Nintendo's Surprise: A Thrilling Revival of Super Mario Bros in Wonder's Online!

Highlights

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a colorful 2D platformer with new gameplay challenges and vibrant visuals, reinventing the classic Mario experience.

The game incorporates exciting additions such as power-ups and a badge system, enhancing the levels with additional abilities and improved accessibility.

Although the offline co-op mode is exhilarating and enjoyable, the online multiplayer experience introduces a distinct dynamic where player interactions are transparent and limited with others, deviating from the traditional co-op format.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which was announced a few months ago, is set to launch soon with its own Nintendo Direct. Fans now have a better understanding of what to expect in this successor to the New Super Mario Bros. series. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a classic 2D Mario platformer with a fresh and vibrant new look. Each level poses unique challenges that revolve around the new Wonder Flowers, ensuring that gameplay remains engaging.

In addition to the updated visuals, the game introduces new features such as a collection of intriguing power-ups and a badge system that enhances abilities and accessibility in the levels. Even the renowned Mario voice, originally voiced by Charles Martinet, has been replaced to give the game a fresh appeal for modern audiences. While the popular four-player co-op mode from the New Super Mario Bros. games is included, it will not be available for online play as anticipated.

Mario Wonder's Indirect Multiplayer Is Both A Blessing And A Curse

Nintendo made the decision to take Super Mario Bros. Wonder in a different direction, rather than trying to align the online and offline multiplayer experiences. As a result, the online experience has become a distinct part of the game. Players can join randomly formed sessions or lobbies with other players, who appear transparent to each other. When a player dies in this mode, it is similar to dying in regular multiplayer, as their ghost can be revived by living characters or the standees they place.

Additionally, there are various other features available such as emotes, power-up sharing, and racing against others. However, the key point here is that every player is essentially a phantom to each other. Unlike in offline co-op, there is no interaction such as bumping into, jumping off, or grabbing other players, which affects the co-op-focused Yoshi characters. The intention behind this is likely to ensure smooth gameplay in local games, regardless of how chaotic or unstable a session may be, but it means that the signature co-op experience of New Super Mario Bros. was left behind in the process.

Nintendo Games Need Firmer Standards For Online Multiplayer

Since the GameCube era, Nintendo has struggled to adapt to the growing emphasis on online gaming. The networking quality of their first-party games has consistently fallen below that of other publishers, and even their hardware seems to struggle to meet industry standards in this crucial area. Despite including many new features in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, to the point where it seems to borrow from Death Stranding's unique multiplayer, basic online functionality has been neglected for no apparent reason.

This is particularly perplexing considering that Nintendo has been willing to incorporate direct online multiplayer in many of their games. Splatoon 3, for example, continues to thrive with matchmaking quality comparable to Splatoon 1, and even Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury offered online co-op for its 3D gameplay. There is no excuse for limiting one of the distinguishing features that modern 2D Mario titles have pioneered, unless the Nintendo Switch is somehow incapable of supporting certain aspects of the experience. Hopefully, with rumors of a new Nintendo console set for 2024, such backward steps will become less frequent, allowing Nintendo games to keep up with the standards of online multiplayer.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on October 20 for the Nintendo Switch.