Mario Wonder is a Great Game to Try, and I’ll Tell You Why!

Have you seen the new Mario Bros Wonder game, but aren’t too sure if it will be worth playing?  

The Game's Front Cover, Image Courtesy of Nintendo

The new Mario Bros Wonder had fans asking a few questions when the first ad for it started showing up with Mario as an elephant that at first glance looked like something you might call a “cursed image”. It also looks intriguing as it’s something different from the usual fire power-up. There have been a few more power-ups added to this new game besides the one with the most spotlight on it though one of which allows you to defeat enemies by trapping them in bubbles. All of these have made it pretty interesting to play and gives the game a new look. 

Character Menu, Image Courtesy of Game8

What’s also interesting is the new lineup of characters available to play as, which now includes Peach, though she’s been in a few games before, Daisy, which makes this game the first Mario Bros platformer adventure game she’s shown up in as a playable character, plus Toadette, Nabbit, and a couple of colourful Yoshi’s. Along with the original lineup from the Wii version of Mario, Luigi, and the Blue and Yellow Toads.  

The story starts with Mario and his friends visiting a caterpillar, Prince Florian of the Flower Kingdom all of them are standing around a floating Wonder Flower when Bowser comes flying by in a Koopa clown car and steals the flower turning him into a ship and allowing him to spread chaos throughout the kingdom.  

Mario Wonder Beginning Cut Scene, Image Courtesy of BeardBear

Gameplay From a Level in the Second World, Image Courtesy of Paranoia’s Dungeon

Throughout the levels, Prince Florian sits on your head so when you collect different badges, he can wear they come with different abilities, some of them allow you to jump off of multiple walls to reach higher-up places and others let you use a parachute that looks like a giant Mario hat. Some characters not associated with wearing hats have their design on each hat that corresponds with the usual colours and symbols they wear. The level map is different from other Mario adventure platformer games as it’s a mix-up of other maps from Mario 3D World and Mario Bros Wii in the beginning level, the game makes you complete levels in a certain order then in the next world on the map you can walk around, and choose which levels you want to complete next.  

Gameplay From One of the Beginning Levels, Image Courtesy of JustOneGamr

In this game, you’ll encounter certain levels that are guarded by a Piranha Plant wrapped around them. In order to progress and access these levels you need to collect different amounts of Wonder Seeds that you’ll collect throughout the past levels, you play to get rid of the Piranha Plants to then be able to play that unguarded level. In each level, you’ll automatically collect one Wonder Seed after completion but at about halfway through the level you’ll encounter a second Wonder Seed. Some are easy to find, and others are harder to seek out but once you go to grab the seed, it will transform the level a bit and the level goes a bit haywire and out of control. Throughout these secret parts of the levels, you need to reach the Wonder Seed again before the timer runs out and turns the level back to normal.  

Another cool part of this game is the talking flowers you’ll encounter through each level. Some give you tips on what you need to do when you run past them, and others give funny commentary. Along with dancing and singing Piranha Plants in certain levels this game brings new and funny elements and will have you playing each level wondering what wacky characters you’ll see next.   

Mario Wonder is a great game for those new to this franchise and for long-time fans with easter eggs throughout the game bringing back new and old characters from past games with new powerups that separate this game from the rest of the Mario Bros games and is definitely worth giving a try for something new. 

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Hello, my name is Isabella. I’ve been playing video games since I was a kid, I first got into video games when I watched my mom play TMNT and Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube when I was younger. 

I still play games when I have time though I tend to play only on consoles, the types of games I enjoy are survival horror, arcade-style, fighting games, social simulators, platformers, racing, detective narrative driven, and party games. I try to learn about different kinds of styles and genres of games, though mostly I tend to lean more towards Nintendo-made games, for example, many from the Mario franchise.

Bringing the Adventure!

Have you ever played on a switch or DS? If you haven’t, now is the time to try it. There are many games on the switch and DS that are fun to play, but tod ay I am going to review Super Mario Odyssey game.

Overview

This game brings new life to the Super Mario bro’s franchise. Odyssey does a great job of keeping some of the original things like music and mechanics for the characters. While bringing new characters and new costumes to the screen. To add to that, the game features 16 new worlds for you to try! All with unique challenges for tons of fun.

Goal:

 The mission is still the same in Odyssey. Mario must save princess peach from Bowser. The only difference is that this time he intends to marry her. What we come to learn is that bowser went to the Hat Kingdom and took a tiara for Peach. That already spells trouble for the princess. I like how they changed it up a bit though because without it most players would know the story and it would become stale. Odyssey did well in avoiding that.

Characters:

 As I mentioned, there are several new characters in the game. One of those being Cappy. Who is Cappy?  Well, Cappy is a hat. I was waiting for something to happen with his hat because it is signature of Mario.  Cappy has powers now. Some of his powers are spinning in place, Mario can run and Cappy springs him higher, and he can capture enemies. That adds a fun new twist for sure! This game does not have Bowser Jr, or Koopa’s. instead, it has four Broodals who are evil wedding planners.

