Summary
Super Mario Bros. Wonderis the latest 2D adventure for Mario and his friends. Released earlier this month,Super Mario Bros. Wondergarnered universal acclaimfor its evolution of the series 2D platforming, with many pointing to the immense impact of the Wonder Flower concept at its center. In addition to the Wonder Flower and its reality-bending effects, another concept is central toSuper Mario Bros. Wonder: music. Many ofWonder’s courses feature music as part of their core objective or unique Wonder Effect, with some even resulting in full-fledged musical numbers. Some fans may shrug this recurring element off as a feature of the Wonder Flower. However, others may attribute the musical nature ofSuper Mario Bros. Wonderto something more, as its unique implementation lends credence to a longstanding fan theory.
Super Mario Bros. Wondertransports Mario and his pals to the Flower Kingdom, a neighbor of the Mushroom Kingdom, where they meet its ruler, Prince Florian. The Flower Kingdom is home to items called Wonder Flowers, which cause unique reality-bending effects when utilized by anyone who touches them. Bowser, eyeing a new kingdom to conquer, steals the wonder power for himself and uses it to fuse himself with the Koopa Clown Car and Prince Florian’s Castle, creating the villainous Castle Bowser. Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Peach join Florian to stop Bowser from enacting the ultimate wonder, turning the Kingdom into his heavy metal stage, and its inhabitants into his captive audience.
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One Longstanding Theory Seeks to Explain Mario’s Theatrical Overtones
WhenPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorlaunched for the Nintendo GameCube, it set the fandom alight, due to its alignment with a previous theory. WhenSuper Mario 3’s title screen literally pulled the curtains back on Mario’s adventure, fans saw a way to explain the series' variety and theatrical undertones. While these elements continued to appear in other titles,The Thousand-Year Doorprovided concrete evidence through its inclusion of an audience mechanic. The title’s battles featured a live audience that could interact directly with Mario’s on-stage narrative, throwing items that help or hurt the plumber, and boosting his stats.
SincePaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door,thePaper Marioserieshas doubled down on this concept, withPaper Mario: The Origami Kingcontinuing the crowd mechanic and allowing Mario to alter the stage on which battles take place. However, fans have extended the theory to modern 3D platformers as well, attributing their various core elements to Mario and his friends being actors in recurring stage plays. This theory is also used to explain the various titles in which Mario’s friends and foes casually partake in different sports competitions, races, andMario Partygame shows.
The Stage Actor Theory Explains Mario Wonder’s Musical Numbers
The journey toMario Wonder’s end is rife with musical numbers. In addition to Break Time courses in which players arrange classic Mario tunes, various Badge courses require Mario to jump, move, and dodge to the beat of their music. Some Wonder Flowers, like the one found inPiranha Plants on Parade, spawn full-fledged theatrical set pieces choreographed to music. ReachingWonder’s climax unveils the best Stage Actor Theory evidence of all, as the “ultimate Wonder” is actually an eternal heavy-metal concert in which Bowser holds the Flower Kingdom as a captive audience.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s final course, Bowser’s Rage Stage, adds the most credence to the Stage Actor Theory, as it sets the climactic battle to music while relegating the title’s various power-ups, badges, and Wonder effects to the sidelines. A crowd cheers as Mario jumps, dodges, and strikes Bowser to the heavy-metal beat, resulting in a showstopping and explosive conclusion. There is little to no explanation for why music occasionally steals the spotlight inWonder, or why Bowser’s plan is so musical in general. These elements could easily be explained were the Stage Actor Theory true. With Nintendo’s upcomingPrincess Peach Showtimedoubling down on the series' theatrical overtones, Stage Actor Theory is becoming more and more credible, followingSuper Mario Bros. Wonder.
Super Mario Bros. Wonderis available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
