You have already clicked the download link. If you need to download again, please click here to reset the link.

New Super Mario Bros: Reviews

Select Author:

Game Score: 8/10

It’s difficult for many gamers today to imagine what the gaming industry was like after the 1983 crash. The gaming landscape was littered with 99-cent clearance bins and many stores no longer carried the once popular cartridges. The video game fad had come and gone and so had millions of dollars. Then in 1985 a small company by the name of Nintendo launched the NES. With some savvy marketing, unique retailer relations, and the realization that gaming wasn’t a fad, Nintendo went on to dominate the marketplace for the next decade. Of course, all of that wouldn’t have been possible without its fantastic library of games, the most important one being Super Mario Bros. It’s been 21 years since Super Mario Bros. first hit the gaming scene. Since then he has starred in countless spin-offs, taking on a spectrum of professions; doctor, golfer, dancer, etc. In fact, over the past few years many gamers were left wondering if he’d ever get back to what he does best. Luckily, Nintendo has answered everyone’s wishes and released New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS. And believe me when I tell you this, you simply must own this game!

Think back to the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES. After blowing in the cartridge to get it to work the first thing that popped up on the television was the title screen. After pressing start you were immediately thrown into level 1-1. There wasn’t a long cinema explaining the story of how Princess Toadstool was kidnapped by King Koopa. There wasn’t a tutorial stage showing what the object of the game was. You were simply tossed into the stage and you had to figure things out on your own (or with the help of a friend who had already been there and done that). You eventually discovered that hopping on enemies kills them. Mushrooms make you grow, hidden blocks appeared out of thin air, and jumping on the end-of-the-level flagpole at exactly the right time rewarded you with fireworks. Nintendo has taken this same approach with New Super Mario Bros. There’s maybe a one-minute little animation showing the princess being kidnapped by Bowser Jr., but other than that you begin the game. There aren’t information blocks in the level describing what to do and the game doesn’t hold your hand in the least. This is especially refreshing because it gives the gamer a sense of discovery and trial and error that seems to be so lacking in games these days. Sure, a Mario veteran will know to check every pipe and to jump around like a crazy man every few steps to see if there are any hidden blocks, but as the game progresses the game throws new power-ups and obstacles in the way to keep all players guessing what needs to be accomplished next.

Mario has really had 4 standard games over the years. Super Mario Bros. 1 through 3 appeared on the original Nintendo. Super Mario World (called Super Mario Bros. 4; Super Mario World in Japan) appeared on the Super NES back in 1991. Since then we’ve had games like Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Sunshine that, while Mario games, really changed the way Mario was played. Instead of just completing levels, Yoshi’s Island introduced the collection aspect, and pretty much all games followed that example. The 3D games played more like adventure games instead of the classic action/platform genre Mario made famous. In many ways New Super Mario Bros. plays homage to the original. There aren’t any flying power-ups for Mario to use, and the 2 basic power-ups are the mushroom to make him “Super” and the fire flower to throw fireballs. There are three new power-ups; a mega-mushroom that makes Mario grow to nearly the size of the screen and plow through enemies and terrain, a mini-mushroom to shrink Mario so he can access new areas and run across water, and a blue koopa shell that allows Mario to hide inside it and dash across the screen. And while the game doesn’t have Yoshi, it does retain the collection aspect set forth in later games. Scattered across each level are 3 star coins. These are used on the map screen to open up new routes and also to gain access to the Toad Houses that hold special items or 1-Ups. What is nice is that these collectible coins are completely optional on the player’s part. They aren’t required to conquer the game, so there’s really no pressure to have to find them all. Yet, for the gamers that must collect every single item in the game, this will be a huge incentive to thoroughly explore each level and try to figure out how to nab some of the more difficult ones.
New Super Mario Bros. plays exactly like the older games in the series. There’s a run button and a jump button. Mario has moves that are taken out of his newer games and are extremely easy to pull of. He can now jump off walls or pipes to gain access to new areas. Jumping three times in a row while running will give him a super jump. Pressing down on the control pad at the height of a jump allows him to butt stomp the ground and break blocks below him. Sliding down hills is back and can be extremely helpful in ridding the level of multiple baddies at once. Not seen since Super Mario World, some levels feature fences that have revolving gates. Punching the gates allow Mario to spin around to the other side. There are even more classic and new game play details that will surprise and delight fans and newcomers alike.
New Super Mario Bros. not only plays great, but it looks fantastic. The background graphics are all 2D and nicely detailed with bright colors and familiar scenery. What is unique to this title is that the characters are all 3D polygon models. This allows for is some really slick animation. Also, when Mario grows or shrinks in size his character model still looks great. The mixture of 3D characters on a 2D backdrop melds perfectly and I hope they use this engine again for future games. Of course there are a plethora of parallax scrolling backgrounds and the visuals are simply nice to look at. No slowdown is present despite having lots of enemies on the screen at once. The top screen of the DS is used for most of the game. Usually the bottom screen simply displays a level map indicator, showing how far along you are in the level. It also holds an extra item, ala Super Mario World, that when touched will fall from the sky for Mario to use. Overall the game looks spectacular in motion and is a great update to the classic series.

The music is a pleasant surprise. The background tunes that play in each level all have that Mario vibe and the scores sound very good. There are a few remixes, like the 1-2 underground level music that’s back. One really cool touch is that some of the enemies will move to the music. For example, in World 1-1, the music is upbeat and happy and at certain times in the music there’s a part that goes “Wah! Wah!” and if there’s an enemy on the screen they’ll stop and pose for the song. It’s a small feature, but little details like this are what make the Mario games so special. Those of you who don’t like to hear Mario scream something every time he jumps will be glad he doesn’t. He’s not mute though. He still yells out “Weeeeeeeheeeeeee!” when he jumps high in the sky and try putting your DS into sleep mode to hear him talk some more. There’s just the right amount of Mario’s voice in the game so it doesn’t become annoying, even with extended play sessions.

The meat of the game, and really the reason you should buy it, is the 1 player scenario. Nintendo has included a couple of multiplayer modes as well. The first pits Mario against Luigi to see who can collect the most star coins. Attacking your rival will cause him or her to lose a star coin. The competition can be quite fierce, but the lack in variety makes this mode a small diversion to the real thing. Also included are a bunch of mini-games that can be played with 1 to 4 players. These were previously seen in Super Mario 64 DS, but Nintendo has reworked them to include multiplayer support. Only one card is needed for up to 4 players. It’s a nice addition, but there’s not much meat to this mode either.

Do you own a Nintendo DS? Then you have to buy New Super Mario Bros. If you don’t own a Nintendo DS, wait for the DS Lite to come out on June 11, and then buy this game. It’s worth buying the system for this one title, and besides, not since the heyday of the NES and Super NES has there ever been a better system to own. The library on the DS is extraordinarily good, offering games up for all ages and genders. There’s a treasure trove of 2D gaming bliss as well as plenty of 3D games to choose from. New Super Mario Bros. is simply the cherry on top of an already scrumptious library of games. With over 100 titles being released between June and December of this year, it’s never been a better time to be a Nintendo DS owner. Mario simply seals the deal. There are Warp Zones to find, secret paths to uncover, coins to collect, and 1-Ups to be earned. Don’t miss out on my favorite game so far this year.