Nintendo held a stacked 15-minute Direct showcase dedicated to Super Mario Bros. Wonder overnight, and it gave us a brand new glimpse into what’s in store for this trippy new 2D Mario adventure. There was actually a fair bit to cover over, so the best thing you can do is watch it yourself, but here are the major points if you’re keen to just get the bullet (Bill) points:
What’s The Story?
In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the benevolent Prince Florian invites Mario and his friends to the Flower Kingdom – a not-so-distant land just beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. But Bowser, the King of the Koopas, has other plans. With just a single touch of the mysterious Wonder Flower, Bowser merges with Prince Florian’s castle. Thanks to his newfound power, chaos spreads across the land. Now it’s up to Mario and pals to stop Bowser and save the Flower Kingdom.
The Flower Kingdom
The Flower Kingdom in Super Mario Bros. Wonder is made up of six worlds that circle around The Petal Isles, making for a total of seven areas to explore. Islands, deserts, caves, forests and more – plus a classically-styled world map that you can freely traverse to play levels in any order you like.
The Flowers Talk!
Talking flowers can be found all around the world of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and will liven up your adventure with their chatty conversations, or even give you hints or coins. I can’t get over how much they just sound like regular little guys. It’s great.
Six Playable Characters To Choose From
You’ll be able to play not only as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad and Toadette – who all play the same – but also Yoshi and Nabbit who’ll both play slightly different with their own unique abilities and benefits to make the experience a bit more approachable for players who aren’t as confident in their skills.
New Power-Ups!
The video introduced some of the new power-ups in Wonder, like the Elephant Mode that can destroy enemies and blocks with ease, dash across large gaps and spray water. All the main playable characters apart from Yoshi and Nabbit can use Elephant Mode, not just Mario. There’s also a new Bubble Form that can capture and defeat enemies, including Dry Bones! And you can even use Bubbles as platforms. A new Drill Form can also help you defeat spiky or tough enemies and drill through the ground, walls and ceiling.
Wonder Flowers
Touching a Wonder Flower in a course triggers a Wonder Effect, which could be anything from moving pipes, enemy stampedes, tilting environments, altered perspectives, space travel, character transformations and more. Basically always expect the unexpected. Once you get a Wonder Seed things return to normal, and you can spend these to unlock new levels.
Mix It Up With Badges
Unlocked as you play, Badges can be equipped and change the way you play with new abilities like floating falls, wall-climbs, dolphin kicks, crouching high jumps, grappling vines, safety bounces, item sensors, coin magnets, invisibility, dash runs and heaps more. You can only equip one per course, and you can change them at the start of a course or after you lose a life.
Multiplayer And Online
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will feature 4-player local co-op, and while doing so players can revive fallen pals by touching their ghost. If someone’s playing as Yoshi, they can even carry other players on their back! Online multiplayer adds even more features like being able to race your friends through courses, get revived by player ghosts and even drop special standees that other players can touch to revive themselves in game, complete with a heart counter that shows other players how many times you’ve saved someone.
A Mario Red Edition Nintendo Switch OLED Is Coming
Nintendo revealed the new Mario Red Edition Nintendo Switch OLED Model during the dedicated Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct, and it’s pretty much exactly what we were expecting – a mostly-standard Nintendo Switch OLED console with two red Joy Con controllers and a red Switch OLED Docking Station featuring some subtle Mario designs.
The console will launch on October 6th, which is quite a while before Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases, and like other themed Nintendo Switch consoles it won’t come with a copy of the game. It’ll cost the same as the regular Switch OLED White or Neon consoles in the US at $349.95 USD, so it should also be the same $539.95 RRP here in Australia. We’ll update this when local pre-order information becomes available.
Add some colour to your gaming life, Mario style!
The #NintendoSwitch – OLED Model Mario Red Edition launches 06/10. pic.twitter.com/eSBU0RITKY
— Nintendo AU NZ (@NintendoAUNZ) August 31, 2023
Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on October 20th exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Amazon has pre-orders of the game for $69 with free shipping.
