My Honest Mario Wonder Review

[@thelastofyou]

Ryu wanting to be challenging for him would render the game unplayable for 95% of the casual players

[@johnthompson5214]

Yea there will never be an official release hard enough for anyone of even moderate skill let alone a pro. Stick to kaizo and Mario Maker and just enjoy the charm of the official releases.

[@GameplayGuides101]

@@johnthompson5214 I disagree. There should have been very hard levels in Mario Wonder. Not part of the main story but in the special world.

[@DamienMasson]

there is challenging levels (the last ones) but not enough. Challenging does not mean hardcodre difficult, juste that you cannot complete first try with every coins not being focus... NSMBU offers such levels, and not talking about mario 3D world....

[@alexchacon778]

Yeah I feel like every gaming KZbinr forgets in their reviews that basically none of the audience plays video games for a living. Seriously, how do they forget that literal toddlers need to be able to play these games? That being said, I do feel like there were way too few hidden challenge levels in this one, those were my favorite part of the game but they were over so quickly

[@iwanttocomplain]

I’m not sure there is a need for toddlers to play games. They are just as happy with a piece of brightly coloured plastic that makes a noise.

[@Ryu]

10/10 perfect game perfect levels perfect game of a lifetime so good wow except not enough elephants so 7.5/10 actually

[@jordanlane8699]

We need to talk about the elephant in the room.

[@ibrahimabueraq759]

I wish they launch Mario Maker 3 with unique idea.😊

[@silenthillfarms]

What happens if your mom grabs the elephant suit

[@tyn5802]

I feel the main theme of this game is "we made a bunch of crazy stuff just take it and have fun". I had a ton of fun with this game and just went with the flow.

[@ChillTimeVibe]

Yeah for sure. He critiques it from a Pro player perspective. Meanwhile I would never want this game to be any harder, it was the perfect amount of challenge for me and very fun.

[@silenthillfarms]

The amount of F words I shouted to beat the final level in the special world... It sickens me that he finished it so easily

[@Edwardsjm]

I bet you flowed pretty hard that's awesome

[@HPPrintervx4p5q]

"Going with the flow" is every game now. They're just walking simulators, there's no focus or adrenaline.

[@iwanttocomplain]

hands off game design.

[@lytethekyte]

One point about the badges, for me I would never use the high jump badge because it's too floaty for me and I can't make jumps properly. So I would always choose the crouch jump badge because I have my more accurate jumps and then if I need to jump high I can choose when to do so. So I think in general the badges are kind of balanced for different play-styles. But then I got the double jump badge and the rest of the badges no longer mattered. xD

[@michaelkjellander9370]

Yeah, exactly the same here

[@gregbullington891]

Double jump the rest of the way!@@michaelkjellander9370

[@livinlifelarry]

For me I see them as fun challenges I can do with my friends to add a bit of difficulty in levels

[@biondigiacomo7176]

I also feel like badges are a new way of putting the old character-specific abilities to every character.

[@DamienMasson]

A cool way to increase replayability could have been to implement a rewarding systems to completing each levels with several badges. I was almost certain it would be the case before 100% completing the game... like mario 3D world rewards you completing levels with every characters....

[@mattf9096]

I'm pretty sure this game was put out with a Mario Maker sequel in mind. Making a 3D Mario Maker would be tough and probably couldn't have the nice intuitive drag and drop interface we have with the 2D ones. Mario Wonder keeps the traditional 2D theme while adding tons of extra creative options. Nintendo gets 2 releases out of essentially the same engine and fans of the franchise get 2 very different gaming experiences.

[@MijinLaw]

That's what I thought through the whole review: Wonder sets up MM perfectly in terms of mechanics, physics, badges etc, the stuff they failed at -- level and boss fight design -- is the thing that creators can improve on. And also deliver pick-a-pipe hot garbage :D

[@uncleJuancho]

1:52: Art Style 2:53: Music 3:21: Why an elephant? 5:00: What is the theme of this game? 6:08: Boss fights 7:36: Level design 9:54: Regular levels 12:17: Badges 15:01: Level design Part 2 15:21: Controls of the game 15:42: Speed run 17:34: Badges Part 2 17:44: Charming 18:38: Multiplayer 18:54: Difficulty stars 19:54: Summary 21:03: Rating! Awesome video Ryu!

[@Nintendo_Wolf]

Elephant Mario was definitely a marketing decision. They knew they had to sell plushies and stuff somehow lol

[@lytethekyte]

Actually it was literally this: "We want a watering mechanic because flowers. How do we do that? OH! I know! Elephants!" because that's always how nintendo brings in watering mechanics for some reason.

[@Nintendo_Wolf]

@@lytethekyte I think they made it vaguely make sense, but I think it's mostly a marketing decision. When you say Elephant Mario, there is only one game you can think about

[@grouchygamer2404]

now we need DK3 elephant reacting to Mario's transformation.

[@thelastofyou]

They needed a Mario costume that could hit enemies

[@AlexanderPrussak]

shuddup! elephant mario is best mario

[@TrevorD19]

10:00 it's called break time to give you a break 10:48 The theme is in the name.

