Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"All it's cracked up to be"

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review


Since the dawn of Nintendo, there has been no bigger icon in gaming than the plumber in a red hat named Mario. Mario has spawned tons of games, and just about all of them have been nothing short of superb. Some players who don't play the Mario games may try to ask what is so special about them. "Don't they all have the same general concept?" is one question I hear numerously. While each Mario game may feel very similar in some respects, no one can deny how great the series is. He has a brother named Luigi, also a plumber, only Luigi prefers the color green as opposed to Mario's standard red. After decades of success, can the same Mario action still provide fun gameplay with excellent platforming?

When you first begin playing this iteration of Mario, you will join up with all of the gang who are celebrating the birthday of Princess Peach, the famed damsel whom Mario always seems to save. When a giant birthday cake starts making its way towards them, the one evil doer who always stands in Mario's way arrives; you guessed correctly. Bowser emerges with some new minions and kidnaps Princess Peach yet again! You see a giant airship take flight, and you begin to follow it with all of Mario's friends, and from there, the game takes off.

The actual core gameplay itself remains the same. Side-scrolling platforming action that is simple yet stylish; and even all of these years later is still fun as ever. You will travel from left to right, up and down, and though just about every style of level you can imagine. The classic atmosphere gets a breath of fresh air in this title. You have all of the usual power-ups as well as a couple of new ones to the series. You will face some new enemies though the key to taking them out is relatively similar when comparing to all of your other enemies.

Visually, Super Mario looks better than ever with the 3D feel in what, at first glance, appears to be a 2D world. Longtime fans of Mario will appreciate the fresh coat of paint, and all of the new types of worlds as well. A few worlds have some similarities in looks, which can be repetitive at times and draw your attention away from everything else that this game does so well. I have not seen many great looking games on the Wii console (as opposed to the graphics on PC, PS3, and 360), but Super Mario Bros. Wii definitely kicks it up a notch, and squeezes all of the power out that it can, and Nintendo definitely accomplishes a lot with that.

Even after all of these long years since Mario first debuted back in the 1980s, the game is still as fun as ever, and will always remain a hallmark title for many more years to come. The Wii's unique control scheme opens the door for more innovation with Mario which I wished was used in this title a little bit more, but that is what we have Super Mario Galaxy for, right? If you enjoy side-scrolling platforming action, or are just looking for another Mario game to play, then definitely check out this new adventure, as it stays true to the series' form in almost every way.

(Overall Score) 8.5/10