Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers are present for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Because I was anticipating news about the next wave of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass racetracks, I found myself tuning in to yesterday’s Nintendo Direct broadcast. From my point of view, the games shown off by and large aren’t “my thing,” with a lot of attention on the likes of Pokémon, Pikmin 4, and an update for Splatoon 3. But there was news of an upcoming Mario game thrown in there, too… and I’m blown away by how utterly ridiculous some of Nintendo’s decision-making continues to be.
Nintendo never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity, and this one is possibly the biggest open goal that the company has missed in years. Right now, Nintendo should be seeking every opportunity to cash in on the wild success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a film which has already become the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film of all time – surpassing the likes of Frozen, Minions, and every film in the Toy Story series.
But instead, the company announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder – a game that has nothing to do with the film, doesn’t make any attempt to use a similar art style, and introduces new game mechanics and power-ups that the film didn’t include. Nintendo has had years to prepare for the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and while I wouldn’t say I was expecting an old-school tie-in game or straight adaptation, I certainly did expect Nintendo to take advantage of the film’s success. There was scope to release a new game that loosely followed the plot of the film, or that at least used familiar settings and a comparable visual style. It’s a profoundly odd decision to follow up the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie with what looks to be a bog-standard 2D Mario game that has nothing in common with the film.
Likewise for the Booster Course Pass. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a karting sequence was one of the best and most action-packed moments, bringing a lot of fun to the table. The film also re-introduced some classic Nintendo characters in supporting roles, like Cranky Kong, as well as a kingdom of Penguins who were conquered by Bowser. Any of these characters would have been welcome additions to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – cashing in on the film’s success while it’s still fresh in the minds of audiences.
But instead, Nintendo opted to bring back characters from Mario Kart Double-Dash and Mario Kart 7. That’s not a bad thing per se, but again it’s a wasted opportunity for the company to take advantage of the success of their big feature film. The Booster Course Pass section of the Nintendo Direct broadcast was pretty lacklustre anyway, with only one new track shown off and no release date mentioned beyond a vague promise of “summer 2023.”
At least the character of Kamek, who played a supporting role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, was included! There’s an interesting fact about Kamek that you may not be aware of: the character was originally supposed to be playable in Mario Kart 64, even appearing in promo material and in a demo build of the game. Kamek was subbed out for Donkey Kong at the last moment, shortly before release.
To get back on topic, I think that Nintendo has missed a golden opportunity to capitalise on the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which received critical acclaim and has been riding high at the box office. While the detailed CGI used for the film would be impossible to fully recreate on the Nintendo Switch, the same art style could certainly be used, and a game that includes locations and characters from the film seems like a really obvious idea that the company appears not to have even considered.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t look great, in my view. It looks gimmicky in the way other modern Nintendo 2D games have been, and I doubt very much if the likes of “Elephant-Man Mario” are going to be incorporated into the long-running series in a big way in future. I love a good 2D platformer, don’t get me wrong, as it was exactly this kind of game where I first cut my teeth as a young player. But what we saw at the Nintendo Direct just looked… unspectacular.
Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be the shot in the arm that 2D Mario games have been needing. Maybe this game will be the Nintendo Switch’s swansong and will eclipse the Zelda games, Mario Odyssey, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’ve been wrong about these things before, and while Wonder isn’t on my “must-buy” list right now, I’ll certainly check out reviews and see what players and critics have to say when it’s released later this year.
I’m surprised, though, that Nintendo has made no attempt to leverage the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The company has a reputation for abandoning even the most successful projects, and for ignoring requests from fans. So I guess we shouldn’t be all that shocked! I wonder how much more money the company would be making if it listened, if it provided more ongoing support for its own successful games, and if it found ways to better capitalise on its own successes. But hey, that’s Nintendo’s problem!
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released for Nintendo Switch in October 2023. Wave 5 of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be released in “Summer 2023” for Nintendo Switch. All titles discussed above are the copyright of Nintendo. Some screenshots/promo art courtesy of IGDB and/or Nintendo. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 