New Super Mario Bros. is friggin amazing!

Wolfpup

Wolfpup

CAGiversary!
I've been playing it the last few weeks, and am just completely blown away by how good it is. Nintendo's recent 2D platformers are really hit and miss with me-I love some, hate others. Plus it's been 15 years since the last real Mario game...so what are the odds this would be any good?

But it is! They COMPLETELY nailed the feel, and use the DS' hardware to great effect, doing stuff that wouldn't have been possible even on the SNES-but it's all stuff that's a logical outgrowth of Super Mario Bros. 3 or SM World.

The game is just PACKED with new "stuff" to see and do. And the level design is just astoundingly good.

Before I played it, I was kind of annoyed that it dosen't have as many power ups as the last two games...but it actually works fine as it is, and it is nice having a game where the Fire Mario is useful again. What's great about it though is it leaves all kinds of possibilities for a New Super Mario Bros. 2...

What amazes me too is that they can make it feel so right when it's been so long-most if not all the people involved are probably new, yet they nail it. It could have been released in 1992. It's that good.

Still wish it was called Super Mario Bros. 4 though :)

Who else loves this game?!

And are there any big secrets in it besides unlocking two of the worlds? Actually that's another minor complaint-I miss worlds that scroll in every direction, and the secrets aren't as interesting as Super Mario Bro.s 3 or World. But still, that just leaves more for NSMB2.
 
You've been playing it for weeks?

It didn't even last me 24 hours, I beat it in like two hours. I had it beat 100% within three days. It's good, but man, it's really freakin' short.
 
[quote name='Scorch']You've been playing it for weeks?

It didn't even last me 24 hours, I beat it in like two hours. I had it beat 100% within three days. It's good, but man, it's really freakin' short.[/QUOTE]


I agree. I would not label it as "amazing". I was done with it after a few days. Yoshi's Island DS was a better game imo.
 
I agree with the OP, it is an amazing game. Being short does not make the gaming experience any less enjoyable while it lasts. It's taken me a while to play, too. I'm not the type to sit and play a game for hours at a time - I play in very short bursts, so NSMB is perfect for me. I beat a stage or two at a time, then play a bit later. So I have not gotten 100% yet, but I'm loving the quest of getting there.
 
I was pretty underwhelmed by it, having just played Yoshi's Island 1 right before NSMB. YI really does take weeks and if you thought NSMB had a lot to do, you should pick it up :)
 
Regarding length, it hasn't been the only game I've been playing (also Resident Evil 4, Ape Escape 3, and Command & Conquer 2), but it's lasted me a long time. I've tried to play every level of course (every level I can figure out how to get to at any rate), and I'm playing through the two "optional" worlds.

Yoshi's Island is one of Nintendo's "misses" for me. I played through it back in the day, and again on the GBA, but I don't like it all that much. It's just "okay", and IMO is pretty shallow and short compared to the Super Mario Bros. series. I like Artoon though so I'm going to have to try out the new one.

[quote name='uberzone']Promotional consideration provided by....[/QUOTE]

Huh? I have no idea what that means.

[quote name='terribledeli']Eh. I enjoyed Super Princess Peach more.[/QUOTE]

That was another miss for me. I think I got stuck in it. Really wanted to love it.
 
That reminds me, I got up to the last part of Super Princess Peach but didn't bother to go collect all the toads or what not so I haven't been able to fight the last boss/level. I really liked the coin collecting a lot better in NSMB.
 
[quote name='Scorch']You've been playing it for weeks?

It didn't even last me 24 hours, I beat it in like two hours. I had it beat 100% within three days. It's good, but man, it's really freakin' short.[/QUOTE]

Took me a few weeks. Then again, I have a job.
 
agreed, picked it up at target last night for 19.99. they had a bunch of them on an end cap with the tag listing it for 19.99$. Rang up 34.99 but the manager let it slide :)
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']agreed, picked it up at target last night for 19.99. they had a bunch of them on an end cap with the tag listing it for 19.99$. Rang up 34.99 but the manager let it slide :)[/QUOTE]

Nice! :D

I think I got my copy during a buy two get one free thing at Toy's R Us last year (already sold Animal Crossing and Tetris from that), but that's a better deal yet :)
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']
Huh? I have no idea what that means.

