New Super Mario Bros. (DS) Review [2]
Posted by Steve McHugh on 07.16.2006
It's a 2D Mario Platformer and it's good. What a shock!
You know I think its all just one big conspiracy. No one can seriously get kidnapped as much as Princess Peach without someone thinking. ‘Hey maybe we should get some added security or something.’ You’d have thought that by now Princess Peach would be immune from kidnap as well as being unable to move for the number of secret service people walking around her. So surely this is all one giant conspiracy, every now and again Bowser kidnaps her to look like a formidable bad guy and Mario rescues her, just like they planned. That’s right Bowser and Mario and in it together. Either that or Mario is in fact the single worst hero ever.
Which bizarre ramblings leads me nicely into talking about the new Mario game for the DS. The story, if you hadn’t guessed is the same one Nintendo have been using for ages, Princess Peach is kidnapped and you have to rescue her by going through various worlds and collecting power ups to defeat your enemies. At the end of each level there is a boss which, once beaten means a step closer to getting back the irritating Princess. Personally I’d like to see a Mario game where once she’s kidnapped everyone just shrugs and goes for a beer but that probably wouldn’t see as many copies sold to Nintendo’s target audience.
Graphics
Graphically this game is stunning. It’s mostly shot in 2D with some aspects being 3D; Mario for example is a 3D model as are various effects like sand tornados and it makes everything look very dynamic and colorful. This is most evident when Mario turns into to Giant Mario, which is a new addition to the game world. Whilst in ‘large’ mode you can basically smash everything in your way and it’s probably one of the most graphically impressive parts of the game. That’s not to say that 3D is overly evident throughout the game, this is most definitely a 2D platformer and even with additions from 3D games such as wall jumping, it still plays like a 2d platformer. In fact it’s easily the best looking 2D platformer for the handheld and one of the best looking ever. It really does show that 2D gaming is not quite as buried as some people will have you believe.
3D in action.
Gameplay
Ah Gameplay…the staple of all Mario games. It’s the same tried and tested formula you run from left to right and hit the flag pole to finish. In between you have to go up against various enemies and figure out the best way of getting to the end without losing whatever power up you’ve picked up.
Playing the game is very simple. A or B jump and X or Y dash. That’s it. X and Y also fire fireballs but that’s the controls. Also all of the action is contained in the top screen with the touch screen only functioning as showing how far through a level you are, how many golden coins you have and also it allows you to drop a second power up if you have it. And it all works fantastically. Developers take note just because there is a touch screen that doesn’t mean you have to use it when the gameplay is so simple and easy without it.
The one thing you can say about this game that isn’t true of say Sonic is that if you die it’s your fault. There are no hidden spikes that spring up when you run over them or bizarre jumps that rely just as much on luck as skill. Mario is about precision. The jumping feels spot on no matter if your normal Mario or tiny Mario (another new addition to the power ups) and very few platformers manage that so consistently. The best thing you can say about all 2D Mario games is that if you die it’s your fault. It’s because you weren’t good enough and either didn’t make the jump or got caught out by an enemy.
This Mario game also incorporates new features, as I’ve already mentioned there is a mini Mario and a big Mario that you can become. These either let you access new areas or allow to you run through the level destroying everything in your path in the search for 1-ups (the more you destroy the more you get).
The game itself is about as hard as any Mario games are. The harder you make it the harder it’ll be. By that I mean if you want to collect all the golden coins (and you do) and if you want to find the hidden levels and exits (and you do) then the game is going to be harder because the challenge is in trying to find these things and the sometimes perilous places they lead to.
Its simple additions like this that make this game so much fun to play, yes its occasionally frustrating when you die on the same level again and again because you couldn’t quite get that last golden coin but you never blame the game. You may switch the game off and vent for a few minutes but you’ll always come back. Easily the sign of great gameplay and it’s easy to see that a lot of care was put into this game.
Giant Mario kicking ass!
Sound
Musically this game is the same as pretty much all Mario games but it sounds great coming out of the DS Lite’s speakers.
There’s not much else to say about Mario music, it helps the atmosphere greatly but you’ll have no problems switching it off, in fact most of the time you’ll be so engrossed that you probably won’t even realize that music is there. The Mario voices also sound very good and the noises that he makes are thankfully short so as not to become too repetitive and annoying.
Lasting Appeal
Well here’s the odd one. If you go straight through the game you’ll finish it in a few hours. But if you do that then please slap yourself as you’ve kind of missed the point. Okay it’s not the massive 96 worlds of the SNES classic but there are unlockable worlds and plenty of secret routes and hidden levels all of which are going to take some time to find everything the game has.
Oh yes and then there are the Golden Coins. There are 3 coins every level and some are in very hard to reach areas that require a little thought so it’s almost impossible to get every coin the first time through every level. These coins are used to open up new areas so that you can get to toadstool huts for power ups or lives as well as open up whole new levels it costs 5 coins to open one of the paths to the houses and then it lets you save.
This extends the life of the game considerably and you’ll find yourself constantly re-trying levels to find all the coins.
On top of this all of the mini games from Mario 64 are present as well as a few new ones (including having to blow into the mic to get Yoshi to take off with balloons.) and these are all as fun as they were the first time. So those you hated you will probably still hate but you’ll find a few you’ll be addicted to *cough* bomb sliding *cough*
There is also a wireless one on one game with Mario Vs Luigi as well as having all of the mini games are playable through single cartridge multiplayer which is very cool indeed.
Fun Factor
It’s Mario. It’s a 2D platformer. This is the definition of gaming fun. You will smile when you see the fireworks are back at the end of the level or you find an illusive golden coin. You will enjoy yourself because it’s impossible not to.
The 411
This is a great game; it might not be as long as other platform games but what you get here is still a huge adventure and one that you’ll love to play through. It might not be quite as great as the magnificent Yoshi’s Island but very little is. So should you buy this? Yes immediately. This game was made with love and attention and deserves to be bought and played at length, just don’t go rushing through it. It’s the best platformer in years and easily one of the best games for the DS. Yoshi better watch out he may still have the best 2D platformer crown but Mario is hot on his heels.
Graphics
9.0
Superb, easily the best looking 2D platformer available.
Gameplay
10.0
This is pretty much as good as gameplay can get for this genre.
Sound
8.0
The voices can get a little annoying but the music is still a classic.
Lasting Appeal
8.0
If you shoot through it then 3 or 4 hours but take your time and this will last you a long time. Not including the mini-games.
Fun Factor
10.0
A fun game to play and something you'll find hard to put down for too long.
