New Super Mario Bros.

[JBC]

Finally a true sequel. After 20 years worth of waiting we will finally see a Mario game in the same vein as the original Super Mario Bros. I never counted the Japanese Mario 2 as a true update - as to me it seemed like a total rehash of the original. To tell you the truth - as i grew older i fell out of Mario - not something very common with me. It got to a point sometime around Mario 64 where i felt that the true feel of the series had been lost forever - kind of like what happened with Sonic when Sonic Adventure came out. That magical essence the series brought forth had seemed to diminish with the advent of 3d gameplay. The characters no longer had the same solid style about them. But look!



Judging solely by the looks of it i'd say that Nintendo has succeded in recapturing that old Mario spirit. Mario All-Stars and Mario vs. Donkey Kong are the only two Mario games i've bought since Super Mario World. I was a fan of Wario Land on the Virtual Boy and Wario Land 4 on GBA, but none of these games could ever really hold a candle to the original.

I'm a 25 year old man and i'm actually seriously interested in this. Even if they made a new Mario game in 3d for the revolution - if it had this style about it - i would totally dig it.

Now if only Sega would toss out all those crap characters like Shadow and Big the Cat and give us the real Hedgehog back. The one with little red and white shoes that runs across checkerboard paradises and fights a fat eggman with a huge mustache. Damn i miss Sonic. Ahh... the 'real' old days.

I apologize if there has already been a thread made about this game - as i am sure that there has. But this thread is surely intended to be different. This thread should be about the kinds of classic games that have lost thier feel over the years. The kind of games that we want TRUE updates to. Like a new Shinobi where Joe Musashi is running around alleyways and bamboo forests slashing away at Neo Zeed ninja assassins or a Final Fight *cough* where Haggar and Guy are kickin' ass on toxic punks and leather clad rocker thugs.

I'm gonna keep dreamin' and pray that these things happen more often...

EDIT - Did i mention that those PSP Megaman remakes KICK ASS!?!

[Dylan1CC]

The new videos on IGN and 1UP have me anticipating the game even more.

http://media.ds.ign.com/media/682/682879/vids_1.html

It will have at least 80 levels and confirmed to have lots of branching paths, extra levels and control is said to be "floaty yet tight" just the like the first SMB. First new 2D Mario since Mario Land 2, life is good.

Agreed MM Powered UP is great. It is amazing how much extra content you can unlock or download. My only gripe? Its addicitive level editor makes me kinda miffed that Tezuka didn't think of such a thing for New SMB. I have said it before, New SMB is screaming for a touch screen level creator.

Now if only Sega would toss out all those crap characters like Shadow and Big the Cat and give us the real Hedgehog back.

I don't own it yet, but what about Sonic Rush? Sounds like it is the closest in focus since the Genny series.

[Keranu]

I can't wait to play New Super Mario Bros., it sounds so awesome.

I thought Sonic Rush was going to rock hard for awhile, until I actually played it and realized it sucks. The level layouts are terrible and if you hate new-style Sonic, beware!

[JBC]

Hmm... looks like Myamoto isn't the man behind the game...

[sethsez]

Sonic Rush is not a Sonic game. It's NiGHTS on the ground. I happen to enjoy this, others don't, but going in expecting it to play like a classic Sonic will only result in disappointment.

[GaijinPunch]

I thought the dual screen on Sonic Rush worked well. Am I right thinking that playing as the cat or whatever is the same game w/ a different character? I noticed nothing different.

While I'm sure the new SMB will be fun, the graphics look horrid. They should've stuck w/ sprites.

[Super Laydock]

While I'm sure the new SMB will be fun, the graphics look horrid.

Sounds like you're in need of some new glasses.

To each it's own, but have you actually seen it move? I love the paralax clouds and other nice touches and I really can't see how sprites would have improved on the looks of this.

[icycalm]

If this game sells shitloads of copies, which it certainly will, we'll be seeing a lot more 2D stuff in the future.

I hope it's not all on DS though. I don't really like playing games on handhelds. Especially... good games. Not to mention that dualscreens and touch pens are largely useless for updates to classic franchises.

[Limbrooke]

Finally a true sequel. After 20 years worth of waiting we will finally see a Mario game in the same vein as the original Super Mario Bros...

Although not entirely in the same vein or intended to be a sequel, aren't you forgetting Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island which came out in 1995? That game is loads of fun and has some of the best side scroll platforming availible to date. I'd say at least 10 years since at good Mario scroller has been around, at least.

