New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a sidescrolling 2.5D Mario platformer for the Wii, the sixth installment in the Super Mario Bros. series (after New Super Mario Bros.), and the tenth game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Oceania on November 12, in North America on November 15, and Europe on November 20, 2009. It is a follow-up to New Super Mario Bros., released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the first 2D platformer Super Mario title to hit a home console since Super Mario World for the SNES (released 19 years prior). To date, the game has sold over twenty-seven million copies worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling Wii game overall and the second best-selling Mario game on the system, after Mario Kart Wii.

In addition to the single-player experience, the game also features a multiplayer mode for up to four players. This is the first Super Mario game to feature a co-op and vs. modes at the same time since Mario Bros. It features more items, new levels and more enemies than the DS predecessor. It is also the first title to support Nintendo's new Super Guide mode. The game introduces two new power-ups, the Propeller Mushroom and the Penguin Suit, which turn characters into their propeller and penguin forms respectively.

Story
Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were celebrating Princess Peach's birthday, when a huge cake slides in. Immediately, Bowser Jr. (who masterminded the plot to infiltrate via the birthday cake ) and the Koopalings pop out and throw the cake on top of Peach and the Toads, trapping her inside and leaving the Toads stunned. From there, the villains load her onto their Airship while Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad follow closely. The Toads from the castle soon use a cannon to blast away presents containing Propeller Mushrooms and Penguin Suits so Mario and the others can obtain, but they explode in the air and spread the items in nine worlds.

When Mario and the gang finally get to the final castle, they find Bowser. One of them has to jump on a ! Switch behind Bowser to defeat him, sending him falling into the lava below. After, Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad celebrate their victory, they see the fake Princess Peach crying in a cage. However, she turns out to be Kamek in a pink version of his robe. Kamek then powers Bowser up, making him huge. After Bowser has been powered up, the four can do nothing but flee from the giant boss. Soon they find a dead end with a huge ! Switch. They push it, and the giant Bowser falls through the floor in final defeat as the real princess is released from her cage. As they venture out, they see Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad arrive in their hot air balloons. Luigi lets Mario and Peach into his balloon and is accidentally left behind. The two Toads then offer Luigi a ride in their balloon. As they sail off, Peach asks Mario if she told him about the Secret World.

After the credits, Larry Koopa is seen limping toward Bowser's Castle. As he collapses, Bowser Jr. walks up to him and shows him the rest of the Koopalings trying to push Bowser, who is back to normal, right side up. They finally succeed, with a huge thud, causing the castle to fall on top of them.

Gameplay features
The story mode of the game can be played in either single-player mode or multiplayer cooperative mode. Players can be freely added and removed in between levels on the World Map. The camera pans as players move and it zooms in and out depending on their distance to one another. However, there is a limit, and players who are far behind will lose a life.

After clearing World 1-3 once, a Toad runs up and tells the heroes that Bowser Jr. ordered his minions to stuff Toads they capture into ? Blocks. If the level was cleared in single-player mode, a Goomba will then appear and carry Toad to a ? Block in World 1-1, where the player must carry him to the goal. Toads can only be rescued in single-player mode.

? Blocks usually create one item for each player with lives remaining. If more than one player is playing, and all players are in their starting form, a ? block containing an item such as a Fire Flower or Ice Flower that would only appear in Super form when in single-player will produce that item for one player plus Super Mushrooms for the others.

When a player loses a life, they reappear inside a bubble. The player inside the bubble can shake the Wii Remote to bring themselves closer to the other players that are currently not in a bubble. Bubbles can only burst when a player not in a bubble comes in contact with the bubble or throws a fireball, iceball, shell, or frozen enemy at the bubble. A player can place themselves in a bubble purposefully without losing a life by pressing the button on the Wii Remote or the  button on the Nunchuk if it is connected. The player inside the bubble cannot be harmed by anything and retains their previous form. However, if everyone has lost all their lives, or if someone loses a life and everyone else is in a bubble, then all players have to restart the level from the beginning or the midpoint flag if the players touched it on a prior attempt. The players in bubbles return to their normal form, but do not lose any lives.

