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Harks back to the golden age of gaming

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Being a remake of perhaps the most famous game ever, you might expect that it can't live up to it's ancestor. Or maybe you think the concept of the game is too old in this age of video gaming. Well, you'd be wrong. The new mario game is excellent. Still a helluva lot of fun to play, plus many more challenges than the original, improved play control, and brighter and better graphics without sacrificing the quality of the game. Plus, how can you not love a supersized Mario just smashing everything in sight? Awesome game.

Mario has not and will not be defeated

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: May 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This one is a worthy Nintendo title for the DS Library, I was getting kinda nervous with past availble titles however it nice to see the DS system getting some overdue attention with some decent titles like Metriode prime Hunters, Super Mario Kart.

I won't go into great detail since some of the other reviews cover that ground pretty well, I however as a Mario fan endorse this product

The graphics mainly borrow from Super Mario 3, but I do see some elements from other titles such as Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars Version of Super Mario Bros. as well as some new features and characters, if your a fan of the orginal Super Mario and Super Mario 3 you'll love this one.

An All Around GREAT Game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: December 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This verison of Super Mario Bros. is the best.
There are 3 different games you can play in this game.

Game 1- Mario Game
This is the normal Adventure mode. You can save up to 3 games on one game card. You have to beat 8 different worlds to win the game. Each world has about 2 castles or sometimes more. In each level you can run through the level and beat it in a short amount of time and still beat the game, or you can collect 3 star coins which are hidden in each level.

Game 2- Mario vs. Luigi
You can play a two player verison against some one else with a nintendo. This game is a lot of fun for everyone. You have to be the first person to get a certain amount of stars. This means you can try to steal your opponent's stars anyway you want.

The only down side of Mario vs. Luigi is that there are only 4 different levels you can play.

Game 3- Minigames
In minigames you can play up to 4 people or play alone. The games include: Action games like Whack-a-mole; Puzzle Games like picking a certain person in a crowd; Table games which are card games like Poker; and a variety of more games like othello.

Over all this is a great game you need to add to you collection.

Also, for the Mario Game, if you want to be Luigi, you go to Select File and hold down L & R and press A.

New isn't always a good thing.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 24 / 51
Date: November 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Nintendo fanboys are the worst kind out there. How so? Well, I'll bet you anything they vote 'no' on this review immediately just because I said that, and the score I gave this game. The problem with them is that they think anything Mario, Zelda or Metroid-related is good just because they have fond memories with the classic installments of each respective franchise. Some are also stupid enough to like something like Super Mario Bros. 2 because it was their first Mario game, as if something being first warrants such praise. When the DS came out, they all went along with it being "innovative" because of the touch screen. Nevermind that the forgotten Game Com handheld had the same feature a good 7 or so years earlier, because the DS is by Nintendo, and that automatically makes it better. I'm getting this out of the way to show you that when I play a game, I don't care who it's by. Just because Nintendo makes another Mario game doesn't mean I'll like it for that reason. And that's something that I'm convinced most people don't understand, as New Super Mario Bros. is being praised by countless sites and gamers alike, too afraid to say what they're actually thinking. The fact is, New Super Mario Bros. doesn't offer much new, and what it does offer new...has been done before, and done better.

The story is like any other Mario game's- Princess Toadstool/Peach has been kidnapped yet again. This time, it took place right under Mario's nose as he was walking with her, only to see the Mushroom Kingdom get attacked by a cloud that shot lightning. When he runs off to investigate, Baby Bowser runs off with her and Mario goes after 'em. Anyone who's played an action game with Mario sure won't be playing it for the plot, so it's not like the story here really matters. Once this opening cut scene takes place, that's all there is regarding the plot, and nothing else ever surfaces. As Mario, you'll jump, swim, run, shoot fire and stomp your way through each world until you get the Princess back. If you haven't played a Mario game before, shame on you, but it plays very easily. You run right toward the end of the level, jumping on enemies or throwing turtle shells or fireballs at them if they stand in your way. Collect coins for extra lives, and gain power ups from blocks scattered through the level. At the end of each world, you'll face a boss, each one just as easy as the last in this game. New to this game are a few moves found in more recent Mario games, though not as useful as they once were. First up is the triple jump. In Mario 64, if you jumped three times while running, you'd hit a very high jump on the third one. It was very useful for reaching high places in open areas. Here? There's little to no use for it given that blocks are above you every couple of feet. Really now, try and argue with me that the triple jump is useful. I dare you. Mario's infamous ground stomp is here as well, and can be useful at times. If there's a question block on the ground that you can't get with a turtle/Koopa shell right then, just stomp it while still holding down, and you'll be raking in coins like it's going out of style. Last is the one skill you'll use the most- the wall slide/jump. By jumping toward a wall and holding that direction, Mario will slowly slide down the wall. You can jump from here and repeat the process, saving yourself from bottomless pits more often than not.

