New Super Mario Bros. WiiNintendo
Anthony: There’s something to be said for sticking with a formula you have down pat. New Super Mario Bros. Wii treads virtually no new ground aside from the addition of co-op (didn’t Sonic 3 do that?) yet it hasn’t been hurting in sales or been slammed in reviews despite that. Why? Well it’s a completely solid game that doesn’t really need a new formula to make it entertaining. We have good Mario games in 3D land and in 2D land, and well, that’s just Peachy.
I won’t keep you too long here, because chances are, you’ve already decided whether you care about this game or not. And to that sense, I wouldn’t even try encourage or discourage you, because New Super Mario Bros. Wii is exactly what you’d expect... nothing less, and not much more either.
I should take a quick moment to note that from videos posted online and a particularly egregious one we found in-game, that the game does seem to have a share of potential glitches. I lambasted Scribblenauts for it and I’ll still say it here, these days should be long behind us, programmers. It’s especially surprising to have a Nintendo product with these, but I will say that most of them seem benign. Just not the one we ran into.
On the “New” realm of the game, we have the addition of new powerups, co-op play, gameplay videos, and some minor inclusions of motion control for puzzles.
The new powerups are solid... the Helicopter suit is fun and almost overpowered in being useful, the Ice Flower is a seamless inclusion that add a gameplay element in the creation of ice blocks, and the Penguin suit is just kind of like the turtle shell from New Super Mario Bros. crossed with the Ice Flower. The Mini-Mushroom from New Super Mario Bros. returns, though it’s used with surprising rarity. Although the Helicopter suit almost seems too good (we at least had to gain speed to fly with the Raccoon Leaf back in my day), my only real issue is that the Penguin suit is fairly uninspired. Giving the Penguin Suit another unique ability instead of ice balls would’ve been nice.
Co-op play is a beast all its own. The series could’ve used this for a while, and the good news is it’s well-implemented. Stages are designed wide enough to accommodate multiple players and will expand accordingly, powerups will be spit out in a group for each player, and any player can “avoid” the action by temporarily pressing A to go into an invincible bubble for passing difficult sections. The feature itself works as a double-edged sword, as partnering offers increased mobility, additional firepower, and a general safety in numbers for exploring difficult sections. However, it brings its own troubles, as coordinating jumps among other rubbery characters is difficult, trying to keep powerups properly dispersed takes some planning, and in general it just takes someone out of their usual Mario-realm of gameplay when another person can accidentally stomp you to your doom mid-jump. It’s why Penny Arcade lovingly referred to this feature as “Divorce Mode,” though I’m pleased to report that Lauren only issued me a trial separation instead.
The unlockable gameplay videos are a cool idea that I think other games should consider. Some give demos for well-hidden secrets, others show creative ways to get bundles of 1-Ups, and others just show crazy developers flying through stages with infuriating ease. Sure, it might be maddening to see someone coast through a level that gave you trouble, but it’s cool to watch and nice to put those in the game.
Inevitably, we come back to the fact that this game is pure 2-D platformer nostalgia. If you liked Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World, chances are you’ll enjoy the game. If you’ve never been a fan, you probably won’t become one here either. The formula holds up fine here, and even still has a few moments that may make you pause and say “okay, that was pretty cool.” If there’s a problem, it’s just that the game doesn’t really take any risks. Other than the co-op aspect, there are few ways in which this is a genuinely different game from the DS’ New Super Mario Bros. A few stages require you to control the movement of platforms or searchlights using the tilt of the wii remote, and it works well, but there’s nothing ground-breaking about it. Aside from a really cool fight or two, the game doesn’t really offer much in the way of surprises or innovation. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing at all, it’s just like getting a specific sandwich from a deli... when the formula is always bread meat cheese veggie bread, it can only taste so good.
So in a way, the best news I can give is just to describe the game as it is. It’s like playing a game from 2009 if 2-D platformers were still a major staple in next-gen gaming. It’s fun, it’s difficult at times, and it has tons of smile-inducing moments for the people who played these games in the 80s and can be excited by the mere inclusion of a long-forgotten enemy. I’m among that crowd, and can safely say despite offering such a straightforward product, New Super Mario Bros. Wii never failed to entertain us.
Lauren: Well, Nintendo has managed to successfully combine Super Mario Bros. 1, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World - all of which happen to be some of my favourite games of all time - into a colourful 2D platforming package that defines the term "competitive co-op."
Up to four people can play simultaneously, and it's up to the group to decide if they'll play nicely or not. The mechanics of the game make it possible to team up and help each other through the levels. For example, pressing the A button will put your character into a bubble that floats over the stage, making you essentially invincible to all obstacles, yet unable to interact with anything. However, the only way to escape the bubble is to have a partner hit it. This can be a very useful tool for letting one partner catch up to the other after a series of dangerous obstacles.
This flexibility, however, can also allow you to harm your teammates. You can use your friends as jumping platforms (causing them to plummet into a pit), or you can hog all the power-ups and 1-ups.
Or, of course, you can hover somewhere between the two. Anthony and I love co-op opportunities whenever we find them, so we had a ton of fun taking on the levels while helping each other in a strategic way. ...Which was usually him doing a series of daring jumps over moving platforms in lava, then me turning into a bubble and floating safely over to him.
The graphics are wonderfully colourful and well-animated. It's exactly what you'd expect of a modern 2D platformer from Nintendo. Sure, much greater graphical feats have been achieved on the other next-gen systems, but the cartoony style is fun to watch. The same goes for the music - many hints of classic Mario themes are present, as well as some catchy new tunes.
NSMBW kept us busy for many hours, with the usual 8 worlds of levels and hidden goodies. Once you find the three hidden coins in each level of each world, new levels open up in World 9. Those ones kept us busy for a while too, because most of them are pretty challenging. Still, it was a ton of fun. (The lava roller coaster immediately comes to mind.)
There were only a few points in which we got annoyed with the game. We were frustrated upon encountering a weird game-freezing glitch when we hadn't recently saved. And of course, some of the levels walk a fine line between "challenging" and "mean." Even so, the satisfaction of finally beating those levels with all three hidden coins certainly made it all worthwhile. Also, the aforementioned coins can unlock some pretty amazing and entertaining gameplay videos.
If you loved Mario as a kid, don't hesitate to play this one. I'm sure it's fun enough as a single-player game, but I'd recommend playing this one with friends, just like in the good ol' days. It's a healthy dose of nostalgia with modern improvements and a lot of fun.
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