When one player grabs the flagpole at the end of the level, the timer stops and the other players would have a limited amount of time to grab the flagpole before the level ends; however, there is no penalty to the players left behind other than the lost opportunity for points or a 1-Up by grabbing the flagpole.

Players play the game by holding the Wii Remote sideways or by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination. If a player tilts the Wii Remote, certain actions can be performed such as changing the direction of a light or tilting special platforms when they have been activated. Players can activate these by standing on them; the color and the symbol of the character on the platform determines who is controlling them.

Shaking the Wii remote activates the spin jump, as seen in Super Mario World. Players can carry objects such as frozen enemies and barrels by ( with Nunchuk) and shaking the Wii Remote near the object.

It's possible to ride on Yoshi as well. In addition to his usual ability to devour enemies, he can retain many different objects in the game in his mouth including hammers, fireballs, iceballs, shells, Toads, power-ups, and other players. Yoshi can also use his Flutter Jump, a move first introduced in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Similar to Super Mario World, Yoshi can eat five apples in a course to produce an egg with a power-up or 1-Up. Yoshi cannot be harmed by sharp objects and enemies such as Spinies and Piranha Plants as long as he lands on them. Yoshi(s) brought to the end of the course must be abandoned, and therefore there are only certain levels in which players can ride Yoshis.



Toad houses and enemy encounter screens return from Super Mario Bros. 3; items obtained are stored in an inventory that can be accessed with the button ( button with the Nunchuk) on the map screen. Unlike New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, there is no spare item box, so players can't activate items during levels. Pressing on the map allows the player to go to any previously visited world.

Up to five stars can appear on a player's profile. The first appears after the player has beaten Bowser for the first time (using any method), the second appears when all levels in the first eight worlds (excepting Warp Cannons/Pipes and Toad Houses) have been beaten, the third appears if all Star Coins from Worlds 1 to 8 are obtained, the fourth appears when all Star Coins in World 9 have been obtained, and the fifth appears once the player has beaten every level (including Warp Cannons, etc.) and has collected every Star Coin. The stars will shine if the Super Guide block did not appear at all during the game, even if it is not used when it appears.

Super Guide


Debuting in the game, the Super Guide provides players assistance to clear levels. When the player has failed to pass a level at least eight times, a green box will appear at the start of the level. When the player hits the green box, the level will restart in auto-pilot mode: a computer-controlled Luigi will play the level on his own. The Super Guide will show the player how to beat the level, but does not use shortcuts, take damage or reveal secrets. While the Super Guide is running, the player can press the button on the Wii Remote at any time to take control back; the game will start exactly where the Super Guide left off. Once the player has taken control back, they cannot turn it back on in the middle of the level. The level will still be passed, even when the Super Guide assistance is used, though the level will still be red, and any stars on the profile will not shine. If the player takes over, they will continue to play as Luigi, rather than Mario. Losing a life as Luigi will allow one to control Mario again, without losing a life.

Levels
The game has nine worlds with a world map similar to New Super Mario Bros. There still are Toad Houses, towers, castles, Warp Cannons, Warp Pipes (in World 2), Beanstalks (in World 7) and horizontal "platform" Pipes (in World 6). Enemies also patrol the map screen. If the enemies come in contact with them, they must play an Enemy Course. Players must collect eight Toad Balloons to make a chest with a Toad trapped in it appear. If Toad is saved, three Super Mushrooms are rewarded. Each Enemy Course is different on each world.

There are 77 courses in the main game. Kidnapped Toads will sometimes be hidden in previously beaten levels in single-player mode. If the Toad is carried to the level exit without being damaged, Mario will be rewarded with three 1-Ups. However, only one 1-Up will be rewarded to Mario if the Toad took damage before reaching the goal. Additionally, when Toad is saved, a Toad House will open at the starting point of the world. The type of house that appears depends on the last digit in the level timer when Toad and/or Mario touches the flagpole. If the Toad is damaged twice, it's defeated, and Mario can't bring it to the goal anymore.

