Highlights
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces the Wonder Flower power-up, which allows Mario and his friends to explore a topsy-turvy world with new and unpredictable challenges.
- The game features a unique art style and supports four-player local co-op, marking the first time Daisy main roster in a mainline Mario game.
- Bowser is set to be the main villain in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and his manipulation of the game's power-ups - including the Wonder Flower and animal-themed power-ups - will likely lead to a formidable and wacky final boss fight.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to usher in Mario's wackiest adventure yet. Announced during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, the title will see Mario featured in a unique 2D adventure, alongside Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Daisy. At the center of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the titular Wonder Flower, a power-up that allows Mario and his friends to enter a topsy-turvy world, where anything can happen. Within this new world, inanimate objects spring to life, helping or hindering Mario as he progresses through the stage. While this new power will no doubt empower Mario at times, it also opens the door for Super Mario Bros. Wonder to put its own unique twist on Bowser, who has a history of pushing new power-ups to their limit in his plan to defeat Mario.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder was a shocking reveal during Nintendo's most recent showcase. It features an art style unlike anything the series has seen thus far and supports four-player local co-op. In addition to the new style and unique power-up, the Wonder Flower, Super Mario Bros. Wonder marks the first time that Daisy core roster in a mainline Mario game. The Wonder Flower isn't the only new power-up, as the title's announcement trailer revealed that a new animal-themed power-up turns Nintendo's mustachioed plumber into an elephant.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's New Power-Ups Are Likely Central to Bowser's Plan
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's ESRB rating recently confirmed that Bowser will be the game's main villain. While this likely comes as no surprise to longtime fans, it offers a unique opportunity for Nintendo's longtime antagonist. Throughout the history of the Super Mario Bros. series, titles have introduced new and unique powers to the franchise's mythos. While Mario utilizes this new skill or power throughout the title's narrative, Bowser, in the hopes of defeating Mario once and for all, usually pushes these unique abilities to their absolute limit. This cycle has created some of Bowser's most iconic iterations, such as Cat Bowser, Paper Bowser, Bowletta, and Papa Bowser.
While Bowser does not make an appearance in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder trailer, his airship does, suggesting that he and his family have already arrived in this new land, and discovered its unique properties. Fans can expect to be introduced to Bowser's evil plot early in Super Mario Bros. Wonder's story mode. However, his true grasp of the title's power-ups, and Wonder Flowers, are likely to be restricted to the game's final boss fight. When that happens, the stage is already set for Super Mario Bros. Wonder to deliver one of the wackiest iterations of Bowser that the franchise has ever seen.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Bowser Could Be the Series' Most Formidable
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's new abilities open the door to power beyond what is usually accessible by Mario and Bowser. Not only does the title feature mushrooms, fire flowers, and the like but its central new addition, the Wonder Flowers, individually wield the power to alter space and time. Wonder's announcement trailer shows that a single flower opens the door to its strange new dimension, gives life to the environment and objects, and modifies both enemies and Mario himself. Given a few of these flowers, Bowser could change himself into basically anything, turn various objects into part of his army, or simply create an incredibly hostile environment for Mario and his friends.
In addition to this environmental power, Super Mario Bros. Wonder features at least one animal-themed power-up, lining up a classic endgame tactic of Bowser's. When Bowser believes he's nearly beaten, he often over-indulges in a title's newest power-up, becoming an animalistic or monstrous version of himself for the final battle. Given that Super Mario Bros. Wonder has already introduced a power-up that makes Mario into an elephant, the skies are the limit for how large and animalistic a Bowser that wields both the powers of the Wonder Flower and the additional strength and size of an elephant can appear. Mario fans eagerly await more details about Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the reveal of its take on Nintendo's fan-favorite villain.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released on October 20, 2023.
