Big news, folks! I own my very own day care center now. I’m taking care of eight kids! But they’re all from the same family! Their dad is a real tyrant, though, but he said that if I watched his children, he’d help me kidnap Princess Zelda. See, Link would always suspect Ganon, but never me! Muwa ha ha haaa! OK, so this is just a silly way to introduce my favorite part of New Super Mario Bros. Wii: the return of the Koopa Kids! And this whole blog is dedicated to them. It’s a little silly, but a little silliness is OK every once in a while!

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Mini-Review

But first, a short review of this new game. Simply stated, this is four-player Super Mario Bros., so if you can imagine what that would be, you know what to expect. A lot of people have referred NSMBW as being a cross between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, and that’s about the best description I could give it.

There are lots of things I like about NSMBW, but in the next few paragraphs, I’m going to go over what I DON’T like about this new game. Keep in mind that while I do like Mario games a lot, it’s not my favorite Nintendo franchise by a long shot. I prefer Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby games WAY more. In fact, I would’ve rather this be a four player Kirby game instead of a Mario one. And it’s a good thing it’s much better than New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. I really wasn’t impressed with that one, as I felt other DS Mario platformers like Super Princess Peach and Yoshi’s Island DS were far better games. And I never really fell in love with Super Mario Bros. back in the NES days like everyone else did. Sure I thought it was cool, but I was perfectly happy playing Pengo on my Atari 5200. It wasn’t until Zelda came along that I HAD to have a NES.

Anyway, the first major thing I didn’t like about NSMBW, and the thing that I’ll probably get the most flak about, is the play control just flat out SUCKS! It’s way too slippy slidey. 99 percent of the time when I die in that game, it’s because Mario won’t stop when I want. It’s like walking on ice all the time. The control is more akin to Super Mario Bros. or Mario 3. And believe it or not, those aren’t my favorite Mario 2-D platformers. I prefer Mario 2, Super Mario World, and Yoshi’s Island, where I felt the control was tighter. Call me crazy, but when I’m not pressing on the control pad, I like for my game characters to, you know, stop. Novel concept, I know. I don’t think they would’ve needed the help guides in the Wii game if the controls were more precise.

Speaking of precision, another problem I have with this game is since everything is polygons, sometimes the hit boxes don’t feel as precise. If everything were sprites instead, it would’ve been easier for me to tell exactly where I needed to land to stomp on enemies. The game is also VERY difficult, and I wouldn’t recommend it to very young kids because they would get frustrated. Plus, while multiplayer is fun, I don’t see how you’re supposed to get past the tougher levels with it. And no online? Seriously, Nintendo, I love ya, but get with the times. And finally, I wish you could save after every level. I know you can do a quick save and replay a castle to save, and retro Mario games wouldn’t let you save often, but this is 2009 and some retro things need to go away. Let us save after every level, OK? At least it’s better than in the DS version. Not being able to save often in a portable game is inexcusable.

Anyway, those are the main problems I have with NSMBW. But there are a lot of things I like about this game. Earlier I said that people compared this game to being like a mix of SMW and SMB3. Well, while I don’t like most of the things associated with SMB3 in this game, I do like what’s in here from SMW. And there’s also a hint of Yoshi’s Island here and there. But the thing I enjoyed most of all is they brought back the Koopa Kids, so the rest of this blog is in honor of them!

The Koopa Kids

Bowser’s seven children started out as the bosses of the worlds of Super Mario Bros. 3. In the US, they were named after various rock stars, musicians, comedians, and other famous folks. Word has it that each one was designed by a member of the original SMB3 staff, as a way to give recognition to them since games back then didn’t have credits. The Koopa Kids (or Koopalings as they’re sometimes called) most prominent roles were in SMB3, Super Mario World, and the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon, which we’ll discuss in more detail with each Koopa Kid.

