Games

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Developers Share Unseen Game Effects

Discover the unseen and quirky ideas for level-altering effects in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, straight from the developers at the Game Developer's Conference 2024.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Developers Share Unseen Game Effects

Highlights

  • Unveiled at the Game Developer's Conference, Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduced bizarre Wonder Effects that transform gameplay in unexpected ways.
  • Some eccentric effects, like a giant-headed retro Mario, were excluded due to concerns about their visual appeal.
  • Unused Wonder Effect concepts influenced features such as the Sound Off Badge in the game.

The brains behind Super Mario Bros. Wonder recently revealed some unseen Wonder Effect concepts during this year's Game Developers Conference. The latest installment of the Mario series made a grand entrance on the Nintendo Switch in October, receiving high praises and setting sales records. The game's vibrant visuals and innovative additions to the traditional 2D Mario gameplay were particularly lauded.

Among the standout features are the Wonder Effects, triggered when players collect a Wonder Seed, which whimsically transform levels in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Each level boasts a unique Wonder Effect, with instances like Mario's iconic green Warp Pipes swaying as he moves, Piranha Plants bursting into melody, and Super Stars cascading from the heavens, offering players a range of quirky encounters.

Interestingly, not all Wonder Effects made it into Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and the discarded ideas may have been even more peculiar than the ones that made the cut. At GDC 2024, the game developers, as reported by The Gamer, discussed some of the concepts that were left behind. According to Koji Kondo, the sound director, one of these unused effects would have briefly transformed Mario and his surroundings into live-action renditions, with Mario himself humming the game's music and sound effects.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Most Eccentric Concepts that Didn't See Daylight

The abandoned Wonder Effect ideas didn't end there. Another proposal envisioned turning Mario into a retro-style sprite reminiscent of the original NES Mario games, complete with a comically oversized head. This alteration made evading enemies nearly impossible, forcing players to bulldoze through the level while Mario's head shed blocks upon colliding with foes. The development team shelved this concept due to its negative impact on the visual appeal of the feature, leading to its exclusion from Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

However, these discarded ideas found a partial revival in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, with the scrapped live-action Wonder Effect inspiring the creation of the Sound Off Badge, an unlockable feature that silences the game and replaces the sounds with random noises from an anonymous individual. With over 2,000 ideas considered during the development of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it's likely that several more eccentric Wonder Effects were left on the editing floor for various reasons.

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