I decided to look back at that Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks preview I did yesterday, and something stuck out: I could remove any mention of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks and replace it with New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, respectively. Both of the games previewed are sequels to games that some felt were underwhelming compared to their predecessors, and both of them already look better with their sequels.I sure hope the demonstration version is representative of the final game, because it feels much better than its predecessor, which was pretty good. The thing is, people expect more than "pretty good" from the first 2D Mario game in about 13 years. (I feel like I'm writing the same preview again.) The DS game harped on what its fan-favorite predecessors did best, mainly Super Mario Bros. 3, but the problem was that it didn't the same amount of ingenuity. It felt a bit too samey. Sure, incorporating some of the gameplay mechanics from the 3D games is nice, but the same variation of levels and powers was pretty disappointing. The new powers that were there weren't as fun as what was offered in previous games.
Enter New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which has much better level designs, and new powers that are actually fun to use (both the penguin and propeller suit). But perhaps its best new feature is the incorporation of four player co-op. Four players can get together and unleash chaos in the Mushroom Kingdom together while playing through the multiple levels it'll undoubtedly have. I'm pretty sure that chaos will also happen among the four people playing, as your partners will often cause you to make mistakes while they try to beat you to the punch in each level. For example, the first time we demoed the game, Angela got me killed by the first Goomba! Totally baffling when it actually happens, but I can't help but laugh whenever I think about it now. Those are the kind of experiences that will make this game worthwhile.
But there's another question to consider: how will the single-player game fare? I couldn't tell when I was there, but someone like Shigeru Miyamoto would make sure the levels are designed so that they're perfectly enjoyable in any mode. Judging that by the levels being demonstrated wouldn't be fair either; this is a demo, you know. The final levels could be completely different from what was on display at VGXPO, which I'm sure was the same demo from E3 2009 back in June. New Super Mario Bros. Wii releases in America on November 15 (and Nov. 20 and Dec. 3 in Europe and Japan, respectively). Look forward to it! Especially if you know people who are interested in Mario, and that's more people than you think.
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