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Extremely fun and addictive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: July 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm not that much in portable gaming, but I wanted something to spend time on while traveling since I travel so much, I had to choose between DS and PSP, but I already tried my friend's PSP and I wasn't that impressed... Anyway I bought the DS because of good reviews.. and to tell the truth, it totally deserves it... its different than anything I ever tried..
New Super Mario Bros. is an amazing game.. graphics are cool, gameplay is addictive, and it combines all the cool elements of all Mario games released. I really recommend this game and ofcourse the DS.

A Lukewarm Mario Fan Review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 15
Date: May 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I picked this game up last night thinking it would be a blast. Turns out this game isn't very challenging. I'm halfway through the second level and I'm getting bored. I'm hoping the game gets harder, or it gets more complex, or challenging, but I'm starting to doubt it. I also own Super Mario DS and this really does not compare on almost all levels.

The polish on this game doesn't feel like what you'd expect from Nintendo today. It feels very rushed and lacks sharp graphic details. The visual elements, and graphics just aren't clean as I'd expect. Secondly, there's little to no wow factor -- aside from the (mini mushroom, and giant mushroom), but those get old quick. Additionally, the mini games are borrowed from Super Mario DS. The only addition I see to the mini-games is the ability to now play with a group of people. This shows a real lack of ingenuity on Nintendo's part. Also, the fonts aren't as fun and as developed as what you've seen in Super Mario DS.

You can only save your progress at certain points in the game, once you beat a boss, or purchase extra paths on the map (giant couns). This feels quirky when you are trying to save your progress or power off. I find myself opening random paths just to get a save.

Anyhow, I think that this will open up Mario to a younger fanbase. However, lacking polish, and wow factor I doubt it will catch on like other DS titles.

Overall, I was expecting a lot out of Nintendo here. I paid 34$ retail ,but I don't feel like it was worth the price.

Pros: Mario brand, Nintendo DS, New
Cons: Weak graphics, lackluster gameplay, low challenge

lots of fuuun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 15
Date: November 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

this game is definately a classic!
i love playing this game on my nintendo ds, though i havnt played in a while because my brother snapped my old nintendo ds in half. typical autisim ;-).
anyway, once i get my new ds for christmas, which is a ds lite and coral pink (i peeked, dont tell please :D ) i will definately start playing again. i am on the last world. yay! my favorite part is playing picture poker and other card mini games. its very fun! only reason i gave this game an overall 4 stars is because the story line is a little old ( bowser stealing princess peach) and also it doesnt let you save unless you purchase a toad house (5 stars) or reach half point in the world or finish the world :(. but, despite that, this is a great game! buy it nooooow!

Excellent!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing only a few hours, and although for a moment I was thinking "oh no, I'm halfway through and I'll be done soon" I realised that I still would need to go back and get all of the coins, not to mention there are some rather engrossing mini-games.

All in all, a great game.

Nintendo has done it again.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Nintendo has done it again. I have been a Mario fan since the NES days. I never enjoyed any of the other ones more than Super Mario Bros. I was sure I would like this game, but not as much as the original. If I don't though, it is a very tight race. The graphics are wonderful (my previous handheld was a GBC - so you can only imagine.) The colors are vivid and the sound is good. And it is also easy to control. I now own 8 DS games and this one is my favorite. Also, you will never get bored with all the mini games included. I would highly recommend this game.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Overall a great Mario game with all of the old and alot of new. Also if you get tired and need to take a break from the game, there is a large selection of mini-games. whak-a-mole, some memory games, a few action games, and my fav. and extremely addicting is the bomb game.

This was the game that I purchased with my DS and I'm glad it was my first selection, although it may prove difficult for younger kids, and new gamers.

New Super Mario Bros. In-Depth Review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

New Super Mario Bros. has been one of the most anticipated games for the Nintendo DS. It has been 14 years since the last 2D "traditional" Mario game (Super Mario Land 2, not Super Mario World, as many think), although many spin-offs and two 3D games have appeared. New Super Mario Bros. tries to have classic 2D gameplay combined with 3D characters, but how well does it play?