[@salarycat]

For the Elephant, I guess they thought “which animal looks and acts like a water pot”, and chose it. I think wonder succeeded in the most difficult task, to make platform games feel new again. Is a 40-y.o. genre, where you run and jump, been there done that. By changing the mechanics in EACH level with the wonder seed, it's like a whole new game, and I looked forward to see what happened. Sometimes it was big, sometimes it was small, but you need both types. They have so many ideas, each seed could be a standalone indie game, and only Nintendo could implement them with such care and polish. They did seem to care about beginners and experts alike, and the co-op multiplayer is a lot of fun and gives it replay value. I wasn't as excited as with mario world, but I was a kid back then and easily impressionable. I think this game demonstrates a Nintendo at its peak. Each game is different, and Mario Wonder doesn’t scratch everyone’s itch. But objectively, I have to say this is the best, most polished 2D Mario game, and give it a 10/10.

[@nickfarace9339]

I also agree. Ryu rates things from a high skill, speedrunner level point of view. And its good that he still loves it a lot. The levels he hates are likely amazing for other players. They like the silly pointless level here or there. I love super hard Mario levels and go out of my way to do super expert levels in SMM2, but I also loved the search levels he hated. I appreciate all the levels this game did even if they weren't great. Because all of them were MEMORABLE which is something most of the NSMB levels did.

[@baseballMMAgames]

@@nickfarace9339 plus you can replay levels with a different badge for a different challenge I would think. Seems like a cool thing for replay-ability.

[@iwanttocomplain]

This looks like lots of very small ideas surrounding and augmenting the cure gameplay, a little bit. But there’s nothing very revolutionary. Just more vanilla platforming. Extra high jumps and shit.

[@peterlopinto]

You make a lot of valid points, especially with the filler levels that would be better just being cut. But in terms of difficulty, games really are just different now, so I don’t see how after playing thousands of super expert and kaizo levels that you’d ever feel like the game was a challenge. If they added a pack of super difficult “lost levels” though, they could definitely make those harder

[@corycasler9392]

Brother…I don’t think a soul on earth thinks this game is difficult

[@Here2Pone]

Yea I mean they can make the games harder they truly can, games were fun for kids back in the day when they were hard, it just gave me and other kids reason to practice and get better at a game. sometimes nowadays the difficulty of the game is too easy and they don't have to work hard and practice to win. almost like they are being spoon fed a win for some reason, when they didnt take the time to earn it, same thiing with new mario kart, mario kart wii was brutally difficult with hard mechanics, but the new mario kart just has so little to offer with its skill ceiling.

[@greatwesternsky]

@@Here2PoneA lot of people, no matter how hard they practice, are not going to have the dexterity or response time to master the hard stuff. They also don’t have the time to. Video games above anything else are meant to be fun for the masses, and those that spend hours and hours ‘gitting good’ are not the masses.

[@cj-fa]

​@@Here2Poneold mario games are just as easy tho.

[@Here2Pone]

@@cj-fa no not really super Mario world and super mario bros 1 and lost levels are a whole lot harder than wonder definitely

[@HarmonicWave]

I can understand making a game like this easy enough for newcomers and kids, but the problem with making it too easy is that even the less experienced players will eventually get better, and then they'll just join the rest of us and it will be too easy for everyone. But if they started with some easy beginner levels and then increased the challenge with more of the levels then the new players could keep practicing, get better, and then we'd all enjoy a more challenging game together. The older 2D games had their easy levels, but they got harder pretty quickly, and those were for kids too. We just kept at it and got better and better.

[@Skullb0ne]

I think they went with those "break time levels" actually for people that are not so familiar with video games in general. I know some folks that would have a "challenging" time playing all of the normal levels in general. Mario Wonder tries to appeal also to new players and very vastly to "real gamers" - that have played some kaizo mario. Since it is targeted also for Casual gamers, i think its a good balance to have only the special world as optional harder levels. But i feel the same, I wish they would focus more hard levels, give us some extreme challenges. (But don't think that will work for their marketing/target audiance) Lets hope for Mario Maker3 with Wounder

[@speedude0164]

The Break Time levels are just weird to me. I don't dislike them or anything, but their whole purpose seems to just be random small levels that Nintendo doesn't have to put much effort in. I feel like it would've been better just to make more levels for worlds like Shining Falls and Fungi Mines that really could've used it, but I guess there are certain mechanics that wouldn't have fit well in a full level that they could just make a Break Time level for.

[@andyblood4805]

Baby game.

[@mrshmuga9]

“Break Time levels are for people not familiar with video games” This doesn’t make any sense, because you have to beat several normal levels before you can even access the Break Time levels. And if you’re good enough to beat a normal level, the BT ones won’t do anything for you. It might be a brief tutorial for a specific badge, but what little it teaches there could’ve been figured out by using it for a minute anyway.

[@calebjp8904]

@@mrshmuga9Well, the break times focus on specific concepts that might not be used by everyone automatically in the levels. For example, the very first break time where you just run to the right is actually pretty cool, because it teaches the sprint mechanic. Obviously for us, that is just second nature, but I remember the first mario game I ever played (nsmb wii), I didn’t know that sprinting existed. Since it’s not smth required in levels, It’s cool that for anyone who is completely new to 2d mario, it forces them to experiment how to sprint to beat the level, which I think is pretty smart

[@HarmonicWave]

I think they could make more levels with moderate challenge for long time fans without doing the extreme kaizo type challenges. It's just kind of sad when there are so many levels that you could practically sleep walk and beat, like just run to the right and maybe jump a few times. At least make it as challenging as previous 2D Mario games.

