| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | |
|---|---|
North American box art |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo EAD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Shigeyuki Asuke |
| Producer(s) | Takashi Tezuka Hiroyuki Kimura |
| Composer(s) | Shiho Fujii Ryo Nagamatsu Kenta Nagata[1] |
| Series | Mario |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release date(s) | AU November 11, 2009[2] NA November 15, 2009[3] EU November 20, 2009[4] JP December 3, 2009[5] |
| Genre(s) | Platforming |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (New スーパーマリオブラザーズ Wii Nyū Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Wī) is a 2009 side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released on November 11, 2009 in Australia, November 15, 2009 in North America, November 20, 2009 in Europe and December 3, 2009 in Japan. It is the first game in the Mario main series since the Mario Bros. arcade game to feature simultaneous multiplayer gameplay, and the first title to include Nintendo's new 'Super Guide' feature. To highlight the uniqueness of the title, Nintendo chose to use a red keep case instead of the traditional white.
The game’s plot is similar to those of other side-scrolling Mario games. New Super Mario Bros. Wii follows Mario as he fights his way through Bowser’s henchmen to rescue Princess Peach. Mario has access to several power-ups that help him complete his quest, including the Ice Flower, the Fire Flower, and the Starman, each giving him unique abilities. While traveling through up to nine worlds with a total of 88 levels, Mario must defeat Bowser's children (the Koopalings and Bowser Jr.) and Bowser himself before finally saving Princess Peach.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been critically and commercially successful with gaming aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic reporting average scores of 88% and 87/100, respectively. As of April 2011, it is the sixth best-selling game on the Wii, at 21.94 million copies sold worldwide.[6] It received several honors, including the 2009 Best Wii Game award from the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, IGN, and GameTrailers.
New Super Mario Bros. Mii, a tech demo for the Wii U, was shown at E3 2011. It is unknown if the game will be released in a final state.[7]
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While New Super Mario Bros. Wii is seen in 2D, some of the characters and objects are 3D polygonal renderings on 2D backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D effect (also seen in New Super Mario Bros.) that visually simulates 3D computer graphics. Players can play as either Mario, his brother Luigi, or two Toad characters: one blue and one yellow (with the first player always as Mario).[8] Controls are similar to those of New Super Mario Bros., albeit with the added abilities of spinning in mid-air by shaking the Wii Remote, and picking up, carrying, and throwing other players. In multiplayer mode, players can play up to four players simultaneously.[9] If a player character loses a life and has at least one life, he will re-emerge encased inside a bubble, and can resume play once another player frees him by touching the bubble or a fire/ice ball (the player can shake the Wii Remote to move his bubble closer to an active player, but cannot free himself). If a player loses a life and does not have any more lives, he is dead until 100 coins are collected.[10] Players can also encase themselves inside a bubble by pressing the A button while a more skilled player traverses a difficult segment.[9] If every character in a co-op session enters bubbles at the same time (whether through death or pressing the A button), the level is lost, and they must restart.
In multiplayer mode, if one or more players do not keep up with the one in the lead, on some levels, the view will pan out a bit so that the player[s] in the rear will still be in view.[11] If the players still do not catch up, they are then dragged by the edge of the screen, until they move forward faster or lose a life by a fall or other object.[12] If one player enters a pipe, climbs a vine, grabs the flagpole at the end of the stage, etc. without the others, the other players will warp to the same place after a short time, or have a limited amount of time to grab the pole before the course ends.[13] On vertically scrolling courses, being left below the screen results in losing a life. On the world map, Mario (Player 1) controls navigation.[14]
Players return to the map screen if they all run out of lives, or if all players lose their lives at the same time, leaving no one to free them. Usually, there is a midway flag that if touched will return the player to that point after dying and being sent back to the map screen. The stage is completed by getting at least one player to touch the goal at the end, though a bonus is awarded if all players manage to grab hold of the flag within three seconds of the first player grabbing it. In a few levels, in addition to the normal goal and flag pole, there is an alternative exit leading to a red flag pole. Reaching this goal will open up a new path on the map, leading to new stages on the overworld map and on occasion a warp cannon (which will blast the player off to a later world). The game does not feature online multiplayer.[15] During single player mode, losing a life sends the player back to the map screen.
Along with the usual Mario series items, as well as the Mini Mushroom from New Super Mario Bros., new items have been added, including the Propeller Mushroom, which allows players to fly; the Ice Flower,[16] which allow players to freeze enemies with ice balls; and the Penguin Suit which, on top of the Ice Flower's ability, allows players to slide along the ground and across water as well as have better control on ice and in water.[17] Players are also able to ride on Yoshis, who appear in certain levels and can swallow enemies and flutter in the air.[18][19] All levels can be accessed via a map screen, and enemies are often roaming it. If the player bumps into one while traveling the map, a "mini-boss" fight will be initiated; if successful in the fight, players can earn extra Super Mushrooms. There are also Toad Houses where players can earn additional 1-ups and items that can be equipped on the map screen. At some points, a Toad will appear trapped in one of the previously completed levels, and the player can choose to rescue him from a block and carry him safely to the end of the stage to earn bonuses. There are three Star Coins hidden in each course which can be spent on hint movies that show certain secrets, such as the location of a secret goal or how to gain infinite 1-ups.[20] Collecting all the Star Coins within a world unlocks one course from the secret World 9 that can only be played after the main game has been completed.
