They're taking the Yoshis to Isengard!

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is, as its name implies, a new rendition of the old Mario side-scroller (and a sequel to the 2006 DS game). A classic style Mario made new. But does it live up to the series standard?

To put it simply, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is fun. Very fun. Even the box, with its bright red coloring, just screams this game is fun!

From a gameplay perspective, New Super Mario Bros. Wii plays nearly identically to the 2D Mario’s of yesteryear. You still run, jump (of course), collect coins, throw koopa shells, and all the classic elements that come with the territory. And each level ends with Mario raising a flag in front of a small fortress, just as they did in the original Super Mario Bros. And to make the game feel even more like classic Mario, you even play by holding the Wii remote on its side, like an old NES controller.

Nintendo must have been sticking true to the idea that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”  when making New Super Mario Bros. Wii. There is no question that the Mario series has proven to be timeless, but Nintendo did decide to throw in a new twist to the classic formula to make sure New Super Mario Bros. Wii wouldn’t just be more of the same (though, in this case, that itself wouldn’t be bad).

That new twist is multiplayer! New Super Mario Bros. Wii provides us with the first ever simultaneous multiplayer experience in a traditional Mario game. It is something that Nintendo has wanted to do with Mario for many years, and now they were finally able to do it. It was worth the wait.

Playing an old fashioned Mario with two, three and even four players at once is an absolute blast. You can all work together and help each other get power-ups and Yoshi’s (more on those in a minute) and play through the game cooperatively. Or you compete against each other, seeing who can grab the most coins, steal the power-ups, get to the goal first. However you want to play, it’s all fun.

The different playable characters are Mario, Luigi, and two different colored Toads (mushroom people). All the characters play exactly the same, so there are no balancing issues or anything, but I have to say, I wish the fourth playable character were someone other than another Toad. Maybe Princess Peach, maybe Wario, it wouldn’t matter. It just seems weird to have two different Toads. I suppose for the (always classic) Mario plot, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser, but surely there could have been other options than just another Toad. At least Toads are adorable though, so I can’t stay mad at them.

As for those aforementioned power-ups, New Super Mario Bros. Wii includes some of Mario’s most fun (and outrageous) powers to date. Along with the timeless Fire Flower and Starman, other power-ups include the Ice Flower, which plays a different role than it did in Mario Galaxy, this time around instead of turning into a plumber made of ice, Mario’s (or Luigi or the Toads’) color scheme will change (a la Fire Flower) and shoot ice out of their hands, which freeze enemies, turning them into platforms. There are also two new “suits” that join Mario’s ever whimsical, ever expanding repertoire of power-ups, The Propeller suit and the Penguin suit.

The Propeller suit is a fun little power-up that enables its wearer to float briefly in midair with a simple shake of the Wii remote. Other players can even pick up another player wearing the propeller suit and use the other player to fly! I found that to be very fun!

The Penguin suit is something of the Tanuki suit of the game, by that I mean it takes one of the more common power-ups (in this case, the Ice Flower) and expands on it. Not only does the Penguin suit enable one to shoot the aforementioned enemy freezing ice out of their hands, but it also makes swimming smoother (like the Frog suit of yesteryear) and allows you to slide on your belly! The Penguin suit is a very charming power-up that just looks ridiculous and ridiculously cute.

The funny but ever useful Propeller suit!

The laugh-out-loud cute Penguin suit!

The last remaining power-up is the Mini Mushroom, which returns from the original New Super Mario Bros. for DS. The Mini Mushroom shrinks the player to miniature size, which mostly serves as a means of finding secret passages and such. The Mini Mushroom is good and fun, but it doesn’t quite hold up against the other power-ups, save for the hilarity of hearing Mario’s squeaky chipmunk voice.

And of course there’s the icing on the gameplay-switching cake, Yoshi! Yoshi returns in all of his Super Mario World glory. Yoshi can flutter in midair, eat the bad guys (and stomp on them too) and even spit enemy projectiles back at them (take that Hammer Bros.)! Yoshi is, as he always is, a more than welcome addition to the Mario experience. And the best part is, wherever you find one Yoshi, another one is bound to show up not too far behind, and there’s always enough Yoshi’s for everyone! The only downside is that, unlike Super Mario World, once you beat one level with Yoshi, he doesn’t follow you to the next, and there could have been a few more levels that could have included the lovable dinosaur.

