New Super Mario Bros. Wii

By Ellie Gibson Published 28 October, 2009

Platform seller.

At 10.30am yesterday morning, all was quiet on the Eurogamer Expo show floor. Apart from the 48 people in blue t-shirts running round shouting, "Where's Rupert / the bag of ethernet cables / the 17 missing Xbox 360 units," of course. And apart from the New Super Mario Bros. Wii area, where four of Eurogamer's finest had gathered.

Goodness knows who they were, but sadly they had to dash off to do something more important leaving me, Tom, Bertie and GamesIndustry.biz editor Matt Martin to try out Nintendo's latest offering. If you'd been standing nearby you'd have heard the familiar plink of gold coins and boing of bouncing plumbers. You'd also have heard giggling, shouting, cackling, cheering, jeering, ridiculing and a lot of swearing.

It wasn't the first time we'd seen the game in action. The Eurogamer editorial team voted NSMB Wii game of the show at this year's E3, causing a bit of consternation. But the Eurogamer Expo marks the first time UK gamers get to play NSMB Wii, and yesterday morning was the first time the four of us got to play it together.

As you'll know if you read Oli's E3 preview, that's how the game's meant to be played. At first glance it looks just like the Mario games of old, all blue skies and green pipes and yellow question boxes. You run from left to right within a 2D landscape, collecting coins and jumping on enemies along the way.

'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' Screenshot 1

Please hammers, do hurt 'em.

As you go, you encounter familiar power-ups like super-sizing mushrooms and fire flowers. In fact, the only difference seems to be that there are four characters on-screen (Mario, Luigi, yellow Toad and blue Toad, in the demo on show at the Expo). But to really understand how important this difference is and how much it changes the Mario experience, maybe you need to have a play.

So that's what the four of us did. As veteran Mario fans it wasn't hard for us to get to grips with the controls (apart from Bertie, who had to be told to hold the Wii remote horizontally instead of vertically, but he's the youngest and extremely next-gen). Within seconds we were all running and bouncing around with ease and it felt just like old times. Except now we could run into and bounce off each other, we discovered - using each other's heads as impromptu stepladders to reach those high-up coins.

'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' Screenshot 2

A lava level! What will they think of next? An ice level, probably.

We spent the duration of the first level experimenting with this mechanic and generally mucking about without too much concern for what each other was doing. But then the level ended and the scores screen appeared. We realised that in NSMB Wii you win points not just for coins collected, power-ups stockpiled and enemies boshed, but for things like how many lives you still have left at the end of the level. We realised, most importantly, that it is a competition.

The gloves came off. Which made it a lot easier to press the buttons, but also meant that everyone was more focused. Suddenly it seemed much more important to nab that giant bonus coin, or to snaffle not just one but all the fire flower power-ups before your rivals could get near them. The pace of the game shifted from a gentle stroll to a race.

In a bid to outdo each other we also started paying more attention to the Wii-specific control features. When you die in NSMB, you're reincarnated as a floating bubble. You can only rejoin the action properly when another player touches your bubble to pop it. If your friends are feeling competitive there's no incentive for them to do this - better to clean up all the coins on-screen while you float around helplessly.

Or not so helplessly, as shaking the Wii remote makes your bubble drift towards them. So you end up in situations where there are three players furiously waggling their remotes while the other one mashes away at the jump button, trying to collect the coins while avoiding those bubbles. It's an excellent example of how NSMB Wii can be dynamic and fluid, super-competitive and extremely silly all at the same time.

Then we discovered Yoshi. This is when the giggling became cackling, the cheering became jeering and the swearing really started to kick in. While riding Yoshi you can not only swallow and spit out enemies, but other players. If you're playing co-operatively, this means you can fire them over big gaps or towards hard-to-reach coins.

But if you're shallow and mean-spirited, like us, you can just bounce around for ages with a rival character trapped in Yoshi's gullet, listening to your friend howl with frustration about how you should "Stop doing that for ****'s sake you ******* ****," and so on. Or you can spit them right into the path of a piranha plant as it pops up out of a pipe.

Just as we were really getting into it, the four of us were called away to an Expo meeting. I can't remember what it was for - something about did anyone know how to fashion ethernet cables out of human hair - but I remember wishing it would be over quickly so I could get back to throwing Tom into the path of flying hammers.

'New Super Mario Bros. Wii' Screenshot 3

Ah yes, there we are.

