Summary
The cast of playable characters inSuper Mario Bros. Wondercould be the start of a new tradition in the series. While the gameplay does hearken back to old-schoolMarioplatformers,Super Mario Bros. Wondertransformed the formula in a lot of ways. One of the biggest new additions of all was the game’s playable cast. While it seems like a small change in comparison to everything else, it could have the most potential impact in the long term.Super Mario Bros. Wonderwas an experimental game, and one that could have changed the series' status quo.
While one can debate what thebest feature inSuper Mario Bros. Wonderis, there’s no doubt that the latest adventure has a lot to offer. New power-ups in the Bubble Flower, Drill Mushroom, and Elephant Suit have proven to be powerful additions to Mario’s skillset. In addition, the Badge system granted players a wide variety of new abilities to play with, adding plenty of replay value. While the Wonder Flower is likely a one-off, it also provided a lot of fun transformations for the various levels, making it a successful main gimmick. With so many good traits already, the bigger playable cast feels like a bonus.
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder Could Signal More of Mario’s Friends Joining his Adventures
The playable character selection is already notable formaking Daisy playable inSuper Mario Bros. Wonderfor the first time in the main series. In total, the selection has expanded significantly, consisting of:
Of this group, Daisy, Toadette, and the Yoshis are all playable for the first time in a proper 2dMarioplatformer. However, the sheer size of the roster is its most notable aspect, as no previousSuper Marioadventure has been so ambitious. With that in mind, twelve protagonists is quite a surprise.
This roster expansion could be a sign of things to come. While not the flashiest ofSuper Mario Bros. Wonder’s new features, the roster of twelve is much larger than past games' offerings. While theMariospin-offs have historically featured huge rosters of playable characters, the platformers have instead been restricted to a much smaller core group. For years it was just Mario and Luigi, with the exception ofSuper Mario Bros. 2.Super Mario Bros. Wonderhas come a long way since those days. Not only does it feature the biggest roster of playable characters in the main series so far, the next game could go further.
It would be a treat to see more a wider playable roster become an accepted tradition in futureMariogames. There are manycharacters for potentialSuper Mario Bros. WonderDLC, if not added in the next game. For example, Wario would be a fun addition thanks to his boisterous personality, and his partner in crime Waluigi could finally have a way into the games as well with such a setup. It’s even possible that a character like a Koope Troopa or Shy Guy could follow in the footsteps of the Toads to become playable. Thanks toSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, the possibilities are greater than ever.
Super Mario Bros. Wondermade a good move in expanding its playable roster, and that will make the next game even more exciting if it holds. There are so manypopularSuper Mario Bros.charactersthat the developers would have more than enough to choose from. Hopefully, this means that futureMarioplatformers will be able to include more of Mario’s friends in the fun, especially after how goodWonderturned out to be.Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s big roster could be the start of a brand-new tradition for the series.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
WHERE TO PLAY
The next evolution of Mario fun: Classic Mario gameplay is turned on its head with Wonder Flowers in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game! These game-changing items can make some wonderfully weird stuff happen. Witness pipes coming alive, wreak havoc as a giant Spike-Ball, and lots more!Loca: Up to 4 players can tackle courses together, share power-ups, and revive each other. Yoshis can also carry other players on their back to help each other overcome challenging courses!Online: With a Nintendo Switch Online membership**, you can share your adventure with players from all over the world or play online with up to 12 friends in a Friend Room, with 4 players per course. Help each other out or see who can finish first! If you place a standee while you’re playing online, other players can use them to revive!
