New Super Mario Bros DS is the first of what would become the New Super Mario Bros series. This game has seen massive success, being one of the best-selling DS games of all time and seeing massive critical acclaim. I first got this title in 2008 as a birthday present from my parents. The question is: Does the game still hold up after all these years?
As any mainline Mario game goes, the story starts with Mario and Peach walking back to the castle, when a sudden burst of lightning hits the castle. When Mario goes to investigate it, Peach is suddenly snatched away by Bowser Jr. Mario gives chase, losing his Mushroom power-up in the process and the game begins.
New Super Mario Bros retains the same gameplay as all the other games in the series, adding moves from Mario's 3D adventures like the Ground Pound, Wall Jump and the Triple Jump. This makes for a fresh take on the Mario franchise, as it modernises the classic Mario formula that has been a staple for years. There's also the option to play as Luigi when you enter a certain button input at the file select screen.
With the addition to this, there are two other modes. There is Multiplayer, where two players can clash against each other to get the most stars and the Minigame Mode, which brings various mini-games from the DS remake of Super Mario 64 onto this game. This includes gambling games with Luigi, Trampoline with 3 Mario's and many more.
Not much else to say about this game as there isn't much in this installment. Overall, while the difficulty (as expected in a Mario game these days) is very low, it is a fantastic return to form for the Mario series! Personally, I'd say that this is the best game in the New Super Mario Bros series, as well as one of the best DS titles of all time.