Super Mario Bros. Wonderlooks like an absolute delight, doesn’t it? I’ll admit, going into June’s Nintendo Direct, I had my hopes set on a new 3D Mario game being announced. Although I have a lot of love for the 2D Mario games, I’ve previously felt that the recent side-scrolling entries haven’t done enough to stand out and carve a distinct identity likeSuper Mario Odyssey, Sunshine, Galaxyand all the other 3D games have.
With that said, the moment I sawWonderin action, I was floored. Never before has a 2DMariogame looked so alive - each level that’s been shown looks, as the name would suggest, wondrous. Mario’s reactions to the things going on around him are immensely charming, and so many unique ideas have already been showcased - I can’t wait to get stuck into the whole thing. However, the trailer concluded with somethingso bizarre, so bewildering, so befuddling that I’ve not stopped thinking about it for weeks. Elephant Mariohaunts me.
Take a look at the trailer forSuper MarioBros. WonderforNintendo Switchbelow.
The new Elephant power-up is an odd one, in many ways. Previously, all of Mario’s animal-based power-ups - like the Penguin, Cat and Frog - have given our favourite moustachioed plumber a onesie or accessory to wear, rather than a creature’s actual skin. This isn’t something I’ve given much thought to before, to be honest, but seeing Mario’s body contort so drastically to the point that in the split second before the trunk forces its way out of his face he appears to be inactual pain, I can’t help but be concerned for the poor guy’s welfare.
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Beyond the ethical conundrums of whether or not Mario can truly feel pain when in elephant form, there’s another disturbing issue hiding in plain sight. Hear me out for a second here, but what’s underneath his gloves? I’m fully aware that we’re looking at a cartoon, fictional elephant here, but his hands shouldnotlook like that.
Nintendo.
When Mario transforms, the first things to metamorphose are his legs - we can see elephant feet protruding from his dungarees, proving that waist down, he’s in full elephant mode. The same can be said for his torso and head - the increase in his overall size signifies the change in his body, and, well, the alteration to his face is very obvious. If you peek closely, you can even see a bit of exposed skin on his arms showing that those have changed, too. But his hands are another story - while he loses his shoes when using the power-up, the gloves stay on, proving that he still has fingers.Whywould he still have fingers?
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I’m both confused and scared. Does he have perfectly normal human hands attached to his elephant body? Are they huge, mutated grey hands which at least sort of fit in with his overall transformation, or does the skin at that point on his body just stay as it was pre-power-up? The alternatives aren’t any better - he could instead have rows of five tiny elephant legs lined up on the end of each of his arms, which would be upsetting. Or even little elephant trunks, for that matter. We’re none the wiser for as long as he keeps those gloves on.
No matter what’s hiding under the gloves, Elephant Mario is a creature beyond human comprehension. There is no outcome here which makes his form reasonable - he’s an elephant with fingers. What business does any elephant have with owning a perfect set of fingers? Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to be playingSuper Mario Bros. Wonderon day one, but that trailer has given me a lot more to wonder about than the gameplay itself. Oh, and I know that elephants aren’t meant to have moustaches, either, but at least he’s rocking that.
Topics:Super Mario,Mario,Nintendo,Nintendo Switch
