New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the latest in a long line of grade-A Nintendo side-scrolling platformers. Loads of warm nostalgia mixes with fresh level design to form the most fun you'll have with the Wii this year (and probably well into 2010, too).

For every developer or publisher who's ever dreamed of pushing beyond the demographic limitations of "hardcore" or "casual" gamers, here is how you do it. And were that universal appeal NSMB Wii's sole achievement, it would be one of the most important games in recent memory. But, no: It's also ridiculously fun. [Grade = A+]

New Super Mario Bros. brings all of the classic fun from past Super Mario Bros. releases together in one amazing greatest hits-style gameplay experience and does so in a way that only Nintendo themselves can do. If you only buy one game for your Wii console for the rest of your life, make sure it's this one.

From the opening title screen to the epic final battle, New Super Mario Bros. Wii has everything a fan of the franchise could ever want.

The game does not innovate with anything, other than the multiplayer aspect. However, New Super Mario Bros. Wii lives up to its pedigree and provides an amazing experience reminiscent of older Mario platformers.

Bigger, better and harder than NSMB DS, this is the Mario game we were waiting for. Essential. [Dec 2009, p.96]

As both a platformer and a party game, for both casual and enthusiast gamers, Nintendo's latest Mario game delivers in spades.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii may not be as innovative as Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 3, but it stands on its own through pure quality and is easily one of the best Mario titles.

Haters can ignore the qualities and say that "is only one more game of Mario", but any fan of Mario will recognize the intense brightness of this game.

The Wii may be more focused in hooking in a new generation of easy-going players, but for Nintendo fans from the early days, this game was made for you.

This is an impressive game with a gameplay that will be talked about.

Delivers riotous entertainment in spades. As a solo experience, it’s up there with Mario’s illustrious platform predecessors; with four players in tow, it’s breathtaking in its constantly hilarious chaos.

Although it follows exactly the same formula as most other Mario games, that's exactly why we love it. Adding four player co-op is just the icing on an already amazing cake.

There's a reason why New Super Mario Bros. sold a ton of copies on the DS, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii will continue tearing up sales charts: It's fun for everyone. If you're still on the fence about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, get off the fence and get it.

It's another Nintendo masterpiece with gorgeous and vibrant graphics, loads of original characters and enemies (both classic and new), beautiful and unique environments, classic Mario tunes, superb voice acting, amusing but challenging gameplay, engaging multiplayer action, and more.

Nintendo has succeeded in delivering a feeling of nostalgia with this NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii, but still also managing innovation. Adding multiplayer makes it even more perfect. We can be straight to the point: New Super Mario Bros Wii is one of the best titles on the Wii. Comes highly recommended.

With New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario goes back to his roots. The game is quite challenging, but never too difficult thanks to the new Super Guide option. However, it’s the brilliant multiplayer that makes NSMB Wii such a great game.

It doesn’t matter if your first gaming system was the NES or DS; New Super Mario Bros. Wii proves that 2D platformers are still a blast. Longtime gamers will love the countless throwbacks to previous titles, and the multiplayer gameplay is fantastic (albeit hectic) fun for everyone.

Nintendo has a look back to the past and recovers good part of the Mario's gameplay history with a deep and challenging videogame. New Super Mario Bros Wii is really a must-have for Wii owners.

Whether you buy this game for the excellent single player or as the perfect platforming battle for the friends you’re ready to lose (as it can get more than a little combative), this is one of the games I didn’t know I needed for my Wii. Unless you completely hate the original Mario games or you only play games in 3D, this is a must-buy for Wii owners.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii demonstrates one more time why Nintendo are masters of the all-ages gaming market, relevant and refreshing but at all times reverent and above all, incredible fun.

In conclusion, we can only invite you to play New Super Mario Bros. Wii. We will move into the new magic game signed by Nintendo. Those who feared a sacrifice of quality for multiplayer options will find their fears unfounded. The title is probably the best episode in series, a great product for multiplayer and a milestone in the Wii catalog.

Even if 2D Super Mario Bros can't be the avant-garde of the video gaming world in 2009 as it was twenty years ago, it's still fun and entertaining as no other. "New SMB Wii" isn't perfect as "SMB 3", it alternates pieces of pure genius with some stages a bit too manneristic, but overall it takes the 2d platform games where they hadn't been in the last ten years.

It's certainly one of the easiest "hardcore" games to get into, but there's a lasting challenge to the design that'll keep you coming back for more, regardless of how many times you fail out at a level.

