Super Mario Bros 3.5 has arrived. It's not quite its predecessor, but it's still great!
Upon startup you will notice that the control scheme is simplistic (you only use two buttons and can really get by with only one) and the touch screen is more of a gimmick to get your reserve power-up (like Super Mario World). This is probably to attract the new user base of the DS, but at the same time it's delightfully old school enough for retro gamers. The game lends itself to both worlds in probably the greatest compromise I have ever seen. New or casual gamers will appreciate the easier difficulty when compared to SMB 3 (there's no true challenge until world 8, the final world, and even then it's like Mario World rather than Mario 3). Couple this with the fact that unless you're hunting world's 4 and 7 aren't accessible, the game is shorter, easier, and more linear to these gamers. At the same time, the hardcore and old school Mario fans can enjoy the same world with a complicated ramp-up to SMB 3 status in order to find all (or most) of the gold coins and complete every level. Moves from previous games are all incorporated, including the wall jump and ground pound from Mario 64, but all contained in beautiful 2.5D graphics.
I have not really gotten hardcore into DS games (just dusted mine off and started on the popular games in the last week or so), but this game seemed mildly shorter than most. Yoshi's Island, Mario 64 DS, and any Final Fantasy will pull much more play time for your buck, but I don't think they do as good a job at being so fun about it. Additionally, and I think more importantly, you've never played this game before. In a system that is coated in remakes and re-releases of most NES, SNES, and N64 games of the past, it's great to see the Nintendo first party focus and create a new game. Before there was Super Mario Galaxy and we feared that Sunshine would be the new horrible direction, this came back to remind us that Myamoto and Nintendo had not forgotten their roots.
As a hardcore player (including hardcore platformer and Mario player that was conquering SMB 3 at 8 years old around 1990) I loved the new hidden areas. My fiance, who pounded through the game in a linear fashion but liked it enough to find and beat worlds 4 & 7, would constantly look over my shoulder and ask why I was playing that castle level AGAIN for the 4th time. World s 4 & 7 are the closest thing to achievements on this game, but with 3 save files, those that share the cart can clearly show off (I always try to end my game in one of the two worlds so that people playing my cart can ask how I got there). I don't like Big Mario, although I know he was an idea stolen from 128 Marios, but Small Mario rocks!
In the end, this game has something for everyone and any DS player that appreciates Nintendo's roots or experienced a platforming Mario should play this. Additionally I would encourage young gamers who don't know the world of 2D platforming Mario to try this as it's a good introduction that's not as simple as the original or hard (especially to modern gamers) as SMB 3. Solid release, just would have hoped I could get more than about six to eight hours to complete everything.