The first real sequel to the Super Mario Bros. series does the originals true justice.
Mario Advance was good, but was still a remake, not an original game. Likewise a few Mario characters starred in 2-D platformers (Yoshi, Peach, Wario, DK, etc.) but none were
Mario Brothers even though they were Mario games. The first true sequel to original Super Mario Bros, this game isn't so much revolutionary is it is a visit to the past. And what
a visit it is.
Story: Bowser Jr. has captured Peach, and dragged her off into the open world, so Mario has to rescue her. You don't get simpler then that.
Characters: Mario's the hero again, off to save Peach again. Luigi's hidden, a bonus character if you know the secret code. Bowser Jr's the biggest foe, fighting you in every
tower and throwing all his father's minions at you. Bowser is a boss, but doesn't control the show. Toadsworth stays at home(s) and gives you items as you travel. And all the
minions are out to cause trouble, Goombas, Koopas, Lakitus, Hammer Bros, Pokeys, Bob-Ombs, Bullet Bills, Boos, Spinies, Banzai Bills, and more are ready for chaos, and
Mario.
Gameplay: Move with the D-Pad, jump with A, and run with B (Or run with Y and jump with B), stomp the baddies and grab fire flowers for ammo, this plays like original Mario. A
few new moves are brought in, from Ground Pound to Wall Jump, but overall this game plays more like Super Mario Bros. then any game in almost 20 years. The map screen lets
you choose your level, the levels themselves are get from either the left to the right or from bottom to top. A few new items have been added as power-ups, the Mini Mushroom
(Or Micro Mushroom) shrinks you to let you into tiny gaps, the Koopa Shell gives you a shell slide and near invincible duck, the mega mushroom gives you humungous size and
the ability to break almost anything, and the rainbow star gives you invincibility and super speed. None of these are very common, you'll usually have to be satisfied with Fire
Mario in your travels. Enemies usually can be jumped on, those that can't can usually be hit with fire or Shell Slide. A few are really tough, taking three hits to kill, and some are
totally invincible.
Levels aren't terribly complicated, getting to the finish is merely a matter of dodging obstacles and enemies as you navigate through to the finish. A few feature gimmicks like
moving ledges or giant enemies, and Ghost Houses are typically mazes, but generally the game is straightforward. Every world has one to two towers on it and a fortress at the
end, and these have bosses in them. Bowser Jr. is at the end of the vertical scrolling towers, and his really big bosses end the fortresses. Bosses are the usual affair, jump on
them three times to beat them, or hit them with an array of fireballs. A few have gimmicks (Like Bowser's classic switch), but those are easy to figure out. The map itself has
various secrets as well, from warp pipes to cannons to hidden levels to shortcuts, and these are found by hidden exits in levels or by paying with Star Coins found in every level.
Difficulty: Easy. Really, it's easy. Beating the game isn't terribly hard, even though dying sends you back to the beginning of the level/checkpoint in the level it's not really that
easy to die. Even the bosses are rather simple to beat.
Variety: World one is basic grass, world two is a desert, world three is ocean, etc. Not terribly complex, all are based on a theme that slightly changes how the level plays.
Unlockables: New levels and knowledge of secret codes (Play as Luigi) as you work through the game, plus bonus wallpaper for the touch screen. And that's really all this game
needs.
Technical Details: Graphics are 3-D despite being a 2-D game, adding a great amount of depth and texture to the game. The game doesn't make use of depth too often for
gameplay, at the most two layers are used in the fence climbing stages, but it makes use of it for graphics. The gameplay music is remixed popular Mario tunes, the sound
effects are nostalgic, the voice effects are occasional but don't get in the way, and the map/menu music is excellent.
Multiplayer: Two players can duel each other to collect Stars in bonus levels, or four can play a wide variety of mini-games. Both modes are available in single and multicard,
with single card being easier to set up and multicard having no load time. You can't play the main game together, or even the levels, it's just various bonus modes.
Replay Value: Anyone who likes Super Mario Bros. will enjoy this game forever, even with how easy it is it lasts a while, and you won't mind resetting it to play again. The mini-
games are short and addictive, like good mini-games should be, and while only a little above two-thirds are available in single-player there's quite a lot of them still. Multiplayer
doesn't add much to the game, and that's a shame, this game could have done better there. But you can't do much better for single-player.
Final score breakdown:
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sounds and Music: 10/10
Fun: 10/10
Replay Value: 8/10
Pros
Great gameplay
Nostalgia everywhere
Lots to the game
Great mini-games to waste time on
Cons
Lackluster multiplayer
A little on the easy side
Overall: 9.4/10 Not much left to say. The game is fun and nostalgic mixed together, one of the best games out there and a worthy successor to the original Super Mario Brothers.