Super Mario Bros. Wonder

[Moonface]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Announcement Trailer
Surprise and wonder await at every corner in the next evolution of 2D side-scrolling Mario fun, as Super Mario Bros. Wonder was announced during today's Nintendo Direct:



Features shown in the trailer include a new Elephant power-up, local multiplayer, talking flowers, and playable Daisy.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on October 20, 2023.

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I have two immediate thoughts I have to get off my chest:

1. Show me stretched Mario without the silhouette effect you cowards!
   
2. Daisy been making gains going by her show of strength pushing that pipe.
   

[Mr EliteL]

The 4 playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach) from SMB2 are back as being playable once again. Did I see Yoshi is as well? Plus Daisy finally in a playable platformer, that's brilliant. I wasn't so sure I wanted this but Daisy (and Yoshi) being here kinda makes me want it, although that Elephant power-up...oof. Cat power-up was tolerable because it looked like a costume. Ahh whatever, I'll try and get around it.

[Moonface]

The 4 playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach) from SMB2 are back as being playable once again. Did I see Yoshi is as well? Plus Daisy finally in a playable platformer, that's brilliant. I wasn't so sure I wanted this but Daisy (and Yoshi) being here kinda makes me want it, although that Elephant power-up...oof. Cat power-up was tolerable because it looked like a costume. Ahh whatever, I'll try and get around it.

I wonder why Peach was never playable in the New Super Mario Bros. games. Even when they added new characters into NSMBU for the Switch version they didn't add her.

Yoshi is definitely playable since his icon is displayed in the same area as all the other characters. Given that riding him would be optional and nothing can be presumably out of reach for a solo player, I'm guessing either a) we can play as whoever we want to and different characters will reach different things or b) riding him is a way to help get another player through something they're struggling with, particularly if an adult is controlling Yoshi while another character is being controlled by their child.

I never noticed the first time around that Mario transforms into a spiked ball at one point, so it seems there's multiple transformations and not just the elephant one. I do wonder how cursed the elephant is going to look if every character can use that powerup though.

[queenzelda]

This game looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully I can play as Daisy for 1 player without needing to play with others. Usually you can in most Mario games with the others featured, so we'll see. Haha I kinda wanna see elephant Daisy or Yoshi tbh so playing as either works.

Also the stretch mechanic was used in the Paper Mario franchuse, so I'm not surprised to see it again. ;3

[Moonface]

Also the stretch mechanic was used in the Paper Mario franchuse, so I'm not surprised to see it again. ;3

Which game does this? I tried using Google and the Mario Wiki to find out but had zero luck.

I do wonder how the other characters will look with the elephant power up too. I'm hoping it isn't actually locked to Mario and the game forces P1 to always be Mario, but I just have a feeling that's going to be what happens.

[queenzelda]

Iirc Mario getting stretched happens in either Super Paper Mario for the Wii since you need to get some where high, or for the Paper Mario game where he meets his Dream Team Mario and Luigi counter parts, both games I enjoyed. I think it's the 3DS one though it's been a while since I played either. *shrug* So I'm sorry if I misremembered somethin.

I really wanna explore all the crazy transformations. Though most tend to be tied to Mario: boo. <-<"

[ShiraNoMai]

Iirc Mario getting stretched happens in either Super Paper Mario for the Wii since you need to get some where high, or for the Paper Mario game where he meets his Dream Team Mario and Luigi counter parts, both games I enjoyed. I think it's the 3DS one though it's been a while since I played either. *shrug* So I'm sorry if I misremembered somethin.

The one I was thinking of that I thought you were thinking of was the Spring Jump powerup in Thousand-Year Door where you spring up when you fold yourself down. You don't necessarily stretch but it looks like you do briefly

Some of these power-ups may indeed be unique to characters, but it can mean they all have unique ones as well. I doubt they'll make stages that require certain characters, Nintendo doesn't do that. They'll make some alternative path or method to use when you select other characters.

[Moonface]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct on Aug. 31
Nintendo has announced there will be a Nintendo Direct on August 31 dedicated entirely to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The presentation will last roughly 15 minutes.

