In 2015, Nintendo introduced Super Mario Maker on the Wii U, letting players create their own levels and play other players’ levels worldwide via the Nintendo Network. Super Mario Maker let players make levels in three classic game styles: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. In Super Mario Maker 2 on the Switch, Nintendo added a 2D version of Super Mario 3D World. Four years later, Nintendo would release a brand new 2D Mario game known as Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is full of unique elements, tons of new mechanics and enemies, and more. But even though it is a 2D Mario game, would it work in Mario Maker as a new game style? Well, let’s take a look. (Spoilers ahead if you haven’t played Super Mario Bros. Wonder.)
First of all, Super Mario Bros. Wonder could work as a new style since its design and graphics are not the same as any other 2D Mario game to date, with its style being more claymated. However, that doesn’t tell the full story. The thing with Wonder is that it includes tons and tons of new enemies and elements, ones not seen in any previous game. Lots of the game styles from Super Mario Maker carry over between game styles, while others are changed to something similar, such as Yoshi in Mario World being changed to a Goomba Shoe in Mario Bros. 3.
A lot of the enemies from Super Mario Bros. Wonder wouldn’t be able to make the cut as a game style in Super Mario Maker. However, enemies aren’t the only things new in Wonder, as there are also tons of the items. The main one is flower coins. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder levels include typical gold coins and flower coins, which can be used at Poplin Shops on the world map to buy a variety of essential items and badges. So, that would make these flower coins completely obsolete in levels since they don’t do anything else while gold coins are the same as they’ve always been in 2D Mario, with 100 coins resulting in a 1-Up. This means that purple coins probably wouldn’t be included.
Another new mechanic in Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the badge system, letting players choose from a variety of badges which give a different ability Mario can use in levels. There is a chance this could work, but not in the same way. My idea is that in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game style, a badge system could replace the clear conditions, letting creators choose a badge that players use in their levels, letting creators make either a level or a Badge Challenge. However, this might not work perfectly, so badges might not appear at all in Super Mario Maker.
Finally, there’s the biggest new feature: the Wonder Flower. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, players can find a Wonder Flower in every stage, changing the level in a very strange way using the unique elements of the level. This would be hard to implement, but I think it could work. My idea is that it could work like a sub-area. My idea is that you can place a Wonder Flower, then choose one of the most popular effects from that game, and design your level. It could work like placing a sound effect, where what you place doesn’t directly interfere with the level you’ve created. It would be very difficult, but it could work. The only thing is that Wonder Seeds are part of Wonder’s story mode, which isn’t in Super Mario Maker. This might be a reason why Wonder Flower wouldn’t be included.
How do you think Super Mario Bros. Wonder could work as a game style in Super Mario Maker? Let me know in the comments.
Twitter: @RyansFortress