From my time playing, it seemed like the kind of fairly straightforward platforming adventure we’ve come to expect from the franchise’s 2-D lineup. U, a generally well-received launch title for the Wii U in 2012. Wonder is the first side-scrolling Super Mario adventure since New Super Mario Bros. It also made me think a lot about how brilliantly Super Mario World was designed, and it was in this headspace that I checked out the latest entry in the Super Mario franchise during an hourlong demo in Manhattan last week. It’s the most compelling thing the prolific podcasters have created in ages. Battling input lag, communication breakdowns, and one brother being perpetually stoned (which honestly may have been an asset), they made their way through Dinosaur Land as a team. The reason it took them so long - more than 15 hours altogether - to finish a game that I could run through in an afternoon as a child was because of a clever conceit: One of the brothers worked the direction pad, another handled the jump button, and the third was responsible for speeding and spinning. For the past several months, the podcasters have been streaming the 1991 Super Nintendo classic Super Mario World on YouTube, and on Tuesday they finally beat Bowser. It’s the McElroy brothers’ fault that I didn’t have a better time with Super Mario Bros.
