by Brendan Clementz

Even if you don’t play video games, you probably know who Mario is. The red and blue-wearing, mustachioed man has captivated people across the world for more than 35 years.

Starting his journey on the two-dimensional plane, he jumped into 3D in 1996 with Super Mario 64. Since then, 2D games reminiscent of the old, innovative era for Mario have been few and far in between. The game Super Mario Bros. Wonder set out to change that.

The producer of the game, Takashi Tezuka, said in an interview with Wired that they made the game “with no deadline set” and that they scrapped “two thousand ideas.” That’s unprecedented in the present day of video game production, where lots of products are rushed out on a tight deadline for the sake of money.

They were definitely pulling out all the stops on this one. That’s why I bought the game not long after it was released based on the glowing reviews by gaming websites galore. 

So how’s the game? Well, it’s great.

The game has a unique style to it that hasn’t ever been tried before, with all sorts of charming characteristics added to the characters and environments in the Flower Kingdom. It’s not hard to see that the developers wanted to put more care into the little things, something that’s definitely not lost no matter how much play time passes.

A badge system also allows the player to use a variety of different abilities across the game, letting the player choose how they want to play through each level. 

One of the core mechanics of the game are the Wonder Flowers, flora with some strange effects that can turn the play upside-down— sometimes literally. From becoming a long, shadowy figure to riding pipes slithering like snakes to watching piranha plants sing, the player never really knows what’s going to happen with this game, which is a huge breath of fresh air with the past few entries in the Super Mario Bros. 2D games are often formulaic in comparison. 

With Christmas around the corner, it’s a better time than ever to pick up this game and give it a try. With how much I enjoyed it, I promise that you won’t regret seeing the wonders of Super Mario Bros. Wonder.