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Mario Wonder Amiibo Review: Worth It in 2026?
I spent over $80 on the new Super Mario Bros. Wonder amiibos, and the question I kept asking myself was, "are these actually worth it in 2026?" So I decided to play the game first and find out!
I made it all the way to World 4....sat down with my amiibos...and scanned them for the very first time.
But what I found was not super exciting. Actually, I was pretty underwhelmed.
So today I'm giving you my honest mario wonder amiibo review, and since you can't really talk about the amiibos without the game, I'll also be sharing my full breakdown across five categories.
🎥 Don't want to read? Watch it on my YouTube channel.
Unboxing the Mario Wonder Amiibos
One of my absolute favorite parts about collectibles...unboxing them! And as soon as I took these out of the box, I was not expecting the quality to be this good.
The set includes Elephant Mario, Captain Toad, and Poplin with Prince Florian. And these are honestly some of the cutest amiibos I own.
Elephant Mario is so adorable! I love all the little details...like his Mario hat and his denim overalls. Captain Toad has his little fist pumped in the air with his backpack. And Poplin with Prince Florian is so bright and colorful with the cutest little watering can.
These don't feel like regular amiibos. They feel like display pieces. When you set all three together on a shelf, they are just so cheerful to look at!
If you're a collector who loves Nintendo, you really won't be disappointed.
What the Mario Wonder Amiibos Actually Do In-Game
Scanning is actually really simple. You press the plus button on your controller, select the amiibo feature from the menu, and place the figure directly on the right thumb stick where the NFC reader is. Within seconds, you get your power-up!
Elephant Mario gives you the Elephant power-up. Captain Toad gives you the Drill power-up. And Poplin with Prince Florian gives you the Bubble Flower power-up.
Here's my honest reaction though...I was a little underwhelmed. I actually thought I was doing something wrong.
Because these are power-ups you can already pick up throughout the courses. So when I scanned my amiibo and just got a power-up, I was like...that's it?
But then I started thinking about it differently. There are moments in this game where you start a course as mini Mario with nothing to protect you...and you just know it's going to be rough. With an amiibo, you always have a backup.
You can scan it at any point in a course, whenever you need it most. Think of it as a safety net you control.
Just keep in mind, you can only scan once per course. So be strategic about it. Save it for a tough section or right before you fight Bowser Jr. That is the perfect moment to use them!
Story & Characters
Before you even start the game, you get to pick your character! And this is always one of my favorite parts. In Wonder, you have a really great lineup to choose from:
Mario
Luigi
Princess Peach
Princess Daisy
Yellow Toad
Blue Toad
Toadette
Yoshi (beginner-friendly, with a flutter jump and gentler learning curve)
Red Yoshi
Yellow Yoshi
Light-Blue Yoshi
Nabbit (beginner-friendly, takes zero damage from enemies)
Nabbit and Yoshi are both designed to be easier to play, which is perfect if you're new to platformers or want to enjoy the game alongside a younger sibling without the stress. The trade-off is that they can't use power-ups...but sometimes that safety net is all you need.
I chose Yoshi...one of my all-time favorites. But what I didn't realize at frist was that he was a beginner-friendly character! I hadn't played a platformer in over a year, so starting with Yoshi helped me ease back in without even realizing it.
Now, the story! You receive an invitation from Prince Florian to visit the Flower Kingdom. It's a beautiful, colorful world filled with Poplins. They're these adorable little characters who look just like Toads, but with a tiny flower bud on their heads instead of a mushroom cap.
As you make your way through the kingdom, you start meeting talking flowers along the way...which I was honestly not expecting! They pop up throughout your journey to offer hints, a little guidance, or just say something completely funny at the most unexpected moment.
Then Bowser shows up. He flies in, breathing fire and being scary, and just snatches the Wonder Flower right out of the center of the kingdom. He merges with Prince Florian's entire castle and turns it into this enormous, powerful Bowser fortress.
Kamek and Bowser Jr. are right there by his side. And together, they fly across the Flower Kingdom and imprison all the Poplins along the way.