The game includes simultaneous multiplayer capability of up to four players. In addition to the main story mode, which can be played in either single-player mode or in multiplayer mode, there are two dedicated multiplayer modes. "Free for all Mode" ranks players at the end of each course by score, coins, and enemy kills, while the other mode, "Coin Battle," ranks players on the amount of coins collected.[21]
The game is played either in classic style, with the Wii Remote held horizontally, or in Nunchuk style, with the Nunchuk used for movement. Some actions, 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.[17] Certain areas of levels, such as specific platforms, can also be manipulated by tilting the Wii Remote.
The game is the first on the Wii to feature "Super Guide," a new system devised by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. During single player mode, if a player dies eight times in a row in any level, a green block appears, allowing a computer-controlled Luigi to show the player a safe path through the level. The player may interrupt the guide at anytime and take control. After Luigi completes it, the player has the option to try the level again, or skip it completely. However, Luigi will not reveal any Star Coin locations or secret exits.[22][23] A variation of this is used in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where it is called "Cosmic Guide." Another variation is found in Donkey Kong Country Returns, where it is also known as "Super Guide."
The game follows the traditional storyline of Princess Peach getting kidnapped by Bowser[24] and his children, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. When Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad are celebrating Princess Peach's birthday in her castle, a large cake rolls in. Immediately, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings pop out and throw the cake on top of Peach, trapping her. The cake is loaded onto Bowser's airship and it takes off, with Mario, Luigi, and the two Toads giving chase. The Toads in the castle then grant them access to the new items, Propeller Mushrooms and Penguin Suits, via a cannon.
After traveling over many worlds fighting the Koopalings, Bowser Jr., and Kamek the Magikoopa, the Mario Bros. and the Toads finally make it to Bowser's fiery lair and quickly defeat him. Afterwards, however, they discover that "Princess Peach" was actually Kamek in a pink dress and yellow wig. He flies over the lava on his broomstick and casts a spell on it. Seconds later, a gigantic Bowser bursts out of the lava, knocking Kamek into the fiery lava below. Bowser then chases Mario and the others through his castle, destroying everything on his path with his fire and strength. At the end of the long pursuit, the heroes find the real Peach trapped in a cage next to a large switch. The player must push the switch and Bowser will fall through the floor in defeat as Peach is released from the cage. She kisses all of the characters that made it to the platform, and then she and Mario walk outside of the castle. They are then greeted by Luigi and the Toads in hot-air balloons, and Luigi offers them his balloon. Unfortunately for him, Princess Peach and Mario leave him behind, forcing him to go with the Toads for the rest of the trip.
The credits are then shown as a mini-game in which the credits can be smashed by the playable characters to get the most coins. After the credits, Larry Koopa is seen limping towards Bowser's fortress, with Bowser Jr. telling him to help him and his siblings flip Bowser the right way. They succeed, but the impact of Bowser's weight causes his unstable castle to fall on top of him, the Koopalings, and Bowser Jr.
On May 30, 2009 the online version of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Japanese newspaper reported that two new sequels would be released for the Wii: Wii Fit Plus (a sequel to Wii Fit) and a new Mario game tentatively called New Super Mario Bros. Wii (which was an unconfirmed name at the time), a sequel to New Super Mario Bros.[25] New Super Mario Bros. Wii was later officially announced at the 2009 E3 convention[26][27][28] and GamesCom in Cologne, Germany.[29][30][31] To highlight the uniqueness of the title, Nintendo chose to use a red case instead of the traditional white.[32] At the 2011 E3 convention, a variation of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, dubbed New Super Mario Bros. Mii, was showcased as a playable demo for Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, which allows players to play as their Miis. It has been stated that this version is a prototype designed to showcase the technology and is currently not a confirmed title.[33]
The game was created in response to Nintendo's head game developer Shigeru Miyamoto's desire to recreate the Mario series's single-player gameplay experience for multiple players, as he was unable to bring these ideas to fruition in previous installments.[15] The Wii's hardware allowed him to display enough enemies and items on the screen at once, and allowed a camera that could dynamically adapt to the players' movements, ensuring they constantly know what is the situation of their character..[34] Miyamoto said Princess Peach was not a playable character because of her dress, since it would require "special processing and programming to handle how her skirt is handled within the gameplay."[35]
The music for New Super Mario Bros. Wii was principally created by Shiho Fujii and Ryo Nagamatsu, with additional compositions provided by sound director Kenta Nagata.[1][36] Series regular Koji Kondo was the sound advisor and did not write any new compositions, though some of his creations were rearranged for the game.[37] Charles Martinet returned to voice Mario and Luigi, along with Samantha Kelly as the Toads and Princess Peach, Kenny James as Bowser, and Caety Sagoian as Bowser Jr.[38] New voice actors include Lani Minella as Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Wendy O. Koopa, and Lemmy Koopa, Dan Falcone as Roy Koopa, and Mike Vaughn as Iggy Koopa and Ludwig von Koopa.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 88%[39] |
