A brand new 2D Mario is just months away, and today, we got an in-depth look at Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first new 2D Mario in almost 11 years.
Today's Nintendo Direct didn't give us any shocks, per se, but we have a better idea of what to expect from the Flower Kingdom, how to play online, and some new enemies and power-ups.
Here's everything revealed during today's Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct - Every Announcement And Detail
Prince who?
Remember the cute little caterpillar on the game's main art? Well, it turns out he's a prince!
Prince Florian is the ruler of the Flower Kingdom, and his castle is taken over by Bowser. Florian then teams up with Mario and friends to help them on their journey. He's not playable, just extremely cute and very noble. We like that in a prince.
New worlds and levels
The Flower Kingdom is a brand new setting for the Mario series. Made up of seven different worlds — six islands that surround the central Petal Isles.
Other locations have been teased — such as a desert area and a poisonous mushroom forest — but for now, let's go over the worlds Nintendo has named.
Pipe-Rock Plateau
The Starting world, and very much like your traditional starting Super Mario world. Many of the mountains and hills look like pipes. Dinosaurs and grassy plains await Mario and friends on their adventure.
Fluff-Puff Peaks
A blend of a winter wonderland with mystical, fluffy clouds, Fluff-Puff Peaks is situated high up some snowy mountains and will give Mario a bit of a chill. At least until he reaches the top, where he can venture through the cloud sea and go higher than ever before.
Shining Falls
Golds, browns, and bronzes make the Shining Falls glisten under the cascades of the waterfalls. Lots of moving platforms and cave networks seem to make up this world, while big snails and water enemies lie in wait.
Petal Isles
The central area of the Flower Kingdom, the courses in this world vary from deep caves to sprawling seas. This looks like it connects to all six other worlds, so we'll have to see how this comes into play.
Open areas
No, 2D Mario isn't going open-world, but this little feature will help people play their own way. In some of the worlds, there are open areas that allow Mario to walk around freely, which lets you tackle certain courses in whatever order you see fit!
The traditional map structure is there too, but this helps Super Mario Bros. Wonder feel fresh.
Once you've beaten a course or level, you can select it from a menu, which will warp you directly to that level on the map.
What do the talking flowers do?
Seriously... what are they for? The talking flowers have featured pretty prominently in the trailers so far, and they had their own little spotlight during today's Direct.
They add flavour and personality to the world — talking flowers in the Flower Kingdom makes sense, right? But otherwise, it doesn't look like they benefit Mario other than perhaps commenting on the scenery or acting surprised when you appear out of nowhere, dressed as an elephant.
But don't worry, they're not just decoration — these flowers can give you hints for your adventure, but some will also give you coins if you water them. How do you do that? Well... we'll get to that.
All characters play the same
There are 12 playable characters in Super Mario Bros. Wonder — five of which are a little more unique than the rest.
But in terms of the normal cast, we have Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yellow Toad, Blue Toad, and Toadette. It's fantastic to see some of these characters in a 2D style Mario game, and you can play as whoever you want whenever you want, but today's Direct also stated that all of them play the same — so no floating with Peach or no high jump from Luigi.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, however, and it relates to those five characters at the back.
Nabbit is back!
New Super Mario Bros. U favourite Nabbit returns in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and he brings the same benefits as before. he's basically the invincible mode of the game, and while you can still lose a life, it means you can run into enemies without fear of losing health.
Playable Yoshis
Four different-coloured Yoshis are also playable in Super Mario Bros. Wonder — and you can pick from Green, Red, Yellow, or Light-Blue Yoshi. But they come with a twist. They don't take damage, either.
Just like Nabbit, Yoshi make the player invincible to damage, but can also lose lives. As an added bonus, the little dinosaur does have his flutter jump to let him get higher up much easier than the others.
Tons of new enemies
Goombas, Koopa, Dry Bones, and Lakitu are all making a comeback — would it be a Mario game without them? But there are a lot of new enemies to encounter in the Flower Kingdom, too. Nintendo touched on a few of these during the Direct, but we also spotted some extra ones that we know very little about so far.
Let's dive into what we know.
Hoppycats
What looks like a harmless little mound of green stuff, Hoppycats copy your character's actions — specifically, your jumps. This can make it tricky to get over them, but they're kind of cute, right?
Melon Piranha Plants
A new melon twist on the popular enemy, Melon Piranha Plants look like melons — we bet Yoshi is keen on these. They spit seeds out of their mouths as opposed to fireballs, and it looks like you can bounce on top of those seeds, too.
Condarts
A new bird-like enemy, these hang from the ceiling or wall and shoot themselves towards you, often getting stuck in the wall or floor if they miss. They can also destroy blocks, from the looks of things.
Konks
We reckon Konks are in the same family as Thwomps and Whomps. These are big blocks that like to crush things, but these can even push through the ticky, sticky goo you'll find in the Flower Kingdom's more sinister areas.
Mumsies
We're not talking about flowers or pet names for parents, here. Mumsies are mummified enemies that you can actually unwrap to reveal... well, nothing, just coins.
Maw-Maws
These might be our favourites — flat, platypus-like creatures that eat up everything in their paths. They look so goofy. You can lure them into other enemies, and they'll gobble up Goombas.
...and the rest!
Lots of other foes were shown off during the Direct, but many didn't get a name. There's an unusual chipmunk-type enemy that you can chase through levels, giant snails with shells that react like a Koopa Shell, and those chunky dinosaurs.
Three new power-ups
A trio of power-ups are making their debut in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. We've gone over these in some detail elsewhere, but let's give you a brief summary of what these are.
Elephant
Go big or go home with this new power-up which turns Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and everyone into an elephant. This makes your character bigger, stronger, and lets you run across big gaps.
Bubble
This bubble-blowing power-up is great for taking down impervious enemies, but you can also use it to create platforms to get to hard-to-reach areas.
Drill
Mario gets a little drill hat with this power-up. You can use this to drill through the ceiling or the floor, which will let you get past obstacles.