Aug. 27th 2010
Written by Podunker: rrquinta
Heralded as the first 2-D Mario game to hit consoles in decades, and extensively advertised for its unique up-to-four-players-at-once gameplay, New Super Mario Bros Wii has a lot to live up to. If you consider all that came before, most notably the fantastic Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World, Nintendo’s latest Mario game certainly has a lot of expectations for older fans especially. But how does this game measure up, either on its own or when compared to the legends of Nintendo’s past?
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Platformer
ESRB Rating: E
Release Date: 11/15/2009
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Overall Recommendation:
It’s definitely not Super Mario Bros 3 or even Super Mario World, but it’s still challenging and fun, if a bit lackluster overall. Definitely something every Wii owner should have in their library.
Story: 2/10
Who plays a traditional Mario platformer for the story? Basically, there is none, except that the princess gets kidnapped (yet again) by Bowser’s kids, and you and your pals must rescue her. That’s it. However, I don’t think it hurts the game at all, as it doesn’t really need a story. I loved the story in Super Paper Mario, but here I think it would probably have ended up silly (not in a good way) and artificial, so I think we’re better off without one.
Gameplay: 9/10 (single player), 5/10 (multiplayer)
Single Player
This is a great single-player game. I have to admit, when the game was first announced, I was worried that this would be one of those games with little or no value in the single-player campaign. Since I usually game alone, I was a little sad that I might miss out on a great Mario platformer. However, if anything, this game is a single-player game with a multiplayer mode added on.
If you’re familiar at all with other Mario games, then you know what to expect: tricky platforming combined with silly costumes and an entertaining experience. This game is a bit of a hybrid (in my opinion) of the two best traditional Mario games ever made: Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World.
You get the costumes and item inventory from SMB3, and you get Yoshi, Ghost houses, and multiple exits for levels from SMW. I will also note that this game is very similar to the DS game New Super Mario Bros, but it improves on it in many ways, and is better, in my opinion.
Basically, power-up wise, you have some old favorites, like the red mushroom, fire flower and invincible star (and the mini mushroom from the DS version). You also have some new ones, like the propeller hat (that helps you “fly”), the ice flower and the penguin suit.
My favorite was definitely the penguin suit/ice flower. The only difference between them is that the penguin suit allows you to easily walk on ice, slide on your belly, and swim in water more efficiently. Both enable you to shoot ice (instead of fire), which will freeze your enemies. This leads to some interesting gameplay, as you can kill some enemies you normally could not (think the skeleton koopas), as well as creating platforms both in air and on water that enable you to reach places you otherwise could not.
Overall, the power ups help make the game a fun experience, although I have to say I really missed having a true flying ability the way you do with the Raccoon Suit or Feather from the previous games. Having the inventory was also nice to have back, but it was disappointing that you can’t have one item with you at all times (the way you could in SMB3, SMW, and NSMB-DS) to use when you need it.
Still, there’s plenty to do, with 8 worlds (none are locked initially like in the DS game, thankfully), plus a bonus world when you beat the game. It’s definitely a fun experience and one of the better singleplayer games for Wii.
Multiplayer
What about the highly advertised multiplayer, though, you ask? Well, as I mentioned in the single-player discussion, the game often feels like it was originally intended as a traditional solo experience and then Nintendo decided they needed a gimmick, so they added the multiplayer.
To be fair, the game does include several multiplayer-only minigames that are very fun, like a coin battle where you compete to see who can get the most coins by the end of the level. This mode includes some unique levels, which was nice, although I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t more of these, as you will spend most of the time playing through levels from the main game.
The main game, however, never really feels like it was intended four more than one player, let alone four. While playing with friends can be a blast, it can also be very, very frustrating, as level design is very unforgiving, especially once you add four people into the mix.
This might sound confusing to read, so I’ll try to explain. Basically, you will encounter a lot of situations where the standing room is only big enough to accommodate one, maybe two people at a time. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it actually means that you (and/or your friends) will die a lot because you knock each other into a pit or off a platform, simply because there isn’t room for everyone. This might seem like I’m being nit-picky, but it really is a flaw in the game, in my opinion, as it makes a lot of the game feel very hard in the “cheap” way.
The other problem, and this (in my opinion) was a major flaw in the multiplayer, was the inconsistency in killing players that fall behind. When playing with others, you have a limited area to stay together. The screen will zoom out a little to give you a bit more space, but if someone gets too far behind, they will be killed by being “cut off” from the rest of the group. This isn’t too bad in traditional, non-scrolling horizontal levels, especially once everyone learns to wait for each other. However, this becomes painful and down-right unfair when you get to the vertical levels (even if they don’t scroll). The reason: if one of you falls below the screen where the highest player is (highest as in farthest up in the vertical level), sometimes you will die, and sometimes you won’t and you can try to meet up. I found no rhyme or reason as to why you would sometimes die when you fell and sometimes you wouldn’t. No, this doesn’t have anything to do with falling into a pit or anything like this. It just seemed like a bug in the game, and one that made many of the levels (particularly a lot of the castles) almost impossible to play with four people.
