E3 2009: New Super Mario Bros.

One of the bestselling games that Nintendo has put out over the past few years is New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. The game was an instant hit with the Mario Bros. fans as it brought the series right back to its roots while still giving it an upgrade in gameplay and presentation. At this year’s E3, Nintendo decided to extend the franchise to the console front by announcing New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a four-player version of the game with all new levels, power-ups, and gameplay innovations. We got the opportunity to go hands-on with the title and Nintendo showed us a bit of what the game will bring to the table when game ships later this year.

The E3 demo has multiple stages available for play, each with a very distinct atmosphere. In our time with the game we ran through the standard grassy level with Koopas and Piranha Plants, through snowy levels with attacking penguins, through underground caverns where darkness dominated the level, and through a castle stage. New enemies and items were all over the place, such as the penguin suit which allowed the person wearing it to glide much easier on the ice. You can use the new power-ups to give yourself and advantage when it comes to picking up coins, or you can use them to simply turn nasty on your friends. Once we were introduced to Yoshi, it became a friendly competition to see who could spit the others into as many enemies or traps as possible. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is probably going to lead to plenty of friends punching each other in the arm as often as it will provide high fives.

The four playable characters were Mario, Luigi, a blue Toad, and a yellow Toad. When asked about the possibility of more mainstream characters, we were told by the Nintendo rep that he wasn’t aware of any plan to get them into the game, but that he couldn’t rule that possibility out completely until later in the development cycle. Based on the comments, however, it seems like we won’t be seeing Daisy, Peach, or anybody else from the Mushroom Kingdom finding their way into the playable roster.

Graphically the game is just a minor step up from the DS version. Obviously it’s a cleaner look and it supports a widescreen format, but it might have been nice to have seen some more particle effects, a bit more complex geometry, and more detail in the character models. Luckily, the gameplay is frantic enough that the graphics will be a minor worry once you and up to three friends start battling it out for coins, items, and power-ups. There’s still time for some additional polish to be added to the game, but we’re not expecting a big upgrade to take place in the visual department.

As far as controls go, everything is nice and responsive. The Wii motions are used for things like grabbing another player, executing spin moves, or popping yourself out of the bubble you are trapped in after losing a life. All this worked well, and it cuts down on the number of button pressed or combinations that newcomers will need to learn.

Unfortunately there are no plans to take the game online at this point, but the real strength of the title lies in battling with the people seated next to you. Online play would definitely open up the possibility for more 4-player matches, but having everybody on the same console would certainly still be the preferred way to play. Either way, it would have been nice to see the option present.

Coming out later this year, New Super Mario Bros. Wii will definitely be another big seller for Nintendo. Mario is as hot as ever, and this game should only push his popularity higher with Nintendo’s target audience.