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One of the best features in Super Mario Bros Wonder is the badges. These unlockable items add extra moves and buffs to Mario and friends, but with so many on offer, it may be difficult to know which are the most useful.
Best Badge for Health
Dying in Super Mario Bros Wonder can sometimes be disheartening, mostly because you get placed back into the level in your small form. This means you lose not just whatever power-up you had on you, but also the extra hit that the super form provides.
This is where the Auto Super Mushroom Badge is incredibly useful. This badge allows you to start any course with a Super Mushroom. In practice, this means that entering a course causes Mario (or your chosen character) to instantly take on their super form.
The Auto Super Mushroom Badge can be found early, as you receive it as a reward for the Mountaineering Wiggler Race in Pipe-Rock Plateau.
Best Badge for Extra Height
There are a lot of badges in Super Mario Bros Wonder related to jumping. While the Floating High Jump, Crouching High Jump and Timed High Jump can be useful in specific circumstances, one badge got more use than all of these during my playthrough.
The Boosting Spin Jump gives Mario and friends an extra midair hop, effectively adding a double jump to your moves. While it doesn’t have the greatest height, it’s a useful way to course correct on jumps that fall slightly short, allowing you to move to safety more easily.
This is obtained through a badge challenge in Petal Isles. You can find it on the lower-middle island, in between the entrances to Fungi Mines and Deep Magma Bog.
Best Badge for Completionists
For completionists, it might be frustrating to not be able to find a handful of Wonder Seeds or 10-Flower Coins. This is where the Sensor Badge is useful.
When you have the Sensor Badge equipped, a pulse will flash around your character when you get near to a collectible location. If the item is hidden by traveling through a pipe or similar, the pulse will flash near the pipe instead.
The Sensor Badge is obtained almost immediately when you enter Fungi Mines. After entering the Loyal Poplin’s house and speaking to him by the broken bridge, give him 10 Flower Coins. He’ll fix the bridge and hand you this badge.
Best Badge for Specific Challenges
Some of the challenges and secrets require specific power-ups to complete. This includes needing to smash a wall of blocks with an elephant trunk or using a Drill to move through a narrow passage. Fortunately, Super Mario Bros Wonder has a series of badges that allow you to get whatever power-up you need.
The All Power Badges will force every power-up in the game to give you the power requested by the badge. For example, with the All Elephant Power Badge, even picking up a Fire Flower or Super Mushroom will turn Mario into an elephant.
These badges all unlock at Poplin Shops after beating Bowser at the end of the game. They all unlock at the same time but must be purchased separately.
Best Badge for Water Levels
This one is extremely specific, but if you’re entering a level with a lot of swimming, it’s always a good idea to equip the Dolphin Kick badge.
The Dolphin Kick Badge will provide you with an underwater dash move. By pressing the R button, you’ll speed forwards, which makes swimming faster and makes dodging underwater hazards easier.
You can get the Dolphin Kick Badge from a badge challenge in Petal Isles, shortly after leaving Pipe-Rock Plateau for the first time.
Super Mario Bros Wonder is available now for Nintendo Switch.
