Super Mario Bros. Wonder is full of silly and unexpected Wonder Flower powers and gimmicks. Here’s our list of the top 5 best Wonder Flower powers in the game.
Top 5 Wonder Flower Gimmicks in Super Mario Bros. Wonder
5: Metal Mario (High-Voltage Gauntlet)
High-Voltage Gauntlet is one of the final stages leading up to the confrontation with Bowser. Players have to carefully navigate darkened corridors with dangerous electric currents before they can find the Wonder Flower. Those who do gain the Metal power-up. This Wonder Flower segment is simple but oh-so-satisfying, as the Metal power grants invincibility and draws coins into the player just like an invincibility star does.
The fun of stomping around and getting charged with electricity is accompanied by a great remix of the fan-favorite Super Mario 64 Metal Cap soundtrack. This Wonder Seed is tough to collect, not because it’s an innately challenging platforming segment, but because you won’t want the Wonder Power to end.
4: Jump to the Rhythm (KnuckleFest: Bowser’s Blazing Beats, etc.)
There are a few stages in Super Mario Bros. Wonder where jumping in time to the music’s rhythm reaps plentiful benefits, such as catching coins as they fall or jumping over deadly obstacles. The best part about these stages has to be that it’s possible to get through them even if you’re rhythmically uninclined, but the intrinsic link between the music and platforming makes you want to try your best to keep to the beat anyway.
Although special mention has to go to King Boo’s elegant singing in The Final Battle: Bowser’s Rage Stage, the best of this Wonder Power as a standalone gimmick is KnuckleFest: Bowser’s Blazing Beats. As the penultimate level, it helps set the stage, literally, for the final stage, including the showdown against Bowser. Platforms, enemies, and coins all appear in time to the music, and the rock track is an absolute banger, to boot.
3: Shooting Stars (The Superstar Trial: Across the Night Sky, Etc.)
One of the most lovely sights to behold are shooting stars flying across the night sky. What’s even better is when those shooting stars are invincibility stars! Unlike Metal Mario, the shooting stars Wonder Flower segments come with some stakes. You have to continue nabbing stars to keep the timer going, and in levels such as The Superstar Trial: Across the Night Sky, it’s possible to misread jumps and plummet to your demise. Shooting star Wonder Flowers combine the no-brakes fun of invincibility with the satisfaction of pulling off skillful maneuvers, making them a wonderful surprise to come across.
2: Soaring Dragon (Dragon Boneyard)
There are a lot of stages in Mario Wonder with very cute and memorable Wonder Flower concepts, like Missile Meg Mayhem turning the dreary backdrop of Bowser’s Castle into a bright and sunny sky while you ride Missile Megs leaving trails of rainbow smoke. These kinds of joyous Wonder Flower segments could be part of a top 5 list all their own. The most charming of them all, however, has to be the bubble-blowing dragon in Dragon Boneyard. The very start of the stage may give away the surprise somewhat, with the introduction reading, “Imagine what it would be like for those fossilized dragons to soar freely through the air…” But that doesn’t stop the actual Wonder Flower segment from feeling completely and utterly magical as you ride the dragon throughout the stage.
To get the stage’s extra Wonder Seed, you’ll need to stay on your toes. Predicting where the dragon will head next as it twirls and spins higher into the sky and even in and out of lava is no cakewalk the first time around. Although this is another Wonder Flower segment that you won’t want to come to an end, the stage has some unexpected replay value. You can choose an easy end to the stage by dropping onto the early Goal Pole as it passes by, which is especially helpful if you didn’t reach the top of the Goal Pole the first time around. Not only is this Wonder Flower power incredibly charming, but it also gives you the freedom to speed through the stage if you so choose.
1: Goomba Mario (Maw-Maw Mouthful)
“Gah… Glad I’m not a Goomba…” These words uttered by a Talking Flower at the very start of Maw-Maw Mouthful pave the way into what is the most heart-stopping Wonder Flower power in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. You spend the start of the stage watching Maw-Maws consume everything in their path, from coins to unsuspecting Goombas, and even the bubbles you blow if you use the stage’s Bubble power-ups. It may seem comical at first, but it’s no laughing matter when you grab the stage’s Wonder Flower and become a Goomba yourself.
You may think you’re safe scuttling behind trees as Mario Wonder becomes a stealth-survival game, but your lack of mobility keeps your nerves on end the entire time. At one point, a Maw-Maw flies down from above off-screen even though you’re behind a tree, which is scary enough by itself. Then it turns around and lunges straight towards you, during which you think, for a split second, that it can smell your fear and knows you’re there behind the tree—but it’s actually just after the coins that are in front of it. Maw-Maw Mouthful has some clever platforming challenges both during and outside of its Wonder Flower segment, but the concept and execution of its Wonder Power gimmick is where it really shines.
Whether you’re a Goomba or a plumber, check out our five tips for Super Mario Bros. Wonder players!
