What We Played #635 – Super Mario Wonder, Starfield & Taiko no Tatsujin

One Super Mario Bros. speedrunner met with heartbreak after a potential world record run played with machine-level precision was thwarted by a single bad jump.

The only thing that could make Mario Kart more stressful is adding Resident Evil-style fixed camera angles to it - so obviously one modder has done exactly that. 

Koji Kondo, longtime composer for The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. franchises, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactvie Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at this year's D.I.C.E. Awards. The presentation will take place at the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the ceremony on Thursday, February 15, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET. 

Reports have hit the web saying that is in talks to play the Marvel Comics superhero Richard Rider, aka, in the. So fans are curious if the reports are true, and some are also curious about the character’s powers. Here is everything you need to know.

A few days ago, one Super Mario 64 speedrunner was on pace for a world record that could've stood for years - until he went for one legendary trick that ended up dooming the run.

Week’s done. Friday’s here. Time to chill, to rest, to reset and probably play some video games through the weekend, but What We Played is about what has gone before, not what’s coming up. I’ve been playing New Cycle, a bleak post-apocalyptic city builder, and I’ll have some thoughts on it next week. Besides that, I’ve been continuing my playthrough of TheWitcher 3 on Steam Deck, VR’ed my way further into Asgard’s Wrath 2, threw some punches in a spot of Street Fighter 6, and got in a hefty dose of Monster Hunter Rise that I’ve seen fit to restart from the beginning.

The original Super Mario RPG, released for Super Nintendo in 1996, felt like it was meant to be your first RPG. In an era when Final Fantasy tried its best to tell mature stories within the medium's limitations and Dragon Quest demanded hours and hours of your time, Mario’s adventure felt much brighter and more manageable. Familiar characters, a lighthearted story, a reasonable length, and timed button-pressing during combat made it stand out against the competition. Revisiting the game more than 25 years later in this new remade shape shows the original formula did not need much tweaking to deliver an engaging and enjoyable journey. Super Mario RPG is not entirely innocent of the sins of video games past, but old fans will relish the chance to see the game in a new light, and I’m confident newcomers will find something to love.

I've been playing a ton of Super Mario Bros. Wonder over the last couple of weeks (in addition to the hands-on I had as a part of our current cover story), and the review embargo has officially lifted. However, due to restrictive embargo guidelines that don't allow us to discuss large portions of the game, we have opted to hold our final review until the game is available for purchase. With that said, I did want to share some brief thoughts within the confines of the embargo.

As a series that has been around for nearly four decades, Super Mario Bros. should have shown signs of slowing down years ago. But continuous thoughtful reinvention has helped the franchise remain a genre leader. Super Mario Bros. Wonder represents the next step of evolution, delivering the tight, tried-and-true gameplay in the context of the most creative 2D entry in nearly 30 years.

Famitsu has released its combined two-week sales data for hardware and physical software sales in Japan for the period from December 18 to December 31, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder has taken the top spot in the final charts for the year. The 2D platformer sold over 221,000 units over the course of the two-week period, and is followed in second place by Konami’s Momotaro Dentetsu World: Chikyuu wa Kibou de Mawatteru!, which sold over 192,000 units.

Because we’re in a “waiting period” for Nintendo to hurry up and announce its next system, we’re going to be hearing all sorts of rumors and speculation about any and all video games that may be coming to the system at launch and close to it. This speculation has already affected The Big N as their stock prices have risen in anticipation of all that’s coming. But we’re talking about all this today because of a rumor concerning the follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey. Most agree it will likely be the launch title for the Switch successor, and one “insider” says it’s way bigger than you think.

You might not realize it, but Mario had quite the year in 2023. Not only did he have multiple games released, both of which were successes in one form or another, but he also had a hit movie that was released in theaters, made over a billion dollars, and has been nominated for several awards. Then, on top of all of that, Mario’s official voice changed over the course of that year. For decades, Charles Martinet was the voice of Mario. But then, starting with Super Mario Bros Wonder, a new voice actor was put into the role after Martinet “retired” from it.