New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS: Review

Some purists will argue that there really hasn't been a good Mario game made since Super Mario 64, or even Super Mario World for the SNES. That might be a bit extreme, but the general consensus seems to be that attempts to take the series in new directions fell somewhat short, or simply didn't satisfy like the Mario games of old. New Super Mario Bros., for the Nintendo DS, aims to remedy this, by providing some nostalgic old-school Mario action with a few new twists. While not perfect, NSMB proves quite a fun and satisfying experience overall.

Anyone who has played a classic Mario game can pick up New Super Mario Bros. and feel right at home. Gameplay-wise, it feels like a mix of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, with little touches from the original Super Mario Bros. tossed in, such as jumping on the flag at the end of each level. The story is minimalist, but not really important anyway; it seems that Bowser's son has kidnapped the Princess, and it's up to Mario to save her. Again. There are eight worlds, with various themes, containing fortresses, ghost houses, and castles, in addition to the regular levels. Levels move from left to right, and are full of the usual assortment of enemies, pitfalls, moving platforms and timed jumps. Such familiar power-ups as mushrooms, invincibility stars, and fire flowers make an appearance, as well as a few new ones; there are now giant mushrooms, which make Mario grow huge, and thus able to smash through obstacles and enemies, tiny mushrooms, which make Mario small enough to fit in otherwise inaccessible areas, and the shell of one of those armored bowling ball-looking enemies, which allows Mario to roll up and avoid injury. Mario also has a few of his moves from Mario 64, like his wall-jump, and butt-stomp. While there's nothing terribly novel here, the game makes use of a time-tested formula that still works. And the level design is good enough to keep the game feeling fresh, rather than like a rehash of the old Mario games.

I had a problem with NSMB's save system. Once you've beaten the game, you can save any time you want. But on your first go-round, you can only save after fortresses and castles. So the save points are easily three or four levels apart. This may force you to play the game for longer stretches than you really want to, and detracts from the pick-up-and-go appeal of gaming on a portable system. Also, two of the eight worlds aren't necessary to beat the game - in fact, they're hidden. This was a bad move, as more levels add length and variety to an otherwise short game.

New Super Mario Bros. looks great. The characters are 3-D, against 2-D backgrounds. All of the characters and backgrounds are colorful and vibrant, with considerable attention to detail. That said, I did notice a bit of an issue with "ghosting," or motion blur, when the screen scrolls rapidly, or when characters move quickly. Also, the aforementioned level of character detail seems a bit wasted on characters that can appear kind of fuzzy and small. This is likely due to the limitations of the small screen on the DS. Happily, neither of these issues is very noticeable except to a nitpicker, and don't really detract from the gameplay.

The sound effects in this game are standard fare. A big kudos to the developers for including the "surround sound" option, in which the speakers on the DS will emphasize a noise on one speaker over the other, giving the player a directional cue and emulating real surround sound. The music works well enough. It's pleasant, and every once in a while a musical homage to a classic tune will turn up. But there's nothing on the soundtrack as memorable as the main theme from the original, which is, in many ways, the song that defined a generation. Seriously.

The two screens and touch sensitivity of the Nintendo DS allow for some interesting gaming possibilities. New Super Mario Bros.' use of the DS technology is a mixed bag. The main game almost exclusively uses the top screen for the action, while using the bottom screen simply to display stats like the number of lives, and showing progress through a level. The only use of the touch pad is a button allowing the player to activate a reserve power-up item by pressing the screen. There are a few cases where going down a pipe will shift the action to the bottom screen, which is a pretty cool effect. There are a slew of mini-games, however, that make excellent use of the DS's capabilities. There is an assortment of games played exclusively with the stylus, including a whack-a-mole game, and one that plays something like missile-command. These are a nice bonus. All in all, New Super Mario Bros. is a lot of fun to play. It takes the player back to a simpler era of gaming, but without the hackneyed, been-there-done-that feel. And despite its simplicity, it feels polished. This is definitely a must-have title for DS owners.