[@Septimius]

Cat Bowser? Sir, that's Mr. Meowser!

[@thunderousmastermind]

They don’t even make an elephant sound when characters complete a level and that in itself is criminal

[@findlay81]

My TOP 11 Super Mario Platform Games of all time: #11 Super Mario Wonder (Switch, 2023) #10 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES, 1995) #9 Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB, 1992) #8 Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013) #7 Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) #6 Super Mario Odyssey (Switch, 2017) #5 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010) #4 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007) #3 Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) #2 Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990) #1 Super Mario World (SNES, 1991)

[@SolonGaming]

Criticism is always appreciated by developers who care about increasing the quality of their product. Keep it up Ryu.

[@marcosdiogenes9380]

Especially when it's constructive like Ryu is providing

[@GameplayGuides101]

Do you think Nintendo listens? I think they do what they want to get the most $. Thats what Mario Wonder was made for. Nintendo knows Mario fans are going to buy it but they were thinking how do we make this game fun and easy enough to get everyone to buy it. I would say that there are many creators in Mario Maker 2 that are actually better at level design than Nintendo.

[@michaelkjellander9370]

The ducking high jump was one of the badges I used the most. Sometimes I didn't want the floatiness of the floating jumps, and not something that interfers with my twirls like the extra spin badge.

[@toddsaskatchewan]

Search Party, while still not great, is definitely intended for multiplayer. You help out others find things as they help you.

[@theaaronlennon]

Mario and Luigi touching chonks was the only reason I clicked on this video. Was not disappointed.

[@HarryBoSweets]

Ah yes, the Elephant’s chonk

[@VampiricBard]

Unskippable cutscenes in 2023? Come on Ninntendo. Anyways this game looks frikkin gorgeous. It just looks sooo good.

[@lovecounting3021]

To me this game feels like a prototype that was supposed to be a starting point for the team to build around and then someone accidentally committed to an October 2023 release date so they tied up as many loose ends as possible and shipped it out. There's a lot to love here, but I feel more like I'm playing a bunch of experiments than like I've been sucked into an immersive story/experience along with the characters in the game. Agree with many of your critiques as well as the positives, I wish Nintendo had broken this up into 5 different games revolving around the Flower Kingdom and revolved each game around some of the best core aspects of Wonder to really mine the value out of what works well, as opposed to getting small tastes of what could have been sprinkled throughout the game.

[@EarMaster55]

I think the key to understanding the game is imaging playing it with your (or a friend's) kid. Maybe your kid is just watching you play and I can imagine how a kid will react to all of the wonder seeds gimmicks. This could also be the idea behind the break time levels: providing levels even a kid with little to no experience can solve.

[@wizulus]

The speedrun adventure was amazing! I wish we had a short edited video, maybe set to music, to commemorate the journey

[@crackers0413]

the boss battles with the conveyor belt and red button feel like a promo for a new march of the minis game

[@Waffletigercat]

I don’t understand the whole “why elephant? That’s so weird!” Nobody reacted that way to Tanooki Mario in SMB3. Or Frog Mario. Or Cape Mario. Or basically any of the past power-ups. It’s just Mario. You turn into stuff.

[@overlordalfredo]

I think the main issue is they made a game for everyone. So it offes some for every playstyle but cannot deliver 100% on any category. The search party and online coop are for multiplayer and obviously they suck playing that alone The break time levels are for the most casual gamers and are not meant for any challenge While the online races and special world are intended for the hard core gamers that are looking for a challenge As the mixed bag that it is I think it is very solid overall. Would they go for a dedicated difficult platforming Mario game, I am confident they could pull it off as well! It just was never the intention for SMBWonder...😅

[@marcosdiogenes9380]

I think the elephant thing is because of the flower theme, like an animal that can literally water plants like a watering can.

[@zaidalasalle8107]

Finally a legit review, everyone else is so blindly giving it a 10 out of 10 with almost no critic, I always love a honest review a non bias review like this one

[@Cheesehead302]

His review was almost point for point exactly what I thought. If course there's a honey moon phase, but yeah, not saying the game is bad, but it's actual level design is inconsistent, lacking challenge, and the dialogue pop ups, holy shit the dialogue pop ups drive me insane. Idk, it's just a little disappointing to me that when it comes to this game, it's more like a lot of the elements are really cool and I'd love to see how they're utilized by people in the community in mario maker or mods, but their implementation into the game itself is largely pointless or underwhelming a lot of the time.

[@speedude0164]

I think it's an exaggeration to say everyone praising it to high heaven is just being biased, but it is nice to see another perspective.

[@animebabe4107]

@@Cheesehead302 I thought I was the only one being driven insane by the forced baby dialogue of this game, one person told me the few seconds couldn’t be that irritating to my gameplay experience, unfortunately it is smh

[@Cheesehead302]

@@animebabe4107 Dude, you aren't alone. I've actually found a lot of people who think the pointless dialogue crap is bad lol. I've been told that I have a short attention span for complaining about it but it isn't even something that should be a problem. There's no reason for it to exist beyond padding put play time.

