A Critical Look at Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Difficulty, Design, and the Final World
Back in 2006, New Super Mario Bros. released on the Nintendo DS, marking a return to the traditional Super Mario Bros. series after a 15-year break. While the first game in the New series received largely positive reviews, some players felt a degree of disappointment compared to other legendary titles in the franchise.
Fast forward to 2023, a decade since the last main entry, New Super Mario Bros. U. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has been met with nearly universal praise. While acknowledging Wonder is a great game that deserves commendation, the author believes the level of praise it has received is perhaps not fully warranted. This article aims to provide a more critical perspective, one that may hold up better over time. It’s important to note upfront that the author does enjoy Super Mario Bros. Wonder, particularly appreciating the art style as a significant improvement over the generic look of the New series. It’s considered a solid title, yet one that falls short in several areas. This critical view stems from a deep love for the franchise and a desire for it to continue improving. In a traditional review score, Wonder would likely receive an 8 out of 10. This analysis is intended as a constructive look at the latest entry in the Super Mario Bros. series.
One of the primary gameplay elements introduced in Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the Wonder Flowers. The core gameplay is largely built around these new items, which can dramatically alter the appearance and mechanics of a stage. Upon touching a Wonder Flower, the level transforms according to a unique twist. This can be very fun and surprising, but the major issue lies in the sheer variety of these effects. Because there are so many different ideas presented, each new mechanic or visual change is often short-lived and lacks significant depth.
Only a handful of Wonder Flower concepts reappear in later stages, which is a considerable problem. This design choice keeps the potential difficulty level consistently low, as the game must assume the player is encountering these mechanics for the first time whenever they appear. Traditionally, platformers gradually increase in complexity and challenge, but due to the constant introduction of new, simple elements, the difficulty curve in Wonder remains relatively flat. This makes the game feel more like an engaging roller coaster ride than a challenging platforming test, providing enjoyment but lacking a deeper sense of accomplishment from overcoming complex obstacles.
Super Mario Wonder gameplay screenshot showing Mario using the Parachute Cap Badge to float
Wonder Flowers also present another issue: their necessity. If a player chooses to ignore them – which the game often tries to discourage through warnings from Talking Flowers – many levels feel underdeveloped. Levels might end shortly after skipping a Wonder Flower, or the stage design might feel weak for players who bypass the core mechanic. The game could have been significantly stronger if the branching paths introduced by the Wonder Flowers were more creatively designed. In several instances, players are required to complete a level both ways (with and without the Wonder Flower effect leading to different exits) to reach the tops of the Flagpoles for full completion, making interaction with them mandatory for 100%.
A final point of criticism regarding Wonder Flowers is how they diminish the impact of traditional Mario power-ups. Since interacting with several Wonder Flowers often changes the gameplay drastically or alters Mario’s form, the standard power-ups equipped beforehand can become temporarily pointless. While many of the new power-ups are enjoyable, their significance sometimes feels reduced within this new, ever-changing gameplay environment.
Moving beyond Wonder Flowers, the new Badge system is another significant addition. The Badge system serves as one of several aids or “crutches” found in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. This isn’t inherently negative, but their implementation feels lacking. Players start with the Parachute Cap Badge, which the author considers the most “busted” or overpowered Badge in the game. This Badge allows floating, and skilled players can quickly discover it enables infinite wall jumping off a single wall. This not only renders most other badges far less useful except in very specific situations but also makes the process of earning those other badges feel somewhat pointless. For example, the Parachute Badge can perform the function of the Wall-Climb Jump Badge, but more effectively.
Balance isn’t the only concern with the Badges. There was a missed opportunity to integrate them more strategically into stages, allowing players to find secret exits or shortcuts that would require specific Badges earned later in the game. Imagine areas that could only be accessed by revisiting them with a particular Badge, potentially allowing players to bypass sections or even reach the credits sooner if played cleverly. Unfortunately, Wonder also lacks early end-game warps. More Badge-specific secrets within stages could have been an excellent addition, adding significant value and replayability tied to individual Badges.
Multiplayer is the next aspect of Wonder to consider. While the author only experienced a limited amount of local multiplayer, reports from more dedicated players suggest it isn’t ideal. Issues with camera focus have been noted as needing improvement. Online multiplayer also functions significantly as a crutch for less skilled players. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can trivialize much of the game. Players have been observed essentially damage-boosting through almost entire stages as ghosts, relying on others to revive them past challenges. It’s also somewhat disappointing that the hearts earned by playing online seem to have no tangible use. Ultimately, the difficulty in setting up a simple co-op Super Mario Bros. experience with friends in 2023 feels like a step backward compared to titles like the Switch release of Super Mario 3D World, where it seemed to work quite well.
