Super Mario Bros. Wonder

[WR91]

I just gotta say, Wonder looks really cool and I hope to pick it up not too long after it releases.

[Moonface]

Now I've got to hunt for Arnold because I have no clue which NPC that is, unless he was is an event/story-only NPC. Is neat the guy sounds good, can only mean he'll get great exposure now too. Wonder what got him noticed though, that or he tried his luck in the auditions.

I feel it must have been auditions, just because there isn't really another character who sounds like Mario/Luigi to just figure that someone else can pull off the voice and to go asking around testing each person as you find them would be such a waste of time compared to an audition. Hopefully somewhere does an interview with him and asks what transpired to have Nintendo put him in the role because I'd love to find out.

Speaking of interviews, Nintendo put out a developer interview on their website that can be read here: Ask the Developer Vol. 11, Super Mario Bros. Wonder—Part 1 + 2
Parts 3 and 4 will be released tomorrow (Oct. 18).

@WR91: I'm probably gonna pick it up on release day if I can. Maybe I should just order it from Amazon to make sure I get a copy though since stores aren't reliable these days around here with having copies of new games.

[Moonface]

Been playing a little of this game with @ShiraNoMai last night and tonight, and so far the game is just very whatever to me on almost every front. My biggest gripe coming into it with little 2D Mario experience is the constant need to hold Y to run. I'd rather running be the default speed because it feels more useful than the standard walking speed, and Y should be used to slow down instead of speed up. The amount of jumps I've messed up on because I'm not holding Y due to not having that habit formed from any other platformer gets really tedious after a while, especially when it makes me have to replay a level when so far they're all incredibly forgettable.

[queenzelda]

Yea, I just watched a youtuber 100% SMB:W and I'm glad I skipped out on getting it. There is nothing but boss levels against the same enemy Koopa Jr over and over. It would be nice if the boss changed or something, but nope. I'm saving my money thanks.

[Moonface]

I haven't seen much of the game being played by others but I did see someone doing a much later boss and saw it was Bowser Jr. yet again so that doesn't really give me hope for the boss fights.

I've played more since my last post but the game overall still feels very underwhelming. Like, I'm not remotely a 2D Mario veteran at all and for a series that gets viewed as the top dog when it comes to platformer IP's I'd say this is one of the safest and tamest platformers I've probably ever played. It feels like the developers came up with the Wonder Seed ideas and then just made a level built around those, and I wonder how dull the level design would feel if I didn't activate any of the Wonder Seeds in them. To me they should've made good levels first and then put in the Wonder Seed mechanic on top, but I don't get that feeling at all.

Is the game awful? No. But I do think if this game was called anything other than Mario it wouldn't be getting as much of a free pass by so many people and reviewers as it seems to be getting.

[queenzelda]

I think the game should be priced ar under $60 if I was going to get it. I think the price is a bit much impo. But hey that's me.