Today is MAR10 Day (MARch 10th, get it??), so it’s no surprise that we are once again thinking about Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first new 2D Mario game in 11 years.
Wonder flipped the script on 2D Mario. The ‘New’ series had lasted for a whopping 17 years and the visuals and level design were very much in need of a refresh. Wonder did just that, but the question is, should it happen again?
One of Wonder’s biggest selling points (for us, at least) was how fresh everything felt. Yes, this was still a 2D platformer complete with wacky power-ups and themed worlds, but it all seemed so different. Characters were more expressive, the music and environment seemed to adapt with every single step, and the Wonder Flowers added a unique gimmick to every level — the likes of which we hadn’t seen from the series in a long while.
It would be easy to cross our fingers and hope that such ingenuity is Nintendo’s blueprint for Mario going forward. But as anyone who played through the ‘New’ series will tell you, this is no safe bet. People liked Wonder. People liked New Super Mario Bros. on DS. While the former was able to soak up praise by standing on its own two feet, the latter would spawn another four games all in the same style.
What we’re saying is, ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder 2‘ isn’t the most radical idea out there.
This may well be no bad thing. The Wonder effects kept each level feeling fresh and we do not doubt that Nintendo has another game’s-worth of them packed away and ready to be called on at a moment’s notice. ‘Wonder 2’ could be 2D Mario’s Super Mario Galaxy 2 — an iterative sequel that takes everything that worked in its predecessor and builds on it with new levels, power-ups, and even characters.
Then again, would such a sequel detract from Wonder’s originality? For one game, Nintendo managed to keep the surprises coming thick and fast, but there’s every chance that spark would fade if overused — even the biggest scaredy-cat will stop jumping if the horror movie relies too much on ‘quiet, quiet, BANG!‘
It’s a fine line and one that we are not quite sure which side we land on. So we thought it best to put it up to you, our ever-wise readers. What do you think? Would you like to see Super Mario Bros. Wonder 2, or is the originality of the first game better left untouched? You can fill out the following poll with your answer and then take to the comments to share your thoughts.