A Classic Reborn
For those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the last 20 years, New Super Mario brothers is an extension of a long tradition of the Mario Brothers Franchise from Nintendo. Most would agree that the franchise is responsible for bringing the game to the mainstream and popularizing the home video console.
The Mario Brothers Series has always been a platforming series and started out as a two dimensional game. Super Mario Bros 1-3 set a standard for platforming in the 80's in early 90's and helped Nintendo become the leader of the gaming industry with consistently intriguing yet simple gameplay. Super Mario 64 took the series to a new level with a truly 3D environment and some consider this game to be the best platforming game ever. Moving forward, Mario was met with less critical acclaim and even less fan acclaim with the addition of "Super Mario Sunshine." The game was fun but most would agree that it lacked that special something that gave the Mario Bros. series is lasting appeal.
New Super Mario Brothers is Nintendo's attempt to bring back that "old school" tradition of simple, yet entertaining gameplay and Nintendo was right on the Mark. New Super Mario Brothers for the Nintendo DS is quite simply the best game for Nintendo's new handheld and if there wasn't reason before, their is certainly reason to go go out and pick one up now.
The core gameplay in New Super Mario Brothers draws upon it's earliest predecessors. The basic gameplay is sidescrolling from left to right with an emphasis on jumping. In addition to this basic gameplay we find that Mario has special abilities that come with picking up certain power ups. The classic "Fire Mario" is back as well as the de-facto standard "Super Mario." New elements have been added to keep the game fresh. Mario can now grow as large as life and casually stroll along the screen and destroy, quite literally, everything on the screen. Another addition would be the inclusion of Mini-mario. Mini-Mario seems to float across the screen in a manner that would be somewhere between the "floating" Princess Peach from Super Mario Brothers 2 and the "Long Jumping" Luigi from the same title. Mario can also pick up a turtle shell power up which allows him to slide into opponents as well as retreat into his shell for protection.
Nintendo has implemented the old elements of gameplay and the new elements with great precision and any veteran of the series will note a feeling of nostalgia while playing Super Mario Brothers and still get excited about the new elements that Nintendo has brought to the table. The Sound has recieved a complete overhaul and works quite well within the environment of New Super Mario with several references to older games in the series. On the Graphics side of things, the side scrolling Mario has become polygonal. The graphics in the game are more than sufficient for the type of game that New SMB is and are a well done upgrade of the graphics from the earliest Super Mario Brothers games.
New Super Mario Brothers has only one downfall and that is that some of the levels feel a little short. The game can easily be beaten within 4 or 5 hours of gameplay with a few hours of gameplay that can be added through the various secrets that Nintendo has implemented into the game. I believe that this is minor and Nintendo has certainly created a quality game with quite a bit of game for the money however, as with all good things, we just want more. I think Nintendo can bring the New Super Mario Brothers franchise to a powerhouse level in the gaming industry by simply making the levels and game longer.
In Conclusion, if you have a Nintendo DS, this is easily the best game for the for the Nintendo DS and arguably one of the best games to come out in years. If you do not have a Nintendo DS now is a good time to think about getting one. New Super Mario Brothers is quite possibly the perfect example of what "portable gaming" should be.