New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review
One Thursday morning, I ordered this on Amazon and paid an extra $4 for next-day delivery. I didn't have school on that Friday, so I invited two friends, Sola and Todd, over for the day. The game arrived at around one o'clock, and after five hours, five of eight worlds, over 200 deaths, about two thousand death threats, and countless screams of frustration and cries of "Todd! Why did you bubble?", I can say that I love it.
The game is very similar in design to New Super Mario Bros. for DS, but with one major difference: four-player co-op! Even though there were only three of us (there was one other kid in the building but she isn't much of a gamer), we still had fun. It can be frustrating when your "teammate" steals that fire flower they didn't even need or hops off your head and plunges you into a lava pit, but having some extra players to watch your back really helps out. You can pick someone up to get the extra height needed to snag a Star Coin, help them across a tricky gap, or throw them to the flagpole.
It's also nice to have teammates because it makes dying not such a big deal. When someone loses a life, they come back in a bubble, which must be popped by a living player. It is also possible to "bubble" yourself at will and float over a difficult area while a more experienced friend gets to the other side and pops your bubble. However, if everyone is either dead or in a bubble, it's back to the beginning of the level.
The controls are very similar to those of New Super Mario Bros. for DS, so if you've played that, you'll be fine. It can be hard to get used to the motion-controlled elements, such as grabbing items (get near an item, hold down 1, and shake the Wiimote), and spin jumping by shaking the Wiimote. The spin jumping can actually get you killed if you're ducking under a spiky rod and accidentally move the Wiimote and jump right into it.
Though the Mega Mushroom and Blue Shell from NSMB DS are gone, the traditional Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Star are still there, as is the mini mushroom on NSMB DS, and three new (at least to 2-D Mario games) powerups. You have the Ice Flower (from Super Mario Galaxy), which lets you toss snowballs to freeze enemies into solid chunks of ice, which can be picked up and thrown, the Penguin Suit, which combines snowball-throwing with belly sliding (similar to the Blue Shell-ing from NSMB DS) and improved swimming, and the propeller cap, which lets you get a boost into the sky. And Yoshi's back too. Don't worry, there are always enough Yoshis and powerups for everyone, provided that one person doesn't decide to be a butthead and take them all. Also, you can get items at Red Mushroom Houses by playing a matching game, and then use them before going into a level (one item affects all players).
The game is definitely harder than many new Mario games. One level got me from 0 continues to about 5, but we finally beat it and Todd managed to leave without a Wii-Mote being driven through his skull. However, the game is certainly forgiving. As long as you still have lives, you come back in a bubble if you die during a level, and you have unlimited continues. However, if everyone hits 0 lives at the same time, it's game over, and you have to start over from your last save point. You can quicksave anywhere on the map screen in this game, unlike in NSMB DS where you could only save wherever you wanted after beating the game!
Unfortunately, there are some disappointing aspects of the game, mainly it's length. Only 9 worlds, with the 9th being unlocked after you beat all 8, and the levels of the 9th being unlocked after getting all the star coins of each world (although the 9th world’s freakishly difficult levels will keep you entertained for a while). Each world has multiple paths, but there are usually only five or six levels that you have to go through. I also didn't like how the themes of each world were identical to those of NSMB DS, except for worlds 3, 4, and 5 switched around (3 is now 4, 4 is now 5, and 5 is now 3). I was hoping for worlds with a new theme, like outer space. While the levels are still inventive, they leave something to be desired. I completely beat the whole game in just a couple weeks.