In two days — March 26, 2026 — one of the best 2D platformers of the last decade is coming back, and this time it’s bringing new friends. Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition isn’t just a port. It’s Nintendo saying: “You loved it once. Here’s a reason to love it again.”
Oh, and it’s also Mario’s 40th birthday party. No pressure.
Wait, Didn’t We Already Play This?
Yes and no. The original Super Mario Bros. Wonder launched in October 2023 for Nintendo Switch and immediately became one of those games that makes people go “oh, THIS is what a Mario game can feel like.” Nintendo EPD took the formula apart and rebuilt it with a new gimmick — Wonder Flowers that transformed levels in unpredictable, often surreal ways — and critics couldn’t stop talking about it. IGN gave it a 9/10. It sold millions.
But Nintendo wasn’t done. When the Switch 2 launched in June 2025, they revealed a new edition was coming. And now it’s almost here.
What’s Actually New in the Switch 2 Edition
This isn’t a simple upscale or a “runs better” checkbox. The Switch 2 Edition adds a substantial chunk of new content built specifically around the hardware’s capabilities:
Bellabel Park — The New Area
The headline addition is Bellabel Park, a brand-new area exclusive to this edition. It’s a hub world designed around multiplayer, featuring competitive and co-op mini-games that use the Joy-Con 2’s new mouse controls. Think of it as the game’s social layer — a place where you bring friends together rather than run through levels.
Rosalina (Finally) Joins the Party
The roster grows from 12 to 14 characters. Rosalina is the big addition — she crash-lands a Starshroom before the events of the story and joins the crew in the Flower Kingdom. She plays like Mario but comes with a Luma companion that floats alongside her (purely cosmetic, but deeply charming).
There’s also Co-Star Luma, returning from Super Mario Galaxy 2 as an assistant character for local multiplayer. They can fly freely, spin to defeat enemies, and are controlled with Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode. Can’t take damage, great for younger players.
Other new playable characters include the Koopalings (yes, all seven of them), the Baby Yoshis, and Brigade Blue Toad.
Massive Online Multiplayer
The original Switch version supported up to 4 players locally. The Switch 2 Edition bumps online play up to 12 players simultaneously. Twelve. Local wireless goes up to 8. It turns what was already a fun co-op game into something closer to a party platform.
GameShare
One of the Switch 2’s killer features is GameShare — the ability for multiple players to join a game locally even if only one person owns it. Both local (2-4 players) and online (2-4 players) GameShare are supported, which means you don’t need to convince your friends to buy it to play together. They just need to be nearby, or online with you.
The Upgrade Path: Already Own It?
Here’s the part original Switch owners will care about: if you already own Super Mario Bros. Wonder, you can buy the new content as a paid upgrade pack rather than purchasing the whole game again. Nintendo hasn’t announced the price yet, but they’ve confirmed it exists.
There’s also a quirky backward compatibility detail: if you insert the Switch 2 Edition cartridge into an original Nintendo Switch, the base game runs — you just miss the new content. Handy if you’re the kind of person who somehow has the cartridge but not the console.
Why This Matters Beyond the Hype
Nintendo’s strategy with the Switch 2 is becoming clearer with each release. Rather than abandoning their best-loved Switch games, they’re rebuilding them with new reasons to play — and often doing it in time with anniversaries or cultural moments. Last year it was Super Mario Galaxy, remastered and re-released to coincide with nostalgia for the Wii era. Now it’s Wonder, in time for Super Mario Bros.’ 40th anniversary.
The original Super Mario Bros. launched in Japan on September 13, 1985. That means Mario has been running (and jumping, and dying in lava) for four decades. The anniversary is being marked with new Amiibo figures (Elephant Mario and Captain Toad, announced alongside this game), events at PAX East where Nintendo is bringing hands-on demos, and presumably a lot of people Googling “what was the first Mario game?”
The Competition This Week
For context, March 26 is a stacked day. Also dropping the same day: Kena: Bridge of Spirits for Switch 2 (the gorgeous action-adventure from Ember Lab, now playable handheld for the first time) and The Midnight Walk (a dark fantasy puzzle game with a 9/10 from IGN). The day before sees Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game Switch 2 Edition arrive.
Nintendo clearly picked the date deliberately. Wonder is the flagship, and it’s going up against strong competition for the same players. That’s confidence.
Should You Pick This Up?
If you skipped Super Mario Bros. Wonder on Switch — or if you got it but moved on quickly — this is the version worth playing. The Bellabel Park additions, the expanded roster, and especially the 12-player online mode transform it from a solo/small-group experience into something that actually benefits from the Switch 2’s social features.
If you’re a completionist who already logged 100% on the original, the question is whether the new content is worth the upgrade price. Given what Nintendo has shown — a full new area, two new playable characters, eight more online slots — it probably is, especially if you have friends on the Switch 2 to play with.
For the rest of us? It comes out Thursday. Mario’s 40. That seems like enough of a reason.
Sources
- Super Mario Wiki — Switch 2 Edition full details
- IGN — Upcoming Switch 2 Games 2026
- Nintendo Official — PAX East hands-on announcement
- Wikipedia — Nintendo Switch 2
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