 Controls:

 Mario still has most of his normal mechanics in Odyssey, such as he can still jump, run, triple jump, wall climb, and more. But unlike other games he can’t punch. Meaning he doesn’t get the fire suit and the game doesn’t have mushrooms. Mario cannot shrink or grow like in previous years. Instead, he has health points and you can get up to six in total.

Levels:

As you go beat a boss, you can not only move on to the next level but now you can choose to do puzzles like a side mission. Some of those vary from easy to very hard and you will be running around the world in tons of different places. Through lava, poison, among others. All to get something called a Power Moon. They allow you to move on to the next challenge but here’s the catch. If you don’t have enough power moons and you don’t give them to the Odyssey, you will have to move around trying to collect them. They can be hidden in plain sight, under some objects or you have look for them in a challenge. When everything is said and done you should have enough to do in Mario Odyssey.

My final thoughts are that if you have enjoyed previous Mario games, you will enjoy this one. It is a mix between and old for all ages and there’s something for everyone in Odyssey.

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Hi, my name is Paige and I have been playing games since I was about 10 years old or younger. Some of the games I am playing currently are NHL and MLB the show. Other games I have played in the past include the Walking Dead, Nascar, Ghost of Tsushima, and Call of Duty. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

A Pick for Star Wars Fans!

One of the game’s front covers

Star Wars has been a popular franchise ever since the trilogy was released. For the decades that followed, fans have heavily loved and criticized the series and its additions. Game wise, almost 100 Star Wars games have been made since the movies’ release, including Star Wars: The Old Republic, also known as SWTOR.

SWTOR is a MMORPG adventure genre game that was first released in 2011. While the game takes place within the Star Wars universe, many argue if the game and its prequels are truly canon to the overall franchise universe since the game has nothing to do with the main movies. 

Whether it is canon or not, the game gives players the chance to create their own unique characters with a mostly wide selection (other than body types and gender), and go on quests that span over several worlds in a galaxy far, far away…

As of recently, the developers have expanded on the fighting styles for each class, allowing players to have new abilities and weapons. When someone first creates a character, they may choose whether they’d want to align with The Galactic Republic or The Sith Empire. 

From there, they may choose one of the four story lines (there being eight in total): For the Republic there is the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, or Trooper, while for the Empire there is the Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, and Imperial Agent. Each side has four fighting styles for the melee classes and eight fighting styles for the ranged classes. 

SWTOR is free to download and play, but only for the main storylines and the first few expansions. While subscribers get a lot of good bonuses, SWTOR is still fun to play for those who do not wish to pay money. Each storyline is very long, and it may take months for players to finish each one. While I haven’t completed each storyline, I can say without a doubt that each one provides its own unique and thrilling adventures.

Additionally, there are various side quests the player can choose to complete if they wish to gain more experience and lore to the game’s universe. Unfortunately, many side quests are also available to the other classes (depending on if the player chose Republic or Empire), so it gets tiring to complete the same quests without much difference. The player can choose not to follow the side quests, but they may face the fact that they don’t level up enough if they just follow their main quests. 

I’ve been playing this game for years, so I may be a tad biased when I say I really enjoy it. Don’t ask how I haven’t finished all the storylines even though I've been playing for years, I have weird priorities! 

While SWTOR is one of my favourite games, it doesn't mean that it doesn’t have flaws. There are certainly some parts I have issues with, starting with its open-world aspect. It isn’t the exploring that is the issue, The worlds are all vastly different and super cool to explore. Almost everywhere there are tons of enemies that makes completing each quest seem draining, especially when they respawn and you have to fight them over and over again because there is no other way around them. I understand that there has to be a lot of enemies in the multiplayer areas, but even in the personal story zones the enemies are everywhere.

Just because I enjoy SWTOR doesn’t mean that it’s the same for other Star Wars fans. While I enjoy the Star Wars franchise, I’m not the biggest fan who knows every single detail about every movie, show, game, etc. In fact, I haven’t even seen all of the movies or shows yet, let alone come close to playing even an eighth of the games. Regardless, someone doesn’t have to be a huge Star Wars fan to enjoy SWTOR.

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My two cats hazel and charlie :]

Hello! My name is Adam/Comet, and I’ve been playing games since I was a child :] I remember my parents telling me that around the age of 4, I was already setting up and playing a Care Bears puzzle-type game on my own (not well, but I tried).

I don’t play many games nowadays, but every once and a while I enjoy playing adventure RPGs, survival games, and social simulators. I mostly enjoy games where I can tap into my creativity whether to become a specific character, or create worlds! 😄 So, If you’d like to find fantasy/sci-fi roleplay games, survival games, or a relaxing simulator, I’ve got a few to recommend!