New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Almost every kid in the late '80s-to-early-'90s played or, in the very least, watched a friend play some form of Super Mario Bros. [スーパーマリオブラザーズ]. For some, the jump to 3D in later Mario games required too much input to master, making many wish for another classic 2D console Mario. It was a long time coming, but New Super Mario Bros. Wii arrived and delivered. Don’t worry. The title is the worst part.

Feelings of nostalgia are by no means an accident, as NSMBW follows Super Mario Bros. 3 [スーパーマリオブラザーズ3] structure, levels, art, and design very literally (not to say that additions from the SNES and DS sequels have been ignored). In fact, my biggest gripe about the game is that it would have been better if Nintendo went with a more retro or hand animated look (as in Super Paper Mario). Despite how iconic Mario and friends are, you’ll be too caught up in the insanity of playing to care too long. The game can be especially frantic when played with friends. You’ll often find yourself accidentally pushing another player to his death, as you try to land a tricky jump. Despite being a great multiplayer game, this is still a new Mario with classic level design and clever new additions that hold up as well as any before it. Just don’t expect it to be easy — it’s not like the game plays itself when you die 8 times. Wait, actually it does.