New Super Mario Bros.

New Super Mario Bros. (often referred to as NSMB and New Super Mario Bros. DS) is a 2D side-scrolling game of the Super Mario Bros. series for the Nintendo DS. It was released in 2006. The game features a solo story mode with Mario and Luigi (who is unlockable when the player presses L and R and selects a file at the same time) as playable characters, a two-player wireless game Mario vs. Luigi, as well as a mini-game mode for up to four players. The multiplayer games support both single-card and multi-card play. The mini-game selection is mostly the same as the one in Super Mario 64 DS, with the difference that they do not need to be unlocked here. The game spawned three sequels, entitled New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U.

Story
Mario or Luigi and Princess Peach were walking together around Princess Peach's Castle, when a mysterious thundercloud (possibly Lakithunder) appeared and struck the castle with lightning. Mario or Luigi went to investigate, and while he was there, Bowser Jr. snuck up and kidnapped Peach. Mario or Luigi followed, and Bowser Jr. dragged her behind him through eight different worlds.

The end of the first world has Bowser as its boss, unusually. Even more surprising, after Mario presses a switch that destroys the bridge and Bowser falls into the pit of lava, his flesh is burnt off and he becomes a Dry Bones-like version of himself (known as Dry Bowser). Later, in World 8, Mario has to face this undead version of Bowser as the penultimate boss in the game. Dry Bowser falls into a pit, but later at Bowser's Castle, Bowser Jr. somehow finds his father's bones, and he revives him by tossing his remains into a bubbling cauldron of some magic potion, which results in not only Bowser returning from the dead, but growing roughly ten times his size.

At the end, Bowser and his son fight Mario together, but Mario defeats them (again), sending the two into yet another pit, saving Princess Peach from them. After the ending sequence, Bowser Jr. is shown dragging his unconscious father across the castle floor. When he notices the player watching him, he shouts something and then continues on with his task.

Gameplay
New Super Mario Bros. is very much like Super Mario Bros. in terms of gameplay, but new features have been added. One of two control options can be selected in the Options menu: jumping with A/B and running with X/Y, or jumping with A/Y and running with B/X. Mario or Luigi is controlled with the D-Pad, and the touch screen is only required to activate the stored item, which is used in the same style as in Super Mario World. When Mario enters a pipe to a secret area, the top screen and the touch screen are switched, and gameplay continues on the touch screen as long as Mario is in that area. In that case, the stored item cannot be activated.

The Wall Jump makes its first appearance in a 2D game since being introduced to 3D Mario games with Super Mario 64. This technique lets Mario or Luigi reach new areas by bouncing off the side of any wall or vertical object, and is useful for escaping from a fall down a hole. Mario has the ability to Ground Pound by pressing down when in the air, allowing him to smash blocks downward. There are different power-ups, like the Blue Shell that lets Mario travel like a kicked Koopa Troopa shell, the Mega Mushroom that makes Mario grow and smash anything in his path (also seen in Super Mario 64 DS), and the Mini Mushroom which causes Mario to shrink to a tiny size. However, some items remain unchanged, such as the Super Mushroom and the Fire Flower.

The game also features a world map with different and secret paths (like Super Mario World). Levels are arranged in 8 worlds, which each contain at least one tower and a castle as well as the normal levels. The game's major enemy is Bowser Jr., who appears periodically in battles throughout the game, always in the mid-world towers; the castles harbor different bosses. Alternate paths can be unlocked with Star Coins. There are three Star Coins in each level, usually adding an extra challenge for the player apart from just reaching the goal. Some are in clear sight while others are hidden in pipes, up Beanstalks, and other inconspicuous places. On the world map, signs block paths that require five Star Coins to open. After a player defeats Bowser and Bowser Jr. in Bowser's Castle, a new blue Toad House will appear in World 1. It is a market, and for twenty Star Coins, the player can buy a wallpaper for the bottom screen. The fifth and final background is only available after all of the forty Star Coin Gates have been opened.

Mario or Luigi only has to go through six of the eight worlds in the game. When not in miniature form, World 3 warps to World 5 and World 6 warps to World 8. As mentioned, Mario or Luigi must defeat the World 2 and/or World 5 bosses using the Mini Mushroom to instead reach World 4 and World 7, respectively. It is possible to only travel across three worlds if the player uses the large cannons hidden in World 1 and World 5.

Another secret is Challenge Mode, meaning the screen to the left or downward by Mario or Luigi. In order for it mode to be unlocked, World 8 must first be completed, and Mario or Luigi must go to overworld and press START, L, R, L, R, X, X, Y, Y in the exact order.

