New Super Mario Bros.

wow, that's crazy! it's also what i've been wanting for awhile now-- a 2d game on modern systems that takes advantage of the fact that there is a lot of space to work with- the game can be really long, have nice graphics, etc. while still being a great 2d platformer.

i just hope they don't count every underground area as a "stage" like some companies would.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Great news about the amount of levels.
Not-so-great news about Bowser Jr. being the miniboss of each world. Was the news about the Koopa kids false?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I think the game is a great idea... I mean come on, nothing better than a 3D spiff of the original !

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE IS HAPPEN! Check out this blog!!!

Originally Posted by GameDaily's GDC

There's a lot of upcoming games at GDC, and there's none bigger than New Super Mario Bros. Nestled snugly within Nintendo's mini booth and always busy, the game is being put through its paces and for great reason: It just so happens to be incredible.

The primary reason why I love this game is because it's just Mario Bros. Thus far, I haven't seen much that suggests that Nintendo is dramatically altering the series. It's just a new side scrolling Mario game, albeit one that features new forms, levels, power ups, and other neat features.

At the onset, a dark, ominous cloud hovers over the castle and rains lightning bolts down upon it, and somewhere during this catastrophe the princess gets captured by a Koopa kid and Mario dives into action. Oh that princess. I'm beginning to think that she actually ENJOYS being kidnapped.

At first the opening level looks typically Mario. You maneuver our hero from left to right, pausing to collect coins and destroy bricks with his head. But then something strange happened. I hit this one brick and it revealed this humongous mushroom (Mode 7 style), and when Mario jumped onto it he became HUGE! That's nothing new, as Nintendo has been showing that for over a year, but what's really cool about it is that he can just destroy everything in his path. Mario knocks down warp pipes, barrels through bricks, and stomps on enemies, and doing this just feels immensely satisfying. Unfortunately, however, it's all time based, so eventually he returns to his normal self.

What's also cool is the ability to pan the camera left and right using the L and R triggers, respectively. It just gives you a good idea of what's coming up so you don't just ram into things.

Mario can also execute a ground pound, and this can be achieved by pressing a JUMP button (it appears that all of the face buttons are jump buttons) and then pressing DOWN on the d-pad.

There's also new suits! I picked up a blue turtle shell and Mario put it on. BUT, I immediately picked up a fire flower and lost the shell (doh) so I dont know what it does...yet.

I also spied a Metroid inspired level where Mario starts on the bottom and you need to keep jumping up to reach the top, navigating past moving walls and spikes. It's definitely challenging, especially since those walls are always moving so much. On my last try, they smooshed him pretty good.

In addition to the main quest, which contains 8 worlds and about 80 levels, there's also mini games, the same ones from the DS version of Super Mario 64. But there's also a multiplayer mode where up to 4 (at least 4...the lady demo-ing the game said 16, but that's not confirmed) people can compete against one another in several different games.

Overall, New Super Mario Bros. is immensely entertaining and I want to play more...and I shall. But first I must cover more Nintendo games!

Despite the practice of an upwards auto scrolling stage being not uncommon in platformers, I realized that there isn't a single stage in both SMB3 and SMW that don't scroll directly up. INTERESTING.

FELIPE NO

This looks awesome, I'll probably pick it up when the DS-Lite eventually comes out.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Nice that you can actually scan left and right but it sweeps away the feeling of suprise imo. Maybe it plays in a good way, i'll just have to wait until I can finally play

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Another GDC! This time from Planet GameCube!

Originally Posted by Planet GameCube's GDC

New Super Mario Bros. just keeps getting better. At E3 2005 the two-player racing demo attracted longer lines with each passing day, and everyone is excited about the near-finished version on display at GDC.