[Moonface]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Direct Presentation Details
Here is everything that was shown during today's Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct presentation, as well as the full video for anyone who wants to watch it:

STORY
Super Mario Bros. Wonder takes place in the Flower Kingdom, a not so distant land just beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and friends were invited here by the benevolent Prince Florian; but Bowser, the King of the Koopas, had other plans! With just a single touch of the mysterious Wonder Flower, Bowser merged with Prince Florian's castle. Thanks to his newfound power, chaos spread across the land! Now it's up to Mario and friends to stop Bowser, and save the Flower Kingdom!

THE FLOWER KINGDOM

• Made up of six distinct worlds that circle the Petal Isles, making for a total of seven areas
  
• W1 - Pipe-Rock Plateau
  
• W2 - Fluff-Puff Peaks
  
• W3 - Shining Falls
  
• W4 - Desert*
  
• W5 - Giant Mushroom Forest*
  
• W6 - Lava*
  
• * These worlds were not officially named or numbered, but were described in the video. The numbers are assumed from their relative locations on the world map that was shown.
  
• Courses are placed in batches within each world, allowing you to play them in any order. Progression through a world will be done by collecting enough Wonder Seeds to unlock the next section of that world.
  
• Quickly return to any course you've played via the Courses Menu.
  
• Talking Flowers will say random garbage or give hints/coins to the player.
  

CHARACTERS

• Standard Characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and Toadette
  
• Special Characters: Yoshi, Red Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Blue Yoshi, Nabbit
  
• Yoshis and Nabbit won't take damage unless they fall into a bottomless pit, and are also unable to use any power-ups.
  
• Yoshis can also flutter jump, and eat objects and spit them back at enemies.
  

ENEMIES

• Hoppycats - Will copy the player and jump when you jump
  
• Melon Piranha Plant - Will spit seeds from their mouths
  
• Condarts - Will fly at you and stick their beaks where they don't belong
  
• Konks - Similar to Thwomps, but will even plow through goo
  
• Mumsies - Can be unraveled if you position yourself correctly
  
• Maw-Maws - Will eat anything that comes too close to their gaping mouths and chase players
  
• Goombas
  
• Koopa Troopas
  
• Boos
  
• Lakitus
  

POWER-UPS

• Elephant - swing your trunk to attack enemies, destroy blocks, dash across larger gaps, and store water in your trunk
  
• Bubble - blow bubbles to capture and defeat enemies from a distant, will drift towards foes, attack through walls, and jump off bubbles like platforms
  
• Drill - protect yourself from spiked and tough enemies that attack you from above, and burrow into the ground or ceiling and travel below the surface
  
• Fire - just the classic Fire Flower power-up
  
• You can also store one extra power-up at a time and swap between it and your currently equipped power-up, or take it out and equip it if you currently lack an equipped power-up.
  

WONDER

• Wonder Flowers will cause Wonder Effects which change the levels, including: pipes might start moving, a stampede of enemies can appear, the terrain may tilt, you can end up in a free-fall, bubbles might bubble up, your perspective can change, or you might float through space.
  
• Wonder Effects may also change your character into a Goomba, spike ball, blow up like a balloon, or something else!
  
• Collect the Wonder Seed and the course and your character will return to normal.
  
• Clearing a course also gives a Wonder Seed.
  
• As mentioned in the Flower Kingdom section, Wonder Seeds will unlock more courses.
  

BADGES

• Badges will change up the way you play when equipped, with each giving their own special ability.
  
• Parachute Cap - Slow your fall
  
• Wall-Climb Jump - Enhanced wall jump
  
• Dolphin Kick - Underwater speed burst, and break underwater blocks
  
• Crouching High Jump - Charge up a taller jump
  
• Grappling Vine - Shoot vines in mid-air and stick to walls
  
• Safety Bounce - Recover from dangerous drops instantly
  
• Sensor - Find important items
  
• Coin Magnet - Draw in nearby coins
  
• Invisibility - Become invisible to enemies and yourself
  
• Jet Run - Permanent dash and briefly run in the air
  
• Only one badge can be equipped at a time.
  
• Some badges are earned through Badge Challenges, while others can be purchased from Poplin Shops.
  

PLAY TOGETHER

• Local co-op for up to four players on a single system.
  
• Killed players will turn into ghosts who have a countdown timer to be touched and respawned by another player.
  
• If someone plays as a Yoshi you can ride them, even if you're playing as a Yoshi too or have the Elephant transformation!
  

ONLINE PLAY

• Other players will show up as live player shadows on courses or the world map.
  
• Players can share greetings and in-game items.
  
• If you're killed, you can come back to life by touching another players shadow.
  