Come for the old-school charm, stay for the multiplayer mayhem.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii adds a new chaotic, yet fun multiplayer experience to the franchise. That’s Mario how we love him!

With mesmerizing music and gameplay to boot, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an addictively entertaining experience that once again proves the old analogy that if it aint broke, don't fix it! Bravo!

Enjoying Mario in the genre that saw him born is always a great pleasure, even if you are not a fan of the platform titles. Nintendo returns to its specialty: to offer hours and hours of fun by giving us games with their own personality and a shellproof gameplay.

Other than the lack of online multiplayer, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is exactly what you want it to be. It’s a great mix of new and old, and though it’s not exactly innovative, playing though the game is just sheer fun.

Platform magic on the highest level for the Wii. While the game offers almost everything you could ask for, it falls just a little short of perfect for a few small reasons. The main reason being that's it a tiny bit short in playtime, and the second being that while Wiimote-controls work great, you can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have worked just as good with a normal control. But considering how much gaming joy the game offers, there's no point in getting stuck on those details. This will probably be a given game on any Nintendo Wii-owners wishlist this Christmas.

Regardless of its shortcomings, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is easily one of the best titles on the system, and an impressive addition to the series. Saving the princess just got fun again.

Probably, the best 2D platform released recently.

As a lifelong Mario fanatic, I could talk endlessly about all of the game's little details, but all you really need to know is that the classic Mario formula is back and is as fun as ever. [Holiday 2009, p.78]

Nintendo has good effort to make a multiplayer platform game here, but it just doesn't feel quite right, it's not bad but if you think of it as nothing more than a tacked on extra to a single player game then that's about right. But as a traditional 2D platform game it's the business.

Nintendo still knows how to make a damn good Mario game. NSMBW is leaps and bounds over the original DS title, and certainly holds it own against the masterpieces from the days of yore.

NSMBW gets a lot right, nailing the classic vibe while also evolving the series in some interesting ways, but a few flaws keep it from achieving the the sort of classic status enjoyed by Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy.

It may not live up to Super Mario Galaxy in some people’s eyes, yet when it comes to good, old fashioned platform action, Shigeru Miyamoto & Co. have conjured up quite the treat.

In the end it is difficult to categorize and frame this game as just a tribute to the original Super Mario Bros. series.

It's slightly dazzling that the best Wii game of 2009 is based on a formula from 25 years ago. However it's used imaginatively and the new multiplayer mode is great fun. The tight controls and challenge of yesteryears are still charming. [Dec 2009]

NSMBW is a stunning game in single-player, and a chaotic barrel of light-hearted laughs in multiplayer, accessible to beginners while truly challenging to long-term fans. Well done, Nintendo.

If you have friends who enjoy videogames, this is one to play together. It's made specifically for that -- and yeah, it's got all the painstaking collectibles and supplemental multiplayer challenges you already assumed it did, so you're going to play it for quite a while. And if you just want a serious challenge, play alone and revel in the pure joy of death. Either way, it's a damn fine Mario game.

Despite being feeling and looking somewhat familiar (which is definitely a positive in this case), New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one of your safest and best bet on the Wii this year.

Nothing to object (save the anachronistic lack of the online multiplayer): Nintendo has created once again a magnificent product, an amazing party game with no barriers to entry nor annoying distinctions between casual and hardcore players. Prepare your Wiimotes and invite your friends: the legendary plumber is back with an old school adventure you won't easily forget.

Who knew that, locked in the time-honoured traditions of Super Mario Bros., one of the greatest co-op games ever was waiting to get out? Well, Shigeru Miyamoto did. In unleashing it, Nintendo hasn't moved its classic series forward one jot; it hasn't had to. But it has given it a riotous new lease of life.

Quotation forthcoming.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is full stuff for retro-fans. The Coop is both it's greatest feature and it's biggest flaw, but still it's an absolute must buy!

Truth be told, I had to blow dust off the Wii before putting New Super Mario Bros Wii into the drive. But only Nintendo's device could ever push a 2D game as their big holiday number - and it's fantastic that they have.

I really, really like New Super Mario Bros. Wii...[But i]t plays it safe with established gameplay with very little in the way of new innovation. It also lacks online multiplayer in a generation where such a feature is expected.

The multiplayer element, though far from its selling point, adds a welcome, manic element that amounts to icing on the cake. This, simply, 2D Mario at its best, and it's been a long time coming.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is a fun game, plain and simple.

