Summary
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces a new voice actor for Mario and features four-player cooperative play, but the crown feature needs improvement.
- The crown in Super Mario Bros. Wonder can create frustrations for players, especially when playing with children or players with disabilities.
- Nintendo should rework the co-op crown in Super Mario Bros. Wonder by giving players the option to turn off its ability to switch players and providing a more subtle visual design.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder was released earlier this month, ushering in a new era for many of Nintendo's most beloved characters. The game stands out as the first to feature a new voice actor for Mario and many others and looks to be the final Super Mario Bros. Adventure on the Nintendo Switch. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is meant to be enjoyed with friends, boasting four-player local and online co-op so that no player has to go it alone. While Nintendo's new online co-op works like a charm, another addition has proven surprisingly frustrating for some players. This Super Mario Bros. Wonder feature, a seemingly ignorable crown on the lead player, needs work.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first new 2D Mario game since 2012's New Super Mario Bros. 2. The title transports Mario and his pals to the Flower Kingdom, a neighbor of the Mushroom Kingdom, which is home to a special item, called Wonder Flowers. Wonder Flowers cause a myriad of wacky and reality-bending effects when used, and when Bowser enacts his plan to take over the Flower Kingdom, he uses a flower to fuse himself with the Koopa Clown Car and Prince Florian's Castle. Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Peach agree to join a new character, Prince Florian, in an effort to free The Flower Kingdom from Bowser's wonder effects and stop the villain before he can pull off the ultimate wonder.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Co-Op Crown is an Unnecessary Complication
When playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder cooperatively, one character will feature a floating orange crown icon above their head. This visual lets fans know who the camera will remain focused on, rather than offer the alternative of split-screen style co-op featured in other titles. However, the crown is simply hideous visually, creating a distraction as it hovers atop a player's head. What's more, the way that Super Mario Bros. Wonder assigns the crown can lead to myriad frustrations for certain groups of players.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder offers various play styles, including invincible playable characters, so that fans of any age can partake in the plumber's newest adventure. The crown feature seems meant to offer the same aid, as the crown and camera tracks, more times than not, the player that reached the highest point on the flagpole in the previous level. However, the crown creates a frustrating scenario for those playing with children or players with disabilities. Should the lead player die for any reason, the crown and camera will switch to another player. Should that lead player be coupled with a small child playing as Yoshi or Nabbit, the crown will remain fixed on their invincible character until the lead player finishes the level atop the flagpole.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Needs to Rework The Co-op Crown
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's co-op crown feature could be reworked in a number of ways. Visually, the problem with the crown is that it floats above the character at all times. A fix could be as simple as giving fans the option to turn the visual off or replace the crown with some other, more natural, designator on the character themselves. Something like a subtle color change, HUD visual, or minor character outline could avoid the issue entirely, allowing Super Mario Bros.Wonder's visuals to remain in-universe.
Likewise, Super Mario Bros. Wonder could give players the option to turn off the crown's ability to switch players. Allowing older fans to assign the crown to themselves would avoid the frustrations of having to get a small child or less knowledgeable player to the finish line to reclaim it. Even if all players were forced to restart from a checkpoint, should the lead player run out of lives, it would prove less frustrating in the long run. While fans are enjoying Super Mario Bros. Wonder, both alone and with friends, this simple fix to the co-op crown could work wonders in satisfying Nintendo's goal of creating an experience that caters to the full community of players.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.