And actually this game looks nice. I just wonder how it will handle.
At least there will be some competition forth coming. Xtreme Ghouls & Ghosts for PSP looks damn good. New gamers are hopefully going to get a nostalgic taste coming soon it's definitely a nice change in pace.

[extrarice]

Although not entirely in the same vein or intended to be a sequel, aren't you forgetting Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island which came out in 1995? That game is loads of fun and has some of the best side scroll platforming availible to date. I'd say at least 10 years since at good Mario scroller has been around, at least.

I wouldn't count Yoshi's Island as a Mario game. You didn't get to control Mario except when he had a star. It is a fun platformer, but it's just not Mario. And the feeling is radically different than SMB1,3 and World.

Holycrap Goku Makamura looks freaking awesome...now if they would just use traditional sprite artwork instead of polys... (I think well made sprites carry much more detail and artwork than even the best polys).

[99pence]

Xtreme Ghouls & Ghosts for PSP looks damn good and hopefully will give gamers on DS and PSP end to enjoy some nostagic gaming.

But it's a brand new game?


As for Yoshes Island. It's more Super Mario World 2 than Super Mario Bros 5. Surely one of the tightest, most polished game ever.

[JBC]

Although not entirely in the same vein or intended to be a sequel, aren't you forgetting Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island which came out in 1995? That game is loads of fun and has some of the best side scroll platforming availible to date. I'd say at least 10 years since at good Mario scroller has been around, at least.

Whoa, i did totally forget about that game - mostly due to the HORRIBLE Yoshi's Story on N64.

[GaijinPunch]

Sounds like you're in need of some new glasses.

Hardly. The DS is very underwhelming in the 3D department.

[Limbrooke]

Sounds like you're in need of some new glasses.

Hardly. The DS is very underwhelming in the 3D department.

Yes, it's almost like the new Saturn.
It's main competitor is Sony PSP (replacing Playstation). There aren't as many games as it's Sony counterpart. Although it's more popular, which is a flip-flop. But I kid.
DS isn't too easy on the eyes for 3D. Take Hunters for example...ugh. But it does an ok job for such a pint sized cartridge. I sort of wonder why Nintendo kept going that route, but with piracy always a concern maybe it is no surprise.

[99pence]

It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when Nintendo feel that their latest 2D mario game has to been in polygons.


I blame the gaming media. Every new 2D game is 'retro'.

[JBC]

I'm not so worried about the polygons anymore. 3d graphics are getting to a point where they don't look so shite like before. I'm not saying the DS has great poly pushing power, but this game in particualr doesn't look bad at all.

[99pence]

What I reckon, It'll be a easy watered down SMB 1 with floaty controls and dodgy polygon graphics.



It's hardly Super Mario Bros 6 is it.

[sethsez]

I blame the gaming media. Every new 2D game is 'retro'.

1) That doesn't apply to portables.

2) Nintendo is trying to be blatantly retro with this in the first place so they'd have no reason to consider that a negative.

3) Super Princess Peach didn't have a single polygon in it.

[JBC]

What I reckon, It'll be a easy watered down SMB 1 with floaty controls and dodgy polygon graphics.

It's hardly Super Mario Bros 6 is it.

I guess we'll have to play it and see...

Did you watch any videos of it yet? The graphics are quite solid. Don't get me wrong - i am and always have been a 2d enthusiast. I wouldn't even play Lament of Innocence just because it looked like butt and Castlevania is my favorite series. This game doesn't look bad at all, though - hell even the screenshots i posted above look more pre-rendered SGI type stuff to me...

I'm also not quite sure how you could make SMB1 any easier or watered down, as it is by todays standards as basic as they come. In all of the articles and previews that i have read it sounds to me that they have introduced a great number of new play mechanics...

[sethsez]

I'm also not quite sure how you could make SMB1 any easier or watered down

Yeah, this is something I don't get. Since when were Mario games hard and complex? I've seen people all over the internet crying that this'll be too easy or too short or too this or too that, and then say they want it to be more like the earlier games. I just think "you mean the earlier games with amazingly easy ways to warp to the end and tricks that let you get stupid amounts of lives with very little effort?"

Mario games have always been stupidly easy to break, and beating one in around 15 minutes isn't difficult. Worrying that they're going to water this down "unlike the earlier games" is ludicrous.

[99pence]

I blame the gaming media. Every new 2D game is 'retro'.

1) That doesn't apply to portables.

And that is utterly ridiculous. Why are portable games awesome but 2D console games are dirty retro dated old skool.

