You might have read my Review of New Super Mario Bros. for DS, and if you did, you know I was very disappointed with the game. When I first heard about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I wasn't excited. It was the first time I didn't "hype" a Mario platformer. It looked barely different from the first one, just with a four-player co-op mode and goofy costumes slapped on. Given the fact that I was disappointed by New Super Mario Bros. and the fact that the recent Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story turned out to be a letdown, I didn't intend to get this game. I just got bored one day, though, and decided to give it a shot, though I still wasn't expecting anything spectacular.
I really would ask this to Nintendo;
why didn't you make the first New Super Mario Bros. as wonderful as this
one? New Super Mario Bros. Wii is such a massive improvement from its predecessor
that it easily ranks among the best and most improved sequels of all time.
It's not the same caliber as Super Mario Galaxy or Super Paper Mario, but
this is one of the greatest experiences you'll have on the Wii this year.
STORY - 5 out of 10
It's Princess Peach's birthday today. Mario and Luigi have come to the castle to celebrate along with Peach and the Toads. Peach has already received many large presents, but two Toads suddenly haul in a massive cake. A rather strangely-decorated cake at that. These strange decorations are actually accessories of the Koopalings and Bowser Jr, who pop out of the cake and escape with Peach. Mario, Luigi, and two generic Toads run off to try to stop Bowser's children. The Toads back at the castle, though, want to help the four on their adventure. They place two presents containing Propeller Shrooms and Penguin Suits, this game’s new powerups, into a cannon and shoot them out, causing them to be scattered throughout the land.
It's pretty much just a glorified "Peach
gets kidnapped" scenario. The same, mediocre story. Nothing special. Although,
this isn't a disappointment. Who would have expected anything out of this
game's narrative, anyway?
GAMEPLAY - 8.8 out of 10
The core gameplay here hasn't changed much, but it's deeper, more creative, and provides much more intensity than New Super Mario Bros. If you want to break the game down into two different parts, then let's talk about the basic gameplay first. Not much has changed here; you go through a bunch of levels until you reach the world's castle. Trounce the boss inside, proceed to the next world. Only Mario could make such a simple formula extremely entertaining. Given the game's new features, though, it feels more like "New Super Mario World" than "New Super Mario Bros. Wii".
Well, actually the gameplay is more like a mix between Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3. The Super Mario World half comes from two little features in the game, the first being the new power-up, the Propeller Shroom. I really love the flight power-ups in Mario games, save for the tedious-to-use Raccoon Leaf, and although you won't be doing any high-speed gliding with the Propeller Shroom, it can be a lifesaver. Instead of running and jumping to fly a great distance, a mere shake of the Wii Remote is all you need to get Mario in the air. He'll make a great leap and then slowly float back down to the surface. It's more useful than it sounds - say you're about to fall into a bottomless pit, if your reflexes are quick enough, you can shake the remote and you'll be saved from death and from losing your lovely Propeller Suit. This is probably my favorite power-up in the game. Less significant is the inclusion of Yoshi in this game. I don't know about you, but I wasn't a fan of using Yoshi in Super Mario World. Don't get me wrong, I like Yoshi as a character, but I don't know... he seemed like more of a burden than an upgrade in World. He hasn't changed here. He can flutter jump now, and you can only use him in the stage in which you found him, but otherwise he's the same here as he was in Super Mario World. Nothing special, really.
As for the Super Mario Bros. 3 side of things? Well, the other new power-up is called the Penguin Suit. Not only does it double as an Ice Flower (also a new item, which allows Mario to freeze enemies and throw the ice cubes around as projectiles), but it lets Mario slide around on his belly to destroy enemies he rams in to. It also allows for easier and faster swimming underwater, seemingly a homage to the Frog Suit. Now, I really liked the Ice Flower, which allowed me to chuck around my frozen enemies, much like the ice power in the Kirby series. It was smart of Nintendo to give Penguin Mario the Ice Flower's abilities, because otherwise the Penguin Suit comes off as the only disappointing part of the game. Not only is the belly-sliding technique risky, but if you're not using it while on ice or water, you'll only slide a short distance, rendering this technique nearly useless outside of tundras or beaches. Another similar element to Super Mario Bros. 3 is the new and improved item storage system. There are Toad Houses throughout the worlds in which Mario can win items. Once won, they are sent to storage. Mario can store up to 99 of each item, as opposed to Super Mario Bros. 3's tiny inventory. I always liked the idea of an item storage system, but Bros. 3 executed it too poorly. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, on the other hand, does it just right.
