'Super Mario Bros. Wonder': It exemplifies how 'Sonic Superstars' is embarrassingly behind
"Super Mario Bros. Wonder" set the bar high, so Sonic, despite his speed, has a lot of catching up to do.
Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic are two of the most recognizable mascot characters in gaming. The Italian plumber captured the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere with his signature “wahoo!” while the blue hedgehog kept them excited with his exhilarating speed.
Both characters also have shared, treasured history, even crossing over into several games together. The Mario & Sonic subseries focuses on them competing against one another at the Olympic Games. Mario and Sonic have also appeared in Nintendo’s all-star fighter, Super Smash Bros.
Despite their crossovers, the two characters are rivals. In a recent interview, Sega executive Osamu Ohasi said, “Simply put, I want to surpass Mario. Sonic was a game originally developed to compete with Mario, and we have yet to achieve that. Because we respect Mario, my goal is to catch up to and surpass him.”
Ohasi continued: “We want Sonic to be played all over the world, including Japan, just like Mario, and we want the movie to be a bigger hit than Mario. We also want to build a Sonic attraction in Universal Studios Japan. That is my goal as a Sonic lover.”
'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' is what 'Sonic Superstars' should be
The two gaming titans have clashed once again in 2023 with new games in their respective franchises: Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Sonic Superstars. Both are 2D platformers that were released within the same week in October. However, the biggest difference between the two franchises is that Mario, unlike Sonic, always had consistency.
Pretty much every mainline Mario game has been critically acclaimed, but Sonic entries have had polarizing receptions. The franchise’s latest 3D game, 2022’s Sonic Frontiers, as well as this year’s Sonic Superstars, received mixed reviews. However, on the Mario side of things, 2021’s 3D platformer Bowser’s Fury and this year’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder earned positive critical reception.
The quality difference between Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is exemplified by how excellent the latest Mario implements its new gameplay elements while Sonic’s latest 2D adventure feels somewhat empty.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces many new transformations for Mario, including the iconic elephant that allows players to smash blocks. There’s also a new flower that lets players create bubbles to capture enemies and a mushroom that gives the player the ability to dig underground or through the ceiling.
All of these new power-ups are wonderfully (no pun intended) implemented into the game’s level design. There were many instances during my first run where I couldn’t figure out how to reach a certain coin or object. However, when I encountered new powers, a light bulb went off in my head and I found the solution to grab the object I passed earlier. It’s a gratifying feeling and revisiting past stages fills you up with excitement.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder also has a badge system, which is another layer of customizability that lets players perform certain actions. For example, the Dolphin Kick badge allows players to propel themselves underwater — and it's essential for powering through currents that would otherwise push players back.
Earning and buying new badges throughout the game had me coming back to previous levels to see if I could discover anything new. This, along with the power-ups, all add to the immense replayability of the game.
Contrast that with the Emerald Powers in Sonic Superstars. For example, the Cyan one lets players explore water areas and even swim up waterfalls, and the Blue one lets players summon clones to rush enemies on screen.
While these powers are a fun idea for the series, the powers aren’t integrated well into Superstars’ level design. In fact, the powers feel like a complete afterthought — it doesn’t seem like the powers are required to find many of the game’s secrets. Whereas with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I need specific power-ups to access certain areas.
Another issue with the Emerald Powers in Sonic Superstars is that using them is a pain. With the franchise’s emphasis on blazing through levels super fast, you have to pull up a wheel to pick and activate a power. It’s practically impossible to simultaneously pick a power while looking ahead. By the time you find a waterfall, and want to pick your Blue power, you’ve already zipped past it.
That’s why it’s so important to properly design the levels around the powers themselves, and not just have them for the sake of having them. Pulling up the wheel is a total momentum killer. This mechanic could have greatly benefited from a slow down or screen freeze function, allowing you to pick what you need without the pressure of your surroundings. Sony’s Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok are examples of games that perfected this particular function.
It’s a disappointment because better integration of the Emerald Powers could have made Sonic Superstars a unique entry within the franchise that didn’t purely depend on nostalgia and running fast.
Final thoughts
The Mario franchise has this marquee quality to it — and it’s all thanks to Nintendo putting out an expectation that the next Mario game will be just as good as, or even surpass, the previous one. Nintendo is great at creating solid fundamentals and then building on them for new gameplay experiences.
The Sonic franchise is already a household name, but it has the potential to go further. For future Sonic games, Sega needs to better integrate its new ideas that make sense with the level design. If you’re wondering which 2D platformer to get in 2023, Super Mario Bros. Wonder handily wins over Sonic Superstars.
Sega wants Sonic’s reputation to surpass Mario’s. Sonic may be faster, but the blue blur has a lot of catching up to do in terms of consistent game quality. Until then, Mario will continue to lap him in this race.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. Sonic Superstars is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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