The Many Problems with Super Mario Wonder - An in Depth Review

[@ppheard1254]

The multiplayer one took out mist if the fun. When I was a lot younger, I played the hell out of NSMBWii with my dad, grandma and little brother. We'd have fun leaving each other behind, picking each other unnecessarily and overall laughing over the chaos. Wonder took all that away with players inability to directly interact with each other 7:41 Perfect summary, they somehow did worse than the koopalings, which had variety, and boom-boom in SMB3 who appears 18 times

[@Rediscool9]

Guess what? Maybe there are people who DIDN’T like how multiplayer was implemented in NSMB Wii where players had collision and thought it was annoying and brought down the multiplayer experience. Did you ever think of that?

[@whyrwehere]

​@@Rediscool9It should have been an option then. That would make everyone happy.

[@gabe5918]

@@Rediscool9everybody loved it bruh. It’s one of the most loved and talked about aspects.

[@rouxls_kaard1]

@@gabe5918 Nah the chaos was so unfun

[@Green_Stache_Productions]

Damn this was actually an eye opening review and addresses a lot of things that can actually be considered legitimate problems with the game. And this is coming from someone who 100% completed Wonder 5 times! Seriously I love this game and think it's my favorite 2D Mario yet and I've played all of them. But I can see why you had a hard time enjoying its gameplay. If I had to say why I love Wonder so much I guess it's because I normally like to 100% Mario games and I think out of all the mainline 2D Mario games, Wonder has the best pacing for a full completionist run. Every level always does something unique and new and always tries to mix things up and I rarely find myself getting bored or finding it monotonous after a while. Although I will say Standees are my least favorite part of 100% Wonder. Like you said, they're stupid. But at the very least I don't normally find myself having to grind too much for purple coins Anyways good review

[@gatlin1320]

Glad to see someone actually pointing out the completely valid problems with Super Mario Wonder. The game isn’t trash or anything but it’s annoying when every single review is getting by red in the knees from sucking Mario off. They even go so far as to call the game “perfect” when there’s such obvious flaws in it.

[@sandman8920]

I’m someone who grew up with Mario nes/snes and game boy onwards. I was quite excited for wonder but was very disappointed with it ended up hating it actually and I’m considering selling it.

[@gatlin1320]

@@sandman8920 Me and my family beat SMB WII AND SMB WIIU over and over again multiple times. We were excited to try out the new game but lost interest after the first 4 or 5 levels. After seeing so many people glazing the game, calling it “perfect” I thought there must be something I’m missing so I decided to beat the game just to be sure. After 99%-ing the game I can say the game isn’t complete trash but it’s nothing special. My biggest complaint is that it’s just too easy. I didn’t really feel much accomplishment after beating the game. We replay the other Mario games all the time but have no desire to replay Wonder.

[@sandman8920]

@@gatlin1320 yeah it’s frustrating when ign for example says it’s the best 2d Mario game ever made so you play it and are left thinking eh are you sure about that?! I’m actually playing super Luigi u at the moment and having a blast with it but wonder I can’t see me ever going back.

[@Mohammed1000real]

Game journalists are sucking Mario off, that's not a good thing.

[@snewp_e2139]

@@sandman8920nobodys buying from your weird ass 😭🙏

[@zombiehiphop]

I agree honestly, wonder is a fun game and I enjoyed the small playthroughs I did with others but the older games are still more fun. I'd much rather play Wii or 3d world multiplayer than Wonder honestly and your points really articulate the issues with the game, the replay-ability one especially imo .

[@IREV00]

Thank ya Flamey. I still haven't beat Newer but from what I've played (Up to like world 6) it's a really good continuation of the stuff we liked from the older games so I recommend you check it out with some friends if you feel the urge.

[@ryleerushin3683]

Another great video as usual Rev. Personally I had a lot of fun playing Wonder, i thought it was pretty cool way to mix up the 2D Mario formula but i also see where you're coming from with collectables not meaning much of anything and the game being more of a time commitment. Keep up the great work! It's always great to see ya upload, you've been a big inspiration in my own video making

[@IREV00]

Thanks Rylee! That's really nice to hear.

