Finally a classic for the new Gen
Finally for the first time in about 19 years we get a console 2D Mario platformer. That's a long time to wait for it eh? The best we got was New Super Mario Bros. for the DS which was one hell of a game. This game is basically a throwback to the older Mario games and it's a pretty good one. I'm going to continue with this review assuming you've played one of the older Mario games… because if you haven't then where the heck have you been all this time? And how dare you call yourself a gamer!
Story NA/10
Peach gets kidnapped…. Again! Koopa Kids are around and Mario has to rescue her…. I honestly don't think there is anything else to the story. This game doesn't need it.
Gameplay 9/10
This game is just like the older titles, it's almost perfect it plays a lot like it's little brother on the DS. I'm assuming you've played Mario before, it's pretty much the same as before. 8 Worlds 8 levels yatta yatta ya. Get to the mid castle to save and then finish the world to save again. That's about it really my only complaint's are the fact that Yoshi comes out about 8 times in the game… that's it it would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that they don't allow you to use him even after the game is completed…. Which just seems like a stupid waste of resources I mean why include yoshi at all? They wasted resources but for what? It's not like it couldn't be done because some modders managed to mess around with the game and allow Yoshi to be used on all levels which begs the question as to why couldn't this have been a unlockable perk? Like when you get all the star coins in one world you are allowed to use him in all the levels in that world? They don't even let you take yoshi to other levels like in Super Mario World. It's like once yoshi is used in that level that's it no more.
Another thing that I didn't like about this game was the Ice Flower and Penguin power up they seem to be the penguin does everything the Ice Flower can do and more. It wouldn't be so bad if the Penguin suit wasn't so common. I feel like Nintendo could have made a better power up in place of the penguin or Ice Flower. Other then these complaints the gameplay is solid and these things can be overlooked fairly easily.
Graphics 8/10
The graphics in this game are good people said that they are just the DS graphics at a higher resolution but they are better than the DS graphics. You can tell by the little details and textures, Other than that the graphics are colorful and get the job done. It's Mario you can't expect Killzone 2 graphics.
Sound and Music 7/10
We have the classic sounds like the fireball and the mushrooms, and then we have new sounds like the Ice balls, the music is retroish style. It makes you feel nostalgic which is pretty awesome. I enjoyed the music and all, I have no real complaints it's just that… some of the music feels off, I can't quite put my finger on it. One of the cutest things in the game is the fact that the koopas and other enemies all dance to the music which brakes their patterns.
Replay value 10/10
After the game is done you open up a ninth world and you have to collect all the coins in a world to unlock one level. So this adds a ton of replay value to the game.
Multiplayer 4/10
The biggest addition to this game is the Multiplayer added; it's so big that it's a major selling point. I'm assuming to compete with Little Big Planet. Honestly the multiplayer in this game sucks for coop play. It just makes everything harder and no one really enjoys anything. This is due to the fact that everyone shares a plane so they cannot occupy the same space. Unlike Little Big planet that has 3 planes and it allows for people to be in the same space but on different planes this game just doesn't allow that. It's not meant to be a multiplayer experience it seems really tacked so tacked on that they even have two Toads… I just don't think it was designed with this in mind. This makes the game a lot harder and just not as fun (and could start fights within the family)
Buy or Rent/borrow?
Go ahead and buy the game, you won't regret it. It isn't as good as some Mario games but it's better than many and I do mean many games on the Wii.
Final Score 8/10
The game is a solid platformer, if you need a good Wii game get this. Maybe Nintendo will try and fix up the problems with this game.