Quite a bit has changed since E3. The refined controls most closely mimic the original Super Mario Bros’ floaty-yet-precise feel. NSMB includes the butt stomp (down in the air) and wall jump maneuvers found in more recent games, but Nintendo has removed the unnecessary 180-flip found in last year’s E3 build. Mario can store a single item, much like in Super Mario World, which is activated by touching the screen. The button mapping is configurable, but I was more than satisfied with the default controls of running with Y and jumping with B. L and R scroll.

Nintendo is finally showcasing New SMB’s single player adventure. From what I’ve played and seen, it is full of classic references and old-school action. Many levels have secondary exits leading to secret areas—the world map suggests that even the worlds branch, with world 2 leading to either 3 or 4, both of which lead to world 5. Mario fans will love other little touches: running over level 1-2 will bring you to a secret exit and the pulley platforms, virtually ignored since the original SMB, also return. Clever gamers will find coin heaven and will have to time their jump to collect the three final coins hovering over the exit. Trampolines induce a spin jump, allowing Mario to either float slowly to the ground or drill-dive by pushing down. Other playful touches include dancing toadstools and baddies that hop to the music.

I also encountered a new power-up. Sometimes a flying block will appear on the world map over a level. If Mario hits the block found within that level he can don the blue koopa shell, which allows him to slide in his shell once he is up to speed. This can be very powerful, as Mario is invincible, but players must avoid pits with well-timed jumps. Also notable are the five red coins found in some levels as well as larger coins, the latter of which are used to purchase new levels and other goodies.

Multiplayer has also been overhauled. Instead of the unbalanced racing game seen at E3, Mario and Luigi compete for five stars in one of five short areas, whose ends are connected via warp pipes. The mode is similar to the competitive mode found in Super Mario 64 DS: a star will appear and both players will scramble for it. If one of the brothers attacks the other with a fireball or jump, the victim will drop a star. The resulting competitions are unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable.

Curiously, New Super Mario Bros also includes many of the mini-games found in Super Mario Bros 64 DS as well as a few new ones in the same style. They aren’t simply recycled, though: in NSMB all of the games may be played competitively with up to four players, turning New Super Mario Bros. into an excellent party game.

Michael "TYP" Cole, Senior Editor, IT Director

If you guys find these GDC impressions too cluttered to be quoted on this board, I have no problem replacing them with just the links instead.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Throwin' these guys into the mix with GDC impressions.

Quote:

The overworld looks a lot like a Mario Party board at first glance. There's eight worlds, but it isn't a linear progression. Each world is filled with branching paths and secret levels/powerups. Within each individual level there are three special coins hidden. On the overworld some paths will be blocked, requiring a certain number of coins be paid to open the path. I had to pay five that gave me access to a brief game of chance that ended up awarding me four free lives.

Quote:

I only played the game's first five levels, but I was extremely impressed with the amount of imagination they showed. Here's a list of things I encountered, in just those first five levels:

# A ring that made eight red coins appear in a level when you jumped through it. Collect them fast enough for a 1-up, or another powerup.
# Giant mushrooms that act like big trampolines.
# A new blue shell powerup that allows Mario to spin along the ground and dispatch enemies Koopa-style.
# A platform that sends Mario into the air in a liesurely spin, like when you jumped on the skyguys in Super Mario 64.
# A super mushroom that grew Mario to screen-filling size. The surprise was that the mre destruction you caused, the more 1ups you earned when shrunk back down to normal size.

All of this was just within the first half-world.

Seeeexy, let me touch you Maaaario. Nooooo.

Most amazing jew boots

WHAT'S THIS! IT'S MARIO PARTY.



WORLD MAP WILL CHEW YOU

Double Post:
NEW VIDS AT IGN

I highly recommend you watch them in this order:

Mr. Big Stuff (Basic level, shows GIANT MARIO IN ACTION, plus it has the SIDE PIPES THAT GOOMBAS COME OUT OF)

Spinning: Jumping on that springy thingy sends you into the air FLYING HIGH MUCH LIKE SM64's twister move.

Fast Platforming: Just an atheletic stage, the mushrooms now DANCE! Watch at top speeds!