Presentation 8.5/10
There are 80 levels, only 10 less from Super Mario Bros. 3. That sounds very promising, but we'll get to that later. There is a competitive multiplayer mode, in which your Mario brother has try to collect the most stars. I found this to be very addictive, but some may find it repetitive. There are also minigames from Super Mario 64 DS with a few new ones. They are fun, but there are only two new single-player minigames. Fortunately, there are much more new minigames for multiplayer, which can get very addictive, but can it also, once again, be very repetitive.

Graphics 9.0/10
The graphics are great. While Mario and the main villains are animated in 3D, many enemies and objects are pre-rendered sprites. The backgrounds are also in 2D, but there is parallax scrolling in the backgrounds giving you a feel of depth. The result of all these graphical features is what many call a "2.5D" effect (3D or 3D-like graphics, but 2D gameplay and part 2D graphics).

Gameplay 7.8/10
This is the heart of the every game, as graphics are not everything. However, New Super Mario Bros is rather disappointing in this category.

One reason is that the game is called NEW Super Mario Bros, so everything should have been NEW. While the level designs are NEW, there aren't many NEW elements.

The NEW power-ups include the Mega and Mini Mushrooms, and the Blue Shell. The Mega Mushroom makes you huge and is fun to use, but it is often useless because you will get stuck in places because you are so big. The Mini Mushroom makes you tiny to access secrets areas in the game, but you will die more easily. The Blue Shell essentially turns you into a Koopa, but it isn't very helpful except for getting into some secret areas. All these power-ups are very uncommon and once you have one, they are often useless. Even though there is a Lakitu Cloud you can fly, there should have been some real flying power-ups.

Another reason is that the game is simply too short. While defenders may argue that the developers were designing the game with non-gamers in mind, but many gamers are now very disappointed at the game's replay value. Even worse, Takashi Tezuka, one of the game's designers, said in a Nintendo Power interview that there would be lots of replay value, but he lied. Even with a clunky save system that only allows you to save after you clear a tower or a castle, you can zip though the game in just a few hours. While collecting and spending Star Coins does encourage replay value, you can save when you spend Star Coins, spoiling the difficulty of the game even more. And while there are 80 levels in total, many are just too short.

This game doesn't use the much of the Nintendo DS's special capabilites. They could have modified it a tiny bit and make the graphics 2D to design this game for the Game Boy Advance, The Mario series has often defined new standards in gaming, but what's the new standard in this Mario game? There simply isn't any new standard set by this game.

Additionally, if such video game review sites such as IGN or GameSpot existed at the time of the older Mario games, they would give most of the games a perfect 10/10. This game simply does not live up to its predecessors.

If this were the best Mario game, it would be DS Game Of The Year on IGN or Best DS Game of 2006 on GameSpot. But no, they gave the awards to Elite Beat Agents, showing that this is not the best game on the system.

Lasting Appeal 6.9/10
With the lack of replay value, and the developers lying about there being lots of replay value, this game is very disappointing for me. Non-gamers, however, will find that there is lots to explore.

Conclusion
With criticism aside, however, this game can still let you relive good memories of the 1980s and 1990s (If you were born at that time!), but shows you that too much nostalgia can be bad, although it isn't that bad in this case. It does capture the spirit of the original Super Mario Bros. and is quite addictive for some, but repetitive for others. However, non-gamers would be very pleased with this game. However, this is not the best Mario game ever, and in the next five years, many may think this is one of the worst Mario games ever due to its lack of defining a new standard in gaming.

Final Score: 8.9/10, recommended for non-gamers, but not the best Mario game.

New Super Mario Bros.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is classic mario style but with all of his cool new moves and some new power ups like the Giant mushroom. Game play is fun and easy for kids (platformer). Colors are vibrant and shading is flawless. Also features vs. mode and mini games that are especially fun to play with the stylus. My son and I really liked this one. To bad he lost it just one month later. Downside to such small cartridges.

Classic Mario Fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS is a must-have for any DS owner. With crisp graphics, excellent level design, simplistic pickup-and-play gameplay, classic Mario music, and tons of extra things to unlock this game might just be the best Mario has seen yet. It uses 3-D, cleaner, graphics, both the top and bottom screens, and although not using the touch screen in the single player it does have bunch of touch screen oriented minigames. Mario transfers seamlessly onto a new platform and retains all his old charm while adding new twists for the current game system.


