden exits also remain, though amplified by some of the game’s new ideas.”
Player2 – A- (Paul James)
“It’s a case of Wonder by name, wonder by nature, because everything in Super Mario Bros. Wonder elicits a sense of awe and wonder from the player, at the very least on the first encounter with something. There are a range of new mechanics introduced (more on those soon), but everything you’ve known about Mario platforms and the threats within has been flipped due to the new setting.”
Press Start – 10/10 (Kieron Verbrugge)
“While everyone’s playthrough will inevitably be different, it’s easily the biggest 2D Mario game that Nintendo has ever created. Even better, it’s the most compelling. It’s filled to the brim with delightfully realised ideas from beginning to end. And it’s more than likely not over when you’re done either – so many secrets are hidden off the main path that you’ll no doubt want to go back and uncover.”
Stevivor – 9.5/10 (Ben Satler)
“It’s all capped off by the expressive cast and vibrant Nintendo visuals that manage to feel modern on a handheld-console approaching its 7th birthday. Mario games always look good. But with shape shifting worlds, emotive characters, fluid motion and snappy loading screens between levels, it doesn’t feel like ageing hardware at all – it’s easily the best-looking Mario game.”
Vooks – 5/5 (Daniel Vuckovic)
“It might have taken a while, but Nintendo finally gave the 2D Mario branch a complete refurb and a wild new look and feel. It’s not just a new look but a deep refresh of the animations, how the characters interact with the world and how the game reacts and plays off the music.”
Koalaty Critics
Aggregator Score
