Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo Switch Preview

I had the pleasure of checking out Mario's latest 2D adventure, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, at Nintendo Live 2023 in Seattle! This came as a surprise because it was not announced as playable ahead of the event. Nintendo had just held a Nintendo Direct for Super Mario Bros. Wonder the day prior, with plenty of new information to dive into.

It was previously speculated that there would be new animal forms after seeing Mario transform into an elephant. However, just like a magician, it's likely that Nintendo hasn't revealed all their secrets about the upcoming release just yet! After that fantastic showcase, my hype for Super Mario Bros. Wonder had reached a fever pitch. You can imagine my surprise when attending Nintendo Live; Nintendo offered a fifteen-minute demo with three levels and a badge challenge.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder certainly feels like the future of Mario's 2D outings. In just fifteen minutes of gameplay, the differences are readily apparent from previous installments of the 2D-centric platformers. Gone are the days of the same art direction, expressions, and familiar formulas. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is chock-full of charm, featuring a gorgeous new art direction and plenty of playable characters! Every character was playable at the event, including Yoshi with a medley of different colors, Nabbit, and the Princess of Sarasaland herself, Daisy!

While Nabbit and Yoshi certainly look like fun to play, they essentially serve as the easy mode option for those looking for a more casual experience. The downside of playing as Nabbit or Yoshi is no access to power-ups, such as the brand-new Bubbles and Drill power-ups. We were totally robbed of an Elephant Yoshi; what a bummer. However, Yoshi can still swallow and spit out enemies, as they are known to do, while also being able to perform their famous flutter jump for extra height. Other players can jump on Yoshi's back. Yes, it was even hilarious in person to see Elephant-form characters hop on Yoshi's back. Poor Yoshi. 

The addition of badges serves as unique action skills that will open up even more fun ways to play in Super Mario Bros. Wonder! Complete special badge challenges sprinkled across the game world to unlock new ones. The Wall-Climb Jump challenge was available to play and was a total blast. This badge will grant you the ability to jump straight up once. This is akin to the way X would wall-jump in Mega Man X. It will be exciting to see what other badges are added in the retail release coming on October 20th.

In addition to experiencing new ways to play, that wasn't the only new thing to witness at the Nintendo Live demo! There were new enemy types as well. The new chipmunk-like creatures, Skedaddlers, were prominently featured in one of the levels. As their name implies, they want to skedaddle as far away from you as possible. Nothing the Elephant Flower form couldn't handle. Speaking of which, the brand-new Elephant Flower was so much fun to use! Being able to blast through enemies with ease using your trusty trunk was satisfying. The Elephant Flower is a much-welcome addition to the laundry list of power-ups for Mario and company.

The vivid dreamscapes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder were absolutely breathtaking to look at in person. After a long period of “New” Super Mario Bros. titles from 2005 to 2012, seeing a new setting in the Mario universe that oozes new levels of vibrancy and whimsy was a genuine treat. With only a month to go until launch, I can't wait to get my hands on Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and you should, too! With the Nintendo Switch likely in its twilight years, it amazes me that Nintendo is still supplying us with another high-profile Mario release. Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks to be another modern classic for the house of Mario.