Super Mario Bros. Wonderalready looks appealing for a lot of reasons. The titular Wonder Flower promises to bring a lot of creativity toMariolevel design, and the strange new elephant-themed item hopefully means more surprising power-ups are on the horizon. Perhaps the most important improvement inSuper Mario Bros. Wonderis the playable cast; not only doesPrincess Peachjoin another platforming adventure, but Daisy finally gets to join Mario and Luigi on an adventure too, and Yoshi is his own character now. Still, there’s room for growth. LuckilySuper Mario 3D Worldalready proved that unlockable characters work just fine in aSuper Marioplatformer.
3D Worldalready had a solid cast between Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad – plus a fewCaptain Toadchallenges on the side – but it also gave players a chance to unlock Rosalina once they got far enough into the game. Unlockable characters are uncommon in mainlineMariogames, butSuper Mario Bros. Wondercould build it into a more central feature for the franchise. Despite already featuring a couple demanded characters,Super Mario Bros. Wondercould put an emphasis on hidden unlockable characters, scattering a bunch ofMariostars across the game and encouraging players to experience the game from a ton of perspectives.
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder Can Double Down on 3D World’s Rosalina
Despite only starring in a couple previousMariogames, includingRosalina inSuper Mario3D Worldwas a smart move from Nintendo. Besides her remarkable popularity among fans, Rosalina showed thatMarioplatformers can push the boundaries of each characters' unique abilities.Mariogames have given each playable character strengths and weaknesses for decades, even beyond the platformers, but Rosalina’s spin attack made her stand out in3DWorld. It’s not every day that aMarioplatformer character has a built-in attack or special ability they can use without getting a power-up.
Super Mario Bros. Wondercan build on that idea with a higher number of unlockable characters. While most of the starting characters probably only have passive strengths and weaknesses, Yoshi might still make use of his tongue as a signature ability much like Rosalina’s spin. As players progress, they might come across moreclassicMariocharacterswho have special skills or more dramatic strengths and weaknesses that dramatically alter the gameplay loop. That’d be a great way to encourage fans to replaySuper Mario Bros. Wonder, challenging themselves to master each level many times over.
There’s plenty of otherMarioclassics that could join as more complicated characters inWonder. Wario seems like one of the most obvious picks; his signature shoulder charge from theWario Landgames would be a great active effect for bashing enemies and breaking blocks. Waluigi would also be a great unlockable character, especially if his keyMario Tennisconnection allows him to bat enemies around and deflect projectiles. If Nintendo feels really bold, it could even addDonkey Kong, who might pick up enemies and blocks to throw around.
If there’s one thing about3D World’s Rosalina thatWondercould improve upon, it’s the means of accessing these hidden characters. Not only does Rosalina unlock very late in the game, but she’s simply obtained by progressing far enough in the post-game.Super Mario Bros. Wondercould scatter bonus characters across the main campaign by setting up special challenge levels themed after each character, celebrating their status as one ofWonder’s guests.
Nintendo hasn’t indicated that a large cast of unlockable characters with special abilities is a priority, but there is hope for a broader roster. Given thatMario Wonderalready seems to contain significantly more playable characters than most2DMarioplatformers, Nintendo could be planning to lean into character options. Only time will tell ifSuper Mario Bros. Wonderplans to follow in3D World’s footsteps, but if it does, it should do so in the biggest way it can.
Super Mario Bros. Wonderreleases October 20 for Nintendo Switch.
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