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Nintendo Wii | Mario Bros. Wii Game Lives Up To Family Name

Think back to the first time in the early 1980s that you dropped a quarter in a Donkey Kong arcade game. Who could have imagined that little mustached Italian stereotype of a plumber would outlast the careers of Sylvester Stallone, Lionel Richie and both George Bushes?

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is something like the 17 millionth appearance by Mario in a video game, but it deserves special note, because it’s a throwback to the pinnacle of his existence – the side-scrolling platform-style games that started with Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. in the mid-1980s and effectively ended with Super Mario World in 1991. This game has a few minor 21st century updates, but mostly it’s a very pleasant trip down memory lane.

And that’s no small event. For geeks who came of age during their release, the Mario Bros. series was like the “Star Wars” of video games. Famed game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was at his peak, and the Mario games were simple to play, yet expertly paced and extremely inventive. As much as anything from that era, the games made a strong argument that video games were art.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii doesn’t operate at that level of innovation, but it delivers an excellent facsimile of its predecessors. One to four players can explore the lush and familiar landscapes, collecting coins, battling cartoonish foes and solving clever puzzles. The motion capabilities of the Wii controller are used – you shake the controller to activate power-ups such as Mario’s new helicopter suit – but never overwhelm the game. Most of the time, it feels like something fun that you played in 1989.

And mostly in a good way. While the overarching plot of the game is surprisingly weak (a Princess Peach kidnap scenario was the best idea they could think up?), the levels themselves are creative and increasingly challenging. The level of difficulty seems higher than other Mario Bros. games, but this one includes a “Super Guide” feature, which effectively allows the computer to finish a level if your character fails too many times.

The controls work well most of the time. Tipping the Wii remote to operate a seesaw is easy enough, but things get difficult when the game requires more complicated moves, such as shaking the controller while pressing a button to pick up and throw a frozen foe. Mostly, though, it’s like riding a bike. There’s something so much less stressful about playing a game where all you have to do is run and jump – and don’t have to account for that pesky third dimension. No one can sneak up behind you and frag your character in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The game also benefits from the advent of widescreen televisions, which weren’t around in the 1980s, and are much better for this kind of gaming. Playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I couldn’t help thinking how great it would be for a Contra or even a Pitfall update in the era of 46-inch cinema-style television sets.

One more note of local pride: Bay Area native Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario in video games since Super Mario 64 came out in 1996, returns with a solid contribution to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. With the possible exception of the woman who provides the voice for the incoming BART trains, he may be the most famous actor that you’ve never seen.

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Tags: Nintendo WII