Unfortunately we had to let the 2000 people who'd bought a ticket for day one of the Expo into the building, and before long the Nintendo stand was too busy for us to sneak back in. So we didn't get the chance to answer some of the questions which still remain - such as what it's like to play NSMB Wii with an emphasis on co-operation rather than competition, or whether it's as much fun with two or three players.

There's also the issue of how the game plays over the long term, and whether there's enough innovation and variation to make it more than a multiplayer novelty. For answers to those questions, better wait for our review.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is due out for Wii on 20th November.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • insincere_dave #1 2 years ago

    Your observation skills are second to many.

  • Genji #2 2 years ago

    :D

    I smell a new after-pub party game.

  • Ninja_Tino #3 2 years ago

    Well, yes, it is does have exactly the same title as the DS game but with 'Wii' thrown in on the end, so it seems plausible they would look similar. Did you read about the gameplay at all Svpamm1?

  • sargulesh #4 2 years ago

    I'm not sure he can read.

  • stevetuck #5 2 years ago

    Looks exactly like two plumbers and some toads jumping round a level and collecting coins and dinging level 20 and getting a mount..

    SOLD

  • IronCladChicken #6 2 years ago

    Edge from U2 - He used his mystic time-travelling abilities.

  • jamhead #7 2 years ago

    I think this looks like great fun. If only my wife and 3 and 2 year old kids weren't crap at games! :-(

    Does it have online 'co-op'? Would it even work online or would the latency just kill it?

  • DrDamn #8 2 years ago

    @Jamhead
    LBP - which strangely gets no mention at all - worked just fine for online co-op. Doubtful this will have voice comms though and will possibly be crippled by a separate friends code system like Mario Kart. Without these I'd say it would be best played offline with 4 people round the same TV.

  • spekkeh #9 2 years ago

    I don't have four wiimotes. Does anyone know if you can use a wiimote-classic controller combi for two players?

  • Der_tolle_Emil #10 2 years ago

    I can't confirm but I think any other input methods rather than Wiimotes is unlikely since shaking it to 'control' your bubble would be impossible with other controllrs.

  • Genji #11 2 years ago

    Well, I'm sure they could just substitute the shaking for furious button mashing on a classic controller. It wouldn't be as fun, but it's hardly impossible.
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 12:22

  • Cadence #12 2 years ago

    That is sarcasm right?

  • cianchristopher #13 2 years ago

    I fuckin' love the Wii.

    Greatest....Console....Of....All....Time....

  • almighty-slayer #14 2 years ago

    @Genji

    Yes they could, but they won't.

  • Genji #15 2 years ago

    @almighty-slayer

    ...why wouldn't they? If the bubble moving is the only thing they use the shaking for, then it would be a simple matter to just give the option for the classic controller. It's not like trying to control Mario Galaxy or anything.

    There's no reason for them to not at least include the classic controller option.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #16 2 years ago

    No, there isn't a reason. Remember Mario Kart Wii? Yes, they offered GC Controller support but it was gimped. I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped everything else entirely this time.

  • Ace_McCloud #17 2 years ago

    Sounds like the perfect girlfriend friendly living room party game.

    Might actually get to play a fun game all the way through on co-op, without breaking up with her by the end.

  • sandys #18 2 years ago


    Was thinking much the same, me and the missus played LBP to death in the attempt to get all trophies etc, if this offers as much entertainment I may actually get around to buying a Wii.
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 12:53

  • Bremenacht #19 2 years ago

    This sounds like a great alternative to SSBM to me.

  • WinterSnowblind #20 2 years ago

    The game does look fun, but it doesn't seem to do the co-op as well as 'Splosion Man, which requires players to really work together, the multiplayer here feels a little forced, it doesn't actually add anything to the gameplay. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'm sure it's still fun but I imagine this is going to be another one of Nintendo's super short games, which seems to be true going by the reviews so far.

    I just don't see how this can be called a full priced game. I'd no doubt love it, while it lasts.. but come on. I really feel they churned this out as quickly as possible after the backlash they got from gamers after last years E3.

  • photoboy #21 2 years ago

    That does sound incredibly fun, but finding three other people to play it with me could be tricky...

  • Fletche #22 2 years ago

    "but it doesn't seem to do the co-op as well as 'Splosion Man, which requires players to really work together, the multiplayer here feels a little forced, it doesn't actually add anything to the gameplay"

    But that depends how you want to play it, if you are playing co-op then the the MP would have to work together to get to areas and thus to items they could get to on their own, but yes, if you are playing completativley then you wouldn't have to work together. The whole point is that you can choose, which would actually give this a lot more scope than maybe you first think

  • stampax #23 2 years ago

    Would def buy.... if i had 3 mates to play it with :(

  • StringBeanJean #24 2 years ago

    Again this'd be a must buy with online multiplayer. Fact is I don't have any friends who come round my house to play games. And the gf doesn't like games.