[@star14604]

Not being able to throw your friends is the worst change

[@Levee-kx6ul]

I think throwing friends shouldve been optional. Like a toggle or something.

[@XTHHedgehog]

Honestly, I agree. Being able to pick up your partners and throw them made getting the Star Coins in Wii and U so much more fun and creative.

[@NotDiamond224]

New Rev video ( I took my fatguy nap before it dropped yeesh)

[@harenzaren]

I never actually thought about the replay-ability in relation to the shortcuts previous games had, like it does suck that its not an option anymore for quick-play. In general I do agree with your other points here too, even if they didn't hinder my enjoyment of the game as much (aside from the purple coins/wonder seed stuff and boss fights, I do think they should reassess how they approach that next time around). Also bro has the white title screen, didn't actually 100% it smh.

[@IREV00]

I think Mario has always been kind of secretly faster than Sonic just cause his games are so quick and fun to beat. They really did care about that arcade-y quality back then and just must've forgot with Wonder unfortunately Also I lost the footage I sweaarrrrr I beat it all

[@lightninja4795]

The only new game I would play over wonder is new Wii and that’s it. Other other new games are so bland that they can’t hold my attention unlike wonder. Wonder is in my top 5 2D mario games with 3 world and land 2 being the only games better than it in my opinion.

[@callinater6133]

Mario U is legitimately the best 2d mario in terms of level design. I’d give that another go. I feel like Wii is pretty boring to play alone as most of the levels feel too big for one player. U did a much better job at designing the levels around both.

[@Masked_Mastermind]

NSMBWii is overrated imo, NSMBU is so much better in almost every way but people overlook it just because it came after.

[@andressuarez1728]

Wii it's literally worse than U, U is so much better in level design and graphics.

[@Baconator2558]

I personally think Wii is more bland than U and DS.

[@jackunvailable]

Honestly, other than bosses, a lot of the issues you brought up have good reasons behind them. Mario Wonder was mostly meant as a step away from arcade-like experiences. Think about it this way; sure, lives are practically meaningless in this game (sometimes, I personally didn't find it to be a massive issue in my playthrough), however what's the point of lives to begin with? Sure, they "add stakes," but it's fully possible to create a fun game without adding stakes that make you wanna ram your head into a wall for failing. Now, Mario hasn't had ram-head-into-wall steaks since it's retro days, the "New" 2D games feel pretty balanced and well-designed overall, however that doesn't change the fact that dying repeatedly in a level, or running out of time while exploring could be really disheartening and is probably a contributor to why I still haven't willed myself to complete any of the "New" games yet. And as for Wonder Seeds, I personally see them as more of a completion bar than a collectable. If you're playing every stage normally, you're bound to run into them anyways, so it really just helps to track what stages you missed hidden exits in, what stages you missed a Wonder Flower in, etc.

[@NickMario1]

True

[@emptimagazine]

It didnt feel rewarding to beat levels

[@Rediscool9]

@@emptimagazine Speak for yourself

[@TheCatO9Tails]

@@Rediscool9 I think he speaks for alot of people actually, including me who feel the level design isn't just too easy but also needlessly convoluted. Instead of building on ideas and upping the challenge it felt gimmicky and desperate.

[@Rediscool9]

@@TheCatO9Tails Yeah sure a lot of people and what you mean by “a lot of people”, you mean just you and them.

[@Austinator0630]

Your points in addition to the obvious lazy boss encounters with Bowser Jr proves why wonder wasn't really worth the hype. These issues have the potential to be carried over into the next 2d mario.