Has just enough charm and spunk.

Suitable for all ages, it's a winning combination of that ‘old school’ charm and the Wii’s versatility. An absolute must for the Mario fan, and a recommended addition to the casual gamer's Christmas wish list.

NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii is surely a classic – it just isn't as big of a classic as it could have been. You'll love it and play it to death, but don't be surprised if those painful feelings of déja vu and disappointment take over every now and then.

In an era where retro games are almost sickeningly trendy to make, New Super Mario Bros. Wii turns back the clock and does it right. Other developers doing retro games ought to take notes.

Anarchic multiplayer gold in the Smash Bros vein, but underneath it's a bit cold and sterile. [Winter 2009, p.68]

Curiously forgettable and throwaway compared to the Mario platforming standard, but as a social experience ti's up there with the best on Wii. [Winter 2009, p.46]

Classic gameplay, challenging levels, and some fun multiplayer make New Super Mario Bros. Wii another stellar outing for the plump plumber.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is another wonderfully crafted Mario game that is engaging for both old and new players. Sadly the lack of online multiplayer and innovation, and gimmicky motion controls prevent it from becoming the crown jewel of the series.

All I'm saying is that is does kind of feel a bit like Nintendo are resting on their laurels. All the effort has gone into developing a classic Super Mario Bros. game on a new system, with new controls and new visuals. It can't help but be good because it's SMB.

Can a game be worth purchasing without being brilliant? It depends on your wallet. The first few hours of multiplayer are going to be worth the sticker price, but the rest of the game is nearly inaccessible for four simultaneous gamers.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii will serve both new and old gamers. It lacks of new possibility's but thanks to the 4-player co-op, it's still a very nice game.

Mario is back and New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a solid showing for the plumber in red.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is a return to origins. Although it was enriched by new graphics and some original gameplay solutions, it is a game from the past - in positive terms that is. All big N’s fans will enjoy this game, in spite of its difficulty.

That sense of cohesiveness isn't always present in New Super Mario Bros. and it makes for an uneven experience that's difficult to score.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an excellent game with friends, and I had a great deal of challenging fun with the solo mode. But if you’re looking for a new Mario adventure that’s tailored to creating the maximum amount of fun for just one person, you’ll have to wait for next year’s Super Mario Galaxy 2.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a wonderful 2D platformer, and an essential purchase for all Wii owners, but the addition of multiplayer doesn't live up to its billing. And why is there no online?

NSMBW bends over backwards to be inclusive and somehow manages to succeed.

The odd balancing issue does threaten to undermine Mario’s first foray into co-op multiplayer and there is the nagging feeling that, perhaps, Nintendo were not entirely sure of its own focus. But these are quibbles oft forgotten when in the throes of NSMB Wii’s joyful, beguiling character.

Maybe the "new" word on its title can be discussed, but there's no doubt that this is (again) a really fun, complete and addictive videogame. New Super Mario Bros. is an excellent exercise in nostalgia.

A socially driven experience that focuses on random party play at the expense of precision. It's not perfect, but it's still the best of its kind in a sub-genre that has yet to be mastered. [Christmas 2009, p.106]

Classic playability spiced by cooperative multiplayer mode results in a splendid platformer with the power to entertain the whole family. [Issue#186]

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a wonderful video game, but its designers drew upon 24 years of familiarity to produce an experience that makes us smile one moment and shrug the next.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii doesn't make dramatic changes to the "New" game that was released on the DS, but by offering more substantial multiplayer and a set of new levels to conquer, it stands out as one of the Wii's best.

The New Super Mario Bros. Wii is not horrible, unplayable, or anything ridiculous. It's just not as much fun as you had playing with older versions of the stubby mustached plumber.

By Nintendo standards this is no classic, but by anyone else's it's a fun and accessible 2D platformer.

Despite the lack of ingenuity on display, NSMB Wii's thrash of four players does bring uproarious anarchy to the sofa for short periods of time. [Dec 2009, p.86]

Nintendo saved the industry with games like this, so we’re sad to say the latest lacks the imaginative spark found in past entries. Easily the weakest of the 2D Marios, but even the worst Mario is better than most other.

NSMBW isn't unfun. It's uninspired. Like the games that came before it, New Super Mario Bros. Wii evokes concepts and imagery presented in its predecessors. Unlike those games, it makes no effort to expand upon any of those ideas.