Mario Bros DS gets release date: May 7th

by Ross Miller { Feb 21st 2006 at 1:00AM }

According to a scan of next month's Nintendo Power, the first original Mario platformer since 2002 (or longer, if you wish to discredit Super Mario Sunshine) will finally be released to the world on May 7th--since this was listed in an official US Nintendo magazine, we're willing to assume this is the American release date.

The new Super Mario Bros. for the DS will launch during the media frenzy we call E3, so any downtime we were hoping for has now completely vanished. Thanks, Nintendo, thanks a lot.

[Update: Thanks for the scan, DevilsRejection and Fhussian]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Efren @ Feb 21st 2006 1:17AM

One needn't discredit Mario Sunshine, it does that enough on it's own.

Jago @ Feb 21st 2006 1:26AM

What was so bad about Super Mario Sunshine?

Was it as revolutionary as Super Mario 64? No.

Was it classic Miyamoto Mario design? Hell yea.

Was it fun? Yeap (and graphically I thought it looked pretty nice too.)

Stefan Constantinescu @ Feb 21st 2006 1:27AM

Hey, I wonder where they got the scan from?

http://gonintendo.com/?p=948

give credit where credit is due :( what's so hard about blogging

Ross Miller @ Feb 21st 2006 1:50AM

Stefan--

The site where I found the information (the original link, 4 color rebellion) made no mention of its source, nor did it provide links to the information--hence the mistaken non-disclosure of your work on it. It was not an intentional move, and to correct it I have given you and Fhussian the credit, and a link to the gonintendo.com page with the full scan that credits you (as I cannot find the Nintendo forum post).

Hope this helps appease things, sorry.

Nick @ Feb 21st 2006 2:01AM

Hmm... was Mario 64 the last one before SMS? Surely we can't include Yoshi's Story.

Kevin Cassidy @ Feb 21st 2006 2:09AM

Ross,

Thanks for updating the story, very much appreciated! I'll make sure you hear a thanks out of our reader Stefan too! No big deal, no worries...I know it wasn't intentional. Thanks again for the quick fix, the staff and readers of GoNintendo appreciate it.

Kevin Cassidy
GoNintendo.com

Sloopydrew @ Feb 21st 2006 2:10AM

Super Mario Sunshine is as underrated as Super Mario 64 is overrated. I liked both games, but I didn't think 64 was the absolute platforming classic some swear it is and I didn't think Super Mario Sunshine was the screaming disappointment some others claim it to be. SMS was actually a more intense platformer. There's no doubt 64 was far more innovative. Neither of them came close to the classic 2D Mario platformers. I can't wait for the DS game!

Jago @ Feb 21st 2006 2:15AM

The reason why SM64 is so highly regarded is b/c not only was it 3D but it still kept the same gameplay mechanics that made the other Mario games fun with a very low learning curve.

Conn @ Feb 21st 2006 2:35AM

I'll never understand all the SMS hate. It was a great game! I mean, it wasn't a huge innovation (how COULD it be, after a 2D-to-3D transition?) but at least it was more old skool (frantic action) you had A GOOD CAMERA.

Nick @ Feb 21st 2006 2:59AM

Um, no. Two reasons why SMS pales in comparison to M64:
1) M64 made me want to buy an N64. I played it at a friend's house, after he had gotten it for Christmas, and I promptly drained my savings account to get the game and system. 120 stars later, I started again. I beat the game so many times just for fun. It was revolutionary and fun. As for learning curve, if there wasn't one, its because the game intuitively moved to 3D because of excessive polish, not because it was easy.
2) SMS wasn't a bad game. but it didn't wow. I quit it after beating it through just over 80 shines, if I remember right, then sold it and went back to SSB:M. A few years later, I picked it up again, got to just about the same part, and quit again. It's not altogether compelling to collect blue coins sprinkled all over the place. Red coins are one thing, but the blue coin collect-a-thon just reminded me of the DK64 garbage that Rare had shoved down our throats. SMS is good, but not great. It's not a graphically wowing game (think Wind Waker, that did blow minds even though simplistic -- SMS just didn't look that clean) with blurry textures and an unrefined look. I dig the so bright it hurts motif, but that doesn't make up for crappy looking texturing and polygon work. Which reminds me, both Yoshi and the yellow-crap that he destroyed looked like garbage, and I remember the locale with the Hotel looking like garbage inside.

I enjoyed SMS, but I loved M64. In fact, I played the DS M64 at the same time as my SMS revival, and found myself spending more time with SMS, but only because of the poor control on the DS (forget the thumb-pad). There is something to be said for the retro mini levels. It's just too bad the game wasn't as polished.

Pretty Obvious @ Feb 21st 2006 3:54AM

Dont get your hopes up. Knowing Nintendo this'll probably be delayed till 2007.

Jago @ Feb 21st 2006 4:15AM

HA...you're not funny.

Nick @ Feb 21st 2006 4:30AM

I wonder what will come first: Mario DS, or an Xbox 360 in a store where I can just walk into a store and purchase one? I like having both my kidneys, and I'm not willing to sell one just to play a few rounds of Geometry Wars on my eBay-bought-because-I'm-not-stupid-enough-to-hunt-it-down-like-a-white-elephant system!

