Highlights
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces new voice actors for Mario characters, but disappoints fans with limited playable character options.
- The Flower Kingdom and Wonder Flowers add wacky and reality-bending effects to the game's storyline, with Bowser as the main villain.
- The game's large roster size includes too many variations of Toad and Yoshi, missing the opportunity to feature major fan favorites in the series.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder has released, marking the beginning of a new era for the series. The title is the first to feature new voice actors for Nintendo's Mario characters in years. Many of the Super Mario series' biggest names make an appearance in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which features a high number of playable characters. However, the options from which players can choose have left many disappointed. While mainstays such as Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy are all playable, the rest of the roster is made up of Nabbit and variations of Toad and Yoshi. In making this choice, Super Mario Bros. Wonder continues a long-running trend in which some of the biggest fan-favorite characters are shuttered from major titles.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first new 2D Mario game since 2012 and transports Mario and his pals to the Flower Kingdom. The Flower Kingdom is home to a special item, called Wonder Flowers, that causes a myriad of wacky and reality-bending effects when utilized by characters. Bowser wants this wonder power for himself and uses his first to fuse himself with the Koopa Clown Car and Prince Florian's Castle, creating the Bowser Castle. Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Peach join Florian in an effort to free The Flower Kingdom from Bowser's wonder effects and stop the villain before he can pull off the ultimate wonder.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Character Options Choose Quantity Over Quality
When Super Mario Bros. Wonder was first announced in June 2023, it revealed a variety of playable characters. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, and Yoshi were all confirmed to appear as playable characters. Fans were elated, especially fans of Daisy, as her inclusion in Super Mario Bros. Wonder marks her playable platforming debut after years of spinoff roles. With so many characters revealed in the title's very first footage, many fans expected there to be more characters to come, whether when the Super Mario Bros. Wonder launched or in a future reveal. However, that wasn't the case, as the title's release this week confirmed that the announcement trailer featured the full slate of characters.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder features a 12-character roster from which up to four players can choose to play. While this large roster size could have opened the door to a wide range of major Super Mario Bros. characters, six were variations of either Toad or Yoshi. Oddly, Toad himself was not playable, with Yellow Toad, Blue Toad, and Toadette featured on the roster. Yoshi was joined by Red Yoshi, Light Blue Yoshi, and Yellow Yoshi.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Continues an Unfortunate Trend for Major Fan-Favorites
Super Mario Bros. Wonder's massive roster takes an unfortunate trend in mainline Mario titles and turns it up a notch. Offering a large roster in such an important title could have opened the door to a celebration of the Super Mario series' amazing range of characters. Rather, it padded its numbers with color variations and Nabbit. Instead of four Yoshi and three Toad replacements, Wonder could have taken the opportunity to include major fan favorites. For example, keeping Toadette but removing other color variations could have made room for Rosalina, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Waluigi to all be playable.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder had plenty of characters to choose from when deciding who belonged on the roster. It's a shame that fans of the Super Mario Bros. series were saddled with a myriad of Yoshis and Toads after waiting 11 years for a new title. However, rumors continue to circulate about the release of the Switch 2, which would undoubtedly feature a major Mario title in its first few years. Hopefully this next Mario title, be it 2D or 3D, will feature a wider range of the series' most memorable characters, perhaps with brand-new voice actors of their own.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
