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.

Luigi's Mansion

Looking for an older Nintendo game with Luigi as a main character? Then Luigi’s Mansion might be the one you’re looking for.  

Luigi’s Mansion is the first out of a current trilogy though some may have only heard of the two newest games or have only played the newest ones due to how recently they came out. 

front cover of the games case. image courtesy of wikipedia.

gameplay from the first boss battle, image courtesy of the game hoard.

Luigi’s Mansion was released in 2001 on GameCube but more recently has been added to the 3DS. Each of the ghosts in the game has their own personality, design, and story behind each of them, even the minor ghosts have their own unique design and personality. The first game starts with Luigi receiving a letter that he won a mansion in a lottery, and a note from Mario letting Luigi know he’s heading to the mansion first to meet him there, but Luigi soon finds out that letter to be false with the mansion full of ghosts, a professor named E. Gadd attempting to capture the ghosts, and his brother missing.  

Now Luigi must go through the mansion to find his brother Mario while capturing ghosts along the way with the help of Professor E. Gadd’s invention, the Poltergust  3000, which looks similar to a vacuum.  

gameplay from THE beginning of the game, courtesy of moby games.

Fun fact when Nintendo created the GameCube system, they designed the controllers around the game Luigi’s Mansion as they wanted to have each button on the remote do something specific in the game. During this process, they forgot about the A button, which is the biggest button on the controller, and before releasing both they created a feature so when you pressed the A button it would make Luigi call out for Mario which was a great idea and helped with the eerie atmosphere of the game. This Mario call-out button was later added to both of the newer Luigi’s Mansion games as a call back to the original. 

The eerie lighting in the game with the graphics paired with Luigi walking down dark hallways nervously humming the game’s theme song brings a spookier darker setting than the recent Luigi’s Mansion sequels as the more recent games have a brighter setting whereas this one has a darker look to it. 

gameplay cut scene after defeating a boss battle, courtesy of moby games.

gameplay of luigi running from ghosts in the hallway, image courtesy of strategy wiki.

Another cool feature of this game is when Luigi goes to unlock a new door the screen zooms into a close-up of his hand shakily putting the key in the door and unlocking it adding a sense of suspense to the scene. The atmosphere of the game is dark, but it keeps with that theme all the way through, especially with the final boss battle, which is definitely one of the most surprising and best battles of the game.  

When Luigi is in a dark room, he hasn’t cleared yet he’ll nervously hum the game’s theme song, though after he’s in a lit-up cleared room or hallway he’ll whistle in a lighter mood.  

When needing to save the game you would need to get Luigi back to the Toad at the entrance of the Mansion inside the foyer. After defeating a boss, the game will bring you back to this room so you can save the game.  

gameplay of saving the game, image courtesy of moby games.

Luigi’s Mansion is a great game to try if you like the newer games but are looking for a spookier vibe than the sequels, with the darker scenery and concept of finding items, Mario has dropped along the way, it definitely holds up through the years and is definitely worth playing if you like stories about playing as Luigi looking for Mario.  

gameplay of the pause screen, image courtesy of moby games.

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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.  

Looking for Something New to Try?

Thinking of trying a new game but not sure where to start?  

Today I’m reviewing a game from a big indie franchise called Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach. This is the first game of the franchise where the player is able to walk around the building without being stuck in an office with a limited number of buttons to use while focusing on the amount of power left to keep doors shut. In this game, the player has a lot more to do, like solving puzzles and looking for certain objects throughout the different floors and rooms. The genre is a mix of adventure, survival horror and action. It’s a fairly new game that does have some glitches though for the most part it is great for beginners new to these games.  

image courtesy of ign

The game starts with Gregory, the main protagonist who you play, when he tells Freddy that he’s hiding from the security officer Vanessa. Throughout the game the player with the help of Freddy needs to avoid getting caught by the other animatronics and security staff while looking for an exit out of the Pizza Plex he’s trapped in for the next six hours when the Pizza Plex unlocks the doors to open for the next day. 

image courtesy of gameinformer

This game is available to play on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox One. The design is different from the past games as it moves away from the classic try to stay alive until 6 a.m. while sitting in a security office formula. In this game, you roam around the Pizza Plex looking for a way out while avoiding the animatronics who are constantly on alert throughout the levels. Aesthetically this game contrasts with the others in the franchise as the past games have used dark and classic scary designs and atmospheres while in this game it shows a brightly lit building with neon colours that resemble a classic 80s look.  

 Another thing that’s interesting but isn’t used very much is how at the end of the game there’s a point where you learn it could end there but you could continue with the risk of no longer having the option to save until the game ends, allowing you to learn the various endings to the game. In the gameplay there have been some glitches such as there being two Freddys, finding out what’s behind doors before you reach those levels when Freddys stands near them, and if you’re moving while pressing the button to call Freddy he tends to run right past the player.  

Another part of the game is figuring out the lore of it which is a big thing with this franchise. Along the way, the player has chances to find collectibles in presents and messages from the staff and customers in duffle bags scattered throughout the game to help piece together some more of the background information.  

Image courtesy of steel wool studios

Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach is a great game for those looking for something new and different from their usual games, with the bright aesthetics contrasting the scary survival horror theme of the game and finding out more of the sinister story behind the Pizza Plex this is definitely a game worth playing if you like puzzles and horror.  

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.