[@NickMario1]

Ehh I think they can fix the issues in the next 2D game, wonder is still good tho but yeah the bosses and some other stuff is kinda bad

[@mk8-mkwil117]

True with bowser jr it will be the same for the Koopalings in new super Mario Bros situation where everyone wants them gone and now everyone is regretting that. Regardless they no fix for bosss in 2D Mario as apart of 3d Mario

[@Tromite]

My main gripe with this game is that it's too easy and simple. It's very hand-holding and doesn't punish you very much. The actual level design tries to be crazy with all these new powerups and enemies, but ends up feeling basic and involved most of the time. I think Mario and Luigi U were more challenging. However, I still really like the game as it feels like the start of a fresh new era!

[@baalfgames5318]

One huge thing I hate are most of the dream gimmicks. A lot of them barely effect the gameplay, while others slow it down to a crawl. Anytime I see that dang wall power-up, I feel like shutting the game off. And while younger me would have smiled gleefully at Mario turning into my favorite animal, the problem I have now with Mario into an elephant is the fact that a human that can turn into the most adorable and boss animal on Earth... is still a human.

[@arturocaissut1071]

Multiplayer aside (which is not relevant in my case, since I hate people) I agree with most of these remarks, but I think that the worst offenders are boss battles and the lack of some sort of warp. The rest I can live with, although the difficulty curve is pretty weird: 99% of the game is too easy, the remaining 1% (i.e., a couple of levels) is borderline frustrating. I'd rather have a more balanced game, reasonably difficult with a bit of well implemented challenges here and there (like SMW, which is still in my top 3 and probably will always be).

[@ButterApple249]

Tbh most of this review feels like nitpicks at best, most of these issues don't affect everyone and some of these are actually a plus, no time limit? Sick! Lives don't matter? Cool I hate lives anyways! Death isn't fatal? Cool me and my friends had levels were we struggled together, if it was the old system we would've had a ton of game overs which really removes the fun of playing the damn game. So having that leniency helped us actually push to finish the levels since it wasn't as punishing. The lack of player collision is literally only a plus there's zero downsides. Argue about "trolling friends" all you like, but as fun as that was, it was more annoying when we had to purposely die or bubble just to not be in someone's way when trying to do something but end up bumping into each other fucking everyone up. At the end of the day it is an opinion but in my opinion Wonder is the next best 2D Mario game and I would rather play it over the NES or Wii games anyday (I don't really care for replayability anyways I don't replay games often if at all) My main issue is boss design with the new co-op system you think they would've pushed it harder but nope I guess not...

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

10:00 color splash reference 😅?

[@stolenearthtv]

I haven't played Wonder yet so I dont really have an opinion to speak on, but from what I've gathered it doesn't sound good, however for a player like me I dont think I'd mind the mistakes all too much. I still crown Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze as the best 2D platformer ever. Amazing video as always REV

[@IREV00]

I wouldn’t call the game bad by any means. It has a lot good in it! Most of my problems are sort of minor but when all put together it really drove the game down for me. Tropical Freeze is definitely better though no question. Thanks as always for the kind words StolenEarth!

[@stolenearthtv]

@@IREV00 Yeah my choice of words wasn't the best looking back at my comment. It doesn't sound like a bad game, thats my bad on that, but yeah I adore tropical freeze, unfortunately a very underrated game because well... Wii U. I really want a 3rd Donkey Kong Country game by them before my death, ideally. Would you want to see like a Wonder 2 but with more older aspects of the mario games? Or would you prefer Wonderful to be a one and done thing, and explore something new?

[@IREV00]

@@stolenearthtv I’m not sure where they go from here really. If they do a Wonder 2 we risk falling into a formula again. I would love to see them try something completely different. Subvert everything we know about 2D Mario. Wonder is a good first step to that I think. We just gotta see what they do with it in the future.

[@NopeNothingD9]

This video is so just nit picking for views and engagement. For example take your point about the one wonder seed levels. “They really drag the game down so much” “if I wanted a break I’d just stop playing the game” Keep in mind these levels are optional easy challenges that take less than a minute to complete and your genuinely advocating for less content in a 60$ game. If this is what your critiquing it on then I think it’s safe to say your scratching the bottom of the barrel.

