Preview: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 + Meetup in Bellabel Park

Let me peel back the curtain a little bit. I am a Mario fiend. It's the gaming franchise that holds the most nostalgia for me, and so many entries in the series sit comfortably in my Top 50 games of all-time list, if I ever were to make one. I'm addicted to watching YouTube streamers play Mario Maker (shoutout Ryukahr). I often wear a Mario powerup-themed baseball cap.

As much of a fanboy as that surely paints me as, I'm still able to tell you that not every game in the series has always been a banger, and I still absolutely have my preferences. Mario Galaxy is my favorite 3D title. Sunshine is my least favorite. The 2D crown goes to either Mario World, Yoshi's Island, or the most recent entry, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Wherever it ultimately ends up on my list, Wonder is video game magic, and Nintendo firing on all cylinders in the creativity and unbridled joy departments. When presented with the chance to hit up a Switch 2 preview event in Manhattan last week to go hands-on with the new Switch 2 Edition of the game, of course, I had to be there.

As such, I've now had the pleasure of spending time with Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park. While clearly an absolutely insane mouthful of a name, I was pretty blown away by just how much genuinely lovely content this expanded edition of the base game is bringing to the table. Allow me to tell you more.

Masterful Multiplayer Madness

First, I need to let you know that I wasn't able to personally experience any of the new, single-player content that's been added for the Switch 2 version of Wonder. While there seems to be a significant number of new things added to the game, including boss fights with all seven Koopalings, I did not see any of this.

My time with Wonder for the Switch 2 was spent entirely within Bellabel Park, and alongside three other players on the couch next to me. I'll start by saying this: I demoed a few different multiplayer experiences at this event, and Bellabel Park by far provided the most cheesy grins, loud exclamations, and high-fives between the group. If someone were filming us, we could've been the actual commercial for Nintendo to use in their marketing for the game.

I don't say this lightly, either. If you've never been to an event of this sort, they can be a little awkward at first as everyone is on their best behavior, feeling out the vibe of the room. For all four of us strangers to immediately be comfortable on the couch with one another, yelling and laughing as each new event unfolded on screen, truly is a testament to how much of a joy Bellabel Park is.

This entirely new section of Wonder is mostly a multiplayer hub of new levels and experiences. Some are cooperative, and others are competitive, so depending on the mood of your playing partners, you'll have plenty of options to test out. The available activities range from races, coin collection challenges, cooperative platforming sections, and seriously a ton more.

One standout was a sort of game of tag, featuring the Phanto mask from Super Mario Bros. 2. In this mode, two players start as taggers while wearing the mask, and the others can disappear/transform into other types of objects in the room to hide for as long as possible. It's absolute chaos, and I was cracking up as I'd transform into a Talking Flower and watch a tagging player run right by me none the wiser.

All of this creates a sort of Mario Party-like vibe at times, but arranged in more creative ways we've never seen before, with the truly spectacular movement and ideas of Wonder thrown into the mix. Nothing takes more than a couple of minutes, so you're back and forth between one enjoyable experience after another at a rapid pace.

Leaning Into Features

One particularly standout challenge my team and I took on was a co-op platforming stage where two players controlled standard characters, and the others drew donut pathways via a cursor on screen while using a Joycon in mouse mode. While you likely haven't used the Switch 2 mouse functionality for much in the past, it really shined in this particular use-case.

At one point during the demo, we also changed from all playing together on the same couch/screen, to splitting up into a separate screen/station for each player. This way, we were able to test out both local couch co-op multiplayer, as well as online between four different Switch 2s and TVs. Both iterations of these setups felt and functioned great, so it's nice to know that the fun can still be had even if you can't organize an in-person Mario Wonder session with your crew.

Still, I think a lot of the magic here lies in the old-school, sharing-a-couch-together-style of multiplayer gameplay. In many of the co-op challenges, communication is key, and it's hilarious to yell back and forth with one another as you desperately plea for your friends to draw you a donut path in the proper direction.

It's equally as thrilling to be locked into an intense coin collecting challenge and (politely) trash talk the others in the room if you're building up a big lead. Of course, it's no secret that Nintendo are kind of the masters at creating couch-based multiplayer experiences in the modern era that truly shine, but Wonder for the Switch 2 seems hands-down to be the best way I've ever seen a traditionally single-player Mario title bridge this gap.

If you have a friend group you can line up to play together with on a game night, or perhaps some gamer kiddos on hand in your household, Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Switch 2 is absolutely going to be a winner that you can break out time and time again.

Even better, if you own the OG Switch version, you can upgrade to the Switch 2 version for $19.99. The Bellabel Park content will not be coming out on the original Switch, so gaining all of this added content for $19.99 on Switch 2 genuinely feels like a great value proposition with everything you're getting when this new version launches on March 26.

The Additional Accessories

In addition to trying out the Switch 2 version of Wonder, Nintendo also had a few game-related accessories on standby for us to check out. Most notably was the little Talking Flower dude that says silly little quips at the press of a button. When I tested it out, it greeted me with "So! Whatcha been eatin' lately? Make sure you're gettin' your veggies!" and "So, did ya have a good day?"

Is it a necessary piece to add to your video game memorabilia collection? Well, no, not exactly. It is, however, patently adorable, and looks very nice in person. It's currently up for pre-order at $34.99, with a release date of March 12th, a bit before the release of Wonder for Switch 2.

We also got to take a look at three new Amiibo that were presented in a glass case near the demo station. These included Elephant Mario, Poplin and Prince Florian, and Captain Toad with a Talking Flower. While the exact functionality of these within Wonder (or any other useable games) wasn't laid out in detail, all are promised to have some sort of useful benefit.

All three of these are set to release on March 26th as well, and will cost $24.99 for anyone that's interested in adding them to their Amiibo collection.