IGN: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review

IGN really, really likes New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They have no qualms with saying this is a far better game than the Nintendo DS version, and it could easily be the finest Super Mario Bros. 2D platformer Nintendo's ever created. You should absolutely get a copy, no question.

Presentation - 7.5
Graphics - 7.5
Sound - 8.0
Gameplay - 9.5
Lasting Appeal - 9.0

[NateNater]

Not a bad score. I might be picking this one up since I haven't bought a wii game since last year.

[pangitkqb]

Makes me wish I hadn't sold my Wii. :(

[toaster]

I have heard almost nothing about this game until this review.

I'm surprised Nintendo didn't make a big fuss and have lots of publicity about this. Oh well. It's going to sell by the truckload. I'm sure as hell going to pick it when... wait. Anyone know release date?

[Xander-RKoS]

E3

[Darkfocus]

the don't dock MW2 :/

[lonestarmt]

EXACTLY.Reviews grade certain games way different than others. You say how its great because its old school then complain saying its too safe? WTH? the P4 just being another toad sucks though.

[ico92]

the level design is absolutley mind blowing i have no idea how miyamoto does it

[live2play]

THATS YOUR TRUE SCORE

[eagle21]

Exactly. :)

[ABizzel1]

It's a great game, but I think the 8.9 is about right (maybe a 9.1). It's great fun with other people as are most Wii games, but play it alone and it's not as enjoying.

I wish Nintendo had better online, that way we could play this game online, and enjoy the multiplayer at all times.

And yes I have played it.

[live2play]

thnks dude, it just stomps my goomba that they gave it this score. seriously theres just no way this game deserves lower than a 9 even if its only a tiny decimal. pure injustice.

[eagle21]

IGN said it's "far better than the DS NSMB" and they gave that one a 9.5! IGN bumps their heads these days quite often! But still a great score.

The words mean more than the score to me in a review. "Finest 2D Mario" is such a great compliment.

[pangitkqb]

But I also think he is taking the relative weakness of the DS into mind when compared to the Wii. The Wii version is obviously superior to the DS version, but on a system with more than ten times the processing power, could have been more. As he points out in the video, why no online mode? Why two nameless Toad Characters that could have easily been replaced with other famous Mario Allies? Why give video run throughs...and not simply add the ability to record your own videos and, if it had online capability, post them for others to see?

The point is, this is a fantastic 2D Mario experience that could have been even better without tons of more effort. No doubt it still looks awesome and is a blast to play, but no online and two nameless characters? Really?

In the end, it will still be fun. Game on, my friends!

[eagle21]

And he ended it "absolutely get a copy, no question".

I respect his opinion, but some of his "requests" are totally not needed and probably not even capable to run smooth online with a 15 million+ potential consumer base. And yeah, Game On bro.

[trackstar103]

haha! "stomps my goomba", ahhh nothin like a good laugh

[SSCOOLCHEA]

are you fkn kidding me ???????????

[TheBand1t]

What's wrong with Mario? Always enjoy a good Super Mario.

[Saaking]

Great score. Gonna pick this up as soon as possible

[Shadow Flare]

Come up with something new?

[SpoonyRedMage]

http://www.nintendoeverythi...

Now kindly STFU and GTFO.

[Shadow Flare]

You provided a link to a ds game (why?) and a wii game, both of which are just releasing in japan and both of which have next to zero info about judging from that article you linked. So we don't even know if they're any good at all

*clap.......clap*
Come up with something better

[Serial_EDX]

4 player co-op in a mario game.. >.> how is that not new. I don't recall ever being able to play like that, only system I do know games like this are on Nintendo products anyways.

[TheBand1t]

LBP?

[Pennywise]

LBP.

[SpoonyRedMage]

You're saying coming up with something new, I linked to a page that shows...*GASP*... they're coming up with something new!

...Or if you're complaing about lack of innovation in the Mario series then you're simply an idiot.

...and if you're talking about quality, and complaing about Nintendo EAD's quality then you're out of your mind.

