Mario’s come a long way since his 1981 inception as Jumpman in Donkey Kong. After setting the side-scrolling platformer world on fire in classic games such as Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, our plumber hero moved on to other genres as he sped around in a go-kart, kicked a mean soccer ball, wandered around with a bucket on his head, danced like a madman, became thin as paper, and even taught us how to type. Now fifteen years after Super Mario World, the world’s most famous gaming mascot has returned to his roots in New Super Mario Bros.

Facts and Features:

• Mario’s first original side-scrolling platformer adventure since 1992’s Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
  
• Take on eight worlds of new challenges and familiar elements
  
• Unlock numerous hidden levels and secret exits
  
• Revel in the return of the flagpole, fireworks, the bridge over the lava pit, and Unagi the eel
  
• New power-ups shrink Mario to tiny proportions or blow him up to giant size
  

Here We Go Again
When the Mushroom Kingdom is attacked yet again, Mario races to the rescue. Caught in a moment of distraction, Mario drops his guard and watches as Bowser Jr. snatches Princess Peach. The twisted turtle prince races off with her to the nearest fortress, leading our hero into a classic chase across grass lands, deserts, water worlds, icy wastelands, and the eventual Koopa-esque dark land.

Each level has a traditional end point, but some levels have a secondary secret exit that leads to additional hidden levels that serve as a shortcut through the various worlds. In fact, two entire worlds worth of levels are locked away. Plowing straight through the game takes players through Worlds 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 very quickly. Worlds 4 and 7 are teased right on the game’s map screen but are inaccessible unless Mario finds the secret paths to those levels. The replay value comes from finding those hidden levels and exploring each nook and cranny to reach them.

New Super Mario Bros. borrows beloved elements from Mushroom Kingdom adventures gone by. All of the later additions to the Super Mario series sit this adventure out, so there are no cape feathers, raccoon tails, FLUDD, or even Yoshi to be found. Instead we go back to the basics of super mushrooms, fire flowers, and the trusty Starman. There are some new toys that build off these classic items, however, such as a mega mushroom that blows Mario up to the size of the DS’s screen and allows him to smash and bash through pipes, terrain, blocks, bricks, and enemies. Conversely, a tiny mushroom shrinks Mario to near-microscopic size that allows him to access small pipes and run across water without sinking. Then there’s the new Koopa shell power-up that arms Mario with the sliding power of turtle shells.

Then there are Mario’s majestic moves. Once again the basics rule the day with jumping and running. Grab a fire flower to toss fireballs, of course. Then come the maneuvers inherited from Super Mario 64 such as the wall jump and the ground pound. Given the opportunity our hero can also twirl like a whirlwind. The trick is to master Mario’s basic skills and use them to rule the day. Simple? Sure, but also fun. The X or Y button can be held down to make Mario run, while the A or B buttons make him jump. Sound familiar?

The Return
New Super Mario Bros. is loaded with enemies both familiar and long forgotten. Yes, you’ll encounter Goombas and Koopa Troopas, but do you remember the Boomerang Bros.? The Fire Bros.? How about the Boomerang Bros.? Unagi the eel from Super Mario 64 even turns up ten years later, as does a certain Loch Ness style of monster. Not a world goes by where attentive players will not gasp in delight and exclaim “They brought back _______!” Familiar hazards also make an encore appearance. Prepare for the scales from Super Mario Bros.’s famous x-3 levels, fire bars from the x-4 levels, P-switches that turn blocks to coins (and vice-versa), fences to climb from Super Mario World, and many more memorable such things. Don’t be surprised if a certain bridge with a certain axe turns up, too. The mix of beloved old material and fresh new material combine to create a Mario adventure that is long overdue.


Mario's back!
This game is clearly for the longtime fans that remember the classic games and hear those familiar sound effects everyday during inner monologues. Newcomers to the Mushroom Kingdom won’t fall out of step, of course, but gamers who are close to the Super Mario library will sport a big, goofy, happy smile from World 1-1 to the end of the game (and yes, each level opens with a black screen that displays the text “World x-y” and a Mario head with the amount of extra lives in reserve just like the good ol’ days.