New Super Mario Bros. balances just enough new content with nostalgic fervor of past Mario side-scrollers.
New Super Mario Bros. splashes energetic paint all over the existing design, updating just about every feature without spoiling what made the classic side-scrollers so fun to begin with. You’ll still find the plump mustached plumber we all know and love running across the screen in his desperate attempt to reach the Princess only for his dastardly villain to escape yet again. New Super Mario Bros. introduces some of the Mario 64 gameplay elements into the side-scrolling formula with successful results. You can wall-jump and butt-stomp enemies into the dirt, adding a couple more layers of strategy to the game.
The level-design, just as in the old Mario games, is the real star of the show. The levels are kept fresh from start to finish, with eight unique worlds continuingly presenting new challenges. Each level has three special golden coins hidden throughout, and typically you’ll need to play through the level multiple times taking different routes to find all three. If you succeed at collecting these coins the results range from a new path opening to one of the many mushroom item or 1-up houses, or possibly a path with alternate levels. This adds some replay value on top of the already excellent replayability that comes customary with any Mario side-scroller. You’ll not only want to go back and play the same levels again because of their inherent fun-factor but you can now strive to find every last golden coin as well.
You’ll generally find yourself playing New Super Mario Bros. just as you would any of the old Mario side-scrollers. Many of the classic power-ups make their triumphant return along side a few new additions. You’ll find your mushrooms and fire-flowers, but you’ll also find a special blue-shell-suit, jumbo mushroom, and mini mushroom. These power-ups allow you to slide along taking out enemies as you go, turn into a super-sized version of Mario who simply plows through all obstacles, and turn super-tiny allowing you to fit into normally unreachable places, respectably. These new power-ups are used sparingly as so not to imbalance the gameplay too much.
The boss fights at the end of each castle are fairly similar throughout the adventure, but each one is consequently infused with a new element as you progress. Just as in the old Mario games the boss fights themselves aren’t that difficult, it’s the actual act of getting to the end of the level with power-ups that can be the tough part. You can stockpile one power-up with you, and release it by tapping the bottom right corner of the touch-screen with your thumb. This can be especially helpful against the bosses, too helpful even. The game is awfully easy, aside from a few of the final levels in world 8. There are some new enemies that will keep you on your toes throughout, and some tricky situations that will require a small degree of skill, but for the most part the game is effortless. Much more importantly however, the game is fun. And you won’t want to put it down until you’ve finished.
The game should last you about 4-5 hours your first time through, taking into account the probability that you bypassed two worlds and didn’t collect every golden coin. The length of the game really doesn’t make that much of a difference, since you’ll want to go back and play through most of the levels again. In retrospect, a lot of the levels are surprisingly short on their own. But fortunately it keeps with the brisk pace of the game as you progress from one level to the next not wanting to switch off your DS. The game has a hefty nostalgic factor going for it; primarily because it’s a classic-based Mario side-scroller, but also because of the familiar tunes you’ll hear throughout. The music remixes many old and familiar tunes, and is one of the games strongest ingredients. The sound-effects are also excellent, just as you’d expect.
The presentation of New Super Mario Bros is brilliant in every way. The Mario art-style is brought to life like never before by the vibrant and rich colors. The most interesting and eye-catching technique used in New Super Mario Bros. is the combination of 2d backdrops and 3d character models. Nintendo couldn’t have made a better looking Mario game, and the 3d models drive home the fact that this is indeed a “New” Mario Bros. game, and not just a cash-in. The duel screens come in handy for the item-storage element, and when Mario sinks down a pipe to lower regions the action trips to the bottom screen.
There is a mess of touch-screen inspired mini-games to experiment with as well, and some of them are unexpectedly enjoyable—but won’t keep you occupied for long. The real meat-and-potatoes is the single player adventure and you’ll discover the craving to revisit many of the levels again. New Super Mario Bros. is not just a wonderful trip down memory-lane considering it’s still the same prescription that we all love, but it actually goes out of its way to instill some new life into the Mario side-scroller. New Super Mario Bros. is a game that stands on its own two feet and provides a fiercely pleasurable experience.