The game controls just as you would expect a Mario game to control. That is to say, everything is spot on. No complaints here. You actions feel tight and accurate, with absolutely superb platforming. Everyone can pick up the game and play it without looking at a manual, even for that one person who has never played a Mario platformer before.
Just like the game play and level design, the music from your childhood is back too. All those themes you fondly remember have been remixed and updated for this new generation of game. When you enter World 1-2 you know immediately that you are in an underground level, without even seeing the screen. Likewise the music in the castles brings back memories. Enemies now hop and change attack routine to the rhythm of the tune, which is a nice touch.
If you are going to run strait through it, New Super Mario Bros. can be completed in about five hours. Alas, if you do this you will be missing at least half of the game, including two entire worlds, as these are not unlocked if you are just blazing a path to Bowser's castle at the end of World 8. A number of levels in each world will not be immediately accessible either, often needing a hidden exit to get to them. In all, you get over 80 levels to venture though. This should keep you captivated for another five or more hours, especially if you are looking for the Star Coins in each level (which are required to unlock levels, and Toad houses, in the game).
Thanks to the abundance of 1UP mushrooms, you will not have a problem finishing without breaking a sweat. There are tricky spots for sure, but nothing as frustrating as Super Mario Bros. 3's World 8 airship. The last couple of levels, especially most of World 8, are complicated in New Super Mario Bros. — as they should be. In the end, I would have liked something a little harder, but this game is built for a wider audience than Super Mario Bros. was.
To be quite honest, the single-player game was enough. But the mini-games add loads of replay. At first glance these touch screen games seem ripped strait from Super Mario 64 DS. In fact, about half of them are directly from Super Mario 64 DS, albeit with enhanced graphics. Then you realize you can play these versus someone else, all with a single copy of the game.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Buying a DS crossed my mind briefly. Is it worth the price of admission?
2 - Ken Edwards
Hey Suss, it sure is. But wait until after the US release of the DS Lite. It will be the same price, and is a much better console. The DS Lite launches June 11 with a much brighter screen, sleeker design, and a smaller form factor.
There are a number of "must have" games for the DS already. New Super Mario Bros. is surely high on the list, but so is Super Princess Peach, True Swing Golf, Sonic Rush, Mario Kart DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Nintendogs, Kirby Canvas Curse, Meteos, Feel the Magic, The Rub Rabbits, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Tetris DS, Animal Crossing Wild World.
At least those are the top reasons to own the system off the top of my head. The DS games from E3 are also rather impressive, including Starfox DS and Yoshi's Island 2, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Diddy Kong Racing DS, Final Fantasy III DS, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles DS, and a lot more I can't think of right now.
So yea, you should get a DS, but get a DS Lite.
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
Well. Might have to put that on the spoil-myself wish list.
Thanks
4 - cool dude
I dont think you can make up a pretty much a whole new game when the original is the best. What I am saying is that the original is to good to make a new one
5 - super mario gamer
The new super mario not that impresive, for starters their isn't even one yoshi, except in the original their is the green,red,blue,and other yoshi's. The next problem is the thing that every body LOVED in super mario is the cape that was one of the best things about super mario ,and you took it away.So the next time you make a super mario please let it have the yoshi's and the cape. P.S I do like the idea of mega and tiny mushrooms.
6 - Matt Paprocki
Man, I'd love to be in the alternate universe you live in. I mean, your original Mario had Yoshi's and a cape? Wow!
All we got in this dimension were mushrooms and fire flowers.
Lucky.
7 - Dynamo of Eternia
super mario gamer,
I don't know how familiar you are with Mario's history, but the game that you are refering to, Super Mario World, was actually the 4th in the primary 'Super Mario' series, released in 1991, six years after the first 'Super Mario' title was introduced.
