It’s hard to believe that we’re almost at the one-year anniversary of Super Mario Bros Wonder. The game was one of the biggest hits of 2023 and single-handedly revitalized the 2D platformers starring Mario. The game wasn’t just an instant hit; it was a “Game of the Year” nominee in many places. One of the ironies of the game, though, was that despite its success, the game only had certain kinds of merch come out for it. It might be a “little late,” but Nintendo is fixing that in Japan, as the company is preparing to drop two plushies of the game’s iconic items and characters.
The company San-ei Boeki revealed, as you can see in the image above that the Wonder Flower and the Talking Flower are getting the plushie treatment. Both of these were integral parts of Super Mario Bros Wonder and in different ways. For example, the Wonder Flower was the catalyst for the entire title. Mario and his friends went to the Flower Kingdom to check it out when Bowser got his hands on one of the Wonder Flowers, fused with the kingdom’s castle, and then had the power to send his powers and minions all over the place!
Then, as Mario went through the various levels, the Wonder Flower would change everything around him, forcing him to adapt on the fly to overcome this new kind of challenge. As for the Talking Flowers, these were scattered all over the Flower Kingdom, and they talked to the players as they went by. Sometimes, they would just talk about themselves or the nearby area. Sometimes, they even reacted to all the wild things that were happening thanks to the Wonder Flower.
When they weren’t doing that, they would give hints to the player, potentially allowing the person to find the various secrets that the levels hid. The plushies are set to arrive in November, and while they haven’t been confirmed for the US as of now, we can bet that people will “find ways” to bring them over.
As for Mario himself, many are anticipating what his next 2D and 3D platforming titles will be like. We know he’s got another “party game” coming out in November and an RPG with his brother Luigi in November, but many expect him to be the headliner for the Nintendo Switch 2 when it arrives in 2025. With how great his titles have been on the Switch, expectations will be high for what it could be and the unique twists that’ll help it stand out.