Super Mario Wonder Offers New Powerups, Promising Multiplayer, and A Whole New Kingdom

31.08.2023 - 18:25 / mmorpg.com / Nintendo Direct / Flower Kingdom / Mario / New

Have you ever wanted to play as Mario, but also be an Elephant? If so, your time has finally come. Super Mario Wonder drops on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th. If you count the Mario Maker games more as sandbox experiences, this will be the first side-scrolling adventure for everyone’s favorite plumber since Super Mario 3D World on the Wii-U. Of course, it did breathe new life when it was ported to the Switch in 2021.  A Nintendo Direct this morning gave us some new information about Super Mario Wonder .

The basic premise of Super Mario Wonder is that a friendly neighbor to the Mushroom Kingdom called The Flower Kingdom has come under siege by Bowser.  Bowser has collected a Wonder Flower and merged his ship with Prince Florian’s castle.  Mario must save the Flower Kingdom with the help of a few of his friends.  As someone who’s played a ton of side scrolling Mario, it was a refreshing change to find out that we’re going to visit somewhere other than the Mushroom Kingdom.  Don’t get me wrong, I would have played this game no matter where it took place and likely would have enjoyed the heck out of it but there is something super satisfying about getting some new scenery. 

The Flower Kingdom has six worlds.  We got the names of the first four worlds.  All six worlds surround a body of water called The Petal Isles, which is also the name of a water-based world in Super Mario Wonder .  Mario starts his adventure in Pipe Rock Plateau and will also visit Fluff-Puff Peaks and Shining Falls.  

Playable characters include Mario, Luigi, Blue or Red Toad, Peach, and Daisy. They don’t have any special abilities apart from each other, so there’s no harm in playing your favorite.  Nabbit returns to allow players of lower skill level like younger children to play without a constant fear of death.  Along with Nabbit, Yoshi will also be playable as a no-damage character.  

The Flower Kingdom opens up new possibilities for the Super Mario Franchise.  We’re getting three new power-ups — Elephant Form, Bubble Form, and Drill Form.  Elephant Form turns characters into an elephant version of themselves that is capable of destroying lots of bricks all at once.  Also, bigger feet mean the ability to run over larger gaps than is normally possible.  Bubble Form gives Mario and friends the ability to blow bubbles. This is good for capturing enemies, especially those impervious to normal attacks. Mario can also use the bubbles like floating platforms making it easier to avoid pitfalls, lava, and other hazards and making it easier to get to hard to reach places.  Drill Form gives Mario a drill on his head to protect him from enemies or dangers that may fall from above.  The drill can allow Mario to burrow into the