Mario is back for again in New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. As the name suggest, the title is a throw back to the classic 2D Mario games on the NES and SNES. And as such, you must once again rescue princess Peach from Bowser. Mario and all of the characters you know and love are in full 3D. But the gameplay is the classic 2D style of platforming. Visually, NSMB is fantastic. All the 3d characters look great. And the 2d sprites look very nice. The frame rate is also consistent. It is basically what you would expect from a Mario game. NSMB plays just like you would imagine of a Mario game. You have the basic walking and running, the mushrooms and fireballs, and the stomping and jumping around of the series. It is all in tack and feels great. They have also added a few new items such as the Mega Mushroom, which makes Mario turn huge for a sort time. These new items become a vital part of the game and you will need them to beat the game with 100%. Besides the numerous levels, they have added a new coin feature. Each level has three big coins you can collect. These are needed to get 100% and will earn you rewards. This adds a lot of replay value to the game. But the game is still a short game. There aren’t as many levels as past games, and many seem to be too short. NSMB also has a verity of minigames to play. Many of them are reused from Super Mario 64 DS. So if you have played it, it might seem a little old. There are some new ones though. But the minigames really shine in multiplayer. Not only are they some games only available through multiplayer, but they seem to much more fun also. But NSMB is not without its short comings. Sound wise NSMB doesn’t offer anything new or creative. All the sounds have been done before. Nothing really stands out much. And the game is on the easy side. You can easily breeze through the game in one sitting. Also, Bowser Jr. is used for the boss battles over and over again. Overall, NSMB feels like it is predecessors. It plays and looks great. It is a tad short and on the easy side though. If you are a fan of Mario or just own a DS, this is a game for you.
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