Mike A @ Feb 21st 2006 4:46AM

so number 10 what you are saying is you didn't like it because Super Mario Sunshine is too hard? Guess what I beat the game with all the shines, and blue coins(goes hand and hand) It took about 2 weeks, but that was because I actually played the game instead of bitching about how hard it was to collect the blue coins. Also Super Mario Sunshine blew my mind at every corner. The graphics were simply amazing, and the water effect were so much fun to watch. Also the little special stages(although really hard) were so much fun. I wish I still had Sunshine...I would be playing it right now.

-al @ Feb 21st 2006 5:36AM

Mike A, your unconstructive comments about how good you are at SMS are hardly a worthwhile critique of the game, unlike Nick's post, which you seem to take offense at. Fanboys are funny like that.

Incidently, does anyone else read "SMS" and think Sega Master System?

I for one look foward to New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo's embracing of the past is always exciting, and this one doesn't look like it'll let us down.

Marlor @ Feb 21st 2006 7:47AM

I have to defend Super Mario Sunshine as well. I agree that it was nowhere near the level of Mario 64 in terms of innovation, and the water cannons took some getting used to, but I really enjoyed it overall. Parts of the game (especially those set at the amusement park) matched Mario 64 in terms of sheer fun. Also , the "secret" retro-platform stages were brilliant, even at their most frustrating.

Mario Sunshine really is underrated. It isn't an absolute classic in the same way as Mario 64 or Super Mario Brothers 3, but it is better than 90% of the other games of its generation. It certainly doesn't deserve to be discredited.

DG @ Feb 21st 2006 8:08AM

I had been playing Super Mario World on ZSNES all weekend long, and then I realized that I had a Gamecube (sad, isn't it when I'm playing emulated 16-bit games more frequently more than a current-gen system). I picked up Super Mario Sunshine this weekend and played it for the first time, so my experiences with it are pretty new.

I think Mario Sunshine is a very fine platform game. I'm just not sure why Mario is in it. If there were ever a game for Nintendo to branch out and introduce a new character, Mario Sunshine would have been it. When you think Mario, you think Mushroom Kingdom. You think Goombas and Bowser and Koopas. You don't think Isle of Delfino and weird-o looking muppets with big noses.

It doesn't make Mario Sunshine a bad game, persay, but it doesn't make it great either. It's a pleasant diversion -- they call it a vacation -- from the regular series, but to me, it doesn't feel like a Mario game. And I'm pretty sure that's a bad thing.

Anticrawl @ Feb 21st 2006 8:46AM

Yeah I remember reading about this in Nintendo power a couple of days ago at walmart. Haha, I don't buy the magazines. Never really thought to buy it and scan it. Didn't know this was news to people still. Usually magazines are the last to report things cause of the 2 month period they come out. Good news non-the-less.

Can't wait for it,
Anticrawl

Marc @ Feb 21st 2006 9:16AM

O.K. I loved both SM64 and SMS, but isn't this blog supposed to be about NSMB?!?! C'mon get back to the topic!!!

Todd @ Feb 21st 2006 9:26AM

Here my take on the whole Sunshine thing. Most are just remembering their fond memories of SM64. I'm guilty of the same thing, until I played it again recently. The reason SM64 is so overrated is because of the way it made us feel when we first played it. At the time it was new, fresh, and unique and everyone loved it. I know I played it over and over and couldn't get enough. Fast-forward several years and we have Sunshine, but in a well established genera, with minor game play additions, and much better graphics. While it is really fun it doesn't have the new and fresh feel we were looking for. Do yourself a favor and go back and play SM64 if you have fond memories and see if they still hold up. They didn't for me. Don't get me wrong, it didn't make me dislike SM64, but it sure made me like Sunshine a whole lot more. I feel they are both equally good.

David Rudden @ Feb 21st 2006 9:38AM

Here's my Sunshine beef. Every other Mario game reveled in its variety. There was the water stage, snow stage, fire stage, ghost houses and Bowser ships. Sunshine stuck to water stages like white on rice. I wasn't the biggest fan of water stages to begin with, and having a whole game full of them didn't help matters.

rockinrobbie @ Feb 21st 2006 9:53AM

Here's my beef with Sunshine. I went back and replayed it just days ago. Problems. TONS. Really bad control (mario seems to skid around a lot and I have trouble executing his side spin jump consistantly) and terrible camera (especially in very in oportune times).

Take this May 7 date with a grain of salt. Metroid Hunters was due last Oct and Zelda TP is already being pushed back.

I have no doubts Hunters, Zelda and this Mario will all be excellent. But my faith in N's ability to deliver on 'expected date' has vanished.

me @ Feb 21st 2006 10:20AM

speaking of nsmb, did any of you play the game "mario adventure"? its a hack of mario 3 and is very very cool. i suggest you download it and get yourself an emulator immediately. i think joystiq did an article on it recently.

Jago @ Feb 21st 2006 2:25PM

To be fair, Zelda TP never actually had a set-in-stone exact date so to criticize them for being late is bit unfair.

As for the bad control in SMS, I never had a problem executing those moves. I had to get used to them at first but after I did, it was no problem.

The game does have "some" camera hiccups but they are minor when compared to other games.