New Super Mario Bros.

New Super Mario Bros.
Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo DS
Release Date	US May 15, 2006 JP May 25, 2006 AU June 8, 2006 EU June 30, 2006
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

New Super Mario Bros. is the first handheld traditional Mario platformer since Super Mario Land 2. It was released after a generation of the Super Mario Advance remakes on the Gameboy Advance and marked a significant return to the series roots.

Story

The game follows an extremely simple plotline that opens with Bowser Jr. kidnapping Princess Peach and thus forcing Mario to travel through eight worlds to rescue her. In a unique twist, the boss of the first world is Bowser, who is apparently killed when he falls in the lava and is turned to a skeleton. He reappears again later in the game in his skeletal form where he is thrown into a pot by Bowser Jr. and Bowser is returned to his normal self.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to its 2D predecessors in that the player controls Mario as he makes his way through the various levels. Each level makes up part of eight worlds, each of which has its own map. Despite being a 2D game, all of the characters and environments are rendered in 3D, even though the game never breaks from the side-scrolling perspective.

Returning are the three common power-ups, the Super Mushroom, Super Star and Fire Flower. Three new power-ups were added in the game. The first was the Mega Mushroom that enlarged Mario to gargantuan size and allowed him to mow over any obstacle for a limited amount of time. The Mini Mushroom shrinks Mario to miniature size and allows him to enter small areas and race over water. The last power-up is the Koopa Shell which Mario can ride in and pick up speed to mow over enemies like a Koopa Shell does in previous Mario games.

After beating the game, the game reveals the trick to play as Luigi (hold the L and R buttons when opening a game file). This trick can be used on new games or existing games, regardless of whether the game has been beat yet. Once the player has used every possible exit, warp spot, and collected all of the star coins, the player can reuse Mushroom Houses over and over to claim the item that Toadsworth offers.

Multiplayer

The game features a two player mode using the DS Download Play. The main feature is a versus mode where Mario and Luigi are placed inside of one of the multiplayer levels and must duke it out using different attacks and powerups in a mode somewhat similar to the arcade Mario Bros. game.

The other mode is a collection of minigames lifted from Super Mario 64 DS, only now added with multiplayer connectivity. This mode allows for up to four players, but the minigames can also be played in single player mode as they were originally intended in Super Mario 64 DS.

Sequels

The next Mario platformer game was Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii.

Afterwards, the New Super Mario name was used for various games which acted as throwbacks to classic Mario gameplay. There was a a New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Wii, and a more direct sequel known as New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released for the 3DS in 2012.