Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Release date, trailer, gameplay and more | Digital Trends

It’s been over a decade since we’ve had the last new 2D Mario game, but that dry spell has finally come to an end. Super Mario Bros. Marvel has appeared and will give us a brand new side-scrolling adventure through the Mushroom Kingdom. While 3D Mario titles tend to get the most excitement and praise from fans, there’s no denying that 2D games are just as creative and fun in their own way. While they all follow the same basic formula of racing across a stage in an attempt to reach the flagpole at the end, they all throw in fun and creative twists on how to get there that keep each title fresh. If you’re wondering what Mario’s next 2D adventure will hold, here’s everything we know Super Mario Bros. Marvel.

Release date

We’ve waited long enough for a new 2D Mario and Nintendo seems to agree. Super Mario Bros. Marvel it will arrive this fall on October 20th.

Platforms

Try to act surprised, but Super Mario Bros. Marvel will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.

Trailers

The revelation of Super Mario Bros. Marvel arrived during the June Nintendo Direct as the latest announcement.

In terms of story, that’s typically light in a 2D Mario game anyway, essentially nothing is shown by the trailer. Instead, the trailer mostly showcases the new art style and gameplay mechanics.

The new character we suspect is part of the story is the flowers that speak to Mario throughout the trailer. These little flowers appear all over the stages and give little greetings to Mario as he passes. This is supported by the new main object called Wonder Flowers which suddenly moves the level in different ways.

Game

This is where the beef at Super Mario Bros. Marvel it really is. First of all, it’s really a 2D platformer where you’ll mostly run and jump through obstacle courses full of dangers and enemies to reach the flagpole at the end. The first, and probably most important, change to the formula is the Wonder Flowers. Collecting these changed levels in many unexpected ways, like turning your character into a spiked ball, bringing pipes to life, and Mario even stretching and squashing in weird ways. We see Mario collect what is called a Wonder Seed which seemed to bring the world back to normal.

As for traditional power-ups, we’ve actually only seen the Mushroom and Fire Flower, but the new addition of an apple with an elephant trunk that turns Mario into an elephant is the most exciting thing. We don’t know all the new mechanics of this form, aside from targeting a poor Goomba, but the possibilities are endless.

Other forms of play we see are hand and foot grinds on rails, swimming on rain clouds that dump water, and at least a little movement between foreground and background. We also get a look at Mario and Peach using their hats to glide, meaning this is no longer a move exclusive to the princess. This appears to be a universal ability and not a power-up as neither character’s appearance was changed when they did.

There will be a traditional overworld where you can move around a map to select levels. Each level displays two collectibles to find and a star rating for difficulty.

Confirmed playable characters include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and even Daisy, but multiplayer appears to be limited to four players at a time.

Pre order

With the release of the game in sight, Super Mario Bros. Marvel pre-orders are ongoing on the official Nintendo store and at major retailers. There’s only a single standard version of the game for sale for $60, but it’s eligible for a Nintendo Switch Game Voucher if you happen to own one. There are no pre-order bonuses except the ability to pre-load the game before launch.

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