Review | New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The castles can be particularly brutal. You’ll spend countless lives dodging gigantic spikes, avoiding fireballs and mastering all of the little nuances that can save you from a grisly death. If you don’t get a handle on things, you’ll eventually unlock the Super Guide, which offers a tutorial video of the game designers playing through the level. You don’t have to use it (retro gamers might even be offended), but it’s there as an option for anyone frustrated enough to fling their controller across the room.
If anything, the WiiMote itself might be your only problem. It’s fine most of the time – it’s basically a more ergonomic version of the NES controller, after all – but its motion-based controls seem unnecessary. For example, you’ll have to tilt the WiiMote in order to move some platforms and access otherwise unreachable areas. Few levels utilize the concept well, and the rest seem to have it just for the sake of variety. You also have to waggle the controller to pick up large items, execute a spin jump, and even use some of the power-ups. It feels tacked on, especially since such actions could have been mapped to one of the unused buttons. It’s a shame that there aren’t any alternate controller options. They might have saved the gameplay from being slightly gimmicky.
//Friendly fire
You’ll probably stop caring once you get some friends involved. New Super Mario Bros. Wii has arguably the greatest multiplayer gameplay on the Wii. Yes, Brawl included. Up to four people can tackle a level at once, working with and/or against each other. There’s an optional challenge that has you play through various stages and collect and steal as many coins as possible, which makes for some truly competitive fun. But even if you’re not challenging each other directly, you can still mess with each other in the regular levels. There is no way to accurately describe the sadistic glee you’ll feel when you pick up your friend’s character and lob him into Bowser’s lava pits. Or not-quite-accidentally sniping him with a Koopa shell, for that matter. Just keeping all four characters alive is challenging enough as it is; you’ll need plenty of good teamwork and communication if you hope to get through a level. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to be held back by your less-experienced peers. You can add or drop a player before a level, which allows you to tackle tougher areas without being burdened. It’s great feature, and its one of the most important aspects of an incredibly well-designed multiplayer.
Pity there’s no online functionality. It wouldn’t have worked, anyway. The kind of platforming involved requires precise timing, and any lag would have killed the game’s appeal. Still, you’d think Nintendo would have done something with its Internet connectivity. A level editing option would have kept the game fresh long after the completion of the main adventure. At the very least, there should have been some kind of video playback option. What better way to cover speed runs than by recording your attempts and uploading them? There are even unlockable hint movies to show you secrets and tricks. That’s all well and good, but there should have been a way for gamers to craft their own content. It’s a shame such an opportunity was missed.
Regardless, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one of the best Nintendo games in years. It serves as a reminder of the great 2D platformers of yesteryear, and demonstrates how they have evolved into something more. It combines the basic gameplay mechanics of the retro games with the best ideas from the rest of the series. With tons of variety and challenging levels, it remains a satisfying experience throughout. The multiplayer steals the show with its unique blend of co-op and competitive gameplay, offering potential hilarity with each stage. The only things holding it back are some occasionally gimmicky controls and an utter lack of online features. It doesn’t really matter, though, because New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one of the console’s strongest offerings on the market. Peach might be worth saving again after all.
9/10
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