[Shadow Flare]

UH...YEAH....when I said
"come up with something new" I was kinda thinking of doing something OTHER then mario. Again. For about the 200th time. Thinking outside the mario box. And yes, like bandit said, littlebigplanet has 4 player co-op, in a full physics world, where you can create entire levels. I think that has an upper hand over jumping on a mushroom, but this time with a waggly controller. What I mean by thinking outside the box is doing something like pikmin. Pikmin was brilliant. Make a new IP as creative as that for a change nintendo, geez

[bjornbear]

LB...oh wait ok beaten to it.

Still, why is it such a big deal: i'm sure it's an AWSUM game =)

[Serial_EDX]

Lol I completely forgot about LBP. :P

Its a good game, so I don't know why it just left my mind.

[mint royale]

Jesus Christ shadowflare is one hell of a whining fanboy!

Cannot wait to play this. I'm expecting this to be the most fun game I've played this year!

[Pekka]

You could say same thing about PS3 and 360 games. Biggest games for example for PS3 coming soon or just released are Uncharted 2, FF13, GT5 and GoW3. All of them are sequels so there is nothing especially new in any of them. Especially FF series has over 30 games already if you count all spinoffs (I didn't even count remakes yet). Yet most of them complaining about unoriginality of Mario don't complain about FF which has had same gameplay for at least last 15-20 years and dozens of games in a series. Then there are sports games which have new release every year although normally new release is more like graphics and roster upgrade, gameplay is almost the same 5 years ago (yet some stupid people buy them every year).

[ChickeyCantor]

"4 player co-op in a mario game.. >.> how is that not new"

And then people say LBP.

What part of IN A MARIO GAME did you not get?
idiots.

[TheBand1t]

Check again. I got the '4 player mario coop', but then he went to say the only place he knows of similar products are on Nintendo consoles.

LBP isn't a side scroller with 4 player coop?

[omegaortega]

Though I agree. I just find it ironic how they bash the HELL out of Nintendo for playing it safe, and not Activision.

[TheBand1t]

Because Call of Duty is a golden cow.

[pangitkqb]

And one that just drives me up the wall. Is MW2 a good game? Sure! Does it represent any form of real innovation or artistic risk in ANY WAY AT ALL? No, and yet it still gets rave reviews without mention of innovation. It honestly is a bit hypocritical, but this is the gaming industry after all. It's what they do best.

[Serial_EDX]

But the issue comes. Why fix what isn't broken. They add a few things but nothing massively new.

people just wanted more stuff for the MP. Just like how people want a FF7 remake. Good things don't change, They just get a update.

[pangitkqb]

I'm not saying everything has to be new. I'm just saying it would be nice to apply the same criteria across the universal gaming board. Why bash one game for not being original (Mario Bros. Wii) yet still having a great formula, and not do the same for another (MW2)? If both are fun and make gamers happy, why does one get bashed for lack of new creativity but the other doesn't?

Couldn't I just say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" to both rather than just dock points from one? Or conversely, dock points from both?

It just seems that universal standards would be so much more informative (and reliable) than arbitrary standards that change from game to game.

In the end, both games, I am sure, are a total riot. Game on.

[raztad]

Exactly the same thing happened with R&C:ACiT.

[Serial_EDX]

Yea but most people who bash the game like this are haters not gamers. They just like to get a riot going about something they didn't like even if the something they didn't like is 1/100 of the game.

[playstation123]

Who doesn't love Mario??? Especially a remake of the old NES version.

[NecrumSlavery]

BS review that everyone else's reviews don't stoop too. A little flaky IGN

[live2play]

myamoto said they tried multiplayer before with mario but other systems werent powerful enough. wayyyyyyyy before LBP. still i love sackboy he's my second fave game character, 1st is yo yo yoshi!!!! MOD NATION RACERS looks to be great too.

[Highatus]

Sweet a game i can play with the mrs'

[Xander-RKoS]

8.9's shouldn't exist...at that point, just give the game a 9 and make everyone happy.

[mint royale]

Who's talking up top? Can't see a thing.. must be the wind..

[JonnyBigBoss]

Cool game, but I don't see the attraction. Little Big Planet provided far more content including level creation and character editing.

