Super Mario Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park Switch 2 Review

Super Mario Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2

I remember playing Super Mario Wonder on the original Switch when it first launched. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, trying desperately to repair my comms in the van just so I could download it. This was my first Mario review, and I was determined to make it happen. All that effort paid off. I was pulled into a bright, colourful world full of, well… wonder. Now, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has returned with the Switch 2 treatment, alongside Nintendo’s habit of giving things incredibly long names. Officially called “Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park” it’s quite the mouthful. What’s it Like? Pick your favourite character, gather some friends, and let’s shorten the name a little as we review Super Mario Wonder for Nintendo Switch 2

Disclaimer: Much like most Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases, this will be a full, fresh review of the entire game, alongside a look at the new Bellabel Park content.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder gets into things quickly. Mario and friends arrive in the Flower Kingdom, where Prince Florian introduces them to the Wonder Flower, a mysterious power capable of altering reality itself. Much like any Mario adventure, Bowser crashes the party. This time, he uses the power of a Wonder Seed to merge with a castle, spreading chaos across the Flower Kingdom. Mario and friends, alongside their charming new ally Prince Florian, waste no time setting things right by collecting Wonder Seeds to stop Bowser and restore peace to the kingdom.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder features that classic Nintendo magic that I love to talk about, with side-scrolling platforming perfection that’s turned on its head when you collect Wonder Seeds. These seeds drastically alter the levels, like adding a bull stampede, flipping water and air, and even managing to get Piranha Plants to perform a musical number in a delightfully strange early segment of the game. They also act as keys, so to speak, opening up new paths and levels so you can progress. There are new power-ups that are also equally ludicrous, like the Elephant Fruit, Bubble Flower, and Drill Mushroom, which add variety to the levels. It all comes together to create this wonderfully absurd adventure that had me smiling the whole time, despite it being my second playthrough.

Speaking of second playthroughs, what’s new on the Switch 2?

Super Mario Bros. Wonder now includes Meetup at Bellabel Park, a sprawling hub packed with multiplayer party games, offering both local and online options. It blends the core ideas of Mario Wonder with gameplay you would expect from something like Mario Party. There is a wide mix of activities here, from hide and seek to coin collecting and even feeding Yoshis, alongside plenty more to discover. In total, there are 17 local co-op games and 6 online modes, giving it a surprising amount of variety. With it being the school holidays here in Australia, my kids and I spent a fair bit of time with this new addition, and it was a genuinely fun experience. The tag and hide-and-seek mode quickly became a household favourite, and we ended up spending hours just enjoying the fun together in Bellbird Park.

Alongside this new content, the Switch 2 version also brings enhanced visuals, with a noticeable bump in resolution that helps the game’s vibrant art style shine even more. There are also a couple of new ways to play. Rosalina is now fully playable across the entire game, while a second player can jump in as Co-Star Luma, using button or mouse controls to fly around, collect coins, and defeat enemies without taking damage. It is a more relaxed, assist-style role, and one that fits nicely into the game’s accessible design. That said, if you are primarily a solo player who already owns Mario Wonder, this is one upgrade that may not feel essential. While the new content is enjoyable, it leans heavily into multiplayer, making it more of a nice addition rather than a must-have upgrade.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Nintendo Switch 2 follows Nintendo’s tradition of using bright and colourful palettes to really amaze with its visuals. Mario and friends have a lot of character thanks to the incredible animations, and that level of detail also applies to enemies, who frown as they approach you or look shocked when you stomp on them. Each level is a visual delight, further enhanced by the psychedelic effects of the Wonder Seeds when you find them, turning the on-screen action up to a level of momentary madness. Backgrounds also benefit from strong depth and parallax scrolling, giving each level a layered feeling that adds atmosphere without ever distracting from the action. The UI design is also minimal, which helps keep the focus firmly on the world and what’s happening on screen rather than cluttering the experience. It’s an incredibly well-done game.

All of this runs at a silky smooth frame rate, with seamless transitions from Wonder Effects, resulting in a polished experience from start to finish. The audio design also ties everything together beautifully, perfectly matching the chaos happening on screen. There are even small touches like the symbol crash that kicks in when a character butt-stomps the ground, which somehow blends perfectly into the soundtrack. It is yet another wonderful attention to detail that adds to the overall charm of the experience.

For my Mushroom Kingdom adventurers looking into accessibility, there is Assist Mode, which enables various difficulty modifiers to help you on your journey. This can include a Propeller Flower that stops you from falling, and enemies being unable to damage you. Outside of these difficulty modifiers, there are no other accessibility options to speak of. So, as always, I recommend further research to determine whether Super Mario Bros. Wonder suits your needs.

At just under $110 AUD, Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park is still a wonderful adventure with plenty of challenges to keep you coming back. The added $30 cost of the upgrade pack over the standalone game, which sits at $79.95, just doesn’t quite feel right. Sure, there is plenty to do if you have friends around, but it doesn’t quite feel like the bigger overhauls seen in some of the other Switch 2 upgrades. It is not bad, however. There were plenty of laughs for my family and I, as we played in Bellabel Park, and it clearly works best as a social experience; as solo players will not really miss much by sticking to the Switch 1 version of the game. That said, Super Mario Wonder is still a masterclass in 2D platforming, drawing you into a bright and gorgeous world full of character, charm, and, of course, a lot of wonder.

Enjoyed our Super Mario Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park Switch 2 Review?

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