Nintendo Okie

Howdy:

• Level design is brilliant.
• Multiplayer adds complete, but at times funny chaos.
• The Koopa Kids are back.
• Soundtrack is excellent.
• Super Guide is quite handy.

See Ya: 

• Would have preferred a different art style.
• Motion can sometime cause inadvertent death.
• Lack of online multiplayer.
• Super Guide embarrassed me. 

Mario entered the hearts of gamers everywhere way back in the mid 80’s.  He started on a 2D plane moving from left to right.  That’s all we knew and we liked it.  That continued until 1990 and the release of Super Mario World.  That was the last time that Mario would appear in a 2D game on a home console as he would soon transition into 3D.  It’s been nearly 20 years since we had the pleasure of playing a 2D Mario game in our living room, but man the wait was worth it.

Mario is back in 2D with New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  This game is the successor to New Super Mario Bros. DS and the spiritual successor to games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.  The game features an Overworld map where you can navigate playing through a number of levels and taking different paths to reach different areas.  Scattered throughout those maps are places that you can go to earn new power ups and extra lives to help make the trip through the Mushroom Kingdom a little easier. 

Bowser Jr, along with the returning Koopalings have kidnapped Princess Peach and it’s up to Mario, Luigi and two toads to rescue her.  Mario can do this alone, like he’s done so many times, or the other three can join in on the action for four player fun.  You’ll traverse the levels from left to right stomping on Goombas and Koopa Troopas while avoiding bottomless pits, spiky urchins, fire and more.  The game immediately brings back a sense of nostalgia in old folks like me and introduces younger gamers to a world that they may not have explored before.  The game play is very reminiscent of Super Mario World and will feel very familiar to anyone that has played Mario’s classic adventures. 

To help Mario and the crew out there are some new power ups introduced all of which, with the exception of one, add a huge amount of depth to the game play.  The first we’ll talk about is the propeller suit.  This allows Mario, with a quick flick of the Wii Remote to launch himself high in the air reaching previous inaccessible areas.  You can then float safely back to the ground or you can drill your way back down taking out enemies or blocks that are unlucky enough to be in your way.  The second is the Ice Flower and the one power up that feels a bit unnecessary.  This is the analog to the Fire Flower and allows you to shoot ice balls out that will freeze enemies in their tracks.  These can these be used as platforms to reach higher areas or as projectile weapons that take out anything in their path.  It feels a bit unnecessary only because of the inclusion of the next power up, the Penguin Suit.  The penguin suit has the same ice ball ability, but also allows you to walk on slippery surfaces, belly slide through enemies and low hanging blocks as well as the ability to swim very accurately and quickly through water.  After you’ve used the penguin suit the ice flower feels a bit redundant and boring.  The old favorites are back like the Fire Flower and the return of the Starman and you have the new mini mushroom that was introduced in New Super Mario Bros. DS. 

Traversing the levels themselves is quite a lot of fun and there are some amazingly innovative levels designs present in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. From the very beginning you see things are going to be a lot different than you’ve ever seen before.  The very first world has spinning areas that have hidden pipes and secret places that you don’t know exist until you happen to stumble upon them.  Old favorites like the Boo House make huge returns and are tougher than ever with boos surrounding you on all sides making some of the levels very tricky to navigate.  World 7 probably has some of my favorite levels and will be on my list of favorite experiences for a while to come.  The level design with the moving platforms combined with foggy areas and tricky jumps make for some very challenging, but rewarding platforming and you won’t soon forget them.  Yoshi is back as well, but only in a small capacity.  He’s in a small handful of levels and will be available to you only for the duration of that level, bidding you adieu when you reach the flag.  Those levels with him in them though are throwbacks to some of the better areas of Super Mario World, complete with the apples on bushes that will earn you additional 1-ups.  There are areas of one castle toward the end that ended up being the part I liked the most.  There are platforms that one player can control and you have to move from side to side to avoid ledges and at the same time control Mario to keep him from being blown up by bob-ombs.  It was frustrating at first, but once I got down the movement it ended up being a great twist to what could have been a rather boring part of the game.  Having to control two different objects on the screen is not something we’ve seen in a Mario game before and it added another layer of depth to the gameplay.

