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New Super Mario Bros.

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"NSMB" redirects here. For Navier-Stokes finite volume solver, see NSMB (mathematics).
New Super Mario Bros.
American Cover art
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Takashi Tezuka
Shigeyuki Asuke
Masahiro Imaizumi
Taku Matoba
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
ReleaseNA May 15, 2006[1]
JPN May 25, 2006[2]
AUS June 8, 2006[3]
EUR June 30, 2006[4]
KR March 8, 2007[5]
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

New Super Mario Bros. (ニュー・スーパーマリオ ブラザーズ, Nyū Sūpā Mario Burazāzu) is a side-scrolling platforming video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in North America on May 15, 2006, and was later released in Japan on May 25, 2006, in Australia on June 8, 2006, in Europe on June 30, 2006, and in South Korea on March 8, 2007.

New Super Mario Bros. is often believed to be the first original side-scrolling platform game starring Mario since Super Mario World,[6][4] although the acclaimed but lesser-known Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins was released more recently.[7]

Plot

New Super Mario Bros.'s plot is roughly the same as the original Super Mario Bros. and other sidescrolling Mario games — Bowser Jr. captures Princess Peach, and it is up to Mario to rescue her. At the beginning of the game, Princess Peach and Mario are out for a walk when lightning from Lakithunder strikes the castle. As Mario runs to help, Bowser Jr. pops out of the bushes and kidnaps the Princess. Realizing what has happened, Mario quickly rushes back and chases after Bowser Jr. Now, Mario must venture through eight worlds (plains, desert, tropical island, jungle, glacier, mountains, sky, and the Koopa Kingdom) to rescue the Princess from Bowser Jr. and his father, Bowser.

As the game starts, Mario chases Bowser Jr. (who drags the princess behind him) through the eight worlds, confronting him occasionally, but unable to save the princess from his clutches. At the end of the first world, Bowser Jr. retreats into a castle, where Bowser himself is waiting. Mario defeats Bowser by dropping him into a pit of lava, a technique reminiscent of the original Super Mario Bros. game. Mario continues chasing Bowser Jr. through more worlds, and conquering more bosses, until they reach a castle deep within the Koopa Kingdom. There, Bowser Jr. resurrects his father in skeletal form but once again Bowser is defeated, this time by being dropped into a pit. Bowser Jr. flees once more across a lava chasm to a larger castle, where he throws his father's bones into a cauldron and causes Bowser to be reincarnated into a more powerful form. They attack Mario in tandem, but Mario is able to once again drop the pair into the pit below.

In the end sequence, Princess Peach is rescued and rewards Mario with a kiss. As the credits roll, various pictures from the game are reviewed, followed by a scene in which Bowser Jr. is seen dragging his unconscious father out of the castle. Bowser Jr. then says something in his high pitched voice to the player and Bowser trys to get up. The player is also rewarded with a secret code (Hold L+R and press A when selecting file) that allows the game to be played as Mario's brother Luigi, however it is not necessary to beat the game first for this code to work. In fact, if the player uses this code on a new file, the beginning sequence will replace Mario with Luigi.

Gameplay

Single player

New Super Mario Bros. was inspired by the original Super Mario Bros. (SMB) with many elements from later Mario releases such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Super Mario 64, however while the main characters and villains are 3-dimensional, most of the lesser enemies and objects are pre-rendered sprites on 2-dimensional backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D effect. As in past games, Mario can grab coins, stomp on enemies, and grab Super Mushrooms from blocks, causing him to grow into "Super Mario", as well as getting a Fire Flower to turn into "Fire Mario". Unlike other games in the Super Mario series, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64, flying is not a critical aspect in this game. In fact, the "feather" for flying is not available for use in the game. The design of the world map is also similar to Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Many traditional moves from Mario's 3-D games appear for the first time in a 2-D Mario adventure, including the ground pound, triple jump, and wall jump, (though the ground pound was a move of Wario in the Mario spin-off Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3). Some enemies have also been carried over, such as Petey Piranha, and so have helpful characters such as Dorrie, the blue Loch Ness-style monster from Mario 64.

File:New-super-mario-bros-worldmap.jpg
New Super Mario Bros world map.

New Super Mario Bros. contains 80 levels divided between eight worlds. Each world is represented by a map, with alternate pathways and secrets throughout. The goal of each level, as in the original SMB, is to reach the flag pole at the end of side-scrolling levels. A vertically scrolling tower level, where the mini-boss (Bowser, Jr.) must be defeated, appears once or twice in each world. At the end of each world a main boss must be defeated in a level that takes place within a castle. Not all the worlds have to be cleared to reach the ending, as special "Warp Cannons" and "Warp Pipes" can be discovered which allow the player to skip large segments of the game (and reducing the number of levels necessary to beat the game by up to three-quarters). Collecting and spending the golden Star Coins scattered throughout the stages will unlock certain helpful paths and bonuses as well.