[/QUOTE]


As I was reading the OP, I couldn't but think that it sounded like a commercial for the game. The phrase "Promotional consideration provided by..." popped in my head since they always say that after certain shows which is followed by several commercials.

It's ok, my references and quips are way off for most people but myself. :(

However, they do relate in some way I can assure you. :)
 
I found the game to be kinda generic and lifeless. The music sucked, the graphical style was wimp-ass. The entire thing felt uninteresting.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Yoshi's Island DS was a better game imo.[/quote]That's the cool thing about the internet. You can say things that in real life you'd never be able to keep a straight face during, and make it sound like you mean it. ;)

NSMB is fantastic, but I don't think of it as an outgrowth of 3 or World, but as an outgrowth of 1. I'm hoping for New Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario World. :)
 
[quote name='daroga']That's the cool thing about the internet. You can say things that in real life you'd never be able to keep a straight face during, and make it sound like you mean it. ;)[/QUOTE]

I don't know about that. I think you're arguing steak vs lobster with Yoshi's Island DS and New Super Mario Brothers really. They're both good games, but they are pretty different with Yoshi's Island DS being a bit more methodical and NSMB being a bit more of a race through the level type game.

Different strokes for different folks. For example, I think that Super Mario Brothers 3 while the best of NES games is inferior to every Mario platformer afterwards excluding Sunshine. Having played it recently, it just has not held up as well as the other titles have for me.
 
NSMB is definitely one of the best DS games out. I think I'd have to put it in my top 5. Yoshi's Island DS is good, but NSMB just flows better and is more fun IMO. I also like that you can 100% NSMB without being a video game savant.
 
Good. Not great. It felt like a step backwards from Mario 3 or Mario World. If you look at it as an extension of the first game (which it is) then it seems much better. However, we've already been exposed to bigger and better Mario games in the past. Still, it's a must have in the DS library.

It would definitely be nice to see this series continue with extensions of the other games. New Super Mario Bros 2 with vegetable throwing back again would be a lot of fun.
 
I thought it was great as well, best 2D platformer in years. It was a bit short, though not so bad with getting 100% (took me 2 or 3 weeks since I don't have a lot of time for games).

Still my favorite DS game.

As for the other platformers mentioned, Super Princess Peach was great but way to easy and the overly cute design got grating at times.

Yoshi's Island DS was just mediocre and a huge dissapointment for me as the orignal was one of my all time favorite games. The level design was very bland and repetitive and lacked the variety and inventiveness of the orginal (i.e. very limited and lame use of the Yoshi Vehicles and too straightforward use of the babies differrnet moves). The design was also shoddy and cheap in places with often having no way to know in advance which baby you needed to get somewhere and having tons of cheap deaths due to the dead zone in between screens and having to make blind leaps when you couldn't get the screen to scroll up or down far enough etc.
 
I just recently completely this game (like a week ago) and I thought it was awesome. I enjoyed the game till I got 100%, I just wish there was more so I could keep playing.
 
[quote name='Scorch']You've been playing it for weeks?

It didn't even last me 24 hours, I beat it in like two hours. I had it beat 100% within three days. It's good, but man, it's really freakin' short.[/QUOTE]


same here... I got very bored of it too quickly... SMB3 will always be the better of them all.
 
[quote name='afedock']I just recently completely this game (like a week ago) and I thought it was awesome. I enjoyed the game till I got 100%, I just wish there was more so I could keep playing.[/QUOTE]

I wish they had added a 4th star for completing the game in 'super-secret' scroll mode. I goofed around in that mode for a few minutes, but if I could have earned a meaningless star by completing the game in it I'm sure I would have. :lol:
 
Bought it, played it, beat it, sold it for $1 less than I bought it within a week.

