Super Mario Bros Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park | REVIEW | Nintendo Switch 2

''WE GOING TO THE PARK!''

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Developed: Nintendo

Published: Nintendo

Genre: 2D Platformer

Release Date: March 26th, 2026

Platforms: Switch 2

GAME PROVIDED TO ME BY NINTENDO

Purchase the upgrade pack now if you already own the game on Switch! https://ninten.do/6006Qtpdi

Super Mario Bros Wonder plus Meetup in Bellabel Park is a souped up re-release of Super Mario Bros Wonder and it is developed and published by Nintendo. With several titles getting the Switch to Switch 2 port treatment, all including brand new content to keep fans of the original invested with, Nintendo decided now is the time to give that same treatment to our happy plumber with Super Mario Bros Wonder. However was this the right title to re-release and give fresh life to since its 2023 release? or are there other candidates that deserved it more? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

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''VACATION TIME!''

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GAMEPLAY:

Oh man, were back again with some more 2D Mario goodness, but this time adding in some extra flair to the mix with additional content called Meetup in Bellabel Park. I played, beat and reviewed Super Mario Bros Wonder back in 2023 and back then my overall consensus to the main game was that it became my favorite 2D Mario game since the original NES trilogy, oh yeah, it got that high of praise for me, especially considering how fatigued I had gotten over the New Super Mario Bros series. After the New Super Mario Bros series ran its course, Super Mario Wonder came onto the scene and gave me the feeling of ''YES, now THIS is what I was waiting for'', which of course was true blue unapologetic creativity and overall wackiness that you've missed since the days of Super Mario 3 and even Super Mario World, the franchise finally had that ''FEELING'' back once more for its 2D entries. Playing through the newest entry into the 2D franchise felt like a playful ride through an amusement park, thanks in large part to the Wonder Seeds that transform each level into wild and overly trippy courses that can make your head spin with some of the absurdities they take on, but even though they're weird, all are unique to each other and enhance your overall experience with the game, which again is due to in large part the meticulously hand crafted levels, gorgeous environments and improved character animations that gives Mario and company a more '''show-toons'' like animated variety in their exaggerated movements and facial expressions. With Wonder Seeds being the star of the game that when grabbed, create slithering and wonky pipes, multi-colored areas that is something out of the Pink Elephant scene from Dumbo, turning into a long stretched Mario figure, becoming an ACTUAL elephant yourself, which of course I bought the Amiibo the figure its based off of, becoming a rolling ball, etc, the madness doesn't end, and only continues alongside new mechanics and power ups such as Bubble Flower, and again, Elephant form, that allows you to soak up and spray water or bulldoze blocks and enemies. Obviously in the main game your traditional powers return like jumping, spinning, fire flower, but with the way the levels feel like they require you to deep explore them through underground caverns, using a dolphin kick ability to swim faster to complete challenges, balance yourself on giant snowballs, find hidden paths, gameplay twists you didnt see coming, a decent amount of replayability with a 6 to 8 hour story that has you collect standees, badges and even bonus missions, that pushes it to an easy 15 to 20 hour game, is just absurd... so even if old school power ups werent here, honestly you probably wouldn't care to be fair. But if Elephant Mario isnt in the NEXT Mario game, oh man, you better watch out, cause I'm gonna RAGE OUT. He's too dang cute! LOOK AT HIM. Even with the huge number of positives, in regards to the base game, I did have some gripes overall with it, such as Badges when they grant you extra abilities, can make the game a little TOO easy and also make it to where you won't get a game over in the game unless you're ATTEMPTING to do so. Unlockable and playable characters outside of Yoshi and Nabbit who are your ''easy mode'' characters, dont feel distinct from each other enough to warrant switching to another character during main story too, and with the inclusion of being able to buy One-Ups whenever you want to, can cheapen the experience a tad bit. But overall though for the core Mario Wonder game, you wont find much better in the world of platformers, it oozes creativity, fun, and joy that only Nintendo can muster up, even though many have tried. But what of the actual NEW content added to this version, is it worth buying full price? worth getting with just the upgrade pack? well, answer to that is, depends on you honestly.