And as soon as that metal soundtrack kicked in...I was like, yes! This is going to be so AWESOME!
Now, here's what you have to do to win. As you complete World 1, you discover that Bowser has positioned himself right at the center of the Flower Kingdom, completely surrounded by cloud piranhas that are protecting him and absorbing the power of the Wonder Flower.
The only way to reach him? Collect the Royal Seeds hidden in each world, use them to defeat one cloud piranha at a time, and slowly work your way closer to Bowser. That is your mission!
I won't spoil what's waiting at the end. I want you to experience it for yourself! But what I will say is that Nintendo always finds new ways to pull you in while still giving you everything you've always loved. And somehow, it never gets old.
What I love most about Mario games is the feeling they carry with them.
Some of my oldest memories are playing on the NES with my dad and brothers and sisters. I still remember the night my sister stayed up until 5am to beat the final castle in Super Mario Bros. 3.
I was five years old when we all stayed up together to watch her...and when she finally cleared it, everyone was so excited! My dad included. That was over 30 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
And that's what I love about Mario games. Every single game brings that feeling right back.
So for Story & Characters, I'm giving it a 5 out of 5 stars. With such a great roster, beginner-friendly options for every skill level, and a story that somehow still excites me after 40 years...how could I not?
Gameplay Mechanics
Super Mario Bros. Wonder introduces some really exciting new features that completely change the way you play. Three things in particular had me hooked from the start: the Wonder Effect, three brand new power-ups, and the badge system.
The Wonder Effect is one of the most unique things about this game. Hidden throughout each course is a glowing flower called a Wonder Flower. When you find it and touch it, the entire course transforms into something completely unexpected.
And no two courses transform the same way. It could be a visual spectacle, a total change in how the course behaves, or something so random and funny that it completely surprises you.
The first time I found one, I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a Star Power-up...so I jumped for it. And the entire course just changed.
The piranha plants started singing. Like, actually singing! A full choir, performing a whole musical number right in the middle of the course. The same plants that had been trying to eat me five minutes earlier! I was just standing there with my controller smiling so much...and I loved every second of it!
And every course has its own unique transformation! You genuinely never know what's coming next. That surprise is the entire point.
Alongside the classic power-ups you know and love, Wonder also introduces three brand new ones: Elephant, Bubble, and Drill. Each one gives you a completely different ability, and every character in the game transforms differently when they use them.
Elephant Mario is my absolute favorite. You can swing your trunk to attack enemies and break blocks, and you can also store water in your trunk to spray onto dried flowers hidden throughout the courses. When you hit them, they either unlock a secret path or give you extra coins. Such a small detail...but it made me feel so clever every single time.
Bubble Mario lets you capture enemies in floating bubbles and bounce on them to jump higher. And Drill Mario lets you drill into floors and ceilings to reach and defeat tough enemies.
And what I love most? Every character transforms differently! Elephant Peach, Elephant Toad...I was literally squirming. All I kept thinking was, I need plushies of every single elephant character.
So Andrew, babe, I know you're reading this! When you asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said I didn't know? Well, now I know. Elephant plushies of each character. All of them. Good luck!
The badge system is the third big addition. As you make your way through each world, you collect badges that each come with their own special ability.
Before every course, you get to choose one badge to bring with you. Things like a crouching high jump, a parachute cap that lets you glide over tough sections, or a dolphin kick for faster swimming. It's like picking your own superpower based on whatever challenge is ahead.
There are also dedicated badge challenge courses throughout the game where you can practice a badge before bringing it into a real course.
During the wall jump badge challenge...my hands were completely drenched in sweat. I kept trying over and over, refusing to quit.
At some point I noticed Andrew had gone completely still behind me. Frozen...not moving, not talking, barely breathing, because he didn't want to be the thing that broke my concentration.
When I finally made it to the top, I turned around and saw his face...and started laughing.
So for Gameplay Mechanics, I'm giving it a 5 out of 5 stars. The Wonder Transformations alone would have earned it!
Challenge
The challenge in this game is really well balanced. Before you even start a course, you can see its difficulty rating right on the map, ranging from one star for an easy warm-up all the way to four stars for something that will really test you.
