STACK #230 December 2023

GAMING REVIEWS

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SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER

PLATFORMER MULTIPLAYER

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It was meant to be a pleasant day out for the Mushroom Kingdom crew in the neighbouring Flower Kingdom. But then big bad Bowser came along and turned into a castle… Welcome to the perfectly named Super Mario Bros. Wonder ! The word “wonder” fits

Then there are the things that helped give the game its name, Wonder Flowers, and what they lead to, Wonder Seeds. Encounter a Wonder Flower, touch it, and the world that you’re in goes all wibbly-wobbly, as a quest begins for its Wonder Seed. These are incredibly desirable, for they’re needed to unlock progression later on. Up to four players can take Super Mario Bros. Wonder on at once, either locally or online. Even two players at once can be rather manic, so it’s a brave foursome who takes the challenge, but the option is there. Online, you can follow ghosts of previous players’ exploits or create a 12-friend room to take on four-player battles. We could tell you more about various ingenious baddies that you’ll encounter, remixes of classic Super Mario Bros. items, and more, but we want to keep some of that – here’s the word again – wonder for you to discover. Super Mario Bros. Wonder lives up to that last word of its title in every way. AF

perfectly for many reasons. You’ll wonder as new areas open up with wild new mechanics. You’ll wonder

WE NEED BADGES! Another big new addition is Badges. There are 24 of them, divided into three categories, that you’re able to collect while progressing through the game, enabling all manner of helpful abilities including gliding, wall jumping, and faster swimming.

at the glorious animation touches, and little graphical flourishes that show how much care went into this game. Probably the most obvious amongst the new features is the Elephant Fruit power, which turns your character into an elephantine version of themselves. This allows them to barrel through otherwise unbreakable bits and swing their trunk to knock out adversaries. Two other key new powerups, which join some of the classics, are Bubble Flower, and the Drill Mushroom.

SONIC SUPERSTARS

PLATFORMER MULTIPLAYER

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For 32 years, cheeky blue hedgehog Sonic has, with a cry of “Gotta go fast!”, done just that. But the original speedy platformers soon made

way for other types of games. Now, Sonic Superstars sees a return to those halcyon Mega Drive days. SEGA have taken all that

made those original console classics so good, given it a modern lick of graphics, and added to the gameplay without breaking what made it so good to begin with.

liquifying your protagonist, to spawning vines, launching as a fireball, and more, they can be of monumental help.

FAST FRIENDS Players can opt for any of the four main characters as their weapon of choice, each of whom has their own special abilities. Sonic has his drop dash, Tails can fly, Knuckles has a glide jump, and Amy has both a double jump and her handy hammer.

There are 12 zones, each split into two or three acts. Rather than recycling, developers Sonic Team and their able assistants Arzest – bringing original Sonic designer Naoto Ohshima back into the fold – have gone all-new. Bold new worlds conjure up all the feels (and occasional frustrations) inherent in those Mega Drive classics. We can’t rave enough about the graphics in Sonic Superstars . The feel and the vibe still remain, but gone is the pixel art, replaced by gorgeous modern designs that are cartoon quality. It’s the little details in their animations – their facial expressions, in particular, are a delight to behold. Managing to be both a love letter to the original 2D games that gave Sonic his big break and an advancement of the form, Sonic Superstars is one slick operator. AF

Needless to say, Dr. Eggman is up to no good once again. Naturally, Sonic’s having none of this and, along with pals Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, sets out to defeat the nasty pastie once more. We have Chaos Emeralds, but this time each of the seven, once earned via jumping into a massive gold ring within a level and completing a 3D swinging minigame, grants the player a significant power. From generating clone attackers to

14 DECEMBER 2023

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