I keep games with replay value. This one has none. But, it was still fun for the short time I had it.
 
A few things that kept me from having NSMB on the keeper pile.

1. Since when is Bowser vulnerable to lava? I've seen him take a bath in the stuff in other comics and tv shows. Did anyone else get freaked out when he died a horrible death in the first world? I thought it was particularly gruesome for a Mario game.

2. There were too many lives. Not once did I ever feel the game wanted me to lose since it just kept showering you in 1up mushrooms. Mario 1 and Mario 2 (Lost Levels) had a sense of doom about it which forced you to learn the little nuances of the game to get past them. Lives weren't as easy to get (aside from using the 1up tricks), you treasured each one.

3. That lousy overworld map. What was the point of it? Anytime I died , this nuisance added 5 more seconds to restart. It was annoying in some levels. having to hop out of the map, back in to the map, ugh. If it was a true re-invisioning of the older, simpler Super Mario style of play they would've done away with the map and threw in more traditional warp zones. I feel it would've been more fun to replay in that fashion.
 
I enjoyed it, but I'm a guy who still hasn't beaten SMB1, so perhaps easy 2D platformers are my thing.
 
NSMB is an average game. There is nothing about it other than the pretty graphics that stand out. The level design is boring, there aren't enough power-ups and it was WAY too easy. The disappointing trend of Nintendo games lately is to shower you in free lives. It doesn't force you to get good at anything because with enough tries you will eventually pass a section. I think they should give you 3 lives to start with maybe a 1UP mushroom hidden every third or 4th level and 100 coins gets you a free guy too. If you lose all your lives you start over from the beginning. Because it's a handheld they should have a save state feature so you can quit whereever you want and pick it up later but if you run out of lives eventually you have to start over.

I finished this game in a couple of days solely playing it on my train ride to work and on the shitter. I got 100% on it not too long thereafter and I can't think of a reason why I'll ever play it again. It is easily the worst 2D mario ever, IMO.
 
[quote name='javeryh']NSMB is an average game. There is nothing about it other than the pretty graphics that stand out. The level design is boring, there aren't enough power-ups and it was WAY too easy. The disappointing trend of Nintendo games lately is to shower you in free lives. It doesn't force you to get good at anything because with enough tries you will eventually pass a section. I think they should give you 3 lives to start with maybe a 1UP mushroom hidden every third or 4th level and 100 coins gets you a free guy too. If you lose all your lives you start over from the beginning. Because it's a handheld they should have a save state feature so you can quit whereever you want and pick it up later but if you run out of lives eventually you have to start over.

[/quote]

Uh no, that'd definitely be crossing the border from fun to frustrating.

Less 1ups and harder/longer level design is one thing, but I would just get tired of it if I had to keep starting over.
 
[quote name='javeryh']NSMB is an average game. There is nothing about it other than the pretty graphics that stand out. The level design is boring, there aren't enough power-ups and it was WAY too easy. The disappointing trend of Nintendo games lately is to shower you in free lives. It doesn't force you to get good at anything because with enough tries you will eventually pass a section. I think they should give you 3 lives to start with maybe a 1UP mushroom hidden every third or 4th level and 100 coins gets you a free guy too. If you lose all your lives you start over from the beginning. Because it's a handheld they should have a save state feature so you can quit whereever you want and pick it up later but if you run out of lives eventually you have to start over.

I finished this game in a couple of days solely playing it on my train ride to work and on the shitter. I got 100% on it not too long thereafter and I can't think of a reason why I'll ever play it again. It is easily the worst 2D mario ever, IMO.[/quote]

The save feature was a little annoying, but SMW has the same system. You can't save after every level, only after a fortress, castle, or ghost house. At least in NSMB you could save after mushroom houses as well.