  • 3william56 #25 2 years ago

    Nothing new... 7/10?

  • smelly #26 2 years ago

    @drDamn : LBP didnt control like a mario game.. I've answered this one in the nsmbwii thread yesterday.. Simply put LBP had a delay between button presses and action on screen, it also auto-guided your characters for you... Doing either of those things in a mario game would suck balls, and wouldnt be mario.

    (read yesterdays comment for a full on explanation)

  • smelly #27 2 years ago

    "After that, you've had Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, and Mario Galaxy in the main series. That's it. Four, maybe five games since 1990. Such over exposure... "

    Funny that.. 5 "Super Mario" games in 19 years, and people moan (mainly xbox owners)... Ironically - In 8 years we've had the same number of halo games...

  • tnt_2008smum #28 2 years ago

    Funny that.. 5 "Super Mario" games in 19 years, and people moan (mainly xbox owners)... Ironically - In 8 years we've had the same number of halo games...

    Silly smelly! If you’re going to use Halo Wars to make a point then you’ll need to add all the other additional non platform Super Mario games that have been released over the last decade into your little equation! That bumps the number up a bit doesn’t it?
    Disclaimer:
    I love Mario games (and platform games in general) and I’m looking forward to trying this out.

  • smelly #29 2 years ago

    >non platform Super Mario games

    Silly tnt_2008smum : I specifically said "Super" Mario bros.. I think you'll find that the only SUPER mario bros games since 1990 are platformers...

    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 19:18

  • WinterSnowblind #30 2 years ago

    @smelly
    Your arguement just doesn't make sense. If you only want to count the main series, fine. But then why are you counting all of the Halo spin offs and expansions? By the logic you're using for Mario, we've only had three Halo games in the past decade. If you're going to count them all then do the same for Mario.

    I'm also not sure where your blind hatred for the Xbox comes from. You could just as easily pick on Metal Gear Solid for this problem, or Modern Warfare. Why does every one of your posts seem to be anti-Xbox/Halo? Stop trolling and play some damn games.
    Edited by 2 at 28/10/09 @ 21:51

  • smelly #31 2 years ago

    >By the logic you're using for Mario,

    Im not.. I'm using the logic for "SUPER mario" - there's a difference.

  • WinterSnowblind #32 2 years ago

    So if the next Halo game happens to be called "The Forerunner" or something to that extent, that would automatically shut you up and prove their not milking the series?

    The name of the game has nothing to do with it, what you're trying to argue is that there have been very few Mario games in the main series, just as many Pokemon fans would defend that series because the main RPG games are still good, despite the ridiculous amount of shovelware they release. But all of those games are still called Pokemon, would you count them as main Pokemon games because of that?

    All I'm saying is that it's extremely biased to count all of the Halo spin-offs, and not the Mario ones, simply because they use a different name.

    And that aside, there has actually been 8 Super Mario Bros. games since the 90's. 9 if you count Mario Galaxy 2. So no matter how you try and cut it, there's still been more Mario games in the same period of time that Halo's had since the original was released.
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/09 @ 22:14

  • smelly #33 2 years ago

    >Why does every one of your posts seem to be anti-Xbox/Halo?

    I own an xbox.. Anyone is welcome to add me "MrSmellyClam" btw.. See all the games I've owned and played.. I slag off games like halo3/bioshock/etc because IVE PLAYED THEM (to completion too).. I'd like to see a lot of you xbox trolls say the same thing when you start slagging off a wii game you dont own and have never played.

    but reading thru the threads on this site.. the same names which pop up time and again in 360 threads also pop up in threads taking a pop at wii/ps3.. For some reason its nearly ALWAYS the 360 owners who are the most insecure about their purchase who feel the need to tell everyone how "crap" their machines are..

    So they're the ones i respond to..

  • smelly #34 2 years ago

    "So no matter how you try and cut it, there's still been more Mario games in the same period of time that Halo's had since the original was released."

    Right.. So you're counting any game which happens to have the CHARACTER of mario in it as being a mario game - to defend you dear halo franchise?

    Right.. Halo is an fps.. as an FPS you're not controlling a character - you're playing as yourself.. THEREFOR using your logic.. there has been 1000s* of games featuring that character on the 360.

    * probably an exaggeration.

  • Pro_Gamer #35 2 years ago

    @genji

    would that be sex?...