Going Up: Saving the most unique for last, it's A FORTRESS STAGE. It shows the fortress, a (really disappointing) fight with Bowser. Jr, and at the end, THE WORLD MAP IN MOTION.

I WANT THIS GAME YESTERDAY for some reason.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This game is going to own. I've been waiting such a long time for a new Super Mario game to come out. I'm going to get this baby right when it releases. Boy, the DS is going to have a great year. Yes indeed!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Check out this vid of the ENTIRE FIRST STAGE (No sound). It also shows the world map with much more defining clarity.

How ya doing, buddy?

Quote:

Posted by Darkcomet72
Despite the practice of an upwards auto scrolling stage being not uncommon in platformers, I realized that there isn't a single stage in both SMB3 and SMW that don't scroll directly up. INTERESTING.

Not entirely true. There was one level in SMB3, one of the Pipe World levels, where you were riding a moving platform straight up and trying to maneuver it around spiked and obstacles. Kind of an artificial scrolling section, but it counts. Vertical scrolling sounds interesting, though. I can't imagine a Mario game without the scrolling sections now.

I hope they're not banking too heavily on the OMG MARIO'S HUGE portions, though. Bonk 3 did it first, and it wasn't a particularly interesting gimmick there. Then again, Bonk 3 wasn't a particularly great game to begin with, so maybe giant Mario in the hands of a competent dev team will work out well.

Most amazing jew boots

Heh, I was actually talking about auto scrolling levels actually... so that really dosen't count. Heh...

I am a bit worried about the giant Mario as well... but it still looks like much fun! However it gives you a lot of 1ups if used correctly... I hope it's offset by some sort of challenge later in the game. (The fortress actually looked very cool and intimidating, and it was only the first one!)

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I would love to play this game.... but sometimes I will buy a game play it once & never touch it again, Im scared that this game will fall into that catagory!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This news is from a couple of days ago but I saw no mention of it, so here goes: the game's been delayed one week to May 15th (right after E3 ends).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This delay's just so E3 visitors from overseas can't buy it while they're there (America still gets it a few weeks before the rest of the world) >=\

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

What's the point of that? I guess it's a sales count thing, but it still seems kinda silly.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well... it's not like this game is going to be the MOST IMPORTED GAME OF ALL TIME or something.

Does this game really have a Triple Jump? All of the videos I've seen don't show this at all anywhere.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Does the game even need a double jump? Double and triple jumps are really just kludges to overcome the reduced precision in 3D games. There shouldn't be any of that problem here.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

No, I agree. The Triple Jump is completely unneccesary (unless it's not). It seems like a lazy method for the player to complete some obstacles using it, but it dosen't seem that immensly helpful, so =/

FELIPE NO

I know there's the wall kick ability that ported from SM64, but I haven't heard or seen any other jumps being added.
As was stated before, why bother? We probably woul dhave also seen it in some videos by now.
I want to see some pics of that Blue shell business. everytime I go to a site that supposedly has it they've pulled it down.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I thought they said they removed the triple jump. Not sure about that, but I think it's the case.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Whoops, looks like the American release has been pushed back by a week. Again!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Comic mischief? COMIC MISCHIEF!?

...

COMIC MISCHIEF?! >=o

Anyway, the hell! Come out with the game already, Nintendo. Meanies.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by shadowlink56

I know there's the wall kick ability that ported from SM64, but I haven't heard or seen any other jumps being added.

From what I read in Nintendo Power, I got the impression that they are using the Mario Sunshine version. They said one of Mario's abilities was the wall jump, which was introduced in Sunshine. I might have remembered wrong, and I don't have the mag here to verify. Well, assuming that it is the Sunshine version, then I think it means the wall slide type, similar to Megaman X. Otherwise, it might be referring to the multiple wall jumps that allow Mario to travel up a narrow vertical passage, since I don't think you can do more than 1 wall jump in a row for SM64.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?