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You can turn Mario into an elephant in the upcoming 2D Super Mario Bros. game

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the latest 2D instalment for the plumber, and it certainly looks interesting.

Image credit: Nintendo

During today’s Nintendo Direct (June 21), viewers were treated to a lot of Mario content. Not only will we be getting a remake of Super Mario RPG by the end of the year, but we’ll be able to enjoy Mario and some 2D action in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder on October 20.

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In a trailer shown off at the Nintendo Direct that felt a lot like a fever dream, we got a glimpse of what to expect. This new game is borrowing heavily from the style of New Super Mario Bros. which first launched on the Nintendo DS in 2006, but there are a lot of new elements for us to unpack.

First and foremost, there’s new power-ups for Mario to use! The most notable one shown off during the Nintendo Direct saw Mario eating a strange fruit and turning into an elephant. If he’s capable of doing that, then God knows what else we’ll see him turning into during Super Mario Bros. Wonder. I doubt we’ll see him becoming a car like Kirby in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but who knows?

On top of new power-ups, there are Wonder Flowers. Whenever Mario interacts with a Wonder Flower, Mario unlocks a wonder of the world he is in, changing how gameplay then pans out. In the trailer, we saw that touching the Wonder Flower could animate pipes, making them function like caterpillars, with other wonders causing the world to go dark, or summoning hordes of bulls.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder need not be enjoyed solo, either, as four-player co-op is supported. Players will be able to choose from classic characters such as Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and Yoshi when jumping into multiplayer. I’ll take Yoshi, thanks!

Last, but not least, Mario has new animations for most of his actions, and there’s clearly be a keen attention to detail here. For example, look at how Mario’s hat falls when he enters a pipe, with him quickly grabbing it. Fine details like this already have me impressed, and pretty eager to jump into the game. I spent God knows how many hours trying to complete New Super Mario Bros. with my dad as a child, so I can’t wait to see what he makes of this!

Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases for the Nintendo Switch on October 20. Let us know what you think!

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