Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Instant classic"

Nostalgia sells. Perhaps not as well as sex but this is Mario we're talking about. While he may sport mean 70's porn star style moustache, it's the sentimental love of the little round plumber that will help shift New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo have gone back to the roots of the series and produced the spiritual successor to the original Super Mario Bros. Gone are Yoshi, weird hand gliding capes, Racoon costumes and Kuribo's Shoe, back in are dashes through question-mark-block and coin filled obstacle courses to end level flags. New Super Mario Bros manages to tip its hat quite firmly to the 2D platform Mario we all know and love without being a shameless retread. While not particularly challenging - a few hair tearing moments aside - New Super Mario Bros is a must for fans of the Italian American plumber or platform games in general.

The games plot of doesn't stray far from the usual formula. Someone named Bowser kidnaps someone called Peach and the pursuit begins - a chase that will take Mario through 70 odd levels and eight worlds. The storyline vanishes after the intro, returning only after the final confrontation, but it serves its purpose perfectly: an excuse to jump, stomp and smash your way through the Mushroom Kingdom one more time.

Much like the storyline, the game play doesn't veer far from what you'd expect. Mario does what he does best; running or swimming from left to right (or, on occasion, climbing upwards), jumping on platforms, and bouncing off the heads of enemies. Initially, veterans of the series may find that the 'feel' of the game is slightly off, as Mario feels weightier and has a touch more momentum when dashing around. Mario retains a few the gymnastic skills he picked up in the 3D games. The triple jump remains in place (but is spectacularly redundant, as there is absolutely no need to use it), as does the butt stomp and the ability to slide down or leap from walls. Bouncing from wall to wall is the key to fully exploring the levels and vital to grabbing Star Coins. A trio of Star Coins are hidden throughout each stage and it requires a deft touch to successful gather all three. The Coins themselves are used to open up blocked paths to alternate levels or Mushroom Houses, similar to those found in Super Mario Bros 3. The power ups from these houses are integral to finding the plethora of secrets hidden around the eight worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The worlds themselves offer up few surprises; all of the expected, nay, required stage themes crop up. The staple sand, snow, underwater, underground, haunted house, and lava-filled castle levels are all present but with an occasional twist to keep the familiar settings fresh. Each world has its own Super Mario Bros 3 style over-map, all of which full of alternative pathways and secret areas. Much like Super Mario World, certain stages have multiple exits, which lead to secret levels, hidden areas, and warp points. While there are eight worlds to complete, the branching pathways mean that you only really need to guide Mario through six of the octet to finish the game. However, given the quality of the levels in New Super Mario Bros, it's a safe bet that most players will back track and play through every world.

The worlds, the individual stages, and their inhabitants all look fantastic, maintaining the bright 'Mario' look with vibrant, sharp colours. Mario himself looks as good as he ever as; jumping, spinning and sliding in a remarkably fluid manner. What really sells the games look are the small graphical flourishes: subtle touches such as embers flying up from the inevitable lava pits, the way the lava itself lights Mario from below, sand being thrown up behind Mario's boots, the end level flags fluttering in the breeze, and Bowser Junior craning his neck to keep Mario in sight during the end world boss fights. The main action takes place on the top DS screen, with the lower display showing the distance to the end flag, the number of star coins collected and whatever power-up Mario has in reserve. While on the over-world map, the lower screen allows the player to warp to previously explored worlds with a quick tap. The sound follows the same path set down by the graphics and game play; retro enough to feel familiar but tweaked just enough to avoid being a rehash. All the expected sound effects are there, from that distinctive chime as you collect a coin to the squelch of a stomped Goomba.

In addition to the classic fire-ball flinging fire flower, New Super Mario Bros introduces a trio of new power ups. The most crowd pleasing and guffaw inducing is the giant mushroom, which causes Mario to grow several storeys tall and smash his way through the level like a moustachioed Godzilla. The sheer joy of seeing a giant Mario stomp on Goombas aside, the power-up is fairly useless, although it can make a few of the more frustrating late game sections a piece of cake.

The second of the new power-ups is the mini-mushroom. These tiny blue mushrooms round off Mario's Alice impersonation by shrinking him to roughly a quarter of his normal size. Mini-Mario is the key to accessing quite a few secrets, as Mario can jump far higher in his shrunken state and squeeze through smaller gaps. The third and final new power-up is the blue shell. Once acquired, Mario becomes a strange plumber-Koopa hybrid who, if he can get up enough speed, will pull himself into the shell on his and tear along, taking out any enemies foolish enough to get in his way. Like the mini-mushroom power up, the blue shell is needed to unlock a secret or two. Unfortunately, it's the dependence on power ups to unlock secret areas that gives rise to some of the games more frustrating moments. As is the long standing tradition, one hit causes Mario to resort to his vanilla form, (or simply die, if you're mini-Mario). As certain power-ups are only available on certain levels, it can be a incredibly frustrating to track down the tiny mushroom or blue shell, complete the level (quitting to the map screen from a level resets any coins, power ups or extra lives gathered), work your way back to the point that requires the extra ability, fluff a jump or get it hit and have to hunt down the power-up all over again. For all its kid friendly, family entertainment, few games can induce swearing, foul oaths and death threats quite like Mario.

New Super Mario Bros isn't a particularly challenging game. The levels, while superbly designed, don't offer any nightmarishly difficult jumps or pixel perfect leaps. Not that there would be much of a problem if the game did; so many 1up mushrooms are thrown at the player that dropping below fifty or so extra lives is a rare occurrence. It would be possible to blast through New Super Mario Bros in a day or so, though collecting every star coin requires a fair amount of platform panache. Despite the brevity of Mario's adventure, it's a fair bet that, as soon as the final credits roll, you'll want to start up a fresh game and play through all over again. New Super Mario Bros offers a great 2D platformer whether you're a fan of the hero or not. The game looks, plays, and sounds great and, while it may not offer the stoutest of challenges to those familiar with genre, the replay value makes the game a worthwhile purchase.