With the new additions to the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Bros Wonder, now with the Meetup in Bellabel Park moniker, you get treated to a resolution bump that results in 4K and a solid 60 FPS, at least when you are playing in docked mode that is, and alongside that feature, involves various new forms of content as well, which of course is Bellabel Park, a brand new area for you and a friend to discover, play and explore at your leisure. Much like the Super Mario Galaxy movie is doing with bringing back my boy Wartz, who I've been whining about wanting to make a comeback for years now, so to does Bellabel Park as the Koopalings make their comeback, and of course, just like Bowser himself, are also up to no good like little crazy jerks, as they have stolen a much desired treasure known as the Bellabel Flowers. Your job of course is to get the Flowers back from their clutches because if you aren't going to do it then, umm, who else is doing to do it? Surely it wont be Wario, he's probably off ripping people off with a money scheme or entering a ''who has the best fart'' contest. Which obviously, Wario will win, bro is the undisputed champ and I know he'd have my vote. If you've played the base game already, you'll feel right at home as this current adventure takes place in the many other areas of Super Mario Bros Wonder, making people who are annoyed of area revisits, maybe a tad bit miffed, but trust me, with new Transformation power ups added to the mix that lets you toss flowers and do flutter jumps, albeit, not as cute and grunty strain worthy as Yoshi with his flutter jumps that sounds like he had too much Taco Bell - still it allows you to revisit a multitude of stages, but in a brand new way that opens up the level diversity or paths to take, similar to the way New Super Luigi U did with re-vamped levels on Wii U, same principal applies here to be honest. Speaking of Luigi and year of Luigi back in the day, can we please get year of the pudgy Mario Elephant? complete with Elephant spin off games and plush dolls? The amiibo I bought isn't enough, I NEED MORE! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT NINTENDO. Ahem. Because Koopalings are jerks, they make you run around all over the Flower Kingdom in order to reclaim the Bellabel Flowers that they have stolen, and each of these stages that you chase them to include a brand new boss fight to partake in, featuring a Koopaling who has gotten ahold of their own version of a Wonder Seed and much like they effect the environment and the way reality works in the main game, so to does the absurdness raised to a whole new level with the Wonder Seed usage from each Koopaling due to each of them having their own unique transformation with the Seeds, alongside a gimmick that pertains to that stage as well, all of which ends up becoming one absolutely ridiculous obstacle course that you as the player have to run through and make it past before ultimately you end up in a boss fight against a Koopaling that take everything you thought was ''weird'' in the base game, flips it on his head and gets even crazier here as each fight is more over the top than the last. These boss fights alone in my humble opinion trump any of the fights that take place in the main game, beating them in the categories of creativity, enjoyment and using what worked in the original core game, expanding it and broadening its ideas, similar to the way Nintendo treats their 3D Mario franchise with every entry feeling new, bold, fresh, and capitalizing on ideas that worked prior, for example Galaxy 1 to Galaxy 2. Although, part of me in a sinister way wishes Nintendo would throw in a ''gag'' boss fight for these games for the humor of it all, cause can you imagine you beat all Koopalings, Bowser, and who knows what else, and then you hear faint evil giggling, only to reveal the final boss is none other than Lumalee. How epic...and utterly terrifying would that be? Make the battle similar to the style as the final Bowser fight of Yoshi's Island you got nightmare fuel on your hands...in the best way possible.

