I just finished New Super Mario Brothers last night on my spanking-new DS Lite. What a great game. It captured everything that I loved about the 2d Super Mario platformers and added twists of its own to enhance the experience without corrupting it. My only complaint about the game was that it was a bit too easy. A few levels gave me trouble, but that was generally because I was going after all three big gold coins on that level. What’s funny is that it is pretty clearly the best game released for the DS, and it doesn’t really use any of the DS’s unique features: the split-screen and the touch-pad. It makes half-hearted attempts to use both, but the same game could easily be played on a single, non-touch screen with minimal alteration. I’m glad Nintendo didn’t try to use them more though, as they may have risked messing with the quintessential 2d platformer experience.
A blog on virtual worlds, games, and digital content, from Matt Mihaly
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July 7th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Scott
I’m a huge fan of the 2D Mario games, I thought they did a great job bringing back this style of game. Like you said, they didn’t overuse any of those DS features. While I definitley support innovation and technological advancement in gaming, I think we would get some more wholesome and fun games if things moved a little slower. Some limits can really enhance creativity I think, and time can be spent elsewhere when you arn’t trying to wow an audience with increasingly detailed graphics.
July 9th, 2006 at 1:41 am
Eric
The unique features of the DS are great for many games, even ones that traditionally just get played with buttons - Kirby’s Canvas Curse is a great re-envisioning of the 2D platformer, for example, where the touchpad both successfully replicates classic gameplay elements and creates new one. Not to mention games like Trauma Center, that flat-out wouldn’t be possible without the touch screen and really demonstrate its value in terms of sparking creativity in developers.
But for a game like NSMB, the goal isn’t re-envisioning the 2D platformer with new gameplay elements, it’s just trying to be the best nostalgic throwback it can be, and it does a great job of that.
Personally, I LOVE what Nintendo is doing with the DS, branching it out into so many different audiences. There’s stuff on there for modern, hardcore gamers, stuff for people who haven’t played a game since the NES, and stuff for people who have never touched a videogame before. It makes me very excited about what they’ll do with the Wii, precisely for what Scott said - they *aren’t* trying to wow an audience with increasingly detailed graphics. They just know that fun sells.