The 'Shroom:Issue LIX/Review Corner

Review Corner by

For this issue, I figured I would do one of my favorite Mario games, New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Gameplay
Playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii is great fun, whether you are playing alone, or 4 player Co-op. Being a triplet and all, it’s the perfect game to play with siblings. To play, each player has a Wii remote held sideways. The controls are easy and feel natural. Even though playing with others is easier and more fun, it can get annoying on some occasions. One thing I didn’t always like was the bubbles. Every time you die you are placed in a bubble, relying on your team to pop you. The bubble is hard to control, and I don’t see why they don’t just place you back on the course. Then if the other player is being annoying and is running from the bubble you’re not sitting at the back of the screen in a bubble forever. Another annoying thing about Co-op, is that when someone dies, the screen kind of freezes up. It sucks when this happens when you are about to jump, but end up running into an enemy because of this. 1 Player and Co-Op, each have its pros and cons.

The story for NSMBWii is interesting, but feels repeated from other Mario games. They are at Peach Castle, and are celebrating Peach’s birthday. Same cake, Same everything. However Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings appear and trap Peach in the cake and take her away. So then, just like every other Mario platformer, Mario is set off to rescue the princess. In my opinion, it’s not the story that matters, it’s the gameplay, which is perfected, minus minor flaws.

The game features 8 main worlds, plus an extra World 9 for finding all the Star Coins. Collecting the Star Coins is great fun when you’re hunting down each level for all 3. Each World has its own theme, with its own unique levels. World 3 has snow themed levels, while World 8 has lava themed levels. Each World features a fortress and a castle or and airship, each with a boss.

I am really glad they returned the Koopalings in the game. However, I would have wished they made the boss battles more different from each other, because many of the Koopaling ones seemed similar. The final world’s bosses are great fun especially with 4 players. For Co-op. besides being Mario and Luigi, the other players would be Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. I love that they included them, but it does always bring a fight between my other two siblings and my cousins on who gets to be who. In some levels, you can also ride Yoshi, which is always fun to swallow enemies like Pokeys.

Two extra modes in the game are Coin Battle and Free for All. Coin Battle is fun when you have four players trying to get the most coins in a given level. Shooting shells at each other, just to get the most coins can bring out some friendly competition. It’s a shame my siblings never want to play it. Free for All is super fun. You can choose any level you’ve unlocked and play it. We’ve made some pretty fun games on there, like trying to go as fast as you can without trying to hit enemies, or going after others and throwing them into the lava on a Bonecoaster.

The powers in this game are my favorite over any other Mario Game. There are returns of classics like Fire Mario and Invincible Mario, along with new fun ones like, Propeller Mario and Penguin Mario. These powers really add to the gameplay and strategy.

Whether it’s flying through the skies as Propeller Mario or defeating Ludwig Koopa in his castle, NSMBWii will provide and endless amount of fun for yourself, or with others.

Good Features: Free for All, New Power Ups, Koopalings Return, Unique Levels, Extra World and Star Coins, Co-op Bad Features: Too Similar Koopaling Battles, Uncreative Story, Minor Co-op Errors

NSM’s Rating: 9.5/10 Got any suggestions for what game to review? PM me, New Super Mario, on our forums!