  Mario versus Bowser for the Princess. Round 312.
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I have nothing against Mario. The mustachioed little plumber has given me decades of fond gaming memories, from playing Mario Bros. in the arcade back in the age of dinosaurs to taking the Wii's upcoming Super Mario Galaxy for a spin at E3 earlier this month.
But you know what? I wanted to hate New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. I really did. I looked at this game and thought, "Not only is Nintendo rehashing the Mario franchise for the 859th time, they can't even come up with an original name for this one. Enough is enough. The madness must stop."
The problem is, New Super Mario Bros. is a crazy amount of fun. And on top of that, it's like ... how to say this ... a historical document, for lack of better words. It cherry-picks from all the great Mario side-scrollers, which themselves are some of the best video games ever made, then remixes them, throws in some new stuff and says, "Look, gamers. Look what we have given you over all these years. Look, and offer your thanks."
Thanks, grudging or otherwise, are in order. New Super Mario Bros. is a throwback to an important era in gaming, yet it's also thoroughly modern. It's a 2-D side-scroller through and through, but uses 3-D polygonal characters and employs the DS touch screen in some nifty and novel ways.
As you progress through the game's various worlds (some of which can only be accessed by uncovering a secret entrances in other levels), you'll encounter almost the entire roster of Mario enemies, environments and challenges.
Scholars of all things Nintendo will wet themselves with glee at the inclusion of so many bitsof Mario history, but even those of us who lead normal and productive lives will enjoy the mix of nostalgic classics with new gameplay. Like a mushroom that grows Mario to gigantic proportions, allowing him to bulldoze through everything in his path. IT'S-A ME! GRAAAAH!
You might complain that Nintendo spends too much time finding new ways to retool and regurgitate its existing franchises, and I'd definitely lend my voice to that argument. As awesome as Mario is and as fresh as this mash-up of the classic games feels, it's still Mario. Would it kill Nintendo to set foot outside the Mushroom Kingdom once in a while?
But asking the Big - to abandon the Mario universe would be like asking Disney to cool it with the talking mouse and the angry duck who doesn't wear pants. It's not likely to happen, and we'd probably be bummed if it did.
BOTTOMLINE
Nintendo's first side-scrolling Mario game in 15 years mixes, matches and mashes elements of the entire gamut of Super Mario games into one pleasing package. A must-have for fans of the plumber and his pals.
WHAM! Rating: |
8 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E (Everyone) |
Official Web Site: |
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