Super Mario Bros. Wonder appears to be the 2D Mario I’ve wanted for 20 years – PREVIEW
I have to be honest – most of New Super Mario Bros. sort of passed me by. I really enjoyed the original one, back on DS, but as that series wore on, my excitement for 2D Mario increasingly waned. But in one short hands-on, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has restored that excitement, and reminded me of why I loved 2D Mario so very much.
In many ways, the shift of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is best represented by its art style. The NSMB games that have dominated 2D Mario for years have used an art style as established by 1996’s Super Mario 64; a chunky, smooth-looking 3D Mario based on the CG model used for the cover and promotional art for that game. In fact, that’s been how Mario has looked for decades now – in Mario Party, in Mario Kart, and in 2D and 3D games. There’s an established aesthetic – and for my money, it’s grown pretty stale.
It’s therefore no surprise that I’ve been thrilled to see Nintendo embrace some slightly different looks for the adventuring plumber and his friends. The best among them is a throwback, the art style depicted in Wonder. The characters just feel a little more characterful and better-defined. This new look is clearly inspired by the art of Yoichi Kotabe, the former Nintendo employee who tided up Miyamoto’s concept drawings for the cast of Mario and drew many of the iconic pieces of character art and game covers for the NES and SNES titles.