I’m sure that with being a Wii game, some people would probably want to know if there are any motion controls in the game. Along with the previously mentioned Propeller suit, Mario (and friends) can do a spin jump with a quick shake of the Wiimote. And certain scenarios require one player to hold the Wii remote in different positions to do things like control lights or move platforms, among other things. The moments when the motion controls are implemented work great, but like with Yoshi, they don’t seem to appear as frequently as they could have.

In terms of level design, New Super Mario Bros. Wii shines! I found myself saying to myself “Wow that’s clever” and “That’s great level design” on multiple occasions. The only problem with them is that when playing single player, the levels don’t seem quite as brilliant as those in past Mario games. But I suppose the intent of the game was multiplayer Mario, so I guess the more the merrier only makes sense. But even when playing single player and the levels seem a little more barren, they are still great and clever.

One aspect of the game that had many people worried was the “Super Guide” feature, which Nintendo plans to use for select future games to help out those who aren’t as initiated with video games. The Super Guide allows players to watch a computer play through the level, and they can then choose to play through it after using the Super Guide for reference, or they can choose to claim a victory by the Super Guide’s work.

It is easy to see why people would be concerned that the Super Guide would just make the game play itself. Thankfully, this isn’t the case. The Super Guide feature will only kick in after several losses on a particular level, and even then, you don’t have to watch the Super Guide, and you don’t have to let it beat the level for you. It takes enough defeats to kick in that it doesn’t feel forced on you, and even when the Super Guide does present itself, it is completely optional. So this really is meant just for those who aren’t used to games like Super Mario.

Another feature some people may worry about is the fact that when multiple players are present, any one of them can enter a protective bubble at any time. However, I think this was just added for the situation that one player may have to use the restroom, and the other players don’t feel like pausing. Because once you enter the protective bubble, your team is more susceptible to defeat. Say, if one player enters the bubble and the others all meet defeat, there is no one left to break that player out of the bubble. And just “bubbling up” every time danger presents itself will eventually lead to many inconveniences, as the other players will have to break you free. Again, this bubble should be used only if one player needs a break, but everyone else wants to continue playing.

Another great aspect about New Super Mario Bros. Wii is how it is a tribute to the Mario series. You are sure to see many elements from Super Mario Bros., Mario World, Mario 64 and even Yoshi’s Island (among others). One very obvious thing to notice is the return of the Koopalings, Bowser’s crazy cast of Koopa minions reprise their roles from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World as the bosses of the game. You will fight a different Koopaling twice in each world, once midway through and the other at the very end of each world. I especially like the (harder) second fights with the Koopalings, in which Kamek (the very cool and incredibly underused Magikoopa character) casts a magic spell to make the Koopalings even more powerful. This is a direct reference to Yoshi’s Island, in which Kamek would do the same thing. Little details like this invoke a wonderful sense of nostalgia to those familiar with Mario’s past. Kamek himself, as well as Bowser Jr. and big bad Bowser himself also appear as bosses.

But it isn’t just the bosses, you will see and do plenty that will make you reminisce about the classic Mario games.

And as for the music, well, Mario music is always catchy. The music in New Super Mario Bros. Wii is sure to get stuck in your head. It may not be the best soundtrack in Mario’s history, but it is wonderful nonetheless.

All in all, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is fantastic fun! A worthy entry to the Mario series. It may not be the next big step in Mario’s evolution like Mario Galaxy was/is, but it doesn’t try to be. It isn’t trying to be the next Mario 64 or Galaxy, it tries (and succeeds) to be a tribute to Mario’s past, and make it new again, just as the original DS game did. Though personally, I think this new Wii edition is even better than New Super Mario Bros. on DS (and I love that game). It has some flaws, like the under utilization of certain gameplay aspects like Yoshi, and the single player experience doesn’t quite stack up to the multiplayer, but as a whole, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a true testament to the timelessness of the Mario series. And adding in up to three more players makes the classic Mario formula feel new again, and simply playing it is sure to induce a smile on your face.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is at the same time a tribute to Mario’s past, and a fresh, new experience of its own. The old is made new all over again.

Here we go!

(1 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10, rated)

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