Super Mario Bros. Wonder came out three years ago for the original Nintendo Switch, two years before the Switch 2 hit shelves. I remember being interested at the time, but between money and time constraints, I never got around to picking it up despite the itch. I eventually snagged it through a game trade on Facebook Marketplace and was genuinely excited to play, but it turned out to be one of the more disappointing Mario titles I’ve played in a while.

First off, I’m genuinely glad they finally ditched the “New Super Mario Bros.” naming scheme. In hindsight, it always felt bland and uninspired, though Nintendo, being a Japanese company, was apparently reluctant to drop it since the title carries real popularity in Japan. That said, the game itself doesn’t feel drastically different from New Super Mario Bros. U on the Wii U, aside from the expanded playable roster this time around: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Nabbit, and the Toads.

You can drop into co-op with multiple people at nearly any point. I was excited to have my son Alexander and stepdaughter Lily join in, but unfortunately, the co-op experience, at least with kids their age, was pretty rough. If they lag behind and scroll off-screen, they essentially die, which turns into a distracting, frustrating cycle. After a lot of hoping it would click, I ended up playing solo, and for once, the kids were totally fine with that. We’d actually had a great time playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land together not long before, so this was easily the first real letdown of the game.

Next up: the new power-ups. Mario games have cycled through plenty of these over the years, and like Pokémon, not all of them land, especially as the series starts running low on fresh ideas. There’s the Elephant power, which bulks you up and lets you spray water, though its main perk is really just being strong enough to shove enemies aside. There’s also Drill Mario, which lets you burrow into soil, and that was fine. Then there’s Bubble Mario, which fires bubbles that loosely home in on enemies, though it feels a bit half-baked. The usual Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star are all present too.

The game does attempt a story, though I didn’t find it especially compelling. There’s a character named Prince Florian who needs your help, but the plot is basically the standard Mario formula: Mario and Luigi are the good guys, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are the bad guys, and it’s your job to stop them. Barring some late twist I may be ignorant of, there’s really nothing here that sets it apart.

The levels offer plenty of variety, both in difficulty and in overall enjoyment. There are hidden secrets that can fundamentally alter how a level plays out, which is a neat idea in theory, but it became more of an annoyance the more I encountered it. The game overall skews easy, provided you’re not chasing full completion. Some optional levels ramp up the difficulty considerably, but since they’re entirely optional, I never felt much motivation to actually finish them. Eventually, certain levels start to feel like a chore rather than fun.

The boss battles are similarly underwhelming. Most of what I remember boiled down to repeated fights against Bowser Jr., in encounters reminiscent of the old Koopa Kids battles. He picks up a few new tricks and powers along the way, but the fights themselves are largely easy and unoriginal. The one area where the game truly excels, alongside everything else visually, is how fantastic it looks.

I’m honestly a little surprised at how well Super Mario Bros. Wonder was received by critics and casual players alike three years ago, with some even calling it the best 2D Mario since Super Mario World. Personally, I always felt New Super Mario Bros. Wii deserved that title, and I’d argue Wonder is actually the weakest 2D Mario since New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS. Calling it “hate” might be too strong. It’s more that I’m disappointed by how much potential feels squandered. Plenty of people clearly still enjoy it, but after a few hours, the fun had worn off for me, and finishing it started to feel like a waste of time.