Amazing new boss fight additions arent the only things added to this version, because there is also Toad Brigade Training Camp. Which is basically a glorified tutorial mode, but in a good way mind you, but a tutorial still in general hidden behind the guise of a new mode, similar to how video games hide loading screens behind moving slowly between objects for ''no apparent reason''. Though, Toad Brigade isn't that boring and is actually pretty fun if were going to be fair to it because not only does it give you specific levels to take part in and play, but each of those levels offers different challenges to take on with objectives to complete, like special conditions. Some of those conditions will be, complete this level on this difficulty, collecting a specific amount of coins, defeat enemies,etc, all of which have to be accomplished before your time runs out. So in a sense its both a tutorial AND a speed run guide - welp, count me in, I'm all about speed running. Is it the most vast quantity of content for this mode? no, but the challenges offer enough variety and grow more intense the more you complete, so its definitely worth the time and effort to try to complete them. These challenges amp up to the degree that it makes you feel like you are playing an older 2D Mario game due to difficulty of some of the levels, and it makes you take what you learned all those years ago and put all that skill to use just to make it out successfully, and that's saying something for Super Mario Wonder considering back in 2023 when this title first released, one of the major gripes people had with it was that it was TOO easy, mine included, but Nintendo saw my complaints along with others griping about it and pulled their version of Michael Jordan's ''And I took that personally'' and made Toad Brigade Training Camp basically the response to all of us, and to that I say, thank you Mama Luigi for listening to our plea. Finally in this Switch 2 edition, you are offered the multiplayer mode, mainly focused on local multiplayer options, so make sure you find a buddy to play with, a family member or even your own kids because there's a pretty good amount of content to choose from that ranges from 17 co-op and versus modes that have you partake in games like hot potato, but using a freaking Bob-omb, like.. what the heck, isn't that a little dangerous? As a kid I was told not to run with scissors, but here I am, playing catch with a Bob-omb, I don't think my mother would approve. But dont worry, should you be ''forever alone'' and not have people in your life to team up with, for whatever reason, fear not, there's still fun to be had for all of you as well because your online friends can now play alongside you across 6 game modes, which include platforming races that offer you both a chance to play fair and square or to be cheap and betray your friends like you're playing Human Fall Flat, re-live your playground days with a rousing game of tag which offers tons of chaotic fun and hilarity, etc, they're all fun in their own way and are more of a side destination rather than the main attraction of this package, that of which being still the main core game. Luckily there's actually incentives for doing multiplayer tasks, something Nintendo has been VERY good at this generation, making the tasks you do actually feel warranted and meaningful, and its no different here in Bellabel Park. By completing challenges and multiplayer shenanigans you earn water, which is able to be used on plants scattered all across the Bellabel Park map, which gives you brand new unlocks like flowers to trade for upgrades to the park such as cosmetics, new emotes to use ala similar to how it worked in Mario Party Jamboree, Dual Badges that are exactly as it sounds, with giving you access to equip TWO badges this go around, making you even more overpowered than you were with just ONE badge. Good lord Nintendo, are we trying to get Mario and friends to reach their version of Ultra Instinct in the Mario Universe? cause that's DEFINITELY where were heading. Although, combining two of them with different abilities does make for some pretty interesting outcomes, so mix and match and see the different combinations you can come up with, no playthrough of these modes will be the same for anyone, which is awesome. A couple of the upgrades just make me feel like Spider-Man as I swing via vines, making me feel all like, THERE GOES MY HERO! WATCH HIM AS HE GOES.

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''I SEE PINK ELEPHANTS!''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, Super Mario Bros Wonder Meetup in Bellabel Park was a unique and fun experience with tons of content to play with its mini games, its challenges, new badges, new power ups, fun multiplayer for both local and online, being able to play now as the goddess herself, Rosalina, as well as use Luma with normal controls or Mouse controls in co-op for less skilled players or even your young ones, so they too can play as they use Luma to defeat enemies and collect items, all without worrying about getting a game over or taking damage, which goes hand in hand with the added Assist mode that allows you to be saved from pits and other hazards, which is PERFECT for families with younger kids. But while all these is great, the hang up for a lot of people is going to be the pricing, hence why I stated before ''its really up to you''. On one hand, if you already have played the base game, then you'd be paying $20 for the upgrade, which definitely isnt bad, especially if you have friends and family to play with local and online for intense gaming sessions, but if you aren't that into multiplayer regardless, obviously it will be a harder sell for you to warrant that purchase. I think the same mindset can be used for people who DONT have the base game already and purchase the title on Switch 2, cause buying both together would bring the pricing to a total of $80. Which might be a bit steep for some people. If that is the hold up, then you can't go wrong with buying the base game for $60 at all and then if you decide after that you still want more of that Mario fix, then feel free to upgrade to Meetup in Bellabel Park, all options are totally up to you. But if I have to verdict it, personally, the core game is worth the purchase alone, and adding in the many extra hours of multiplayer content ON TOP of the already 10 to 12 plus hour main game, It can offer you and your friends hours of extra enjoyment behind the main story, so in that regards to people looking to jump in for the first time, I'd say its definitely worth taking a look, especially if you love 2D Mario. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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