To overlook New Super Mario Bros. Wii based on the assumption that the game is either a) just another Mario game or b) just a sequel to the fun, yet underwhelming New Super Mario Bros. on the DS is, putting it bluntly, wrong. What NSMBW does, and what the aforementioned DS game failed to do, is take 20+ years of Mario games and create an experience utilizing elements from each installment. Going further yet, the game also introduces new variables, yet the pieces effortlessly fit together, as if all somehow planned from the beginning.

As its most touted feature, NSMBW’s co-op fundamentally changes the way the game is played. Unlike other games with a co-op feature, NSMBW’s levels don’t necessarily feel as if they were designed for more than one plumber to run around in. What this means is that there will be stretches of platforming wherein exact coordination between you and your friends will be all that can prevent someone from sustaining damage or falling to their doom. This is due to the fact that your characters bump and bounce off of each other as they make contact. Take too strong of a jump, and you’ll end up bumping your friend off of a ledge when you make your landing; jump at the same time to reach a higher platform and you may inadvertently use the other player’s head as spring board, sending you higher than you planned and, remorsefully, sending them down a bottomless hole.

Tireless teamwork isn’t all in effort to prevent death, however. Using your partner’s head as a means to jump higher, areas that require the use of tricky platforming or the propeller power up (more on that later) are made more easily accessible. Moreover, there exists a button that encases your avatar in a bubble, allowing you to float by tougher stretches of levels while the more skilled players handle the tricky work. Though this might sound a little too casual focused in writing, in practice it is a godsend, allowing the game to progress despite the individual skills of those playing. In fact, “bubbling” even becomes a useful tactic to avoid damage, as long as you are able to press the A button before getting hit with a shell or falling in a hole; you will retain your power-ups and lives as no harm can befall you once in the glossy protection of that bubble. Though it’s best not to rely on this ability too heavily; if all players in the game end up bubbled at the same time, the level will end and all power ups will be lost.

As I was playing, I took note of a great example of how the co-op mode changes the way Mario is played, specifically in a confrontation with Bowser. In typical fashion, he was jumping around, spouting fireballs at me and my partner. There was a switch on the other side of him that releases the bridge, yet one could also defeat him with a flurry of fireballs of their own. Obviously true to the Mario of yesterday, but the twist came when my partner had the fire power up and I had the ice. Instead of having to frantically dodge the incoming attacks from Bowser, I was able to douse them with ice while my partner flung fireballs back. As with the best co-op games, each player had a specific job to fulfill while relying on the success of the other in order to reach their ultimate goal. It may not seem like much, but it made for an experience I have never witnessed within the confines of a Mario game, and after these many years, that is a very, very good thing.

Speaking of power ups, this is another area where New Super Mario Bros. Wii easily surpasses the DS effort. While New Super Mario Bros. simply offered two new mushrooms, one which made Mario huge (and was mostly useless) and one that made him miniscule ( and used only to obtain secret exits), NSMBW brings back the Mini Mushroom and adds in a Propeller Mushroom, Ice Flower, and Penguin Suit. The Propeller Mushroom allows players to shake the Wii remote and launch themselves into the air, slowly falling back to the ground. While it’s not quite as satisfying as the flying power ups in previous titles, it certainly gets the job done, and thanks to it relying only on a shake of the remote instead of a full sprint to use, it is quite handy in correcting a poorly planned jump.

The more interesting of the new power ups are the Ice Flower and Penguin Suit. Much like the Raccoon/Tanooki Suit power ups from Super Mario Bros. 3, the Penguin Suit can be seen as a sort of “Deluxe” version of the Ice Flower. Both allow you to shoot ice balls at foes, but the Penguin suit also allows for easier swimming, full traction on icy surfaces, and the ability to slide across your belly, destroying foes and blocks in your way. Yet the most intriguing function between both power ups remains the ability to encase foes in giant blocks of ice. It seems so simple, yet it really offers a wide variety of uses, especially to those searching the nooks and crannies of each level. Freeze an enemy, and not only can you pick it up to launch at foes, but you may also stand on it and use it as a step to reach higher ground. This is especially useful when used on flying enemies, who will become ice-covered platforms before crashing down to the ground a few seconds later.

Despite its new and unique elements, the game’s true success is bringing all of the history of past Mario titles together into one cohesive product. The need to create something entirely different from sequel to sequel meant that much loved aspects of one Mario game were tossed out the window in favor of something new. However, the time between NSMBW and its 8- and 16-bit forefathers has allowed Nintendo to look at all of those ideas and make them work in harmony. Yoshis, wall jumps, butt stomps, Hammer Brothers, Mushroom Houses, Haunted Mansions, sky bound secret areas; the interaction of the familiar with the new elicits nostalgia and wonder in tandem.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a celebration of gaming’s most iconic figure; a reminder of why most of us became gamers in the first place. There was no casual, no hardcore; there was Super Mario Bros., and with NSMBW, Nintendo has once again walked that line with ease. Gather your friends, your family, whoever is willing to pick up a controller and prepare to have fun, plain and simple.

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Things We Liked: Co-op play. New power ups that are actually fun to use. Seamlessly blends 20+ years of Mario gameplay. Yoshi returns.

Things We Disliked: The title feels like it was created by someone who hates words. The single player is fun, but lifeless compared to the co-op mode.

Target Audience: Anyone who has played a Mario game in their lifetime. Couples or families looking for a fun game to play together. Anyone wanting to grab their friends and throw them down holes.

(New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Developer: Nintendo. Publisher: Nintendo. Available on Nintendo Wii. Buy it Now at Amazon.com. New to CFD!’s reviews? Read our explanation here.)