A Touching Story of Two Strangers in Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Nintendo’s latest lets you connect with players you don’t know, and one Crossplay reader had such a memorable encounter, possibly with a child, and we had to share it.

One of the more interesting multiplayer features in Super Mario Bros. Wonder isn’t about jockeying for position with friends it’s passively playing with others in a manner not unlike in Dark Souls. When activated, you’re matched with others who are also attempting the same level, and can watch as they jump, spin, and whip elephant trunks around. It’s more than a pleasant distraction, as they can help drop items for you if you get hurt, and point you in the direction of secrets you might’ve missed.

It’s entirely optional, but entirely fascinating, too! I’ve dipped in and out of it. And recently, a Crossplay reader, Dave Frasier, sent in a wonderful story about an experience they had playing with this feature on, where they had a heartwarming—and then heartbreaking—experience matching with a player and working together. 

I don’t want to spoil the rest. Both of us believe this experience happened with a child, but there’s no way to be sure. Either way, it’s a delight. Thanks for sharing, Dave!

Now, I’ll let Dave take it away.

This is a story of how I helped guide another player through challenges with nothing but the movement of my character (Daisy) and the basic built in emotes. It was kind of perfect. I wouldn't have changed a thing about how the systems worked. Voice chat would have maybe helped but honestly the purity of communication through in game action was very cool. At the end I had to step away and subsequently lost my network connection when the Switch went to sleep which was unfortunate but that's not the games fault. In another world I might have made the other player a friend and match maked with them or something but this was more ethereal. It was a temporary connection and once it was broken that was it. 

Because there were no timers we didn't have to worry about that fail state. We could take our time. Some portions had in level "timers" such as rising goo lava or platforms that force movement which did make things tricky.

I was playing online because I enjoyed seeing the other players and occasionally they would help me out. Maybe that would be in the form of a standee in an awkward place making me think "how do I get there?" or just bailing me out of a poorly executed maneuver. That's all to say I was playing solo but with limited interactions.

I was slowly working my way through a very tricky level (the last bonus level called The Final Final Test Badge Marathon). Over the course of a bunch of failed tries of my own I realized there was a Peach that I kept seeing over and over. I don't know if this was a child but it was definitely someone who was having difficulty with what was being asked of them. I was dying a bunch too but it was clear they were especially struggling. These levels aren't as hard as kaizo Mario levels but they do require precision that is mostly not needed throughout the rest of the game. 

I decided to slow down and see if I could help them. I set down my standee to give them a safe reset point, spammed the smiley emote a bunch and then twirled in the air a few times. Trying to get their attention and hope it was translating to "watch me" or "follow me". 

They seemed to catch on to my meaning. I executed the next sequence and then intentionally threw myself down a pit, rushing back to them to respawn. I did that a few times while they stood there then they tried to repeat the maneuver. They got it on their fourth try. We proceeded like that through multiple levels. Me showing them what I could with them following a little behind me. If we got too far apart I tried to circle back when that was an option or I would die and find them again.

This went on for almost an hour. We got beyond the part I was comfortable with and together worked through the next bits. We made it to what I now know was the last checkpoint (which has 4 segments until the flag). We were able to get through the first two segments and working on the third when someone came to my door and I had to step away. I wasn't gone long but when I returned the Switch had gone to sleep and the game showed I was offline. The connection never recovered (until I later exited the level) so my Peach friend was gone. I felt terrible. I had abandoned them. From their perspective I probably just stood still for a bit then blipped out of existence. We had worked so hard to get through it together and we weren't able to bring it home together. 

I tried a few more attempts on my own but it felt empty. The game wasn't about me beating it anymore, it was about helping to guide and encourage them to do so. 

I returned to it the next day and got back to that same check point quickly then spent the next 3 hours failing on the very last set of jumps before finally beating it. I was thrilled to have done so but am left wondering if my Peach friend ever made it. I'll never know. 

Have a story idea? Want to share a tip? Got a funny parenting story? Drop Patrick an email.

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Also:

• The first time I played like this and helped someone with a mushroom, I clapped. There’s something magical about helping someone from across the void.

• At times, it can feel like you’re being spoiled on secrets, but one time, it helped me find a purple coin that I wouldn’t have sussed out on my own. Thanks, friend!

• I played a bunch of Wonder on my flight to California, and cannot gush about the Jump! Jump! Jump! levels, where you play a rhythm game, enough. So good.