This is the first 2D Super Mario Bros. game for a very long time. The last one was on the Wii U, and a part of the “New Super Mario Bros.” series. I felt those games lacked a lot of the character of the original games. The artwork felt quite flat, and each game looked very similar to the last one. At first I thought this one looked very similar again, but actually as I played it lots of little details stood out in the animation. I think the way Mario looks and moves in this one is actually very reminiscent of the artwork from the 1980s. He looks quite a lot like he did on the old game and watch games.
In this game each level hides a “wonder seed”. Collecting a hidden flower changes the level in some way and leads to where the seed is located. The effect is different for each level. In one you literally change perspective, the controls change so that you are looking top down onto the level like Zelda. In another the air becomes water and vice versa. It’s quite fun discovering each one and finding out what it does, although the sections in each level felt quite short to me.
I thought this was a good game, and I didn’t really have any complaints but I think I might have just played enough of these games that it hasn’t had much of an effect on me.