Verdict
Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park is a tale of two halves. I had a blast with the new single-player content, taking my time to trounce the Koopalings one by one, but the multiplayer element falls a bit flat in terms of replayability and variety.
Out of all the games I've played in the last few years, and trust me, there's a lot, few have stuck with me the way Super Mario Bros. Wonder has. Before it arrived, I wondered how Nintendo could reinvent its 2D platforming bread and butter for the 2020s, only for the Japanese gaming giant to knock it out of the park with a colorful, challenging, and chaotic new entry. Now, it's back for a second outing in the form of Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, and I've spent the last couple of weeks checking out what's new.
One of the new features for this version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the option to pick Rosalina as a playable character. For this review, I played through the whole game again using only the space princess in the light-blue dress, and she's a fine addition. I'll admit, she doesn't feel all that different from the rest of the cast of characters, and it would have been nice if she had some sort of anti-gravity mechanic that matched her celestial place in the Mario canon. Still, she serves as a nice change of pace from the usual platforming suspects, and it's neat that you can play multiplayer and have the second player assist by controlling Luma with mouse controls.
Outside of the addition of Rosalina and Luma, there's also a new power-up in the form of the Super Flower Pot. This item turns whichever character you're playing as into, yep, you guessed it, a plant, capable of shooting flowers up in the air and a new kind of jump that sees you linger in the air for a moment before a second burst upwards. It's a fun little addition to the power-up roster, and I'm sure it'll prove popular with the speed-running community, as even I, a casual fan, spotted some opportunities to use it to skip over parts of a level in my playthrough.
On the subject of the main game, I'd recommend starting over as I did, even if you've beaten Super Mario Bros. Wonder pretty recently. This new version adds some depth to the base game outside of its multiplayer offering by way of the Koopalings. Once you've arrived in Pipe-Rock Plateau, you'll see there's a new location in the top-right corner of the map, which takes you to Bellabel Park. Jump in, and you'll get a fresh cutscene, and from there, you can continue your quest as you would normally, but with a Koopaling battle now occupying a spot in each of the game's seven worlds.
The bouts with the Koopalings are a lot of fun and, even right from the off, feel a little more challenging than your regular level. It's not exactly the Lost Levels, but it's a nice change of pace, especially when some of the other earlier levels are a bit of a breeze during a replay. Not only that, but the Koopaling stages also dial up the visual whimsy, embracing the color and chaos of the rest of the game. Their plot also falls nicely in line with the original story, as the Koopalings have stolen Bellabel Park's flowers, and it's your job to get them back. It's tried and true Mario narrative design, but it isn't broken and doesn't need fixing.
Before moving on to the multiplayer element, it's also worth mentioning the introduction of Dual Badges, which, as the name suggests, combines the abilities of two separate badges in one. Like the new power-up, or even more so, I can imagine speedrunners getting pretty creative with this new mechanic, as some of the combinations are almost overpowered. For example, one Dual Badge option is Wall-Climb Jump + Grappling Vine, which makes tricky vertical platforming sections much more manageable.
Now, let's get into the real meat of this review, my time at Bellabel Park. The in-game location is split into two parts. There's one area for online multiplayer and another for local multiplayer. It's a small hub world, which, like the rest of Wonder, you're allowed to explore pretty freely. There isn't much to do outside of the attractions, which is the official in-game name for the assortment of minigames, but it looks fittingly wonderful.
During an hour-long session with some other journalists, we checked out all that's on offer in terms of online multiplayer, and my thoughts are pretty mixed. Let's start with the positives, though. Most of what's available feels like a continuation of the chaotic platforming fun of the base game, as for the most part, it's variations on the race-to-the-finish-line format, be it in a rocket vehicle, a massive rollerblade, or with Mario gripping on tight to a big ol' bouncing ball.
There's one attraction I'm not massively keen on, and that's Run, Hide! Phanto Tag. It's effectively a combination of the classic playground games, Tag and Hide and Seek, but if you're hiding, you can morph into an object, like a brick block or a coin. Not only that, but the lights go out a couple of times during the game, allowing you to find somewhere new to hide. It's still fun, but it always feels like the hiders have too many advantages over the seeker.
For example, in one round, I transformed myself into a block while the seeker pursued another player, and then I just stayed there, not moving or even touching my Switch 2 until the end of the round. I'm never a fan of a game that actively rewards inactivity, and I could say that I played the perfect stealth game, but I don't think I did. Playing as the seeker is also pretty frustrating, as hiding is just one option. In another game, I simply outmaneuvered my opponent, platforming around them for the allotted time.
While I had some fun checking out all the new attractions, it did, at points, feel more like I was playing a Mario Party game than a classic Nintendo platformer. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as I love Mario Party, but the best Mario Party games have a real sense of depth, and what you're looking at here are a limited number of different varieties of minigames with different options in terms of course.
The point I'm getting at is essentially that the attractions are a bit like a real-life fair; they're fun at first, but they get old pretty quickly, and you come away with a feeling that you're not sure if you've spent your money wisely. I will say, though, that offering multiplayer action through GameShare is a fantastic idea, as now I can force my friends to let me obliterate them at Rip-Roar! Roller Skate Race without them having to buy the game themselves.
Still, despite my multiplayer fatigue, Bellabel Park has a bit more than just minigames to offer. When you complete minigames, you're rewarded with water droplets, which you can then use to grow flowers to decorate the park with or instruments for the Poplin orchestra. This is a nice touch, as it makes the slightly repetitive nature of the minigames at least worthwhile, as you can actually see the fruits of your labor in the development of the park.
My other Bellabel Park highlight sits just outside of the main grounds, and that's the Toad Brigade Training Camp. What you've got here is essentially a collection of trials with specific conditions, such as defeating enemies, clearing a course, or collecting coins in an allotted time. There's plenty of content here to keep you engaged after finishing the main story and taking out all the Koopalings. You can complete challenges to earn more water droplets without having to play online, which is a nice touch for completionists like me who don't engage all that much in online gameplay.
I'll be honest and admit that I didn't spend too much time checking out Assist Mode, but its addition makes sense, as it means all those kids who go and see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie can jump into this game and have a great time platforming. There might be some grumpy gamers out there screaming about how back in their day, you just had to get good, but I'm a big fan of approachability, so I won't be joining in with that chorus.
Nintendo Switch 2 performance is, as you'd expect, given this is a first-party game, top-tier. The visuals are crisp and defined, and while I'd assumed that the Switch 2's LCD screen might make this game feel less vivid than it did on my Switch OLED, that wasn't a problem at all. It's an absolute carnival of color. That was the single best thing about the original, and it still rings true with this enhanced version.
Ultimately, whether you'll enjoy Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park depends on how much you enjoyed the base game, because it's just more of that, with a few multiplayer options thrown in for good measure. I had a great time with the original, one of my favorite Switch games, and plenty of fun with this enhanced version. All I'm left asking is whether this pseudo-amusement park is worth the price of entry, as while I had fun taking on the Koopalings, Bellabel Park's multiplayer offering isn't the main attraction I was hoping for.