New Super Mario Bros.

"New doesn't make it any more worthwhile"

New Super Mario Bros. was one of the debut games on the Nintendo DS, and was highly anticipated as it was the first Mario side-scroller in quite a while. It had record sales when it came out, and was widely praised by critics. But was the praise directed toward the game itself or the idea of it?

Story – Mario/10

Mario and Princess Peach are foolish enough to take a walk outside the castle, which for some reason gets struck by lightning. Mario goes to investigate and of course Peach gets kidnapped for the millionth time by (plot twist) Bowser Jr. Mario chases him through the worlds to try and get her back etc. etc. it's Mario, if you're buying Mario games for their story, you'd have better luck with Madden or Tetris.


Graphics – 9/10

The graphics are colorful and pleasing to the eye. The sprites of Mario and the numerous enemies are 3-D, while the background of the world itself is 2-D. The blend of 3-D and 2-D creates a nice effect and helps to bring the game to life. The animations are smooth and crisp and you can tell perfectly well what Mario is doing. The graphics are easily the strongest point of the game.


Sound – 8/10

Boops, blips, mushroom power-up sounds, coins clinking, it's all things that have been heard many times before in Mario games and there's nothing new or ground-breaking there. The background music is jingly and it fits the mood and color of the game. The sound is most likely not something the player will be concentrating on while playing, but it sets the mood nicely.


Gameplay – 5/10

The area where Mario games generally shine is where this one barely glints. New Super Mario Bros did introduce some new features, but most (if not all) of them added practically nothing. Two new jumping features were added: the wall jump and the triple jump. The wall jump lets Mario do a little kick while jumping against a wall to give him a small boost, letting him hop up some areas if two walls are close together. The usefulness of this is rather small, unless you happen to be falling in a pit next to wall, although most of those times you'll be falling too fast to do anything about it. The triple jump involves Mario running and jumping three times, with larger jumps each time. This is generally useless as well. There are few areas in the game with enough space for it, and even then the pits and enemies will usually prevent you. The height from it can be matched by doing a normal jump off of some floating blocks.

New Super Mario Bros also introduced three new power-ups: the Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, and Blue Shell, in addition to the standard Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman. Old power-ups such as the Feather don't make an appearance. The problem is the new power-ups are gimmicky and really don't add much depth to the game.

The Mega Mushroom makes Mario grow extremely large for a period of time, allowing him to run through most obstacles in the level, as well as crushing any enemies that stand in his way, including bosses. That's right, all bosses are killed in one hit while Mario is huge, including the final boss. While in this mode, as Mario does damage he fills a bar at the top of the screen, which gives a proportionate amount of 1-ups after he shrinks. Basically if you have a Mega Mushroom then the level is a breeze assuming you have land to stand on, making it a “haha me crush thungs” gimmick (though knocking down the flagpole at the end of a level is strangely satisfying).

The Mini Mushroom is hands down the most worthless power-up in the game and perhaps the series. When you come into contact with one, Mario shrinks down to a tiny size allowing him to go down the tiny tunnels that are obviously placed around some levels. It also makes him unable to kill any enemy by jumping on them, and he dies in one hit. He jumps much higher and is floatier while jumping. He also has the ability to run on water, which has limited use as many places where you have the option have enemies floating on top. The only reason to ever use it is to go down little tunnels to collect coins or find alternate exits. If you want to collect every star coin, you need to use this several times, not to mention the mind-boggling fact that you're required to use it to unlock two of the game's eight worlds (during boss fights, no less). If you're running away from a “power-up” instead of trying to get it, it's an indication that something's wrong. It ends up being no more than an unwanted gimmick.

The Blue Shell is unremarkable. If you get enough speed going, Mario will retreat into it and mow down any baddies in the way, as well as bouncing off walls and smashing breakable blocks. Jumping in this form is hazardous and can go wrong very easily, as you may leap over a pit only to bounce off a block on the other side. The number of times it can be used effectively are small.
The collectables in NSMB take the form of star coins, of which there are three in every level. To get them you usually have to go slightly out of your way or use a certain power-up. Once collected, you can spend them to unlock paths to mushroom houses where you can gain access to extra lives or power-ups to put in your reserve slot. If you miss one it gives you a reason to replay the level and seek it out. The mushroom houses don't add much as you won't need any bonus power-ups or lives to breeze through the game, though just messing around with the various powers can provide some amusement. After the final castle is completed, you can use them to purchase wallpapers for your touch screen that will change it to various Mario themes, if you're into that kind of thing.

There are also a handful of minigames that you can play outside of the main game. They include various Mario themed things and can be fun but aren't likely to last long. Super Mario 64 DS has all of the minigames included in this game as well as additional ones, so don't let them be a buying point.


Controls – 8/10

For the most part, the control scheme works rather well. The player can hold down either X or Y to run and press either A or B to jump, which gives some options on how the thumb can be positioned. The stylus is required very little, which is a good thing considering the controls work fine without altering them just to fit a stylus for no reason. There is one instance where touch screen use is required, and that is when you have a stored power-up in the corner. If you want to activate it, you have to press it.

The saving feature can be irksome and may bother some players. Until you clear the final world's castle, you can only save after clearing a tower or castle level, or after unlocking a new path with your star coins. This means that if you have to put the game away before then, you'll lose any progress you made since the last one. However, this may not be a problem as you'll most likely breeze through the levels quickly anyway.


Difficulty – 2/10

This game is easy. Collecting 100 coins gives you an extra life, and your coin count doesn't reset after each level. Power-ups and 1-up mushrooms are abundant, and enemies don't provide a challenge. Boss fights are for the most part extremely easy, especially if you have the fire flower. This is a game you'll breeze through in a day or two, if not one sitting. Its lack of frustration makes it easier for younger players to pick up, but anyone else may be left with a feeling that the game was dumbed down too much.


Replay Value - 3/10

Once in a while you may get it out and play through all the levels again but it's the same with most other games, and this one is short and feels the same in many areas. If you want to, finding alternate exits and star coins will take you a little longer but there's no real reward to doing so. You can play as Luigi as well, but he plays identical to his brother so the only real difference is a sprite and voice change.



Pros
-Clear, crisp, colorful graphics
-Easy for anyone to pick up
-Fitting music and sound

Cons
-Very easy
-Short
-New features feel gimmicky and add little

In conclusion, the only thing new and fresh New Super Mario Bros offers are its graphics. The new features get old quickly and it is laughably short and easy. Paying $35 for it is not reasonable, and you'd be better off renting/borrowing it. It does not live up to its hype and definitely does not deserve to be called one of the best games on the DS. It's just a standard game, nothing extraordinary, fun but short.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: New Super Mario Bros. (US, 05/15/06)