It would have been nice to be able to save at any time, but honestly, shut the DS to put it in standby mode and you have your "save state" right there. I regulary do that with games I am playing at night and just leave the thing in standby all the next day. The DS can go forever in standby mode.

The funny thing is that even if it was the worst 2D Mario game, it's still better than 90% of the other platformers out there.
 
I have to agree that the save system isn't a big deal because the DS can sleep. It's a little odd, but it's not a big deal. I think the same thing about basically all DS and PSP games. I *like* having a comprehensive save system (regardless of the platform), but it's not 100% critical on systems that can be put to sleep at any time.

[quote name='Pijaibros']A few things that kept me from having NSMB on the keeper pile.[/quote]

For me, this is only the second DS game I've kept. (Of course that doesn't count the 10 or so DS games in my backlog, or the other games I haven't played yet.)

1. Since when is Bowser vulnerable to lava? I've seen him take a bath in the stuff in other comics and tv shows. Did anyone else get freaked out when he died a horrible death in the first world? I thought it was particularly gruesome for a Mario game.
Click to expand...

Like someone else said...since Super Mario Bros. :D You know, the very first game he was in :lol:

2. There were too many lives. Not once did I ever feel the game wanted me to lose since it just kept showering you in 1up mushrooms. Mario 1 and Mario 2 (Lost Levels) had a sense of doom about it which forced you to learn the little nuances of the game to get past them. Lives weren't as easy to get (aside from using the 1up tricks), you treasured each one.
Click to expand...

I *HATE* games that force you to start over. That type of design died with the '80s, and for good reason. Frankly, in most games the idea of "lives" is archaic, because they should let you continue from near where you died.

3. That lousy overworld map. What was the point of it? Anytime I died , this nuisance added 5 more seconds to restart. It was annoying in some levels. having to hop out of the map, back in to the map, ugh. If it was a true re-invisioning of the older, simpler Super Mario style of play they would've done away with the map and threw in more traditional warp zones. I feel it would've been more fun to replay in that fashion.
Click to expand...

I *LOVE* overworld maps, and wish more games used them. I was thrilled to see it back, except I hope in later games it gets more involved the way it is in Super Mario Bros. 3 and World. NSMB overworld felt like how Super Mario Bros. 2's overworld map would be...if it had had an overworld map.
 
[quote name='spiwak']Uh no, that'd definitely be crossing the border from fun to frustrating.

Less 1ups and harder/longer level design is one thing, but I would just get tired of it if I had to keep starting over.[/quote]

I must be getting old but I never once thought the original Super Mario Bros. needed the ability to save. IMO, it's all part of the wussification of the younger generation of gamers. Maybe it's because games are cheap so if you get stuck/frustrated it's easy to find something else to play. Maybe it's because attention spans aren't what they used to be. Maybe it's because no one likes a good challenge anymore. I don't know but something about it feels wrong to me in a game like this. I guess growing up in the arcade where games would just kick your ass every single time has kind of ruined me.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I must be getting old but I never once thought the original Super Mario Bros. needed the ability to save. IMO, it's all part of the wussification of the younger generation of gamers. Maybe it's because games are cheap so if you get stuck/frustrated it's easy to find something else to play. Maybe it's because attention spans aren't what they used to be. Maybe it's because no one likes a good challenge anymore. I don't know but something about it feels wrong to me in a game like this. I guess growing up in the arcade where games would just kick your ass every single time has kind of ruined me.[/quote]

I disagree with this totally.

I'm all for challenge. I don't mind hard and I don't mind a game making me feel as though I totally suck at it.

What I do mind is having to repeat things over and over because the game wouldn't let me save, or because I have to do X number of things in a row and just can't get past the last one. Or I don't have time. Or the battery is about to run out of juice.

To me, this is artificial difficulty. If there's 10 things you need to do, and you've done 1-9 and found them easy, and number 10 kicks your ass, you should not have to go back and do 1-9 again. That's a waste of time. I seem to have less time for videogames than ever, so I don't need my time wasted.

Honestly? I have better things to do.

