New Super Mario Bros. Review
By: Bernie Yee
Contents:
1. Introduction / Story
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics and Sound
4. Replay
5. Conclusion
Introduction / Story
Ah, the Super Mario Bros, one of the best selling video game series of all times. I still remember the golden age of NES/SNES where I would be constantly playing Mario games. The good old times… almost 2 decades ago.
With the launch of the Nintendo DS, everyone was expecting Nintendo to create a totally new and fun Super Mario game and it finally arrives in the form of New Super Mario Bros! A mix of old and new Mario goodness wrapped up all in one game with multiplayer mini-games!
The game begins with Mario walking with Princess Peach when Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. suddenly attack them and kidnaps Peach. Now Mario has to rescue her (again) by going through many different worlds and stages.
Gameplay – 10
Everyone’s favourite Nintendo plumber Mario is now back and better than ever! Known for squishing goombas and foiling many of Bowser’s evil plans, he’s now finally on the Nintendo DS!
You can say New Super Mario Bros. is a mix of Super Mario Bros. 1/3 and Mario 64 from the NES and N64 with new levels. The levels are very similar to the first Super Mario Bros. game whereas the map and Toad houses are borrowed from the third game. Lastly, a few of Mario’s movements are from the N64 game, e.g. his triple jumps, wall kicks, etc.
It’s very simple to play this game, you only need 2 buttons throughout the entire game! That’s how simple it is! Two buttons! You use one button for dashing and shooting fireballs and one to jump.
You start by selecting a stage to play in the world you have selected (you can always go back and replay stages). To finish a stage, you reach the finish line, and if you can reach the top of the flag pole, something good will happen. There are many different paths in the game that allows you to reach the castle, which is the final stage before moving onto another world. Also, within each stage, there are 3 star coins, which you can redeem to enter Toad houses (very similar to the ones from Super Mario Bros 3).
There’s also an item that would definitely define the “new” in New Super Mario Bros. The big mushroom! When Mario picks it up, he gains immortality for a certain amount of time and he can smash everything in his path to piles of rubble. There are also many other new items that I’ll let you discover on your own.
Graphics and Sound - 10
The graphics are absolutely splendid! They’re so beautiful and colorful on the DS, especially Lites. There is a pretty huge mix of 2D and 3D graphics and they look astonishing with no jagged edges, etc. The scenery is very detailed even down to the water ripples and lava flows!
The game has lots of nice beats and tunes that are very recognizable as some of them are old remixes with a lot of new ones to boot. A few of the sound effects are reused from the older games as well, e.g. the sound you hear when you get coins is almost identical to the one you hear when you play Super Mario World for the SNES.
Replay – 8
New Super Mario Bros. is absolutely loads of fun, although short. There are a total of 8 worlds and 2 of them requires unlocking, so I could see most people playing this game for countless hours trying to unlock everything, especially gathering all 3 star coins from each level! There are also mini-games, (sort of pointless since they’re so easy) but they do add some quick fun!
Conclusion
New Super Mario Bros. was a highly anticipated release for the Nintendo DS and it does not disappoint! Mixing a lot of old with new was one thing I extremely liked.
I highly recommend this for anyone that loves Mario and/or platformers. The game is easy to find and I recommend you take advantage of that.
FINAL SCORE = 9.5/10
By: Bernie Yee
Contents:
1. Introduction / Story
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics and Sound
4. Replay
5. Conclusion
Introduction / Story
Ah, the Super Mario Bros, one of the best selling video game series of all times. I still remember the golden age of NES/SNES where I would be constantly playing Mario games. The good old times… almost 2 decades ago.
With the launch of the Nintendo DS, everyone was expecting Nintendo to create a totally new and fun Super Mario game and it finally arrives in the form of New Super Mario Bros! A mix of old and new Mario goodness wrapped up all in one game with multiplayer mini-games!
The game begins with Mario walking with Princess Peach when Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. suddenly attack them and kidnaps Peach. Now Mario has to rescue her (again) by going through many different worlds and stages.
Gameplay – 10
Everyone’s favourite Nintendo plumber Mario is now back and better than ever! Known for squishing goombas and foiling many of Bowser’s evil plans, he’s now finally on the Nintendo DS!
You can say New Super Mario Bros. is a mix of Super Mario Bros. 1/3 and Mario 64 from the NES and N64 with new levels. The levels are very similar to the first Super Mario Bros. game whereas the map and Toad houses are borrowed from the third game. Lastly, a few of Mario’s movements are from the N64 game, e.g. his triple jumps, wall kicks, etc.
It’s very simple to play this game, you only need 2 buttons throughout the entire game! That’s how simple it is! Two buttons! You use one button for dashing and shooting fireballs and one to jump.
You start by selecting a stage to play in the world you have selected (you can always go back and replay stages). To finish a stage, you reach the finish line, and if you can reach the top of the flag pole, something good will happen. There are many different paths in the game that allows you to reach the castle, which is the final stage before moving onto another world. Also, within each stage, there are 3 star coins, which you can redeem to enter Toad houses (very similar to the ones from Super Mario Bros 3).
There’s also an item that would definitely define the “new” in New Super Mario Bros. The big mushroom! When Mario picks it up, he gains immortality for a certain amount of time and he can smash everything in his path to piles of rubble. There are also many other new items that I’ll let you discover on your own.
Graphics and Sound - 10
The graphics are absolutely splendid! They’re so beautiful and colorful on the DS, especially Lites. There is a pretty huge mix of 2D and 3D graphics and they look astonishing with no jagged edges, etc. The scenery is very detailed even down to the water ripples and lava flows!
The game has lots of nice beats and tunes that are very recognizable as some of them are old remixes with a lot of new ones to boot. A few of the sound effects are reused from the older games as well, e.g. the sound you hear when you get coins is almost identical to the one you hear when you play Super Mario World for the SNES.
Replay – 8
New Super Mario Bros. is absolutely loads of fun, although short. There are a total of 8 worlds and 2 of them requires unlocking, so I could see most people playing this game for countless hours trying to unlock everything, especially gathering all 3 star coins from each level! There are also mini-games, (sort of pointless since they’re so easy) but they do add some quick fun!
Conclusion
New Super Mario Bros. was a highly anticipated release for the Nintendo DS and it does not disappoint! Mixing a lot of old with new was one thing I extremely liked.
I highly recommend this for anyone that loves Mario and/or platformers. The game is easy to find and I recommend you take advantage of that.
FINAL SCORE = 9.5/10
