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During today’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct broadcast a whole bevy of details were revealed about the hotly anticipated 2D platformer. First off, if you have yet to watch the Direct, you’re welcome to give it a view right now. Off you go, click the video below, we’ll wait:
Now, if you’re not inclined to watch, or would simply prefer a quick rundown, we have you covered, dear readers. Here are the pertinent details:
- Three New Power-Ups:
- Elephant Fruit: Smash and dash in this heavy form
- Bubble: Capture enemies in bubbles, either up close or from a distance
- Drill: Burrow into the ground and also take down spiked enemies
- The Flower Kingdom is the setting of this game and there are seven distinct areas to explore. Mario and friends will be working with Prince Florian, ruler of the kingdom, from the clutches of Bowser, who has overrun the prince’s castle.
- The talking flowers offer hints and coins to players, and can also be turned off if you don’t feel like seeing their chatter appear during gameplay.
- The playable characters are as follows:
- Mario
- Luigi
- Princess Peach
- Princess Daisy
- Yellow Toad
- Blue Toad
- Toadette
- Yoshi
- Red Yoshi
- Yellow Yoshi
- Blue Yoshi
- Nabbit
All of the characters contorl the same, so no high-jump for Luigi, floating for Peach, and so on. However, the Yoshi’s retain their signature flutter jump for some added height, as well as nullify enemy damage. Nabbit operated in the same way, minus the flutter jump. All five of these characters can still lose lives, but are nonetheless a great alternative for players who need a helping hand.
- New enemies like Melon Piranha Plants, Konks, Mumsies, and more are set to complicate Mario and friends’ lives as they maneuver through the Flower Kingdom.
- Wonder Flowers are a power-up that impacts the characters and the game environment, alike. Mario can puff up into a balloon, pipes might begin crawling around, and many other effects are activated by these special blooms.
- Badges not unlike those found in the Paper Mario series can be equipped to grant players unique buffs and abilities that impact gameplay. That high-jump and floating we mentioned above can be accessed via badges, along with things like a protective bounce to avert death. There appear to be three tiers of badges based on the footage:
- Yellow—??? Badges: Potentially difficulty-enhancing badges
- Blue—Boost Badges
- Orange—Action Badges
- Multiplayer:
- Local multiplayer is back as New Super Mario Bros. players have come to expect, with couch co-op being the only way to go through the entire game with a crew of other people. There is online play, however…
- Online multiplayer is a totally different story. It’s essentially a variety of ways of playing the game parallel to other players but not in tandem with them. For instance, if playing the same level as someone else while online, their shadow will appear in-game and can help revive fallen allies. It’s typical Nintendo quirkiness, giving players online functionality but not quite as they might expect (or want).
Finally, don’t forget that there’s also the Mario Red Edition Switch OLED on the way October 6. What do you think of everything awaiting players in Super Mario Bros. Wonder? Tell us your thoughts below and on social media!
Source: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct Broadcast 08.31.23