Another, although more minor flaw I found in the multiplayer was the lack of powerups for all players involved. When you hit a block, yes, you will get enough total powerups for everyone playing (up to four if there are four players), but you will often only get 1 (maybe 2, if you have 4 people) of the “highest” power up. This might sound confusing, but basically what this often means is that one player will get the propeller hat or the penguin suit (for example), while everyone else only gets mushrooms. Considering the challenge of the game (especially in multiplayer), this is a huge design failure, at least in my opinion, albeit not as bad as the ones I mentioned previously.
Please don’t misunderstand me: the game can be a very fun multiplayer experience, even in the main game mode, and you do get the advantage of not dying as long as you have lives and at least one player is still alive, plus an infinite number of continues. However, the game is best played alone or with only one other friend, especially if you plan on playing to completion. For a fun diversion, however (especially for those of us who grew up playing the classic Mario games), it’s definitely entertaining. Hopefully Nintendo will improve on the multiplayer for future games (and considering the success of this one, I’m sure there will be).
Graphics & Sound: 7/10
The graphics are basically the same as the DS game, with obviously a bit of an upgrade to do the more powerful hardware available on the Wii. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t terrifically memorable either.
The one thing you will see is some interesting use of lighting (i.e., levels that are dark or only partially illuminated). This is not only interesting graphically, but makes for some fresh gameplay. The other thing you will see a lot of in this game is moving platforms (too much, in my opinion). This is fun and neat, but I almost felt like it was this new toy that the developers discovered and they over-used it. While it initially feels fresh and new, it gets kind of old pretty quick.
Same with the sound. I personally found the music a bit disappointing. While it wasn’t terrible, it felt a bit uncreative. I also preferred the phrase that Mario says at the end of each level in the DS game (“That’s-a-nice!”) more than the Wii version, but that could be personal taste.
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Challenge: 10/10
This game is hard. The DS version was far too easy, so if you’ve played that and expect the same from the Wii version, prepare to be surprised. In some ways, the game is far harder than some of the classics, especially if you’re playing multiplayer.
Don’t get me wrong: the platforming isn’t impossible by any means, and experienced players shouldn’t take too long to blow through the main game the first time through when playing solo. Of course you will die, sometimes a lot, but nothing a little determination can’t get you through.
You always have the help mode if you’re really stuck, which pops up after you die (I think it’s 8 times) on the same level. You can hit the green box that appears, and Luigi will show up to play through the level for you. I never used it out of principle, but I could see how less experienced players could consider it a god-send.
As far as less-experienced players go, this game is almost too hard in some respects. I played the game with several people who had never played a Mario game before, and many of them found it too hard to continue. Granted, these aren’t people who play many video games, but it might be something to consider if you’re buying this as a gift.
The game takes patience and perseverance, like most retro games did. This is one thing Nintendo did right, however, in my opinion (multiplayer issues aside).
The game feels very satisfying when you do complete a difficult level, and the boss battles are actually varied much more than even in previous classics like SMB3 and SMW: you can’t just fireball them a couple of times and they kick the bucket, which was very refreshing. And I don’t want to give it away, but the final battle will BLOW YOUR MIND. I know it did for me.
Overall: 8/10
When it comes down to it, NSMB-Wii is a fun, challenging game best played solo, although it does offer fun for multiplayer. When it comes down to it, I don’t think it’s nearly as good as SMB3 or SMBW, but it’s still a game every Wii owner should have.
While the main game did feel a bit short, you do have incentives to replay. For example, you will unlock a ninth world once you beat the game the first time, and in order to unlock each level of that world, you must collect ALL the big coins from each level of the corresponding world. This is definitely a challenge and a motivator to keep coming back. You also are encouraged to replay some of the levels in solo mode by “rescuing a Toad” – you have to carry him all the way to the end of the level, and if you do so successfully, you earn three 1-ups. In addition, you can spend your star coins at Peach’s castle to unlock all sorts of extras, including videos of the real pros playing through levels. In addition, many levels have multiple exits and other secrets for you to discover, leading to a lot of replay value.
Final Recommendation:
Again, despite its flaws, I highly recommend you purchase this game if you haven’t already. And then, if you have never played them, you might want to try (via Virtual Console) the classics Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World. Then decide for yourself if you think this new game deserves to stand among the greats.
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