[99pence]

I'm also not quite sure how you could make SMB1 any easier or watered down

Yeah, this is something I don't get. Since when were Mario games hard and complex? I've seen people all over the internet crying that this'll be too easy or too short or too this or too that, and then say they want it to be more like the earlier games. I just think "you mean the earlier games with amazingly easy ways to warp to the end and tricks that let you get stupid amounts of lives with very little effort?"

Mario games have always been stupidly easy to break, and beating one in around 15 minutes isn't difficult. Worrying that they're going to water this down "unlike the earlier games" is ludicrous.

I forgot The Lost Levels was a piece of cake.

To be fair no one knows till it comes out and thats that really.

[sethsez]

I blame the gaming media. Every new 2D game is 'retro'.

1) That doesn't apply to portables.

And that is utterly ridiculous. Why are portable games awesome but 2D console games are dirty retro dated old skool.

How does that have anything at all to do with New Super Mario Bros?

[JBC]

It's just that people understand that portable gaming technology hasn't caught up to the power that home consoles have. It does suck, but really man i don't see that mentality lasting much longer.

3d gaming is a big deal now because it is still new. Like 2d gaming had 25 years of spotlight... now we have 3d games. So people are still excited about it. But now we've had 3d for about 10 years and people are starting to calm down about it.

Games are no longer advertised as having 'INTENSE 3D GRAPHICS!!!' - they are advertised as having 'AWESOME GRAPHICS!!!' Get what i mean? It's not a big deal for a game to be 3d anymore... at all. It's the norm and has been for quite a while. So pretty soon when a 2d game comes out it won't be considered 'retro'... it'll just be considered '2d format'. People will have had so much 3d that they can handle playing a 2d game every now and then without a second thought about it.

If you think about it in that sense it is actually better for 2d gamers that the new handhelds can produce 3d graphics because eventually 2d games will be just as accepted as 3d.

Of course i could be wrong but to me things seem to be heading in that direction. Thank god for emulation keeping the memories alive...

EDIT - Not to mention that eventually 3d graphics will look really f'in solid and may very well surpass some of the 2d graphics techniques the industry was using long ago. Think Shinobi Legions with smoother animation - but 3d, not motion captured. Hmmm... i could probably think up a better example but meh...

[sethsez]

I'm also not quite sure how you could make SMB1 any easier or watered down

Yeah, this is something I don't get. Since when were Mario games hard and complex? I've seen people all over the internet crying that this'll be too easy or too short or too this or too that, and then say they want it to be more like the earlier games. I just think "you mean the earlier games with amazingly easy ways to warp to the end and tricks that let you get stupid amounts of lives with very little effort?"

Mario games have always been stupidly easy to break, and beating one in around 15 minutes isn't difficult. Worrying that they're going to water this down "unlike the earlier games" is ludicrous.

I forgot The Lost Levels was a piece of cake.

I forgot people held The Lost Levels as the gold standard of the series.

[99pence]

1) That doesn't apply to portables.

And that is utterly ridiculous. Why are portable games awesome but 2D console games are dirty retro dated old skool.

How does that have anything at all to do with New Super Mario Bros?

Are you kidding? Cos they wouldn't dare release it on a console but 2D's 'ok/not lame retro, unoriginal, old skool' on a portable.

[99pence]

Yeah, this is something I don't get. Since when were Mario games hard and complex? I've seen people all over the internet crying that this'll be too easy or too short or too this or too that, and then say they want it to be more like the earlier games. I just think "you mean the earlier games with amazingly easy ways to warp to the end and tricks that let you get stupid amounts of lives with very little effort?"

Mario games have always been stupidly easy to break, and beating one in around 15 minutes isn't difficult. Worrying that they're going to water this down "unlike the earlier games" is ludicrous.

I forgot The Lost Levels was a piece of cake.

I forgot people held The Lost Levels as the gold standard of the series.

I'll let you off but as long as you remember next time.

[JBC]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. If this game does fairly well... and it will, i'll bet we see a new 2d Super Mario Bros. game on the Revolution. I'm actually fairly certain that Nintendo is watching the market for this game with that taken into consideration...

[99pence]

This is what I hate about the internet. This is ridiculous.


I'm going to write a film about pointless arguing on the internet and get hella rich. No one would watch it. Surely there's another arguement there somewhere.

[99pence]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. If this game does fairly well... and it will, i'll bet we see a new 2d Super Mario Bros. game on the Revolution. I'm actually fairly certain that Nintendo is watching the market for this game with that taken into consideration...

No that's fair enough. I don't want to take anything away from people looking forward to this. Here's to 2D games.

"The beautiful world of 2D! The tension is getting good! Three
cheers for Bangai-o!"