New Super Mario Bros Wii
Mario is back!
Said I, in a Marrrrio voice. If you’ve played New Super Mario Bros for DS, you know what you’re getting yourself into with New Super Mario Bros Wii. If not, here’s the deal:
Mario Bros for NES was great, right? Well, what if you took that game, updated it, added Yoshi, some crazy colorful bad guys, and some new power-ups? You’d have New Super Mario Bros Wii.
What do you need to know? The game is great. GREAT
The game is controlled in a traditional matter, that is, turn the Wii-remote sideways, and you’ve got yourself an old-fashioned controller. You get to shake your controller every now and then to utilize the motion sensor. This is primarily done to pick things up and activate various power-ups. It isn’t a hindrance or a significant addition, but is natural and easy to use, so worry not.
Story-wise, Princess Peach gets kidnapped eating cake, blah, blah, blah, who cares. Nintendo has never cared about the story of Mario and neither have we. Peach likes cake and she loves baking it after a good old fashioned rescue, so there ya go.
Once you get going, you’ll start selecting levels Mario Bros 3 style, (or Super Mario World Style, whichever you prefer) with Mario traveling on an overworld map. The actual levels are masterly designed, with difficulty progressing upward in a steady and well-timed fashion. Power-ups, like the Fire Flower, Spinny Top (as I have affectionately nicknamed it), and the Penguin Suit, add varying challenges to the levels and ultimately make this game fresh every time you sit down to play.
You literally will never get sick of this game. Every level has 3 Star Coins for you to collect. They are hidden and often require a “Mario Sense” to find. Even those with the greatest of “Mario Senses” will find some of the Star Coins near impossible to locate. Finding the Star Coins adds to the challenge and makes the levels that much more fun to beat.
New Super Mario Bros Wii strives in one particular category: multiplayer. This game is an absolute blast to play with other people. In this respect, you can play with Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad (why not Toadette?? Come on!!), in addition to Mario. If you can get four people… wow. Get ready for laughs, finger pointing, and arguing. With four characters filling up the screen, everyone is bound to get in each other’s way, causing the simplest of levels to become clinics on failure. Bouncing off each other’s heads, getting in each other’s way, stealing power-ups, and throwing others around are just some of the things that will happen to you. Another tiny aspect that Nintendo included is that when a character dies or grabs a power-up, the game freezes for half a second. While this might sound frustrating, and really, it is when you’re in the middle of jumping somewhere, causing you to fall, it only adds to the chaos of playing with other people. And chaos= fun. Right? Right? If working together isn’t your thing, there’s a competitive mode too, challenging you to collect more coins than your opponent.
Todette, the only proof of the Toad’s not being gay, is excluded
Many complaints of this game are that it doesn’t support WIFI. I originally was in that majority, claiming that it was simply inexcusable. But ya know what? I take it back. Nintendo nailed this one. They said that part of the fun of this game is actually being with people in the same room and playing together. Kudos. I know most people will disagree with me, but Nintendo was right. This game wouldn’t be anywhere near as fun if I had played it with someone wirelessly over the internet, whether I knew them or not. The game is a social game, and as such, requires you to actually be with the people you’re playing. Of course, if you don’t have friends… then I guess I understand. But do you really want to play with some Japanese kid who’s going to dominate the levels without looking back? Think about it.
You’re right.. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to get personal
Technically, the game is sound. I’ve never been one to care much about graphics, but they’re great here. Everything is fluid and colorful. Sound-wise, you’ll be humming the songs in your head long after you’ve played. In fact, I have one of the songs stuck in my head right now. Doo-do-doo-do, doo-do-dooo-doooo. The controls are tight and easy to use. You won’t be complaining about the camera. Ever. This is a side-scroller, after all.
Ultimately, this is a perfect side-scroller. It’s easy to take for granted how good Mario games are. Well, usually. It did take a letter to Mario for him to clean up his act: http://breakmanx.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126:my-letter-to-mario&catid=45:features&Itemid=80
The only knock on this one could be the story. But who cares? Not all games need a story. This game is fun. And really, isn’t that what video games are all about?
+: Perfect in almost every sense. Amazing Multiplayer.
-: Wish it never ended
