The following comes from something I did for TouchDS.com, a Nintendo site I mod for.
A New "Lite" Shines on an Old Classic... A Review of New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS written by Nmaster64 (Touchds.com Moderator & Nwizard.com Owner/Reporter) 
There's a good reason I chose to do this review. It's not just because New Super Mario Bros. is one of the DS's biggest titles, or even simply the fact that I thought it'd be cool for the "Nintendo Master" to review the new Mario game. No, this goes much deeper than that. You see, I, like many a gamer, was first introduced to video games by Mario. Yes, the original Super Mario Bros. was the first video game I ever played, at the ripe age of 2. That one game, whether you believe me or not, has gone on to define almost every part of my being. My interest for video games turned to an interest in technology and computers, and now jump 16 years later and I'm on track for a Master's degree in Computer Science and I'm on my way to becoming a game designer for myself. It may be hard to imagine, but I firmly believe that Super Mario Bros. is the most important game I've ever played, if not possibly the one most important thing I've ever done in my life.
The game: Well, now that I got that out of my system, let's get to the review.
New Super Mario Bros. is, in fact, a redesign, or more fittingly, a
sequel of the original
Super Mario Bros. game for NES. The game's core gameplay comes directly from the original, and while the graphics have been brought into the 3D age and tons of new things have been added, the heart of this game is still in the original. This is the first side-scrolling adventure Mario's starred in since before his 3D debut in
Super Mario 64, and 10 years is way too long to wait folks. Nostalgia for the win.
The look: The core idea behind
New Super Mario Bros. was to take the wonderfully addictive and fun gameplay from the original and bring it into modern gaming. Of course, the most noticeable effect of this is the 20-year upgrade to the graphics. Mario and his enemies are beautifully rendered in a 3D style much like that in
Super Mario 64. Many of the baddies and moves Mario's collected in his days under the 3-dimensional sun have been brought into
New Super Mario Bros, including the story's main nemesis, Baby Bowser. Overall, the new look is definitely for the better. While I'm a sucker for 8-bit, all the little things 3D brings to the table are worth the sacrifice, and the visuals are definitly one of the best parts of the upgrade from old to new.
The feel: Old-school games were defined by tight controls. Whether it be Mario, Sonic, or Mega Man, perfectly timed running, jumping, and dodging were the foundation of the classic platform. Thus, while level design and enemy placement may not seem very complex in these games, in reality an enemy's placement needs to be just right if the player is going to be able to pull off some of the crazier tricks. Luckily, the core of that gameplay is still here, although you may find a few differences.
First off, the game has much more detailed gravity and physics, which is actually a bit akward in comparison to the original where you always rose and fell at the same speed. Jumping is solid, but you seem to kind of float a bit at the height of your jump in comparison to the original. Very much like the original however, your jumping is mapped to a single button, while all your other moves are mapped to a second button. The two-button action is definitly the best hold-over from the first game, as dividing some of the moves up would just make it to complicated.
Of course, the DS also has a touch screen, so that functionality needs to be used as well. Probably for the better, Nintendo decided that Mario's classic platforming didn't fit well with the "touching is good" concept, and only left it with the player using his or her thumb to tap a large button which uses your stored item. Other than that, the bottom screen simply shows all your stats and a handy map, which is certainly nice since it leaves the top screen completely blank for 100ction, no messy HUDs.
The gameplay: Single-player The heart of
New Super Mario Bros. is definitely the 80 level single player campaign. 8 worlds, multiple secrets in every world, and three star coins per level that entice you to collect 'em all. This game's got plenty to it. Maybe one of the best things however is how you don't HAVE to do any of that. You can ignore the coins, the secrets, even a couple worlds and just zip through the game as if Mario was trying to outspeed Sonic the Hedgehog. Playing like this, you'll probably be able to knock the game out as fast as you would the original, in a solid day of gameplay. However, it's all the extras that keep you coming back, and you can easily play this game off and on for weeks if not months hunting down every last secret in the game, and trust me, like all Mario games, there's a whole lot of 'em.
The gameplay itself definitly harks back to the original, and I couldn't love that part of it any more. While things are a bit more complex now with 3D animations, new skills and power-ups, new enemies and worlds, it's still all solid platforming, side-scrolling goodness. However, there is one major difference in the game that makes this hardcore gamer a little bit frustrated.