Captured Toads will only appear in the following levels:

Other than the game's main campaign, which can be played with up to four players, New Super Mario Bros. Wii offers special multiplayer challenges. Those challenges have some levels taken from the campaign, and some newly created levels. There is a Free for All mode and a Coin Battle mode. Free for All mode has players competing for a high score, while Coin Battle mode has them competing for the most collected coins in the level.

World 9 is unlocked after completing the game. There are eight stages in that world, and each stage is unlocked by collecting all the Star Coins in each of the preceding eight worlds.

Worlds

 * World 1
 * World 2
 * World 3
 * World 4
 * World 5
 * World 6
 * World 7
 * World 8
 * World 9 (Bonus World)
 * Coin Battle World (multiplayer only)

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Blue Toad
 * Yellow Toad

Supporting

 * Yoshi (Green, Yellow, Pink, Light Blue)
 * Princess Peach
 * Toad (red spots and blue vest)
 * Toads

Bosses

 * World 1
 * Goombas - Enemy Course enemies
 * Larry Koopa - Tower boss
 * Larry Koopa - Castle boss
 * World 2
 * Spinies - Enemy Course enemies
 * Roy Koopa - Tower boss
 * Roy Koopa - Castle boss
 * World 3
 * Ice Bros. - Enemy Course enemies
 * Lemmy Koopa - Tower boss
 * Lemmy Koopa - Castle boss
 * World 4
 * Porcupuffer - Enemy Course enemy
 * Wendy O. Koopa - Tower boss
 * Wendy O. Koopa - Castle boss
 * Bowser Jr. - Airship boss
 * World 5
 * Stalking Piranha Plants - Enemy Course enemies
 * Iggy Koopa - Tower boss
 * Iggy Koopa - Castle boss
 * World 6
 * Bullet Bills - Enemy Course enemies
 * Morton Koopa Jr. - Tower boss
 * Morton Koopa Jr. - Castle boss
 * Bowser Jr. - Airship boss
 * World 7
 * Lakitu - Enemy Course enemy
 * Ludwig von Koopa - Tower boss
 * Ludwig von Koopa - Castle boss
 * World 8
 * Lava Bubbles - Enemy Course enemies
 * Kamek - Tower boss
 * Bowser Jr. - Airship boss
 * Bowser - Final castle boss

Minigames

 * Power-up Panels
 * 1-up Blast
 * Enemy Course

Development
According to Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto had been struggling to add multiplayer in a Mario game for a long time. They further explained that Miyamoto tried to experiment with multiplayer aspects at the start of most of his Mario projects. This can be seen in pre-release screenshots of games such as Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros., as different multiplayer aspects were evidently intended for both of those games during the earlier stages of development. But when the experiments with multiplayer failed to come to fruition, the developers focused back to what they were used to, single-player, and, for both of the aforementioned games, multiplayer was put on the back burner and became a mere tag-on that used both the game's engine and a series of dissimilar mini-games. One of the reasons multiplayer was not achieved previously was due to technical limitations. With the Wii's hardware, it allowed Miyamoto to make sure the game had all the items and enemies in the screen at once, and having the camera focusing on all the players at once.

Additionally, Nintendo is planning to add the new "demo play" feature to their future titles, with New Super Mario Bros. Wii being the flagship title for the feature. A patent on the game, then called "Kind Code", was filed by Miyamoto on June 30, 2008. It showed that it could come in three modes: Game (in which the player plays the game normally until they get stuck, at which point they can view a video that appears on the screen's top right corner on how to bypass the situation in question), Digest (in which the player watches the developers play through the game until the player decides to join the game at a particular point; the game cannot be saved in this mode), and Scene Menu (where players go directly to specific parts of the game without loading their games or watching the digest). In the final game, the Digest version of the "demo play" mode was released as "Super Guide".