[@ButterApple249]

That and the general critique of the wonder seeds themselves, they aren't "special rewards" but just level completion, it's like seeing a space go from red to blue like "wow you did it now you can move on" but it gives you a bigger freedom to pick and choose exactly what you want to do. 3D World had a similar idea but levels were still linear paths but in Wonder you have open spaces to pick and choose levels so they had to introduce a way to give you these options without just letting you walk from level one to the final so the wonder seeds make sense, they let you pick your levels to get the needed seeds and move on if you want to. Yeah there's still linear sections but not as many as there used to be it just means more freedom and I thought people liked that? Plus collecting them at the end of a Wonder Effect is cool I don't get what this guy means by "It means the end of the fun!" When I just see it as "I had my fun but now I'm tired of it" and the Wonder Seed usually appears at that exact moment I'm bored of the effect

[@NopeNothingD9]

@@ButterApple249 Exactly, they are meant to be short little bursts of fun. It’s like he wants every level to just be in the wonder seed version from start to finish… which doesn’t sound fun to me.

[@callinater6133]

I actually think NSMBU (and Luigi U) is the best 2d mario in a vacuum. If it was the only NSMB game we ever got I feel like that would have done wonders for its perception. The game seems just like the others on your first playthrough, but man once you start replaying the games you begin to see a hook U has that no other game in the series really has. The level design is so multilayered and well thought out and I honestly didn’t think it was possible for a game to handle every kind of playstyle so seamlessly. The flow is just so damn good once you get good enough to start running through all the levels.

[@therandomguy2212]

I feel you’re being a bit too harsh about this game. The only part I can understand is the multiplayer. But there’s a reason why it’s like that, besides the fact that not many people like collision, it’s the main reason why the levels in NSMBWII were so barren. So they had to remove it so the level can be more tighter for all players. But again, I understand why you think this way. (Also because many wonder effects wouldn’t work well with collision. Especially the transformation ones) Another thing, you bring up how them using the main collectible, the wonder seeds, is a bad idea to progress through the game, when Mario 64, Sunshine, and both Galaxy games has done this. This is simply a way to give players the choice if they want to continue and get to the final boss of a world, or if they want to continue to get the rest of the levels done. Mario games has always done this. Also I think you’re being way too harsh with the break time levels. They’re supposed to be bite sizes levels if you wanna grab a quick wonder seed to reach the final boss. Again, Mario games always gives you the choice on what you want to do (except for 3D world, which was stupid imo) I can kiiiinda get what you’re saying with replay ability, but you gotta know, we haven’t had a new, refreshing 2D Mario games for almost 2 decades. So you needing to collect every royal seed to beat the game makes sense, (and also, skipping a handful of wonder flowers would be kinda dumb imo) and imo, adds better progression into the game. Edit: The reason why there’s no secret exits is is because there’s now a main collectible you need to get in order to progress, and if you were able to just, skip worlds, you’re not gonna have enough to reach the final boss of said world. This is why 3D world has no secret exits. The green stars are needed to open up every boss level, and some regular levels. Also, If you were able to skip worlds in wonder, what about petal isles? Petal isles is a “world” but the way it works is very different, so are you just gonna go around in circles skipping worlds and ignoring petal isles? Also you literally need the royal seeds to open up castle bowser, which is IN petal isles, which you’ve been skipping so many times. So yeah your argument about skipping worlds doesn’t really work, so I don’t know why you’re only giving wonder flack about it, but not 3D world. The timer can be a flaw….if you’re a speed runner…and if you’re aren’t, which majority of Mario fans are, then the timer was basically worthless, and kinda ruined a bit of exploration in 2D Mario games. NSLU did a better job at using the timer for its levels. Okay your gripe about purple coins is like, super wrong- and it’s more of a you problem, and less of an actual flaw. Since I, and I guarantee, many others has used the flower coins to getting wonder seeds, standees, and badges. At no point did they felt rare. Like I get it, it’s your opinion, so I ain’t gonna flock you or anything, but I personally think that majority of your gripes with the game feel like nitpicks/personal (especially when a couple are based on speedrunning) yet your try to treat it as genuine flaws. Again, it’s your opinion, and I respect, I’m just giving my opinion on why I disagree on your video. Edit: also one more thing, since special worlds now work differently, and it has their own set of wonder seeds, there was really no point of them bringing back star coins for this game. Which is why the flower coins exist, and they’re similar to the Dino coins from Mario world.