Generally, I'm not one to play Mario and go on some amazing speed run or try to get some amazing pointage. No, I play Mario because it's fun, and I like to goof around and do silly things and whatnot, and try out different things and look for secrets. So, I'm not playing hardcore doing everything I can to not lose, because I really don't care, afterall, I'm having fun. Thus, with all my goofing around, I die, A LOT. I'm disturbed that I never once got a gameover. I should not be allowed to die 10 times in a row just to start back halfway through a level in the middle of the game. In the original, you lose your few lives, you start the GAME over. Having save functionality alone makes the game remarkably easier, and the jumps and such in this game aren't even CLOSE to as difficult as the original, but Nintendo still thought softcore gamers would just be to upset by seeing the dreaded "game over" screen and decided to hand out 1-Up mushrooms like Sony hands out lies. This, especially for a hardcore gamer, is upsetting, although, in the end, somewhat forgivable.
On that point, the bosses are also pretty lackluster. A couple are annoying at best, and none of them are truly a challenge. There's nothing lamer than seeing a boss like Bowser die to a few shots from a Fire Flower. And Baby Bowser? Well, he's just lame all around.
Another disappointment is the lack of unlockables. All those hard-earned star coins get you is power-ups and some new backgrounds for the bottom screen. No unlockable mini-games, modes, or anything. Still, in reality, I find coin-hunting a good reason to replay levels, so it's not really a bad addition. It's my experience that games need to give you some feeling of accomplishment when your playing, so it's good to feel like your getting something done while you replay the game, even if it's all for very little in the end.
Still, despite all this, the game presents the perfect balance between capturing the essence of the original while bringing in new stuff and putting it in the current-gen of gaming. While I've heard some complaints about the game not being on the GameCube, the experience definitly fits perfectly on the DS, and it's nice to be able to carry such a classic with me wherever I go. The gameplay is simple, fun, and addictive, and that's exactly what it takes to make a great game. Don't let my complaints fool you, this gameplay is second to none, and puts most true 3D games to shame.
Multi-player The biggest surprise on the cartridge, Mario vs. Luigi is a versus mode for two players, available via single-card download play. The game consists of players battling it out for stars, much like in the multiplayer mode for
Super Mario 64 DS, but on a classic-style Mario side-scrolling level. The levels wrap around on themselves, and are fairly small, so your always where the action is. Enemies and obstacles still dot the landscape, but now you have to contend with your equal match, the other Mario brother. It's just unbelievable how fun such a simple game like this can be.
All the powerups are available like on a normal Mario level. The 3 new powerups and Starman are also available via a coin system, where as you get one random power-up for every 8 coins you collect. If you couldn't guess, getting a Mega Mushroom means some insane trouble for the opponent. The Blue Koopa Shell also finds a good use in multiplayer, and little is more satisfying than knocking some sense into your brother as a Koopa.
There's really not much more to explain about this mode, because there's really not much to it. That's not a bad thing however, because I have to say: Mario vs. Luigi is the most fun multiplayer experience I've had in years, and no other two-player game on the market can compete with how unbelievably fun this is. It's unfortunate there couldn't be more players, but if you've only got two people, two DS's, and one game, then you won't find a better time than this. This is in fact my overall favorite addition to
New Super Mario Bros. Extra bits: -
The sound - Sound and music are rarely a big deal in my opinion. However, when you have a game like Mario who's theme song is known by just about every human being on Earth, you better stay true to the roots. Luckily
New Super Mario Bros. still keeps most of his old beats, along with some new variations. It all sounds pretty nice, and comes out of the DS's high quality speakers cleaner than that 8-bit noise ever did. If your looking for the classic Mario music and sounds, you'll find it all here, although your not going to find any new hits.
-
The moves - Mario's 3D adventures have left him with some nice new abilities since we last saw the plumber sidescrolling. Wall Jumping is easily the best, since now if you miss that jump you likely have a chance to get yourself out of losing a life, if your quick. Hill sliding and triple jumps make an appearance, although rarely will you get a good use out of 'em, and the triple jump needs to be set up just perfectly to execute. Ground pounding is a big part of the game, and gives you an extra option for how to approach hitting all those coin-filled blocks. My disappointment comes from the lack of the
Super Mario 64 backflip, which is just plain fun to do, although it's cool that a Starman will give you the power to frontflip to your heart's content.