The Cape and Yoshi were not in any game prior to Mario World. And since that time, the only other game that the cape has appeared in was in the Gameboy Advance re-release of "Super Mario Bros. 3" which donned the new additonal title of "Super Mario Advance 4" (Nintendo really loves making the numbering and order of their games difficult to follow, and changing it upon releases doesn't help). And, in that game, the cape was only accessable through use of the E-Reader and a special card that went with it (this required access to two GameBoy Advance Systems, or one GameBoy Advance and the GBA Player for Gamecube, and a connetion wire). And since the whole E-Reader thing failed to take off, I think the majority of those who even played the GBA version of that game probably never even accessed that cape (its not hard to see why the E-Reader failed, it just was too complicated for its own good. But speaking as an owner of one, and as someone who has all of the SMB3 E-Reader cards, it is a lot of fun to use).
As for Yoshi, after Super Mario World, he had a small cameo in Super Mario 64 for the N64. He did not become available to ride in a mainstream Mario title again until Mario Sunshine. He is, of course, a playable character on the DS version of Mario 64, but that's not quite the same thing as he is not used as something that Mario can ride on to get around.
I'm not saying that I would have objected to including Yoshi in New Super Mario Bros., but I'm not going to kick and scream over his absense, since he wasn't in the original NES games. The cape was kind of cool, but I'm a much bigger fan of the SMB3 Racoon Tail as a means of flying. It's just so random and arbitrary that it's fun.
As for things that I would have liked to have seen in New Super Mario Bros., I wish the Koopa Kids from Mario 3 and Mario World had been in it. Instead of just having Bowser's son from Mario Sunshine over and over, they could have a different Koopa kid in each of the mini-Castles (they still could have inlcuded the new kid from Sunshine in it, but in addition to the previous 7).
I also wish Mario had more power ups and an inventory system like he did in Mario 3. I'm not saying that they would have to be all of the exact same powers from 3, but I liked how Mario had all of the different suits that he could wear to get different powers.
As cool as the new mushrooms to make him really huge and really small are, they just don't quite cut it on the same level. And the Turtle Shell that he wears in this one is more of a pain in the ass than anything else (sometimes I'll just want to run and stop, but then he goes into the shell and starts bouncing all over the place when I don't want him to).
All in all though, I do love New Super Mario Bros.
I hope that they do another one soon, and I would like to see the things that I mentioned earlier in it. Yoshi would be cool to have, as well, but he's lower on the todem pole for me.
What I'd really like to see, but won't likely happen, is to have a new game with many of the enemies from Super Mario Bros. 2 in it, including Wort as the boss (or at least as one of the bosses). I know that the American SMB2 was actually a separate non-Mario game in Japan originally (with their Mario 2 being more similar to the original with some newer difficult features, and was eventually released on the SNES Super Mario All-Stars multi-game pak under the title of "The Lost Levels" in America), but it would be sweet to have those characters return. It would be even cooler if they mixed them in with the typcial Mario villains. I'd love to see Bowser and Wort Team up. But, this is all wishful thinking on my part.
Anyway, sorry for the tangent there, but I just was giving a little Mario history along with my opinions on things.
8 - chris snyder
I love mario bros 64 Ds. I would like to get some cheats. I looked around and the only 1's I can find are bad! Does any 1 know where I can find some?
9 - Kev
This game is the best cause you get a lot of levels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 - Chantel
have to go bye
11 - h
you know i want to get yoshi but i dont know how to but a second grader does and i am 6 yers older then him i just need to know
12 - cool me
this is a cheat to get lugi on they old mario bro's turn ur DS on and put that game in then when it get's to the front page hold L and R then hold it and go on mario game then the level thing will come up keep holding L and R and click on the level thing holding L and Rand you'll be lugi when it go's on
13 - cool me
By the way I't does work i've tried it and now I can be him when ever I want
14 - cool me
And I don't no how to unlock yoshi yet because I hasve't whent on old super mario bro's how to be yoshi
so that's all I can tell u
15 - cool me
ok BYE peace I'm out. I'm gonna go on club penguin B Y E spelles u can say the rest
16 - h
yo yo yo
17 - h
oh by the way just before i go. new super mario bro's, if u have an R4 card u can download cheats.now i'm out
18 - cool me
oh them h's i brended to be someone els and I'm never coming on this ever again so bye forever and my enishales are CG
19 - Jordan Richardson
...the hell?