New Super Mario Bros. (and SNES nostalgia)

Submitted by Thomas on Sun, 2006-08-27 06:29.

As is typical for me, I thought I'd finally say something about New Super Mario Bros. - long after the game has been released and everyone has played it. Namely, I like it, a lot. It's basically a continuation of the sort of gameplay that Nintendo retired after Super Mario World - which is exactly what I've yearned for ever since Mario went 3-d. I might even go so far as to rate this game my "second favorite" in the series, following Super Mario Bros. 3.

Still, I can't shake the feeling that there's something missing - though I'm not sure if it's an actual viable concern or if it's just that the years have ripened my nostalgia for raccoon tails and flying capes. In this new installment I was able to complete every level and get every Big Coin without much help (I checked GameFaqs two or three times) , but in my likely rose-colored recollection of Mario 3 and Mario 4, those games were stupendously vast with a seeming infinitude of secrets.

Overall I rate this game a 9.1 out of 10 (with 5.5 as neutral).

On a related note (and one I feel more like writing about just now): sometimes, when I get into just the right mood, I can conjure up the age-old feelings of seeing the 16-bit graphics of Super Mario World for the first time. I was a Sega loyalist then and I'd kidded myself that I didn't think it was any better than Sonic the Hedgehog. Inside, though, I was sort of in awe. There was something very compelling about the design of Mario and his environs - and for that matter, the particular "flavor" that all SNES games had - I can't really describe it but you know what I mean. It all comes together to form one of those special remembrances that I'm not sure I really appreciated at the time.

In contrast, on playing New Super Mario Bros. for the first time, I was indeed surprised and pleased by the graphics and art style, but I'm not sure it's a feeling that will linger to become a similarly pleasant bit of nostalgia 15 years from now.

So here's to the nostalgia for playing those old SNES games for the first time: Super Mario World, Actraiser, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV . . . it's been a while since I've felt that kind of magic. I think. Let me check back in 15 years and see how I feel about the games I'm playing now.

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In contrast, on playing New

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2009-02-17 17:35.
In contrast, on playing New Super Mario Bros . for the first time, I was indeed surprised and pleased by the graphics and art style, but I'm not sure it's a feeling that will linger to become a similarly pleasant bit of nostalgia 15 years from now.

So here's to the nostalgia

Submitted by mpcoc (not verified) on Thu, 2009-02-12 18:57.
So here's to the nostalgia for playing those old SNES games for the first time: Super Mario World, Actraiser, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV . . . it's been a while since I've felt that kind of magic. I think. Let me check back in 15 years and see how I feel about the games I'm playing now. mpcoc

I recently re-experienced

Submitted by Michael Kaplan (not verified) on Fri, 2007-04-06 20:27.
I recently re-experienced Super Mario World in an interesting context: My younger brother's college dorm room. Seven or eight individuals sat around the TV, two of them competing in two-player mode until one of them died, at which point he or she would hand over his or her controller to one of the onlookers. And wouldn't you know it, they were entertained for hours! This was reassuring as I'd worried that newer generations of gamers were no longer capable of having fun with and appreciating 2-d games, having had 3-d visually appealing but poorly conceived games thrust upon them since their preteen years. It would seem that part of the issue lies with the game developers perhaps losing their way, being in a sense, out of touch with what some people are really looking for in a game, instead pushing what they feel is cool.
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