One of the most promoted features of the game is the four-player co-op mode. Mario, Luigi, and two Toads can team up in the levels to compete or cooperate. Now, I haven't gotten the opportunity to try this mode, but I hear it's pretty fun, though hindered by the chaotic nature of having four players all around the level. And if you'll allow me to rant a bit here, a lot of people have been whining about the lack of online play. Really... are Mario platformers the kind of games you'd want to see with online co-op? I don't know, it just wouldn't feel right; leave that to the thousands of futuristic first-person shooters on other systems. I simply feel that Mario is best restricted to good, old-school, single-player or local multiplayer fun.
I said that not much has changed in
the game, but I've been rambling on for quite some time now, haven't I?
Well, only one more point to cover, and I'll make haste with it. Level
design has improved drastically from New Super Mario Bros. Don't believe
me? Look at World 8-7.
GRAPHICS - 8.2 out of 10
Since sidescrollers are generally 2D games, you can't expect too much graphical power out of modern sidescrollers. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is no exception, although its 2.5D graphical concept still looks as great as it did on the DS. The Wii has certainly seen better visuals, but it's still hard to complain. The characters models look sleeker and shinier, the levels look smooth, and the special effects are impressive.
These graphics may come off as a bit
underwhelming compared to a certain other Mario game on the Wii, but if
you look at some of the larger character models in the game, you can see
that the graphics are based on those of Super Mario Galaxy. Few people
would disagree that Galaxy has the absolute best graphics on Nintendo's
new system, and to see that this seems to have become Mario's official
graphical style for the Wii is fantastic, especially so when compared to
the incredibly bland graphics of the GameCube Mario games.
MUSIC & SOUND - 8.5 out of 10
Just like the game itself, the soundtrack of Mario Bros. Wii is a huge improvement from New Super Mario Bros. Even though it uses an unusually high amount of recycled tunes, they are remixed excellently and the new songs are lovely. Yes, new songs are the ones we'll all be interested in. Two particular pieces in this game really caught my attention, the first being the Ghost House theme. I was expecting them to use the same old Super Mario World Ghost House theme, which, while decent, has been overused and I have grown sick of it. The New Super Mario Bros. Wii incarnation of this theme sounds much better and actually made me kind of look forward to Ghost Houses, levels that I normally dread. The second one is the volcano theme that plays in most levels in World 8. This is my favorite piece of music in the game and epitomizes what is unarguably the most fun and intense world in the game.
Remixed tunes sound very good as well,
although there’s too many of them. There's the dull and generic overworld
theme from the previous game that has only minimal changes... of course,
there's also the "athletic" theme from said game, and New Super Mario Bros.
Wii improves upon this already fantastic song. The classic Mario underworld
theme is also very prevalent in this game. Unfortunately, most level themes
fail to innovate to any degree where it impresses me as much as it did
when I first heard it. There's one huge exception to this, though, the
World 8 underworld theme. They remixed the underworld theme to absolute
perfection there, adding in hypnotic drums and an overall improved
instrumentation that makes it sound far more sinister than previous incarnations
of the song.
LENGTH & DIFFICULTY - 7.9 out of 10
Like most Mario platformers, New Super Mario Bros. Wii consists of eight different worlds that are mandatory in order to complete the game. Unlike Mario's last 2D adventure, though, New Super Mario Bros. Wii introduces something that the first one didn't have; a remote amount of difficulty. This really isn't the hardest game in the world, but it'll do. It's obvious enough, though, that Nintendo is starting to pay more attention to difficulty levels. Just don't expect to get a Game Over at any time, as this game gives you FAR more lives than you need, to the point where you might reach 99 lives by the end of the game. I still see the lives system as being unnecessary, but if it's there, it's there. No big deal. At least you get a decent little easter egg once you collect 99 lives.
