New Super Mario Bros will service any fan of gaming infinitly, just as the original SMB did before it.
This game is in a way, a lot like Super Mario Galaxy. I used to believe that stellar Wii game was more akin to Super Mario Bros 3 in the way that it revolutionized the franchise. In fact, it is much like many Nintendo games. Like Galaxy,SMB3, SMW, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, LOZ: TP, and perhaps even Mario Kart Wii for one reason; it is an absolutely stellar sequel to one incredibly awesome original and at least one great, yet different sequel (Super Mario Sunshine, american Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, LOZ: Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash).
But enough sentiment. Even without the originals, even if this game had to do the incredibly hard task of reviving gaming like the original SMB, it would succeed with flying colors.The 3D rendered character models on a 2D side-scrolling game allow for some excellent animation. The frame rate never slows down a bit, and even for a DS title, the character models can stand up to console graphics easily. The backgrounds also look great; all of the enemies and platforms Mario fights and travels on are rendered in perfect 3D, while the actual backgrounds that do not affect Mario's gameplay look great artistically and are very reminiscent of Super Mario World.
The sound is great too. All of the stages feature tracks from an entirely new Mario soundtrack which is just as addicting as the original, while the Mushroom Houses in the game feature a fantastic remix of the original tune that brings back memories to listen too. Plus, if you manage to end a level with a coin count equal to a multiple of eleven, you will hear the end of level jingle the original SMB featured.
The gameplay is spot on, which is what is to be expected from a 2D Mario outing. The old favorite powerups like the fire flower from SMB are there, and they are as fun and easy to play now as ever before. New goodies have been added as well, however, and they fit right with the Mario mantra of wacky suits and powers. Plus, there are many goodies in the form of platforms that have been added. Special platforms make Mario bounce, fly high to the sky and float down and slip when he comes into contact with them. There is even a blue sea dragon in World 4 that you ride on ala Super Mario 64. The only downside is that Yoshi doesn't make an appearance, but he has a turn in the spotlight on the DS in Yoshi's Island DS, so no biggy.
Value is the game's weak point, but it is so good that that is a compliment. The game's only major value flaws are that most of the time it is a bit easy, and while there is much to be found in the form of secrets, you can plow through the game without looking for any secrets in under ten hours. Yet with 2 full worlds of secret levels that require a bit of skill to reach and many other secret levels scattered around the maps, which happen to be most like Super Mario Bros 3's maps, are just waiting to be discovered.
At the beginning of this review I compared New Super Mario Bros to Super Mario Galaxy. While there are some true similarities between those two games, I think the real reason they seem similar is simply because they are both fantastic games. NSMB is full of jump, fireball, and plumber that every Mario fan craves, while adding new stuff to the mix that seem inseperable from Mario's 2D worlds now that they have made their debut. Bottomline, NSMB is a high quality DS game that only makes you hope it isn't another decade before the next original Super Mario Bros. 2D platformer is released.