Mario and Nintendo are two words that go hand in hand. Every single one of Nintendo’s consoles has had a major game starring their red plumber mascot Mario and it’s easy to see why. He jumps high, fights jealous dinosaurs and well, it helps that the the games are a whole lot of fun too. There’s no reason to complicate Mario’s appeal, so I won’t. The New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS is the first traditional (yet entirely new) side-scrolling Mario game that has been released since the days of the Super Nintendo. We have had our revolutionary 3D platformer games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine and we have also endured an endless stream of spinoffs involving everything from virtual board games to golf. Even the majority of Mario’s supporting cast has had their own turn in the spotlight, so when it seemed like all the stones had been overturned, the road Nintendo chose to take with its latest offering was one that led back home. The New Super Mario Bros. is a simple but challenging, classic yet still relevant and genuinely charming platform game that will impress Mario veterans and newcomers alike.



For those that don’t already know (how that could be possible is beyond me), this new Mario game is a traditional side-scroller. Those expecting some free roaming 3D adventure should look elsewhere because The New Super Mario Bros. takes the franchise back to its roots and presents you with simple but effective controls and numerous flat deceptive obstacle courses to traverse through. Controlling Mario is handled by the d-pad and to have him run, you hold down the B button. The one ability that the game relies on most is Mario’s jumping. The game has you leaping constantly over platforms, rope to rope, over pits of lava and hopping on the heads of his numerous enemies. While the first few levels may seem like they are filled with nothing but a few brain dead goombas and a few gaps to hop over, the difficulty and variety in the worlds change drastically over time.  Each world follows the same format, which has Mario completing a few levels based on the theme of the world, then entering a mini-castle which features its very own mini-boss (you don’t say?). After that, Mario travels through a few more basic levels and is then treated to the boss castle, which often gathers many of the obstacles you faced in previous levels leading up to a dramatic boss battle. All of this is done on a simple 3D world map, similar to the ones seen in Super Mario World and Super Mario Brothers 3. Most of the world bosses are fairly simple to defeat once you learn their weakness, which is usually based around choosing the right time to take a nice hop on them. If you run into a boss room and simply go at it, chances are you will lose a few lives, blame the game, and possibly throw your DS.

This leads us to the game’s level of challenge. Considering the past Mario games, the New Super Mario Bros. can be pretty difficult for newcomers if they manage to zoom through the early levels expecting them all to be as simple as that.  The bottom line is that the game is what it is. There are no random enemy placements, and no puzzles intended for geniuses. If you carelessly hop and try to shoot through a level, you are just asking for a few humiliating deaths. Even if you are pretty good at the game, there will be times when you make a wrong move and run into an enemy, effectively chiming the death tune. It can be a test of trial and error but if you move through the levels and really examine the surroundings you may find yourself getting through some areas with less room for hassle and stress. The game has a few simple puzzles mixed in which basically add up to creating paths by breaking the right blocks, hopping from platform to platform against the clock before they disappear beneath you and of course finding the “hidden” coins throughout the levels.  One of the reasons to come back and play The New Super Mario Bros. even after you complete the last castle is to collect the hidden coins.  Some coins are in plain sight and can be simple to reach, while others can be maddeningly difficult to figure out. The best part is that this isn’t some secret Easter egg mini game hidden within the bowels of the game, its right in front of you and plain to see. Even casual gamers will most likely have fun hunting down the coins in each level.  The coins also serve to gain you access to extra levels and small mini-games that let you pick up a few extra lives or a new power-up.  Choosing between a prize and a new level is up to you and hopefully it only strengthens your drive to collect all the coins to unlock even more areas.



Speaking of the power-ups, they have returned in full force. Once again Mario is able to acquire a mushroom to make him larger and more powerful ,(while also extending his life) and even the classic fire flower which enables Mario to shoot fireballs to defeat goombas, koopas and even make some boss battles easier makes a comeback. Even star power is back which renders Mario invincible for a short period of time. What most people want to know about though, are the new ones. The New Super Mario Bros. features a few new impressive abilities for Mario including a giant and tiny mushroom. The giant mushroom makes Mario, well, giant and allows him to basically plow through enemies and the level with little effort. The tiny mushroom shrinks Mario allowing him to get through tight spots, tiny pipes and even run across water. One other new power-up included is the blue shell which has Mario basically looking like a Koopa. The shell’s usefulness depends from level to level, but the shell allows Mario to hide inside of it and lose the attention of oncoming enemies as well as break through some blocks and swim faster underwater.  One other use for the ability is that you can slide down slopes inside the shell taking out enemies along the way (which you can do without the shell as well, but let’s face it, the shell looks better). Some fans may complain that the omission of the raccoon tail and/or the cape feather is a gameplay limiting omission, but the absence neither helps nor hurts the game because it’s thoroughly enjoyable regardless.

In terms of levels, this game has it all. From the grassy green foothills to the blue schemed underground caverns complete with its popular corresponding tune, The New Super Mario Bros. definitely scores in level design and variety.  While many of the world themes are genre cliché’s, the levels and the obstacles within them are what matter most. There a few haunted castles with Boo’s scurrying about, and even the constantly moving mid-air maps make an appearance. The levels are filled with obstacles such as blocks, switches, rising and lowering sand dunes, ropes, falling platforms, bullet bills, ice and even closed in walls which serve to show off Mario’s new wall hopping ability. These can all contribute to varying degrees of player frustration, but the best way to play Mario is to always be cautious and to never rush into a new area.



The game’s issues are few, mainly nitpicks but still important to note as they may apply to some people. For one, some make take fault with the game’s save system. The game only allows you to save once after you complete a castle or when you open a new route.  This may frustrate some who struggle through a few levels only to reach a boss castle with one life. Once you are greeted with the game over screen, you have to being playing from the point of the last save. It’s small and mostly contributes to making the game more challenging and rewarding, but it’s bound to annoy someone. Also, none of the new power-ups added into the game are particularly groundbreaking. The situations when you do get to use them are fun, but they are used far too sparingly and none strike the same impact as the feather had on Super Mario World, which may validate some fans complaints of its omission.  Since the varying difficulty was already touched on, the last issue isn’t even really a fault of the game.  There just isn’t enough of this game. Once you beat the game and see all it has to offer, you end up still wanting more, that’s just the effect Mario has on people.  Its length is comparable to the previous games and the coins add the potential for some more play time, but most of us will still be craving for more.

To say that The New Super Mario Bros. looks good would be an understatement. It looks excellent. A 2D world and perspective mixed in with fluid 3D character models and animations make for one of the best looking DS games available today. No noticeable slowdown was present and the detail and variety of each level and world really make the game stand out. On the audio side, Mario and pals have their signature sayings and taunts intact and while you do hear a few familiar (and classic) tunes along the way, most of the background music is new and quite sharp. Nintendo knows how to present and this game shows that.

Whether it’s the love of Mario or because we simply haven’t seen too many traditional games like this lately, The New Super Mario Bros. has become a must buy for the rising Nintendo DS.  Not only does the game pierce into the nostalgic regions of your brain with its classic gameplay and familiar tunes, the game also manages to be intuitive, slick and fresh to boot.  Because they came from a different generation and they all tried different things (even if subtle), it would be pointless to pick and choose what games The New Super Mario Bros. manages to be better than. It seems more appropriate to note that the game wonderfully recaptures the magic of its predecessors and stands equal as a landmark entry into the series for this new generation of gaming. It can be easy, or it can be hard, but if one thing is more certain than anything else, it’s that Nintendo is showing us Mario is only just beginning to make his mark.