Mario's return to glory is great... too bad it didn't come sooner!
Gameplay: Hmm, I forget, how does this work? Oh, right, there's two buttons, one jumps one dashes and throws fireballs. There, that sounds easy right? Well it is. Anyone can play this game. However, the nongamers won't finish it. Why? Only because it gets more difficult after world 5. Then, the difficulty starts to come in giving us gamers the stuff we love. So, what's the game about? Well, you and Peach were going to the castles and Peach gets stolen by Baby Bowser. Now, it's up to you to travel through 6 - 8 worlds to save her. The game has the worlds you love, Plains, Desert, Tropical/underwater, forest, ice, mountains, and bowser's hometown. Sure, that's the usual but the game doesn't seem to become overly nostalgic. Due to clever levels and new ideas from the 3D games, the game separates itself from becoming a rehashed titles of the oldies. Of course, that wouldn't be bad, but I'd rather play through a new game. Anyway, you will find that the level design is very unique and well done, making this definitely one of the best DS games out. Plus, the game is filled to the brim with secret routes, extra areas, classic occruences (remember the unlimited 1ups?) and does it all very well. If I have any problems it's that sometimes a level can be a little boring or slow since you've been playing it for too long. Also, the majority of the awesome levels end too quickly. Oh, and the Baby Bowser fights are easier than anything you play throughout the game. Sure, those are some things I wish weren't there, but no game is perfect and I really didn't mind these shortcomings much. So, if you love your old school titles, Mario, or your DS, this game will deliver. 9/10
Graphics: Screen shots of this game don't do justice to what the graphics offer this game. They game really does look great. I don't think they could've done much better in this category. The characters were rendered in a 3D style while the backgrounds and levels were created in beautiful 2D artowork. The levels are really a sight to behold, conveying why you'd want to see in a Mario sidescroller. However, there are some characters that look a little pixel-like and sometimes it seems as though a character doesn't blend in well with its 2D environment. But, these occur rarely, and it barely takes away from the experience and style. 9/10
Sound: I love Mario music. It's always something that is enjoyable. This title is no exception. Although it did take some time to get used to the theme of the game, I soon found myself enjoying it. Also, the game does remix some old songs from Mario titles and adds them into some of the levels. Yeah, I did like this, but sometimes I found that this was the main contributing factor that kind of made me feel as though there was too much nostalgia at times. Also, the sound effects are classic Mario, so they do sound good. However, some times I found that some sounds reminded me of what I heard exactly back in the days of Super Mario World and SMB 3. The sound's good, it's just not very new and too nostalgic. 8/10
Value: The game contains around 80 levels. However, it will take some time to reach all of them thanks to the clever paths that have been created. Though the majority of the levels can be sped through easily, the addition of the 3 star coins that are scattered through out each level sneakily, and all of the paths that you can beat a level by keep the main game deep. Also, the game has touch minigames alongside the main quest. Sure, the majority are from SM64 DS, but the multiplayer addition and some new games keeps you and any other DS owner having fun for much longer than you'd expect. Oh, and they even added in a versus mode where you collect stars on a level. Sure, it isn't the best idea ever, but it can be really frantic with someone who's just as good as you at the game. Either way, this game will be in your DS for quite some time. It's just a shame that two of the eight worlds are secrets and the majority of the levels are rather short. 9/10
New Super mario Bros. is truly a rise to power in the handheld field for Mario. Never before have we been treated to such a fun handheld Mario adventure. It may not be as standard-setting, classic, or even revolutionary as his earlier titles, but that doesn't mean it isn't one awesome game that's both old-school yet fairly new.