So you always know exactly what you're walking into before you commit!
On top of that, with all the power-ups, badges, and beginner-friendly characters available to you, there are so many ways to tackle even the toughest courses. You are never stuck with just one option.
I used to pressure myself into completing everything at 100%...and it made gaming feel like work. This time I just enjoyed the ride, and it made such a huge difference.
If you're a cozy gamer who's always been curious about platformers, this is genuinely one of the best places to start. There's always a way through.
So for Challenge, I'm giving it a 5 out of 5 stars!
If you're building out your Switch library, this roundup is a great place to start.
Art Style & UI
The art style in Wonder is completely its own thing. Every world is bursting with color and personality, the character designs are full of life, and the UI is clean and easy to navigate.
The world map is simple to read, lets you fast travel back to any course you've already played, and even has little sections that open up into a small explorable area you can wander through freely. Nintendo really thought of everything.
And they outdid themselves!
The animation is stunning. So bright, so colorful, and even when things get dark and a little scary, it never loses that cheerful signature Nintendo energy. I could stare at this game for hours.
My favorite part? How every power-up becomes an extension of each character's personality without losing who they are. Princess Peach in elephant form is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen in a video game. I am completely obsessed with her.
And the Wonder Effect animations? Every transformation is its own little visual spectacle...chaotic, colorful, and completely unexpected! The designers just let their imaginations run completely wild and I am here for every second of it.
So for Art Style & UI, I'm giving it a 5 out of 5 stars. And honestly, there is no debate!
Music
The music in this game is everything you'd expect from a Mario title...upbeat, full of energy, and perfectly in sync with whatever is happening on screen.
Each world has its own musical theme, and the tracks shift seamlessly from cheerful and calm to loud and chaotic as the intensity of the course changes around you.
And if you've played a Mario game before, you already know that infectious feeling!
But for me to give a soundtrack a 5 out of 5, it has to make me want to add it to my Spotify playlist and listen to it outside of the game.
The Tiny Bookshop soundtrack does that. Final Fantasy VII does that. The Wonder soundtrack is wonderful in context...but it's not something I'd seek out on its own.
So for Music, I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 stars.
What I Loved
The elephant power-up, 100%.
Watching every character transform into an elephant was my absolute favorite thing about this entire game. I cannot get over how cute they all are!
And the Wonder Transformations are a very close second...because not knowing what was coming in each course kept the excitement and the adrenaline high the entire time.
I'm an adrenaline junkie when it comes to platformers, and this game fed that craving perfectly!
What I Didn't Love
Honestly? The amiibos.
After weeks of anticipation and $80 spent, scanning them and getting a power-up was a real letdown. I genuinely thought I was doing something wrong.
If you're on the Nintendo Switch 2, you do get a small extra...an exclusive decoration unlock in the Bellabel Park DLC. But on Switch 1? There's nothing additional to unlock beyond the power-up itself. Just good to know before you buy!
Mario Wonder Amiibo Review: My Honest Verdict
So, do the new Mario Wonder amiibos make this game worth playing in 2026?
The game by itself? Absolutely! Without question. It is such a fun, creative, and beautiful game and I would recommend it to any type of gamer.
The amiibos? You don't need them to have an incredible time. The game is amazing completely on its own. But if you're a collector who loves Nintendo, they are beautiful, well-crafted, and so fun to display together. And they'll become your safe haven in game, whenever you're in a tight spot.
My overall rating for this game is a 5 out of 5 stars. Because at the end of the day, I had so much fun playing it...and that will always be the most important thing to me.
Final Thoughts
Every time I pick up a Mario game, I forget just how fun it is...and then the second I start playing, I remember. And it is the best feeling in the world.
If this one has been sitting in your backlog, this is your sign to finally start it!
So what did you think of Super Mario Bros. Wonder? Let me know in the comments below...I love reading every single one!
And if you love gaming, reading books, or being part of a nerdy community, come join the hildabear club on YouTube by subscribing and becoming a teddie member. Stay for the stories, the nostalgia, and all the fun!
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