While levels do play out like the traditional Mario games, that's where the classic feel ends and the new, rushed things kick in. Instead of retaining some of the suits from Mario 3, you get all of 2 new power-ups in addition to the super mushroom and fire flower (and every once in a great while, the invincible star). These are the huge mushroom and mini mushroom. The huge one does what its name implies- makes you huge, about 10 times the size you usually are. Mario can now easily stomp through levels without taking any damage unless he somehow falls into a huge pit. He can walk through blocks and bricks with ease, and even earns extra lives if enough things are gained during this transformation. The sick thing is, you can actually get these mushrooms from "secret" houses on the map, and save them for later use- even boss fights. This enhancement makes levels much less fun after the novelty wears off (usually the second time you use it), and gets old pretty quickly. The mini mushroom turns Mario into about 1/3 the size of a Goomba. He can jump high, float, and even run on water during this phase. It's a great ability to get, but you only get to use it a few times- usually in levels that are obvious and have tiny pipes scattered about. There's also one new sort of power up, but I rarely used it- the purple Koopa shell. If you throw this on, you can bump into enemies like a Koopa shell does when kicked. This power is only activated when you duck while running, and you can't jump, or control it easily. You're better off never using this power aside from the first time to see how it fares.

Ok, so there were a few minor changes that weren't needed. No big deal, right? Nope- there's more. The over world map follows the design of Super Mario World and Mario Bros. 3, only dumbed down. It's obvious where "hidden paths" are, and power up/extra live mushroom houses are EVERYWHERE. You can access these areas by finding Star Coins scattered in each level. There are 3 to collect, and when all three are gathered, you gain an extra life, and the coins are added to your inventory. If you have 5 coins, you can unlock one special path. The Star Coins aren't anything special though, as they don't require much skill to get most of the time. They're usually high above you, yet easily reachable with a simple wall jump. How hard would it have been to hide them in the way the DK Coins were hidden in Donkey Kong Country 2? The fact that they give you an extra life when all 3 are gathered is inexcusable too- lives are pretty much used as currency in this game. It's hard NOT to run into an extra life or two...or five in every level. By the time I finished the first world, I had a good 25 lives- none that I really tried to get. You still get an extra life for collecting 100 coins, the 3 Star Coins, taking out a certain number of enemies in a row without stopping, and now by collecting 8 red coins. By jumping on a switch in any given level, 8 red coins will appear, usually right next to you. Snag 'em all and get another life. Really now, what's the point? If you ever see the Game Over sign in this, then you are either horrible at games, or blind...which wouldn't make a lot of sense. Even worse is that power ups such as mushrooms and fire flowers are plentiful in each level as well. If you ever get hit by an enemy and turn into regular-sized Mario, don't worry, as you'll find a power up within 10 seconds. Halfway points in almost every level takes away even more challenge, as do the pathetic boss fights where they have one pattern they constantly follow. And Baby Bowser? You can take him out in one hit if you've taken a mushroom and do a ground stomp on him- it's that stupidly easy. Really, there's almost no challenge in this game, and it was made more as a fan service to the self-proclaimed old school Nintendo/Mario fanboys so they had something similar to the older games. This one could've used much more time in development, or been skipped altogether.