  • smelly #36 2 years ago

    @Pro_Gamer : Wash your mouth out at once young man.. we'll have none of that filth in a nintendo topic thank you :-)

  • ShiroBen #37 2 years ago

    I was grinning like an idiot just reading about this game. Sounds brillo.

  • Burkey123 #38 2 years ago

    Sounds awesome. This is my most anticipated game for Christmas.

  • smelly #39 2 years ago

    >Sounds awesome. This is my most anticipated game for Christmas.

    Im worried how the single player will play out.. Im worried if there's going to be things i need to complete the game 100% which i cant get unless i'm playing co-op.... If those 2 things are fine - it'll be a must buy for me (regardless what the reviews say).

  • JayScott #40 2 years ago

    Yeah, I can't wait for this, but am a little concerned that the single player might not have the legs of the multi, and I'm usually (though not always) gaming alone. Still, looks hella fun. :)

  • WinterSnowblind #41 2 years ago

    @smelly
    Going by your Gamertag, I'd assume you know someone who owns a 360, and have occasionally signed in to a profile you created on their console. You claim to have played games like Halo 3 and Bioshock, but neither appear on your GT and the games you do have been played very little, if at all. That doesn't sound like someone who is completely open and unbiased in this arguement.

    I'd also like to point out that I love Mario and as I said originally I AM looking forward to this game, I just said it conveys the feeling of being rushed. It was you who jumped over all these comments as only coming from "fanboys". And I certainly don't see how all of them were from Xbox owners. All fanboys tend to act exactly the same way, I don't see how you can try and claim one kind is so much worse than another.

    And more on topic, yes, the EDGE review pointed out there were certain items you can only collect by using your partner as a spring and bouncing off their heads.

  • robthehermit #42 2 years ago

    I'm selling my Wii. I can no longer put up with titles that should excite me turning me off instead because I'm a solo gamer. With no friends.

    Check the swapsies thread next month if you want an NTSC Wii.

  • tnt_2008smum #43 2 years ago

    Silly tnt_2008smum : I specifically said "Super" Mario bros.. I think you'll find that the only SUPER mario bros games since 1990 are platformers...

    Im not.. I'm using the logic for "SUPER mario" - there's a difference.

    Oh silly, silly smelly you really are clutching at straws with that one!

    I specifically said ‘Halo Wars’ and I think you’ll find it was an RTS! You are trying to use it as an example of how many ‘Halo’ games there have been so your suggestion that we only include ‘Super’ Mario games that are platform games does not hold water. This, indecently, was my point in the first place!

    on a footnote, you really don’t like it if people don’t agree with you do you?

    In fact just to keep you happy I’ll comply with your view!

    Here goes ‘deep breath’

    You stupid xbots go play your ‘mature’ blood and guts shooters because if you don’t like this you must be an xbot Halo fanboy! Halo sucks!

  • smelly #44 2 years ago

    "You claim to have played games like Halo 3 and Bioshock, but neither appear on your GT and the games you do have been played very little, if at all. That doesn't sound like someone who is completely open and unbiased in this arguement. "


    Now you're just talking nonsense.. I dont play online games.. but if you look at my achievements - you'll see i've completed both those games... And just this last weekend i completed mirrors edge... Also look to see how many hours i clocked on Burnout Paradise... In other words, you're talking crap my son.. Good try at a troll though.

  • smelly #45 2 years ago

    Quote "Halo sucks! "


    I couldnt agree more.

  • WinterSnowblind #46 2 years ago

    @Smelly
    It doesn't matter if you've played them online or not, you would still have the achievements for playing through them the next time you connected to XBL, which according to your profile was on the 26th of this month. In comparasion, take a look at my gamertag for Perfect Dark Zero and you'll see that the majority of achievements were unlocked on my profile while I was offline, yet it still logs me as having played the game and unlocking the achievement, even though I haven't played the game in years and NEVER online. It still updates automatically, so unless you've played through Halo 3 in the past three days.. You're lying.

    [link url=http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h203/Win terSnowblind/Untitled-10.jpg
    ]http://i6 5.photobucket.com/albums/h203/W...[/link]

    The fact you've put some amount of time into other games doesn't really mean much either. I've played through games at a friends house as well, and it's not unusual for me to have invested a lot of play time in a multiplayer game.

    Good try at trolling though.
    Edited by 3 at 29/10/09 @ 19:08

  • smelly #47 2 years ago

    @WinterSnowblind : I dont know what you're looking at.. but my achievements are there for all to see.