The Koopa Kids were also in a few other minor games. They were bosses (usually riding mechs) in the SNES light gun Super Scope 6 game Yoshi’s Safari, and they were also in the educational game Mario is Missing. But I’ve never played any of those so I can’t say much about them. They were also mini-bosses in the RPG game Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and I was glad to see them return, even if it was only for a little bit. They were also in a game for the ill-fated Phillips CD-i called Hotel Mario. A lot of people bash on Hotel Mario, but I don’t think it was THAT bad of a game. It had a arcadey feel, like a Mappy game. And it was a heck of a lot better than Phillips’ Zelda titles!

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at each of the Koopa Kids, and yes, we’ll even mention Bowser Jr. as well.

Lemmy

He’s probably my favorite Koopa Kid. He’s the boss of the ice worlds in both Mario 3 and the Wii game. And in Mario World he was the boss of the cave-like Vanilla Dome. He’s the smallest of the kids and he has a rainbow Mohawk. In Mario 3, most of the Koopa Kids had the same attacks. Some would shoot out more blasts from their magic wand, and some would shake the ground when landing or they could jump higher. Or in the later levels, all of those attacks at once! But a couple of the Koopa Kids had different strategies in Mario 3. Lemmy was one of them. He balanced on a ball like a circus performer and would shoot out other balls for you to bounce on. For a later level boss, he was pretty easy because of that. In the Wii game, he still rolls on his ball just like in Mario 3. Except when you fight him a second time, Kamek the Magikoopa makes his ball huge so you HAVE to bounce on the balls he tosses so you can be high enough to stomp him. Just as he and Wendy O. had unique attacks in 3, they also shared the same attacks in Mario World. They both popped out of pipes and you had to stomp them, not their decoys.

When Mario 3 was huge, they even had their own cartoon and the Koopa Kids were featured in it. It wasn’t a very good cartoon, but we all loved it as kids. I really liked the angular art style they used to draw the Koopa Kids in the show, and how they called their father “King Dad.” But their names were different in the cartoon. I guess maybe because the animators had to look at the game’s artwork before Nintendo knew what to call them, perhaps? Anyway, on the cartoon, Lemmy Koopa and Iggy Koopa were like little twins and they were named Hip and Hop. But I’m not sure which was which!

Iggy

He’s my second favorite Koopa, and he wears glasses. He’s the boss of the super cool Giant World in Mario 3, the boss of the very first world (Yoshi’s Island) in Mario World, and in the Wii game he’s the boss of the jungle level. In Mario World, he stood on a rocking platform and you had to stomp him enough times while the platform was leaning one way to knock him into the lava. He’d throw rolling fireballs at you, though. In the Wii game, the first time you fight him is a pretty standard Koopa Kid battle, but in the second fight, he’s totally different. He rides a chariot pulled by a giant Chain Chomp, and you have to avoid his wand blasts and the Chain Chomp while trying to stomp him!

Larry

Larry Koopa is the boss of world 1 in both Mario 3 and the new Wii game. But in Mario World, he’s the boss of the last castle before Bowser’s. He has blue spiky hair. His attacks are pretty standard in Mario 3 and in the Wii game, since they’re both first world battles. In Mario World, his fight is similar to Iggy’s except you have to avoid lava bubbles at the same time. In the Mario 3 cartoon, Larry was renamed Cheatsy and he had sneaky, beady eyes. He would usually try and think of schemes to fool the Mario Bros. and sometimes even his own dad!

Morton

He was originally called Morton Koopa Jr., which is obviously a poke at Morton Downey Jr., who was big in the public eye during Mario 3’s release. One of the stockier kids, Morton wears rockstar makeup similar to KISS, with his signature star over one eye. Morton was the boss of the desert world in Mario 3, and was in charge of the second world: Donut Plains, in Mario World. In World, both he and Roy Koopa had similar attacks. They would both run up the wall and ceiling, and try and fall and land on you from above. In the Wii game, Morton resides in the mountain area (looks like Choco Mountain). His fights are pretty standard here, except you have to watch out for other obstacles besides him, mostly. Like spiky pillars. In the cartoon, Morton was called Big Mouth and was prone to blabbering and going on and on about stuff.

