MadCap's Game Reviews - "Super Mario Bros."

Mad props to Nintendo on the retro cover.

Now, I was surprised as everyone else when the news broke out about Nintendo drastically reinventing their IP.  Cancelling every single franchise and starting over with a fresh continuity.   It’s a bold move from the company that is most famous for sticking to what it knows and doing it very well.  But this may just be what Nintendo needed and I honestly can say with absolutely no hint of sarcasm that they’ve hit it out of the park with the first of their reboots – Super Mario Bros.

The plot begins with Mario, now fully voiced and narrated by Charles Martinet, attempting to save his girlfriend Pauline from the grasp of the evil Donkey Kong.  It’s a tutorial level that gets players used to the new style and gameplay of the series as well as sets the tone for everything that is to follow.  In a shocking twist that I’m sure will surprise everyone to no end, Pauline actually falls to her death during Mario’s first battle with Donkey Kong.  Distraught by her loss, Mario is unable to prevent the escape of the Great Ape.

We flash-forward several years later to meet Luigi, also fully voiced and narrated by Charles Martinet, who has returned from Italy to reconnect with his brother and resurrect their father’s old plumbing business.

When news arrives that Donkey Kong has been sighted in far off land of the Mushroom Kingdom – here reimagined as a tiny island nation off the coast of France – Mario convinces Luigi to go on another adventure with him to avenge Pauline’s death.  The two brothers find themselves biting off a bit more than they can chew, however, as they arrive on the island to find that Kong has completely locked the place down and stolen the Stars that power the Kingdom.  Joining up with the Toads and their resistance movement, the boys try to set things right.

One smack: Crushed turtle.  Two smacks:  Flatbread turtle.

In what is a nice homage to Super Mario 64, the castle of Princess Toadstool acts as the hub world and allows Mario and Luigi to move from world to world through a series of paintings and other objects.  From there, the game pretty much goes on as you’d expect a Mario game to, though I was amazed at the level of flexibility and detail given.  Crucial plot details have actually been made to crop up in different places depending on what order the worlds are played through.  In one play through I had a cutscene with crucial information show up during World 2-2, while in another I have the same cutscene play in an World 4-4 with no issue. I really do like the world’s open-endedness and how the game is easy to maneuver through in whatever order the player wishes.  Bravo, Nintendo!

The power ups have been scaled back to the basic three – basic mushroom, fire flower, and the invincibility star.  While - considering the wide range of powers up Mario and Luigi have had over the years - this might seem like a misstep, I see it as Nintendo getting back to basics and it’s definitely a good thing.  Though for those being worry-warts about it will likely no doubt love one particularly hilarious scene with Toadsworth in the Castle…but I won’t spoil it for you, because it’s really too funny for words.  Needless to say, any lingering fears you have about the new directions of the series will be alleviated from that, if nothing else.

Apart from the power ups, the mechanics are pretty much what you’d expect from Mario games.  You jump, you run from left to right, etc.  But this time, it has a few change ups with Mario and Luigi having the use of their hammers – a first for a mainstream Mario game – as weapons and to solve certain puzzles.  Yes,  some puzzles are involved including one that I'm almost certain was a subtle nod to the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time (have fun beating those pipes to the right water level, kids!) that was a particular pain in my plumber’s crack.

Voiced by Bruce Campbell, DK's new direction might be jarring to classic fans.

Eventually, but getting at least 80 of the Stars, Mario and Luigi are able to open the final chamber of the Castle and defeat Donkey Kong once and for all.  I’ll go ahead and tell you, it is one hell of a boss battle!  Donkey Kong throws barrels and it’s nearly impossible to get the pattern down to avoid them…until you realize that you have to send them back at him.  Once you use Mario’s (or Luigi’s) hammer to send the barrels rolling back at him, Kong eventually takes more drastic measures and engages the brothers hand to hand, resulting in a Super Mario 64-esque classic smackdown, this time swinging Kong around by his tie in order to defeat him.  Which, inevitably, they do.

In the ending cinematic, Donkey falls to his supposed death from the highest tower of the Castle, and Mario finds that the princess has, in fact, been in this castle the whole time as the Bros celebrate their victory with the Toad resistance.

Now, that’s the ending upon receiving 80 Stars.  When one retrieves 90 of the 100, there is an additional scene in which we cut back to Toadsworth’s lab.  Earlier in the game, there is a short line about his experiments on turtles which he has nicknamed “Koopas”.  In this ending, we return to Toadsworth’s lab late at night and witness a computer screen activating displaying the words “Subject ‘B’ has been released” and the shadow of a familiar nemesis of the Mario Bros is shown as lighting strikes and thunder rolls outside.  Sequel tease or…? No, it’s just a sequel tease.  And a pretty interesting one at that.  I’ll be interested to see what they do with Bowser in the already announced sequel.

Oh, yes, Nintendo is already banking on a sequel, and rightfully so.

And then, there is the ending with 100 Stars…which gets you both end credit scenes, and one other.  Now, this one is a particularly big deal, so I’m going to put up a spoiler warning.  I’m dead serious.  The details of the game are one thing, but this is one that is sure to have far reaching consequences for the franchise as a whole.

…okay, here we go.

Upon receiving 100 Stars, the first two scenes play, followed by the end credits, which in this instance cannot be skipped because of what follows them.  In a last scene, the Mario Bros return to their plumbing business in Brooklyn and find a government agent by the name “Game N’ Watch” waiting for them with an invitation to join the “Smash Bros. Initiative”, setting up a full, company-wide crossover which makes all of Nintendo’s rebooting make perfect sense.

"I'm here to talk to you about the Smash Brothers Initiative..."

After all, who wouldn’t want to follow DC’s fine example in the world of films?

Game N’ Watch quickly explains that the Mario Bros are not the only superpowered people in their world, demonstrating this by activating a viewscreen that displays several images that will no doubt be familiar to fans of several Nintendo franchises – such as familiar whip wreathed in flames, a red and white ball, a pair of red shoes…and in the possession of Mr. N’ Watch is a shield that will be very, very familiar to those who have taken some off-time in Hyrule.  This all going in well with the Legend of Zelda remake to come later this year, as well as the Castlevania, Pokémon, and Sonic reboots to follow in kind afterwards.

I have to reiterate that Nintendo just hit it out of the park with this one  and I hope to see it continue.  This game is perfect, it injects some fresh blood into a stagnant and ailing franchise and it’s just what the doctor ordered.  10 out of 10 easily, no contest.  I look forward to its sequel, and I look forward to taking on the next games to follow in this new inter-game continuity that Nintendo is cooking up.  Bravo, guys! Bravo!

A sign of things to come? I certainly hope so...

But anyway, I have to go.  I’ve got to get to work on the next “MadCap’s Reel Thoughts”.  It’s a positive review of Spider-Man 3.  I know, right? Really, will wonders never cease?

"Super Mario Bros." is now available from Nintendo for the Wii and WiiU systems.  Somewhere. Maybe.

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