References to other games

 * Alleyway: Ice Mario's design bears some resemblance to Mario's appearance in the Alleyway cover artwork.
 * Donkey Kong: Broozers will throw barrels at the player, similar to Donkey Kong in this game.
 * Mario Bros.: The POW Block reappears and has the same design as in Mario Bros. The POW Block can also be carried. One underground Coin Battle area also bears some resemblance to the Mario Bros. arena.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The secret "Level Clear" tune and fireworks are taken from this game. The first tunes from the overworld theme is played during the beginning of the Staff Roll. The overworld theme is once again used as a cover for the Toad Houses. Near the beginning of the game, Bowser Jr. states in a letter that he ordered his minions to stuff every Toad they see into a ? Block, which might be a reference to the fact that Bowser transformed them into ? Blocks, according to the instruction book. Also, Roy Koopa's Castle has three way corridors, with only one being the correct path. This puzzle mimics the puzzles in World 4-4, World 7-4, and World 8-4. In Coin Battle, a level similar to World 1-1 appears.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: World 2-4 features wind.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: The way that the characters are capable of picking up, carrying, and throwing the various objects and characters in this game resemble the abilities of the playable characters from Super Mario Bros. 2. This is also the first platformer since Super Mario Bros. 2 to feature a Toad as a playable character.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: The Penguin Suit is based on the suits in this game. The Koopalings' battle theme is a cover and once again played when fighting against them. The Airship theme is a cover that plays on the Airships. The design on the Fortresses are based on the Fortress sprite in this game. The Enemy Courses are similar to the levels when fighting against a Hammer Bro, Fire Bro, Boomerang Bro, or Sledge Bro and even use a cover of the song. Also, reserved power-ups can be used on the world maps. The game features an inventory window rather than a summonable item. This window can only be accessed from the overworld, reminiscent of that in Super Mario Bros 3. Most of the Koopalings are fought in the same kind of land they are, like in Super Mario Bros. 3. For example, Lemmy Koopa was in charge of the ice-themed world in both games, and Wendy O. Koopa was in charge of the water-themed world in both games. In addition, Power-up Panels is likely based on a card-matching minigame in this game.
 * Super Mario World: The design on the Fortress-doors leading to the boss is noticeably similar. Yoshis reappear, along with the sound heard when mounting onto Yoshi and the drumbeat that is added to the music, similar to this game. Parts of the castle BGM can be heard in the castle levels. The sound effect that plays when the invincibility wears off was taken from the P Switch when the activation is going to stop, as well as the sound that plays when the Super Star power-up runs out. The World 9 is similar to the Star World and the Special World. The concept of checkpoints was first introduced in Super Mario World (although some levels in Super Mario Bros. had midway points), and small Mario becoming large Mario upon reaching the checkpoint is also directly taken from Super Mario World (however, Super Mario World used gates rather than flags). Also, World 3 has a switch that activates blocks to appear. This may be a reference to the Switch Palaces in Super Mario World, without having to go through a level. The Koopa Clown Car returns, along with a personal one for Bowser Jr..
 * Mario Kart series: World 9 is similar to Rainbow Road.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Just before the main boss of the world, Kamek will appear and fly all over the room, using his magic on the room and boss. Also, his attack pattern during the boss battle is identical to what he did in this game, right before Yoshi and Baby Mario entered Baby Bowser's room. Kamek turns Bowser into a giant for the final battle. During multiplayer mode, the players are able to trap themselves in a bubble, similar to Baby Mario when Yoshi was damaged by an enemy.
 * Donkey Kong Country: The animal buddy mechanics used in this game, are used on the Yoshis; players can only use Yoshi in certain levels, and they ditch him after clearing the level. Also, the ability to pick up and throw barrels may have been borrowed from this game too.
 * Super Mario 64: "Inside the Castle Walls" is played inside Princess Peach's Castle. Also, when the mini-game Power-up Panels is lost (when the player gets two Bowser or Bowser Jr. cards), the short tune heard when trying to enter a locked door is played here. When the player goes into a Warp Cannon or aims a cannon in 1-up Blast, cannon sounds from this game are heard.
 * Mario Kart 64: About 30 seconds in the Rainbow Path, a cover from the Rainbow Road theme can be heard.
 * New Super Mario Bros.: The New Super Mario Bros. Wii game is the follow-up from this game. Most of the songs are covers, especially the "Level Clear" tune. The Mini Mushroom returns.
 * Yoshi's Island DS: Kamek turns Bowser into a giant for the final battle.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: During the Staff Roll, an outtake of a Princess Peach voiceover states that she'll wait for Mario at the night of the Star Festival, but she is interrupted by Bowser. The 1-up sound effect from this game plays when the player gets a 1-up in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but only from the speakers of the Wii Remote. In World 9, multicolor star-shaped objects fall from the sky, like Star Bits. Finally, the Ice Flower returns from this game, but has a different function (in Super Mario Galaxy, Ice Mario can walk on liquid and in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he can throw ice balls).
 * Mario Kart Wii: The character's icons are reused in the character selection screen.