    And the only reason i gave my account name was to show that I do own a 360, i do play on it more than the wii.. I'm not some nintendo troll "bitching" on 360 owners.. And I am looking forwards to this game more than anything else this year (well, i also want to get uncharted 2 too)... And t doesnt change the fact you're wrong... As you state:

    Quote "And that aside, there has actually been 8 Super Mario Bros. games since the 90's. 9 if you count Mario Galaxy 2. So no matter how you try and cut it, there's still been more Mario games in the same period of time that Halo's had since the original was released."


    According to you thats 8 super mario games in 20 years (SMG2 doesnt count as it's not out yet, and neither is NSMBWii .. so that makes it 7)... So that's SEVEN super mario games in TWENTY years... and FIVE halo games in 8 years.. So I dont know where you're getting this "more mario games in the same period of time".

    In fact since 2001, when halo was released there has been : Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and New Super Mario Bros DS... That's 3 Super mario games (on 3 platforms), in the same period that there's been 5 Halo games on 2 platforms.

    So you're obviously wrong. Oh and halo sucks balls.

  • tnt_2008smum #48 2 years ago

    4 Halo games smelly as you can't include Halo Wars.

    Oh and Wii Music sucks balls ;)

  • Les #49 2 years ago

    Most exciting game of the year IMO and I never play games on my girlfriend's Wii except for Wii Sports with friends that are too self conscious to try out SingStar (even Mario Kart Wii has been in its box ever since we bought it). This might change that (a bit) though.

    Curious to learn if, besides a major gameplay innovation for the franchise, there's enough new stuff for Ellie's liking. She's rather picky when new stuff's concerned... ;)

  • smelly #50 2 years ago

    >4 Halo games smelly as you can't include Halo Wars.

    yes i can and i did.. And 4 is still more than 3.

    >Oh and Wii Music sucks balls ;)

    So now you're equating halo to wii music? Okaaay.. I guess they both are designed to appeal to kids who dont like challenge..
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/09 @ 23:25

  • tnt_2008smum #51 2 years ago

    yes i can and i did..

    No you can't and you shouldn't have in the first place! Don't bend the rules just to try and prove a point that doesn't need to be made.

  • WinterSnowblind #52 2 years ago

    Smelly, now you think the Halo games don't provide any challenge?
    Now we know for sure you've never played them. Or if you did you had them on Easy and played with three friends.

    Perhaps one of the reasons Halo has always been so popular is because of the A.I. it provides a great challenge and creates a different experience everytime you play through the levels. We know you're a delusional fanboy, but perhaps you should stop posting about things you clearly have no idea about.

    This whole topic has been one ridiculous claim after another.
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/09 @ 10:59

  • tnt_2008smum #53 2 years ago

    @WinterSnowblind

    To be honest part of me respects what smelly and a few others try to do on these comments pages, which is to point out the inherent stupidity of the average fanboy.

    However, my issue is with the way smelly generalises that anyone who makes any negative Wii related comments, regardless of how justified they may be, must be a Halo loving xbot. This thread is a prime example. There was no need for him to mention Halo whatsoever, yet he did and to make matters worse he bent the rules to suit him.

    In addition, there is his constant need to wax lyrical about how poor the aforementioned franchise is (this also includes Bioshock and most shooters on 360 in general).

    This, of course, is a complete contradiction to the initial point he is trying to make.

  • Incarta #54 2 years ago

    I was at Eurogamer Expo. This was my game of the show. That is all... move along...

  • smelly #55 2 years ago

    "There was no need for him to mention Halo whatsoever, yet he did and to make matters worse he bent the rules to suit him. "

    No i didnt.. Ignoring halo wars (as apparently that doesnt count).. We've STILL had more halo games than super mario games since halo 1 was released.

    I use halo as a example because people were moaning about how many super mario games there have been, while ignoring there's been more halo games in the same period of time... Nothing more, nothing less.

  • smelly #56 2 years ago

    >Smelly, now you think the Halo games don't provide any challenge?

    I wasnt the one that said halo3 was like wii music.. tnt_2008smum was

  • tnt_2008smum #57 2 years ago

    I use halo as a example because people were moaning about how many super mario games there have been, while ignoring there's been more halo games in the same period of time... Nothing more, nothing less.

    and COD, NFS, FIFA, PES, Guitar Hero yet you picked on Halo to prove your point!

    I wasnt the one that said halo3 was like wii music.. tnt_2008smum was

    no i didn't i said Wii music sucks balls which it does! Halo, on the other hand, is fantastic.