My pink Nintendo DS goes just about everywhere with me.  It’s packed in it’s mini geek backpack and tossed in the mama geek backpack that is never far from reach, along with a myriad of other nerdy things, and make up, dental floss, disposable toilet seat covers (you can never be to careful in public restrooms!) etc.  It’s an infrequent but beloved thing, my DS, I usually pull it out if I’m waiting for an appt, or a meeting start, or killing a few moments at Starbucks.   

Since Boy Genius gave me the New Super Mario Bros, it seems to find its way out and into my hands a lot more often! I haven’t given my DS this much love on a daily basis since Tomb Raider. 

No doubt about it peeps, this is same game that we all know and love.  The same game we spent day after day memorizing each and every tunnel, jump, secret free guy, hidden rooms and pathways which we can still play after years and years without missing a single perfectly timed jump.  It has the same charm as it’s papa side scroller with fun new features!  There are new shrooms added to the mix: a giant shroom that sends Mario barreling through the level at 5 times his size crushing every turtle and smashing everything in his path, a tinsy shroom that makes Mario an itty bitty baby Mario that practically flies when he jumps.  There are 8 worlds in toto to work you way through, each world filled with different levels.  There some slightly uninteresting or seemingly out of place levels, that aren’t really levels at all, just rooms to go grab a flower or sometimes get a free guy.  It will cost you 5 big coins to find out though…haven’t quite found the value in that.  

None of the levels are overly challenging; the dungeon bosses are very easy to kill, and the levels are fairly short.  However, I have not found many of the hidden secrets which I’m sure are caked through out each world, so going back to find the sweet sweet nuggets of Mario goodness might add some additional challenge. 

At any rate, an awesome side scroller, sure to fill you with reminiscent days of old and give you lots of colored candy  cartoon danger in a quest to save your kidnapped Princess.  That damn Bowser!! 

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart