Mario’s newest platforming jaunt is a mixture of the timeless Super Mario Bros. that appeared on the SNES and Super Mario from the N64. At first glance the idea might seem like a quick and easy re-hash of the previous outings, yet the DS version offers just enough to keep the franchise fresh, whilst retaining, and improving on, the fun and frolics of its predecessors.
Big bad Bowser’s chronic habit of nabbing Princess Peach away from the Mushroom Kingdom can only mean one thing for the Italian plumber. He will have to traipse his way over eight differently themed worlds and dispense his brand of high-jumping, butt-pounding justice on anyone who stands in his way. Quite why no one explains why Bowser clearly has some troubling penchant for putting himself in a position to get battered, or the fact that our hero Mario could be accused of goomba genocide is probably a good thing. What matters is that it is still terrifically good fun to go through the whole rigmarole of bouncing off koopa troopers in order to get to that end-of-stage flag.
Mario has gained a couple of new moves borrowed from the N64 instalment. In contrast
to the SNES and other versions, he can now butt stomp, wall kick and triple jump his way across the sixty-or-so levels. Unfortunately, although fun, the triple jump is rarely put to use as you need plenty of room to pull it off, but the remaining two moves get used plenty throughout the game. Gone unfortunately is the flying cap and feather power up from previous games, but there are still some aerial antics to perform. In its place, along side the mushroom and power flower, are the koopa shell and two new mushrooms. The shell gives Mario the ability to protect himself from various attacks and to slide about terribly fast like… some sort of spinning sliding thing. The other two mushrooms either make Mario extra tiny, or as large as the DS screen. Mini-Mario can sneak into places not normally accessible, whereas the gigantic counterpart gets about thirty seconds to wantonly destroy anything he barges his way through before shrinking back to normal.
Visually and aurally, Mario and everything else around him has been overhauled. Although the game is a totally side scrolling adventure, gone are the dull repetitive 2D sprites of old. Mario’s entire world and its denizens have been jazzed up into three gloriously animated dimensions. Musically, all the familiar ice-world and desert themes and sound effects are there but jazzed up all polyphonically, with Mario being given a few more of his trademark mama-mias to say for good measure. In terms of presentation Mario is no slouch. Compared to the other games, it is far easier on the eyes and the ears.
There aren’t many gameplay issues to be honest. Mario’s games have never been particularly difficult, though some levels might have you throwing the DS out the window in frustration. Rather disappointingly, the bosses of each world are not much of a challenge. If Mario is powered up with a power flower he can just sit back and spam fireballs at them from a distance, rather than having to deal with the jumping-at-the-right-moment malarkey. Nonetheless, the game makes up for this failing by providing plenty of colourful enemies from the Mario universe – as well a couple of new additions – for Mario to smack about the head as he makes his way to Bowser’s castle, and plenty of collectible unlockable things like extra levels and so forth to find.
As it’s a platformer, you won’t have much use for the DS stylus or the microphone – everything is done with the d-pad and a couple of buttons. All the action takes place on the top screen of DS, whilst the lower screen will give you a miniscule amount of level info. When playing, an extra power up item – mushroom, koopa shell, whatever – can be stored. If Mario gets whacked about, you can tap the lower screen to dispense your reserve flower and continue sticking fireballs up Bowser’s backside. Outside of play, the touch screen will be used to switch between the different worlds. A bunch of fun time-wasting mini-games can be found outside of the main game which use the stylus and the mic, but they won’t have you coming back for more. Also, there are some multiplayer things you can do with other people through the DS’ wireless function, but because Johnny-no-mates here spends so much time playing the damn thing on his own I have no idea what they are like.
New Super Mario Bros. is a solid game that builds on the successes of its past incarnations, and a sound purchase for any DS owner. It could be said that the world doesn’t need another Mario game, but no one really seems to care.
Pictures of New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)
Mario wreaking havoc
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Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In a nutshell:Its been over fifteen years since the last Super Mario Bros. but finally ... more
Mario is back in a proper 2D platforming adventure. Just because its old school though doesnt mean its old hat...The lowdown:Considering the last Super Mario Bros. g...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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lands and unimaginable challenges! Challenge a friend to a wireless face-off on special levels, or play with up to three friends in a ton of Touch Screen minigames.
Jun 5th, 2007
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