SHOUT OUT - Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a welcome hit of unhinged creativity
Smokin’ somethin’.
By Jonathan Garrett
31/08/23
NOTE: thatHITBOX Shout Out’s are not sponsored content. They’re games, developers, individuals, or issues that we want to highlight and share purely out of interest.
With so many sequels, spin offs, and re-releases, it’s easy to dismiss a Nintendo first party release as simply being the next in a long line of safe iterations. When Tennis, Golf, or Party gets an obligatory announcement, one could be forgiven for a lack of enthusiasm typically reserved for bigger titles or new IP. That being said, your mileage with their exclusives will vary based on your habits; the possibility for fierce competitive play, local multiplayer jolliness, or single player magic is rife with their stuff.
Not since the GameCube era of Double Dash and Wind Waker have I felt Nintendo be truly unleashed. Yes Zelda has evolved within its own franchise, but open world exploration, physics puzzles, and crafting aren’t new mechanics for the genre as a whole. Then Super Mario Bros. Wonder happened. The Direct presentation they showed earlier today was trippy, chaotic, and tweaked the established formula in more ways than I’ve seen from a 2D Mario title in years.
This is more than just Cat Mario. The online shadowing feature, where you can see other players you don’t know in real time, share items, or even revive them, is a wonderful idea. It’s optional, doesn’t directly affect what you’re doing in your playthrough, and shows a willingness for them to experiment. The ability tweaking equippable badges, the intricate animation, the power ups with multiple sandbox uses, the ability for a Yoshi to RIDE ANOTHER YOSHI… we’re all in.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