One positive change Nintendo implemented is the removal of character collision in local multiplayer; characters no longer bump into and bounce off one another. In past 2D titles, this collision often felt detrimental to gameplay flow. However, there is likely room for a middle ground. An idea for the future could be a mechanic where holding a shoulder button enables player-to-player interaction, allowing coordinated moves like bouncing one character higher, adding strategic depth.
Boss fights are an easy target for criticism in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. With the possible exception of the final boss, they are generally seen as disappointingly easy and uncreative. This is particularly true for the Airship endings, which often simply require the player to touch a single switch. One might expect that with all the novel Wonder Flowers altering gameplay, the developers would have devised truly unique and challenging boss encounters. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and it’s even more regrettable that classic foes like the Koopalings are entirely absent.
This ties directly into the overall difficulty of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. As previously mentioned, the design around Wonder Flowers rarely presents players with significant challenges. When you add the various “crutches” available for weaker players – such as Easy Characters (Nabbit, Yoshi), potent Badges, and Online Help – the game can feel like a cakewalk. The only stage that the author found genuinely difficult was the true final stage, which is part of the Super Mario Wonder Final World, also known as the Special World. Even this challenging level has been observed being ‘cheesed’ through online play. It’s important to clarify that offering aids for less experienced players to enjoy the content is perfectly acceptable. However, even without utilizing these crutches, the game doesn’t offer much challenge outside of the Super Mario Wonder Final World‘s ultimate level. Ultimately, the game’s focus on introducing varied gameplay through Wonder Flowers seems to have come at the expense of traditional, consistently challenging platforming sequences throughout the main adventure.
The in-game difficulty rating system also feels somewhat inaccurate. The range of difficulty within the five-star category, supposedly the hardest, is inconsistent; some five-star stages can be completed on the first or second attempt. A sequel might benefit from expanding this rating system, perhaps to a 10-star scale, for better granularity.
One potential solution to the difficulty issue could be to keep the standard game’s difficulty as is but also include a “New Super Luigi U”-style second quest. This hypothetical mode would increase the difficulty and depth of mechanics specifically for more expert players. While the length of the main game is satisfactory, a significantly harder set of levels seems necessary, given the apparent focus on a more mainstream audience with the current game’s difficulty. The desire is for a more challenging but fair Mario experience, distinct from the extremely difficult, often frame-perfect challenges created by some players in Mario Maker. While Kaizo levels have their audience, many players don’t find fun in one-frame tricks or fighting the physical limitations of their controller.
Super Mario Wonder characters including Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy
Are there other aspects the author would change? Yes. While it’s great that more characters are playable, the fact that most of them play identically (outside of the Easy Characters) feels a bit uninspired. Having each character possess slight differences in handling would add personality and depth to the gameplay, a feature missed from previous titles. Additionally, the final reward for completing everything was disappointing – a seemingly useless Badge instead of something more exciting like unlocking Rosalina as a playable character. A New Game Plus mode where a player, after full completion, could start over with all Badges unlocked from the beginning would also be a nice addition, allowing unique playthroughs using some of the more unusual Badges like the Invisibility Badge. Further minor gripes include Standees being meaningless for offline play and the arbitrary limit of holding only 999 Flower Coins feeling surprisingly short-sighted.
Bringing back the Time Limit and Score system is another suggestion. The game feels significantly more relaxed without the pressure of a time limit, and the scoring mechanic offers fun possibilities. The author fondly remembers a mode in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe that challenged players to master stages for high scores, a concept not expanded upon in a Mario game since. Better balancing could also involve distributing fewer lives and imposing more significant penalties for losing them. As it stands, the game’s current setup contributes to its overall ease. Slightly raising the stakes or finding new uses for 1-Up Mushrooms could enhance the experience.
In conclusion, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is undeniably a fun game and is recommended for purchase. However, it’s anticipated that over time, the game will face increased criticism due to the issues outlined here, though it’s unlikely to see as significant a drop in critical opinion as the original New Super Mario Bros. Ultimately, the desire is for the Mario series to continue evolving and improving. Super Mario Bros. Wonder represents a step in the right direction in many respects, but there is clearly substantial room for further enhancement. Here’s hoping that a sequel, perhaps titled Super Mario Bros. Whimsey or similar, can push the franchise to the exceptional heights it is known to be capable of reaching.