With NSMB, I hated the save system because it's a portable game. I don't always have the full amount of time to finish something. Yes, there's sleep mode, but that doesn't always cut it.

When I got NSMB, my son wanted to play it too. He'd play it in the car on the way to gymnastics or something, and wouldn't be able to save when we got there. So either he loses everything he did, or I have to finish some levels for him or I don't get to use the DS. That's poor design.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I must be getting old but I never once thought the original Super Mario Bros. needed the ability to save. IMO, it's all part of the wussification of the younger generation of gamers. Maybe it's because games are cheap so if you get stuck/frustrated it's easy to find something else to play. Maybe it's because attention spans aren't what they used to be. Maybe it's because no one likes a good challenge anymore. I don't know but something about it feels wrong to me in a game like this. I guess growing up in the arcade where games would just kick your ass every single time has kind of ruined me.[/quote]

Truly hardcore games are pretty much gone. You nailed part of the reason; there are a shitload of other titles that people can play if they get frustrated with the one they are currently playing. The other reason is that are so many other forms of entertainment out there, that games can't be brutally hard and expect people to stick with it. With DVDs, DVRs, MP3 players, internet sites etc., there is just too much other stuff for people to distract themselves with for developers to bother making games that way.

Sure, there is still a contingent of people who want uber-hard games and there are developers out there who are still making games for that niche market (Ninja Gaiden Black, DMC 1 and 3, Viewtiful Joe, etc), but the truth is that there is a fine line between hard and just frustrating. If you veer into the frustrating category, you run the risk of your game not selling well (e.g. Stuntman), and this industry, like all industries, is all about money.

It sounds like the Virtual Console is the place for you (or your MAME cabinet). There are plenty of VC games that are unforgiving and hard as hell (see R-Type and Gunstar Heroes).
 
I've never understood the idea that it's "cool" to be good at hard games. Who cares? It's easy to make a game hard, and I've yet to play a game that's hurt by being too easy (I've quit plenty because they're too hard though).

Anyway, I just beat New Super Mario Bros. Yay for the Luigi code! Anything else I can do with it?

I love how I beat Bowser. I tried doing it right, and it was pretty dang hard...so I activated my giant mushroom, slammed into him (we both bounced back), and then just jumped on him.

Best Bowser fight EVER! :D That is SO COOL they let you do that. Glad I saved that mushroom.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I must be getting old but I never once thought the original Super Mario Bros. needed the ability to save. IMO, it's all part of the wussification of the younger generation of gamers. Maybe it's because games are cheap so if you get stuck/frustrated it's easy to find something else to play. Maybe it's because attention spans aren't what they used to be. Maybe it's because no one likes a good challenge anymore. I don't know but something about it feels wrong to me in a game like this. I guess growing up in the arcade where games would just kick your ass every single time has kind of ruined me.[/QUOTE]

That seemed weird coming from you, since i read something completely different when i looked at the hitman thread a short while ago. I know that was from a long time ago but i just beat hitman on every difficulty and wanted to see what others thought which is why it was in my head :p

[quote name='javeryh']i just can't get past the fact that you have to start over from the beginning for each mission if you die. Also, I suck because in the very beginning I throw the stupid coin and nothing happens. Those two potty-mouthed thugs just shoot me and I die. If I do manage to "distract" them they come to the door and see me anyway.[/QUOTE]


A game is always as hard as you make it, but not vice versa. You can choose to beat a game without using a single save if that makes it more fun for you, theres no reason everyone should have to beat that same game without a single save too though. Hitman is the perfect example of how games have overcome this, as you have a rookie mode with infinite saves and lowest AI, and professional mode with zero saves and the highest AI. DS games dont seem to have difficulty levels now that i think about it but im guessing thats because of cart space compared to a dvd.

I had a lot of fun with New Super Mario Bros even though it wasnt too long or that challenging. Ill settle for that over nothing.
 