[@LocalChoker]

Barb gave it a lot of shit too

[@Rob_Enhoud]

I think Ryu really missed out on experiencing the game for the first time using the online features. Sharing the discovery of a lot of the secrets with randos online was really cool. Sure you can call it cheating and you want to beat it on your own the first time, but as mentioned the game is easy so what's the point? Especially when talking about the search party levels. They were made for that shared experience, and they are terrible without it.

[@snoozbuster]

Yeah the search party levels are aids alone but really enjoyable with ghosts

[@Ryu]

if their goal was to make fun "shared experience" levels - i personally feel like they could do A LOT better than those search party levels lol

[@marcosdiogenes9380]

​@@Ryu agreed, but I think the OP is just trying to say is that it's a bit more dull to experience those search party levels alone. And it probably would have been a good idea to play them for the first time with randos. I personally turn online off cuz I just didn't like being revived or turning into a ghost when I wanted to just die and go back to a checkpoint.

[@snoozbuster]

@@Ryu that is a very fair argument. Although I’d be curious if you had any alternate ideas in mind

[@TCakes]

I thought it was straight up ass even with the online aspect

[@kitsunami7251]

An amazing idea/qol they could implement when you reach 100% is a new game + where they allow you to select any badge you'd like from the start, it'd allow you to both do challenge runs more easily like "all game with spring jump" but also get jet run from the start and such and use it on every level, which you wouldn't normally do. It'd also make it more fun for speedruns.

[@JoseLHernandezJ]

The thing is you played the game alone, the search party levels are fun when you have other online people trying to figure out where to find the coins, i enjoyed the game mode online that just by myself.

[@sweetdangerzack]

I feel like Rayman Legends is the game that everyone is pretending that Mario Wonder is.

[@rodidoesburg4061]

I really liked the slime and bowlingball effect😅

[@holycrapIambehind]

I think there just could have been more. They might have been limited by how much detail they wanted to put in. It’s probably one of the best looking games I’ve ever played even though it’s cartoon style. They clearly spent a lot of time polishing the game and making it look and feel spectacular. More levels, harder levels, I’m old school too and I’ve always viewed Mario games as things that I can’t beat. I’m just not good at platformers. The special levels are cool but more of them would be nice. I really hope there is an expansion or Mario wonder 2. I really enjoyed the game, I had a blast, but it felt empty and too easy. It’s nice that I could 100% the game but it would also be cool to have some kind of overwhelming challenge. If there was a mean world where everything is crazy hard or like you were saying multiple badge challenges. All the mechanics could have gone much deeper. I hope they iterate on the amazing engine they created. It really is awe inspiring but you don’t get to completely experience it.

[@tetermc]

I actually really like the goo transformation, it's just that it's used way too much and well overstays it's welcome. But yeah, I agree on most of those points and the score. I enjoyed it, but again it's just too easy and doesn't quite do enough with its concepts. And yes, the Bowser levels were the highlight but they were too late in the game. If Nintendo doesn't want to make challenging games, I get that. But if they don't want to leave any kids out in the cold, I think they should at least prioritize having difficulty options. Give a standard mode for the youngsters and a hardcore mode for the old school boomers like myself. It'd be a lot of work I'm sure but it would do so much for the game. Until then, I hope we get a challenging expansion pack to the game. Mechanically and artistically, the game is great. Just want more wrung out of its potential.

[@newt2942]

Break Time levels are free Wonder Seeds for beginners.

[@reeksphync565]

I 100%'d Mario Wonder and it was very fun, and also very easy. To be clear, great game. I wanted another platformer so i picked up Tropical Freeze and I got to say... Tropical Freeze has just as much unique and fun mechanics as Wonder but manages to make them all match one clear theme. And it has much more replay value. This is a game from 2014. After mario odyssey and wonder i would love to see this much clarity from a mario game.

[@quick7h0m]

Tropical Freeze is my favorite side scroller. I clear it in one sitting about once a year. I appreciate the mention ;) Side note, playing the game I got the overwhelming feeling they're gonna make SMM3. It seems to be tailored for the SMM editor. A lot of these assets would 100% be usable in the context of a new SMM.

[@Cheesehead302]

I said it on your world record video but I 100 percent agree on the unskippable cutscenes and dialogue. I've 100 percented the game, and decided to replay it with no power ups. The STUPID. POINTLESS. DIALOGUE. Has actually made it kind of a chore to replay. Like, it makes me wish the world map didn't even exist because every beginning of the world, every level, there is some unskippable dog shit and it's just so infuriating to me. People can say it isn't that big of a deal or say I've got a short attention span, but with a short platformer like this you want to make the replay experience as smooth as possible. I see these like I see metroid games, experiences that are best when the promote blasting through a short and sweet, couple hour run of the game, and anything that causes that experience to stutter IS a big deal to me. Like bro, with the amount it completely takes control from me I almost just want it to automatically dump me into the next level.