Debuting in this game is Nintendo's
new Super Guide feature. Prior to this, I'd seen many people fearing that
this function would make games far too easy. They also grew angry at Nintendo,
claiming this was just another "catering to the casuals" service. It IS
a feature that's obviously for newer gamers, but it's truly insignificant
and doesn't make the game too easy. Basically, if you die several times
on one level, a green block will appear the next time you enter it. Hitting
this block triggers Super Guide, which allows you to watch Luigi run through
the level as a demonstration. That's all the help you'll get, though, you
have to mimic his actions if you want to succeed. See? There's no need
to fear the Super Guide. It's just a tiny speck of dust compared to the
rest of the game.
REPLAY VALUE - 8.4 out of 10
Same basic sidequests as New Super Mario Bros: secret exits and Star Coins. I don't feel like I have to explain them, so I'll just critique them. That's what Reviews are all about, anyway. Secrets exits... well, they're still exits, and they maintain secrecy. Again, no major changes. They're still fun to find, though, and can unlock secret levels and shortcuts. Secret exits are still my favorite sidequests in the Mario sidescrolling series, and that has not changed. Star Coins are also back, three to a level. It'll take a varying amount of time to get all of them depending on who's playing. I personally took about four or five days to get them all, but that's likely because I've been playing games for nearly a decade and am a completionist. If you fall in to the category of people who haven't been gaming for too long, lucky you! New Super Mario Bros. Wii's sidequests should keep you busy for quite some time.
So, let's talk about rewards. One of my pet peeves about videogames is that they usually fail to give you a proper reward for sidequesting. New Super Mario Bros. is both a victim of this flaw, and an evader of it. The secret exits are the parts that evade it. Whereas New Super Mario Bros's secret exits lead to dry and lifeless worlds, New Super Mario Bros. Wii's exits actually lead to fun stages. As mentioned before, the secret level 8-7 is very fun. It isn't just secret levels though; some are just optional. Many times in the game, you'll encounter a fork-in-the-road where you have to choose to do one of two levels in order to proceed. You can beat one level, then come back later and do the one you skipped. There's a large amount of optional content to be seen in this game.
Collecting Star Coins, on the other
hand, doesn't yield the greatest of rewards. You see, you can visit Peach's
Castle in World 1, and it acts as a shop where you can buy Hint Movies.
These movies can show you the location of secret exits, Star Coins, ways
to get infinite 1-Ups, or extremely impressive playthroughs of the levels.
The latter videos, a series called Super Skills, I found to be quite amusing
at times. 1-3 Super Skills has to be my favorite unlockable movie in the
game. Infinite 1-Up tricks can be neat, and secret exit unveilings can
be useful, but otherwise, Hint Movies won't be very useful to some. There's
also a secret world that relies heavily on the collection of Star Coins,
but I'll leave you to figure it out yourself.
FUN FACTOR! - 9.0 out of 10
There's very little to be said here that hasn't been said about all Mario platformers. I had a wonderful time with this game, myself; and remember that I've been playing by myself. I probably would've had even more fun if I had someone to play it with cooperatively. If you're playing alone or with friends, it really doesn't matter, because you'll have fun with this game either way.
The improved level design is what made
this game so much more fun to play. No longer is there levels that lack
any sort of creativity or inspiration whatsoever. You'll actually find
yourself playing unique and fun levels, levels of the same
caliber as, say, Super Mario World. It's not overall as fun as said game,
but very few games are, really. You can't complain about this one.
OVERALL - 87 out of 100
This game couldn't have exceeded my expectations any more, and it's strange; it's barely different from it's lukewarm predecessor, and yet it's far, far better. Not only is New Super Mario Bros. Wii the best Wii game of the year, but it also serves as proof that 3D Mario platformers and 2D Mario platformers can co-exist even in the modern age. Also reassuring is the fact that we can now expect more than one Mario platformer per generation. With Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy 2, it seems that Mario is doing extremely well on our newest system.
Even if you didn't like the original New Super Mario Bros, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. We don't get all that many great games on the Wii, but the good thing is that when we get a game like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it feels so much more refreshing. This game should ease the wait until Super Mario Galaxy 2 comes out and is perfect for those of you who prefer the 2D Mario games. If you liked New Super Mario Bros, you're in for an even better game. If you didn't like New Super Mario Bros, don't be like me and think about not getting this one. I mean, what evil force could've corrupted my mind to doubt Mario? Well, I doubt him no more. This is a must-have game.
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