"Not as much like the original Super Mario Bros as I though, but still, very good."

I was so exited when I heard they were making a New Super Mario bros. Super Mario bros was the game I grew up with, and all these other Mario games were so weird. Super Mario Bros 2? What the hell was that? Not anything like Super Mario Bros! And Super Mario world 2 was horrible. Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World? Why can't we just have normal level to level? (Not to say they weren't good, of course. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are the best platformers ever, probably)

When I got this, I was pretty exited. But then, I saw a world map. I don't like those in platformers. I like the original level to level style. But soon, I learned that it's not really bad. In level to level, you can't do things over, and you have to keep beating the early levels again if you want to do later levels, which is annoying, and repetitive. With maps, you can just play levels again. And in a game like this, when there's collectables, such as the Star Coins, it's not really possible to not be able to play maps again. Also, world map events that I think were started with Super Mario Bros. 3 (Like the Hammer Bros of Flying Coin Ships) are here too, which is good. It adds a bit of interest.

So, pretty much, this isn't exactly like the original Super Mario Bros, but it's closer then most other Mario platformers. Like I said, it's not bad.

The story goes pretty much the same way as any Super Mario game. Mario and the Princess are out somewhere, and the Princess gets kidnapped, and Mario goes around, killing various lackeys to rescue her from the evil kidnapper. In this game, it's Bowser Jr., instead of the normal Bowser. Bowser Jr. is not to be confused with Baby Bowser. Bowser Jr. Is Bowser's son, and Baby Bowser is young Bowser. If you want to play a game with both of them, play Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, another good game, although Superstar Saga was better. But let's get back to New Super Mario Bros…

In most Mario platformers, each world has a sort of theme, for example, Mountain, Plains, Forest, Evil, Creepy, Ice, and many more. And this game doesn't break that trend. Over the 8 worlds you can travel across, most of them have a different theme. A few are similar, like the Ice Caps and Snow Fields, but that's just cosmetic differences.

One thing that I like about this game is that you can be Luigi. I like Luigi, and for the rest of you who do, if you want to play as him, check the code in the codes and secrets section. I don't know if I'm allowed to say here.

The gameplay itself is similar the original Super Mario Bros. You can run around, jump, and shoot fireballs, if you get a Flower. 100 coins is a 1 up, as are Green Mushrooms, and Red ‘Shrooms make you big. You can jump on your enemies to defeat them, and if you can't kill them like that, you can probably push (or throw, in this game) a Koopa shell at them or fry them with fireballs. The jumping is floaty, like it was in the original Super Mario Bros. There are pipes that you can go down, to secret caves, often with lots of coins in them, and you can break bricks if you're big or fire Mario. Falling down a hole usually makes you die. There are shiny stars that make you invincible, and when you kill lots of enemies with one thing, you can get extra points.

However, there are many new aspects to the gameplay, too, and they make the game more interesting. Did you ever feel, while you're playing the original, you're not doing much more then running and jumping? Well, in this game, there are many more things you can do. There are some new items. Not as many as there were in, say, Super Mario World, but there are some besides Fire Flowers, Stars, and Red Shrooms. In this game, there are also Blue Shrooms, which make you tiny, so you can run on water, or squeeze in between little spaces or go down mini pipes. There are giant Shrooms, which make you (guess) giant! You can't be hurt while you're a giant, and you can just charge through almost anything. It only lasts a short time, though, and be careful you don't get stuck between some tall objects or fall down a hole while you're big, because that can screw you over. There's the blue Koopa shell, which Mario or Luigi can wear on his back, and when you run, you can go in the shell. With this, you can break bricks on your side, instead of only in front of you. And when you're standing still, if you hold down, you can't be hurt, so I'm told. This saves you the trouble of actually using a real Koopa shell, which might hurt you. Also, if you get hurt (in any form), if you have an item in reserve, you can just use that! It's pretty much the same as in Super Mario World. But make sure there's no platforms above you or the item will land on it, and you probably won't be able to get it. That can ruin your run through a level.