[@zwillscoopchannel9689]

Something I wished it would have done is make it like banjo and kazooie. You could skip cutscenes and even skip how too learn a move by just pressing B

[@MrAlexSan00]

Honestly, I think Nintendo would rather let the advanced Mario players abuse ourselves in Mario Maker, whereas Super Mario Wonder is meant to bring back the flagship gameplay, that's more child friendly where there is challenge for new players, but enough for veteran players to find some challenge and casual enjoyment. What I realized in the middle of this game is that II have not felt this much love and enthusiasm for a Nintendo-made classic Mario game since Super Mario World. To me that's a huge deal, and is the real magic of this game. I do agree about the badges and some of the special stages. The sage where you have to find coins requires you to have multiple players exploring the map (some characters can see the hidden blocks while others cannot) so it encourages you to play online multiplayer... which I wish they kept separate from single player playthroughs. The rest ones were nice when you just wanted a fun non-stressful game... but the bossbattles really have no excuse. Baby Bowser was super useless, and the machine bosses were a joke. But I did have a lot of fun with the final Bowser fight, as easy as it was.

[@TiVo67]

I felt there shoulda been some backtracking elements. Use the badges you get later in the game like the grappling vine in the earlier levels to find secret exits. Then those exits lead to more challenging levels.

[@dheerajks6492]

Love your videos so much ryu! We would love to see more content on this channel, especially your live stream content if it were in shorter form. Thank you for making my day every time you post!

[@1n1ee]

besides DK tropical freeze (and celeste, mario maker) are there any other switch games you reccomend for fun speedrunning?

[@mariomario9209]

I honestly really liked this game despite popular opinion in this comment section the levels are just so refreshing,creative,and just so enjoyable! Although im not a speedrunner so Im not sure how others like gimmicks so much but I thoroughly enjoyed them! Break time levels are definitely the weakest out of all the levels just of how unnecessary some are and bosses could have been better but I feel like the wonder effects kinda create a lot if mini bosses along the way so thats why I wasn’t really annoyed with jr just wished his castle designs had more creativity music is really good! Better than a certain other 2d platformer to come out this year… and I’m very glad they dropped the old and now stale new title I was plain disappointed after playing mario bros u and now i can say that mario wonder gives me a lot of hope for the future of the series, Nintendo please give out no deadlines more! It gives more time for creativity to flourish and new ideas to prosper! Solid 8/9 out of 10 REALLY good game! I would recommend it to newcomers and anyone who’s looking for a grand ol Time I also feel like the post game offers hard challenges similar to odyssey where you go to a really hard level and collect lots of items No I’m not forcing you to listen to this opinion and make it your own but before you complain that the game’s too easy you have to keep in mind that nintendo is constantly trying to welcome newcomers and for members of the whole family to enjoy not every game is going to be mm2 levels of hard just sayin 🤷🏽

[@Mersak168]

I agree with everything that you've said here. Yes, the game is easy. Yes, it is supposed to be like that cause it is a family game. And there's still some challenge for people who looks for it. So it is all good, the game is simply amazing. Hands down the best 2D Mario since World.

[@mariomario9209]

@@Mersak168 thank you! You’ve said everything I wanted to and more about this game being for everyone

[@andyblood4805]

​@@Mersak168lol

[@andyblood4805]

​@@Mersak168is a baby game

[@Hasblock]

Your unpopular opinion in these comments is the absolute majority opinion in every comment section on the internet outside of this video. Congrats

[@SuperCrazyfin]

Mario Maker 3 with Badges would suck because most levels would just force you to use a certain badge instead of letting you pick different badges and play the level the way you want like Wonder does.

[@antoinedodsonsbandana5856]

Am I the only one who thinks that Elephant Mario looks really gross and creepy? As soon as I saw that in the trailer, it completely put me off the game.

[@BenCarnage]

I think it was a very entertaining game, I enjoyed doing 100% in it, but yes it was severely lacking in some areas and on average I don't think it deserved the hype and praise it got. Very good, but it doesn't get an all-time great stamp from me. It was too easy. The boss battles were a bit boring and repetitive. The level design varied between poor and great. Some levels were novel, but didn't really have any replay value and they never fully explored some of the more interesting concepts. Most of the badges were useless and the game didn't really give a reason for most of them. I fully agree that a whole world with level design around the hookshot would be amazing. That's the direction they should have taken some of the badges. Either that or giving some levels alternate endings for using specific badges and designing around that idea. Lots of fun for a few hours, but as far as Mario games go I'm much more likely to return to other titles.

[@wangchangbackup]

The absolute DISGUST on Ryu's face when he says the multiplayer is just helping each other through levels.

[@katrielmiranda9690]

Gotta say, I agree with this review, it's a pretty fair assessment, the comparison with Tropical Freeze makes a lot of sense, it shows that it didn't need the speedrun aspect to be a good and charming game, but even so, they added and it's great. I hope there is a return to Tropical Freeze to finish all levels.

[@morgothbauglirmelkar]

About the break times... It is kind of sad how they think kids these days are not capable of completing anything that is even a little challenging. They had no issues making Super Mario World for kids and everyone loved it. I hate that new design philosophy.

[@dragontears]

I think it's interesting because people state things about the badges and the wonder flowers (like which ones are good and which ones are bad) like they're clear facts but they'll say completely different ones. So like, idk... maybe it's subjective and the fact that there are lots of options means that they did a pretty good job making an offering that works for lots of people and you should play it how it works for you?

[@ilciavo]

Maybe the Elephant and it’s trunk has something to do with a plumber and going to the other side of the spectrum? Usually, the power ups make Mario faster or even flies. The elephant makes him stronger and slower plus you can play with more bass in the sound effects.

