Dean(ish)

Nintendo really banks on their mainstay franchises to keep themselves in the running against their biggest competitors, Microsoft and Sony, so when they make franchise games like New Super Mario Bros they generally go all out. While I was happy with the game overall, there are a few things that I thought should’ve went a little better.

One thing I think they should’ve spent more time on are the power-ups. The turtle shell power-up is almost completely useless, as is the mega-mushroom. I’m glad that Nintendo stuck with the fireflower, which I was never a big fan of in previous games, because it was the most useful and actually turned out to be my second favorite power-up in this game. My favorite, however, is the mini-mushroom as it changes the dynamics of the gameplay and makes for a new challenge.

The power-ups department is really lacking a flying ability of some sort. Whether it be wings, a cape, or a squirrel outfit, they should’ve included a flying power and more level depth to go with it.

Most of the levels are really well done as far as specific details and especially character and enemy animations, but longer and more challenging levels would’ve been extremely welcome. More challenging bosses (or at least a wider array of bosses with differing maneuvers) should’ve been included as well. However, wall-jumping is a ton of fun and I’m really glad they put it in the game. Shrinking/expanding mushroom platforms and spin-jump trampolines add new obstacles to the mix.

The swaying mushrooms are a nice obstacle.

The music is pretty great. I like how pretty much every Mario game has its own mix of the 1-2 “underground” music from the very first Super Mario Bros game. The rest of the music definitely has that cartoony Mario-esque feel that we all know and love.

I liked NSMB as a whole, but when I beat it I had almost everything unlocked already. I was given the ability to save at anytime after I beat the game - that shoulda been in the game by default. Also, now that the game�s beat, I can go into mushroom houses as many times as I want without causing the houses to close afterwards. Big whoop. And after I spend all of my star coins, I get to change the wallpaper for the bottom screen. Neato.

Helloooo fungi.

I hate to sound disgruntled with the game - it�s a ton of fun to play - but I really wish it was harder or, at the VERY least, Luigi (who you learn how to play as upon beating the game) had some different moves/abilities. Collecting star coins throughout every level created a desire to go back and replay the level, but once I got all the coins I didn’t really have a reason to play it again. NSMB doesn’t hold its replay value quite like other Mario games have, especially Super Mario World. It�s a great game with some great multiplayer action (though a “race” mode would’ve been hawesome) as well as a wide collection of minigames, but I really wish the single-player mode was more of a challenge. I�d give it a 8.5/10 - high in the nostalgia, control, and multiplayer factors, but very low in difficulty.

My Experience: 8.5/10 - Get it!

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