This game also rewards the player for completing additional tasks with stars on the file select screen. When the player finishes the game the first time, one star appears. If all of the games stages are finished as well, the player receives two stars. To obtain the third and final star, the player must find every secret exit, use all of the Warp Cannons, as well as collect (and spend) all of the game's hidden Star Coins. While trying to complete the game, the player can only save their progress once they have defeated a Castle or a Tower for the first time, or after having spent 5 Star Coins on a Toad House or a bonus level. Once the game has been completed, however, the player earns the right to save the game at any time while outside a stage. The game also is credited with employing sounds from past Mario games of both the NES and SNES platforms.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer mode supports two players (Mario and Luigi) as they duke it out over one of five stages, trying to lay claim to a set number of Big Stars before the other player. Both players can attack each other to try and steal the Stars the other player grabbed, and Ground-Pounding a player will make him or her lose three Big Stars instead of one. In addition, many of the minigames previously found in Super Mario 64 DS are brought back and now offer a multiplayer option for added replay value. Both modes can be played multiplayer with one DS game cartridge and two handhelds for the fight stages or up to four handhelds for the minigames, via the DS Download Play feature. In early screenshots, what appears to be a co-operative mode was shown.

Power-ups

File:MarioScreen3.jpg
Mario rampages through a stage with the power of a Mega Mushroom power-up, (Japanese version)

All of the power-ups from the original SMB return, and as in Super Mario World, the player can save one power-up for later use. A "Super Mushroom" will make Mario grow into Super Mario, and give him an additional hit point. The "Fire Flower" lets Mario shoot fireballs at enemies (unlike the original game however, where Mario would immediately revert to his original form if he got hit, Mario gets an additional hit point when he collects a Fire Flower or a Blue Koopa Shell). The Starman grants Mario invincibility for a limited amount of time. The "green 1-up Mushroom" gives Mario an extra life. In addition, several all-new powerups occur in the game.

The "Blue Koopa Shell" causes Mario to wear the shell in the style of a Koopa, becoming Shell Mario. In this form, he can perform a Shell Dash by running quickly, which causes him to duck into his shell and bounce around like any other Koopa shell. Shell Mario is also able to duck into his shell at any time rendering him invulnerable to most enemies' attacks. Shell Mario can also swim faster and is more agile in water.

The "Mega Mushroom" causes Mario to grow into the gigantic Mega Mario for a short time, allowing him to crush nearly anything he runs into, including pipes, bricks, enemies and even the end-of-level flagpole. Mega Mario can destroy almost any boss in the game with a single jump on the head. A ground pound in this form will cause Goombas, coins, or a combination of both to fall from the sky. In addition, a meter at the top of the screen fills as the player destroys more and more items. For every meter bar Mario fills (each one is two sections), a 1-up will appear when the mushroom wears off. Mario is invincible like the Starman, but will lose a life if he falls down a gap, into acid, or into lava as will the starman. However, his size makes it difficult for him to fall through most gaps. Also, you can use the Mega Mushroom underwater. This power-up is quite rare in regular levels but it can be obtained from orange toad Houses and saved for use in places it cannot otherwise be found. Incidentally, the Mega Mushroom looks a lot like the original Super Mushroom from Super Mario Bros.

The "Mini Mushroom" causes Mario to shrink into the minuscule Mini Mario, giving him access to tiny passageways that he couldn't normally access. His jumps have slower descent and increased height, and Mario also gains the ability to run on water. If Mario is hit once in this form, he will lose a life, and in this form Mario cannot defeat a standard enemy with a normal jump, but must instead rely on a ground pound. By defeating the bosses at the end of worlds two and five as Mini Mario, the player can access the Warp Pipes that lead to worlds four and seven, respectively; however, it isn't necessary to do so to access the worlds if one uses the Warp Cannons found in other worlds. (Note: Interestingly, the blue Mini Mushroom looks like the Slow Shroom in Mario Party 7, but does not have the same effects.)

Minigames

New Super Mario Bros. contains 18 minigames for single play (some of which can be played in multiplayer mode as well) and ten multiplayer mini games exclusive for LAN play. The minigames are split into the categories of "Action", "Puzzle", "Table" and "Variety". Many of the minigames originally appeared in Super Mario 64 DS, though some have been altered slightly. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Wario also make appearances in these minigames.

Production

File:Old NSMB.jpg
When it was still being developed, New Super Mario Bros. looked very different than the final product.

