Story:Whilst enjoying a nice walk with Mario, Princess Peach spots smoke coming out of Peach's Castle. Mario investigates, when the princess is suddenly kidnapped by Bowser Jr. Mario quickly follows Bowser Jr., which follows a chase across the Mushroom Kingdom to many different worlds to rescue the beloved Princess Peach.


[Before I begin I like to mention that I'm not a huge Nintendo fan, nor a regular gamer of Nintendo games. My history is weak, and the only other time I have ever played Nintendo games was when I was kid. I loved the NES and was (and still is) one of my favourite consoles. On top of that, the original Super Mario Bros. is one of my all time favourite games. It still brings back a lot of memories. Although I didn't play much of the SNES games, it was always the Nintendo handhelds that kept me interested and entertained. However, later consoles such as the N64 and Gamecube didn't interest me that much. I soon had a keen taste for the Atari, Commodore, Amiga, Sega Genesis/Megadrive, and PlatStation systems while Nintendo hovered in the backround. Basically, Nintendo grew off me and I just wasn't interested anymore. I liked more mature, gorey and darker games than the cute, funny, light and innocent kid friendly Nintendo games. And as the consoles developed over time, I steered further away from Mario & friends. Then came the Wii, which... actually - you don't want to know what I think of the Wii, because I might upset one of the most defencive gaming fan base in the world. But that's a good thing, as it shows that Nintendo fans are very passionate about gaming. Which I respect. Out of all my dislikes about Nintendo, I still had some love for their handhelds. The Game&Watch games were cool and the Gameboy was awesome. Today, I have a DS Lite which is also awesome and I enjoy very much. Plus, with New Super Mario Bros. this combination brings back a little bit more of my childhood faves.]


New Super Mario Bros.'s plot is roughly the same as the original Super Mario Bros. and other sidescrolling Mario games — Bowser Jr. captures Princess Peach, and it is up to Mario to rescue her. Pretty simple and basic really.

New Super Mario Bros. was inspired by the original Super Mario Bros. (SMB) with many elements from later Mario releases such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 2: Yoshi's Island, and Super Mario 64. However, while the main characters and villains are 3-dimentional, most of the lesser enemies and objects are pre-rendered sprites on 2-dimentional backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D effect. As in past games, Mario can collect coins, stomp on enemies, and grab Super Mushrooms from blocks, causing him to grow into "Super Mario", as well as getting a Fire Flower to turn into "Fire Mario". Unlike other games in the Super Mario series, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64, flying is not a critical aspect in this game. The design of the world map is also similar to Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.





Many traditional moves from Mario's 3-D games reappear in this 2-D Mario adventure, including the ground pound, triple jump, and wall jump.
All of the power-ups from the original SMB return, and as in Super Mario World, the player can save one power-up for later use.
A "Super Mushroom" will make Mario grow into Super Mario, and give him an additional hit points. The "Fire Flower" lets Mario shoot fireballs at enemies (unlike the original game however, where Mario would immediately revert to his original form if he got hit, Mario gets an additional hit point when he collects a Fire Flower or a Blue Koopa Shell). The Starman grants Mario invincibility for a limited amount of time. The "green 1-up Mushroom" gives Mario an extra life. In total, several all-new powerups occur in the game.
The "Blue Koopa Shell" causes Mario to wear a shell in the style of a Koopa, becoming Shell Mario. In this form, he can perform a Shell Dash by running quickly, which causes him to duck into his shell and bounce around like any other Koopa shell. Shell Mario is also able to duck into his shell at any time rendering him invulnerable to most enemies' attacks. Shell Mario can also swim faster and is more agile in water.

The "Mega Mushroom" causes Mario to grow into the gigantic Mega Mario that fills the entire screen for a short time, allowing him to crush nearly anything he runs into, including pipes, bricks, enemies and even the end-of-level flagpole! Mega Mario can destroy almost any boss in the game with a single jump on the head. A ground pound in this form will cause Goombas, coins, or a combination of both to fall from the sky. In addition, a meter at the top of the screen fills as the player destroys more and more items. For every meter bar Mario fills (each one is two sections), a 1-up will appear when the mushroom wears off. Mario is invincible like the Starman, and will lose a life if he falls down a gap, into acid, or into lava . However, his size makes it difficult for him to fall through most gaps. The Mega Mushroom can be used underwater. This power-up is quite rare in regular levels but it can be obtained from orange mushroom Houses and saved for use in places it cannot otherwise be found. The Mega Mushroom looks a lot like the original Super Mushroom from Super Mario Bros. Destroying the flagpole while being as Mega Mario disables gaining the time bonus.

The "Mini Mushroom" causes Mario to shrink into the minuscule Mini Mario, giving him access to the tiny passageways that he couldn't normally access. His jumps have a slower descent and are increased in height, and Mario also gains the ability to run on water. If Mario is hit once in this form, he will lose a life, and in this form Mario cannot defeat a standard enemy with a normal jump, but must instead rely on a ground pound. By defeating the bosses at the end of worlds two and five as Mini Mario, the player can access the mini gaps that lead to worlds four and seven, respectively; however, it isn't necessary to do so to access the worlds if one uses the Warp Cannons found in other worlds.





New Super Mario Bros. contains 80 levels divided between eight worlds. Each world is represented by a map, with alternate pathways and secrets throughout. The goal of each level, as in the original SMB, is to reach the flag pole at the end of side-scrolling levels. A vertically scrolling tower level, where the mini-boss (Bowser, Jr.) must be defeated, appears once or twice in each world. At the end of each world a main boss must also be defeated in a level that takes place within a castle. Not all the worlds have to be cleared to reach the ending, as special "Warp Cannons" and "Warp Pipes" can be discovered which allow the player to skip large segments of the game (and reducing the number of levels necessary to beat the game by up to three-quarters). Collecting and spending the golden Star Coins scattered throughout the stages will unlock certain helpful paths and bonuses as well.

This game also rewards the player for completing additional tasks with stars on the file select screen. When the player finishes the game the first time, one star appears. If all of the games stages are finished as well, the player receives two stars. To obtain the third and final star, the player must find every secret exit, use all of the Warp Cannons, as well as collect (and spend) all of the game's hidden Star Coins. While trying to complete the game, the player can only save their progress once they have defeated a Castle or a Tower for the first time, or after having spent 5 Star Coins on a Mushroom House or a bonus level. Once the game has been completed the player earns the right to save the game at any time while outside a stage. The game is also credited with employing sounds from past Mario games of both the NES and SNES platforms. The music is basically the same, with a few changes.





Overall, New Super Mario Bros. is a fun, light hearted and entertaining game. It resembles the old/classic Super Mario NES version while adding new features, improved visuals and graphics, gameplay and level design. However, this doesn't completely take me back in time and a lot has changed. The game can be challenging, but also frustrating at times. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is near perfect for a platformer, it's just that I'm the type of gamer who hates failing but loves a challenge at the same time. Strange.
For me, NSMB isn't perfect. It's sweet, cute, fun, but nothing more. The visuals are great, the gameplay smooth and the color of the levels is brilliant. This game shares half of my taste and I expected it to be better than what I expected. Still, I liked this game and makes me glad that I have a DS.  7/10.
In the future I would like to see more New titles around. Maybe... for example: New Sonic the Hedgehog, New Metroid, New Shinobi, New Streets of Rage, New Kirby, New Castlevania or even New (original) Legend of Zelda. It's a long shot, but it could happen.