References in later games

 * Super Mario Galaxy 2: The Midway Flag appears in this game and it plays a similar role. The Cosmic Guide and the Tip Network are similar to the Super Guide and to the videos of the Princess Peach's Castle. The function of the World Maps are similar to those from this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country Returns: The map screen has level pads that look highly similar to the ones from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The pads even use the same colors; red for a non-cleared level, and blue for a cleared level. Super Kong is the equivalent of the Super Guide. During 2 Player mode, if either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong lose a life and the other one is still alive, the Kong that was defeated will float back inside a DK Barrel hanging from a balloon, similar to the bubble system in this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Mii: A very similar trial based on New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: Propeller Boxes are based on the Propeller Blocks in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Stars can be earned on the files of both games.
 * Mario Party 9: A lot of this game's content originated from New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * StreetPass Mii Plaza: One of the Puzzle Swap panels in the StreetPass Mii Plaza app for the Nintendo 3DS is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: The music is reused in this game, with added vocals to the overworld and athletic themes, as well as vocal riffs "bah" included in the tower, castle and ghost house themes. Stars can be earned on the file in both games.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U: This game is a sequel to New Super Mario Bros. Wii; Many elements from this game return.
 * Super Mario 3D World: All of the multiplayer abilities return. Again, a Toad can be chosen as a playable character, and Propeller Boxes return once more.
 * Yoshi's New Island: Bowser's sprite is heavily similar to the one used in this game.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: One of the planes in Sunshine Airport has a logo for Propeller Toad Transport with an insignia of a Propeller Mushroom.
 * Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash: Bowser Jr. uses his Junior Clown Car in the game.

Pre-release and unused content
Princess Peach was going to be a playable character, and the Mega Mushroom was going to be a power-up. Pink Yoshi was going to be Red Yoshi and Light Blue Yoshi was going to be Blue Yoshi. There was no Ice Flower and Mini Mushroom could be obtained via Roulette Block. There was also going to be a chicken suit power-up. It was then replaced with the Penguin Suit.

Staff
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development developed the game, with the director being Shigeyuki Asuke and the producers being Takashi Tezuka and Hiroyuki Kimura.

Trading Cards
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Trading Cards are a set of trading cards based upon the game. Each booster pack contains four regular cards and one each of Tips & Tricks, Standee, Foil and FunTats.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Intermediate / Advanced Piano Solos
A book published by Alfred Music Publishing was released, containing sheet music for seventeen theme songs from the game.

Trivia

 * This is the first main series game to be released first in Oceania.
 * This game's box artwork (along other images) was used for the Nintendo 3DS demo at E3 2010 and later reused in the Puzzle Swap game in the StreetPass Mii Plaza application from the same console.
 * This is the first of two games released outside of Japan and South Korea to feature a different colored game box, the second being Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The box for New Super Mario Bros. Wii is red, as opposed to most other Wii games with a white box.
 * On the cover of the game disc (the side opposite with the part that reads the console), Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad are positioned in the same way that the buttons on the European and Japanese SNES controller are.
 * The current Mario and Luigi voice actor, Charles Martinet, says this game is his favorite Mario game of all time.
 * Some text in New Super Mario Bros. Wii's instruction manual is reused from New Super Mario Bros.'s instruction manual (for example, the Blunders and Game Over section in New Super Mario Bros.'s manual is reused in New Super Mario Bros. Wii's manual).
 * The odd-numbered worlds are horizontal and the even-numbered worlds are vertical.