Don't have a PS5, but I will be picking up Sonic Superstars for my Switch Lite! So glade we are still getting 2D games! Yep, looked into my magic 8 ball & i'll have both games in the near future! Thanks for the Retro Break!
One of my favourite standout moments in Super Mario Wonder was the 4th world (the desert one). It seemed to be deliberately reminiscent of SMB2's level design, particular the pyramid stages. As one of my biggest complaints about the NSMB games (and 2D Nintendo platformers in general) is that the levels just feel like a straight line a la SMB1, it was really nice to see. Your observation about the boss battles is spot on though. There's definitely a feeling that they're still playing it safe or still stuck with a tiny bit of the NSBM formula/framework. I think this is the first positive take I've seen on Sonic Superstars!
People seem really down on Superstars for not being as good as Mania, I see it as its own thing, and Sega experimenting with a formula for the 2D series going forward. it reminds me of the Advance or Rush games more than anything, so I'd be happy to see a few more sequels in this style!
I love both the Mario and Sonic series’s but, I definitely had the most fun with Mario Wonder. That said, I’m a bit bias toward Mario games anyway as the Super Mario series is my favourite of all time and my comfort/happy place. I picked both games up though and I’m looking forward to finishing Sonic when I’m done my 2nd play through here or Wonder. The most of the Wonder effects just blew me away. The airship bosses while lacklustre, we’re still enjoyable to me as they gave me a lot of nostalgia for the boss fights of the first Super Mario Bros. game on NES. Also, the final boss fight was one of my favourite 2D Mario Bowser fights. For Sonic, I don’t want to give away too many spoilers but, act one of (I think it was) the third zone, with the giant fan/propellers and the breakout/alleyway sections surprised me when the longer but was the only act. Also, I really enjoyed the games Casino/Carnival zone which name alludes me at the moment. Sadly, I’m not fond of the co-op multiplayer in Sonic Superstars. My boyfriend and I tried it and were both moving to fast so the camera was constantly jerking back and forth to catch each of us and it made me very sick… so we had to stop and I continued solo.
Well, what a time for 2 1/2D platformers! Very good and clear review, perfect to make it a double one! Regarding Wonder’s soundtrack: I never want to hear the NSMB music ever again in all my life, so I’ll take this more fragmented one thank you very much :)
Love hate relationship with Wonder. It’s a really well made game but it’s just too easy! I read an interview with the developers and lowering the difficulty seems to be one of their main priorities. That’s probably good for a lot of people but the rest of us will start hoping for Mario maker wonder. 10:30
Not a big Sonic fan but SMW was an incredibly fun weekend last weekend and I just had such 'wonder' whilst playing it. Things were fun, exciting and just full of charm and delight. It was mostly easy besides a handful of levels but I kinda liked that - means I didn't grow frustrated at any point! So much fun, I just wish there was more of it.
I got Superstars on Switch so I could have it portable and easier access to 4-player co-op if I ever wanted to try it out, but man... the switch load times are so slow and there are several parts where the framerate drops to probably around 10fps or less if I had to guess. Kind of wish I'd have gotten it on PS5, but I do like having it these platformers on a portable console. That said, I'm really enjoying the game. The soundtrack really has a weird range of really good to just bland.
Shame about the switch version :( I never trust SEGA to make a good switch port so I always buy the Sonic games on Playstation... Hopefully next gen there will be enough power for them to just port the same quality games to Nintendo's console too! Glad you're enjoying it regardless, it's definitely better than some people are giving it credit for!
@@RetroBreak For sure. Origins and Mania turned out great on Switch, so I had hopes. But I think I'd still rather have it portable anyway (and the PS Portal isn't currently in my budget). I mostly just wish the load times were better. Egg Fortress is a really cool idea, but it takes about 20 seconds to load Act 2. It looks like the game is freezing. It's very strange. I've got the physical copy incase anyone is wondering.
Regarding the soundtrack i did notice when you turn into an elephant the music gets much lower as if its being played byba trumpet, but yeah nothing super exciting
Wonder is a super fun game and It's one of the most fun things when games change things up and surprise you every now and then, but it almost got too much in the end with wonder. I'm glad you brought it up, haven't heard it in other reviews. I'm a bit surprised after all these years of feeling New Super Mario was a bit bland, I'd now be ready for a slightly more straight forward 2D Mario next time. 😅Nintendo is really good with the "less is more" approach in their games, so maybe it just got a bit too much. I would say the "rate of surprise" is somehow better balanced in many of the other Mario games.
Ive completed mario wonder (apart from special world) and even though I thought it played really well and had loads of cool ideas, I found the whole game including the final battle with bowser way too easy. Sure they introduced artificial optional difficulty modes with the 'expert' badges, but the level designs are fundamentally flawed from a difficulty perspective because every level has to be possible with every badge, so there is less scope for interesting platforming challenges in the regular levels. I know they are aiming for the younger audience, but games like Super Mario World found a better balance while still being fun for younger gamers!
Mario Maker 2 has spoiled me I think... The idea of "only" 150 or so levels is just so small to me... The traditional format seems too limited now, I wonder what SMBW would have looked like with 1000+ levels
Just beat Mario wonder, definitely one of the most creative and great Mario game in recent memory
I'm hoping for a Galaxy 2 moment, where they make a sequel with all the extra ideas that didn't make it into the first one!
@@RetroBreaknow that’d be hype
Don't have a PS5, but I will be picking up Sonic Superstars for my Switch Lite! So glade we are still getting 2D games! Yep, looked into my magic 8 ball & i'll have both games in the near future!
Thanks for the Retro Break!