[ElementX]

Hey idiot, we're not talking PS3 here, we're talking Wii and Mario. Quit bringing up crap that has nothing to do with the article. GTFO

BTW nobody gives a sh!t about your blogs and articles on your website. You're an obvious PS3 fanboy so just quit. This site has enough of them. Your opinions don't matter.

[ChickeyCantor]

" Little Big Planet provided far more content including level creation and character editing. "

Have you even played LBP? Its SLOW for a platformer.
The production value is great but to me, a platformer fan, LBP just sucks compared to Super Mario.

[ElementX]

A Mario game scoring under 9/10? What's happening?!

[EvilTwin]

Hey, 89 isn't bad. With a score that good, we're getting down to small quibbles with the reviewer.

That said, I would've thought the 4-player would've counted for more in the review. I get that it isn't online, but still, it's something different to an old formula. They put Mario on spheres in space and put COD in a modern setting, and that equals GOTY, but adding in multiplayer equals a B-grade?

Again, it's still a very good score. But the IGN Wii team are making some strange decisions as of late. This isn't even in the same ballpark as the egregious COD:MWR review, of course, but it's still a small question mark.

[VanHalen]

It scored an 8.9 because of no online? What in the hell is ign and this world coming to? Im glad it does not have online. I dont want online with this game! You understand that ign? F@CK!!!!

[ChickeyCantor]

I wouldnt care IF this guy gave it a 1/10;
But his voice comes off so annoying....AAAAAAAARGH

[Feral Gamer]

I want to buy a cheap Wii just for this game, Galaxy 1 & 2, and whatever new Zelda they have coming.

[pangitkqb]

The Wii holds little appeal to me except for a few killer titles that offer something retro, yet innovative. In fact, those are the very titles that catch my wandering eye.

[Voice_of_Reason]

Yeah the Wii does lack on Mainstream games. To bad you guys are not real core gamers. NMH, RS2, Muramassa, and so many others titles are only available on Wii, but no pass on some quality hardcore games and stick with your mainstream titles.

[FinalomegaS]

Hmm according to Miyamoto-san. the game is complex as it is with having 4 mario toons going around. They could of done maybe a 2 player co-op online and 4 player offline.

regardless I must go yet again to EB and get a new game... might as well pick L4D2 and this at the same time. Getting tired of seeing their faces.

[ChickeyCantor]

The two toad feel like a last minute call.
I mean the game as a 2 player co-up works out great. Playing with 4 is kinda chaotic.

Im happy its there, but its as if the game was meant to be played with 2 players anyway.

[Product]

Wow they seriously couldn't give it a 9...they had to give it a 8.9? Good thing I don't trust paid media anymore. Ign, 1up, Gamespot, and the like can all suck it. User reviews are more important to me, not someone who got paid to write one.

[EvilTwin]

I'm not as peeved on the 0.1 point deduction, but in essence, I do agree with you on the gaming media altogether. This gen has had the most uneven reviews of any generation of consoles. It's not just a matter of subjectivity; if a reviewer says a game mechanic is broke when it isn't, that's just lying (see: MWR, IGN).

It really hit home with me with the Metroid Trilogy. Some outlets rated Corruption HIGHER than the full Trilogy. ...so you add two AAA titles with improved controls and graphics, put it in a collector's case, offer 80 hours of gameplay...and the score goes...down?

There just isn't any consistency. And it seems like in-depth reviews are completely out of style. I mean, Harris dedicated one paragraph -- ONE PARAGRAPH! -- to the new powerups and overall gameplay in NSMB. And there's precious little about level design, which makes or breaks a platformer. It seems like IGN is rushing these reviews.

[Sickr]

"finest Super Mario Bros. 2D platformer Nintendo's ever created" and 8.9 doesn't quite add up.

[Fierce Musashi]

I find it interesting how they had to give it just an 8.9 rather than a full 9.0 or above. Any fool can tell you Mario platformers offer some of the highest quality platformers can give.

If my brother's theory is correct, they will have it out for Galaxy 2. No way would they make the same mistake twice (to them at least) and make it one of the highest rated games this gen as Galaxy 1 is.

Reviewers suck donkey balls now. The proof? Read EvilTwin's post above.

[Goomba12]

good score. ds version was fun looking forward to this