New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Overall score 70%
Fun Factor 7.5
Visuals 6
Story/Concept 6
Sound 5
Originality 4
Longevity 6

User score74%

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0100%

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Release date: 2009-11-15
Genre: 2D side scrolling platformer

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Mario’s latest adventure goes back to basics

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NSMB) is a difficult game to review. On one hand, the gameplay, visuals and sound design are all severely aged, and if one were to take Mario out of the equation then we would be left with a an obscure 2D platformer with not much going for it. On the other hand, it’s safe to say that most people who consider buying this game know what they are getting themselves into.

It is unlikely that many who did not play early Mario games would take an interest in New Super Mario Bros. Indeed, its entire selling point is that it takes Mario back to basics. No 3D, no cruising the galaxy and no karts. It’s straight forward Goompa squashing, coin collecting fun, and whether or not it works in 2010 will largely depend on your expectations.

Very much like Super Mario Bros 3 (SMB3), NSMB has players navigating a world filled with airships, green pipes, massive castles and small mushroom shaped houses as they choose which levels to do. This navigation process is quite linear, but there is some degree of choice, and players can decide whether to go back to a previous level and save kidnapped toads (little mushroom guys), or do some side levels to earn cool power-ups which can be used at their discretion.

Speaking of power-ups, NSMB is full of them, and they include the famous fireball-flower, the propeller cap, the mini-mushroom and the ice-ball-flower. These all add much needed diversity to the gameplay which generally consists of running about, hopping on Goompas, collecting coins and jumping over the infamous carnivorous fire breathing plants.

Apart from jumping, Mario has a number of nifty moves in his repertoire, such as the spin attack, vertical wall jump, triple jump and iconic “butt stomp”. All the hallmarks of a Mario game are there; collect 100 coins and get an extra life, stomp on a Koopa Troopa (tortoise) and kick its shell (which slides for infinity) at those nasty Goombas. It also features water levels, ghost levels, snow levels and fire levels, all of which add new challenges to the gameplay.

While this sounds like a fair amount of variation, the gameplay is straightforward and rather uninspired. To be fair, it is closely based on gameplay mechanics developed in the late 80s. Forsaking the Wii’s motion control tech (for the most part), NSMB instead has players hold the Wii remote sideways and so that the button layout is the same as that of the old NES controller.

As a single player game, NSMB struggles to justify its existence. After a few hours, the novelty wears thin. It’s kind of like watching old Dino Riders videos because some part of you wants to go back to that magical time, only to realize that cassette tape quality animation looks really awful by your heightened contemporary standards, and the action sequences and dialogue you once held so highly now just come across as incredibly cheesy.

And so the realization dawns that perhaps, like so many childhood favourites, 2D side scrolling Super Mario Brothers games should be left in the past.

Until you try it with friends.

While the retro nostalgia is one of NSMB’s key selling points, another highly marketed feature is its cooperative multiplayer, and indeed, this is where the game truly shines. Somehow playing the game by oneself just feels lonely and bland, but throw three friends into the mix and hilarity ensues. Not only is the co-op good for a few laughs, it is also a lot of fun. Players can bounce off each other’s heads, choose to help or hinder their “team mates”, and even steal their friends 1UPs or bump them off ledges.

The camera will always track the player furthest ahead, so it is important to keep up as stragglers will be left behind. Playing as either Mario, Luigi or one of two toads, players share the screen as they try desperately not to get left behind or die. When they do die they reappear shortly so long as they have spare lives.

There is no doubt that the multiplayer is NSMB’s saving grace. Gamers that harbour an insatiable desire to play through, what is essentially a tweaked remake of one of their childhood favourites, are likely to love NSMB, but for many the novelty may not last long. Luckily, this is easily remedied by throwing a few friends into the mix in what is one of the most charming and entertaining cooperative console gaming experiences on the market.

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