Visually, the game looks pretty good. Characters are done in 3-D, but it's set in traditional 2-D side scrolling fashion. Unfortunately, the advancement in graphics seemed to have made Nintendo think they can give every possible move more animations than they should. Mario is sliding all over the place, especially when walking. Even after you stop moving the d-pad, he'll walk a few steps. It took me a few minutes to get a hold of controlling him after he lands from a jump too. It reminds me of the NES MegaMan games and how he'd do the same thing. Some of the effects are cool though, like how water looks when lowering, and the cement monsters from Mario 64 that try to fall on you. There's not a whole lot that shows that the game couldn't have been done on the GBA though- especially since the second screen is barely used aside from a map (a staple in DS games that have no real use for the second screen, usually RPGs), and you can tap a reserved power up when you want to use it. On the world map, you can access previous worlds by tapping them on the bottom screen, but honestly, how often are you going to be doing that unless you want 100%? The music isn't very memorable- the same track is used for a good 85% of levels. I know most old Mario games had the same thing, but when you're turning the volume off, that's not a good sign. And finally, there's not much vocal work, thank god. Mario was a lot cooler before he could talk, like when he'd make a sound whenever he'd jump in Mario 64 and the GBA ports. He doesn't have much to say here aside from clearing a stage. Thanks for giving me something to be happy about here, Nintendo.

If it sounds like I absolutely hated this game, that's not true. I just didn't like it much. Seeing almost perfect reviews for it gave me high hopes, but I'm convinced these people were all paid to do so. If this is any sign of where the more traditional Mario franchise is going, I'll keep away from it, thank you very much. If anything, I suggest you borrow or rent it if you can before buying. It only took me barely 3 hours to beat the first time, and maybe 5-6 to get 100%. What happened to spending almost entire days just to clear the last two worlds of Mario Bros. 3 and finding the REAL secret levels in Super Mario World? At least this one had some tolerable mini-games and multi-player features. But even then, I'm glad I paid about half the regular price for it.

Definately new and improved

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: June 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I mainly bought this game because of the mini games. I had so much fun with them on the Super Mario version. I was dissapointed to see they were repeats, but they are still fun, of course. Anyway, I started to play the actual game and i was just blown away. I read the other reviews and I was expecting some real downers like the game being too short and other problems, but I have to dissagree. Even though the game reminds me mostly of Super Mario 3 of the original Nintendo, it has a lot of elements with the very first Super mario game. For instance, it has 8 worlds, a castle of course being at the end of each world, and a flag you jump to at the end of each level. Like the future Mario games, there are more than four levels in each world. What's cool is, you can go back to these levels and explore things you missed the first time. I like that there is a mushroom that makes you a giant and a mushroom that makes you a tiny mario. I thought it was cool when I saw the teeny tiny pipe only little mario can squeeze into. Anyway, like the original mario game, the first level in the world is rather easy, but gets harder with each level until you get to the castle. I'm still on World two, because I'm not getting the three special coins in all the levels and I'd like to unlock some bonuses with them. My favorite part of the game is the fact that you can save a flower power, big mushroom, mushroom etc on the lower screen (only one at a time though) and when your guy is in trouble, touch it and down if falls on mario. Also, every time you go into a pipe, unless it shoots you into the sky, mario goes down and the game appears on the lower screen. I think that was a very cool idea. It's just a really fun game. It's worth every penny. I can overlook that he cant fly, because he couldn't in the original mario game, but he becomes a giant, so who cares. Everything you have to do is where you can reach it most of the time. So in conclusion, I only gave four stars overall because, the mini games are repeats and I agree with other critics that it's annoying when you can't save from anywhere. That's why I try to get all the special coins. When you have five coins, you can unlock a bonus spot in the game, and before you get your bonus, they ask you if you want to save. You also can save when you defeat a castle or the smaller castle in the middle of the worlds. But still, that's not convenient at all. It's still worth the money and I can live with those two exceptions. Thanks for reading.

Battle With Kids To Play

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The best battle going is the one between the kids and myself. This game is excellent. It is as fun to play as the original T.V. Nintendo 64 version. There have been a few reviews about the game being pretty easy. I would agree for the most part; however, there are some levels that are pretty tough. This game is great fun and I highly recommend it. 5 stars. Or 5 mushrooms!

