Since 1985, Mario and his brother Luigi have been delighting legions of video game fans around the world, and their latest release, Super Mario Bros. wonder It's the best of the duo's 2D games since the 16-bit generation!

An adventure in a whole new realm

At the beginning of the game, Mario and his friends arrive at the Flor Kingdom, where they are welcomed by Prince Florian. Suddenly, the villain Bowser appears and, using a mysterious flower, devours the castle where the prince lives. Not only that, he transforms into Bowser Castle and starts spouting terror left and right. Now, it's up to the gang to deal with this threat, embarking on a magical and extremely fun adventure on the Nintendo Switch.

For those who thought that Nintendo's hybrid console was already numbered, super mario wonder arrived to show that it still has a long way to go, bringing players the best 2D game in the franchise since the long-gone days of the Super Nintendo, the classics Super Mario World e Yoshi's Island.

When playing, you can choose which character you want to play with and you can enjoy the game with up to three other players simultaneously on the sofa at home. For those who prefer to have fun over the Internet, the big news is the inclusion of connectivity with the Nintendo Switch Online service: when you activate it, other players appear in your game like ghosts, being able to help you with your panels, giving you boosters or reviving him.

There is also a difference in gameplay depending on the hero you choose. It's not as striking as it is in Super Mario Bros. 2, where even the height and jumping style varied between choices, but Super Mario Bros. wonder It has options to make playing easier for younger or inexperienced fans. By choosing one of the colorful Yoshis or the little Ledrão, you become invincible, but, on the other hand, you cannot use enhancers.

Incredible and fun-to-use powers

The enhancers, the ancients power ups, are a show in themselves. In this new adventure, there are exclusive and super fun transformations to use, such as the elephant apple, which turns your character into a cute little elephant, capable of spitting water to water plants, revealing secrets during the levels and, of course, crushing enemies. 

And that's not all that's new, as the bubble flower gives you the power to release bubbles, similar to fireballs, but with an additional use: you and your friends are able to use them as temporary platforms . By the way, they break a lot!

The bora mushroom, one of the enhancers that were first introduced in Super Mario Galaxy 2, from Wii, is back in Super Mario Bros. wonder, giving you the power to dig through the floor or ceiling, as well as destroy blocks that other power-ups are not capable of. Of all the powers in the game, this is my favorite, because it gives the character extra protection against attacks from enemies above us, which helps a lot in the tightest moments, when you need to be quick.

Varied stages full of secrets

Super Mario Bros. wonder brings back the colorful game maps, and they are where the many game stages are accessed. There are several moments where you can choose which order to play them in and, depending on the amount of phenomenal seeds you have, you can even advance to other areas without resetting them all. Seeds are the prize for finishing the game's levels, and you can also find them by touching the wonderful hidden flowers, which, in turn, transform the level, bringing even greater challenges or musical games that ooze charm.

Speaking of charm, there is no way to talk about Super Mario Bros. wonder without touching the character animations. In the game, Mario and his friends seem alive, and with every movement, whether simply running or performing aerial feats, there is always a touch of personality. Each one brings a distinct flavor to the game, and it's well worth switching characters to see how they behave!

Different ways to play

When it comes to playing, Mario and his friends' new mission brings a very useful new mechanic, which makes you want to repeat the stages you've already finished to find even more secrets. The 144 badges you can buy or earn over the course of Super Mario Bros. wonder give you unique abilities, such as using your hat to float, or an extra jump upwards when bouncing off a wall.

With them, it is also possible to participate in special challenges that are not only for fun, but to teach you how to master the badge skill, in a simple and intuitive way. Of course, at the end of each of these lessons, there is a phenomenal seed, how could it be otherwise. In addition to them, you can also collect panels to leave in online matches and there are several of them to find or acquire with the new purple coins from the Flor Kingdom.

The Flor Kingdom, in turn, is made up of worlds of all colors and shapes, which gave the developers a lot of space to go crazy when creating the levels, as they did very well. There isn't a stage in which you won't see colorful and charming visual elements, some of which also have gameplay uses, like the traditional pipes, always present in the franchise. This time, you can even push them to serve as platforms or connect them to others to open alternative paths through the levels.

It's worth playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder?   

Super Mario Bros. wonder is one of the best requests of the year on the Nintendo Switch, rivaling even The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, another of our 2023 favorites here on the site. It's a delicious adventure, full of personality and lots of friendliness, not to mention the amount of content to be explored. 

Regardless of whether you like to play alone or in a group, there's a little bit of everything in this game, guaranteed fun for all ages, with accessibility options in the form of special characters. And it is exactly in this regard that my only complaint about the game is: it would be really cool to be able to choose other characters and have the same advantages, as needed.

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a Mario game as much as Super Mario Bros. wonder and the fact that the game is fully translated into Brazilian Portuguese also contributed to this. For the first time in history, Nintendo localized a Mario adventure for the Brazilian public, including voicing the devilish little flowers that give you tips and encourage you during the stages. They even sing in Portuguese here!

As well as Pikmin 4, released a few months ago, the translation of this one is impeccable, which gives the game a special flavor for us, Brazilians, who finally received something that had been asked for forever, games in our language, with real quality.  

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Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (26 / 10 / 23)