Today, Nintendo aired the Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct, a 15-minute presentation centered around Mario and company’s next big adventure. The Direct covered new power-ups, a new kingdom, and more through brand-new gameplay footage.
The game takes place in the Flower Kingdom, a “not-so-distant land just beyond the Mushroom Kingdom” according to the presentation. Prince Florian is the ruler of the kingdom and guardian of the Wonder Flower, but Bowser soon gets his hands on the Wonder Flower, and it’s up to Mario and crew–Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and Toad–to stop him.
The Flower Kingdom is broken up into seven different worlds, each with their own set of stages. Unlike previous Mario games, these stages can be challenged in any order, which allows players to chart their own courses. Some stages also include a Wonder Flower, which upon touching one will create Wonder Effects like moving pipes, massive bubbles, and the player suddenly floating through space.
New power-ups include the internet-favorite Elephant Mario, which can bash obstacles with its trunk and store and shoot water. The Drill power-up protects from enemies dropping in from above, while also allowing the player to burrow below obstacles. Finally, the Bubble ability lets players shoot bubbles, and then jump on those bubbles in order to reach faraway platforms or coins.
The game will also offer multiplayer components both locally and online. Up to four players can play together via local co-op, with extra abilities like being able to resurrect defeated partners. Friends can also link up online via Friend Rooms to see which stages each player is currently adventuring through, and if everyone is on the same stage, they can initiate a race and try to be the fastest through the stage.
Finally, Super Mario Bros. Wonder includes multiple perks for new players to enjoy the game with little difficulty. A new badge system will unlock new abilities–ranging from charged jumps to non-stop dashes–and allow the player to activate them at will. Also, the playable Yoshi and Nabbit characters will not take any damage when hit by an enemy, which makes getting through stages easier for younger players.
One major mystery not addressed in the video is the new voice of Mario, as it was revealed earlier this month that longtime voice actor Charles Martinet would be stepping away from the role. The announcement also mentioned a video from Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto was coming in the future, but that video did not surface during this Direct.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will launch October 20 exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and preorders are available now through Amazon and other retailers.
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