Brandon Inada's Blog

A user on the NeoGAF Forum who goes by the screenname Mama Robotnik created these cool, made-up screenshots of the upcoming game New Super Mario Bros. Wii re-imagined in the style of some of the game’s 8-bit and 16-bit predecessors.

Here’s the original screenshot Mama Robotnik used:

And here are the results:

 Very cool.

The players’ status displays are a nice touch, and I love the attention to detail (recreating the hilly terrain and mountainous backgrounds of the first screen capture).

Of the four reimaginings, I’m most fond of the second, using Super Mario Bros. 2 graphics, as I really do love the second Super Mario Bros. game and feel strongly that it’s the most underappreciated of the sequels.  Also, SMB2 was the first game to feature Princess Toadstool (Peach) and Toad as playable characters.

While New Super Mario Bros. Wii certainly does look good (really, though, what brand new Super Mario Bros. game doesn’t?), I’m not sold on the 4-player simultaneous gameplay.  Confusion and mayhem are fine in an all-out fighting game like Super Smash Bros. but might prove too chaotic for a side-scrolling platformer that requires a great deal of precision jumping.

Another gripe, though admittedly a minor one: why not include Princess Peach as the fourth playable character?  (Currently, the game features Mario, Luigi, and two Toads, yellow and blue.)  There’s precedent, as mentioned above, and moreover, Princess Peach recently starred in her very own DS game, Super Princess Peach.  It would be nice to see a female character for a change.

Thoughts? 

Click here for the original post and discussion.