Did you miss the Koopa Kids after Super Mario World and want to see them come back?  Well you get your wish here and these are some amazingly well crafted boss fights.  You’ll fight each Koopa Kid twice in the world that they inhabit.  The first time, in the mid level castle, is a traditional boss fight on a platform.  The second time, though, at the end of the level Kamek shows up, sprinkles some magic Koopa dust on them and changes the rules of the game.  These fights ramp up the difficulty a bit and add some interesting twists to the encounter.  Wendy O, for example has water added to the level and you can’t stomp on her until the water drains, but you still have to avoid her and her deadly rings of doom.  Roy hides in pipes and fall on you when you least expect it.  There are others and I’ll just say that the second fight with Bowser Jr on his airship was my favorite boss encounter of the game.  It involves electricity and the clown car from the Bowser fight at the end of Super Mario World.

If you have a soft spot in your heart for Mario music, be prepared to hope this soundtrack becomes available.  The music takes some of the best elements of every Mario platformer, mixes it up and bit and spits it back out.  All the classics are here along with some very memorable new tunes.  My favorite track of all is the airship music from Super Mario 3, and the airship levels of this game have a remix of that track that adds a bit of rock to it and makes an already good track even better. 

Despite all the gushing I’ve done about this game so far, there are a few spots that I think could have used some work.  I loved the art style of the Mario 1-1 and Mario 1-2 levels from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and thought that would be the perfect art style for a Mario platformer.  Instead, Nintendo went with an upgraded look to the New Super Mario Bros for DS.  Everything is quite brilliant, colorful and full of detail.  In this game it’s not so much the big things that you’ll notice, but the little things.  Every character on the screen is in sync and dances along with the music.  Goombas jump during hard beats in the tunes, while Koopa Troopas turn to face you and thrown their arms from side to side.  Yoshi will dance in place if he’s not being ridden and will turn his head at those points and the little flowers on the ground pulse and grow in time to the music.  While it’s good I think it could have been even better with that Brawl style. 

The motion controls enhance the play just enough to be really good, but can also get in the way some times.  I’m a rather heavy button pusher at points and these hard button pushes would sometimes register as a shake and would cause Mario to do his spin jump, which would send me off a ledge and to my death.  It didn’t happen often, but it was enough to be noticed and be a point of frustration. 

I would have also liked to have seen more power ups.  There are plenty of classics that have yet to make another appearance, like the raccoon leaf, Kuribu’s shoe are just a couple that I would like to see make a return.  The power ups that were included were great new additions to the series, but some of the classics feel a bit neglected.  None of these gripes that I have detract from the game in any way. They’re small gripes to what is essentially the best Mario game, aside from Super Mario Galaxy, in a long time. 

There are two other new features that can’t be missed.  The first is the addition of four player co-operative play.  For the first time ever you can have four people on screen at once and it makes for a very interesting experience.  The game seems to be designed for the single player experience, but having four people playing together doesn’t make it any more or less challenging.  It really makes it fun.  Whether you are four inexperienced gamers or four Mario veterans the experience is going to be memorable.  Veterans can help younger players along through the harder portions of the game.  You can backstab your friends by picking them up and throwing them in a pit or you can work together to bounce up to higher areas by leapfrogging off your friends head.  There are any number of strategies that are possible.  While it can be frustrating at times to be accidentally bounced into a Bullet Bill or into a pit, as long as one player remains alive the level will continue.  If you die you lose a life, but you enter a bubble and by shaking the Wii Remote you can head towards friends who can bust you out and you’re back in the game.  You can also voluntarily go back into the bubble, which saved many lives during my run through the game with an opportune press right as I was about to head into a pit.  If you have friends around you have to experience this as it really is a completely different game than when you’re playing by yourself. 

The last inclusion is the new Super Guide feature which generated a lot of conversation on the internet before the game’s release.  This feature allows anyone that’s having difficulty with an area to have a computer controlled Luigi play through the level for you and get past the difficult spots.  You can take over control at any time and finish the level yourself if you choose.  This feature will be quite handy for a lot of players, but chances are if you’re experienced in the ways of Mario you’ll never see the feature.  I can assure it it’s quite embarrassing for someone who really enjoys these games to get the Super Guide.  It happened once during my play through and I was furious at myself when it showed up because it was a part that I shouldn’t have had any trouble with.  While it was a controversial feature it’s definitely a feature that I welcome with open arms because more people will be able to get through a Mario game.  It will not show you any of the secrets of a level, you’ll have to find those on your own, and there are a ton of secrets to be found in the game.  If you are having trouble finding some of them you can unlock hint movies at Peach’s castle that will show you where some of the more tricky ones to find are.

Mario is an experience that everyone should have at one time or another.  Old vets will be filled with nostalgia at all the little touches that have been added to New Super Mario Bros. Wii and new gamers will be able to experience a new classic. 

Final Score: 5/5 Excellent

Review Copy of the game purchased at Gamestop.