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Friday 15 Sep 2006 Old Hag: Two things you must know about New Super Mario Bros…number one, it is Super Mario Bros!
It’s New, and it’s Super Mario Bros. Go buy this game. In the gaming library there is no greater series, in both sales and critical acclaim, than the Mario platforming series. The New Super Mario Bros somehow manages to measure up to that legacy. It’s got the charm, the polish, the controls, the variety and ingenuity that we expect from a game with the Mario Bros name and, for such an old formula (dating back to the first one in 1985), still manages to be fresh and interesting. It might be because every single level in the game (and there are lots, around 90) is completely unique. There are so many ideas packed in to the cart, and you’d forgive a developer for reusing some of these two or three times in the course of the game. But here a well conceived and executed idea is used but once, in one level on one world. There’s a level with bouncing mushrooms, but you never see these again the entire game. Same for the snaking platform or the inflatable ghosts or a hundred others. It makes it an absolute pleasure to play through the levels again and again because they’re all so different.   New Super Mario Bros is a side-scrolling platform game. You play as Mario and he’s able to run, jump, and sometimes shoot fireballs. There are eight different worlds with various themes, and in each world there are a number of levels or stages. You must work your way through the levels to get to the castle where Koopa Junior is holding Princess Peach captive. Defeat the boss in the castle and you move on to the next world. In the levels, you typically run left to right and try make it to the end. That’s all there is to it. A simple formula, but executed spectacularly. To increase the challenge and interest, in each level there are three large coins for you to collect. They are sometimes easy to find, other times they require a bit more searching, and it’s here where the level design really stands out. Finding all the hidden items in the levels, beanstalks, 1-up mushrooms and coin stashes, is what makes the game stay interesting for a long time. In homage to old-school, never-save gameplay, you are not allowed to save the game unless you beat a boss. However, at various spots on the overland map you can pay five large coins to enter a branch in the path and it will save then, so those coins are useful for more than just the thrill of the search. Once you have rescued the princess you are allowed to save wherever you want, which makes searching for all those large coins a bit less troublesome.   Some will see the small tributes made to the original Super Mario Bros in the game. Some of the levels are closely based on the original game’s levels, and it’s quite weird (but good) to have a sense of nostalgia playing a game that’s brand new. A few things are added from more recent Mario adventures, like wall jumping and butt-stomping, but these are so intuitive and add to the game by giving us more variety in the puzzles the level designers have set up for us. There’s also a mini-mushroom which makes Mario tiny and the physics of tiny mario are significantly different. In fact, you’ll need to be tiny to get certain coins and find certain secrets – the only hassle there is it’s not that easy to come by a mini-mushroom. Mega-mushroom makes Mario fill the screen and become invincible. It’s great for getting extra lives and for defeating bosses, but it’s just for fun as it’s never really needed. Finally there’s a blue shell power up which gives Mario a blue shell on his back. He can then slide around stages like Koopa shells, but it’s quite easy to fall into the void if you pick up too much speed. Overall, it is a fantastic game for all ages. It’s impossible not to recommend it to absolutely anyone.
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