New Super Mario Bros. was first shown during the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo.[8]

This is the first original 2-D Mario game to use voice acting for its characters (though it has been used in many 2-D Mario remakes). In the English language version,Charles Martinet returned to voice Mario and Luigi, along with Nicole Mills as Princess Peach, Scott Burns as Bowser, and Dolores Rogers as Bowser, Jr. According to early interviews however, the game was originally planned not to have voice acting, in order to stay to the spirit of the original Super Mario Bros.,[9] and a misunderstanding in a Nintendo Power interview with Takashi Tezuka caused some fans to believe that the Koopalings were going to return in the game.[10]

Music

The game features original music composed by Asuka Ota and Hajime Wakai, under the direction of original Super Mario Bros. composer Koji Kondo. The game also features new arrangements of some of Kondo's themes from previous Mario games. A unique element in the game is that some characters perform a dance move in response to certain riffs in the score. For example, Goombas and power-ups hop, Koopa Troopas do the Twist, Cheep-Cheeps perform a barrel roll, and Spinies do an about face. The background music of the towers, castles and ghost houses contain no special riffs. Music from the game will be performed in 2007 in an arrangement by Yuzo Koshiro at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany. [citation needed]

Reception

Reviews
Publication Score
1UP 8 out of 10[11]
VG Resource Center 9.25 out of 10[12]
GameDaily 4.5 out of 5[13]
IGN 9.5 out of 10[14]
GameSpot 9 out of 10[15]
GameSpy 5 out of 5[7]
GamePro 4.5 out of 5[16]
Total Gamer Zone 9.6 out of 10[17]
NintendoNow 9.3 out of 10[18]
Famitsu 36 out of 40[19]
Hyper Magazine 91 out of 100
Review compilations
Game Rankings 89% (based on 80 reviews)[20]
GameStats 9.1 out of 10 (based on 34 reviews)[21]

New Super Mario Bros. met with great success upon launching in Japan, selling nearly 420,000 units in its first day of availability, for a total of nearly 900,000 copies in its first four days. At the time, it was the best debut for a Nintendo DS game; it has since lost the top position to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.[22] The game reached the half a million mark in the United States in little over a month[23] (selling at a rate of 20 copies every minute), and the one million mark twelve weeks after release.[24]

As of June 2007, New Super Mario Bros. has sold 10.52 million copies worldwide,[25] making it the second best-selling DS game to date.

The game has generally received positive reviews. It was rated 9.5 by four reviewers in Nintendo Power, making it one of the highest rated games since the inception of their current rating system. Among other positive reviews, IGN also gave New Super Mario Bros. a 9.5/10, making it along with Mario Kart DS and Elite Beat Agents, the highest rated Nintendo DS game on the site.

Awards

Notes and references

  1. ^ Official site
  2. ^ http://www.nintendo.co.jp/schedule/index.html
  3. ^ http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3366
  4. ^ a b "New Super Mario Bros". Nintendo Europe. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  5. ^ Official Korean site
  6. ^ http://ds.ign.com/objects/682/682879.html
  7. ^ a b Theobald, Phil (2006-05-15). "New Super Mario Bros. Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ IGN videos
  9. ^ Thomason, Steve, Nintendo Power issue#202, Sizing Up Mario, pg. 42
  10. ^ Thomason, Steve, Nintendo Power issue#202, Sizing Up Mario, pg. 41
  11. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2006-05-15). "Reviews: New Super Mario Bros". 1UP. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Schwarz, Eric. "New Super Mario Bros. review". VGRC. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  13. ^ Benyamine, John (2006-12-14). "Review : New Super Mario Bros". GameDaily. pp. p. 3. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Harris, Craig (2006-05-06). "New Super Mario Bros". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2006-05-16). "New Super Mario Bros. review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Mr. Marbles (2006-05-19). "Review: New Super Mario Bros". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Wilkin, TJ (2006-08-12). "New Super Mario Bros. Review". Total Gamer Zone. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Vavra, Chris (2006-05-23). "NEW Super Mario Bros. review". Nintendo Now. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Famitsu DS reviews". Go Nintendo. 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2007-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Neo-Gaffer" ignored (help)
  20. ^ "New Super Mario Bros. Review". GameRankings.com. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  21. ^ "New Super Mario Bros. reviews". GameStats. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |] accessdate= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Jenkins, David (2006-06-02). "Japanese Sales Charts, Week Ending May 28". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2006-06-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Nintendo Press Release (2006-06-22). "NINTENDO NEWS: NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. SURGES PAST HALF-MILLION MARK". Nintendo. Retrieved 2006-06-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Harris, Craig (2006-08-24). "Mario's Million". IGN. Retrieved 2006-08-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Nintendo Sales Update". Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  26. ^ "IGN Editors' Choice Games".


Coverage

Videos

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