Bosses
The Bosses in this game are:
 * Bowser Jr. (Tower Boss, appears in every world, sometimes twice.)
 * Bowser (The Boss of World 1)
 * Mummipokey (The Boss of World 2)
 * Cheepskipper (The Boss of World 3)
 * Mega Goomba (The Boss of World 4)
 * Petey Piranha (The Boss of World 5)
 * Monty Tank (The Boss of World 6)
 * Lakithunder (The Boss of World 7)
 * Dry Bowser (The Boss of World 8)
 * Bowser and Bowser Jr. (Final Battle)

Alternate Exits

 * World 1-2 - Mushroom House
 * World 1-Tower - World 1 Cannon
 * World 2-3 - World 2-A
 * World 2-A - World 2 Cannon
 * World 2-4 - Mushroom House
 * World 3-2 - World 3-A
 * World 3-B - World 3-C
 * World 3-Ghost House - World 3 Cannon
 * World 4-1 - Mushroom House
 * World 4-Ghost House - World 4 Cannon
 * World 5-2 - Warp Pipe
 * World 5-Ghost House - World 5 Cannon
 * World 7-Ghost House - Mushroom House
 * World 7-4 - Mushroom House
 * World 7-5 - World 7-A (required to finish the game)
 * World 7-6 - World 7-7 (required to finish the game)

Worlds

 * World 1: The basic grassland world. Many first worlds have a similar, grassy layout. The boss in this world is Bowser. When Mario or Luigi reach the secret exit of the tower, they unlock the cannon, so they can be warped to World 5.
 * World 2: The desert world, similar to World 2 of Super Mario Bros. 3. The boss in this world is Mummipokey. If Mario or Luigi defeat Mummipokey as Mini Mario or Mini Luigi, they will be able to gain access to World 4. This world's cannon can be unlocked by clearing the secret exit of 2-3, then clearing the secret exit of 2-A. The cannon will lead them to World 5.
 * World 3: The island/ocean world. It mostly has beach-like levels, but some of the levels are underwater. The boss of this world is Cheepskipper. This world also introduces the first Ghost House. This world's cannon leads to World 6.
 * World 4: The forest world composed of plants and purple poisonous swamps, which can only be accessed via defeating Mummipokey as Mini Mario or Mini Luigi. The boss in this world is Mega Goomba. This world's cannon leads to World 7.
 * World 5: The ice world composed of snowy grounds and a frozen lake, with Petey Piranha as the boss. Mario or Luigi can access World 7 if they defeat Petey Piranha as Mini Mario or Mini Luigi. If they access the cannon of this world, they will be able to access World 8. This world is the last one containing a cannon.
 * World 6: The rocky mountain world, with a Monty Tank as the boss. It has two towers and is mainly the home of the Bullet Bills and their sub-species. This world features level themes from other worlds, too, such as a desert level, water levels, ice levels and grass levels.
 * World 7: The sky world, with Lakithunder as the boss. It can only be accessed via defeating Petey Piranha as Mini Mario or Mini Luigi, or jumping in the cannon in World 4.
 * World 8: The dark, purple forest world which would soon become a volcanic world in the second part, with two towers, a castle, and Bowser's Castle. The bosses for this world are Dry Bowser (the penultimate boss), a masked Bowser Jr. and his giant-sized father (final bosses).

Hints

 * If the player ends a level with the two last digits of the time matching, A Toad House will open, depending on the digits. Examples are 122, 233 411. If the last digits are 11, 22 or 33, A Power-Up Toad House will open. If the last two digits are 44, 55 or 66, A 1-up Toad House will open. If the last two digits are 77, 88 or 99 A Mega Mushroom Toad House will open.
 * To play as Luigi, on the file select screen, Hold L and R while you select your file. You'll now be able to play as Luigi. Luigi jumps and runs slightly faster than Mario, but it's hardly noticeable.
 * Once the final boss is defeated, Mushroom Houses will not go away, no matter how many times they are entered. This is to aid the player in finding all of the Star Coins in order to buy backgrounds and open pathways.
 * To play Challenge Mode, press L,R,L,R,X,X,Y and Y, on the pause menu. You have now unlocked Challenge Mode. Like the original Super Mario Bros., you now cannot go left.

Trivia

 * Bowser is not voiced by anyone. His roars are all stock sound effects used from the N64 games.
 * This is the only game by far where the blue shell acts as a power up for Mario.
 * New Super Mario Bros. is the best-selling game for the Nintendo DS family of systems.
 * Once the player beats Dry Bowser for the first time, triggering the bridge event in World 8, the map music changes forever- a beat will be added to the music and the sound of bubbling lava and gas will be audible.
 * If the player jumps off of Bowser Jr.'s head when he is jumping, they can bounce up onto the top of his arenas.
 * Mega Unagis and the Unagis in caves are the only living enemies in the game that are completely invincible.
 * If the "host" of a minigame event exits the game, the other screens of the guests' DS will freeze and then lead to a screen with a loud, siren noise.
 * The minigame Coincentration is given updated graphics in this game, rendering Wario in 3D and replacing the coin block sprites and coin sprites (which in Super Mario 64 DS's version of the minigame were just sprites from Super Mario Bros. 3)
 * There is a glitch in World 4-6 that allows Mario or Luigi to fly. Around halfway into the level, there is a platform with upside-down Piranha Plant pipes above it. Waiting on this platform for around 40 seconds, crossing it, then jumping to the right towards the poison water will allow the player to walk on air for the rest of the level until the warp pipe which leads to the Goal Pole.
 * This game was originally planned to include Spindrifts, but they were replaced by the blue spinning platforms. Mantas were originally going to appear in the background of water levels.
 * The final boss theme includes a small musical reference to the map theme of Valley Of Bowser from Super Mario World.

New Super Mario Bros. New Super Mario Bros.