Difficulty:

Very Easy

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

Being the first game I ever played on any console, it's obvious that Super Mario Bros. has a very special place in my heart and of course, the heart of many others. When a game series happens to be rather uninventive with their sequels, it's natural to bash them for it. But, for some odd reason, we all tend to make an exception for Super Mario Bros. I certainly did with this installment, mostly due to nostalgia at first, but then something happened as I played it. I realized it was a really good game, even if it didn't go beyond the call of duty to be different from its predecessors.

New Super Mario Bros. isn't really all that new. It's not exactly a direct remake of the original game either. What it does is try to be as familiar as possible, so as not to scare off fans of the classic, but manages to add enough new content to make it a refreshing experience. It does this by maintaining the traditional 2D side-scrolling game play of the original all while looking beautiful with its new coat of paint. The story is the same as it's always been: Princess Peach has been kidnapped by the evil Bowser and its Mario's job to save her, by passing through 8 Worlds. If this doesn't annoy anyone yet, it's probably because we all love Mario way too much to let it bother us.

It's not a remake for several reasons. One being that although the story is the same as always, all of the levels in the game are new. Also, the game actually takes bits of all of the games in the series. For example, abilities like the butt stomp from Yoshi's Island, monsters that have appeared in all of the games since the first like the koopa, all the way to Super Mario World's towering cactus heads. The world map resembles that of Super Mario 3, and the boss fights are a varied collection of old and new. The classic lineup of power-ups are available as well as some new ones, like the mushroom that transforms Mario into an invincible giant that can literally walk his way through the stage, crushing everything in his path.

Compared to other games in the series, New Super Mario Bros. is possibly the easiest of them all, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The original was incredibly difficult, especially in the last stages. The problem that does occur is that it is so easy, there really is no replay value beyond collecting each level's set of three giant coins which can sometimes be a real challenge to collect. The main story mode is definitely worth the playthrough even if is rather easy for any verteran of the series, and if you happen to be one of the last people in the world who hasn't actually played a Mario game, you may really enjoy it, simply because it is a cute and fun game.

The game comes with a few treats, like minigames that involve the use of the DS's Stylus and/or the built-in microphone. One minigame for example, has you bop moles on the head while you avoid hitting Luigi in a Whack-a-Mole style. Another minigame has you blow into the microphone that causes Yoshi on the screen to float upwards, while you avoid hitting flying enemies. The single player games lose interest after the first few tries, but multiplayer may be enjoyable. None of these modes do anything out of the ordinary, but they are kindly accepted treats (especially the Mario vs. Luigi mode where you play with a friend). It's a must have, even if it doesn't do anything remarkably new. After all, what's a Nintendo console without a familiar Mario game?