Single Player:

Like the normal Mario games in the beginning of the game you see a short cutscene of Princess Peach being captured. The difference from the older games is that instead of Bowser kidnapping her, it's Baby Bowser who's committing the crime. The game is built similarly to other games with 6 worlds that you have to beat to get to the end and 2 worlds that are optional. Each world has either one or two castles. The towers have Baby Bowser at the end and you need to beat him to progress to the next level. The castles have a random boss at the end, the bosses vary from Bowser to Monty Mole in a tank to a giant Piranha Plant. Both the Baby Bowser you fight and the bosses progress in difficulty as you progress through the game. Each world has a bunch of levels in it. In the first world the levels are simple and easy, but as you progress through the game they get much more challenging. World 8's levels are very challenging and complex. They each take a long time and many tries to beat. At the end of the game you rescue Princess Peach and view the credits, but the replay value is another high point of this game.

Each level is built with 2-D mechanics and includes you walking, jumping, sliding, and enemy beating to victory. Simple Koopas and Goombas are joined by walking jack-o-lanterns, bats, and spiders in Mario's the new enemies are added and progress in difficulty throughout Mario's 8-world tromp. Most levels have classic pipes leading you down underground (and on the bottom screen) for another short trek before another pipe takes you back above ground. Secret pipes are hard to find and may lead to alternate exits and unlock secrets. All the levels are designed well and are incredible fun.

This game is filled to the brim with unlockable levels, worlds, and many secrets. If you want to have a 100% complete game it's going to take a very long time. This adds to the replay value making it tremendously fun to replay the game and as you unlock new levels finding even more secrets in those levels. If that isn't good enough to double the playing time of your original run-through of the game there are also three star coins in each level. Each of these has you performing some sort of hard-to-do thing, may it be doing a dangerous stunt, or using your wits to navigate a puzzle, these coins will add a whole new aspect of challenge to the game. The replay value in this game truly is absurdly gigantic.

On the topic of powerups there are mega mushrooms, tiny mushrooms, normal mushrooms, fire flowers, shells, and-of course-invulnerability. One is the mega mushroom and one is the tiny mushroom. The mega mushroom makes you gigantic and you can just walk through blocks and enemies on your rampage through the level. This is extremely fun and also gives you a few one-ups at the end depending on how much you destroyed. The tiny mushroom will make Mario tiny. This allows him to walk on water and jump really high, but you need to ground pound on enemies heads to beat them. The main reason you'd ever use mini Mario is to unlock things. There are mini pipes that only mini Mario can go in and certain bosses if beaten with mini Mario will unlock new things. If Mini Mario is hit he'll die. The normal mushroom turns Mario into big Mario. Where if Mario is hit once he will die, if big Mario is hit he will go down a size into normal Mario. Fire Flowers turn Mario into Fire Mario. As Fire Mario he can shoot fireballs at enemies which make it much easier to beat them. When Fire Mario is hit he turns into big Mario. The shell turns Mario into Shell Mario. As shell Mario when he crouches he hides inside the shell, and although he can't move, he is invincible to enemy attacks. When shell Mario gets hit he turns into big Mario. Invulnerability well, it makes Mario invulnerable.

Multiplayer and Minigames:

The minigames that come with this game are incredibly fun. Unfortunately there aren't very many and many of them are the same as the minigames and Super Mario 64 DS. There are a few new games though and they are very entertaining. They also make great use of the stylus which makes up for the single player's lack of touch-screen usage. There are also a set of multiplayer minigames. Most of them are fun, although a couple are boring and dull. They are mostly simple, but do make for a pretty good multiplayer experience.

A solely multiplayer mode is Mario vs. Luigi. In this you compete with a friend to get stars in one of five different courses. This is also like a multiplayer mode in Super Mario 64 DS, except in a flat environment. If you jump on your opponent's head they will lose a star. This mode is shallow and gets old pretty soon. All five stages are similar and soon it gets boring and repetitive. This mode quickly loses its shine and does not add anything good to the overall game.

Overall:

Level Design: 9.5/10
Music and Sound Effects: 8.5/10
Storyline: 7/10
Minigames: 8/10
Touch Screen Use: 7/10
Control: 9/10
Replay Value: 10/10
Enjoyment Level: 10/10

Overall: 9.0

It's a blast...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is as much fun for adults as it is for children. I remember Super Mario Brothers when I was younger. We have all had fun playing the game. You won't be sorry when you buy this one!

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