Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks like a potential return to form for the Super Mario Bros. games, but one feature points to a fascinating angle left unexplored. The last 2D Super Mario Bros. sidescroller was New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, a Switch port and upgrade of a Wii U title and its Luigi-focused DLC. Super Mario Bros. Wonder moves on from the New line to new inspirations and fresh ideas, making for an interesting package while also raising the question of what could have been if the game had ventured into a new genre altogether.
Mario games are no stranger to genre diversity, with the platforming roots of the franchise eventually expanding to also include a host of party games, sports titles, RPGs (including the upcoming remake of Super Mario RPG), and more. Most of these concepts were first explored many years ago, resulting in a long line of Mario Kart games and other subseries, but a number of interesting roads are yet untrodden. Although Super Mario Bros. Wonder remains a traditional 2D platformer at its core, it does experiment a bit more with certain features that call another direction to mind.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Could Make A Great Metroidvania
Mario is no stranger to unique abilities thanks to his long history with power-ups, but the Badges introduced in Super Mario Bros. Wonder take the idea in a new direction. Badges feature different tweaks that can be equipped before entering a level, making it possible to customize Mario somewhat to tackle challenges in different ways. Although this should give Super Mario Bros. Wonder an extra helping of replayability, the feature could really shine in a Metroidvania, where finding items to customize a build opens up the world in a much more extensive way.
Badges Would Have More Impact In A Mario Metroidvania
The Metroidvania genre, inspired by Nintendo’s own Metroid series and certain Castlevania games starting with Symphony of the Night, focuses on sprawling non-linear maps where new areas become accessible through finding necessary items. Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘s Badges could make for perfect keys to revealing a map in this way, with the Grappling Vine’s ability to latch onto walls mid-jump and the Parachute Cap’s gliding technique offering potential to reward mastery and further progress. This could also pave the way for more challenging and unique bosses than sidescrolling Mario games typically focus on, where a good loadout could be essential to victory.
If there’s any studio with the necessary qualifications to make a great Metroidvania, it’s Nintendo, and taking its most iconic hero to the genre would be an exciting new adventure for the plucky plumber. Super Mario Bros. Wonder does show a willingness to experiment that has been somewhat lacking in recent Mario sidescrollers, but Badges feel like a concept that could really take flight in a game built around them. Mario has had plenty of experience running and jumping across the Mushroom Kingdom, so Super Mario Bros. Wonder could have been an opportunity to give him a new sort of challenge altogether.
