Summary
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an innovative installment that sets a high standard for future games in the series, promising exciting gameplay and fresh ideas.
- The game's creativity and unique features, such as the Wonder Flower, make it stand out from past installments, showing a willingness to break conventions instead of sticking to what works.
- Hopefully, this approach will pave the way for future Mario games, with Nintendo adding truly unique mechanics to each one.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is setting a good standard for the series future, and its influence will do future games a lot of good. Super Mario Bros. Is Nintendo's most classic series, and many of its games have gone on to become some of the biggest hits in Nintendo's history. Naturally, it's in Nintendo's best interest to keep the series evolving, so each successive game feels like an improvement on the last. Super Mario Bros. Wonder does an excellent job of capturing this idea, because it has what it takes to be a landmark installment in the franchise.
It should be no surprise that Nintendo is developing several Mario games, and often has at least one in the pipeline. Since Mario is the company's mascot, it's expected for him and his games to be a prominent fixture of the series. For the most part, Nintendo has done an excellent job of maintaining this status. It's essentially a tradition for every Nintendo console to launch with a new Mario title, and his adventures and spin-offs are frequently among the most popular games for their corresponding consoles. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is carrying an impressive torch, but it looks like it will do the job well.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Creativity is its Biggest Asset
The entries in the Super Mario Bros. Series are prime examples of games that have aged well, still being fun and exciting to play even decades after their original release. Even the original Super Mario Bros. Still has both casual players as well as a dedicated speedrunning community. However, while Super Mario Bros. Has a successful formula, its main risk is how similar the games can feel to each other. The series' platforming is among the best in the industry, but most of the games are remarkably similar gameplay-wise. Sometimes, a new power-up or two isn't enough to make a sequel feel truly unique.
Thankfully, it seems like Super Mario Bros. Wonder is at no risk of lacking innovation. The features revealed for Super Mario Bros. Wonder show a game that is designed to try a lot of new things, as well as one that stands out impressively from past installments. The main source of excitement can be found in its Wonder Flower, which causes radical changes to levels whenever it is picked up. While there are surely plenty of Wonder Flower effects that have yet to be revealed, what was shown in the trailer is enough to assure fans that Wonder will be a very unique adventure.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is not only innovative, but its ideas are also a path for future Mario games to follow. With Super Mario Bros. Wonder's unique twist, Nintendo is showing that they're willing to get creative with Super Mario Bros.' formula, which is a good sign for things to come. Recent Super Mario games have been trying some interesting experiments, such as Super Mario Odyssey's hat possession and world-traveling gimmicks, but Wonder is the most extravagant game in this mold thus far. Creative ideas help games stand out, even when their gameplay is similar to past entries in the series, as Super Mario Bros. Wonder shows.
Hopefully Super Mario Bros. Wonder is emblematic as a trend, and not simply a one-off when it comes to Super Mario Bros. Leaping so far outside the box. Super Mario Bros. Wonder can break conventions by shaking up traditional series design, and that's an approach that should be embraced. If subsequent Super Mario Bros. Titles find their own ways to put new spins on the formula, then they will have a lot more longevity than they would by simply retreading old ground. Keeping Super Mario Bros. Wonder's sheer creativity would be remarkably healthy for Mario's future.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on October 20, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.