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Super Mario Wonder the best Mario Game ever?

I love me some Nintendo first party but I was honestly let down by it after all the hype and reviews. There were of course some memorable seeds but it really didn't feel all that different to the general level design and difficulty of the NSMB series.
Yes. This right here. It really does feel like a glorified NSMB game with a little extra pizazz.
 

kondorBonk

Member
Wait a minute this aboot SMB not Tropical Freeze. Which is maybe the best 2d side scroller Nintendo cranked out. Well Retro did all the work but it is a masterful game too.

Correct. I'm just saying the torch has been passed. SMB was the uncontested champ of the 2D platformers and I don't think Wonder has even surpassed their older glory let alone even approached Tropical Freeze.

I wouldn't bring up a separate franchise if not that not that long ago, this was SMB uncontested title.
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Wonder is a beautiful game and it really is fun to play. They do a lot with the silliness adding to unique experiences. But it is not the best Mario game, but it is a fun one.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
No.

If we're allowing 3D, Galaxy is leagues ahead.

If we're allowing hybrid "linear levels but 3D", Mario 3D World is also miles ahead. I'd take 3D World and even 3D Land over Wonder, any day.

If we restrict to pure 2D, it's nowhere near the classics.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
The game is fantastic but I feel almost zero reason to replay it unless in multiplayer. It doesn't feel quite as timeless as other Mario games, but maybe that's just my old man side coming through.

The wonder flowers are a neat mechanic but also not one that I really care to bother with after the initial run. They need to be justified by further content (DLC levels, perhaps?) because honestly the gimmicks didn't get stretched out enough and utilized to their full potential.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
Yes. This right here. It really does feel like a glorified NSMB game with a little extra pizazz.
I should add I didn’t think that in terms of level design that NSMB Wii and U were bad 2D platformers at all. Solid 7/10 or 8/10 games. But the way they marketed Wonder versus what we got wasn’t the total reinvention like BotW was over Skyward Sword they made out. The change in art and music was for me a bigger deal than the Wonder Seed mechanic.

Again all good games but I personally expect 9’s or 10’s from Nintendo’s Mario and Zelda teams not 7’s or 8’s. Much like RDR II my views don’t align with the critics or most other people on this though lol.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Imo something was off with Wonder

The Artstyle looks more like a Kirby game.

And unfortunately, the difficulty is as easy as a Kirby game, Kirby actually offers more challenge in its extra modes now.

The Mario series had an edge with balanced challenge and level design ,super Mario Bros Wii and U were fun even for seasoned players familiar with SMB3 and SMBW and other 2D platformers

Actually getting to Bowser required some skill from the player, the modern Mario games are designed so small kids can finish them i feel like the skill level got lowered in the Switch games(not counting 3D World and Mario U ports those were fine) , i hope they change this approach next gen
 
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Muffdraul

Member
The original Mario Bros arcade game (1983) was the last video game I got obsessively into before puberty ravaged my brain and I suddenly lost all interest in video games and Star Wars action figures in favor of punk rock and dem tiddies. I was vaguely aware of the existence of Super Mario Bros 1-3 but I knew nothing about them, or any other video game from 1984 to 1990. After I finished college I bought a SNES to kick start a line of credit. I had no intention of getting back into games, but all it took was few minutes of Super Mario World. After playing through two or three levels, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. 2D Mario is the reason I am still a gamer today.

But ever since Super Mario 64, 2D Mario can kick rocks as far as I'm concerned. I believe in evolution, and the shit definitely evolved. I admit it can be fun to dick around with a NSMB game for a few minutes/levels once in a while, but they just can't hold my attention. They're throwbacks, and I'm just not into throwbacks. I 100%'d SMW (world) multiple times in its day. I 100%'d SM64 multiple times. I 100%'d Sunshine, Galaxy 1 & 2 and Odyssey multiple times. But the NSMB games, Super Luigi, Wonder... collectively I've probably played them all for maybe three hours tops.

[Super Mario 3D Land and 3D World are weird in-between games for me... I 100%'d each of them once and never felt like touching them again]
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Super Mario Wonder is really well made and I enjoyed my time with it. My main gripe would be that there’s just not a lot of challenge in it and that was super disappointing to me. If they could have made a post-game with harder levels like they did with Mario 3D World, that would have elevated the game imo. Also, the soundtrack is really underwhelming when held up to Mario World or 3. Hell, I’d say I like New Super Mario Bros U over Wonder.
 