[@ozark5247]

erm actually in 3d world you can skip some worlds 🤓

[@therandomguy2212]

@@ozark5247 lolololol. (Even then it’s just skipping to the next world. Barely even counts,

[@ozark5247]

@@therandomguy2212 true lol I forgot the orange pipe in world 1’s underground level takes u to world 2

[@Daft0Cean968]

yea most of the gripes people have with Wonder are honestly more personal. I mean having more time to explore a level than to keep track of how quick I completed it in seems like a pretty good trade off especially when Wonder's levels have so much to explore. And again having more full levels with no collision compared to barren levels with collision is a really good trade off. Besides the bosses and the locked camera everything else i've seen is mostly nitpicks/personal, which I don't mind you should be able to speak what you think about something, but there's a difference between that and calling the game 'overhyped' just straight up bad

[@bigfanofsb653]

2:24 You would have a point if Wii saved your best times. You used that timer in an unintentional way which can very easily be recreated with your phone. But that's too imprecise, as opposed to the timer without milliseconds. Does it take seconds to reach over and tap a button?

[@midi_feline]

Who are you, when did I even subscribe to you-

[@IREV00]

Really? It was that one time at that conference! You don't remember me?

[@Taylor.]

@@IREV00yeah I was there too I remember after we grabbed some drinks and did that one thing at that one place how could u not remember

[@NotDiamond224]

@@IREV00 I remember the time you bought me a pizza when I was at my lowest so real of you.

[@Starlit43]

Wow I haven’t watched your content since your reactions. Seems like decades ago

[@Charkis97]

his last video was 5 months ago

[@Starlit43]

@@Charkis97 that’s not what I meant

[@Mohammed1000real]

Wonder is a good game but it isn't that fun because of how shockingly gets stale real quick. Oh and the Mario fandom doesn't find the talking flower kind of annoying makes me question if we even live in the same planet.

[@DannyP-dm1pw]

I don't want to play an Elephant. I want to play mario. It's just eh to me. I tried. Back to Super Mario World.

[@jknifgijdfui]

Stance on new super luigi u personally i think it dang good outside the star coins cause they dont really fit inside the changed format of nslu but still is fun

[@xavierreallyplaysgames]

Said the exact same in my own review. I agree with you 100%

[@spence8507]

5:49 So like...The New Super Mario Bros Games

[@Duckyy.]

Yes cuz the multiplayer in that was amazing

[@lpslethalrose]

I wonder if Flanders would like this game..

[@IREV00]

Stupid sexy Flanders…

[@M.N.9]

People have opinions, but honestly. Multiplayer in Wonder is just bad. Only cause is literally che camera being locked on player with the crown.

[@Levee-kx6ul]

I agree woth most your points, and disagree to some extent with others. Overall i think Wonder isnt perfect, but its a grat step in the right direction. Also yoshi and nabbit not grtting powers ups is dumb. Yoshi having extra skills makes sense, but nabbit doesmt so he shouldve gottem powerups. And i think Yoshi shouldve been the games "hard mode". Like in single player yoshi could take one hit to die but he has unique abilities. But in multiplayer, as lomg as someone is riding him, he wont die and basically gets invinciblity. Therefore, yoshi on his own is hard mode, but if you dont want to play like that then just ride on yoshi. (Or even better yet, just add a hard mode and easy mode or make custom diffculties for each player) just spitballing

[@greenxclips1733]

The soundtrack was trash 🤢 they could’ve made the wonder flower segment music a house/80s type beats and taken notes from 3d world/Super Mario World for the main levels but instead they insisted on keeping the soundtrack silly and playing it too safe, really disappointing especially when music is something I look forward to hearing and expect Nintendo to impress me with when I play a new Mario game

[@atone404]

i liked it

[@CameronRoberts-jh9mr]

Only 2 things I agree with are the bosses and flower coins but those do not ruin the game for me unlike the new games where the blandness of them and repeated art style and music and not pushing the mario series forward does ruin it for me.

