Ask yourself a question: do you like Super Mario World? If the answer is yes, then you’re going to love New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NSMBW). Also, don’t be fooled for a minute by the claims of a ‘cooperative’ mode as it is nothing of the sort. That mode is actually called ‘face punching’ mode as you will want to punch the person you’re playing with in their stupid face.

NSMBW has a lot to like about it, but there are also some significant problems that stand in the way of the fun. Also, the 100% increase in face punching compared to most games could use some work.

What went right?

New suits: They may not be numerous, but they are inventive. Mario now comes in penguin and helicopter form. While it would have been nice to see more variety (I don’t know why they don’t just take every single suit from all previous games and include them), they both feel great and can be used strategically in a tight spot.

Due to the classic ‘you can store powerups for use in other levels,’ powerups received from Toad houses can be saved for when they come in handy. Having a penguin suit for swimming levels, or the helicopter suit for maps that automatically scroll upward is critical. 

The one thing that I would say is frustrating about the suit system is that sometimes you accidentally take a different powerup when you already have a top-tier one (non mushroom) activated, like replacing a penguin suit with a fire flower in an underwater level. Implementing a ‘lock in powerup’ toggle or something to that effect would have been simple enough and would have prevented obnoxious accidents such as these from occurring.

Luigi is carrying Toad. Fact: the only reason to carry a player is to throw them to their demise.

Secrets: In previous 2D Mario games, secrets extended only to the occasional warp area. In NSMBW, on the other hand, there are three giant coins per level. While they can be used to unlock videos showing you secrets, in most levels the coins aren’t particularly hard to find, merely hard to get.

Many of them are easy if you have a teammate who is willing to sacrifice their life to collect a coin, but if you’re on your own you’re going to have to have the appropriate suit to reach a tough area, or accurately throw a shell to collect them. In addition, you don’t lock in the coins until you reach the end of the level, so occasionally you’ll collect one and then die attempting a heroic leap to the second one and lose your progress. In this way, NSMBW presents a strategic tradeoff between completion and survival.

4-Player Cooperative Mode: With the full complement of players, Mario becomes the experience it was designed to be: free for all mayhem. In single player mode it is in points sluggish and methodical and even with 2 players it becomes more a situation where one player is merely insurance against death. With 4 anything goes as it’s highly unlikely that all of you will die simultaneously.

Anybody who likes 'slippery ice mechanics' in a platformer, raise your hands. Guards, shoot the ones with their hands up

What were they thinking?

Continue system: Japanese developers seem to have a mental block towards save and continue mechanics and it cripples nearly all their games. This is the 21^st century and save anywhere and instant restart is a hallmark of any competent game. Instead, when you die, you can’t just restart from the checkpoint flag. You’re kicked all the way back to the main map when 100% of the time I want to continue on the level where I left off.

Swimming levels: The first rule of Mario is that swimming levels suck. The second rule of Mario is that swimming levels suck.

Two player: The only way that two player mode is fun is if you’re playing with somebody who’s exactly your skill level. Otherwise this might as well be ‘assistance mode,’ where you’re simply dragging the other person through the map step by step and they use a continue every time you finish a level. This isn’t a fluid experience, it’s disjointed and frustrating, with the extra player slowing you down and making the experience worse for both players.

Dry Bones, once invincible, can now be frozen and defeated, like Boris in Goldeneye.

Boss battles: I realize that boss battles in 2D Mario games are traditional, and that they all have to follow the same format. That being said, with the exception of the final boss, every fight pretty much follows the ‘Koopa kid gets hit in the head, spins back and forth in their shell, repeat’ format. If you’re at all competent, you can get them in the head once and then jump on them again immediately as they come out of their shell spin, rendering the battle over the first time you hit them. Pattern recognition has its place, but at least force the player to avoid their trivial attacks each time instead of abusing the system.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii is a nice throwback to a genre that many are very fond of. It’s great in a group of four, but ultimately doesn’t do anything new. This game would have been improved if there was online four player functionality so you didn’t need a full group in person; this isn’t nearly the same game solo. In addition, adding greater variety in both player choices and item selection would have livened some of the later stages.

Given the seeming simplicity of designing this game, excuses for why Peach isn’t a playable character because ‘dress animation was too difficult,’ or there aren’t more suits in the game because ‘they didn’t want to throw off the balance’ sound lazy and unjustified. This game seemed so easy to make and some of the little touches really tarnish what could have been a polished experience.

While fun, NSMBW doesn’t feel fresh after playing Galaxy, and despite being a fun little diversion, I can only hope Galaxy 2 stands up to the first as the real cutting edge Mario experience.