Sometimes a giant version of a regular enemy will show up, crumbling the world's architecture. (Nintendo)Įvery level's Wonder effect is at least a little different, but they all unlock a sort of level-within-the-level with new rules and visual effects. No two levels' effects are exactly the same, and some are among the most spectacular moments ever seen in a Mario game. Wonder Flower effects transform the levels in surprising and colourful ways. The biggest addition to the formula are Wonder Flowers: items in every level that significantly change the experience in surprising ways.

Having transformed into a giant floating fortress with his cackling grin on the front, Bowser has set himself up in the centre of the Flower Kingdom threatening an impending disaster.Īll of this, of course, is mere set dressing to unleash the player on an amusement park of dozens of levels and challenges of increasing difficulty and ingenuity.

Mario and friends are visiting the nearby Flower Kingdom, when longtime series big-bad Bowser shows up and uses something called a Wonder Flower to merge with that kingdom's royal castle. Wonder is the best 2D Mario game since 1991's Super Mario World, managing to feel fresh while remaining faithful to the blueprint set back in 1986 that, for many, codified what a video game is. You're running and jumping on a two-dimensional plane, usually from left to right, avoiding obstacles and bopping enemies on the head until you reach the goal post at the end.īut Nintendo's designers have outdone themselves with mind-bending twists on the genre. Indeed, if you're planning on playing the first new 2D Mario game since 2012 with young children, you'll have to figure out how to do it without making references to psychedelic substances every few minutes. In the first level, I sprinted past several talking flowers, rode a sentient green pipe that slithered like a giant worm, and transformed Mario into a husky, bipedal elephant that still bore his signature overalls and mustache. Wonder has more surprises and moments of joy than the entire Super Mario Bros. The first 10 minutes of Super Mario Bros.

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