| Metacritic | 87/100[40] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | A+[41] |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[42] |
| Famitsu | 40/40[43] |
| Game Informer | 9.25/10[44] |
| GameSpot | 8.5/10[45] |
| GameSpy | [46] |
| GamesRadar | 7/10[47] |
| GameTrailers | 8.9/10[48] |
| IGN | 8.9/10[49] |
| Nintendo Power | 9/10[50] |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | 96%[51] |
| VideoGamer.com | 8/10[52] |
| X-Play | [53] |
| Destructoid | 9/10[54] |
| The A.V. Club | C+[55] |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a commercial success, selling 936,734 units in four days in Japan, the biggest debut for a Wii game in that region;[56] its sales increased to 1,401,558 in the following week.[57] New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold three million units in Japan in the shortest time ever, selling 3,002,753 units in just seven weeks.[58] In North America, New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold 1,390,000 units in November 2009, making it the third best-selling game of the month behind the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.[59] New Super Mario Bros. Wii has sold over 4,000,000 units in the US.,[60] and this has taken worldwide sales to over the 10,000,000 mark, making it the fastest selling single-system game in history.[61]
As of April 2011, the game has sold 21.94 million copies and is the fifth best-selling (non-bundled) Wii game as well as the second best-selling Mario game on the Wii console (behind Mario Kart Wii).[6]
The game was met with a generally positive reception from gaming journalists and critics. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu called the game a "masterpiece of 2D action" and gave the game a perfect 40/40, making it only the 13th title overall and fourth Wii game to receive this score in the 23-year history of Famitsu.[62][63] British publication Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game a score of 96%, praising its attention to detail and multiplayer mode in particular.[64] Computer and Video Games gave the game 9.0[65] Gaming web site IGN AU gave New Super Mario Bros. Wii a 9.2, calling it a "blast" in co-op and praising its replication of the gameplay that made the Super Mario Bros. series popular.[66] IGN UK gave the game a 9.4 out of 10 and IGN US gave the game 8.9, calling the core gameplay brilliant, but noting the lack of online play. GameSpy, however, did not consider this a negative point, arguing that online play is a primarily competitive experience whereas New Super Mario Bros. Wii required a cooperative experience to enjoy.[67] 1UP.com rated it A+, stating that it satisfyingly incorporated the innovations of prior Mario games while offering something for every kind of gamer.[68] Gaming blog Kotaku highly praised the game, calling it a reason to buy a Wii.[69] X-Play gave it a 4 out of 5, praising the difficulty and levels of the game.[53]
Though British magazine Edge gave the game a positive score of 7/10, he criticized lack of the traditional Mario charm, poor graphical detail and overall easiness.[70] GamesRadar, who also scored the game of 7/10, argued that the game lacked the creativity of others in the series.[71] The A.V. Club gave it a negative score of C+, calling it "the least essential Mario title to date", and stating that the game lacks a strong concept and shows an underlying repetitiveness in Mario games.[72] Nintendo Power argued that the game works as a sequel because it maintains what made the original Mario games great while adding new features.[50]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii received the Best Wii Game award at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards. IGN gave it the 2009 Wii Game of the Year Award.[73] GameTrailers awarded it Best Wii Game of 2009.[74] It also received the Best Family Game of the Year award in Yahoo's 2009 Game Awards[75], and the Nintendo Power Award for 2009's "Wii Game of the Year".[76]
James Burt, a 24 year-old manager at games retailer Electronics Boutique, admitted he uploaded the video game files of New Super Mario Bros. Wii to the Internet for others to download illegally in November 2009, a week before its commercial release in Australia, and was ordered to pay Nintendo the sum of $1.3 million dollars. Nintendo obtained a Federal Court search order allowing them to go through Burt's residence in Sinnamon Park, Queensland, following which the company seized property from the premises in order to acquire more evidence against the individual. During the investigation, Burt also had to give up his passwords to social networking sites, email accounts and other online resources he had used.[77][78]
New Super Mario Bros. Mii (New スーパーマリオブラザーズ Mii Nyū Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Mī) is a tech demo for the Wii U that features gameplay derived directly from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but notably incorporates Miis as playable characters. The demo was shown at Nintendo's E3 2011 press conference. It is unknown if the game will be released in a final state.[7] Although rendered in HD, the game's graphics are similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. GameSpot stated that New Super Mario Bros. Mii "felt extremely familiar" and in the multiplayer, "other players here are much more likely to be a hindrance than a help."[79]
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