One of my favourite standout moments in Super Mario Wonder was the 4th world (the desert one). It seemed to be deliberately reminiscent of SMB2's level design, particular the pyramid stages. As one of my biggest complaints about the NSMB games (and 2D Nintendo platformers in general) is that the levels just feel like a straight line a la SMB1, it was really nice to see. Your observation about the boss battles is spot on though. There's definitely a feeling that they're still playing it safe or still stuck with a tiny bit of the NSBM formula/framework.
I think this is the first positive take I've seen on Sonic Superstars!
People seem really down on Superstars for not being as good as Mania, I see it as its own thing, and Sega experimenting with a formula for the 2D series going forward. it reminds me of the Advance or Rush games more than anything, so I'd be happy to see a few more sequels in this style!
They're finally here!!!
I love both the Mario and Sonic series’s but, I definitely had the most fun with Mario Wonder.
That said, I’m a bit bias toward Mario games anyway as the Super Mario series is my favourite of all time and my comfort/happy place.
I picked both games up though and I’m looking forward to finishing Sonic when I’m done my 2nd play through here or Wonder.
The most of the Wonder effects just blew me away. The airship bosses while lacklustre, we’re still enjoyable to me as they gave me a lot of nostalgia for the boss fights of the first Super Mario Bros. game on NES. Also, the final boss fight was one of my favourite 2D Mario Bowser fights.
For Sonic, I don’t want to give away too many spoilers but, act one of (I think it was) the third zone, with the giant fan/propellers and the breakout/alleyway sections surprised me when the longer but was the only act.
Also, I really enjoyed the games Casino/Carnival zone which name alludes me at the moment.
Sadly, I’m not fond of the co-op multiplayer in Sonic Superstars. My boyfriend and I tried it and were both moving to fast so the camera was constantly jerking back and forth to catch each of us and it made me very sick… so we had to stop and I continued solo.
Well, what a time for 2 1/2D platformers! Very good and clear review, perfect to make it a double one! Regarding Wonder’s soundtrack: I never want to hear the NSMB music ever again in all my life, so I’ll take this more fragmented one thank you very much :)
Love hate relationship with Wonder. It’s a really well made game but it’s just too easy! I read an interview with the developers and lowering the difficulty seems to be one of their main priorities. That’s probably good for a lot of people but the rest of us will start hoping for Mario maker wonder. 10:30
I love Mario and Sonic. It always bugged me when people act like you have to pick one.
Both are amazing and iconic in their own ways!
Looking good man! Not sure if you got a different camera, or lighting, or a haircut, but you look great!
Thanks! ☺️
Not a big Sonic fan but SMW was an incredibly fun weekend last weekend and I just had such 'wonder' whilst playing it. Things were fun, exciting and just full of charm and delight. It was mostly easy besides a handful of levels but I kinda liked that - means I didn't grow frustrated at any point! So much fun, I just wish there was more of it.
Many thanks! Best! 😊
I got Superstars on Switch so I could have it portable and easier access to 4-player co-op if I ever wanted to try it out, but man... the switch load times are so slow and there are several parts where the framerate drops to probably around 10fps or less if I had to guess. Kind of wish I'd have gotten it on PS5, but I do like having it these platformers on a portable console.
That said, I'm really enjoying the game. The soundtrack really has a weird range of really good to just bland.
Shame about the switch version :( I never trust SEGA to make a good switch port so I always buy the Sonic games on Playstation... Hopefully next gen there will be enough power for them to just port the same quality games to Nintendo's console too! Glad you're enjoying it regardless, it's definitely better than some people are giving it credit for!
@@RetroBreak For sure. Origins and Mania turned out great on Switch, so I had hopes. But I think I'd still rather have it portable anyway (and the PS Portal isn't currently in my budget).
I mostly just wish the load times were better.
Egg Fortress is a really cool idea, but it takes about 20 seconds to load Act 2. It looks like the game is freezing. It's very strange. I've got the physical copy incase anyone is wondering.
@CrimsonQuandary egg fortress act 2 was such a cool level! Hope it plays ok once it’s finally loaded.. it just instantly starts on the PlayStation :(
@@RetroBreak Can confirm that once it's up, it's good.
Good honest review...waiting for sale season
You'll be able to get sonic for £20 soon, but Mario will forever be full price 😅
true
@@RetroBreak
Hot take? Smbw should not have included the floating high jump badge. It is extremely overpowered and makes pretty much every other badge pointless
Regarding the soundtrack i did notice when you turn into an elephant the music gets much lower as if its being played byba trumpet, but yeah nothing super exciting
Wonder is a super fun game and It's one of the most fun things when games change things up and surprise you every now and then, but it almost got too much in the end with wonder. I'm glad you brought it up, haven't heard it in other reviews. I'm a bit surprised after all these years of feeling New Super Mario was a bit bland, I'd now be ready for a slightly more straight forward 2D Mario next time. 😅Nintendo is really good with the "less is more" approach in their games, so maybe it just got a bit too much. I would say the "rate of surprise" is somehow better balanced in many of the other Mario games.
Ive completed mario wonder (apart from special world) and even though I thought it played really well and had loads of cool ideas, I found the whole game including the final battle with bowser way too easy. Sure they introduced artificial optional difficulty modes with the 'expert' badges, but the level designs are fundamentally flawed from a difficulty perspective because every level has to be possible with every badge, so there is less scope for interesting platforming challenges in the regular levels. I know they are aiming for the younger audience, but games like Super Mario World found a better balance while still being fun for younger gamers!
Mario Maker 2 has spoiled me I think... The idea of "only" 150 or so levels is just so small to me... The traditional format seems too limited now, I wonder what SMBW would have looked like with 1000+ levels
It’s quality vs quantity, Wonder is much better than any number of Maker levels
I think Mario Maker is the reason it took Nintendo so long to make a new 2D Mario game.. where else could they go if everything existed?