-
The power-ups - 3 new powerups are introduced in
New Super Mario Bros, including the Blue Koopa Shell, the Mini Mushroom, and everyone's new favorite, the Mega Mushroom. It's unfortunate that with such cool new power-ups, that little focus is placed on using them, except for accessing certain secrets and coins. The koopa shell is my personal favorite in theory, however it's so hard to control that it's usually a hinderance more than a true power-up. Depending on the situation, it's either invaluable or will quickly be the death of you, and that's a shame. The Mini Mushroom gets the most use, allowing you to jump higher and run on water at the exchange of being really weak and dying from one hit. The Mega Mushroom of course is a temporary power-up, sort of like an advanced version of the Starman, but cooler. However, despite it's coolness, other than shaving some time of completing the level and getting a couple 1up's, it's really not that helpful in the grand scheme of things. So, while all the new powerups are cool, they seem sort of unnecessary. If
New Super Mario Bros. sees a sequel, we should hope to see more, better uses for these cool power-ups.
-
The minigames - If there is any truly disappointing part to
New Super Mario Bros, it's the minigames. Albeit, there are a couple new ones, but the vast majority of them are directly ripped from
Super Mario 64 DS. It's unlike Nintendo to be so uninnovative, and it's a huge disappoint. Still, I assume it's better to have them than not, but some more new ones would have been nice. Compared to the rest of the package however, the minigames can pretty much be ignored entirely.
-
What's missing? - Maybe this is just me, but throughout the entire game there was one constant thing that weighed on my mind that was really missing from
New Super Mario Bros. Now, I can't really knock the game for this, as it really doesn't have anything to do with the new game itself. However, I can't help but feel I should be able to play the original
Super Mario Bros. on this cartridge. It just makes sense. You could unlock the original
Metroid in
Metroid Prime, why not have
Super Mario Bros. unlockable in
New Super Mario Bros? Make it some ultimate secret that makes me hunt down every star coin in the game, I don't mind, but it's exclusion for some reason bugs me. It would certainly be nicer than those minigame rehashes...
Final Verdict: Nmaster's Rating: 9.8 out of 10 It's amazing really. Any other game that has as many flaws and annoyances as this one would be one for the bargain bin, but not this one. No, a game's value is NOT the average of the parts the make it up, a game's value comes from one thing and one thing alone: FUN FACTOR. I always found it strange that most reviewers give
Super Smash Bros. Melee a high rating, but never really near a perfect one. And yet, that game has created more fun for more people than probably any other game of this generation, and THAT fact means it deserves one of the highest scores anyone can give. In a similar fashion,
New Super Mario Bros. has quickly become my favorite DS game of all. Sure, it may not have quite longevity of
Castlevania or
Brain Age, or the replay value of
Metroid Prime Hunters or
Jump SuperStars, but for as awesome as all those games are, Mario just has a fun factor like no other, period. All the flaws and issues I have with the game are just nitpicking at what is one the greatest experiences I've had with any game in a long time. And you can bet that while I may not be going online with this puppy, me and my DS-touting friends will be hooking up for some Mario vs. Luigi for a long time to come.
This is a must play, for everyone. Age doesn't matter, skill doesn't matter, nothing about you or your life matters. You just
have to play this game. If you've got a DS, you have no excuse for not having this game in your hands right now. And if your DS-less, well there's this really sexy new version launching that's well worth the $130,
look into it.
Mario's always been the figurehead of gaming innovation. And while
New Super Mario Bros. has plenty of innovative elements, it's the lack thereof that makes this game so enjoyable, bringing me back to my childhood, when games were so simple a 2-year-old could play them. Don't get me wrong, Mario's galaxy-spanning entry on the Wii has me very excited, and you can bet I'll have that day one (maybe I'll do a review?), but I truly hope Nintendo can every few years give us a game like this that truly takes us back to the old school. No game can ever let us relive the beauty of
Super Mario Bros. as it was back then, but damn, this really is as close as it gets. Mama mia, we have a winner.
GAME OVER