Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s new bad guys make the Mario bestiary feel fresh
Super Mario Bros. Wonder sends Mario and pals to the Flower Kingdom, where a whole batch of threatening lifeforms are just begging to be stomped on by our heroes. While many invasive species from the Mushroom Kingdom also exist in the Flower Kingdom — like the Goomba, Koopa, Spiny, and Piranha Plant — this game is full of brand-new strange little creatures.
The Super Mario series has remixed and reimagined its rank-and-file bad guys in the past, but Wonder goes much further. More than 40 new weird lil’ guys are a threat in this world, and many are just as inventive as the Wonder Effects that make the new Super Mario adventure so memorable.
Here are the 12 best new monsters to join the Super Mario Bros. bestiary, together with factual explanations as to why they’re just so darn good.
One of the earliest and most dazzling effects to come from a Wonder Flower is the introduction of the Bulrush, a distant cousin of the Reznor who is much more mobile, is more aggressive, and looks good in a singlet. Their vaguely strongman-like appearance is clever, but it really comes down to the awe of the Bulrush stampede and the fact that I love a video game enemy that knocks itself out.
Another great Wonder Effect really sells the Maw-Maw, a moseying amphibian with a gaping mouth that swallows Goombas whole. Maw-Maws and the Wonder Effect that turns Mario and friends into Goombas turns Super Mario Bros. Wonder into a mini-stealth game, just one of the many refreshing gameplay mix-ups that Nintendo stuffed into the platformer. In addition to delighting in seeing video game bad guys knock themselves out, I also love watching a little weirdo like the Maw-Maw panic sweat.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder does bouncy stuff expertly. The jiggles and
Read more on polygon.com