[@mattb6522]

Great review! I agree with Ryu 100% here actually. Wonder is a really good game, but just has a lot of questionable design choices to keep it from being one of the best Mario games. For me the vast majority of levels were just too easy (or suck like Search Party and Break Time), bosses were few and far between and generally lame, a lot of mediocre/useless badges, and no option to turn off cutscenes for repeat playthroughs. I grew up with Mario World (and Mario 3) and those games just cut through the BS to provide interesting and fun platforming levels with a natural escalation in difficulty. I agree that I really hope there is DLC to offer additional, more challenging levels, more useful badges, and non-Jr bosses. Outside of that, Mario Maker 3 with existing Badges would be incredible. The Badges seemed way too underutilized outside of maybe the final badge marathon. Also, this is my bad, but I missed the option to turn off the Talking Flower until I had already completed the game...all those annoying and insipid comments...I was always like "dude, please stfu!" 🤣

[@Erlewyn]

3D World with cats everywhere is the exception, usually Mario is the only one that gets a transformation.

[@fades4911]

You did criticize a lot BUT I see where yourre coming from. I feel the same way about Pokémon , they need a game that tailors to the huge adult fan base without having to resort to competitive battling or speedrunning to get that itch scratched.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Super Mario Bros. 3 was the Alpha and Omega from childhood for me. The nostalgia is just too strong. But, this generation will find their favorites. One size fits all paesano's!

[@Matthew10950]

I was 8 years old. Mom and I rented sm3 from a video store, and played all day. It was a school night, it was after 10pm when mom sent me to bed because it was getting late. She dropped bowser a half hour later and let me get up to see the end. I will never forget it. She also taught me to play zelda and I still play her style to this day. So does my 11 year old, who I taught to play mario and zelda. Generational enjoyment.

[@JD-mz1rl]

It's not just nostalgia.

[@colinfielder6695]

So, an elephant in a Mario hat, shirt, overalls and a moustache, is just an elephant to you?

[@ChocolateKieran]

Have you ever seen Winnie the Pooh? If you're familiar with Heffalumps then the elephant feels way less random as a power up. This whole game is basically Mario x Winnie the Pooh episode, but I kinda love that. I feel like that's definitely where a lot of inspiration was drawn.

[@JaidynReiman]

I think Badges in a Mario Maker game would not work well at all if you could just freely swap them around. However, I think they'd work excellently if a badge is chosen by the builder of the specific level, crafting a level around said badge.

[@the_godbodor7026]

Two things, first is that Mario Wonder reminds me of Metroid Dread with how there’s a bunch of dialogue to mash through during speedruns or repeat playthroughs as well as unskippable cutscenes (the opening to dread I really wish was skippable at least after finishing one playthrough) Second is that I think you kinda missed the purpose of the spring jump badge. Every badge has a pattern and color that signify their purpose. Orange ones are your skill badges that give you more mobility options. Blue ones are utility that provide some inherit use without needing to do something yourself. Those last three with the gold and black are “challenge” badges made to make the game harder.

[@gwimbly519]

I feel like a lot of people miss the point of the badges

[@coreykelley9441]

The search party levels were super fun online with other people helping each other out. I thought they were quite memorable. Solo wouldn't be fun tho

[@Jenalen01]

I think the design decision to allow players to pick whichever badge they wanted ultimately made the game worse. As it sits, you can do everything with any badge and as a consequence the levels themselves can't be designed around the badges in a way that's fun. The end result is just frustrating because the badge levels themselves are some of the best levels in the game and it feels like they were afraid to utilize them.

[@meatsackulationscongratula3154]

the way he looked over his shoulder when he was making them touch trunks 😂😂😂

[@danieldishon688]

The them is Lewis Carol's "Alice and Wonderland". The Elephants, Catapillars, singing flowers, size changing Wonder effects, these were all refrences to the Alice in Wonderland book.

[@valleyscharping]

I think the invisible and spring jump badge are for speedrunning challenges

[@droycon]

A small complaint I have about the movement in wonder is that the spin jump is basically useless. Unlike smw or even smm, you cannot spin jump on any spiny objects, so I don’t really understand what’s the point in ever using it (not counting firing fire balls or bubbles to both sides)

[@droycon]

Like I’m sure it has its niche uses but CMON

[@jamiecal11]

With due respect i didn't expect you to be properly critical like this. Just doesn't seem your brand to me. But this is quite good, and mirrors a lot of the meh I feel with the game too. Good game but still loads of bits that can improved before we call it a masterpiece or whatever.

[@FREEDOM_OR_DEATH_]

Thank you for the honest review. I called this one month ago in the comments for your initial reaction video. This game will lack replayability and make people appreciate NSMB so much more. I am one of Nintendo's super fans but this game just doesn't check all the boxes of a nintendo AAA title. It hurts me to say that and I hope the next generation of Nintendo developers can follow in the footsteps of the amazing developers that proceeded them.

[@popskull42]

The elephant is a nerfed giant mushroom so it can actually be used more than rarely.

