Mario is/always will be a famous video game icon. When you think of the term “Video Game”, Mario will typically be the first thing that you think of. It’s just a reflex action at this point. Mario may not be in his height of popularity at the moment, but he still has quite a few games coming out every year. (Mario 3D World and Yoshi’s Island for starters.) I’m proud to say that I’ve played nearly all of Mario’s console games. (Starting from the GBA/GC era) Mario’s games are consistently good and you’ll rarely regret buying them. (Unless you got Mario Golf….It’s not awful, but definitely not one of the better ones) New Super Mario Bros was the beginning of Mario’s legacy for the new generation of DS gamers. Let’s see how well it turned out!
New Super Mario Bros throws you into the thick of it, when Bowser Jr. decides to kidnap Peach. Mario attempts to stop him, but he’s quickly taken care of. Mario’s a pretty dependable hero, so even if he fails to save Peach over 10 times, he will continue to try and save her. That’s the basic plot, but there is a mild mystery? Why does Bowser wish to kidnap Peach? Does he want to rule the Mushroom Kingdom with an iron grip? Does he want to conquer the universe? At this point, he may just want to defeat Mario once and for all!
The story may be recycled, but how about the gameplay? Well, it’s more or less what you would expect, but there are subtle changes. The animation is drastically different from the previous installments of the Mario portable games. When I first turned the game on, I was pretty shocked by how ug-different the animation looked. This wasn’t the normal 2D that I was used to playing. The animation grew on me as I played the game, but part of me missed the nostalgia of the old look. The game is a lot easier than the classic Mario World/Land titles, but that’s to be expected. There are still some levels that may take you a few tries, (Especially if you are in a hurry and trying to fast blast through the stages) but nothing that will make you want to close the DS for the next few years. The game is very bright and playing in the Mushroom Kingdom is definitely a blast. It remains as my favorite world in the game.
There’s not much to say character wise. Mario might be an extremely brave hero, or he could be about as brave as he was in the animated movie. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that may be for the best!) Mario’s definitely not that strong or powerful, but he uses the items around him to get the job done! One saddening part of the game is that Luigi wasn’t around. Luigi always gets going when the going gets tough. If he had been around, Peach probably wouldn’t have been kidnapped. It also would have been nice if Princess Peach hadn’t let herself be kidnapped this time. Ah well, I’m sure Nintendo will fix that at some point. We desperately need a new plot. Have some aliens attack NYC or something like that. It would make for a nice change of scenery and I would buy that right away! (Since I took so long to buy this game)
Aside from the regular story mode, there is also a minigame mode. The disappointing part is that many of the mini games are the same as in Super Mario 64 DS. They are still fun to play, but it’s just not as fun as playing a minigame for the first time. The best minigame is sorting the bombs from one area to the other without mixing up the colors. It’s pretty intriguing and a nice way to test your skills.
New Super Mario Bros is definitely a solid Mario game. It’s a good way to pass the time by and it’s pure fun. There’s no part of the game that holds it back and every level is fun in its own way. The game may not be very long, but there is still some decent replay value. Getting all of the gold coins and beating all of the extra levels will help you get your money’s worth. I highly recommend this game to all gamers out there. Even non-gamers will get a kick out of playing this one. There’s just nothing to dislike about it. Buying this game was definitely an accomplishment! Now I just need to purchase that Super Mario 3DS game that I’ve heard so much about….
Overall 7/10
Filed under: 7 Star Games, DS Games, Game Reviews, Games, Mario Games, Reviews 
