New Super Mario Bros.

System: DS
Release Date: 2006
Published By: Nintendo
Reviewed by: Darien
Rating:

It's been a long time. I mean, a really long time. Super Mario Bros. came out in 1985, and created the genre of video game - the side-scrolling platformer - that would dominate the industry for ten years. As someone who lived and gamed through that entire ten-year period, it seems incredible to me that we've had very few side-scrolling platformers in the years since. And, believe it or not, the last traditional side-scrolling Mario platformer was Super Mario World in 1991. So we've been waiting fifteen years for this game.

The game plays exactly like you think if you've ever played a regular Mario game before. You run to the right and jump on things, break blocks, get coins and mushrooms. Then jump on more things. Then jump over things. The old familiar powerups are here - mushrooms, fire flowers, starman. In addition, there are mega mushrooms that make Mario huge, mini mushrooms that make him tiny, and the shell suit which mostly just gets him killed. I mean, don't get me wrong; the shell suit is a lot of fun, but it'll probably get you killed. Such is life, I suppose. The goal of each level is to run all the way to the right and then jump on the flagpole, unless it's a castle level, in which case you have to beat the boss. Bosses are varied and entertaining, some with nostalgia value and some with "oh hell it's a giant lightning-shooting Lakitu" value. The ordinary monsters are a mix of familiar series favourites and crazy new additions, but they all seem like they belong here.

In fact, there's nothing in the game that doesn't seem to belong. The visual design is superb, taking advantage of the DS's power to provide crisp, colourful models and detailed terrain. The sound also excels, providing the typical Mario sounds and music with flair. There are also fine details in the sound, such as the cymbal crash when Mario breaks a block by ground pounding it, that were both surprising and delightful. Control-wise, the game is as accurate as ever, though Mario seems to have gained a bit of inertia since his last outing; it may be he's packed on a few too many pounds doing all these silly kart racing RPG party puzzle things he's been up to lately instead of jumping on turtles like he should.

The game isn't particularly hard as far as saving the princess (OMG SPOILER) goes, but there are a lot of optional things to do and harder goals to try to meet that bring up the overall challenge level somewhat. The game has its share of unlockables, none of which I will spoil here, and a suite of minigames playable either solo or wirelessly. The game supports download play also, if that matters for you, and has a special two-player "battle" mode similar to the one from Super Mario Bros. 3. The minigames are mostly - but not all - taken from the collection of minigames in Super Mario 64 DS, and I note with approval that that includes the Mario trampoline game that was the jewel of the lot. I like main-menu minigame extras, and I especially like them in a portable game, since they're great time-wasters with low commitment.

In all, I can recommend New Super Mario Bros. to anybody who owns a DS, and suggest it as a possible killer app to those who have been thinking about buying a DS. After fifteen years, Mario is finally back. Here's hoping he sticks around.

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