New Super Mario Bros. At Eurogamer

The clock was ticking, the event was closing, and myself and Luke had only just managed to get on to the New Super Mario game. To be honest I wasn’t all that fussed about it at first, which is why I left it till last. I have been playing Mario games (much like many of you) since I can remember, and have seen it go through numerous changes over the years. From its humble barrel jumping capers through mushroom power-ups, raccoon suits, Yoshis to ride, metallic Marios and flying through space; and figured I’d seen it all. What could they really do to make me want to go back to playing with Mario?

Bring it back to its roots, that’s what. I don’t care what the other critics say, Mario Galaxy was rubbish! It was so far removed from the Mario I knew and loved I truly felt that if you had put Crash Bandicoot or Sonic in there instead of Mario nobody would bat an eyelid. It just didn’t have the ‘feel’ of a Mario game to me, to add to my frustration I had to keep my mouth shut about how I felt because everybody else seemed to think it was genius. As a result I left Mario behind, and expected to never look at him the same way again. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone near the Peter Pan plumber and I had honestly forgotten how much fun a Mario game could be! As Luke and I picked up a remote each, we began to play, and as we both jumped our way through the classic looking level I had a rush of memories flood through me. Past times of quick yet precisely timed jumps and jolly tunes that instantly stick in your head came pouring out of the screen at me, all emphasised by Luke being in the level with me and spurring me on to either catch up with him or help him. It was as if I had gone back to being eleven years old again, that competition and co-operation meshed together like when I used to play with my best friend – only this time, we were in the level at the same time! And it’s this that changes the old Mario dynamic entirely, being able to play with your friends; and helping them or just being annoying and getting in their way is so much fun. Ah ‘fun’, where have you been?

The last time a game made me smile was when I swallowed my manly pride and downloaded Flower off the PSN (true fact). New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii did the same thing to me that day, made me remember why I’m still gaming. It’s the classic Mario all over again, only this time re-created with sumptuous and detailed graphics, colourful deep backdrops and full-sounding melodies to fill your lug-holes! All the things that I remember about the ‘old skool’ Mario yet enhanced in almost every way. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly downloaded a few older titles off the Wii store and used the Wiimote on its side for retro titles before, but the pad has always felt a bit like a NES pad that’s been mashed in a car-crusher with these titles, and yet this time it felt ‘right’. So much so, I wasn’t even aware of holding it. This is how Mario should be, a game that pulls you in with the power of ‘fun’ alone.

Nintendo’s senior product manager, Rob Lowe was heard saying “It’s like a cross between Super Mario World and Mario Kart. Dosen’t that sound amazing?” Indeed it does Mr. Lowe, and he’s made a great analogy there too, it is like a cross between the two. You have the back-to-roots fun of the classic platforming Mario games with the push/pull competitive nature of the Mario Kart games thrown in from the co-op play mechanics. We only spent a short time with New Super Mario, but that was enough to make me want to keep playing, much like a child being told to turn off the lights and go to bed, the reluctance to put down the pad because of the Expo closing made me want to throw a fit on the carpet.

The Mario franchise has seen some great ideas and some awful ideas (Mario at the Olympics, pa-lease!) but this time it’s a nail-on-the-head time for the little rotund plumber, a proper 1UP x 10 moment for Nintendo. I expect that when this hits the shops, it’s going to sell bucketloads.

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