Kicking it in the Mushroom Kingdom
Announced at Nintendo’s press conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 and still in development with a possible release during the winter of 2009: New Super Mario Bros Wii!
Sweet, classic, side-scrolling platform awesomeness on the Nintendo Wii. It’s kinda like a sequel to the DS game New Super Mario Bros and will feature 4-player co-op. That’s right, for the first time in a Mario Bros series game, there’s simultaneous multiplayer capability of up to four players. The only solid proof that I’ve wanted a game like this for years now, is date-stamped the 26th March 2009 on the Automatic Freestyle forum. Can I believe that Nintendo heard my cry and finally made it?
It’ll play very much like the DS game in classic style, with the Wii Remote held horizontally. Some movements such as jumping and attacks are performed with the buttons, whereas others like spinning in midair and picking up other players are performed by shaking the Wii Remote.
According to the E3 2009 demo, players can play as four characters from the Mario series: Mario (player one), Luigi (player two), and two Toad characters: one blue (player three) and one yellow (player four). We’re hoping there will be other playable characters like Princess Peach and some of the villains.
Players will also be able to ride on different coloured Yoshis, who display characteristics similar to the Yoshis found in Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island. He probably won’t ever be a playable stand-alone character due to this though.
Some new items seem to have been added, there’s a Penguin Suit which allows players to freeze enemies (and use them as platforms), plus a Propeller Suit which allows players to fly. I miss the Tanooki and Hammer Suits. They should bring back the Frog Suit too for the funnies.
There’s a decent amount of fair play here. If a player dies, they appear in a bubble a few moments later and can resume play if one of the other players hits it. Items from item blocks come in multiple quantities so that each player has a chance of powering up too.
You could be greedy and try and deny your friends such goodies though (or leave them floating in that bubble for a while). There are obviously a lot of competitive elements, such as trying to get the most points or coins. Rankings for each player are given at the end of each level, including stats such as enemies defeated, coins collected, and total points. Race to that end of level flag!
The major villains of this game will be the Koopalings (who originally appeared as Bowser’s children in Mario Bros 3 and Mario World). I massively approve of this because they were a right bunch of characters and easily beat that Bowser Jr brat that seemed to replace the seven of them.
I’m so getting this game O_O
The only major drawback I’m seeing to this game is the lack of any online multiplayer play. The game maybe a tad too easy as well, unless the amount of enemies is increased to handle up to four players thrashing through the Mushroom Kingdom or something.
While we’re on the topic of world-saving plumbers; Super Mario Galaxy 2 is also in development for the Wii. It will have new features, including new items and power-ups and the ability to ride Yoshi (who will also have some new moves and skills).