• Standees are purchasable items that can be placed in a course to revive ghosts.
  
• Heart Points show how much someone has helped other players.
  
• Friend Rooms can be created to play with friends, however they will still be displayed to you as shadows.
  
• You can race against your friends in certain courses by hitting the Race Block.
  

OLED SWITCH MODEL
To close out the presentation, a Mario-themed Nintendo Switch OLED model was revealed, which features a red colour scheme, a silhouette of Mario on the back left corner of the dock, and hidden coins under the flap on the back of the dock as well. This model will be released on October 6, 2023.

[Mr EliteL]

Darn it knew there was something else I was meant to watch yesterday. Haven't seen the video yet but wondering what the "shadow" players look like, but shame if you're in a Friend Room they'll be shadows too.

Good to know about the Yoshis and how they play, no damage but can die by falling. Yay, Toadette made it is a playable character too.

Badges are a new thing for the mainline platformer games, I'll watch the video later to see more.

[Moonface]

Darn it knew there was something else I was meant to watch yesterday. Haven't seen the video yet but wondering what the "shadow" players look like, but shame if you're in a Friend Room they'll be shadows too.

You've probably watched the video by now but basically they're just transparent like time trial ghosts are in racing games.

I haven't checked the video to see if it mentions it in the small text, but I hope the online for this game doesn't require NSO (but realistically it totally will) because I don't feel like ghosts are worth paying for online for.

The only thing I don't like at all are the talking flowers. If they spoke in gibberish voices it might be better but as it is I was already sick of them by the end of the Direct. Hopefully the stupid things can be muted.

[ShiraNoMai]

Nintendo Treehouse Live: Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Here's an extended look at what we saw from Thursday's Super Mario Bros. Wonder direct, featuring hands-on gameplay and maybe a few answers to some questions you may have!

I have been waiting for this to really get a good look at what it's like. Well, both the direct and the bonus. I don't even remember them ever saying they were going to talk about this further in a Treehouse Live event but you know what, I'll take it.

I'm not entirely complaining about Yoshi being relegated to "easy" mode. Having Yoshi not be mechanically the same as the other Marios makes it an easier pill to swallow. I enjoy that the multi-colors is an option though! Do not like that "Yoshi holding something in his mouth" sprite though, wtf was that decision?

The biggest takeaway from this HAS to be the badge system. That's a fundamental change that really makes the core experience vary per level as you play, I think.

In the treehouse, you can see what I think are this game's version of Secret Exits? At the very end they're at the top of the level when they activate the Wonder Flower in the level and hit an "extended" flag pole. Hard to confirm cuz they cut away the screen after the goal, but that would be neat if that's indeed a thing.

I do believe you need Nintendo Switch Online to access any of those online features. The website makes note of all of the mentioned features being something you do with Nintendo Switch Online.

[Moonface]

The biggest takeaway from this HAS to be the badge system. That's a fundamental change that really makes the core experience vary per level as you play, I think.

I think a few of the badges could be interesting, but the system is really just the same as the one Yoshi's Woolly World had. I'm hoping there's a decent number of badges that just make for interesting gameplay or challenges and that they don't all just make a level easier.

In the treehouse, you can see what I think are this game's version of Secret Exits? At the very end they're at the top of the level when they activate the Wonder Flower in the level and hit an "extended" flag pole. Hard to confirm cuz they cut away the screen after the goal, but that would be neat if that's indeed a thing.

Is that the last level in the Treehouse video or a different one? I see the last level played has the longer flag pole but the Wonder Seed is collected prior to that pole, and levels return to normal after grabbing a seed so that pole isn't going to be longer from that and would be the normal way it appears.

[ShiraNoMai]

I'd argue that the changes to gameplay with Wonder's badge system versus Woolly World's is way more substantial. Woolly generally gave you some of the same things that OG Yoshi's Island gave: view hidden cloud items, full element melons, big eggs. With Wonder's system, it adds entirely new platforming mechanics. Wall jumping, crouch jumping, grapple hook. That's like adding a whole new toolset on top of the existing one.

Also yeah perhaps you're right. I thought it would've just enabled it at all despite the Wonder effect being disabled at that point but who knows.

Also also important: shell jumps are still a thing

[Mr EliteL]

Cool how there's stages to try out a Badge to decide whether or not you'll be using it. Game looks fine, it's just the Elephant power-up I'm not a fan of still but whatever.