[quote name='Weedy649']That seemed weird coming from you, since i read something completely different when i looked at the hitman thread a short while ago. I know that was from a long time ago but i just beat hitman on every difficulty and wanted to see what others thought which is why it was in my head :p




A game is always as hard as you make it, but not vice versa. You can choose to beat a game without using a single save if that makes it more fun for you, theres no reason everyone should have to beat that same game without a single save too though. Hitman is the perfect example of how games have overcome this, as you have a rookie mode with infinite saves and lowest AI, and professional mode with zero saves and the highest AI. DS games dont seem to have difficulty levels now that i think about it but im guessing thats because of cart space compared to a dvd.

I had a lot of fun with New Super Mario Bros even though it wasnt too long or that challenging. Ill settle for that over nothing.[/quote]

Ahh, I guess I should clarify my position. Long adventure-type games definitely do not need to force you to replay sections over and over again - Gears of War does a great job of this type of save and play style. I don't want to waste time playing the same crap over and over again either. However, I think certain games (mostly 2D) that can be finished in one sitting and require a memorization of patterns/enemy placement should require you to replay certain portions of the game to force the player to get better and better at it. Maybe not totally penalize you but maybe if you run out of lives on world 3-6 you are forced back to world 3-1 or something. I find when I'm playing NSMB I don't have a care in the world when it comes to making crazy jumps or holding down the run button the whole time because there's no penalty in playing recklessly. I guess it's hard to explain.
 
There is a penalty-you go back to the start of the level. That's more than enough. I'd hate the game if I was constantly having to restart from the beginning of a world or the whole game. Would have sold it weeks ago instead of keeping it forever.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']There is a penalty-you go back to the start of the level. That's more than enough. I'd hate the game if I was constantly having to restart from the beginning of a world or the whole game. Would have sold it weeks ago instead of keeping it forever.[/quote]

That's not a penalty - at all. You can hold down the run button and blast through a level in under a minute (also, there are the midpoint markers in a bunch of the levels so you aren't always starting over from the beginning). I guess it all depends on why you are playing the game in the first place. I got ZERO sense of accomplishment after completing the game because it wasn't challenging at all and I like a good challenge.
 
Well, to be honest, since it is fairly obvious Mushroom Houses don't give you useful stuff, you can just not open the star gates to them until you need to save...
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']There is a penalty-you go back to the start of the level. That's more than enough. I'd hate the game if I was constantly having to restart from the beginning of a world or the whole game. Would have sold it weeks ago instead of keeping it forever.[/QUOTE]

Its enough for me as well.

But:

1. I don't have much time for games, so I have no patience for replaying sections over and over. I'll just quit and go onto the next game.

2. Most 2D games today/since the SNES era have a lot of collection/exploration elements to them. Thus you can't finish them in a single playing. Who would want to try to find all gold coins in every stage, find every secret exit etc. in NSMB in one sitting? It's really not even possible as unless you're a savant or using a guide as it would take to long.
 
[quote name='javeryh']That's not a penalty - at all. You can hold down the run button and blast through a level in under a minute (also, there are the midpoint markers in a bunch of the levels so you aren't always starting over from the beginning). I guess it all depends on why you are playing the game in the first place. I got ZERO sense of accomplishment after completing the game because it wasn't challenging at all and I like a good challenge.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, different people are looking for different things. I don't care about challenge at all-I just want to have fun, have an interesting experience, enjoy the gameplay mechanics, that type of thing.

Having to replay a level (or half of one) IS a penalty, and more than enough IMO. IMO forcing someone to replay lengthy segments of a game is just poor game design, not a virtue.
 
Same here. I don't play games to get a sense of accomplishment. I get that from my work and Ph D studies.

I play games to relax, unwind and have fun. Having to replay several levels when you die doesn't fit that bill for me.
 
NSMB is one of the easier games out there, my brother-in-law picked it up and played it and had fun with it, even with "penalties". Oh and he's a doctor so don't tell me you can't get accomplishment from games.
 
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