[@jesse4437]

Great video. I'm tired of people acting like this game is the greatest thing ever made. The NSMB games are far superior, no question. They need to bring that series back and get creative with it instead

[@spence8507]

10:10 NO. WRONG

[@Retro_gamer1997]

I absolutely love Mario Bros Wonder. But you're complaints are valid.

[@sandman8920]

I feel the same. The game is a disaster

[@CameronRoberts-jh9mr]

I hate the new super mario bros games. They are so freakin bland. Same 8 world themes recycled music bosses and level ideas. They all look the same. I have to use newer wii and ds if i am going to play those games as they are actual creative Wonder has many new enemys power ups. New artstyle new music and mechanics like the wonder flower and badges. 1.one point j want to bring up is the time. More people play a game casually than speedrunnning so it was smart on nintendo to remove the time limit for majority casual audience. Like you said if you do want to speedrun time yourself. Nintendo put priority over the casual audience which us bigger and if you want to speedrun you can still time yourself. 2. I would agree with the flower coins if they unlocked a extra world but because they are used for the shop i dont think it matters at all that they stay collected. 3. The only point i will agree with is the bosses suck except the final boss. The new super mario bros us so bland and cant play through a lot due to the series really having nothing to call its own unlike wonder. It borrows so much from previous games and the other new games itself. New ds New 2D mario game in 14 years so they played it safe Newer wii 4-player co-op but pretty much the same 2 A coin gimmick that does nothing except a new title screen such excitement U just the same music and themes again Even though i dont agree great video.

[@callinater6133]

U was the first game since world to have an interconnected world map. And it actually added quite a lot. Baby Yoshi’s were a great addition and the acorn power up is probably the best all round flying power up in the series imo. The reuse of the world themes for the 4th time in a row would make ANY game series feel stale though, which is unfortunate.

[@rick0dweeb]

i hate mario

[@AdrianAnimations360]

Bro is yapping for views

[@greenxclips1733]

That’s the point of video essays 💀

[@Rediscool9]

Oh look an edgelord contrarian

[@slipstream7324]

don't be a mindless consumer it's good to critique things you like

[@Rediscool9]

@@slipstream7324 Except the person in this video literally said that he didn’t like this game so it’s not even a case of someone critiquing a game that they like, it’s just disliking a game just for the sake of being a contrarian. Also wow what a totally very original insult. “Mindless consumer” what a totally meaningless buzzword that is just used to shield off any and all criticism towards a bad review. Why don’t you actually form an opinion of your own instead of mindlessly letting some KZbinr speak for you?

[@slipstream7324]

@@Rediscool9 Did you like Luigi's Mansion 3 as well?

[@voidenterprises]

@@Rediscool9 you doin okay man? slipstream over here could of used a better choice of words but, you do know what critiquing is, right? you like or dislike something, based on your critiques, which the guy provided in the video. you watched the video, right?

[@Rediscool9]

@@voidenterprises Yes I did indeed watch the review and I still disagreed with most of his points and felt like a lot of his points against this game is him just misunderstanding the entirety of what this game was trying to do and instead just used his nostalgia bias towards the older NSMB games and got upset when this game changed much of the formula that had already gotten extremely stagnant thanks to said NSMB games. Like seriously? Getting mad over the removal of the pointless archaic score system? Yeah no. The fact that he has the nerve to say that the NSMB games are “fundamentally better” is just wrong on so many levels in of itself. Critiques in of themselves can be critiqued as well. You do know that, right?