MacReady13

Member
I love it but no, it doesn't beat out Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros 3 for. And the simplest reason is this- it's just FAR too easy (apart from the VERY last level)... Also, wish there were more levels. Give us 2 more worlds and I'd have considered it right up there as an all time classic. As it is, it's a brilliant game that is a great springboard for a bigger and better and more importantly HARDER sequel!
 

kevm3

Member
Best 2d Mario game for me is Yoshi's Island
Best 3d Ive played is Mario Galaxy followed by Super Mario 3d world.
Best Nes mario for me is Mario 2. Yes, I liked it even better than 3 for it's uniqueness.
 

LakeOf9

Member
It’s better than the other 2D one I played

I also like it more than Odyssey (but it’s not as good as the other 3D ones on Switch)
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Best Nes mario for me is Mario 2. Yes, I liked it even better than 3 for it's uniqueness.

Ww7GqTG.jpeg


Mario 2 over Mario 3?!?!

Mario 2 was unique, but only because it wasn't a real Mario game. It was a cobbled together POS only made because Nintendo of America thought people in the US were too pussy to handle the real sequel (AKA the Lost Levels).
 
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Ww7GqTG.jpeg


Mario 2 over Mario 3?!?!

Mario 2 was unique, but only because it wasn't a real Mario game. It was a cobbled together POS only made because Nintendo of America thought people in the US were too pussy to handle the real sequel (AKA the Lost Levels).
Haha there are other people besides me that liked Mario Bros 2 over Mario Bros 3?????
 

ultrazilla

Gold Member
I love me some Nintendo first party but I was honestly let down by it after all the hype and reviews. There were of course some memorable seeds but it really didn't feel all that different to the general level design and difficulty of the NSMB series.

Meh, I didn't care for it at all. Didn't like the mechanics. Didn't like the story. Tired of 2D Mario. I guess I'm looking for something truly innovative if Nintendo is gonna go with the 2D route for Mario games.

I would have liked to have seen something like the 2D/3D mechanics of "The Plucky Squire"(which actually originated in Super Mario Odyssey btw). You can only do so many "cookie cutter" type games like 2D Marios before they get stale.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
Meh, I didn't care for it at all. Didn't like the mechanics. Didn't like the story. Tired of 2D Mario. I guess I'm looking for something truly innovative if Nintendo is gonna go with the 2D route for Mario games.

I would have liked to have seen something like the 2D/3D mechanics of "The Plucky Squire"(which actually originated in Super Mario Odyssey btw). You can only do so many "cookie cutter" type games like 2D Marios before they get stale.
Yeah I was there playing the original SMB in '87 so I guess for some of us it's literally just over familiarity and there really is only so many things you can do with a 2D platformer even outside of Mario. I imagine Wonder resonated much more for people that had say a 10 year break from Nintendo after Wii. Odyssey was good but it didn't come close to the two Galaxy games for me either. Old and jaded I guess haha.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
Super Mario Galaxy 2 > > > Super Mario Odyssey > > > Super Mario World > Super Mario Wonder > Mario Bros 3

IMHO.
Galaxy > Galaxy 2 > 64 > Super Mario World > Mario Bros 3 are my top 5.

Even saying that Super Mario Bros, Super Mario World 2, NSMB U, Wonder and Odyssey are all very good games. I would be hard pressed to think of a longer running series with so many consistently good entries in all of gaming tbh. I honestly don't know how they ever top the Galaxy theme outside of just doing a much larger scale Galaxy 3 but that is just not in Nintendo's DNA at all.
 

kevm3

Member
Ww7GqTG.jpeg


Mario 2 over Mario 3?!?!

Mario 2 was unique, but only because it wasn't a real Mario game. It was a cobbled together POS only made because Nintendo of America thought people in the US were too pussy to handle the real sequel (AKA the Lost Levels).


Yes, Mario 2 over Mario 3, and yes, I know it was originally 'Doki Doki Panic' in Japan. Nintendo was smart not to bring over Lost Levels as Mario 2 as it's pretty much just a Mario 1` expansion pack.

Mario 2 had 4 playable characters all with completely different play styles, more exploration, especially vertically, added mechanics such as picking up and throwing items and enemies, added mini-games aka the casino minigame.

Yoshi's Island is essentially the sequel to Mario '2', which is probably why I like it so much. Slower pace, more exploration focus, completely unique enemies...
 

kevm3

Member
Super Mario Wonder is what NSMB should have been in the first place, which is a 2d Mario with an actual budget behind it. It does face the problem of a lot of the modern Marios which is it is too easy.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Super Mario Wonder is what NSMB should have been in the first place, which is a 2d Mario with an actual budget behind it. It does face the problem of a lot of the modern Marios which is it is too easy.
Wonder has higher production values but the NSMB console games were harder and had better levels and bosses
 
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