For some reason I’ve been drawn to Mario Bros. games since their inception. And  so when I heard about a classic style Mario game capable of four simultaneous players announced at this years E3, my interests were instantly peaked.

Putting it in and playing the first few levels greatly reminded me of  Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. DS. (Forgetting that it’s up to four players for the moment.) The controls are like any other Mario game, with the exception of a motion sensor  used to pick things up, use certain items (either by twisting or tilting), and dismounting Yoshi. You can also play with the nun-chuck, which I found instantly confusing and went right back to playing with the side-ways wii-remote.

Like many of the Mario Bros. games they have some new suits to give the game some new “Twists” such as the propeller suit, the Penguin suit, and some cold overalls that allow Mario to huck snowballs. As well as some power-ups that we’ve already seen, Fire power, and the Mini-mushroom. You won’t even notice while playing, but they removed all the items that possess any ability that resembles true flight. (You’ll find that the propeller suit is nowhere close.)

The story is the same as the original game. In the first scene all of the characters are having a party at the castle, and the bad guys show up, trap the princess, and throw her on their airship. The airship is full of all of Bowser’s kids. (you’ve fought all of them in some of the other games.) The airship drops them off at different towers throughout the worlds, and that’s where the boss battles come from.

I hate to sound repetitious, and so I will sum up the entire game as Mario-like, and move on to the four-player mode. At first it may come off as a downer statement but I think that it’s true to say, Mario Bros. isn’t meant to be a four player game. And with this massive hurdle they still accomplished to make it fun to do.

But there are some serious problems. First off, playing with anyone (also woman, and children) below your skill level can get agitating. So if you’re one of those guys that do speed runs beating the levels with four well placed jumps, I don’t think this mode is for you.

Secondly, because you re-spawn in the level, you can hardly die at all if you are playing with adequate players.

Thirdly, some places are beyond congested with four players, and being bunched up, losing track of who you are, and getting bounced on until you fall into a pit is also annoying.

Lastly, with four players in as established a universe as Mario. I think you should be able to choose from more than Mario, Luigi, and two generic toads. (If anyone thinks I’m too harsh with Mario Bros., I just have to tell them that I didn’t have anything bad to say about Super Mario Bros. Sunshine. Which I think says a lot.)

On the positive side, it is really fun with four player similar to multiplayer poker, but more as a social time filler.

And at the end of it all. Bowser’s castle is easier than most, but Bowser himself can be pretty difficult. I think this title was successful because right after going through it the first time, I feel like going through and playing it again. There is a lot of extra stuff to do, not only are there lots of star coins in every stage to find, but after you beat the game you get extra content for each world that you have all the coins from.

And it has all the same kind of extra stuff that you would expect from a normal Mario game. Secret goal points, Cannon warps, extra item games. If you are interested in finding all the secrets this title will keep you busy for a really long time. And then even after you master all the secrets, it’s still fun to run quickly through again.

Ultimately I don’t think that it’s the best side-scrolling Mario game to date, but it is still really good, and worth playing. Easily better than New Super Mario Bros. DS

Update for single player: I just went through and beat the single player, and I was disappointed to find out that all the challenges I had going through the first time, were due to incompetent compatriots. Bowser and his level took one try, where I was never even regressed to smallness. So Derek, if you’re reading this you were right. This game might be a little too easy.

Score
• Graphics – 8
• Audio – 8
• Gameplay – 8
• Replay – 10
• Overall – 8.5

You can buy it on Amazon. Which seems to be the best deal, because it’s already discounted!