Mario: New and still Super

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: June 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Changing the forumla for a Super Mario game is like making building supports out of toothpicks. It's risky, it just might work, but chances are that sticking with what you know works is a better idea for everyone. New Super Mario Bros. is just that--a new Super Mario game with a few frills and all the Mario thrills you could possibly want.
New Super Mario Bros. gives you as much of a story as all of its predecessors: Mario is out to save Princess Peach, who has once again been abducted by Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr. Why a mangy pack of reptilian predators would want to kidnap a human princess has always escaped me, but for 25 years it's worked and I'm not the type to start worrying about it now.
Besides, have you ever played a Mario game for its story? Even the Super Nintendo classic Super Mario RPG didn't intrigue me in terms of story as much as it did the Mario-themed gameplay and Mario style. New Super Mario Bros. has that style with the perfect recreation of the 8-Bit gameplay that spurred a platforming revolution. That platforming style has yet to be matched by anything other than...well, other Mario games.
What makes New Super Mario Bros. so great is that it's as easy to play as the NES phenominon and it's got some new stuff for old-school fans and fanatics alike. While it contains the flat feeling of Super Mario Bros., it's got the bounciness of Super Mario 64 and the seemingly endless amount of secrets of Super Mario Bros. 3. The world maps of the single-player mode mimic Super Mario Bros. 3, complete with travelling Hammer Bros. and Mushroom Houses to visit. Each level found in this huge world is chock-full of jumping puzzles, enemy patrols, hidden pipes, and everything that casual and hardcore Mario fans could ask for.
Mario's new platforming moves include a wall jump and a ground pound. The wall jump was made popular in Super Mario 64 and is probably the most useful manuver in this title. Not only does it allow you to reach otherwise inaccessible areas and collectible Star Coins; sometimes it really saves your [...] from plummeting through many of those annoying pits that scatter the Super Mario landscape. The ground pound (also known as the butt-stomp, butt-pound, whatever perverted name you want to use) makes a return and serves its purpose very well against Bowser Jr. and other powerful enemies that would normally take a few stomps to defeat.
There are also three new power-ups to the initial line-up of Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, and Starmen. Mario can now collect Blue Shells that make him curl up into a deadly shell while dashing. He can munch on Mega Mushrooms that make him grow to the size of a tower. He can also eat Mini Mushrooms that...well, I'm sure you can guess what they do. Special mini abilities like running on water (Jesus is jealous) and floaty jumping make the Mini Mushroom a valuable commodity. Using all three of these new power-ups will allow you to find hidden paths, Star Coins, and other secrets.
The graphics mimic recent Nintendo platformers like Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Princess Peach. Mario, Peach, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and all of the enemies are rendered in 3D polygons. The worlds that you'll jump through are mostly 2D, but of course, they're colorful and have a common theme. World 1 has a grassy plain look, while World 3 takes you to the tropics and World 6 sends you high into the mountains. Though there aren't any revolutionary movements in handheld visuals to speak of, New Super Mario Bros. looks great for what it is and is impressive for a 2D platformer anyway.
The music isn't as addictive or memorable as the original title, but 18 years of the Super Mario Bros. theme being hummed and heard through cell phone ring tones is a lot to compete against. New Super Mario Bros. has a soundtrack that is very similar to Super Mario Bros. and the same sound effects you've heard since 1987. The only real differences accompany some of the newer moves, like the wall jump and the ground pound, but that's the most change you'll notice from the sound effects.
Theoretically, there isn't anything wrong with New Super Mario Bros. When one grows tired of playing through the relatively short single-player game (I clocked in about five hours and completed more than 75% of the game my first time through), there is an interesting multiplayer option where Mario and Luigi run through looping stages to collect stars and defeat each other. This reminds me of the Genesis classic, Sonic & Knuckles. Also, Super Mario 64 DS's minigames make a return with a few new distractions.
Though it's not perfect, New Super Mario Bros. feels like what it should. It's a perfect platformer, a great DS game, and a good Mario game. That's a descending order, and it's fitting: New Super Mario Bros. won't make you realize all over again that Mario is gaming's greatest personality (though he is), but it'll make you appreciate the steps forward in platforming and gaming as a whole. It's a fantastic game that deserves more than anything to sit in your DS library.