[@kayh.4114]

Ryu is not only an "older" person..he is a "professional" Mario maker player. thousends over thousand of hours of MM1, MM2, Kaizo Mario games etc. - of course he is used to totally different difficult levels in a Mario game. Ryu is about challenges, gameplay at it´s purest etc., but kids are also just about the world, just the look of it. The feel of a level - not only in the beginning, but also after hours and hours of playing. Some points i get absolutely from Ryu. And i think, that all 2D upcoming Mario games will not be favorite in the future for Ryu - because it will stay that way. MM3, if it comes, will be a blast on the other side for Ryu! And the next 3D Mario maybe as well:)

[@eviehartman2895]

Low-key checking every day to see if you have a Super Mario RPG review yet and enjoying your use of SMRPG music in this one. 😄

[@fullydiminished]

I was personally hugely disappointed by the game. Beat it, went back to 100% it, took around 15 hours total, and haven’t picked it back up since. I have no desire to play through the levels as different characters (what’s the point? No different abilities), like I did with 3D World. For the $60 price tag, I’m starting to “Wonder” if I’ll keep buying 2D mainline Mario games upon release. I’ve had WAY more fun playing indie platformers for $19 and getting 20-30 hours of fun out of them. Of course Wonder is beautiful. But it’s too easy and the “side levels” are so pointless that I was visibly annoyed while playing. Lol.

[@cosmicXtropics]

What I've been telling people from the start. It's just sad people including yourself blindly trust Nintendo in the switch era. Research your games!!

[@43madnox]

i agree with a lot of points but the slime powerup is a 10/10 for me i loved that it has it‘s own movement and changes the game so much, my only criticism is that it was only utilised in 2 levels. for me, the game was a 9/10. it was the most fun i ever had in a mario game, even beating mario bros ds, my former favorite in the series. i acknowledge that it drifted far from the mario bros‘ roots and that the elephant powerup was pretty random, but i thought of it as a means to make the game even more unpredictable (even if undoubtedly pretty gimmicky) which made the game appear to me as more of an art project than an game (which it definitely was, not tryna deny that). had a lot of fun and loved the unpredictable nature of it. thus, 9/10 for me, could‘ve taken more use of actually fun wonder effects like the slime and bowling ball and make it more complex and fun instead of using effects like the shadow thing which i personally didn‘t enjoy as much as others, but those were still so fun i can‘t blame anyone for exploring these concepts. :)

[@gwimbly519]

The badges are for replayability. They all offer different ways to beat the same level. Replayability was a high priority for the team according to an interview and each badge makeese you tackle a level in a different way. It's especially noticeable if you speedrun alevel multiple times with different badges, you can't tackle it the same way with each badge. And you're an english speaker, the point of the break time levels is in the title like what??????

[@HarryBoSweets]

I agree with a lot that you’ve said A massive chunk of the game was on the easier side, I didn’t use more than half the badges most of the time, and the bosses sucked But above all else, it was still a pretty damn fun time. Music? Great! Visuals and animations? Wonderful! I’d say 8/10, worth all the time I put into 100%ing it

[@trayson]

This game is a ton of spectacle without much substance in my experience. I feel it barely taps into the mechanical flowstate that earlier games offer, and instead requires you to essentially make your own fun with self-imposed challenges to reach it (which I always find to be incredibly lame). This feels like Nintendo saw how much the baby sensory, clickbait-gimmicky, and music levels dominated Mario Maker in popularity (basically levels designed around instant gratification), and essentially said "oh wait that's what people want!" which is a shame cuz I always felt that just solid level design with increasing complexity and a natural development of player skills throughout was what made Mario so good before. This on the other hand feels pretty shallow. Flashy! but still shallow.

[@tyresr]

Man you put my exact thoughts into words. Previous games prioritized platforming and evolving level design whereas this one was more interested in throwing in a crAAAzy new gimmick each level. Another awful thing about the level design was the over reliance of those flowers scattered throughout every level that usually spit out coins, blocks, or other level elements. They ruined so many potential secrets by locking them behind touching a stupid flower.

[@trayson]

@@tyresr Oh yeah I hadn't even thought about those ubiquitous flowers. To me they just exist to keep the player constantly stimulated again with instant gratification (often favored over the satisfaction of figuring something out that has more grounded logic to it). I saw someone compare these flowers to Yoshi's Island's question-mark clouds, which i get, but I think those were much less common and required more skill to trigger; plus that's a game that's not already throwing a bunch of other wacky things at you constantly. What's crazy is I don't see why those 2 principles (wacky level gimmicks and mechanical development) can't coexist strongly. It's no wonder why a lot of people think this game is too short. It leaves you hanging with so many different ideas that could've been much more deeply explored. Like Ryu said as an example, I could easily see plenty more worlds that force you to wear a specific badge, all levels designed around it. But instead, Nintendo's probably going to answer that desire with a relatively scattered and less intrinsically meaningful experience in the form of Mario Maker 3 community levels (unless they really rework the system). :p Ah well, at least it's what 99% of the playerbase want, lol.

[@unclejoker9975]

The only thing that I'm mad about is that I've now seen 2 elephants dock. 0:20

[@daithiocinnsealach1982]

What would Mario look like if only got the features of an elephant like he did with the racoon suit?

[@Mizbrownchild]

I think as you stated the game was made for everyone. Those old school pros and kids. I don’t think it was made with extreme difficulty in mind. At 40 I truly haven’t mastered all the tricks and in my opinion that was the point. However, I’m enjoying it so far. I also think it seamed kinda rushed and think it be developed a tad bit more.

