It'sa Me...Mario!
CONTROL: You have a couple options in this department - the most obvious control issue is the lack of an analog stick, I went through a couple of different setups. I used the momentum based d-pad and found it to be cumbersome and in accurate, especially when in ares that require precision. I switched over to using the thumb pad and after a few levels - it's was old times all over again, why other companies aren't using this scheme this effectively on the DS is beyond me.
GRAPHICS: Top notch - I think it looks spot on with the original, there is more pop up here though - but it causes no gameplay issues. The colours are nice, textures are nice - the whole presentation is very good.
GAMEPLAY: Just as addictive as it was when it was first released for the N64, more stars to collect this time. It's still fun to just run around and jump.
The mini games are lots of fun too, great for short sessions while commercials are on!
Overall I feel this is a must have for any Mario fan, old or new, it's distilled Mario action - not diluted.