Roy

He always wears his signature purple sunglasses. He was the boss of the sky world in Mario 3, and the forest world boss in Mario World. His fight in World was a little tougher than Morton’s, because the walls would close in after every stomp. In the Wii game, he’s the boss of the second world: the desert. He can shake the ground when he lands, so make sure not to be near him! In the second battle, he crawls through pipes to try and sneak up on you. He was called Bully in the cartoon and talked with a tough guy accent.

Wendy O.

She’s the only female in the bunch. In Mario World she was the boss of Choco Island (my favorite world) and she had attacks similar to Lemmy’s. In both Mario 3 and Mario Wii she’s in charge of the water world. She also has the same attacks: sending out bouncing rings. Kind of like Lemmy, except you don’t want to hop on them! Second time you fight her in the Wii game, the water level rises and falls. But a fire flower makes everything much easier.

Being the only female besides Princess Peach (Toadstool back then), she was featured prominently in the Mario 3 cartoon under the name Kootie Pie Koopa. She would usually use her brattyness to get King Daddy to get her what she wanted. One time that even involved taking over America. Saturday morning cartoon or political satire? You decide.

Ludwig Von Koopa

Obviously named after Beethoven, this kid is known for his bouffant purple hair and single fang. He’s the boss in the next to final world before Bowser in Mario 3 and the Wii game (Pipe Maze and the sky world, respectively), and the boss of the fourth area in Mario World. He has totally different attack in Mario World from the rest of the kids, as he breathes fire and spins inside his shell. In the Wii game, he can run in the air similar to how Yoshi does.

On the cartoon, he was Kooky Von Koopa and the resident mad scientist. One time he invented a time machine and sent Mario & Luigi (and others) back in time as babies! Baby Toad didn’t look any different; he just crawled instead of walked. But the funny part was while Mario & Luigi sported baby bonnets and diapers, they still had moustaches!

Bowser Jr.

OK, I guess I’ll talk about him, too. He is Bowser’s kid, too, after all. Featured prominently in newer Mario games like Super Mario Sunshine, New Super Mario Bros. DS, and Super Mario Galaxy, Jr. has gotten a bit of flak from fans as being a poor replacement for the Koopa Kids. And for good reason, too, as he’s not near as cool as them. And he looks a lot like Baby Bowser from Yoshi’s Island (not the same character, though), so that confuses things even more.

However, New Super Mario Bros. Wii did something that no other Mario game has done before: make Bowser Jr. look cool. How? Well, my favorite Bowser boss fight is from Super Mario World. You’re at the top of the castle, ominous music plays, thunder and lightning boom in the background. And then Bowser swoops down…in a flying teacup helicopter with a happy clown face! I nearly died laughing when I first saw that. Anyway, all the boss fights with Bowser Jr. in the Wii game all involve him flying one of those clown cars, and that made me very happy. Hopefully in the future, Bowser Jr. and the Koopa Kids will continue to co-exist and work together as well as they did in the Wii Mario game.

Koopa Kid Conclusions

And that’s all I feel like talking about the Koopa Kids. They’re my favorite part of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. And even though I don’t like the loosey-goosey controls and other nitpicky quibbles, there is still a lot to like about this game. I appreciate all the little touches and references to past games. The way the enemies, blocks, and coins dance and sway to the music, the awesome remixed classic Mario tunes (love the castle theme), the fact that Yoshi makes that cool SNES era ‘bree-burp’ sound instead of his dumb baby Yoshi’s Story voice, etc. Definitely a must-have game for Wii owners and classic Mario fans.

My Mom Goes to the Nintendo World Store in NYC

Oh, before I forget, here’s one last Mario Wii related item. Recently my mom went on a business trip to New York City, and while she was there she stopped off at the Nintendo World Store and took a bunch of pictures, and I posted them at this site. Check it out: the store’s all decked out for the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. And my mom got some cool exclusive souvenirs for me there, like a Mario Santa hat, shirt, mug, and Nintendo Christmas ornaments!

In the comments section, let me know who YOUR favorite Koopa Kid is! –Cary

Tags: Game Reviews, Misc, Television