Besides the new items, there are some other new things in the game too. A good thing about this one's map is that you can go between worlds quickly, unlike in Super Mario World. There are also a number of new moves, such as the Ground Pound, which you can use to break blocks right beneath you. There's also the wall jump. When you're sliding against a wall, you can push the D pad against the wall, and then press A, and Mario or Luigi will kick against the wall and do a little jump. You can gain some height this way, and if two walls are next to each other, you can get really high doing this.

There are a lot of things to do on the world map, too. Like I said before, there are map-events, like the Hammer Bros and such, where you can go to the square where they are, and when you enter that level, you can fight them, or get a ? Block if that's on the map or something like that. There are also some semi-hidden levels, and they're fun to try to figure out how to unlock. There are a lot of paths throughout the worlds, and its fun making your own. There are also a few different world paths, as in, you either do world 3 or 4, and 6 or 7. Of course, when you're done, you can go and do them over. There are a few special places on the map, such as the warp cannon, which warps you in between worlds (It's pointless if you have them all unlocked, really), and toad houses, where you can visit Toadsworth, and he can give you some 1 ups or an Item to put in store or a new Wallpaper which you can put as the background behind the item screen. Of course, you can't get them for free. You have to pay star coins to get in most toad houses, and some for wallpapers. To get Star coins, you have to find them in levels. There are three in each level, and you can't just get infinite in one level, you can only get each one once.

The point in most levels is just to get to the end. Usually you go left to right, but sometimes it's down to up. Either way, at the end of the level, there's a flagpole that you have to jump on, like in the old Mario games. In the levels, there are various enemies and obstacles that you must get over or around to get to the flag. Just like in the old Super Mario bros. It's just different because of the new moves, but you usually don't have to use them.

Besides regular levels and Toad houses, on the maps, there are Towers and Castles. Towers are usually about half way through the world. At the end of these, you have to fight Bowser Jr. He's pathetically easy if you have a fire flower. In these little fights, he starts across an arena and charges at you. If you just shoot fireballs really quickly, you can shoot enough to kill him before he reaches you. In castles, at the end, you fight a big boss. They're usually easy, but some of them, to unlock certain things, you have to beat them as mini Mario or Luigi, and that's hard.

If you don't want to play single player, that's fine. There's a single cart mode called Mario vs. Luigi, where they both try to collect a certain number of star coins before the other does.

There's also a Multi Card mode, which unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to play, so I don't know what it is. I hear that it's co-op, which would be awesome. Again, this is what I hear, so I'm not sure.

Also, there are a lot of mini games you can play. They're fun, and you can always try to break your high score if you're bored. The graphics really show off in some of these games. However, I recommend you play mini games on Super Mario 64 DS instead, because they have the same exact mini games, and more. However, if you don't have that, this is fine too!

One of the reasons this game didn't get 10/10 is that it's really easy. It's long, though, so it'll keep you busy for a while. And then again, some of the later levels are hard, but no battles really are. But they rarely are in platformers.

The sound in this game is good. The music is cheery like in normal games. Most worlds have their own theme, which adds some interest, but sometimes you hear repeating ones. There are boss songs too.

One thing that annoys me is that EVERYTHING has a sound effect now. Even piranha plants... If you fireball them, they “say” something that sounds like “Mruuuh”. This can be solved easily: Shut the sound, or lower sound effects if you can, so it's not a big problem.

The voices are good too. You don't hear them very often, but at least you can tell what they're saying and they're not full of static.

The graphics are also very good in this game. It's only a platformer, so you don't need 3D graphics that much, but they're nice, and the DS delivers. The backgrounds are very nice, and when you turn around, you can really tell how good the graphics are. One thing that's odd is that when you're little (not mini, little, as in, when you start a game before you get a red mushroom), your head seems to be about 2 times bigger then it should be, but that doesn't matter. It's kind of funny.

The graphics really show off a lot in some mini games, especially the casino ones. Look at how good Luigi looks. All 3-d and such.

The replay value in this game isn't very good, however. Once you beat a level, there really isn't much motivation to play it again, unless you want to get all the star coins, or something. That's another point lost, because that's important to me. I guess if you really wanted to play again, you could do a challenge or something…

Or try to break your mini games high scores. But I'd recommend you do that on Super Mario 64 DS instead if you have that, since it has the same games, and more.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/06