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Definitively a whole new experience. If you are a fan of NSMB DS, you will enjoy this game. All the levels were completely redesigned and also includes new music, powerups , items, ....but especially you can feel that there is a lot of work behind. You have to try it, a must have!

Not much else to say lmao. Genuinely enjoyed this hack more than the original. Felt much more polished and cared for. I completed the game on v1.12, but v1.15 is of course the superior release from what I can see in the release notes.

Completed 100%

Newer Super Mario Bros Wii is my favorite hack of all time, so when I saw Newer Super Mario Bros DS, I immediately downloaded it and started playing it. And it's a great hack, but it's a far cry from the masterpiece that was Newer Wii.

To start, every level in the game is redesigned. Most are your standard Mario fare, but there are a few standouts with new mechanics, such as the mine cart level, Rainbow Road from Mario Kart, and a level in World 7 where you're being chased by an angry stormcloud. These are all well-done, and I'd love to see more stuff like this.

You also have access to the Hammer Suit from Mario 3, replacing the Blue Shell of the original NSMB. Or rather, the Blue Shell has been colored black, and it can throw hammers. Unlike Newer Wii, the hammers can only be thrown at 1 distance, making them very difficult to use.

One very cool feature is the ability to switch between Mario and Luigi. Like many games, Mario runs slightly faster and has better control on the ground. Luigi is a bit slippery, but he can jump higher. That extra jump height makes Luigi the go-to brother for 75% of the game. You'll pretty much be using Mario for the Ice World and a handful of levels where precision is absolutely needed.

A note must be made about the camera. In every stage, the first thing that happens is that the camera zooms out. While you can fit more on a single screen, it makes everything feel grainy, like Super Mario Maker on the 3DS. It also leads to the camera jittering pretty badly when you reach the end of a stage.

The difficulty of this game is pretty high, even for someone who has completed every Mario game out there. There is little forgiveness for a missed jump, and enemy placement is similar to The Lost Levels, where there is always an enemy 1 tile away from where you need to land. It wasn't uncommon for me to have to retry a stage upward of 15-20 times. I think it is this difficulty that makes it feel more like a standard hack and less like Newer Wii.

So should you play it? Yes. It's still a great hack, and the amount of stuff they were able to fit into this game is impressive. I'm glad I completed it. But set your expectations correctly. This is NOT Newer Super Mario Bros Wii. It is a hack that does its best, but is shackled by the limitations of the game it is based on.

Like Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii before it, Newer Super Mario Bros. DS (aka Newer DS) brings many amazing changes to the original game, introducing mechanics not seen in vanilla NSMB, including the ability to change your character before a level (with Luigi having physics similar to Lost Levels), minecarts, low-gravity, and more! A must-download for any Mario fan!