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

I think if you go into playing this game with the mindset of expecting to be really challenged by it you'll be disappointed - especially if you're one of the best at conquering hard levels. However, if you approach the game with a sense of adventure and just wanting to explore all that it has with the wonder seed unlocks, I think it's a terrific adventure!

[@BryanatGameStop]

Happy Thanksgiving Ryu!

[@j.l.5966]

SMB had a theatrical theme to it, like a stage play. Title screen is a curtain over a stage, and some stages had props and backstage areas. Of course, the power ups were mainly different suits/costumes, fitting the theme.

[@TheJadeFist]

I liked the Search Plaza party levels. They made good use of the online multiplayer shadows of other players thing. You could watch where they went and find things, or you can show each other, put standees up. If you only played offline, I could understand not enjoying the levels, but that's because they weren't designed for offline play, there's a cooperative aspect to them that you're simply missing out on.

[@IDoKnow.]

For me I would just make myself do a different badge each level and getting hearts in online where fun (9.3)

[@heyitsthatdog1576]

Love the Tropical Freeze mention. Ryu, you should go back to it and clean up some of those gold medals and KONG letters!

[@RobertVistal-jp2cw]

You know what Super mario needs, a full on horror element

[@campbub]

Mario Galaxy 🌌 is the GOAT

[@justnachoday5811]

Mario game tier list? I’d like to see where this stacks up for you compared to 3D world etc.

[@wickidgames]

This guy just completely forgot the tanuki in smb3 where he literally becomes a tanuki, not just ear and tail

[@Jake_1.]

We broke 1,000 views YES!!!!

[@Dusty_B]

Unironically one of the best reviews I’ve seen for the game

[@shingnosis]

They should definitely make a Mario Wonder 2. With what they've learned from the first one it could be something really special. About 30-40% bigger overall and the levels should work better for slow AND fast players. Once you've beaten the game once warp pipes to every world should open up and the ability to skip cut-scenes etc.

[@8083music]

"Look theyre touching trunks" made me deeply uncomfortable

[@mrCrazychris11]

I’m still obsessed with Mario Maker 2 and play it everyday. I kinda wish they would just add 1 more huge DLC with Wonder stuff and more enemies and better leaderboards so we don’t lose the great game we already have. What’s there already needs to stay in a Maker game we just need more added. Also it’s not Temple of Doom, it’s Raiders of the Lost Ark haha

[@Mofaxx]

I agree with most of these critiques. Personally, I was disappointed with the difficulty level of this game. Most levels are a cakewalk, and I thought it was a missed opportunity that so many of the levels end right after collecting the first wonder seed in the level. I wish these levels were longer, or had a significantly higher challenge to them. I was underwhelmed with the difficulty of the special world too, completing many of them on my first try. This game really needs more content/modes with Mario veterans in mind.

[@PowrUsr.]

As a casual gamer, with a lot of focus on retro gaming, this was the first platform-mario I finished entirely again. So it is fun. But I mostly miss the secrets. And the real hidden secrets within secrets we experienced in SMB3, Mario World or SM64... That's what really lacks in SMW... It's so dissapointing you THINK you found a secret way, and it's just for some small pink coin or to just end up a bit back in a level, like what the hell that's it? I agree with the 7.5

[@Suppboio]

how are you casual but retro? i really dont get it. you have to had learned a bit of skill through the years even if casually gaming. how does it never interested you to go fast on a platform level? i really cant see that happening. maybe it works like most people who drive a car dont ever turn to pro racers

[@aweirdwombat]

The raccoon (well really it's a tanuki, aka a raccoon dog) is actually a big part of Japanese folklore. The tanuki powers in SMB 3 are rooted in that, even letting you turn into a statue when you get the full suit. That one is a lot less random than you think. Same with the frog suit, which is for the water levels.

[@SwampThingNJ]

Was him turning into an elephant immersion breaking? If not then I think its randomness fits in a game like this

[@dustanloot]

There should be a random challenge level run with only 3 or 2 badges to choose from but you don't know the level your going to.

[@Mike14264]

I feel like the main thing about Wonder is that they wanted to distance themselves from the NSMB series. And I think that includes the approach to levels. Besides the secret worlds and levels, I don't think Mario's point is really to he hard or challenging, but rather to be fun. And part of that came from how engaging the levels were, and engagement in games typically comes from an ever increasing difficulty curve. Mario games pretty much set the text book standard about that, and everyone refers to it when talking about what makes a game well designed... which still doesn't exactly guarantee it'll be engaging or fun for everyone... ...and folks being tired of the NSMB series is a testament to that. Style also matters. Since the main criticism of the NSMB levels was how drab and sterilized they could look, they decided to make them engaging in different ways. The levels are still well designed, but their beauty, style and sense of, well, wonder was the main focus here. The Wonder Flower adds to that in both fronts. Some effects change how a level plays or its design, and some are just fun diversions! It's like a huge theme park, where some rides are thrill-filled rollercoasters, some are stunning dark rides, and some are calming ferris wheels! So it makes a lot of sense that they're not as appealing to folks that have grown to want more challenge, even harder and more technical levels, to the point of playing kaizo Mario on the regular. The level design is the selling point for you, while Wonder was more for the other side of the fandom.