While early reports may have speculated that this as a remake of New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, this is actually a full fledged sequel. This is the first Mario game in which you can play up to 4 players on screen at the same time. You can work together as a team, or sabotage each other in a frantic race to the finish flagpole.

The world map set up is pretty much the same as it’s DS counterpart, with traditional stages, Toad houses, and boss castles. The Koopalings, as well as Bowser Jr. have returned to kidnap the cheating whore named Princess Peach on her birthday and they take her into the clutches of Bowser, where she secretly wants to be. I swear, she willingly goes over to Bowser’s castle because Mario doesn’t give her enough attention.

There are also Ghost houses, warp cannons, and even hidden paths to uncover and explore. In multiplayer mode, your characters are Mario, Luigi, and two different colored Toads. While it’s great to finally be able to play as Toad again, it does suck that you can’t choose which character you want to go through the game with in single player mode. Yoshi has also returned, but he is only in a few levels. So don’t expect to see much of him.

Each level has three star coins to collect. You can use your star coins to purchase strategy and hint videos from Peach’s castle. Getting all star coins for every level in every world unlocks something very special, but i won’t ruin it for those who want to find out on their own. Make sure to hunt them down, as many of them are very well hidden throughout the game’s 80 levels.

Now onto the items in the game. Of course you have the traditional mushroom which makes your grow, and the fire flower and star, but there are some new items as well. There is the propeller item, which lets you temporarily fly in the air with a shake of the Wiimote, the penguin suit which lets you slide on your belly, swim faster in water, and shoot ice balls to freeze your enemies in ice cubes. The ice ball has returned, which is kinda useless when you take the penguin suit into account. Finally you have the mini item, which shrinks Mario and allows him to float and have access to tiny pipes.

You can collect and store items upon gaining them, and can save up to 99 of every item.

There are also world map battles against various enemies. You must collect Toad balloons and a treasure chest will appear containing a Toad that will give you three mushrooms for saving him. All you’ll ever get from these are three mushrooms. In some levels, a balloon caption with a toad face will appear on the map. In these levels, you need to carry Toad through the entire level. Doing so will grant you hidden Toad houses, which will contain items or mini games. There are two mini games this time around, one which lets you slap panels to match items, similar to Mario 3, and a cannon game where you shoot Mario into 1-up balloons to gain extra lives. Oh and getting 100 lives causes Mario to lose his hat. You don’t have to save the Toads at all if you don’t want to, but it’s nice to stock up on items for your journey.

Another new feature is the Super Guide mode. It basically babysits you through certain levels and i wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who wants the satisfaction of beating a Mario game all by themselves.

You face one of the Koopalings twice in each world, in both castles. Each fight is different, so be prepared. Many enemies have returned. The Hammer Bros. Big Bertha, The Moles, Wrigglers, etc. The biggest surprise for me was the return of the floating airship levels from Mario 3. It was great seeing them make a comeback. They are just as fun as i remember.

You control options are the Wiimote on it’s side, or the Wiimote and nunchuck. Some may bitch about the lack of Gamecube and Classic Controller support, but honestly the game doesn’t need it. It’s two buttons after all. The game feels great, but often times Mario feels like he is on a permanent oil slick, causing you to overshoot jumps and often die when you shouldn’t have. Though that’s probably just me. The game is very challenging, and will keep you busy for hours and hours. Don’t expect a walk in the park with this one. The game has crisp, clean graphics which look very nice, though i do think they could have been a little better. I didn’t care much for the soundtrack to be honest, it’s just not very memorable and i enjoyed the DS New Super Mario Bros. soundtrack a bit more.

The Multiplayer experience is truly where it’s at in this game. If you have friends that suck at platformers, then use that to your advantage. Although, playing with such people can also cause you to die often by accident.