Since it’s release date I’ve spent a fair amount of time playing New Super Mario Brothers Wii. I think it’s been about 15 hours or so. I haven’t completed everything in the game, but I’ve beat Worlds 1-8, including getting all gold coins and secret stages. I’m half-way through the bonus world, World 9.
I’ve had a total blast with the game. If you want to know what it’s like to play, it’s Mario 3 to it’s core. It’s the same basic game. Same worlds, same themes, same enemies, same music, same map layout, same basic plot. There are bits from other games (such as a liberal sprinkling of Super Mario World)… but the game really feels like Mario 3.
And it’s fantastic.
The format is exactly the same as New Super Mario Brothers DS from three and a half years ago. It’s a 2D game made with 3D graphics. The difference is the difficulty. I enjoyed the DS game, but it was relatively easy. This game on the Wii has challenge, lots of it. There are levels you can rush through, especially near the beginning, but the game starts pushing you HARD. As you get to the end, you’re fighting for your life, and it’s a great feeling. The game rarely feels like it’s being mean… you almost always feel like you died because it’s your fault. I’ve had an instance or two where it felt like my jump didn’t register, or the shaking gesture went off when I didn’t want it to, but overall things are tight.
The level design is fantastic. While the start out simple, and there are some (like the under water stages) that feel like total throwbacks, some of the new level geometry abilities the game has are used to great effect. Playing a level where the platforms are tilting left and right and moving up and down as you stand on them ads a great new challenge from the standard platforming we all played 15 years ago.
There are so many memorable levels. There is the level that is entirely in the sky, jumping from one beetle’s back to another, the level you spend riding on the back of a dinosaur skeleton roller-coaster over lava, when you ride a platform under tons and tons of falling enemies, levels half-obscured in the clouds, and more. The designs are very imaginative
The game is a must buy if you own a Wii. There isn’t much more to say than that. Some of the new powers aren’t that interesting (like mini-Mario), but the whole experience is just so polished. You’ll hate Mario for dying in some of the later levels, and love every minute of it.