A Job Well Done

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: July 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I felt that "New Super Mario Bros" is one of the better games for the Nintendo DS. It reintroduces the side-scroll view that we've always associated with Mario, while adding the three-dimentional effects that we've grown accustomed to by playing the more modern games. The current animation far surpasses that of Super Princess Peach, which was an OK game. This game, however, is more than OK. It brings back the feel of the Mario that we all new, making it great for children as well as any adult wanting to relive their childhood. Be careful, though. Some stages are pretty tough...for all ages.

Disappointing, too easy.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: October 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was excited about the New Super Mario Bros., having played the Mario series since the early days of Nintendo. The graphics on this latest game are great, gameplay is fun, but the levels are far too easy. It almost seems dumbed down. It's been a long time since I've played Mario and I'm not a particularly great player, but I was through with this game in only a few hours.

Fun, but lacking

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: May 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This past week I have been playing the New Super Mario Bros. I must say it is rather superbly crafted, but it seems a bit short overall. SOme of the stages seem too short, but there are plenty of stages. An interesting game that is an excellent homage to most of the Marios in the series; not just a rehash of been-there done-that gameplay, though. There were also some elements of exploration.

The game is beautiful overall, and not just from a graphical standpoint. The game uses 3D modeled sprites in a 2D setting (So Mario and other characters are made of polygons, while the background are standard, 2D backgrounds). This makes for some very interesting effects, and I like how the programmers actually incorporated the flexibility of the sprites when making gameplay (e.g. gigantic mario, giant versions of some enemies, more flexibility in the way characters are modeled, making logs roll, &c.) It's a rather interesting design, and it's not so much a gimmick as it is essential to some of the gameplay. ALso included were some nods to the lighthearted nature of the Mario series: enemies move in tune with the music that's playing, for example.

The gameplay, again, is very much a Mario game, and the difficulty is definitely there, especially in the latter areas of the game. Finding all the coins in every level, as well as all the alternate routes, is really what makes this game fun. Albeit, I found this not as fun at times because of the way one could save at almost any point. While Mario has no abilities to fly (except grabbing a Lakitu cloud), the new powerups make for interesting effects. Shell Mario seems primarily a defensive power-up, as he is impervious while crouched (in his shell). Likewise, he can spin like a koopa shell on the ground, but controlling him is difficult. Gigantic Mario is an interesting power-up that's fun to play with in more closed areas: Mario plows through his surroundings without hindrance, but the effect lasts temporarily; afterwards, Mario is awarded so many 1-Ups based on how much he destroyed. Finally, Mini-Mario is an interesting form. I've found navigating stages much more fun using Mini Mario, but he's super-vulnerable in this form, and attacking enemies requires a correctly timed ground-pound. The fact that using mini mario for a few areas in the game is necessary made the experience more interesting.

The biggest complaint I have with this game is length. It's way too short. Some levels are definitely too short, and sometimes seem uninspired because of this. Though there are 80 stages, sometimes it feels like you're only playing them JUST to play them. The existence of alternate routes made getting to and beating the final boss a really easy feat (I did it in the first night of playing). After that, it was just beating levels. The fact that two of the Worlds in the game are optional (found only by a certain trick) also makes playing through the levels seem a bit forced. Indeed, the alternate routes seemed a bit linear to find, and really had too much of an exploration type element to them. In Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, I recall actually having to go out of the way I was going to the exit to find an alternate route, and often this new route was more difficult than the regular one. The lack of subtlety in finding most of the alternate routes (which, too often, led only to Mushroom Houses) made me dislike the way they set this up. If they could have made the game longer, with a greater level of difficulty, I would have enjoyed it more. There was a decent amount of "themed" levels, but I think there could have been more of them, which would help to distinguish levels from each other. Finally, it would be cooler if the player were rewarded for completing the game enitrely, and indeed, I would have liked to see some challenging levels, to the effect of SMW's Special World.

Overall, this game is fun, but really lacks some depth and breadth that I would have liked to see in it. I give the game a 7.5/10 (with 5/10 being an "average" game).

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